172 - Patience, Confidence, Principles & Association (“Nectar of Instruction” Text 3 purport)

Engagement in the devotional service of the Lord is the life and soul of the living entity. It is the desired goal and supreme perfection of human life. One has to become confident about this, and one also has to be confident that all activities other than devotional service – such as mental speculation, fruitive work or mystic endeavor – will never yield any enduring benefit. Complete confidence in the path of devotional service will enable one to attain his desired goal, but attempting to follow other paths will only succeed in making one restless. In the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated: “One must be calmly convinced that those who have given up devotional service to engage in severe austerities for other purposes are not purified in their minds, despite their advanced austerities, because they have no information of the transcendental loving service of the Lord.” | If you’d like to read along: www.biglink.to/nectarofinstruction