Prabhu (1): When you are rendering service to your, to the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa in a religious institution, sometimes you find yourself under an authority within that institution that [indistinct] [doesn't appear to be] qualified, but by the past activities and past events... [indistinct] How do you deal with that?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: How do you deal with working under an authority that doesn't appear to be qualified? The thing to check is is how do they engage you? Because there is a few things there. One is their actual ability to perform the service; two, there is their Kṛṣṇa consciousness, meaning there is their own personal nature and character, like that. So what we are looking for is, we are looking to be engaged in the Lord's service. So if they are actually engaging us in the Lord's service, even though there they may not be great managers or their character may not be, [it may be] bad, they may even be motivated why they are getting you to do it. They are getting you to go out and do big collection, telling you,"You know, it is for Kṛṣṇa," and all that, but the main thing for them is that they will look good amongst the other temple presidents that their temple collects the most. But the point is is, that going out and collecting, you are doing it for Kṛṣṇa, it is bonafide and that. As long as they are engaging you in bonafide activities, even if their mentality is wrong, their nature is wrong, it doesn't matter. You will go back to Godhead, they won't, like that. Maybe by you going back to Godhead they will get benefit, you know, they did happen to be the temple president of the devotee who went back to Godhead, so there is some benefit for them. So as long as that... But if they are not engaging you in Kṛṣṇa conscious activity, then you can see that then it is something for discussion, and if there is no discussion then for finding another situation. That is why intelligence must be used, but one can't use it as an excuse to not surrender.

Prabhu (1): [Indistinct] Yeah…

HH BVPS Mahārāja: That is the point. Yeah. So that is... Generally, most places, most authorities do engage people in proper activities, though they as persons may be hard to deal with, their abilities to do that service may or may not be so good, you know, like that, but generally... So their personal duties may be difficult, but the activities they engage you in are generally okay. So as long as that is there, then it is an opportunity to develop humility, tolerance, forgiveness, all those things. But if the activity... If the situation is not right for being engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness then you should find another situation that is, but it cannot be out of trying to avoid surrender. Because many people, they can find fault in anything, you know, that is... So finding fault is not necessarily a real symptom of qualification, right? To find a fault means you have to compare something, so that means one uses intelligence. But if you decide whether it is a fault or not, that is the mind. So if someone's mind is not improved, they will find fault in anything, but if the mind is improved they will only find fault in what is considered fault by Guru, sādhu and śāstra, like that. So that's... One always has to be careful that... Because it is a double thing, it is not...

Many times it is either everyone else's fault, or, "Yes, I am so useless." But both are based on ignorance. No. Others we work with, and then what is good we take, what is not good we leave. And then with ourselves is, what is useful then we engage that in Kṛṣṇa's service, what is not useful, we drop that, or we make a plan how to drop it.

Prabhu (2): Mahārāja, those who are leaders, sometimes it is the devotees who are leaders by themselves, naturally they find that they can do it better, to start to move on and open themselves another temple...

HH BVPS Mahārāja: Yeah. No, that is there, that is also another option. He is saying, is one moves if one can do it... Prabhupāda would do that. He had two answers to someone who would make a complaint about the temple president: one was, "First do what they are doing, then talk," that would be for the person who doesn't have the qualification; and the other is, "Great, you do it, I will take this temple president, since they have proven themselves, and take them and open some new project." So, you would get one of those two from Prabhupāda. So it depends, if one has the ability then it can be taken as an opportunity to do something. It is, in both cases one has to be careful of the false ego, like that, it is always a problem that you get.