Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.30.33
Ūti· What drives us to actMaintain Family Through Honest Work
“Therefore a person who is very eager to maintain his family and kinsmen simply by black methods certainly goes to the darkest region of hell, which is known as Andha-tāmisra.”
What the purport teaches
- Maintaining a family is a householder’s duty, but livelihood should follow the methods prescribed in scripture. Family responsibility does not justify unrighteous earnings.
- One should work honestly according to one’s qualifications. Claiming qualifications one does not possess, including spiritual qualifications, is cheating the public.
- For those advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, livelihood must be very fair and uncomplicated. There is no objection to family life supported by honest means, but earning through irreligious methods leads to Andha-tāmisra.
Try this today
Review one claim you make about your work or qualifications, and correct it if it is misleading.
Ask yourself
Are my ways of earning honest and suited to my actual qualifications?
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.