People and computer chips: Good and bad spiritual leaders

In the material world, it's difficult to find love. So-called love is a product, handed over to whoever can fulfill the specs. We may think it's different in a spiritual society, but not so fast...

Jul 14, 2025

Once, a long time ago, a dispute emerged in a certain temple. Book distributors started claiming that their service was the most important, while the pūjāris tried to defend themselves by maintaining that deity worship was also important. When Prabhupada came to visit, one of the book distributors tried to settle the dispute by raising his hand during a class and asking Prabhupada: What is the thing we can do that is the most pleasing to you?

He expected that Prabhupada would answer that book distribution was the most pleasing activity, but instead, Prabhupada shocked everyone by saying:

"That you become Krsna conscious."

This was an answer that tells a lot about the mentality of a qualified spiritual leader.

In the material world, it's very difficult to find love, or anything close to it. Everywhere, people get into relationships out of interest and are quick to separate when their personal purposes are not fulfilled. People are valued only according to their capacity to fulfill certain roles. A husband loves his wife only to the extent she can fulfill whatever ideas he has about family life, and similarly, a wife loves her husband only to the extent he can offer her material facilities, attention, adventure, etc. as soon as she is not satisfied with his service, there is dissatisfaction, divorce, etc. The same applies to all levels of relationships. People are treated like computer chips and appreciated only according to their specs and capacity to fit into certain roles and perform certain functions. The ones who don't fit are summarily rejected, just like computer chips that don't match the specification.

We may think that we are not loved because we have some defect or deficiency, but in reality, the problem is not with us: it is with others, the whole society, and in fact, this whole material world. We may think we are not loved because there is some problem with us, but the fact is that there is very little love in this material world. Almost everything is transactional, done out of interest. So-called love is a product, handed over to whoever can fulfill the specs.

In the midst of this crushing environment, we find Prabhupada's books, and we read about a reality that is different from this, another world where true love exists. We then hear that he created a society, a place where these values are practiced. Finally, we found our place, a place where we can be loved, and not just treated as commodities. But well, not so fast...

This same materialistic consciousness can also creep into spiritual movements and affect the mentality of spiritual leaders. People who are affected by such a mentality will have a certain goal in their minds and show appreciation for people who fit this goal. In other words, their affection and loyalty are not to the people who are putting their trust in them, but to whatever personal goal they have. People who fit into this personal project will be valued and taken care of; others will be rejected. It's the same computer chip mentality in action. Leaders on this level of consciousness deal with goals, and people are just tools to achieve such goals. Even if the goal is for Krsna, the negative effect on the people who are thus used will not be milder.

In contrast, mature devotees and spiritual authorities deal with individuals. Their main goal is to help their dependents become Krsna Conscious, and to this end, they will try to engage them in different activities according to their natural tendencies and qualifications. They will have the flexibility to move people around when they are not doing well and respect one's decision to go on a completely different path if that's the case. Instead of a boss who cares only about results, the mentality of a proper spiritual authority is more like that of a father, who tries to help his dependents find the best path in life.

This is something that we all should be able to understand and recognize. It's very common to find people who show interest in us just because we fit into a certain role that they consider pleasing, such as performing a certain service or activity, or fitting into a certain pattern of behavior, and painfully observe that the same person reject us when we decide to do something else. Sometimes these people may even play the role of mentors or other spiritual authorities.

It's important to be able to distinguish these from true well-wishers, who see us as personalities and thus value us not because of our specs or functions, but because of who we are, and are committed to our spiritual advancement and not just to their projects and ambitions.

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