Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.16.61-62
Mukti· LiberationDiscriminate, Release Fruitive Desires, Become a Devotee
“One should understand that the activities of persons who are proud of their material experience bring only results contradictory to those such persons conceive while awake, sleeping and deeply sleeping. One should further understand that the spirit soul, although very difficult for the materialist to perceive, is above all these conditions, and by the strength of one’s discrimination, one should give up the desire for fruitive results in the present life and in the next. Thus becoming experienced in transcendental knowledge, one should become My devotee.”
What the purport teaches
- Those who are proud of their material experience obtain results contrary to what they expect. Material experience alone does not ensure the outcome they imagine.
- The spirit soul is above wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep, although difficult for the materialist to perceive.
- Through discrimination, one should give up desires for fruitive results in this life and the next. Transcendental knowledge should lead one to become the Lord’s devotee.
Try this today
Before one act of devotion today, pause and set aside the wish to receive a material reward from it.
Ask yourself
How can my understanding lead me toward devotion rather than the pursuit of rewards?
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.