Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.26.8
Ūti· What drives us to actTaking What Belongs to Another Brings Suffering
“My dear King, a person who appropriates another’s legitimate wife, children or money is arrested at the time of death by the fierce Yamadūtas, who bind him with the rope of time and forcibly throw him into the hellish planet known as Tāmisra. On this very dark planet, the sinful man is chastised by the Yamadūtas, who beat and rebuke him. He is starved, and he is given no water to drink. Thus the wrathful assistants of Yamarāja cause him severe suffering, and sometimes he faints from their chastisement.”
What the purport teaches
- A person who takes another’s legitimate wife, children or money is taken by the Yamadūtas at death.
- Bound with the rope of time, that person is forcibly thrown into the very dark planet Tāmisra.
- There, the person suffers beating, rebukes, starvation and lack of water. The suffering is sometimes so severe that he faints.
Try this today
Check whether you are keeping anything that rightfully belongs to someone else, and return it if you are.
Ask yourself
Do I respect other people’s family relationships and rightful possessions?
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.