Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.23.16
Ūti· What drives us to actEven Small Greed Destroys Good Qualities
“Whatever pure fame is possessed by the famous and whatever praiseworthy qualities are found in the virtuous are destroyed by even a small amount of greed, just as one’s attractive physical beauty is ruined by a trace of white leprosy.”
What the purport teaches
- Even a small amount of greed can destroy a person’s pure reputation.
- Greed also destroys the praiseworthy qualities of otherwise virtuous people.
- The verse compares this damage to attractive physical beauty being spoiled by a trace of white leprosy.
Try this today
Notice one greedy impulse today and refrain from acting on it.
Ask yourself
What small expression of greed might I be dismissing as harmless?
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.