Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.4.20
Ūti· What drives us to actLet Scripture Guide Your Actions
“Hiraṇyakaśipu thus passed a long time being very much proud of his opulences and transgressing the laws and regulations mentioned in the authoritative śāstras. He was therefore subjected to a curse by the four Kumāras, who were great brāhmaṇas.”
What the purport teaches
- Hiraṇyakaśipu became proud of his opulences and transgressed the authoritative śāstras. The translation also describes his being subjected to the curse of the four Kumāras.
- Śāstra controls our activities and teaches what is duty and what is not duty. Discarding its directions and acting whimsically brings neither perfection, happiness nor the supreme destination.
- Material opulence can tempt a person to disregard scriptural laws. Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that such transgression begins the path of destruction.
Try this today
Before one decision today, pause to consider a scriptural direction you have learned rather than acting only on impulse.
Ask yourself
Does comfort or success ever make me less willing to accept scriptural guidance?
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.