If devotees don’t notice our service, then is our service authorized or whimsical?

From Manoj

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
from Manoj when we are entering our service and nobody seems to be recognizing it then at such time is our devotional service musical or is it authorized should we give it up or should we continue it sometimes during the course of services inevitably misunderstandings come up with other devotees and because of that also we may not get any appreciation for the service although we are trying to do it well at one level we know that a Kanishka Adhikari doesn’t care for other devotees just thinks of Krishna and thinks that I am related with Krishna and I don’t care for anyone else but then we also hear sometimes that we should continue our service because Krishna will notice it even if nobody else notices even if our senior devotees don’t notice spiritual master doesn’t notice still Krishna will notice so isn’t this contradictory on one side we have said that we should try to the more we become aware of devotees importance in our life the more we are rising from the Kanishka to the Madhyam platform but then sometimes we are also told that we neglect even if we don’t get appreciation of devotees we should continue our service so what is the correct understanding answer the first and foremost thing is that we are eternal servants of Krishna and we have to act according to that position come what may no matter whatever happens the reality that I am the servant of Krishna is never going to change so now how I act in the service of Krishna will vary depending on time place circumstances so now if I think that I have an exclusive relationship with Krishna that means only I have a relationship with Krishna and if I have a relationship with Krishna that alone is enough whether I have a relationship with devotees or not it doesn’t matter devotees are not important that is the Kanishka platform so that is an undesirable platform where we don’t value devotees and we think that we have a direct relationship with Krishna we have exclusive relationship with Krishna this is a lower level of consciousness as we advance we associate with devotees we see their dedication now in the association of devotees there will be different kinds of devotees some we will find inspiring some we may find irritating some we may find irrelevant to our spiritual life so even within devotee association we have to select that devotee association which inspires us so we have to find that kind of association which is sa jatiya asha means asha is desire sa jatiya is same category that is devotees who have the same kind of desires that we have so if I have a desire to serve by preaching then I should find out those devotees who also have a desire to preach if I love deity worship then I should find out those devotees who like deity worship and associate with them if I like Buddhist tradition then I find out those devotees who like Buddhist tradition and associate with them more now it may also happen that I like devotees who like Buddhist tradition and that’s how I also develop a liking for Buddhist tradition that’s also okay but the point is we should be with like-minded devotees so if we find ourselves being unable to relate with certain devotees because their definition of success within Krishna consciousness is different say if my definition if I want to study Shastra seriously and some other devotees feel that there’s no need to study Shastra you just distribute books distribute books is also important and Srila Prabhupada wanted that but Srila Prabhupada also wanted to study Shastra now of course it isn’t then that I study Shastra and don’t do any other service but I want to go deep into Shastra then I have to find out those devotees who are eager to go deep into spiritual study and associate with them a little bit extra and in that way we can mould our spiritual life in a way that is according to our nature now it is difficult for us to know initially what our nature is and that’s why initially it is good for us to do whatever services we are told to do but our nature is something which we can’t deny it is there and gradually start surfacing we will find okay I like devotees of this nature I like services of this nature and we will gravitate towards them and trying to serve according to our nature is not non-devotional or anti-devotional it is basically applying Varanashram in our spiritual life and we should apply Varanashram no doubt so once we understand this point that I am meant to serve Krishna and I am meant to serve Krishna according to my nature so we choose our devotee association we choose our service accordingly and once we are situated in that or while we are exploring that inevitably there will be misunderstandings now misunderstandings happen because that is the nature of the material world as we see in the Mangala Natya Samsara, Dawa and Anitha Lok there will always fires which will come up but then we work to extinguish the fires we clarify okay this is what I did but this was not my intention this is what you thought of this is what you did I thought this was the reason you did it but then you understand this was the reason so good communication does clarify the misconceptions so once we are rooted strongly in a service then we shouldn’t be constantly dependent on appreciation from others that somebody has to recognize me somebody has to appreciate me if I am convinced this is the way I want to serve Krishna and I am happy that happiness is not just mental if we are really in a service that connects us with Krishna then that service will not take us away from our sadhana if you are doing a service just because of our passion because I like to do it and then I want to prove how great I am then that sort of service will distract us from our sadhana because it is passionate but if we are really devotionally passionate about that service then that service the desire to do that service well will also permeate into our sadhana Krishna I want to preach and I want to do it well so please purify my heart please give me the right words to speak I will chant your names nicely so our whole spiritual life will blossom when we have a steady service and discovering this will itself take time so we have to be patient and observe ourselves observe the services observe the devotees and find out what we like what we are most comfortable competent doing so competent is with respect to how good we are doing it comfortable is how happy and natural we feel while doing it and there is struggle inevitably in every service and in every relationship but there are certain struggles which we will like to face and there are certain struggles which we won’t like to face that will depend on our inclinations so intellectually inclined devotee has to do fundraising and faces troubles in fundraising that devotee will say why do all this but that same devotee if he is told to study scripture and he finds ok this is the verse which says this this is the verse which says that contradiction how do I understand that is a problem which will excite the person not irritate the person so it’s a gradual growth that will happen so we should at least have the basic understanding that I am a servant of Krishna and come what may I have to keep serving Krishna but I serve Krishna in the association of devotees because spiritual world is not just isolation it is a community there also I will be serving devotees so here also I have to serve devotees but finding out the devotees with whom I can get along nicely is not wrong and focusing on that association and growing in that association is what we need to do individually to move forward in our spiritual life so this is not the same as disrespecting or rejecting devotees it is not also neglecting devotees it is selecting the kind of devotees who inspire us and molding our spiritual life according to that inspiration and according to our orientation for service so the idea that Krishna is noticing my service is not meant to make us negligent of other devotees nor is it meant to make us behave in a way that we don’t bother whether devotees care or not we want to live in such a way that devotees care for us in the sense that not that we want to be sentimentally cared for but we want that we have warm loving reciprocation with devotees but sometimes when those don’t happen we should be able to go on in our devotional service based on our core conviction in the fundamental truths of Krishna consciousness so to summarize first and foremost there is a philosophical understanding that I have to serve Krishna second is we try to find the right devotee association that inspires us to serve Krishna we find out like minded devotees third is we find the service that is best suited according to our nature by which we can serve Krishna and fourth is within that service in that association also there are misunderstandings and we do the best that we can resolve the misunderstandings but when the phase of misunderstanding is there we don’t get shaken up we go on in our service and try to resolve the problems whether they be in the services whether they be in the misunderstandings whether they be in the relationships and we keep moving forward and then these problems will just become incidents that come and that go and they will actually bring us closer to devotees eventually because we will work through the misunderstandings and they will also bring us closer to Krishna because we have passed the test of Krishna and we have persevered when we could have justified giving up and this way we will grow in our spiritual life thank you