Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.12.7
Ūti· What drives us to actProtect Others Instead of Exploiting Them
“It is a fact, however, that these innocent people carrying your palanquin without payment are certainly suffering due to this injustice. Their condition is very lamentable because you have forcibly engaged them in carrying your palanquin. This proves that you are cruel and unkind, yet due to false prestige you were thinking that you were protecting the citizens. This is ludicrous. You were such a fool that you could not have been adored as a great man in an assembly of persons advanced in knowledge.”
What the purport teaches
- Rahūgaṇa forces innocent people to carry his palanquin without payment, yet proudly calls himself their protector. His conduct causes suffering rather than offering protection.
- A king should follow the guidance of learned sages, brāhmaṇas and scholars according to the dharma-śāstra. He should not use the citizens’ labor for his own sense gratification.
- Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, is the real protector, proprietor and maintainer of everyone. Kings, fathers and guardians are His representatives and should help those in their care understand and approach Him.
Try this today
Review one request you make of someone today and ensure that it does not unfairly burden them for your convenience.
Ask yourself
Am I using any responsibility I hold for my own benefit rather than the welfare of others?
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.