Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.15.43-44
Ūti· What drives us to actRise Beyond Material Goodness and Badness
“In the conditioned stage, one’s conceptions of life are sometimes polluted by passion and ignorance, which are exhibited by attachment, hostility, greed, lamentation, illusion, fear, madness, false prestige, insults, fault-finding, deception, envy, intolerance, passion, bewilderment, hunger and sleep. All of these are enemies. Sometimes one’s conceptions are also polluted by goodness.”
What the purport teaches
- The actual aim of life is to return home, back to Godhead. Attachment, hostility, greed, illusion and other effects of passion and ignorance are enemies that hinder this progress.
- Even material goodness can hinder spiritual advancement when one becomes attached to being considered a good person. One must transcend all three modes of material nature, not merely seek a better position within them.
- By the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and the guru, one can come to the platform of devotional service and make life successful. One must boldly conquer the enemies of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and share Kṛṣṇa consciousness with others.
Try this today
Notice one impulse toward greed, hostility or fault-finding today, and pause rather than act on it, remembering your goal of devotional service.
Ask yourself
Which hinders my devotion more today: a troubling desire or attachment to being seen as good?
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.