Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.86.55
Ūti· What drives us to actDo Not Neglect the Learned Brāhmaṇa
“Ignorant of this truth, foolish people neglect and enviously offend a learned brāhmaṇa, who, being nondifferent from Me, is their spiritual master and very self. They consider worshipable only such obvious manifestations of divinity as My Deity form.”
What the purport teaches
- Those who do not understand the learned brāhmaṇa’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa may neglect and enviously offend him.
- Kṛṣṇa describes the learned brāhmaṇa as nondifferent from Himself, and as the people’s spiritual master and very self.
- Seeing only the Lord’s visible Deity form as worshipable overlooks the honor due to the learned brāhmaṇa. Worship should not be accompanied by neglect of him.
Try this today
Offer a few sincere words of appreciation to someone from whom you receive spiritual instruction.
Ask yourself
Do I honor the Lord’s Deity form while overlooking the learned people who teach about Him?
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.