Who Is Central?
I had a few precious moments with Bhakti Caru Swami, a monk
who hails from Bengal . Our topic, off the second, was really about
damage control. When people go off
course, emotionally for instance, how do you cater to the sensitivities of all
parties?
A key factor involved in assisting a cool-down is in the
principle of empathic listening. This
listening goes such a long way in smoothing out relations. To “hear out” someone takes time, but it is
time well spent and invested.
Now I have no qualms with monk Bhakti Caru, and I doubt he
has anything major against me. We were
addressing the common devotees that we serve, devotees who sometimes do not
agree with each other. It is a given
that human beings are human beings. They will have a collision of
concepts. It was a pleasure to listen to
the morning class by Bhakti Caru Swami. He reminded us of the sacrifices and
care of our guru, Srila Prabhupada. For
some years now he has been conducting seminars on the subject of “Prabhupada: The Person, The Guru, The Mentor
When he finished his talk, before the crowd of over one
hundred monks, he asked me if I would say a few words. So I did.
“I just wanted to thank Bhakti Caru Maharaja for helping us
to see that central to our culture is the person who set the tone and standards
of bhakti-yoga for the modern age. If we
don’t have this kind of focus then surely we will be divided by the different
concepts.”
Basically I voiced, in a non-rehearsed way, the need to fit
under one umbrella that can shelter various approaches and viewpoints.
May the Source be with you!
5 Km
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