Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.18.24
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyAvoid Unnecessary Materialistic Contact
“The sage should travel in sanctified places, by flowing rivers and within the solitude of mountains and forests. He should enter the cities, towns and pasturing grounds and approach ordinary working men only to beg his bare sustenance.”
What the purport teaches
- The sage should travel in sanctified places, near rivers and in the solitude of mountains and forests. He should approach ordinary working people only for bare sustenance.
- A vānaprastha or sannyāsī seeking freedom from attachment should avoid those absorbed in sense gratification. Necessary charity provides a proper reason to approach them.
- Preachers approach materialistic people to engage them in Lord Kṛṣṇa's devotional service. Even they should avoid worldly contact that is unnecessary for advancing Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Try this today
Decline one unnecessary materialistic interaction today and use that time for devotional service.
Ask yourself
Which of my worldly interactions are unnecessary for my needs or devotional 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.