Should we do a service that pleases our authority but upsets other devotees?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, if you are doing a service and that disturbs some devotees, but then authority tells us that as long as authority is pleased, we don’t bother about who is disturbed by it. So, how should we see or what should we do in such a situation? Yeah. In general, we can’t please everyone.
So, we do have, we do want to serve everyone as much as possible, please everyone. We don’t want anyone to have negative feelings towards us. We don’t want to ourselves have negative feelings towards others.
So, in that situation, but it’s just not humanly possible that everyone will like us. So, then what do we do? If we have a trustworthy authority and if they have told us to do a particular service and if doing that service is pleasing them, then it is not that we deliberately aggravate other devotees. We try to be understanding, tolerant.
We try to accommodate them whenever possible. But if just our doing that service is itself disturbing other devotees, then it’s best not to let ourselves be distracted by it. So, it’s saying that dogs will bark but the caravan rolls on.
Now, when a king’s caravan is going, the dogs think that we are ruling the street. And then the caravan comes and the dogs are pushed aside. But then, now the caravan is not going to stop because of dogs.
Now, of course, we are not comparing here the other devotees to dogs. But the principle is that we have a purpose in our life. We want to serve Krishna.
We want to go closer to Krishna. And whatever it takes for going closer to Krishna, we are going to do that. So, if that means directing a particular, that means displeasing some devotee in a particular way, well, what can be done about it? Sometimes, you know, we are interested in a particular responsibility and somebody, a particular position to do that responsibility and somebody else wants that position.
So, then, now, we don’t want to make someone envious. But if that’s what our authorities have told us to do, then we will do it. As we do it in a mood of service and if possible, say, if we know a particular devotee is aggravated, then we can, if it is possible for us, can be a little more humble with it.
Generally, people like to talk about themselves. When we talk only about ourselves, people think of that as very proud. But we inquire about others.
What are you doing? How is your life? We inquire about that. People know you are interested in me. That means you consider me important.
So, that way we can see how somebody who is annoyed with us, we can offer them some respect. And that way they can be pacified to some extent. But otherwise, if that doesn’t happen, then just move on.
So, if we worry too much about what, who is thinking about us, we will paralyze ourselves. So, as long as our authorities are pleased with us, we can just march ahead. And others, we just respect them from a distance.
We serve them with our prayers. Pray to Krishna that he is also in their heart. Whatever animosity they have towards us, he kindly remove it.
If we move on in our life.