Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.14.43
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyFeed Others Before Taking Your Own Meal
“Have you not taken care of old men and boys who deserve to dine with you? Have you left them and taken your meals alone? Have you committed some unpardonable mistake which is considered to be abominable?”
What the purport teaches
- A householder’s duty is to feed the children, the old members of the family, the brāhmaṇas and the invalids before eating.
- An ideal householder also invites any unknown hungry person to dine. Before taking his own meal, he calls out three times on the road.
- Neglecting this prescribed duty, especially toward old people and children, is described as unpardonable. Their need for food must not be overlooked.
Try this today
Before eating today, check whether a child or an elderly person in your household needs food, and serve them first.
Ask yourself
Whose need for a meal might I overlook when I am ready to eat?
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.