Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.26.25
Ūti· What drives us to actUse Good Fortune to Perfect Bhakti-yoga
“A person who in this life is proud of his eminent position, and who heedlessly sacrifices animals simply for material prestige, is put into the hell called Viśasana after death. There the assistants of Yamarāja kill him after giving him unlimited pain.”
What the purport teaches
- A prestigious birth may result from a previous connection with bhakti-yoga. Such an opportunity should be used to perfect devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Bad association can make a person forget that an elevated position is a gift from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Pride then leads to misuse of that position.
- Sacrifice performed merely for prestige, in violation of Vedic instructions, is punishable. The purport rejects maintaining slaughterhouses and killing animals unnecessarily in the name of temple worship.
Try this today
Use one resource available to you—time, ability or wealth—for a small act of devotional service today.
Ask yourself
Am I using my advantages for devotional service or for personal prestige?
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.