His Dissatisfaction Regarding Hostile Behavior Toward Any Living Being

In Bhatinda maṭha during Kārtik in 2004, one devotee was engaged to remove flies from Śrīla Gurudeva's transcendental body with a small fan during the first yam session. The devotee didn't come one day, so I was requested to do this service. When I sat next to Śrīla Gurudeva on the stage, I saw how He was completely sincere while performing His devotional practice as a practitioner, as a disciple of His Gurudev; not having any kind of false pride of being "Guru, sitting above of so many disciples"— not in the least.

While I was trying to keep flies away with the fan, two of them came on different parts of Śrīla Gurudeva's shining transcendental body at the same time. With a bit of dissatisfaction with them and with a desire to remove them both at the same time, I used a little bit more force to remove them, perhaps even with harshness or hostility. Śrīla Gurudev noticed it and looked at me with a bit of dissatisfaction. Almost immediately after that, that original devotee came back and I was removed from the service as he continued. I understood that I didn't do something in the right way.

On the same day in the evening, I sat next to Śrīla Gurudev in His room after arāti during general darśana. He was speaking to some devotees and one devotee remarked that there are many flies over here. Then Gurudev smiled and said, "They are also devotees" and made a sidelong glance towards me.  I understood that I should have removed them gently, not with hostility.

—Madan Gopal Das (Slovenia)





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