Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.8.3
Mukti· LiberationRemain Patient Through Material Hardship
“If at any time food does not come, then a saintly person should fast for many days without making endeavor. He should understand that by God’s arrangement he must fast. Thus, following the example of the python, he should remain peaceful and patient.”
What the purport teaches
- The saintly person follows the python by remaining peaceful and patient when food does not come. He accepts this circumstance as God's arrangement.
- The purport teaches a devotee to see hardship as a consequence of past sinful activity and as God's mercy in making him humble.
- One should accept the Personality of Godhead as the supreme controller rather than abandon faith because of material inconvenience. A devotee who accepts hardship as Lord Kṛṣṇa's mercy becomes eligible for supreme liberation.
Try this today
When a small inconvenience arises today, pause and remember Lord Kṛṣṇa's mercy before responding.
Ask yourself
How could I meet an inconvenience with patience rather than a loss of faith?
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.