Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.8.16
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyGive Spiritual Advancement First Priority
“Just as a hunter takes away the honey laboriously produced by the honeybees, similarly, saintly mendicants such as brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs are entitled to enjoy the property painstakingly accumulated by householders dedicated to family enjoyment.”
What the purport teaches
- Saintly brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs have the first right to food produced by householders. Householders should offer charity before enjoying such food themselves.
- Family life requires overcoming the natural tendency toward selfishness through abundant charity. Dedication only to personal family enjoyment fosters envy and suffering.
- The conclusion is to give first priority to spiritual advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By the mercy of the Personality of Godhead, one’s necessities will be supplied.
Try this today
Offer a small contribution of food or money to support saintly devotional life today.
Ask yourself
Does my use of household resources give spiritual advancement first priority?
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.