Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.33.30
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyKṛṣṇa Is God; We Must Not Imitate
“One who is not a great controller should never imitate the behavior of ruling personalities, even mentally. If out of foolishness an ordinary person does imitate such behavior, he will simply destroy himself, just as a person who is not Rudra would destroy himself if he tried to drink an ocean of poison.”
What the purport teaches
- An ordinary person should never imitate the behavior of great controllers, even mentally. Imitating such actions out of foolishness leads to destruction.
- Rudra drank an ocean of poison, but even a drop would kill an ordinary person. Likewise, we must not imitate Kṛṣṇa’s activities with the gopīs.
- Kṛṣṇa descends both to demonstrate religious principles and to show that He is God and we are not. He enjoys with His internal potency and attracts us to the spiritual platform.
Try this today
Pause before reading these pastimes and remind yourself: “Kṛṣṇa is God; I am not. I will seek spiritual attraction, not imitation.”
Ask yourself
How can remembering that Kṛṣṇa is God help you approach His pastimes with humility?
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.