Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 9.13.9
Mukti· LiberationDevotional Service Is Real Liberation
“Mahārāja Nimi continued: Māyāvādīs generally want freedom from accepting a material body because they fear having to give it up again. But devotees whose intelligence is always filled with the service of the Lord are unafraid. Indeed, they take advantage of the body to render transcendental loving service.”
What the purport teaches
- Devotees are unafraid of accepting a body because they use it for transcendental loving service. Nimi wanted a body through which he could serve the Lord, not one that would cause bondage.
- A person serving Kṛṣṇa with body, mind, intelligence and words is liberated even within the material world. The desire to serve the Lord establishes one as liberated in any condition of life.
- Whether our body is material or spiritual, our only ambition should be to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The goal is unmotivated devotional service, life after life.
Try this today
Offer a short prayer asking for unmotivated devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, without requesting material rewards.
Ask yourself
How would my priorities change if service to Kṛṣṇa were my only ambition?
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.