Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.10.6
Ūti· What drives us to actSpiritual Identity Is Beyond Bodily Criticism
“King Rahūgaṇa told Jaḍa Bharata: How troublesome this is, my dear brother. You certainly appear very fatigued because you have carried this palanquin alone without assistance for a long time and for a long distance. Besides that, due to your old age you have become greatly troubled. My dear friend, I see that you are not very firm, nor very strong and stout. Aren’t your fellow carriers cooperating with you?”
What the purport teaches
- The King criticized Jaḍa Bharata with sarcastic words, but Jaḍa Bharata knew he was not the body. Having realized his spiritual identity, he remained unaffected.
- The body develops according to karma, with ingredients supplied by material nature. The spirit soul is different from this bodily construction.
- Jaḍa Bharata's freedom from bodily identification did not mean independence from the Lord's mercy. The purport recalls that he had been saved from bodily danger by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Try this today
Spend one quiet minute reflecting: “I am the spirit soul, different from the material body.”
Ask yourself
How could remembering that I am the spirit soul change my response to criticism of my body?
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.