Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.8.13
Ūti· What drives us to actEnvy Behind Advice About Worship
“If you at all desire to rise to the throne of the King, then you have to undergo severe austerities. First of all you must satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, and then, when you are favored by Him because of such worship, you shall have to take your next birth from my womb.”
What the purport teaches
- Suruci told Dhruva Mahārāja to undergo severe austerities and satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa.
- She said that His favor would enable him to take his next birth from her womb and then seek the throne.
- The purport explains how envious this demand was: she indirectly asked him to die and take another body before ascending his father’s throne.
Try this today
Before offering advice today, check whether any envy is shaping your words.
Ask yourself
When I give advice, am I seeking another person’s good or expressing envy?
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.