Better to Be Safe Than Sorry

Today I was listening to Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja talking about the dangers of pratiṣṭhā, the desire for name and fame. He spoke non-stop for fifteen minutes just on this topic. He said that pratiṣṭhā is a very subtle thing and was reiterating over and over again how it is the most dangerous enemy of a devotee. Pratiṣṭhā comes in many forms, and the result is that one becomes allured by māyā.

For example, it is the duty of the disciple to glorify the spiritual master, but if the spiritual master himself thinks that glorification is for him and he’s not passing it onto his spiritual master, then it actually becomes like poison for this advancement. Another example is while doing pūjā, a pūjārī may think, “I have a special relationship with the Deity,” but if he externally shows that, it will become a great hindrance in his advancement.

Scholarship is also dangerous because one becomes proud of his ability to deliver eloquent lectures and attract the public, and when that happens, one becomes full of pride – people glorify you for being such a wonderful speaker. This can be a serious problem to a devotee. All these are subtle difficulties that occur.

The ācāryas have shown us that we must take a humble position, a humble service. Śrīla Śridhara Mahārāja gave the example of Gandhi. When he was leading the Non-Cooperation Movement, Gandhi said, “I want to become the cleaner of the latrines! I don’t want a big position, I want the lowest position, because in that way, I can show that I am not above anybody else.” Also, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said the same thing. He said, “It is actually my responsibility and duty to do all the worship, the sweeping and even the cleaning of the latrine. But I can’t do everything myself, so Kṛṣṇa has sent so many devotees to help me.”

There is the story of Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura and Lokanātha Gosvāmī. Narottama wanted to get a connection with Lokanātha Gosvāmī, but he was such a recluse and was so guarded against accepting any type of followers that he even built a wall around his bhajana-kuṭīra which had no gate to get in. Lokanātha Gosvāmī would go and past stool somewhere in the forest, and Narottama discovered where he was doing that. So he went there secretly and would go and clean that area. When Lokanātha came there, he saw it had been cleaned and wondered, “Who is cleaning this place?” Then Lokanātha hid in a bush and eventually caught Narottama Dāsa and becoming very angry, he started to chastise him. But Narottama expressed to. Him that he was willing to do any type of service just to have a connection with him. That touched Lokanātha’s heart and he initiated him. This is an example of taking a lower position. There is also the example of Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, who was a great king, but took up the service of cleaning the temple, and Mahārāja Pratāparudra who swept in front of Jagannātha. When Mahāprabhu saw that the king was taking the position of a sweeper, He became very happy.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja was also talking about big positions in an institution, and how it can be dangerous – one becomes a big money collector, a big book distributor, whatever it may be. Then one begins to think, “Oh, I’m special!” Sometimes an institution will use that type of incentive to push people in a particular direction, which is not very healthy for them. It’s actually completely the opposite – it’s very destructive for them. Devotees who have that responsibility have to be very cautious, and also they have to be very careful in guiding other devotees. It is just like having a child – you don’t allow a child to do things that may cause harm to him. The child doesn’t know any better. Similarly, in devotional life, we may be trying to take on a position that is actually very harmful to us.

Śrīla Prabhupāda had a very limited amount of time, and he was doing a tremendous amount, so he pushed a lot of people into various positions, and they got results, but the position itself created problems. Prabhupāda obviously knew the shortcomings of some of his leading people, and he knew that the potential for chaos was there, and he was concerned about that. It’s not that Śrīla Prabhupāda didn’t know that something like that could take place because, even in his own Guru Mahārāja’s mission, he saw much more qualified people having similar problems. And as you all know, Narasiṅgha Mahārāja also saw certain people within his mission who were questionable, so he gave advice that they shouldn’t take particular positions. But some of them were ambitious and anxious to take on those responsibilities, and now we see what has happened.

In the last verse of His Śikṣāṣṭakam prayers, Mahāprabhu says, ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaram – “I just want to become a particle of dust at the feet of Kṛṣṇa, and at the feet of a devotee, at the feet of a devotee of a devotee.” This is the proper type of mindset – not that, “I want to be a gopī or a mañjarī.” What we should be saying is, “Kṛṣṇa, what do You want to do with me?” When somebody says, “I want to do this service,” then that is not appropriate. What we should be saying is, “What service do you want me to do?” “What service can I get?” When the spiritual master sees that the student has such a mindset, then he will give service accordingly, to help him on the path. He won’t give a service that will create problems for a disciple. According to the disciple’s consciousness, he will give an appropriate service to that person. And the guru will observe, “When that service was given, what was his the reaction at that stage?”

So what is the cure for pratiṣṭhā? Performing menial service under the direction of the higher Vaiṣṇavas is the cure. That is always safer. It is better to be safe than sorry.

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