Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.7.35
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyQualification, Not Birth, Determines Spiritual Standing
“Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: O Arjuna, you should not show mercy by releasing this relative of a brāhmaṇa [brahma-bandhu], for he has killed innocent boys in their sleep.”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa called the killer of the sleeping, innocent boys a brahma-bandhu, a relative of a brāhmaṇa. He told Arjuna not to release him.
- Birth in a brāhmaṇa family does not itself make someone a brāhmaṇa. Just as a judge's son is not automatically a judge, the position requires qualification.
- A qualified person from another family must be accepted as a brāhmaṇa, while an unqualified person of brāhmaṇa birth must not. Kṛṣṇa, the supreme authority of religious principles, personally made this distinction.
Try this today
When assessing someone today, consider their demonstrated qualities rather than their family or title.
Ask yourself
Do I value a person's actual qualifications more than family background or title?
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.