Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.14.7
Ūti· What drives us to actDo Not Follow Gold’s Glitter
“Sometimes the living entity is interested in the yellow stool known as gold and runs after it. That gold is the source of material opulence and envy, and it can enable one to afford illicit sex, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication. Those whose minds are overcome by the mode of passion are attracted by the color of gold, just as a man suffering from cold in the forest runs after a phosphorescent light in a marshy land, considering it to be fire.”
What the purport teaches
- A mind overcome by the mode of passion is attracted to gold’s glitter. The verse compares this attraction to mistaking a marsh light for a warming fire.
- Gold is described as a source of material opulence and envy that enables illicit sex, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication. The purport connects stored gold with all four sinful activities.
- For spiritual life, the purport advises avoiding gold as far as possible. Its attractive appearance conceals the faults associated with pursuing it.
Try this today
Today, decline one unnecessary purchase motivated mainly by glitter or a display of wealth.
Ask yourself
Does the attraction of wealth make me overlook what its pursuit may encourage?
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.