Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.2.6
Ūti· What drives us to actSeek Spiritual Substance, Not Reputation
“A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.”
What the purport teaches
- A holy place should be visited for spiritual enlightenment, not merely ritual bathing. Taking instruction from learned devotees of the Lord is essential.
- Actual beauty comes from the heart and soul, not from arranging the hair. As difficulties increase, merely filling the belly or maintaining a family will be treated as great success.
- Audacity will be mistaken for truthfulness, and religion will be practiced for reputation. Such practice lacks essential understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Try this today
Read a short passage of instruction from a learned devotee today, focusing on understanding rather than outward religious display.
Ask yourself
Do I seek spiritual understanding through religious practice, or mainly approval from others?
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.