Don’t be so concerned about others’ future destination as to
be cut off from their present emotion by Chaitanya Charan Das Based on BhagavadGita
A great danger of treading the right spiritual path is a
sense of self-righteousness – the pride that we know the truth makes us feel
that we have the right to correct others. Often that feeling may be authentic
and compassionate – we may even have the best of intentions, being concerned
that, by the law of karma, they are headed towards very unfortunate destinations.
But while their eventual destination is a matter of serious concern, their
present emotion is a matter of immediate concern – a concern that
self-righteousness often makes us blind to.
When a person has a serious disease in an initial stage, a
doctor can see the grave prognosis, but the patient can’t. If the doctor starts
castigating the patient for not taking proper prevention or treatment, the
patient being unconvinced about the presence or the gravity of the problem may
just leave the doctor.
Similarly, we can’t help others unless they want to be
helped and they accept our help. And the only way they can feel the need for
the help and become willing to receive the help is if they become convinced
about the gravity of the problem. And they will become so convinced if they can
give an open-minded hearing to the message of Gita wisdom and they will give
such hearing only when they feel that we are intelligent and intelligible, that
we are their genuine well-wishers.
Therefore, an important part of effective outreach is not
just speaking the truth, but conducting ourselves in a way that inspires others
to come closer to the truth. No wonder the Gita (03.26) urges us not to speak
words that agitate the minds of others, but to encourage them to be engaged in
a way that will gradually elevate them.
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