Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.14.12
Visarga· Brahmā's creationParenthood Carries a Spiritual Responsibility
“A woman is honored in the world by the benediction of her husband, and a husband like you will become famous by having children because you are meant for the expansion of living entities.”
What the purport teaches
- Ṛṣabhadeva teaches that one should not become a parent unless confident of helping one's children become free from birth and death.
- Human life is the opportunity to escape material existence, with its miseries of birth, death, old age and disease.
- A father like Kaśyapa is expected to beget good children for liberation. Every human being should have the opportunity to fulfill this purpose of human life.
Try this today
Set aside five minutes today to consider how family care can support spiritual advancement.
Ask yourself
How does the goal of liberation change my understanding of caring for children?
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.