Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.10.13
Mukti· LiberationPunishment Alone Does Not Change False Hopes
“My dear King, you have said, “You rascal, you dull, crazy fellow! I am going to chastise you, and then you will come to your senses.” In this regard, let me say that although I live like a dull, deaf and dumb man, I am actually a self-realized person. What will you gain by punishing me? If your calculation is true and I am a madman, then your punishment will be like beating a dead horse. There will be no effect. When a madman is punished, he is not cured of his madness.”
What the purport teaches
- Jaḍa Bharata explains that although he appears dull, deaf and dumb, he is self-realized. The King’s threat of punishment cannot improve his spiritual position.
- People act under false impressions acquired in material life. A thief may know that stealing brings punishment yet remain convinced that it will make him happy.
- Despite repeated punishment, the thief may continue stealing. Punishment is useless when the same false hope keeps driving the habit.
Try this today
Write down one repeated harmful habit and the promise of happiness that keeps it going.
Ask yourself
What harmful habit do I repeat because I still expect happiness from it?
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.