“It’s just about me.” That’s how we sometimes minimize our
moral lapses. We think that as long as we can maintain an appearance of being
good, no one will know or be hurt.
However, surveys show that even the most introvert people
over their lifetime influence more than ten thousand people. If that’s the
scale of influence of inconspicuous introverts, how much more will be the scale
of influence of ultra-visible social leaders?
Contemplating the consequentiality of our actions doesn’t
have to be burdening – it can be empowering.
The Bhagavad-gita (03.21) underscores the defining role of
leaders as society’s behavioral torchbearers – they set the standards that
others emulate. So when leaders act immorally, they lower in the public eye the
culture’s bar of morally acceptable behavior. Consequently, people imitate
their leaders’ morally loose ways, thereby accelerating society’s ethical
degeneration.
We may or may not fancy ourselves as leaders, but when we
start living spiritually, leadership is thrust on us – people start seeing us,
our actions and words, as standards of what spiritual life is all about. To
them, we represent Krishna.
If we misbehave and our misbehavior comes to light – and it
will, sooner or later, if we continue indulging in it – three broad groups of
people get affected. Atheists get more venom to spew at what they deride as
hypocritical religionists; fence-sitters get one more reason to stay away from God;
and devotees have to survive yet another discouragement, or even devastation if
they had derived a lot of inspiration from us. That’s why it’s never just about
us. It wasn’t even when we weren’t representing Krishna. And it certainly isn’t
now, when we represent him.
Contemplating the consequentiality of our actions doesn’t,
however, have to be burdening. It can be empowering if we consider that with
every choice we have the opportunity, small but still undoubtedly significant,
to contribute to our and society’s moral regeneration.
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