Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.17.30
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyRemain Humble Throughout Spiritual Training
“Until the student has completed his Vedic education he should remain engaged in the āśrama of the spiritual master, should remain completely free of material sense gratification and should not break his vow of celibacy [brahmacarya].”
What the purport teaches
- Until completing Vedic education, the student should remain in the spiritual master’s āśrama, free from material sense gratification and keeping the vow of brahmacarya unbroken.
- This verse describes the upakurvāṇa-brahmacārī, who enters family life after completing his Vedic education.
- Even if the student later becomes prominent as an intellectual, politician or businessman, student life must be free from false prestige. He should remain a humble servant of the bona fide spiritual master.
Try this today
During your study today, set aside thoughts of status and focus on learning with humility.
Ask yourself
Does concern for future status interfere with your willingness to learn and serve now?
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.