Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.13.26
Ūti· What drives us to actAsk for Clear Spiritual Explanation
“King Parīkṣit then told Śukadeva Gosvāmī: My dear lord, O great devotee sage, you are omniscient. You have very nicely described the position of the conditioned soul, who is compared to a merchant in the forest. From these instructions intelligent men can understand that the senses of a person in the bodily conception are like rogues and thieves in that forest, and one’s wife and children are like jackals and other ferocious animals. However, it is not very easy for the unintelligent to understand the purport of this story because it is difficult to extricate the exact meaning from the allegory. I therefore request Your Holiness to give the direct meaning.”
What the purport teaches
- King Parīkṣit recognized that the forest allegory describes the conditioned soul’s material life. Yet its exact meaning is not easy for every listener to understand.
- Rather than leaving the meaning unclear, he respectfully asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī for a direct explanation.
- Many descriptions in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are figurative. A student should approach a bona fide spiritual master to understand their direct meaning.
Try this today
Write down one unclear teaching and frame a respectful question to ask a bona fide spiritual master.
Ask yourself
When a spiritual teaching is unclear, do I ask for guidance or settle for my own guess?
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.