Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.8.7
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesCompassion Must Support Spiritual Advancement
“The great King Bharata, while sitting on the bank of the river, saw the small deer, bereft of its mother, floating down the river. Seeing this, he felt great compassion. Like a sincere friend, he lifted the infant deer from the waves, and, knowing it to be motherless, brought it to his āśrama.”
What the purport teaches
- Bharata lifted the helpless deer from the river like a sincere friend and brought it to his āśrama.
- Although very advanced in devotional service, he could still fall onto the material platform. Freedom from material bondage must be pursued with great caution.
- Compassion should raise others from the material platform to the spiritual platform. Bharata’s excessive attachment to the deer became the beginning of his falldown.
Try this today
Examine one act of care today and consider how to keep it from displacing your devotional service.
Ask yourself
Does my compassion support spiritual advancement, or is attachment beginning to direct it?
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.