Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.17.25
Ūti· What drives us to actProtect Truthfulness and Cleanse the Mind
“You are now standing on one leg only, which is your truthfulness, and you are somehow or other hobbling along. But quarrel personified [Kali], flourishing by deceit, is also trying to destroy that leg.”
What the purport teaches
- Religion rests on austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness, not merely on man-made formulas. These principles should be taught and practiced from childhood.
- Austerity means voluntarily accepting discomfort for spiritual realization. Cleanliness includes the mind, whose accumulated dust is cleansed by glorifying the Supreme Lord.
- Truthfulness is religion’s remaining leg, and Kali seeks to destroy it through deceit. Reviving bhāgavata-dharma can save human civilization from these evils.
Try this today
Spend two minutes glorifying the Supreme Lord, remembering that the mind needs cleansing as well as the body.
Ask yourself
Does my speech protect truthfulness, or do I sometimes weaken it for convenience?
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.