Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 9.18.12-14
Ūti· What drives us to actQualified Brāhmaṇas Keep Truth Within Their Hearts
“We are among the qualified brāhmaṇas, who are accepted as the face of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The brāhmaṇas have created the entire universe by their austerity, and they always keep the Absolute Truth within the core of their hearts. They have directed the path of good fortune, the path of Vedic civilization, and because they are the only worshipable objects within this world, they are offered prayers and worshiped even by the great demigods, the directors of the various planets, and even by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul, the supreme purifier, the husband of the goddess of fortune. And we are even more respectable because we are in the dynasty of Bhṛgu. Yet although this woman’s father, being among the demons, is our disciple, she has put on my dress, exactly like a śūdra taking charge of Vedic knowledge.”
What the purport teaches
- The speaker describes qualified brāhmaṇas as the face of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They practice austerity and keep the Absolute Truth within their hearts.
- They direct the path of good fortune through Vedic civilization. Even the great demigods and the Supreme Personality of Godhead honor them.
- The speaker claims special respect for belonging to the dynasty of Bhṛgu. Yet these claims are spoken as a rebuke over another woman wearing her dress.
Try this today
Choose one quality mentioned here, such as keeping the Absolute Truth in the heart, and reflect on it quietly today.
Ask yourself
Which qualities described here deserve my respect, beyond a person's family position?
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.