Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.80.32
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyHonor the Giver of Transcendental Knowledge
“My dear friend, he who gives a person his physical birth is his first spiritual master, and he who initiates him as a twice-born brāhmaṇa and engages him in religious duties is indeed more directly his spiritual master. But the person who bestows transcendental knowledge upon the members of all the spiritual orders of society is one’s ultimate spiritual master. Indeed, he is as good as My own self.”
What the purport teaches
- The person who gives one physical birth is one’s first spiritual master.
- The teacher who initiates one as a twice-born brāhmaṇa and engages one in religious duties is more directly one’s spiritual master.
- The giver of transcendental knowledge to members of all spiritual orders is one’s ultimate spiritual master. Kṛṣṇa says that this teacher is as good as His own self.
Try this today
Write one sentence of gratitude for a teaching that has deepened your spiritual understanding.
Ask yourself
Do I value transcendental knowledge as deeply as other kinds of help I receive?
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.