Sharanagati

One great mistake that spiritual people can develop is the feeling of being more distinct than others: that I am better, we are better than others. For example, you have given up a bad habit; and immediately you start to criticize those, who could not give up this habit. For two months you did not smoke a cigarette and you are the greatest fighter for non-smoking society?! Cursing down all those who still have this habit. Of course, most of you don’t smoke. And smoking is only killing your crown chakra, so this is not a big thing. Right, it is nothing compared to the other mistakes you can commit in devotional life.

So this is a very alarming mistake: don’t feel yourself better than the others.

If you listen to the lectures here, few words you might miss during all these years. Tell me some words that you’ve missed?

Krishna Priya: How can we say if we have missed?

Tirtha Maharaj: Good. Proper. But in most of the cases you don’t hear “karmi”, “demon” and “illusion”. I think you did not get such a training to see people like “stinking materialists outside” or “the fallen karmis” or “the demons all around” – “this is only the vaishnavas who are hiding their wings, still we know that they are angels…”

We should see people with a different eye. No doubt, there are two types of people. Which are these two types?

Yashoda: Angels and future angels.

Tirtha Maharaj: Yes, this is the angel and the small angel, hidden angel. We should develop this vision. It is a big mistake to consider spiritual practitioners better than those who don’t practice yet. Because in this way you will feel yourself like a chosen one. And it is natural that on such a basis you want to isolate yourself from the others. Then later on if you develop such consciousness, you will feel like you have achieved something. And the next step is that “I have to liberate the others.” And this is the entrance to hellish mentality.

So we should not develop this kind of false spiritual consciousness: “I am better than the others” or “We are better than the others”. This distinction “us and them” is dangerous. Of course there is a difference between material sphere – the outside world – and the devotional circles, but what is this difference? That we are a little bit more conscious and we try to do some practice. But we should be very grateful to Krishna for providing such people who do not practice yet, because in this way we can invite them. Just imagine, if everybody would practice, there is nobody to invite! So we should be very grateful for having some “demons” and “karmis” and “non-angels” around. Because we can serve them, in this way we can serve them.

And why I tell you this? Because if God would make that distinction: “He is a karmi materialist, I don’t give My blessings to him” or if the sun would say: “I will chose the guys upon whom I will shine”… The sun is not selecting. In the Bible it is said that God is not selecting people. Why? Because everything and everybody was created by Him. Everything belongs to Him – accept the demoniac mentality. This is our contribution.

First of all, try to see the spiritual spark in all human beings. Just like in the “Gita” it is said: “The real wise (man) has equal vision in the cow, in the bramin and in the dog.”[1] He sees the spiritual spark. So we should develop this spiritual vision to see the spirit, because that is the most important part of a human being. All else will be removed. The body, the mind, the mistakes will perish; spirit will remain.

Try to avoid this mentality: “Us and them”. Start to have some equal vision. Of course in associating with people we should act according to their capacities, and of course our capacities. So, try to avoid the bad intention, associate with those, who are on an equal platform and learn from those, who are superior to you.

This is the general false ego of the practitioner: that I am better than the others. At the same time I don’t want to say that you should develop a false kind of humility. Because right now most of you don’t have the feeling that: “Ah, my Lord, I am worse than a worm in a stool.” Right? If you simply repeat this, it will not sound honest. So be realistic and develop a positive sense of humility that “I depend on the curse and blessings of my well-wishers”- this consciousness we can develop, because that is true.