Gold from Akruranath das:
...not that we should give up seeing Vaisnavas as saints (or even recognizing and appreciating saintly qualities when they appear in persons ostensibly outside the Vaisnava tradition), but we should give up our individual and collective attitude of self-righteousness.The true saint is humble, tolerant, and ready to offer all respects to others while expecting none in return.
Speaking for myself, there were times when I felt so proud of having accepted a bona fide spiritual master and having been practicing regulative principles as a follower in ISKCON, that I thought preaching was a matter of “winning” a debate, convincing others that they should do as I am doing and join ISKCON or they are faulty.
It is this attitude of basking in the borrowed authority of one’s spiritual leaders that has been the hallmark of neophytes and fanatics from time immemorial.
The Baptist fundamentalist says, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” “I’ll pray for you.” While these statements outwardly masquerade as expressions of humility, surrender to God, and transcendence of philosophical speculation, they are in actuality a declaration of the know-nothing’s sense of superiority to whomever he encounters. He is not able to discriminate between actual saintly persons who are above the modes of passion and ignorance and common people who are controlled by base desires. He has merely joined a club, and if you can “talk the talk” as a member of that club, you are considered “saved”, otherwise “lost”.
We followers of Srila Prabhupada may appear to the uninitiated as just another flavor of fundamentalist. We do appeal to inerrant authority of scriptures and demand surrender to the will of God through adherence to certain regulative principles. And some of us may from time to time have acted as fundamentalists (I know I have) and felt superior, as if my identity as a “Vaisnava” gave me a right to dominate others and subject them to my packaged philosophy that I could repeat without much understanding.
We have a duty to represent Srila Prabhupada better than that. Religion without philosophy is fanaticism. True saints have saintly vision.
I like that, and find it inspiring.
Sometimes it seems like a
Sometimes it seems like a lot of your writing is criticizing aspiring devotees for repeating Srila Prabhupada's teachings. Must everyone preach your way, or can we follow Srila Prabhupada the way he inspires us individually? Why the persistent theme of accusing devotee preachers of lacking philosophical understanding? Maybe it would help if you named names. Should I quit preaching and do asana and pranayama until I become more enlightened?
How many comments do I need to get published on Dandavats before I can safely address the public?
That's not my writing, it's
That's not my writing, it's Akruranath's.
The persistent theme is this: people who lack philosophical understanding lack philosophical understanding. If the shoe fits, wear it. Otherwise, why worry?
You might like to read this comment I wrote on another blog for the other side of the coin.
Righteousness vs Self-Righteousness
That's certainly gold. The self-righteous (guru modeled) condescension I witnessed, experienced and carried out when I was a follower, only succeeded in creating yet another turn-off that drove sensitive, intelligent non-adherents deeper in-land away from the promised ocean of nectar. Keep up the good work Sitapati, hopefully you get people thinking outside the box.