How can we share our spirituality with others without being preachy?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
How can you share a spiritual experience? I was in Texas a few months, a month and a half ago. I saw a car with a bumper sticker on it. He said, Oh God, please save me from your preachers.
So, the whole attitude of preachiness is something that immunates people today. So, I would say that that’s definitely a no-no. If somebody puts themselves on a moral high ground and tries to preach down to someone, that doesn’t work.
At the same time, sharing works. So, what I would say, there are three things that we are trying to say. One is, this is the truth and you have to do it.
You have to accept it. That will not work. Even if we make absolute truth play, that doesn’t work.
Even if we make instructive, this is what you should do, that also doesn’t work. But if we make it more autobiographical, this is what works for me, then people are open for that. Because in today’s post-modern world, experience is rated as the highest source of authority.
So, I would say that among the people around us, we can find broadly three categories of people. Some who are not at all spiritually interested. And then, just talk a little bit about, not necessarily share our spiritual experience, you see that they have no interest, just keep a distance from them.
There are others who are open, but not really interested. They are open. One is negative, the other is neutral, the third is positive.
So, those who are neutral, they will have to see us in action. If they see that they see us over a period of time, what makes this person click? For example, when I started practicing Bhakti Yoga, I was from a sub-bringing. My parents were also spiritual, but not all that spiritual.
So, I asked one of my senior monks, how could I share this with my parents? That monk told me, by letting anyone except you share this with them. He said, they have seen you as a kid, you have grown up. Your father will always be a kid.
And that’s what happened. My father has become spiritual quite a bit, but it’s through others, somebody else. So, I think there are some people who are neutral, but they have to be given time.
And they see how things work, things change in us, and then they become more interested by that. But there is a third category also, really small, who are interested, who are looking. But if we don’t tell about our spirituality at all, they will not even come to know that we are spiritual.
And they will be looking at other places. And it might be like the traditional proverbial tale, treasure in your backyard, and searching everywhere for the treasure. So, I feel that there is no need to consciously conceal our spirituality.
You can always share, and then share briefly and see the response. I feel even if there is one or two people in our social circle who are in this first category, who are interested, who are looking, then we also get some people with whom we can bond better. You know, when we start becoming spiritual, to some extent, our social face changes, our social circle changes.
Because we also like to be more spiritual people. But that doesn’t mean we have to give up our earlier self. So, if we find somebody in that category who are interested, then we can bond very nicely.
So, I say, third category, just leave them. The second category, let time pass, let them see things in action, and they will become interested. And the first, we can share.
Share wholeheartedly, discuss, explain. So, I think the key operating principle in sharing is just telling that this is how things work. Rather than saying that this is what we should do.