Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.6.14
Ūti· What drives us to actProtect Your Irreplaceable Human Life
“One who is too attached cannot understand that he is wasting his valuable life for the maintenance of his family. He also fails to understand that the purpose of human life, a life suitable for realization of the Absolute Truth, is being imperceptibly spoiled. However, he is very cleverly attentive to seeing that not a single farthing is lost by mismanagement. Thus although an attached person in material existence always suffers from threefold miseries, he does not develop a distaste for the way of material existence.”
What the purport teaches
- Excessive attachment to family maintenance can hide the gradual loss of valuable human life. Its purpose—realization of the Absolute Truth—is then spoiled.
- A person may carefully calculate every financial loss yet overlook the loss of time. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita explains that even millions of dollars cannot purchase a moment of life.
- Despite suffering threefold miseries, a materialistic person may not develop distaste for material existence. Without knowledge, even business skill does not prevent the misuse of life.
Try this today
Set aside five minutes today to reflect on the purpose of human life, without attending to financial tasks.
Ask yourself
Do I guard my time for spiritual realization as carefully as I guard my money?
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.