Canto 5 · 4 moments
King Rahūgaṇa
Royal pride meets a hidden sage
Respect can begin with being corrected
- 1Where it begins
Rahūgaṇa mistakes Jaḍa Bharata for an ignorant porter and is confronted with unexpected spiritual wisdom.
- 2The test
What if the person I dismiss has the teaching I most need?
- 3The turn
He recognizes his error, offers respect and asks for deeper guidance.
- 4What it teaches
External status is a poor measure of inner realization.
The journey
Moment by moment
Tap a point or a step
Moment 1 of 4 · SB 5.10
The king commands
Rahūgaṇa speaks harshly to the palanquin bearer.
The heart here: SuperiorityPressure 7 · Bhakti 3
In the verse · SB 5.10.7
“Thereafter, when the King saw that his palanquin was still being shaken by the carriers, he became very angry and said: You rascal, what are you doing? Are you dead despite the life within your body? Do you not know that I am your master? You are disregarding me and are not carrying out my order. For this disobedience I shall now punish you just as Yamarāja, the superintendent of death, punishes sinful people. I shall give you proper treatment so that you will come to your senses and do the correct thing.”
A question to carry
Whom might I underestimate because of role, appearance or position?
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