Don’t be impersonal. Be reciprocal.

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Don't Be Impersonal Be Reciprocal

November 28, 2025

When I first joined ISKCON in 1971 a senior devotee said that we should not love devotees, that we should only love Krishna. This did not make any sense to me because Vishnujana Swami had told me that we should always be in an embracing mood with the devotees. I trusted Vishnujana's word more because Srila Prabhupada wrote me in a letter that I had been trained up under the expert guidance of His Holiness Vishnujana Swami, So in 1975 when the BBT published the Nectar of Instruction, which contained this verse I was very happy:

dadāti pratigṛhṇāti
guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati
bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva
ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam

Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasāda and offering prasāda are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another. (Nectar of Instruction Verse 4)

Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Prabhupada confirmed what I understood to be the proper mood in associating with devotees.

Being reciprocal with devotees, not impersonal, is factually what will make us or break us in our Krishna consciousness. If we train ourselves to always have loving dealings with the devotees, we will be very strong and fixed up in Krishna consciousness. Conversely, if we do not do so, it is only a matter of time before we will fall down from Krishna consciousness and give up the association of the devotees.

The way to be happy, fully satisfied in Krishna consciousness is to develop, positive, enriching loving relationships in the association of devotees. This reciprocity will liberate us from the unhappy prominent mood in the material world in which people tend to be impersonal keeping their feelings within themselves and not opening up to anyone.

If the other devotees are impersonal, not reciprocal it is not that you should also be impersonal. No. You should be so reciprocal that the other devotees by your example will be inspired to come out of their shells and be reciprocal also. This movement began by Srila Prabhupada's loving reciprocation. And if we keep Srila Prabhupada's loving reciprocal mood alive, by loving reciprocation, our movement will conquer the entire world.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Srila Prabhupada's Loving Mood

Loving Mood

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Why are you so attached Vishnujana Swami?

Answer

Other devotees turned me off big time when they said, "We have to follow the higher authorities" like ISKCON was some kind of military organization. But he gave me a wonderful way to connect with the process of Krishna consciousness when he said, "Just give your love to Krishna." That was something I could relate to.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Around the World Travel Schedule

20 October – Depart from Trivandrum
20 October – Arrive in Vrindavan
28 October to 15 November- I will travel alone to Govardhan
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11 December – Depart from Vrindavan
12 December – Arrive in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
15 December – Depart Kuala Lumpur
15 December – Arrive in Melbourne, Australia
23 December – Depart from Melbourne
23 December – Arrive in Austin, Texas USA

How I Came to Krishna Consciousness

In a world obsessed with money, fame, and fleeting pleasures—leading nowhere but to the grave or the crematorium—I walked away. Life felt so meaningless, I couldn’t stand it. This is the true story of how I turned my back on the American materialistic dream and discovered something far greater: Krishna consciousness. A gripping journey of inner revolution and a call to awaken a world civilization on the edge of collapse.

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