​While sharing bhakti, how can we overcome the tendency to be intellectually aggressive?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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Some people are very intellectual and bhakti makes sense to them. And they just want everyone else to practice bhakti.
And when their attitude is a little intellectually aggressive, that can turn off some people. So how can we deal with such devotees? Is that what you’re saying? Yes. Okay.
Yeah. Yeah. So actually, they themselves are like this.
Yes. See, understanding spirituality is not just a matter of intellectual comprehension. Intellectual comprehension is important.
But there is also a certain level of spiritual evolution required. Without that, even though things are there, they just don’t make sense. It’s like, you know, if a child doesn’t know language, then the sentences make so much sense to me.
Somebody doesn’t know the language, it doesn’t make any sense. So now that language has to be learned. Only then they’ll make sense.
Or let’s take another example of, say, the two languages. I am reading a book in one language. And I find this book is so brilliant.
There’s so much insight in it. But say someone else doesn’t know that language. And I’m telling this to them.
This is so wonderful. What? It doesn’t make sense to me. So basically, you know, when it’s language, we can easily understand the difference.
But people’s psychology is also like their language. The way people think, different people have different ways of thinking. Krishna also acknowledges that in Bhagavad Gita in 2.69, when he says, He says, that which is night for the self-control, it is the day for the materialistic people.
And that which is night for the materialistic, that is day for the self-control. What he means by that is, actually night and day are same for everyone. But night means like the area of darkness, of incomprehension.
And day means the area of illumination. So what is the area of illumination for spiritualists? That is like the area of darkness for materialists. And that which is the area of illumination for the materialists, that is the area of darkness for spiritualists.
It’s like a simple example. Now we may tell, actually youth is temporary. Why waste your time in enjoying? Seek the eternal.
That’s the spiritual way of looking at it. Youth is temporary, why waste it in enjoying? Now materialists may take the same point, youth is temporary, enjoy before you lose it. So the same fact is there, but the perception is different.
So that’s why if we have a tendency to be intellectually aggressive, then we need to recognize that spiritual understanding is not just a matter of intellectual comprehension. There is also some spiritual evolution required. And that’s why we can look for, if we want to share spirituality, rather than trying to make people interested, we can look for interested people.
Say if we are in a group of 100 people, if we have some friend whom we want them to come to Krishna and talk and talk and talk, they are just not interested. Then trying to make somebody who is not interested, interested is a very difficult task. But instead we explore.
There may be other people who may be interested. We may not have to talk with them only. We talk with them, they will be interested and they can come closer.
And those whom we are already connected, they already know we are practicing. Sometime when the time becomes right for them, when their spiritual evolution reaches a flashpoint, then they will also come. So rather than trying to force others intellectually to practice, we can actually try to find out people who are already open, who are already inquisitive.
And there are not many, but there are. And by that way we can bring people to Krishna. Otherwise, there is a saying that a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
So it is of the same opinion still. Sometimes we will intellectually defeat someone. You are not the body, you are the soul.
Okay, I am not the body and the soul. But then I don’t care about the soul. And they will go on doing what they want to do.
That’s why we shouldn’t try to force people intellectually. Does that answer your question? Thank you very much. Jai! Jai! Jai! Jai!