Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.26.13
Ūti· What drives us to actTaste Does Not Justify Cruelty
“For the maintenance of their bodies and the satisfaction of their tongues, cruel persons cook poor animals and birds alive. Such persons are condemned even by man-eaters. In their next lives they are carried by the Yamadūtas to the hell known as Kumbhīpāka, where they are cooked in boiling oil.”
What the purport teaches
- The verse condemns cooking animals and birds alive to maintain the body and satisfy the tongue.
- Such cruelty is condemned even by man-eaters.
- In their next lives, those responsible are taken by the Yamadūtas to Kumbhīpāka, where they are cooked in boiling oil.
Try this today
Choose food today that does not involve cooking animals or birds alive.
Ask yourself
How can I be more attentive to the suffering behind what pleases my tongue?
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.