Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.2.10
Ūti· What drives us to actUse the Lord’s Gifts for Spiritual Progress
“While I am engaged in the business of killing Lord Viṣṇu, go down to the planet earth, which is flourishing due to brahminical culture and a kṣatriya government. These people engage in austerity, sacrifice, Vedic study, regulative vows, and charity. Destroy all the people thus engaged!”
What the purport teaches
- Hiraṇyakaśipu ordered attacks on those engaged in austerity, sacrifice, Vedic study, vows and charity. He wanted to destroy the brahminical culture and kṣatriya government that maintained peace and prosperity.
- The demigods supply life’s necessities on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These gifts should support self-realization, not merely sense gratification.
- All prescribed yajñas are ultimately offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya inaugurated the easiest sacrifice, saṅkīrtana-yajña, which anyone accepting the principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness can perform.
Try this today
Set aside a few minutes today to chant the Lord’s holy names as a simple act of sacrifice.
Ask yourself
Am I using the necessities supplied by the Lord only for enjoyment, or also for spiritual progress?
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.