Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.14.30
Ūti· What drives us to actStay Steady With Genuine Spiritual Guidance
“The pseudo svāmīs, yogīs and incarnations who do not believe in the Supreme Personality of Godhead are known as pāṣaṇḍīs. They themselves are fallen and cheated because they do not know the real path of spiritual advancement, and whoever goes to them is certainly cheated in his turn. When one is thus cheated, he sometimes takes shelter of the real followers of Vedic principles [brāhmaṇas or those in Kṛṣṇa consciousness], who teach everyone how to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the Vedic rituals. However, being unable to stick to these principles, these rascals again fall down and take shelter among śūdras who are very expert in making arrangements for sex indulgence. Sex is very prominent among animals like monkeys, and such people who are enlivened by sex may be called descendants of monkeys.”
What the purport teaches
- Teachers who do not know the real path of spiritual advancement are themselves cheated and mislead their followers. Genuine devotees and pure brāhmaṇas teach worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Devotees try to elevate the conditioned soul toward final liberation from material bondage. Yet attachment to sexual enjoyment can draw a person away from their guidance.
- The purport stresses following the principles prohibiting illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and meat-eating. Inability to follow these principles can lead one away from Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Try this today
Choose one of the four regulative principles and make a concrete plan to honor it today.
Ask yourself
Which attachment makes it difficult for me to follow genuine spiritual guidance steadily?
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.