Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.17.11
Ūti· What drives us to actFalse Pride Endangers Spiritual Life
“If Garuḍa ever again enters this lake and eats the fish here, he will immediately lose his life. What I am saying is the truth.”
What the purport teaches
- Saubhari declared that Garuḍa would die if he entered the lake again and ate its fish. Material attachment kept Saubhari from seeing the situation spiritually.
- False pride led him to threaten a personal associate of the Supreme Lord. His offense cost him his power of austerity, spiritual beauty and happiness.
- An offensive attitude toward an exalted Vaiṣṇava destroys one’s auspicious position. Yet Saubhari was ultimately delivered because he had taken shelter of the Yamunā River in Śrī Vṛndāvana.
Try this today
Identify one proud judgment you hold about a devotee and set it aside before speaking today.
Ask yourself
Could pride or attachment be clouding the way you regard a devotee?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.