How do we balance serving according to our nature with asssiting our guru’s mission?

Answer Podcast:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Sometimes we feel that if we do what we like to do, what we feel inspired to do in our bhakti, say we like to do kirtans, but then we may feel that maybe I am not serving my spiritual master enough. Maybe I should be going out and distributing books or doing some other missionary activities. Yes, that’s possible.
But the important thing is that the fundamental principle of bhakti is somehow or the other fix the mind on Krishna. So, if we are to sustainably practice bhakti, if you want to practice bhakti in a sustainable long-term way, then we need to do it in accordance with what is natural for us. So, in that sense, if we have some interest in bhakti, developing that is good.
Because then, if somebody can do nice kirtans, just the capacity to do nice kirtans can be itself a lifelong service. Kirtan is a devotional activity which we are going to do lifelong. So, having an interest and developing that interest is good.
At the same time, sometimes circumstances require other services. And if our spiritual master or our spiritual guides tell us, please, at this time, please do this service, then at that time, it is our surrender. That means the spiritual growth happens cooperatively.
We are on one side and our spiritual guides are on other side. So, the spiritual guides also want us to sustainably practice bhakti. So, ideally speaking, if we have some interest in bhakti and if we have some talent and we are developing that, our spiritual guides will encourage us in that.
So, from their point of view, they will encourage. But sometimes when circumstances require some other services to be done, at that time, we should also be surrendered. Okay, this is what I feel inspired to do.
But right now, this is required, so I will do it. So, Giriraj Maharaj tells that how Prabhupada told him that you should write, devote yourself to writing. But then the devotees were doing a big pandal program in Mumbai and then the temple authorities told him, see, you can write anytime.
But right now, we are going to arrange this program for Prabhupada and thousands of people are going to come. At this time, we need to organize. So, he was wondering what to do.
He said, see, that you can do later, you do this right now. So, he agreed and he did that. And when he told this to Prabhupada, Prabhupada said, yes, you can postpone executing the spiritual master instruction, but you should not reject it.
So, Prabhupada gave his own example. That his spiritual master told him, when he was just in the 20s, he should preach all over the world. Prabhupada was not able to do it at that time, but he did not reject it.
And he eventually did it towards the later part of his life. So, the point is that circumstances may temper the specifics of, temper means, I mean, adjust, shape the specifics of how we may do some certain services. But while we are responding to circumstances, we should at the same time be observing.
And developing our God-given talent is the way we serve Krishna the best. It is said that what we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.
So, what we are, that means whatever talents we have, whatever ability, that is God’s gift to us. And how we use those talents to grow, how we nurture those talents and develop them, that is our gift to God. So, we shouldn’t think that just because I have some interest, that means that I am doing my own thing and I am not doing something for my spiritual master.
No, if we develop our interest in an intelligent way, if somebody likes kirtan and somebody develops as a good kirtani, that person can also play a very valuable service in Krishna’s mission. So, if we have some interest, we can try to channelize those interests in such a way that they can be a part of the service. Thank you very much.
So, we will stop here.