Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.16.42
Mukti· LiberationControl Yourself and Respect the Lord’s Creation
“Therefore, control your speaking, subdue the mind, conquer the life air, regulate the senses and through purified intelligence bring your rational faculties under control. In this way you will never again fall onto the path of material existence.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord instructs us to control speech, mind, life air, senses and reasoning through purified intelligence. Everything should be seen as an expansion of His potency and treated with respect.
- Since everything belongs to the Lord, everything should ultimately be engaged in His service with great care. A self-realized devotee tolerates personal insult, envies no living entity and sees no one as an enemy.
- A pure devotee’s criticism serves the Lord’s mission, never personal enmity or envy. One who completely gives up the material concept of life does not return to the path of birth and death.
Try this today
Before replying to one irritating remark today, pause and choose words free from personal hostility.
Ask yourself
How would remembering that everything belongs to the Lord change my response to someone who insults me?
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.