Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.23.8
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyLoving Service Is the Real Intention
“Except during the interval between the initiation of the performer of a sacrifice and the actual sacrifice of the animal, O most pure brāhmaṇas, it is not contaminating for even the initiated to partake of food, at least in sacrifices other than the Sautrāmaṇi.”
What the purport teaches
- The boys anticipated that the brāhmaṇas might object to giving food because they had not yet eaten and were initiated for sacrifice.
- They humbly explained technical details about when an initiated person could eat without contamination.
- The boys understood the formalities of Vedic culture, but their real intention was simply to render loving service to Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Try this today
Before one devotional activity today, pause and consciously make loving service to Kṛṣṇa your intention.
Ask yourself
Do the formalities you follow support your intention to serve Kṛṣṇa lovingly?
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.