Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.14.9
Ūti· What drives us to actTrue Good Beyond Personal Preference
“O best among men, the intelligence of human beings is bewildered by My illusory potency, and thus, according to their own activities and whims, they speak in innumerable ways about what is actually good for people.”
What the purport teaches
- Bewildered by the Lord’s illusory potency, people speak about what is good according to their own activities and preferences.
- Unlike the Supreme Personality of Godhead, an individual living being is not omniscient. What pleases one person does not represent the whole truth or establish what is best for everyone.
- The best thing for everyone is to surrender to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Through surrender, one realizes one’s eternal nature of bliss and knowledge.
Try this today
Before giving advice today, pause to distinguish your personal preference from what you actually know.
Ask yourself
When do I mistake what suits me for what is truly best for everyone?
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.