Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.19.38
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyRemember Your Responsibility Beyond Rivalry
“O protector of the people in general, please consider the purpose of your being incarnated by Lord Viṣṇu. The irreligious principles created by Indra are but mothers of so many unwanted religions. Please therefore stop these imitations immediately.”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Brahmā reminded Pṛthu of his responsibility to maintain the citizens’ peace and prosperity. The Supreme Personality of Godhead had empowered him for this purpose.
- An ideal king should support proper religious principles and stop pseudoreligious systems. Genuine religious principles come from the Supreme Personality of Godhead through disciplic succession.
- Pṛthu was asked to abandon unnecessary competition with Indra. Establishing good government and putting things in order mattered more than completing one hundred sacrifices.
Try this today
Identify one neglected responsibility and take a small step toward fulfilling it today, without comparing yourself with anyone.
Ask yourself
Is a personal rivalry distracting me from a responsibility entrusted to me?
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.