Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.14.25
Ūti· What drives us to actMaterial Comfort Cannot Remove Every Misery
“Being unable to protect himself from the threefold miseries of material existence, the conditioned soul becomes very morose and lives a life of lamentation. These threefold miseries are miseries suffered by mental calamity at the hands of the demigods [such as freezing wind and scorching heat], miseries offered by other living entities, and miseries arising from the mind and body themselves.”
What the purport teaches
- Material existence brings three kinds of misery: those arising through the demigods, those caused by other living beings, and those arising from one’s own body and mind.
- These are called adhidaivika, adhibhautika and adhyātmika. Even a supposedly happy materialistic person must endure them.
- Several miseries may arrive together, or one may replace another. Unable to counteract them fully, the conditioned soul remains anxious and fearful.
Try this today
Write down one current anxiety and identify which of the three kinds of misery it reflects.
Ask yourself
Am I expecting material arrangements to give me complete freedom from distress?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.