CC daily 145 – M 6.209 – Don’t laugh at others – laugh with others

Shritanicharita Amrit Matilila chapter 6 Liberation of Sarovam Bhattacharya text 209 Dekhi Gopinath Acharya Harshit Maan Bhattacharya Nitya Dekhi Hase Prabhura Gaan Dekhi Gopinath Acharya on seeing the ecstatic dancing of Sarovam Bhattacharya Gopinath Acharya Lord Chaitanya becomes delighted Harshit Maan becomes jubilant at heart and Prabhura Gaan the associates of Lord Chaitanya they also become jubilant Hase they also start they also become very happy and they smile and laugh our goal in bhakti is not to laugh at others, our goal is to laugh with others that means that here the laughter that the lord's associates are exhibiting it is not the laughter of a proud conqueror taunting a defeated challenger yes, there have been some conflicts between there have been some heated discussions between Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's associates such as Gopinath Acharya and Sarovam and sometimes in a vindictive spirit it is said that revenge is a wish that is served best when it is served cold that means people want to have revenge and they want to delight in having revenge and they want to maximize the delight by maximizing the torment that others are going through so this is not the kind of the taunting deriding laughter of a winner towards the loser but rather this is the this is the devotionally compassionate joy of sharing one's ecstasy with someone who was not receptive to that ecstasy and thereby bringing about the good of that person also so here you need to understand that there is a fundamental difference between material competition and spiritual competition in material competition there are limited fruits to be attained in a tennis match in a tennis tournament only one person can become the champion in a cricket world cup only one team can become the world cup champion but in a devotional competition there is no limit Krishna is unlimited, Krishna's mercy is unlimited therefore what Krishna offers to us is also unlimited and that's why when Krishna offers something to us it is his great mercy by which we are able to move onwards in our journey towards him by which we are able to relish the ecstasy that he is offering us by which we are able to march onwards towards him and relish the supreme joy of devotion and when we understand that it is not by our doership it is not by our greatness we have been able to achieve something it is by the mercy of the lord then we see it as an opportunity we see devotion not as our possession to be paraded before others but we see devotion as a benediction to be shared that means that a devotee when they share the joy with others at that time the primary purpose is to learn to move onwards in our own journey towards Krishna by the sincere practice of devotion and to want others to also be similarly benedicted we we see ourselves not as champions but as custodians it's not that what we have is our possession that we can parade to others proudly it is a gift the knowledge of devotion the knowledge that we have the wisdom of scripture that we have been given that is actually a great blessing from the lord given to us for the sake of elevating us in our journey towards the lord and the way we can focus on Krishna is by sharing what Krishna has given to us with others and when we do it and when we see others relishing the joy of Krishna bhakti we don't feel threatened we feel jubilant because it is not that by sharing devotion our devotion will get depleted rather by sharing devotion our devotion will get compounded it will get enhanced so that means that as the Bhagavatam says that that those who delight themselves and those who share that delight with others Kunti Maharani says this that those who themselves delight in the practice of bhakti and those who delight in seeing others delighting in the practice of bhakti such devotees are exalted devotees and they will go beyond the delusions of material existence so same way for us also if we recognize that we are the we are the recipients of a benediction and we are meant to share this benediction with others so Sarobhoma is showing over here Sarobhoma is demonstrating symptoms of ecstasy and on seeing the symptoms of ecstasy the devotees are laughing they are jubilant but they are not jubilant thinking oh Sarobhoma you thought you are a great scholar now we are our man our lord Chaitanya has rubbed your nose in the ground no we were tasting the ecstasy and now you are also able to taste the ecstasy and that is our great joy so it is not that a devotee wants to put oneself in a superior position and push others to inferior position and then laugh at that person but rather devotee wants to elevate others to also the same spiritual level of consciousness that one is at and share with others the same devotional ecstasy that one is oneself experiencing and thus we don't laugh at others we laugh with others and this selfless sharing of devotion is demonstrated in the joyfulness with which the devotees of lord Chaitanya are celebrating the transformation of Sarobhom Bhattacharya thank you.