Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.1.52
Ūti· What drives us to actOur Own Activities Can Bind Us
“The foolish embodied living entity, inept at controlling his senses and mind, is forced to act according to the influence of the modes of material nature, against his desires. He is like a silkworm that uses its own saliva to create a cocoon and then becomes trapped in it, with no possibility of getting out. The living entity traps himself in a network of his own fruitive activities and then can find no way to release himself. Thus he is always bewildered, and repeatedly he dies.”
What the purport teaches
- Without control of the senses and mind, the embodied soul is forced to act under the modes of material nature, even against his desires.
- Like a silkworm trapped in its own cocoon, the living entity becomes entangled in his own activities for material benefit. He remains bewildered and repeatedly dies.
- The influence of the modes of nature is very strong. Getting free from this entanglement is very difficult without the help of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Try this today
Pause before repeating one binding habit today and ask the Supreme Personality of Godhead for help.
Ask yourself
Which activity for material benefit seems to leave me more entangled rather than free?
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.