Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.15.24
Mukti· LiberationMeet Suffering With Kindness and Chanting
“By good behavior and freedom from envy one should counteract sufferings due to other living entities, by meditation in trance one should counteract sufferings due to providence, and by practicing haṭha-yoga, prāṇāyāma and so forth one should counteract sufferings due to the body and mind. Similarly, by developing the mode of goodness, especially in regard to eating, one should conquer sleep.”
What the purport teaches
- Comparing our own suffering with the suffering of others, we should be kind to all living entities. Our eating should not cause other living entities disturbance and suffering.
- The purport warns that unnecessary killing of innocent animals brings severe reactions from material nature. When suffering imposed by providence comes, one should absorb oneself in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
- The verse recommends haṭha-yoga and prāṇāyāma for suffering caused by the body and mind. Developing goodness, especially in eating, helps one conquer sleep.
Try this today
Choose a meal today that avoids the killing of innocent animals.
Ask yourself
How can remembering my own dislike of pain help me treat other living entities kindly?
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.