Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.8.9
Mukti· LiberationControl the Mind Through Devotional Service
“Prahlāda Mahārāja continued: My dear father, please give up your demoniac mentality. Do not discriminate in your heart between enemies and friends; make your mind equipoised toward everyone. Except for the uncontrolled and misguided mind, there is no enemy within this world. When one sees everyone on the platform of equality, one then comes to the position of worshiping the Lord perfectly.”
What the purport teaches
- Prahlāda asked his father to give up his demoniac mentality and become equal toward everyone, rather than dividing people into friends and enemies.
- The uncontrolled, misguided mind is the real enemy. The bona fide way to control it is to fix it at the Lord’s lotus feet through service.
- Seeing living entities equally is a preliminary condition for entering devotional service. Such equality leads toward perfect worship of the Lord.
Try this today
When a hostile thought arises today, pause and spend a minute fixing your mind on the Lord’s lotus feet.
Ask yourself
How is my mind encouraging me to label someone as an enemy?
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.