Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.6.47
Ūti· What drives us to actAnswer Envy With Compassion
“Persons who observe everything with differentiation, who are simply attached to fruitive activities, who are mean-minded, who are always pained to see the flourishing condition of others and who thus give distress to them by uttering harsh and piercing words have already been killed by providence. Thus there is no need for them to be killed again by an exalted personality like you.”
What the purport teaches
- Those attached to material profit cannot endure others' prosperity. Their bodily attachment and lack of self-realization keep their hearts full of anxiety.
- A Vaiṣṇava is distressed by others' suffering and seeks to revive their Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Rather than harming others through body or mind, devotees work compassionately and tolerantly for their deliverance.
- Humility, tolerance and respect for others enable constant chanting of the Lord's holy name. A Vaiṣṇava tolerates personal insults, but should not tolerate blasphemy of Viṣṇu or Vaiṣṇavas.
Try this today
Chant the Lord's holy name today while deliberately setting aside one personal insult and cultivating respect for others.
Ask yourself
When someone behaves enviously, can you notice their distress rather than simply resent them?
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.