All Live lessons

Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.19.26

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty

Contentment Nourishes Spiritual Power

“A brāhmaṇa who is satisfied with whatever is providentially obtained is increasingly enlightened with spiritual power, but the spiritual potency of a dissatisfied brāhmaṇa decreases, as fire diminishes in potency when water is sprinkled upon it.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda · Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.19.26, translation

What the purport teaches

  • A brāhmaṇa who is satisfied with whatever providence supplies becomes increasingly enlightened with spiritual power.
  • A dissatisfied brāhmaṇa loses spiritual potency.
  • The verse compares dissatisfaction to water sprinkled on fire: it diminishes the fire's strength.

Try this today

When a complaint about your possessions arises today, pause and name one provision you can be satisfied with.

Ask yourself

How might dissatisfaction be weakening your attention to spiritual life?

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.

One of the 108 chosen lessons, close to this verseKṛṣṇa Consciousness Is the Highest WelfareSB 8.7.44Next · LeadTeach what you are livingTurn this chapter into a timed class plan or a short reel script.Open Lecture Studio