Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.9.17
Mukti· LiberationLoving Service Is the Real Remedy
“O great one, O Supreme Lord, because of combination with pleasing and displeasing circumstances and because of separation from them, one is placed in a most regrettable position, within heavenly or hellish planets, as if burning in a fire of lamentation. Although there are many remedies by which to get out of miserable life, any such remedies in the material world are more miserable than the miseries themselves. Therefore I think that the only remedy is to engage in Your service. Kindly instruct me in such service.”
What the purport teaches
- Prahlāda Mahārāja sought service to the Lord rather than his father’s vast wealth. Material difficulties remain whether one is rich or poor, in heavenly or hellish conditions.
- Material opulence may bring temporary pleasure, but attaining it requires much hardship. Material remedies do not free one from the miseries of conditional life.
- The real remedy is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and constantly engage in the Lord’s transcendental loving service. Prahlāda therefore asked the Lord to instruct him in that service.
Try this today
Offer Prahlāda’s request today: ask the Lord to instruct you in His loving service.
Ask yourself
Where are you expecting a change in material circumstances to give you lasting happiness?
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.