Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.12.35
Visarga· Brahmā's creationHuman Progress Requires Religious Principles
“The four kinds of paraphernalia for conducting the fire sacrifice became manifest: the performer [the chanter], the offerer, the fire, and the action performed in terms of the supplementary Vedas. Also the four principles of religiosity [truth, austerity, mercy and cleanliness] and the duties in the four social orders all became manifest.”
What the purport teaches
- The means for conducting fire sacrifice became manifest, along with religious principles and duties in the four social orders.
- Truth, austerity, mercy and cleanliness are the four principles of religiosity. Religious duties distinguish human society from a life concerned only with bodily demands.
- The Vedic literatures establish duties according to social status and order of life. Those who traditionally follow these principles are called Āryans, or progressive human beings.
Try this today
Practice mercy today by offering one small act of help to someone.
Ask yourself
Which of the four religious principles needs more attention in my daily life?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.