Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.16.18
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyCare for Every Embodied Living Being
“The King will consider all embodied living entities as dear as his own self, and he will always be increasing the pleasures of his friends. He will intimately associate with liberated persons, and he will be a chastising hand to all impious persons.”
What the purport teaches
- Living entities appear in 8,400,000 species. King Pṛthu treated all embodied beings as dearly as he treated himself.
- The purport criticizes rulers who eat meat or permit cow slaughter while appearing religious. Such conduct does not express equal care for living beings.
- Pṛthu always associated with liberated persons. He also increased his friends’ happiness and chastised impious persons.
Try this today
Choose a meat-free meal today as one concrete way to practice care for other living beings.
Ask yourself
Does my care extend beyond human beings to other embodied living entities?
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.