Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 9.4.69
Ūti· What drives us to actHarming a Devotee Harms the Offender
“O brāhmaṇa, let Me now advise you for your own protection. Please hear from Me. By offending Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, you have acted with self-envy. Therefore you should go to him immediately, without a moment’s delay. One’s so-called prowess, when employed against the devotee, certainly harms he who employs it. Thus it is the subject, not the object, who is harmed.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord tells Durvāsā to go immediately to Mahārāja Ambarīṣa for protection. Using power against a devotee harms the person who uses it.
- Service to a Vaiṣṇava gradually accumulates as a spiritual asset. Harmful actions against a devotee gradually become the cause of the offender’s downfall.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead takes offenses against His devotees seriously. Even Durvāsā’s great learning and mystic power could not keep him safe from the consequences.
Try this today
Use one ability you have to offer a small service to a devotee today.
Ask yourself
Am I using my abilities to serve devotees or to compete with them?
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.