Sato Vrtteh
by Svami Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti
Following in the Footsteps of Previous Acaryas
CHAPTER ONE
PREACHING AND OTHER CHALLENGES
Dwelling Upon the Mistakes of Others
Those persons who have given us trouble or exposed those difficult activities in one way or another, are teaching us a good lesson. When I first heard this explanation from Srila Sridhara Maharaja, my heart became soft. I could understand that I should not always complain about what others are doing. I myself should become a good example and serve my spiritual masters in a proper way and not waste my time talking about the deficiencies or faults of others. Srila Sridhara Maharaja said that talking about the mistakes of others is like spitting in a fan; it comes right back to you. It’s useless. He even went further, “When you meditate or dwell upon another person’s mistakes, those faults are in your subtle consciousness. The nature of things on the subtle plane is that they want to manifest themselves in the gross level of life." For example, as you contemplate the sexual affairs of another person, your own desire starts to become lusty again. When you dwell upon the mistakes of others, you are contaminating yourself.