Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.14.9
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyCare for Animals Like Your Children
“One should treat animals such as deer, camels, asses, monkeys, mice, snakes, birds and flies exactly like one’s own son. How little difference there actually is between children and these innocent animals.”
What the purport teaches
- Animals, like innocent children, are sons of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A Kṛṣṇa conscious householder should not discriminate between children and poor animals.
- Human beings are not the only rightful enjoyers of God's property. Animals also have a claim to the food He provides.
- The purport forbids killing creatures that disturb agricultural production. Even the snake is included in the instruction not to be envious.
Try this today
Provide suitable food for an animal today, remembering its share in the Lord's gifts.
Ask yourself
How would my treatment of animals change if I regarded them as children of the Lord?
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.