Srila Guru Maharaj taught us that whenever we see a bad quality in someone it is a test given to us by Krsna to purify us. Srila Guru Maharaj gave us that vision and we feel that if everyone will see with that type of vision then Krsna will be happy and everyone will be spiritually benefited.
This is so important because we live in an ocean of faults and we can find someone with faults everywhere. Even so many of the spiritual practitioners around us are not perfect. So we will become hopeless if we do not try to see the good qualities in others and in our environment.
A Western scholar, Katherine Mayo, once came to India to learn about Indian philosophy but after arriving she publicly criticised Indian culture. When this happened Mahatma Gandhi said, “She has not come to appreciate the wealth of India, she has come to inspect India’s drains. She is a drain inspector.”
We heard this story from Srila Guru Maharaj. We should not be drain inspectors. By the mercy of Krsna we should try to see beauty and charm everywhere.
Srila Guru Maharaj said, “To err is human but to forgive is divine.” Everyone has imperfections and will sometimes do something wrong. But why should we lose our own devotional mood because of that? Through his devotional mood Srila Guru Maharaj could see goodness everywhere, he would give much respect to all devotees and also give much respect even to persons who were against Vaisnavism.
Maei-maya-mandira-madhye paçyati pipélika chidram.
Dedicated devotees may do something wrong but we should not act like ants that see only the holes of a golden temple. We should not be a drain inspector looking for devotees’ faults. We have much more capacity than ants, we should see that all dedicated devotees have golden property within their hearts and we should consciously try to recognise their good qualities.
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj,
from the book: RevealedTruth – Ch11.