If a devotee familiar to us starts blaspheming our spiritual master how should we deal with that devotee?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So sometimes if some devotees are say blaspheming their spiritual master or other devotees and we used to associate with them before but now we associate with them because we don’t want to hear the blasphemy. But on the other side we feel that maybe we should sit and talk with them and try to get them on the right track.
But if we ask them why they are doing it and try to correct it, we will have to hear the criticism and we don’t want to do that. So should we try to just avoid them or should we try to, if they approach us, should we try to help them, to talk with them and what should we do in such a situation. We all have been by our past karma, by our present bhakti, by Krishna’s mercy, we have been given certain circles of influence, certain, the sphere of influence.
So an ant’s sphere of influence is small, a serpent’s sphere of influence is relatively larger. Of course the ant within its small sphere of influence also can sting. In that sense it has influence.
But a lot of agitation of the mind comes when we don’t recognize the extent of our sphere of influence. We all have to choose our battles in our life. There are many things which could be wrong around us but then we can’t correct all of them.
So when dealing with others who have gone on the path of criticism or blasphemy, firstly I would be a little cautious about using the word blasphemy or calling such people as envious. It may be, and there are certainly people who are like that, but it’s also possible that they have been hurt in some ways or they are hurt because they have been hurt and they have got a particular understanding of why they have been hurt and they hold certain people responsible, that’s why they are on a mission against them. Or sometimes they have heard only one particular side of the story and based on that they feel that they are actually doing a very valuable service because they feel that they are protecting others from beginning misled.
Well actually they themselves may be misled. So what they are doing, that is firstly between them and Krishna. And now when we deal with them, do we have any kind of influence over them to be of benefit to them? If we have that kind of influence where the influence can come either through position, it can come through purity, it can come through knowledge, it can come through logic.
There may be other venues also but this is what I think of immediately. Say some authority, some private resident, GBC calls and talks. People may or may not take that seriously, they may not be persuaded but some influence comes because of the position.
People know if I don’t hear this then there will be consequences. I may be not allowed to come to the temple, I may not be allowed to provide certain facilities or whatever. So one influence comes because of position, other influence comes because of purity.
Somebody is so spiritually advanced and others can see that actually this person has concern for me and that pure intention touches people’s heart even if the message that is given is contrary to their past beliefs. A third is knowledge. They have a particular side of the story of events.
So by knowledge it can mean not just scriptural knowledge but also knowledge about the particular issue that is going on. But usually people develop very strong opinions based on hearing one side of the story and often people who oppose them, they have the other side of the story. But somebody who understands both sides of the story, not necessarily agrees with both sides but then if they have an upgraded knowledge then that also, you know this is what he did.
No but this had happened, A had happened, B had happened, C had happened, that’s why he did this. Oh I didn’t know that. So knowledge can also create some influence.
Third is, sorry fourth is logic where people take certain facts and they make certain arguments based on that. A logic is actually a skill. It’s basically in intellectual warfare logic is like a weapon and just like sometimes terrorists may attack policemen and if the terrorist happens to be faster at drawing their weapons and shooting and although terrorists are brutal, the terrorist may win and the policeman may be wounded or killed.
So in warfare it is not always that the virtuous side wins. It is the side which has the better weapons or which has the better skill at dealing with weapons, they win. So like that sometimes some people who may actually not have a correct understanding of things, they may be wrong also but if they are better at logic, general people can get deluded by that.
So logic is a skill and some people are just good at logic so they can use their logical skills to try to prove that what they are saying is right even if it actually may not be right and even if what we are saying may be right or what our understanding is right but still because their logic is better than ours then we may get defeated at that time. Sometimes our faith may get disturbed by that if we are ourselves very logically oriented in our thinking or even if our faith is not disturbed but still at that time it may appear as if we are stumped but that’s not because they are right, it’s because they are better at logic. So we may have genuine concern for others to help them but unless we have some influence over them, trying to help them may end up actually hurting us rather than helping us.
So there are two three things which we could do in such a situation. If we really want to help them then we try to acquire some of the things which bring influence. It could be either position or purity or knowledge or logic.
We read more about a subject, hear more about that subject and then we will be better equipped to deal with that issue. But this requires immersion in that subject and sometimes all these controversies themselves are so palatable that even reading about them, hearing about them, it’s not at all encouraging, it’s not at all inspiring. I remember long ago Jayadvait Maharaj gave a series of seminars on ISKCON after Shilapur festival, all that happened.
So he started by saying that if any of you have come to these classes for getting inspiration, please go to some other class. Straight away he started like that. Dealing with controversies, it’s analytical, intellectual, it’s not always very inspirational.
So if you don’t have that inclination, some people just laugh at it. They go, okay this is this argument, this is this argument and then they come to a whole picture, their understanding and then they frame their own arguments. If we don’t have that inclination then best to not get involved in that issue.
So the first is that we try to equip ourselves. Second is that we try to connect with somebody who is equipped like that and try to get that person to connect with the other person, the person who is having the misconceptions. So we try to link that person with somebody who has influence in some way and through that discussion we try to help them.
We don’t help them actually, it is that senior devotee or that more influential person they may be able to help them. Third is that actually we just try to avoid them and we do our service and they do theirs, whatever they are going to do. Over a period of time, this negativity doesn’t give anyone taste actually.
Even if they get intellectual conviction that they have some of their own self and I am on a mission to protect people, to protect Prabhupada’s mission or whatever it is, if they are negatively oriented in criticizing others, they themselves experience a lack of taste. It is completely useless to send their bhakti and by that they themselves will reform. Now so this is where if we had just avoided them, then there is not much possibility for them to connect with us.
But instead of avoiding them, we are just nominally friendly with them without getting into philosophical discussions. Then at least they feel that okay, this person has attended me, so maybe I can talk with them. And then maybe at that time when they have themselves recognized that yeah, okay, I proved that this person is like this, this person is like this, but what did I get by it? Have I really grown in my love for Krishna? Have I advanced spiritually? No.
And when they start becoming introspective like that, they need connection with some devotees and quite often those devotees who are argumentative, probably they have burned their bridges with those devotees. So those devotees try to argue with them and try to convince them. But those who are non-argumentative kind of devotees, they may be able to connect with them.
And gradually they may give up that mentality of criticism and focus more on devotion. So yes, there are things which happened wrong in our movement. There are things which even devotees may have made some mistakes.
Rather than calling them mistakes, they were just sometimes the best among worst choices, the best among bad choices. Just some situations are so bad, there is no good choice over there. Sometimes some things may have happened, but then ultimately we all have to move on in our life.
So that is one thing which we could do. Now, this is with respect to somebody who is propagating this. Usually it is not, unless we are really influential, it is difficult to do anything about them.
But somebody who is like a fence-sitter, somebody who is in between, who is getting influenced by them. And if that person, we also have some influence over them. Maybe we introduced them to Krishna Bhakti or we were among the people who introduced them to Krishna Bhakti.
And they have some respect for us. Then it may be more possible to influence them at that time. Because on them we have some influence.
So if you can choose your battle, if you can choose your battles and decide that this person, I have some influence, I don’t know whether it will work or not, but it’s possible. So we open our discussion, test the pulse and if the person is open, then we take the subject forward. Otherwise, just drop it.
Ultimately Krishna is present in the hearts of all living beings. And Krishna will guide their wanderings. Then of course it’s going to be difficult for them if they are having any critical attitude towards devotees.
But we ourselves are here to serve Krishna, to go closer to Krishna, to serve and glorify our spiritual master. Sometimes we may feel that countering criticism of our spiritual master is also important. Yeah, and it is.
But then we have to see whether it improves or examines. Ultimately, all principles are subordinate to the principle that we want to remember Krishna and that means we want to help others remember Krishna also. Because that’s the principle for everyone.
So, there is this pastime of Daksha in Shiva’s assembly. Daksha is going there. Daksha’s assembly, Shiva is going and there is a whole series of curses and counter-curses.
So, Daksha gets cursed and the Brahmanas curse. The Brahmanas, first Shiva is minimized and then the Shiva’s followers curse the Brahmanas. The Brahmanas curse Shiva’s followers.
This whole thing becomes a mess. It becomes horrible. So, once I had asked Radhanath Maharaj that at one level, Prabhupada writes that for the followers of Lord Shiva, to see the minimization of that spiritual master of Lord Shiva was like hearing Guru Aparadha.
So, they had to respond at that time. So, what could they have done? So, his response was this. It was an offense and they shouldn’t just hear it passively.
But then they had to respond in a way that makes things better, not things worse. So, there is the letter of the law and there is the spirit of the law. The letter of the law is that we should not just passively hear the criticism of our spiritual master or other seniors.
But the spirit of that law is that we are meant to ultimately bring people closer to… we are meant to ourselves remember Krishna and help others remember Krishna. So, if that is not happening, then what is the point? Sometimes some people just have to go through some difficult situations. They may create trouble for themselves and trouble for others.
Only after that, after going through that, they become more ready to focus on Krishna. So, it’s best that we, rather than thinking that I can’t do anything about this, we can focus on thinking what can I do right now? What is my service? Now, what can I do within whatever influence Krishna has given me? What can I do within that? And through that, gradually we will be able to help ourselves and help others. And if Krishna wants, then our influence may increase and we may be able to help more people also.
But if over somebody we don’t have any influence, getting into a discussion with them will only make them more hostile and aggressive and make us… if we are not able to find responses to their arguments, it may make us angry or it may make us disturbed. It may even shake our faith. Or even if none of that happens, it’s just that it will be a distraction of our time.
Of course, we could say there’s a chance that I may be able to persuade them and I’m able to change them. But then we have to see for ourselves whether how realistic is that chance. So, if we have some authentic influence over the other person and we have a possibility to change them, then sitting and talking with them is good.
Otherwise, talking with them can simply aggravate matters. So, one aspect of Bhakti is that that we don’t try to do God’s business. Correcting people on their own track is ultimately God’s business.
On His behalf, we can give the knowledge to some people. But only those who are receptive, we can give to them. Those who are not, we can pray from a distance from them and move on.
And over time, Krishna will reveal His plan and help them come to a better understanding.