An encounter with a wise man

I recently visited an ISKCON temple along with my friend and I had a very interesting encounter with a wise man. We were having the Prasad after the darshan when I spotted a person who seemed to radiate positive energy. Generally, I don’t talk to strangers but an interaction with this person seemed imminent.

‘How did you find this temple?’ was the first question I asked. ‘It was good but there are certain things that I can’t comprehend. First of all, there are signboards all over the place which say that chanting the Lord’s name for so and so times will help you in overcoming the challenges of the Kalyug. I’m perplexed looking at these signboards. I understand that chanting the Lord’s name will help in building your courage and faith but it is an individual’s responsibility to go face to face with the challenges and come out at the top. That’s the essence of Karma. I felt that the element of faith could have been better explained to the masses. What do you think about it?’

I replied ‘I couldn’t agree more with what you just said. I think they have put up these boards as people look for an idol, for a god that can come to their rescue when the times are tough. In these situations, it becomes difficult to grasp the real meaning of faith and courage. So I would say that these boards may be a source of strength for a lot of people and that’s why these boards are up.’

The man seemed to like my answer and he continued ‘I like how you are trying to balance the scenario.’

I then moved on to the topic of the temple’s aesthetics. I said ‘No doubt the temple is beautiful but a lot of money has been invested into building this place. I felt the money should have been invested elsewhere maybe building educational institutions or healthcare facilities.’

The man replied ‘You seem to have a kind intention of trying to help people with monetary means. However, what you’re thinking is an ideal scenario, and the world as you must be knowing is imperfect. While people should be spending some time in a peaceful environment getting away from their countless thoughts they fail to do us. So the temple provides an abode for the people to pray in silence moving away from their thoughts and focusing on the lord. This is true for people of all religions. But I do agree that temples should be simplistic and not too glitzy as that defeats the purpose of humble living.’ I was amazed by this insight.

He then moved to a thought that I was holding in my mind. ‘I think we both will agree on the point that it is unnecessary to sell Lord’s posters and idols at an exorbitant price. There are many places in this temple where we read about how a materialistic lifestyle cannot lead to a happy life and then there are posters so heavily priced that force you to have materialistic gains. That seems to contradict the very philosophy of moving from a materialistic to a spiritual lifestyle.’

It was turning out to be a fruitful conversation when I asked this person his name.

He said ‘My name is Krishna…’