Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.28.18
Ūti· What drives us to actRemember Kṛṣṇa Beyond Family Anxiety
“King Purañjana was anxiously thinking, “Alas, my wife is encumbered by so many children. When I pass from this body, how will she be able to maintain all these family members? Alas, she will be greatly harassed by thoughts of family maintenance.””
What the purport teaches
- Purañjana anxiously wondered how his wife would maintain their children after his death. His thoughts remained absorbed in her difficulties.
- The purport explains that strong attachment to an obedient wife can fill a husband's mind at death. Purañjana's absorption shows the spiritual danger of this attachment.
- Thinking of his wife instead of Kṛṣṇa would lead him to accept a woman's body rather than return home, back to Godhead. His material existence would therefore continue.
Try this today
When a family worry arises today, pause briefly and deliberately remember Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
Do my family concerns leave room for remembering Kṛṣṇa?
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.