Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.16.61
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutySuccess Means Pleasing the Supreme Lord
“This is the best process for pleasing the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Adhokṣaja. It is the best of all regulative principles, the best austerity, the best process of giving charity, and the best process of sacrifice.”
What the purport teaches
- The best regulative principles, austerity, charity and sacrifice are those that please Adhokṣaja, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- The Supreme Lord asks us to surrender to Him and promises deliverance from sinful reactions. Unless we please Him according to His demand, our actions bring no good result.
- Duties that do not awaken attraction for the Lord's message are only useless labor. Real self-interest ends in pleasing Lord Viṣṇu, not merely performing outwardly pious acts.
Try this today
Before one devotional activity today, pause and consciously make pleasing the Supreme Lord your purpose.
Ask yourself
Am I trying to please the Lord, or merely to complete a religious activity?
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.