QA on humility 4 – Social media requires self-promotion, spiritual growth requires humility – how to reconcile?

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QA on Humility 4 – Social Media Requires Self-Promotion, Spiritual Growth Requires Humility – How to Reconcile?

Question:
Hare Krishna. You were just speaking about how, sometimes, we need to step back and be humble, and at other times, we need to step forward and take action. Srila Prabhupada is often quoted as saying, “Humility means being bold for Krishna.”

Especially now, with so many technological advancements and opportunities to preach online, how do we ensure that our use of social media or digital platforms doesn’t become ego-driven? How do we keep our focus on Krishna and avoid turning preaching into a vehicle for self-promotion? Social media often seems to demand self-promotion—how do we stay humble while engaging in it?

Answer:
That’s a very relevant question, especially in today’s context where outreach often goes hand-in-hand with visibility.

Let’s begin by distinguishing between external action and internal intention. Humility is primarily about our internal attitude, not just our external behavior. So even if we appear to be in the spotlight, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re being egoistic—it depends on why we are there and what we are doing with that visibility.

There’s a well-known incident from Srila Prabhupada’s life that illustrates this. Some of his lady disciples had gone to Jaipur to arrange for Krishna deities to be carved. Their sincere efforts attracted many influential locals, and they organized a grand event in honor of Srila Prabhupada. When Prabhupada arrived, he noticed that the posters read, “Srila Prabhupada and his foreign disciples.” He asked for the posters to be changed to read “his American and British disciples.”

Why this specificity? Because in India, Britain was the former colonial ruler, and America was (and still is) viewed as the land of success and prosperity. Prabhupada wanted to show that even people from these powerful Western nations were embracing bhakti. His intention wasn’t self-glorification—it was strategic messaging. He wanted Indians to appreciate their own spiritual heritage, which people from the West were now sincerely adopting.

So, was this self-promotion? From the outside, maybe. But from the inside, it was mission-centered.

Similarly, with social media, visibility is often a precondition for growth. In the real world, growth leads to visibility—but on social media, visibility leads to growth. If you’re not visible, your message may not reach anyone, no matter how valuable it is. So promoting oneself to enable the spread of Krishna’s message is not inherently against humility.

What would be against humility is:

• Constantly seeking praise, recognition, or validation.

• Making the entire online presence revolve around oneself rather than the mission.

• Using Krishna consciousness as a tool for personal fame, rather than using personal influence to promote Krishna consciousness.

There’s a saying that captures the difference:

“They are their own mission.”
In other words, some people become more focused on themselves than the message.

So the key questions we need to ask ourselves are:

• Why am I doing this? (Is my motivation to serve or to be seen?)

• What am I using this for? (Am I highlighting Krishna’s message or my own image?)

Srila Prabhupada’s example gives us the answer:
If our intention is pure and our means are aligned with our mission, then using tools like social media—even if they require a degree of visibility or “promotion”—can be a valid expression of humility.

We also need to examine how we behave off-screen. In person, are we grounded, concerned about others, focused on service, and respectful? Or are we obsessed with metrics, followers, and self-referencing? That offline character often reveals the true nature of one’s humility more than any online persona can.

So yes, authentic humility can co-exist with effective online outreach, as long as the message is the mission, not the person.

Questioner:
Thank you. Yes, that makes a lot of sense.