Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.14.33
Ūti· What drives us to actRemember Kṛṣṇa Amid Fear of Death
“In this material world, when the conditioned soul forgets his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and does not care for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he simply engages in different types of mischievous and sinful activities. He is then subjected to the threefold miseries, and, out of fear of the elephant of death, he falls into the darkness found in a mountain cave.”
What the purport teaches
- Forgetting one’s relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead leads to neglect of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The conditioned soul then becomes absorbed in sinful activities and suffers the threefold miseries.
- However strong a materialistic person may seem, disease and old age bring death’s notice. Material strength cannot prevent its arrival.
- The fear of death is compared to entering a dark mountain cave, while death is compared to a great elephant. Receiving death’s notice makes the conditioned soul deeply morose.
Try this today
Take a quiet minute today to remember your relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead rather than setting aside the reality of death.
Ask yourself
How does remembering my relationship with Kṛṣṇa change the way I face life’s uncertainty?
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.