Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.12.42
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyTraining Reveals the Value of Human Life
“Then the thread ceremony for the twice-born was inaugurated, as were the rules to be followed for at least one year after acceptance of the Vedas, rules for observing complete abstinence from sex life, vocations in terms of Vedic injunctions, various professional duties in household life, and the method of maintaining a livelihood without anyone’s cooperation by picking up rejected grains.”
What the purport teaches
- During student life, brahmacārīs received full instruction about the importance of the human form of life. Their basic education encouraged freedom from family encumbrances.
- Students unable to accept lifelong abstinence were allowed to return home and marry a suitable wife. Others remained permanent brahmacārīs, observing complete abstinence from sex life.
- Such commitment depended on the quality of the student's training. A lifelong, vowed brahmacārī is called a naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī.
Try this today
Write one sentence about why education should address the purpose of human life, not only earning a livelihood.
Ask yourself
How is my learning helping me appreciate the importance of human 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.