Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.14.4
Ūti· What drives us to actDevotional Service Counters Cheating and Quarrel
“All ordinary transactions and dealings became polluted with cheating, even between friends. And in familial affairs, there was always misunderstanding between fathers, mothers and sons, between well-wishers, and between brothers. Even between husband and wife there was always strain and quarrel.”
What the purport teaches
- Conditioned living beings have four imperfections: errors, insanity, inability and cheating. The tendency to cheat is especially prominent.
- Cheating grows from the unnatural desire to lord over the material world. In the pure state, the living being knows that remaining eternally subservient to the Supreme Being is beneficial.
- Dissatisfaction and cheating disturb even the closest family relationships. Devotional service to the Lord is the process that can lessen these conflicts and check hypocrisy.
Try this today
Do one small service for someone close to you today, consciously seeking to serve the Lord rather than control the person.
Ask yourself
How does my wish to control others affect harmony in my closest relationships?
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.