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Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.2.13 · one of the 108 chosen verses

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty

Perfect Your Duties by Pleasing the Lord

“O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one’s own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda · Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.13, translation

What the purport teaches

  • The highest perfection of prescribed duties is to please the Personality of Godhead. Every occupation and order of life should serve this aim.
  • The divisions of varṇāśrama-dharma are based on work and qualification, not birth. They are meant to support orderly social life and realization of the Absolute Truth.
  • These divisions are not meant for one group to dominate another. Their highest purpose is joint cooperation for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord.

Try this today

Choose one responsibility today and carry it out with the conscious aim of pleasing the Supreme Lord.

Ask yourself

How could I approach my responsibilities as cooperation for the Lord's satisfaction?

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.

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