Devaki Devi Dasi: Envy can manifest in constant and overly harsh correction of juniors. If we
\nfind ourselves very eager to take every opportunity to heavily correct
\nothers with harsh words, then we should be introspective and look within our
\nhearts-maybe there is some envy mixed into our desire to offer correction.
\nMaybe we have the tendency to put others down in order to establish our
\nsuperior position.
\nActually, one has to be authorized to correct others. Just the fact that
\nothers around us make mistakes does not mean we can correct them. Devotees
\nat times show themselves especially enthusiastic to give correction to
\nnewcomers-they make so many mistakes! However, it can be very discouraging
\nfor such a beginner if he is constantly corrected from all sides, in so many
\nlittle details of daily life. Hence we recommend that one particular person
\nis in charge of new devotees and their correction. To correct a devotee one
\nmust be non-envious and genuinely desiring to practically assist and uplift
\nhim in his Krishna consciousness. It also requires a confidential and
\ntrusting relationship for the correction to be accepted. We have to be in a
\nposition spiritually or managerially which justifies or necessitates such
\nintervention, or we should be personally requested by the devotee to help
\nhim in his difficulty. The devotee offering correction should also be
\npracticing what he preaches-he should walk his talk. Our actions speak
\nlouder than our words, so our own good example is often the best way to
\ncorrect others in addition to our words. The correction will be easier
\naccepted when offered privately and not in the presence of other devotees.
\nWe want correction to be an uplifting and purifying experience and destroy
\nthe ignorance in the heart of a devotee-not the devotee himself. Even
\nKrishna Himself corrected Lord Indra and Lord Brahma in privacy after they
\nhad displayed their improper attitude towards Him. We also have to remember
\nthat some defects will be corrected by time passing by in sincere Krishna
\nconscious practice. Some corrections will require further purification of
\nthe heart and not mere words pointing out the defects. Thus one has to be
\nexpert in recognizing which correction has to be given at what point in
\ntime. Some defects we might have to temporarily overlook in order not to
\ndiscourage the young practitioner.
\nOne may say: ‘If almost everyone is envious, and one should be non-envious
\nto correct somebody-how can anybody then correct anybody at all? Wouldn’t we
\nall then be unqualified to correct others?’ Understanding the importance of
\nbeing non-envious when correcting others will make us very wary in regards
\nto our eagerness to give corrections. We surely must have been in the
\nsituation of receiving correction given with a tinge of envy, and also of
\ngiving correction to others with an envious heart. And we have felt the
\npoisonous and contaminating effect such correction has-for both the receiver
\nand the giver. It does not lead to purification but a disturbed mind and
\nagitated heart and false ego. It ignites our own envy in our hearts. There
\nare two practical tips if we find ourselves in the position of having to
\ncorrect others, but also admitting that our heart is not free from envy:<\/p>\n
* We request another senior person to offer the correction.<\/p>\n
* If we feel a strong urge to correct the person immediately, right now-if
\nwe can hardly control our tongue to do so, then better to wait and sleep it
\nover, until our false ego has cooled down and we are more relaxed about the
\ndefect to be corrected. This might take some hours, or even several days.<\/p>\n
* Before offering the correction we cultivate a prayerful mood, begging
\nKrishna to allow us to be an instrument and offer the correction in a humble
\nand well-wishing mood of service and thus act as their best friend.<\/p>\n
The last two tools are especially helpful, and applying them we can observe
\nourselves offering the correction in an appropriate mood, even though we
\nmight not be free from envy as yet.
\nNeedless to say, a junior devotee should not personally attempt to correct
\nanother devotee. He should reveal his heart to a senior devotee whom he
\nfeels at ease with and seek his assistance and advice to adjust the
\nsituation. If a junior devotee sees a serious discrepancy in a senior, he
\nshould approach this person’s authority and reveal his mind to him, allowing
\nhim to decide whether or not the situation needs to be addressed by him as
\nthe authority. After all, it may even be an imagination and wrong assumption
\nof the junior devotee-he may project his own shortcomings and anarthas on
\nthe senior person. And there might even be nothing which needs to be
\nadjusted. Once the junior devotee has reported his observations to the
\nsenior person, he has done his duty and can leave the matter in the senior
\nperson’s hands.
\nThis aspect of vaishnava etiquette is very important, as it protects a young
\ndevotee from finding faults in seniors. Being in the material world we are
\ndiseased with envy and a faultfinding mentality. As a young devotee we
\ncannot understand what is taking place on senior levels, and we cannot
\nunderstand the mind and thoughts of a senior person. According to the logic
\nof atmavan manyate jagat, everyone thinks of others according to his own
\nposition, and thus a junior person may easily misunderstand and misjudge
\nwhat is taking place on senior levels. Therefore we should never involve
\nourselves in disagreements or conflicts taking place on senior levels. We
\nshould refrain from discussing such matters, taking side or passing
\njudgments on seniors. Not following such recommendations can disturb our
\nspiritual life and ultimately poison and destroy the cultivation of our
\nbhakti lata.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Devaki Devi Dasi: Envy can manifest in constant and overly harsh correction of juniors. If we find ourselves very eager to take every opportunity to heavily correct others with harsh words, then we should be introspective and look within our hearts-maybe there is some envy mixed into our desire to offer correction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-thoughts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64599,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64597\/revisions\/64599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}