Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.10.12
Ūti· What drives us to actA Temporary Body Cannot Justify Cruelty
“This body, after all, is produced by the unmanifested nature and again annihilated and merged in the natural elements. Therefore, it is the common property of everyone. Under the circumstances, who but a rascal claims this property as his own and while maintaining it commits such sinful activities as killing animals just to satisfy his whims? Unless one is a rascal, one cannot commit such sinful activities.”
What the purport teaches
- The body comes into existence through a combination of matter. When that combination is dismantled, the body no longer exists.
- The translation describes the body as common property, not something one can rightly claim as exclusively one's own.
- Maintaining this temporary body does not justify sinful activities. Even someone who does not believe in the soul should not kill animals unnecessarily.
Try this today
Choose a meal today that does not require killing animals.
Ask yourself
Am I using bodily comfort as an excuse to cause unnecessary suffering?
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.