Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.3.18
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyReligion Rests on Four Universal Qualities
“Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, in the beginning, during Satya-yuga, the age of truth, religion is present with all four of its legs intact and is carefully maintained by the people of that age. These four legs of powerful religion are truthfulness, mercy, austerity and charity.”
What the purport teaches
- In Satya-yuga, people carefully maintain all four legs of religion: truthfulness, mercy, austerity and charity. These are universal, nonsectarian qualities of pious life.
- Real charity helps people revive their eternal, spiritual consciousness. Realizing eternal existence brings fearlessness, and freedom from material desire brings real freedom.
- Religious principles are called mighty because they are not different from the Supreme Lord and ultimately lead to His kingdom. Cleanliness is an alternative meaning of dānam here.
Try this today
Share one sentence from this purport about eternal, spiritual consciousness with someone willing to hear.
Ask yourself
Does my idea of charity include helping others awaken their spiritual consciousness?
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.