Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 19.153
Devotional Service Reaches Beyond the Material World
“As one waters the bhakti-latā-bīja, the seed sprouts, and the creeper gradually grows to the point where it penetrates the walls of this universe and goes beyond the Virajā River, lying between the spiritual world and the material world. It attains brahma-loka, the Brahman effulgence, and penetrating through that stratum, it reaches the spiritual sky and the spiritual planet Goloka Vṛndāvana.
What the purport teaches
- Devotional service is meant only for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It cannot be used for any material purpose.
- The bhakti creeper grows beyond the material universe and the Virajā River. Virajā is free from the influence of the three modes of material nature.
- The creeper finds no shelter in the material world or in the Brahman effulgence. It grows until it reaches Goloka Vṛndāvana in the spiritual sky.
Try this today
Before one devotional activity today, pause and set the intention to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead rather than seek material gain.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or using devotion for a material purpose?
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.