Answers from

A Maha-Bhagavata

How to Treat Everyone Equally ?

(Compiled from notes on lectures of H. H. Mahavishnu Goswami)

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.

Recently I was going through the diary which contained my conversations with our beloved Gurudev, HDG Mahavishnu Gosvami Maharaj. I seek the permission of the devotees to allow me to share the contents of one of the conversations. I will try and list down the points which I had taken down in my note book.

We vividly remember this conversation. Maharaj was in the Radha Neelamadhav temple hall after having seen the kids from Prahlad School. He was very relaxed and transcendentally seated just beside His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

Question: Maharaj sometimes I have the propensity to treat people differently. What should I do?

Even before I could ask what I should do Maharaj cut me off and spoke the following jewel like words. And really prabhus and mathajis they were diamonds which could cut through any heart.

Maharaj: "This is the problem. Our behaviour is so bad and we complain to Krishna that we don't have this and that. What can He do when we don't behave properly ? Everyone is created differently by Krishna. He has created them differently for His pleasure. The variegations are there for His pleasure. When you don't respect these variegated entities you are completely disregarding the Lord and His creations. You chant with your right hand and with your left hand you are beating the Lord's back by not accepting. You know we should look to Lord Shiva for this."

Maharaj went on to quote the first three lines of Srimad Bhagavatam 4.4.11 which describes the quality of Lord Shiva.

devi uvaaca
na yasya loke 'sty atishaayanah priyas
tathaapriyo deha-bhrtaam priyaatmanah
tasmin samastaatmani mukta-vairake
rte bhavantam katamah prateepayet

The blessed goddess said: "Lord Siva is the most beloved of all living entities. He has no rival. No one is very dear to him, and no one is his enemy. No one but you could be envious of such a universal being, who is free from all enmity."

This is how we can save ourselves. No intimacy and no rivalry. This is our way.When you treat one person nicely and the other person in a completely different way you are just telling us that you have some motivation. You want something from one person that is why you treat him better. You have nothing to get from the other person so you treat him differently. In any way your seva is zero, because you are motivated. Why are you still behaving like this? This behaviour must be changed."

After hearing all these jewels my dull head still put forward another question.

Question: Maharaj but we also read about this concept of Maryaada Vyatikrama on how we should never overstep our elders. I am able to follow this to some extent, but my mind tells me that not everyone is elder than me.

Maharaj then went on to nail my dull head once and for all as he concluded. "Yes this should be followed. This Vyatikrama is very important, but please know that this is also a material concept. Who is younger and who is elder is only based on the bodily platform. The soul does not have any age. We must follow these concepts because we are in this world. Arjuna was so respectful to Yudhisthira, but that doesn't mean he disregarded the others. Everyone was worshipable by him.

What we are trying to say is, who gives you the right to see who is great and who is not? I am telling you everyone is equal so you just see to it that you give one hundred percent to everyone. Serve them nicely. Elder and younger, senior and junior they may be there but you just respect everyone. Just do like this and you will not be inimical and intimate with anyone. This actually helps you free your mind to come to Bhagavatam. That is the main thing. Respect Bhagavatam, everything else will fall into place. People may demand respect, but your first duty is always to Bhagavatam. Apply Bhagavatam to your duties and everyone will be pleased. Everyone will be respected. Don't be caught up with people son, be caught up with Bhagavatam."

Many times we read and chant but find that there is no progress. Maharaj always proved through his words that until and unless our chanting and reading can improve our behaviour, they are simply a show of our grossest motivated efforts. In this way Maharaj literally blasted my misconceptions to pieces. Please kindly pray that I may serve and respect everyone with the same vigour and without differentiation. It is very difficult for a person like me, but really with instructions like these for shelter, even I, the most ignorant am confident that it is possible.

Please kindly forgive us for our offences.

Thank you very much.

Your servant,

Madan Mohan das,
Singapore.