Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.18.34
Mukti· LiberationMaintain Health for Spiritual Advancement
“If required, one should endeavor to get sufficient foodstuffs, because it is always necessary and proper to maintain one’s health. When the senses, mind and life air are fit, one can contemplate spiritual truth, and by understanding the truth one is liberated.”
What the purport teaches
- One should endeavor to obtain sufficient food when necessary so that spiritual practice is not disturbed. A fit body and mind support contemplation of spiritual truth.
- Undereating can weaken steady concentration, while extravagant eating obstructs spiritual advancement. Eating should keep one fit for spiritual life.
- This teaching does not justify collecting more than necessary. Surplus gathered beyond the needs of one’s spiritual program can drag one down to the material platform.
Try this today
Choose a sufficient, moderate meal today that supports your health without unnecessary excess.
Ask yourself
Does my way of eating support steady spiritual practice?
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.