The Active Christian

Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

One of our responsibilities as Christians is telling other people about the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ. It is a commandment of Christ to go and tell others about salvation; it is our responsibility to witness everywhere we go, to have a good testimony. But it is something that many people fail at, take a look at the first verse…to know that because of us a person was saved form eternal damnation, that one day we will see that person in heaven is really something! It might just be a person that you are sitting next to on the bus or an airplane, but that person needs to hear about the fact that Jesus Christ died for him, he needs to hear about the fact that there is a place in heaven for him also.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

To be able to be a good witness and to be able to submit ourselves to Christ, we have to watch out for that old serpent, the Devil, because when he sees that you are getting serious about your faith, he will start to send everything that he has your way, it is then that we have to make sure that we are strong in the Lord and able to fight against all the temptations and arrows that will be coming our way. The Devil does not mind a Christian that just goes to church on Sunday, but when that Christian starts to trust in the Lord and starts to witness and win people to the Lord that is when the Devil gets interested in you and starts to attack you, many times he will try to get to you through your family, a lot of the time it will be a stab in the back.

One Must Recognize One's Needs

One must recognize one's needs (spiritual and otherwise). I have been considering why devotees have so many problems in their spiritual lives and relationships. Observing Srila Prabhupada I see the perfect example of how Krishna consciousness should be executed. I just wrote to one of my Godsisters as follows: Prabhupada on the other hand was in complete touch with his needs and was very affectionate to all and not engaged in excessive austerities. His life is a perfect example of spiritual harmony and balance.

Just had a conversation with one of my disciples via skype. She has to spend a lot of time outside the temple environment relating to those who are not familiar with Krishna consciousness. Sometimes the devotees in the temple look down upon her and others whose life takes them outside the protected environment of a temple. In the beginning of the conversation the word "non-devotee" was used and I made the point afterwards that we have to be very careful in using language that creates division. In ISKCON we have many designations that create division not only between our members and others but also within ISKCON.

There have been many studies that indicate that the more divisive language is used the more a particular culture experiences conflicts internally and externally and these conflicts sometimes become violent conflicts. So, I prefer to think of people who are not practicing Kcon to be "aspiring devotees," who are not yet aware that they are aspiring. They are aspiring in the sense that they want Krishna but are not aware that they want Him. They are innocent. According to our philosophy a madhyama Adhikari should see those who are not opposed to Kcon as being innocent.

When I think in terms of innocence or in terms of people wanting Krishna but not being aware that they want Him, the thought naturally leads to compassionate thinking and action. We should be cautious whenever we use divisive, judgmental language. The sastras contain very clear descriptions because it is necessary to present the siddhanta in a way that one will not be confused, but in daily life one must exercise caution in applying these designations. I have already been getting some favorable feedback from devotees about the blog. Many are encouraged by it. It is important to be able to communicate feelings and thoughts about Krishna conscious realizations and service. It is almost as if Krishna told is forcing me to communicate because He does not want me to keep these thoughts/realizations to myself.