Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.1.14
Mukti· LiberationAct to Please Kṛṣṇa
“Therefore, to enable people to reach the stage of activities that are not tinged by fruitive results, great saints first engage people in fruitive activities, for unless one begins by performing activities as recommended in the śāstras, one cannot reach the stage of liberation, or activities that produce no reactions.”
What the purport teaches
- Saintly persons first guide people into activities recommended in the śāstras so they can progress toward freedom from material reactions. Work performed as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu frees us from the bondage that other work creates.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the actual enjoyer of sacrifice. By working for His satisfaction, we gradually lose our taste for material activities and advance toward devotional service.
- One cannot please Kṛṣṇa merely by sitting idly or imitating advanced devotees. We should act seriously under the spiritual master’s direction and gradually come to pure devotional service.
Try this today
Choose one duty today and begin it with the deliberate intention of pleasing Kṛṣṇa rather than seeking personal praise.
Ask yourself
In one of your daily duties, are you seeking only your own enjoyment or trying to please 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.