Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 1.198
Devotional Service Frees Us From Material Entanglement
“The two brothers, Sākara Mallika and Dabira Khāsa, very humbly submitted that due to their abominable activities they were now bound by the neck and hands and had been thrown into a ditch filled with abominable, stoollike objects of material sense enjoyment.”
What the purport teaches
- The brothers humbly describe themselves as bound and thrown into a filthy ditch of material sense enjoyment. Sense gratification entangles us in the laws of material nature.
- Sense enjoyment through pious activity is called su-viṣaya, while enjoyment under sinful conditions is called ku-viṣaya. Both are material activities and are to be avoided.
- Freedom from both comes through transcendental loving service to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Devotional service is free from the contamination of material qualities.
Try this today
Set aside a few minutes normally spent on sense enjoyment and use them to offer a sincere prayer of service to Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking merely better material enjoyment, or freedom through loving service to Kṛṣṇa?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.