Hare Krishna dear devotees,
Dandavat pranam. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Sri Guru-Gauranga.
I seek your humble guidance for a real-life incident where I failed to act in Krishna consciousness.
Recently, my bike was towed by RTO officials in Pune for parking in a no-parking zone. My wife and I went to recover it. However, when we reached, we noticed they were only towing two-wheelers and ignoring four-wheelers parked improperly. This felt unjust, and in that moment, I got angry and questioned them. When I saw them pushing my bike roughly, I scolded them, and a verbal argument broke out.
They replied arrogantly and made personal remarks like “we ride better bikes than yours,” to which my wife responded, “my husband has a better job than you.” The situation escalated. Although I eventually paid the fine and left, I came home feeling extremely disturbed and regretful.
When I reached home, I told my wife that we had done the wrong thing and that this was not what I had learned. We individually sat near Krishna (our home deity) and told Krishna what had happened, feeling bad about it. We asked for forgiveness and pleaded for the strength to avoid doing such things in the future.
As someone who’s been reading Bhagavad Gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam, I knew I had failed spiritually. I let anger and ego take over. Since that day, I’ve been feeling remorseful.
I had a strong desire to:
Apologize to those men personally
Offer them some prasadam or food
If possible, gift them a Bhagavad Gita
But practically, it’s almost impossible to find them again.
So I ask the Vaishnava community:
What should I do now, as a sincere attempt to purify my heart?
Can I spiritually redirect this intent by feeding some poor person or gifting a Gita to someone else with the same intention?
I am truly trying to practice bhakti in daily life, and this moment showed me where I still have work to do. Kindly guide me so that I can please Krishna and not make the same mistake again.
Your servant,
Kunal
(Working professional and aspiring devotee)
Replies
Hare Krishna,
Don't feel bad about your act. Sometimes we do mistakes.. Its okay we are "L'' board learning phase in bhakti.
Thats okay don't feel so much about it. They hurt your ego and you hurt their ego back. It is just ego clashes ..Next time onwards just be calm.
Before you say something out to someone.. Just put urself in their position and see.
You can purify yourself not by donating Gita books or not by chanting not by doing any atonement. You should purify yourself by trying to curb this aggressive behavior in you.
One thing you should remember.
Anger is good when it is for a higher purpose.
Like Hanuman ji became angry on Ravana or Narsimha Bhagwan became angry on Hiranakashyap because he is torturing a devotee.
Anger for selfish purposes is not worthy.
You may want to keep quiet. You want to present your point cooly also.
Instead of saying.. We own better vehicles than yours.. my husband has better job than yours.. ( I know your position that time).
To say someone it is easy.. to be in the situation and still keep calm is tougher to me too.
But ya instead of showing off that what are you.. I am great than you.
just say.. Sir, please excuse this time. Next se nahi hoga aisa. forgive this time. ( eventhough you know it is not ur fault) ........sorry bolne se tum chhote woh bada toh nahi hoga.. HAAN USKA EGO KAM HO JAAYEGA IMMEDIATELY..... you can simply say in good way... pleasingly and cool off their ego isn't it?
then surely they will say.. nahi saab.. bade saab humko daant rahe hai.. hum kya karein hum bhi apne naukri hi kar rahe hai.. chaliye is baar chhodh denge...jaldi jaayiye jagah khali kariye.. bade saab aane se pehle... dubara nahi karna .. don't do it next time. Bolenge woh log tab..
Then you say..
Thank you sir for your kind help.
Doesn't it feel more cooler?
They way you behave will reflect off back to you.
Atleast you came to know .. ..whatever you did was not right.
Now these traffic police .. they see number of people like you .. they are used to these types of hurtful talks. Unka roz ka hai.. lekin aap next time se dhyan rakhe ki sab ko respect de..
Even if it feels as if you are acting for sometimes.. act good as we are all " L'' board in bhakti.
We can slowly we will develop qualities of humbleness then our anger gets sidelined on its own.
Hare Krishna
Thank you so much, Mataji, for your kind, thoughtful, and uplifting response.
Your words truly touched my heart and gave me a deeper perspective. I will sincerely keep this guidance in mind going forward. With Krishna's mercy, I will strive to ensure that I don’t hurt anyone through my words or actions.
I will also do my best to apply the teachings of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam in my daily life - not just in reading, but in living.
Grateful for your blessings and association.
Hare Krishna