Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.10.5
Ūti· What drives us to actPure Service Has No Material Bargain
“A servant who desires material profits from his master is certainly not a qualified servant or pure devotee. Similarly, a master who bestows benedictions upon his servant because of a desire to maintain a prestigious position as master is also not a pure master.”
What the purport teaches
- A servant seeking material profit is not a pure servant. A master who gives rewards merely to preserve his prestige is not a pure master.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the real, pure master. Unlike demigods who grant desired rewards, He never grants condemned benedictions.
- Out of compassion, the Lord may take away the opulence of a materially attached person who wants to serve Him. His purpose is to bring that person to pure devotion, free from material motives.
Try this today
Examine one request you make to the Lord and restate it as a prayer for service without material motives.
Ask yourself
Am I willing to seek pure service rather than rewards that strengthen my attachments?
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.