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Truth Will Attract Genuine Seekers

Posted by Saci Gaurasundara Dasa on June 15, 2010 at 12:30pm
On Speaking Strongly in Srila Prabhupada's Service

Even to attract many followers is not necessarily a sign of success. Those who speak the truth will attract genuine seekers. Those who flatter and entertain will attract cheap, shallow sycophants. It is easy to attract people by sentimentalism. A preacher who is not strict with his followers, who is artificially "nice" and "kind," becomes cheaply advertised as a great devotee with true spiritual qualities. Such a charlatan gives his followers an artificial sense of being advanced, and indulges in mutual flattery with them, which certainly makes them feel good about him. They become enthusiastic to introduce others to him, and thus they collect many disciples -- all sentimentalists. Living in a cocoon of imagined advancement, they think themselves superior to devotees who concern themselves with "lower matters" such as philosophically combating atheism and emphasizing distribution of Srila Prabhupada's books.

Devotees who find strong speaking incongruous with the sweetness of Krsna consciousness should consider that Lord Caitanya was not only as soft as a flower, but also could be as hard as a thunderbolt. It may be difficult to comprehend how the all-merciful Lord can be hard as well as soft, but, "these opposing qualities can easily be understood in terms of the Lord's transcendental nature and purpose." (SB 11.11.32 purport) A preacher following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya need not always be like a thunderbolt, but not always like a flower either. His duty is to comfort the distressed and distress the comfortable.

Those who think that devotees should be only as soft as a rose, but never as hard as a thunderbolt, have a superficial, imbalanced understanding of Krsna consciousness. To always be so-called nice, friendly, and artificially polite is considered saintly by those influenced by impersonalism. Those who remain attached to such sentimental attitudes will ever remain neophytes. Although they may fool themselves and others by posing as highly advanced, they have little idea of, or inclination for, actual surrender to Krsna. They feel uncomfortable and threatened by strong speaking because it cuts at their material attachments. Enjoying the reputation of being moral and upright that comes from their practice of devotional service, they are afraid of their prestige being damaged by association with an undeviating preacher whose jarring words will expose their insincerity.

Srila Prabhupada warns against such a hypocritical mentality:

One may desire mundane reputation by making compromises with nondevotees... these are pitfalls of personal sense gratification. Just to cheat some innocent people, one makes a show of advanced spiritual life and becomes known as a sadhu, mahatma or religious person. All this means that the so-called devotee has become victimized by all these unwanted creepers and that the real creeper of bhakti-lata-bija has been stunted. Madhya 19.160 purport

Devotees who feel uncomfortable with direct, no compromise preaching sometimes consider aggressive preachers to be immature, frustrated fanatics possessed of rajo-guna. It is true that we should not be fanatics, simply blasting off with very little knowledge or realization.


- From the "My Memories of Srila Prabhupada" by HH Bhakti Vikas Swami
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