Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.49.21
Ūti· What drives us to actWe Are Responsible for Our Actions
“Every creature is born alone and dies alone, and alone one experiences the just rewards of his good and evil deeds.”
What the purport teaches
- Every creature is born alone and dies alone. Each also experiences the just results of good and evil deeds individually.
- Happiness and distress follow the moral and spiritual quality of our activities. We are responsible for what we do.
- Dhṛtarāṣṭra was obsessively attached to his evil-minded sons. He forgot that he alone would have to suffer for his imprudent behavior.
Try this today
Before one consequential choice today, pause and accept personal responsibility for the action and its results.
Ask yourself
Am I excusing a wrong action because I am doing it for someone I love?
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.