Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.17.28
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyLearn to Offer Everything in Service
“In the morning and evening one should collect foodstuffs and other articles and deliver them to the spiritual master. Then, being self-controlled, one should accept for oneself that which is allotted by the ācārya.”
What the purport teaches
- The student should bring collected foodstuffs and other articles to the spiritual master, then humbly accept what the ācārya allots. One seeking his mercy should not be eager to accumulate things for sense gratification.
- Every living entity must be trained to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The spiritual master teaches the disciple how to worship the Lord and gradually entrusts responsibilities as the disciple matures.
- A bona fide spiritual master uses nothing for personal sense gratification. He entrusts the disciple with only as much material opulence as the disciple can properly offer to the Lord.
Try this today
Choose one resource you already have and identify a concrete way to use it in devotional service rather than personal sense gratification.
Ask yourself
Do you see your resources mainly as means for enjoyment or as opportunities for service?
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.