Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.29.15
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyServe Through Duty With Minimum Violence
“A devotee must execute his prescribed duties, which are glorious, without material profit. Without excessive violence, one should regularly perform one’s devotional activities.”
What the purport teaches
- Anyone can serve the Supreme Lord through prescribed duties under the direction of a spiritual master or the Lord’s representative. No one should consider such duties inferior when they are performed in devotional service.
- Duties become glorious when performed for the Lord without desire for profit. Kṛṣṇa is lovable, and one should serve Him regularly in whatever capacity one can.
- In conditioned life, violence cannot be entirely avoided, but it must not exceed what is necessary or ordered by the Lord. A devotee offers Kṛṣṇa food prepared from vegetables with devotion and eats only prasāda, food offered to Him.
Try this today
Prepare a simple vegetable offering for Kṛṣṇa with devotion, and accept it afterward as prasāda.
Ask yourself
How can I perform one of my responsibilities as service to Kṛṣṇa rather than merely for personal gain?
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.