Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.14.29
Ūti· What drives us to actRespect Spiritual Authority and Preserve Good Fortune
“The great sage Maitreya continued: Thus the King, who became unintelligent due to his sinful life and deviation from the right path, became actually bereft of all good fortune. He could not accept the requests of the great sages, which the sages put before him with great respect, and therefore he was condemned.”
What the purport teaches
- Vena's sinful life and deviation from the right path damaged his intelligence. He rejected the sages' requests even though they approached him respectfully.
- Demonic persons manufacture their own religious principles and disobey authorities such as Vyāsa, Nārada, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.
- Disobedience to spiritual authority brings sin and loss of good fortune. Vena's pride and disrespect toward saintly personalities brought his ruination.
Try this today
Choose one instruction of Kṛṣṇa you have already studied and make a small effort to follow it today.
Ask yourself
Do you follow spiritual instruction, or reshape it to suit your preferences?
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.