Those who don’t hang together, hang separately

When we practice spiritual life, we engage in a war against illusion, which attacks us primarily by triggering our lower desires. Our fellow-devotees and we are comrades in the war against illusion.

In a war, comrades watch each other’s backs. In the spiritual war, our lower desires often ambush us by masquerading as our desires. Our spiritual comrades can protect us from such ambushes by reminding us of our higher values and aspirations.

Unfortunately, we sometimes let differences over relatively unimportant issues define our relationships with devotees. Overlooking the defining spiritual commonality that we are fighting the same enemy and serving the same Lord, we let minor differences distance us from devotees. Being thus isolated, we are left with no one to caution us when our lower desires sneak in. Beguiled by those desires, we unwittingly indulge in anti-devotional, immoral activities, thereby wrecking our spiritual prospects. Thus, by failing to hang together, we end up hanging separately.

On a positive note, association offers not just protection from our lower desires but also inspiration for our higher desires. And nourishing our desires to love and serve Krishna is the most effective way to immunize ourselves from self-centered desires. We can best nourish our devotional desires by associating with like-minded devotees whose definitions of spiritual success resonate with ours.

The Bhagavad-gita (10.09) states that devotees delight in discussing Krishna and enlightening each other about his glories. Such association helps us relish Krishna’s glories from various perspectives, thus strengthening our desires to serve him. Further, association helps us appreciate how other devotees are pressing on, despite obstacles and reversals, in their war for spiritual integrity. This appreciation inspires us to persevere resolutely in our war too.

When we subordinate our differences with devotees to our defining spiritual commonality, our devotional practices become safe, strong and fulfilling.