If the temple management organizes kirtan festivals with singers who do not follow high standards of sadhana, should we participate in such festivals?

Transcript

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Question. If kirtan programs are running in the temple, where famous kirtanians who are not following high or proper standards of devotional service are invited to perform kirtans and we don’t feel inspired to join in these kirtans because we feel that the devotional substance is not so much there in these kirtans, then how should we see this? Should we see that the temple management knows best whom to invite for kirtans and we participate in the kirtans or if we don’t feel inspired, we can avoid participating in those kirtans? Answer. In devotional service, we shouldn’t judge others, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t discriminate.
Judging means we put ourselves on a high moral pedestal and look down at others. This is right, this is wrong. Discriminating means I put myself in a humble platform and you, this is favourable for my bhakti, this is not favourable for my bhakti.
Yes, like I am sick and I am trying to cure myself. This environment is going to help me to cure and this environment may not help me to cure. It may aggravate my disease.
So we shouldn’t judge, but we can surely discriminate. Discriminating means we choose that association which inspires us in our devotional service. So just as when we want to hear classes, we may not, if we have a choice, we may choose to hear particular Vaishnavas classes and we may not hear other devotees’ classes.
There are so many devotees whose classes can be heard and we can choose and choosing is not a matter of judgment, it can be a matter of discrimination. All of us are hard pressed for time and whatever time we have, we want to use it in a way that will most inspire us in our Krishna consciousness. So therefore, if we are choosing, then it’s not wrong to choose that which will inspire us the most, but that should not be done from a platform of judgment, but from a platform of discrimination, from a platform of humility.
Now, so if we don’t feel inspired by a particular Kirtan festival, then not participating in it is entirely within the principles of devotional service, as long as we are not putting ourselves in a high moral pedestal and judging others. Now regarding famous people here sitting in temples, we have to realize that the fame is not necessarily a disqualification and yes, they may be charging money and they may be in that sense commercially motivated, but they also have devotional substance, they are devoted, they may not be practicing devotional service according to a particular set of standards, but whatever standards, they are having certainly some devotion in their heart and they are practicing devotional service at some level. So will their Kirtan contain spiritual substance? There are two levels of answer to this.
First is that if a person has sincerity, then even if the external circumstances are not necessarily seem to reflect that sincerity, Krishna will appreciate that sincerity, Krishna manifests through that Kirtan and in another situation, even if that person is not having so much sincerity and is quite materially motivated, still if the hearers are submissive and receptive, then the hearers can still make spiritual advancement because there is some devotional connection, but that devotional connection may not be as strong as it would be with say more intense devote, singer, more devotional intense devote singer. So still by participating in Kirtan festivals like this also, one can make spiritual advancement if one has a devotional attitude. Now regarding the temple management, arranging for Kirtans by such devotees who charge money for those Kirtans, is it that temple management knows best? Yes, you can say it knows best, but we also have to know that ultimately all of us have to, we are responsible for our spiritual advancement.
So if we are going to such a program and we are constantly being offensive about why this devotee is not singing, he does not have much of a pure heart, why are you participating in Kirtan and we are sort of mentally offensive, then better not go there. And why does the temple allow us to think we have to understand that? Devotee Kirtaners also are devotees and they are in their own way trying to introduce devotional Kirtans within the Kirtan world. In the Kirtan world there are mostly, of course all these Kirtans we can say are devotional, but they are not sung with a devotional intention.
Many of the people are singing with commercial intentions. So devotees, they will surely have some level of devotional intention, which is quite likely to be more than the commercial motivation of most other singers. So they are trying to introduce that in the larger world and the temple can be one forum by which their influence can also spread to the larger world.
Just like there will be devotee scientists and those devotee scientists may be giving classes in scientific seminars in colleges and universities and sometimes these devotee scientists may also be asked to give a seminar in the temple because it’s not the temple only devotees are coming. In the temple new people also come and new people may also get introduced. Okay, we have some scientific knowledge also and they can also present Christian consciousness scientifically.
So there are many people, their devotees if they come to know about it, devotees can tell it to their scientifically inclined colleagues or relatives or dads and then also new people they may come and explore. In the temple also we have scientific program, it’s quite impressive. So now just because the scientifically inclined devotees scientifically competitively trained devotees are giving seminars in the temple doesn’t necessarily mean that they are, that is a reflection of their spiritual advancement or lack of spiritual advancement.
Their spiritual advancement is dependent on their seriousness in the practice of sadhana bhakti and their disposition, their inner disposition towards Krishna and Vaishnavas. So same applies to Kirtan also. Now we are able to see scientific outreach as something sort of distinct from Krishna consciousness, as something material whereas Kirtan singing we see it primarily as a very devotional activity but Kirtan singing also has a material aspect to it in the sense that there is music, there is singing and competence in that, the musical competence is also attractive to many people.
Many people are attracted to musical quality irrespective of what is the content that is being conveyed through that music. So such people, they will be attracted to devotee Kirtans with high musical quality. The temple may be a forum.
This temple can be a forum for devotee scientists. A similar temple can be one forum for devotee Kirtaniyas to sing and to attract new people who have come to the temple to Krishna as well as to show to the devotees also that we also have excellent Kirtaniyas who are excellent in terms of material abilities that are required in singing and music also. So we have to recognize, we should not mistake that just because in a temple a particular devotee’s program is organized, that is an endorsement of that devotee’s standard of spiritual practice.
No, that devotee’s standard of spiritual practice may vary and that devotee’s spiritual advancement will depend on the standard of devotional practice and we should not confuse the two and they should not be in front of those devotees, definitely not, because they are not in front of those devotee singers. But other times in the general educational programs in the temple, the devotee community should be educated so that they recognize what are the actual qualities of a devotee and what comprises an advanced devotee, what qualities comprise an advanced devotee’s character. So we should not disrespect devotees who are having musical talents and are using those musical talents in Krishna’s service.
At the same time, we should not mistake that these devotees are very spiritually advanced and they should be the models. So can they be the models for the devotee community? It depends on where a person is situated. For example, there are some devotees and they have children who are not at all devotional inclined and they are into rock music and jazz and such things and they find out there are these young people who are also singing and they are singing Hare Krishna, they are singing pupils but they are singing in the kind of genre of music that I like.
So then for them who are in a circle which is far away from Krishna, this kind of pupils may attract them towards Krishna. So for them becoming attracted to somebody who is singing about Krishna is one step forward, it’s one step upward and closer to Krishna. But for those who are serious devotees, practicing serious Krishna consciousness, the attraction to these devotees and taking these devotees if they are not having high standards of practices of service as the model will be wrong, will be counterproductive.
So essentially again the temple management’s purpose is to spread the reach of Krishna’s mercy as manifest into the holy name and the holy name has to spread wider and also to spread deeper in the heart. So how deep it will go into the heart will depend on the purity of the singer but it may well be that how wide the holy name will go in terms of how many people who are at a material level of consciousness may also be attracted based on the material competence. That may depend on the material skills of the people.
So there are the normal temple devotee temple programs where we normally have serious devotees singing and add some special programs and some festivals are organized where specially skilled devotees are invited to sing. Then we should see that as an arrangement for getting more and more souls towards Krishna and depending on our consciousness, depending on the way we find it either favorable or unfavorable for our devotion, we can participate or avoid participating in such programs. But we should not judge from a high moral pedestal and say that okay these devotees are they are loose and they are not practicing seriously or the temple management is deviating from Prabhupada’s instructions.
Now rather than going on that judgmental platform we understand that actually the way Krishna consciousness can be shared with more and more people is that Prabhupada was innovative and his followers also have been innovative. But we should not mistake the programs organized for attracting new people towards Krishna and to be the same as programs organized for by serious devotees for serious sadhakas to move closer towards Krishna. So by recognizing that different programs can have different objectives and by choosing according to what is best for our devotional consciousness and devotional advancement one can have the right attitude and make the right decision whether to participate in such programs or not.
Thank you. So if you pull out of a service but then we see that others or somebody else is actually doing