By Mahatma das
Many times Srila Prabhupada said "Love and trust." I think we need a lot more of this. Vengeance, envy, anger,and discord are often higher within religious groups than elsewhere (“We have enough religion to hate, but not enough to love”). We need to be careful about this in Iskcon. Recently I came across this quote. "Religious people often become self righteous, judgmental, resentful, condemning, etc. as they see more faults in man than other's see. Psychologists have noted that piety can easily become an unhealthy form of neurosis rather than a healthy form of religion." As devotees we are given standards to follow, standards which can backfire by becoming a criteria upon which we judge others. This will make us more judgmental , critical and sarcastic than before we joined Iskcon. Of course, if we are advancing properly we will become more introspective about our own need to improve. But the judgment of others often happens before the introspection kicks in.