Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.2.25-26
Ūti· What drives us to actBodily Misconceptions Sustain Saṁsāra
“In his bewildered state, the living entity, accepting the body and mind to be the self, considers some people to be his kinsmen and others to be outsiders. Because of this misconception, he suffers. Indeed, the accumulation of such concocted material ideas is the cause of suffering and so-called happiness in the material world. The conditioned soul thus situated must take birth in different species and work in various types of consciousness, thus creating new bodies. This continued material life is called saṁsāra. Birth, death, lamentation, foolishness and anxiety are due to such material considerations. Thus we sometimes come to a proper understanding and sometimes fall again to a wrong conception of life.”
What the purport teaches
- Accepting the body and mind as the self, the bewildered living entity sees some people as kinsmen and others as outsiders. This misconception brings suffering.
- Material ideas produce suffering and so-called happiness. Acting in different states of consciousness, the conditioned soul creates further bodies and takes birth in different species.
- This continued material life is called saṁsāra. Material considerations bring birth, death, lamentation and anxiety, while understanding alternates with renewed misconception.
Try this today
Notice one time you label someone an outsider, and reflect on how bodily identification shapes that judgment.
Ask yourself
How does identifying with your body or mind shape the way you treat others?
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.