Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.15.47
Mukti· LiberationTake Shelter Beyond Material Desire
“According to the Vedas, there are two kinds of activities — pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Pravṛtti activities involve raising oneself from a lower to a higher condition of materialistic life, whereas nivṛtti means the cessation of material desire. Through pravṛtti activities one suffers from material entanglement, but by nivṛtti activities one is purified and becomes fit to enjoy eternal, blissful life.”
What the purport teaches
- Pravṛtti seeks a higher condition of material enjoyment and brings material entanglement. Nivṛtti means ending material desire and becoming fit for eternal, blissful life.
- Loving devotional service to the Lord completely satisfies the self when it is unmotivated and uninterrupted. Bhakti does not depend on pious or impious activity, although pious people have a better chance to become devotees.
- Even someone with material motives may take shelter of Kṛṣṇa and gradually become purified. Freedom from material desires prepares one to return home, back to Godhead.
Try this today
Offer a short prayer to Kṛṣṇa asking for shelter and purification of one material desire.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking greater material enjoyment, or shelter in Kṛṣṇa?
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.