Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.9.21
Ūti· What drives us to actDevotional Service Frees the Entangled Mind
“O Lord, O supreme eternal, by expanding Your plenary portion You have created the subtle bodies of the living entities through the agency of Your external energy, which is agitated by time. Thus the mind entraps the living entity in unlimited varieties of desires to be fulfilled by the Vedic directions of karma-kāṇḍa [fruitive activity] and the sixteen elements. Who can get free from this entanglement unless he takes shelter at Your lotus feet?”
What the purport teaches
- Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the source of everything, and material nature cannot act independently of Him. He gives living entities facilities to pursue their desires through the mind and senses.
- The real purpose of the Vedas is to direct us back home, back to Godhead. Without knowing this goal, the living entity wanders through different bodies and activities, suffering their reactions.
- A bona fide representative of the Lord gives the seed of devotional service. By accepting this guidance and cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one gradually attains liberation through bhakti-yoga.
Try this today
Identify one distracting desire today and spend a few minutes studying these teachings instead of pursuing it.
Ask yourself
Which desire is drawing my mind away from the goal of returning to Godhead?
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.