Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.24.48
Mukti· LiberationDevotional Service Restores Our Original Identity
“One who wants to be free of material entanglement should take to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and give up the contamination of ignorance, involving pious and impious activities. Thus one regains his original identity, just as a block of gold or silver sheds all dirt and becomes purified when treated with fire. May that inexhaustible Supreme Personality of Godhead become our spiritual master, for He is the original spiritual master of all other spiritual masters.”
What the purport teaches
- Human life is meant for purification so that one can regain one’s spiritual form and leave the cycle of birth and death. Devotional service is the recommended process.
- As fire purifies gold and silver, devotional service awakens the living being’s original identity. As part of Kṛṣṇa, the living being has the right to regain spiritual joy.
- Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the original spiritual master. A bona fide guru follows His instructions and spreads Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Try this today
Read the verse’s translation slowly, then pray to serve the Lord and follow His instructions.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking purification through devotional service, or relying only on my own understanding?
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.