Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.8.15
Ūti· What drives us to actHard-Earned Wealth Cannot Be Kept Forever
“A greedy person accumulates a large quantity of money with great struggle and pain, but the person who has struggled so much to acquire this wealth is not always allowed to enjoy it himself or give it in charity to others. The greedy man is like the bee who struggles to produce a large quantity of honey, which is then stolen by a man who will enjoy it personally or sell it to others. No matter how carefully one hides his hard-earned wealth or tries to protect it, there are those who are expert in detecting the whereabouts of valuable things, and they will steal it.”
What the purport teaches
- A greedy person gathers wealth through struggle but may neither enjoy it nor give it in charity. Like honey collected by bees, it may be taken by someone else.
- Careful concealment and investment cannot guarantee protection. Others may find ways to take even well-guarded wealth.
- Lord Kṛṣṇa declares that He comes as death and takes everything. Knowing this, one should not labor uselessly like the honeybee.
Try this today
Set aside a small amount for charity today rather than adding it to an unnecessary accumulation.
Ask yourself
How does remembering that wealth cannot be kept forever change my priorities?
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.