Won’t doing service in contaminated consciousness license the contaminating influences?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
if we say that we can do service even if our consciousness is not good then will that not become a license for continuing doing the wrongs in the name of doing service yes that’s possible but that’s not the only possibility our service with Krishna connects us it purifies us, it elevates us it gives us a strength by which we can battle and overcome the anarthas what becomes a problem is if we are doing something wrong and we have no intention to give up that wrong and we think that because I am doing so much service so even if I am doing this wrong it is perfectly alright so where there is no remorse there is no attempt for improvement there is simply an attempt for concealment then that can become a problem so our anarthas are themselves not the problem our attachment to our anarthas is the problem our refusal to battle with the anarthas our refusal to try to decrease and drive out the anarthas that is the problem so as long as you are fighting with the anarthas if we stop the service because I say I have got anarthas is that likely to stop my anarthas also I don’t think so quite often if we don’t have a constructive service to do then we will have more time idle and somebody may say that we can purify ourselves by hearing or chanting but how long can we do that trying to just do hearing chanting all day or not do any service in the name that we are not pure we will not be able to actually absorb ourselves in even hearing and chanting properly and therefore because we can’t do it for a very long time continuously and then in that idle time again we may relapse so if we are feeling that we have a serious contamination in our consciousness then we may not take up services that are directly in the leadership position where we are instructing others but if we are assisting others and we are not coming too much in the limelight then whatever services we are doing is fine and even if we are having some anarthas the important thing is that is our intention to hide the anarthas and indulge in them on and on or is our intention to overcome the anarthas and even if we are not able to execute that even if we are not able to overcome that right now the 11th canto that is verse that praya pragalbhaya bhaktya na bhibhuyanti hi it says that even if my devotee is defeated by the desires for sense gratification still that devotee does not give up the desire for devotional service does not give up the devotional service the devotee should not only not give up the devotional service Krishna says that the devotee should stay cheerful and go on with devotional service so even if we are defeated in the war even if we are defeated in the battle we should not let ourselves become defeated in the war the war goes on we will win the next time in future so just move onwards in the practice of bhakti and giving up the service is not going to purify us it is connectedness with Krishna that is going to purify us service forms an important form of connectedness with Krishna that’s how we become purified