Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.22.3
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesSaintly People Seek Saintly Company
“Seeing the four Kumāras, Pṛthu Mahārāja was greatly anxious to receive them. Therefore the King, with all his officers, very hastily got up, as anxiously as a conditioned soul whose senses are immediately attracted by the modes of material nature.”
What the purport teaches
- Pṛthu Mahārāja was so eager to receive the Kumāras that he and his officers immediately rose. He felt as though he could not live without their company.
- His eagerness is compared to a conditioned soul’s strong attraction to sense objects. This comparison does not mean that Pṛthu Mahārāja was a conditioned soul.
- A saintly person is attracted to other saintly persons. Pṛthu Mahārāja’s attraction to the Kumāras showed his own high spiritual advancement.
Try this today
Make time today for one conversation with someone whose saintly qualities you value.
Ask yourself
What does the company I seek reveal about my interests?
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.