Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.21.34
Ūti· What drives us to actEverything Belongs to the Supreme Lord
“Being falsely proud of your possessions, you promised to give Me land, but you could not fulfill your promise. Therefore, because your promise was false, you must live for a few years in hellish life.”
What the purport teaches
- Thinking “I am very rich, and I possess such vast property” is false prestige, another side of material life. Everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; no one else possesses anything.
- Bali Mahārāja was a most exalted devotee, yet he had previously maintained a misunderstanding due to false prestige. By the Lord’s order, he went to the hellish planets but lived there more opulently than one could expect in heaven.
- A devotee always lives with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, engaging in His service. Therefore, the devotee is transcendental to both hellish and heavenly residences; devotional service matters more than where one lives.
Try this today
Today, choose one possession you call “mine,” remember that it belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and use it for a small act of devotional service.
Ask yourself
How would remembering that everything belongs to the Lord change the way you view your possessions?
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.