Should we avoid offering obeisances to senior devotees in public places because people find it alienating

Some devotees say that we should be sensitive to public opinion while others say that we shouldn’t bother about public companion.

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
When in public places, devotees offer obeisances to senior devotees like sannyasis and gurus, people often think of it as very demeaning. And people say that, people find it very odd. So, some devotees say that we should offer obeisances and not care for public opinion.
And some devotees say that we should offer obeisances in the mind. And later on, when we are in the temple, we can offer proper obeisances because we should not alienate people. So, what is the correct thing to do? Answer, it depends on time-place circumstance.
Most importantly, it depends on the understanding of the senior devotee involved. It is true that at one level, the advanced devotees don’t care for worldly opinion. But, if those devotees are also acting as preachers, or they are interacting with general people, then they do care for worldly opinion.
We see the gopis, when Krishna called them, they just left everything. They did not care for worldly opinion. And they charged away towards Krishna in the middle of the night.
pati-sutannvaya-bhātru-vāndhavān ati-vilāṅgate antya-cchutāgataḥ So, although other people objected and obstructed, still they went. But at the same time, when that same Radharani who went like that, comes to see Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, and Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is at one time attracted to a woman singing gopi-gīt, and he just is not conscious that it is a woman, and he starts charging towards the person who is singing. And then Govinda runs with him and Govinda catches him and stops him.
He says, my dear Lord, this is a woman. And then, Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is shaken and he says, Oh, Govinda, you saved my life today. Now, Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, when he was not in bodily consciousness, and when he was attracted at a spiritual level towards, not a woman, but towards the songs glorifying Lord Krishna, then still, why did he say like this? Because he was acting as a sannyāsī in this world and he had to set an example.
So, people would not have understood properly. People would have misunderstood. So, of course, offering obeisances in public is not at all comparable with the gopis being attracted to Krishna or Lord Chaitanya being attracted.
But the principle is that, especially when we are involved in a situation where we are interacting with people in the world, then we have to consider public opinion. So, now, if the senior devotees themselves understand this point, and if they request that there is no need to offer obeisances in public, then we should not say that, oh, this senior devotee is just being humble. Actually, the senior devotee wants us to offer obeisances, but because the senior devotee is humble, those senior devotees are saying they don’t offer obeisances.
No, we should follow that instruction. It is true that for people who are not brought up in a devotional culture, seeing someone falling flat on the ground, to even just put the head down, what to speak of offering dandavats, they appear very demeaning. And people start thinking, you know, do these people have no self-respect? And people further feel alienated.
Is it that this institution makes people lose their self-respect? So, they feel alienated towards the individuals doing this. They feel it elevated to the institution which is teaching this. And they feel alienated from the people who are accepting this.
This is what kind of person is offering, accepting respects like this from others. So now, actually, we learn a culture of mutual respectfulness in devotional culture. But then people may not be able to appreciate it.
And Krishna says in 3.26, na buddhi-bhedam janaye ajnanam karma-sanginam that don’t disturb the minds of people. So, therefore, this will depend on time, place, circumstance. So, if the senior devotees themselves understand this point that people do get alienated.
So, this will happen especially not in places where their tradition is still prevalent. So, for example, villages or relatively rural communities or relatively still pious cultures. There people offering obeisances is understood.
But especially in modern places, say some spiritual masters are coming by airport and the disciples go to receive them. So, their offering obeisances may be seen in bad light over there. So, if the senior devotees themselves tell they don’t offer obeisances or the senior devotees understand that point and that is the understanding in the community, then that is fine.
Now, it may not be appropriate for us to avoid doing this if everybody else is doing it. As I said, do in Rome as Romans do. So, in general, devotional culture is a culture of self-respect and it is not that we are losing self-respect.
Actually, we are learning from the devotees what is the self and how we can respect that self truly by living in honor of the spiritual and devotional nature of that self. So, that’s why it’s not what people think but people need philosophical education before they can understand that or before they can at least stop misunderstanding what is happening. So, it is perfectly okay.
And in fact, in many situations, it will be desirable if the offering of obeisances is reserved to a mental act in the public eye and then proper obeisances can be offered after arriving at the temple within the devotee community where people understand and appreciate this culture of respectfulness. So, therefore, it is not wrong, it is not a matter of principle that we have to neglect public opinion completely. But nor is it a matter of principle that we have to, that those who are doing certain things so as to not alienate people are compromising.
If that is what is most suited for creating a positive perception of devotees and devotional culture then that is perfectly okay. In fact, that may be desirable. But it should be done in such a way that we ourselves don’t come out in order to not alienate outside people.
We shouldn’t come out as disrespectful or not knowing or following proper etiquette within the devotee community. So, there should be an understanding among the leaders in the devotee community and then when they tell it, then we can follow this. And when somebody is doing it, we shouldn’t misunderstand.
We should understand that this is the proper way things are to be done in order to not alienate people. Thank you. Ray Krishna