Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 9.4.70
Ūti· What drives us to actLearning and Power Require Gentle Conduct
“For a brāhmaṇa, austerity and learning are certainly auspicious, but when acquired by a person who is not gentle, such austerity and learning are most dangerous.”
What the purport teaches
- Austerity and learning are auspicious for a brāhmaṇa, but they become dangerous in someone who is not gentle.
- A jewel on a serpent’s hood does not make the serpent harmless. Similarly, great learning and austerity in a materialistic nondevotee can endanger society.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not favorable toward someone who uses mystic power for personal designs. Such misuse ultimately endangers the person responsible.
Try this today
Use something you know to help someone today, speaking gently rather than showing off.
Ask yourself
Does my knowledge make me gentler, or more eager to show my superiority?
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.