Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.54.42
Mukti· LiberationRecognize Bias in Personal Affection
“[To Rukmiṇī Balarāma said:] Your attitude is unfair, for like an ignorant person you wish good to those who are inimical to all living beings and who have done evil to your true well-wishers.”
What the purport teaches
- Balarāma tells Rukmiṇī that her attitude is unfair. Affection can lead one to judge like an ignorant person.
- Those for whom she wishes good are inimical to all living beings. Her favorable feelings do not change their harmful conduct.
- They have also done evil to her true well-wishers. Balarāma asks her to recognize this rather than overlook it.
Try this today
Consider one person you favor, and honestly distinguish your affection from your judgment of their actions.
Ask yourself
Does my affection for someone make me overlook harm they have done?
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.