Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.1.39
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyPunishment Requires Proper Discrimination
“What is the process of punishing others? Who are the actual candidates for punishment? Are all karmīs engaged in fruitive activities punishable, or only some of them?”
What the purport teaches
- Having the power to punish does not mean that everyone should be punished. Everlastingly liberated living beings in the spiritual world are not subject to such judgment.
- Living beings below the human forms are not punishable, because they evolve automatically under material nature’s laws. Human beings, with their advanced consciousness, are responsible for their actions.
- Not all human beings are punishable: those engaged in advanced pious activities are beyond punishment, while those engaged in sinful activities are punishable. The Viṣṇudūtas therefore asked about the basis and authority for judgment.
Try this today
Before making one judgment today, pause and ask, “What is the proper basis for this judgment?”
Ask yourself
Before judging someone, do I consider responsibility, conduct and the proper basis for judgment?
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.