There are two sides of this Esoteric Teaching. One side is what we accept, and the other side is what we do not accept. Acceptance and rejection—yes and no—are both parts of this Teaching.
Not that we try to accept everything, or believe in everything, no. Some so-called spiritual teachers, they try to be positive about everything, see everything as a path to God. But to believe in everything is to believe in nothing. It is disempowering and leads nowhere.We are very clear about what we believe in and what we reject. This is good intelligence.
For example, according to military science, before a battle, first of all one must accurately estimate the military strength of the opposite side. This is intelligence. One should assess the opposing elements, where they are strong, how they have arranged their resources. Then one should calculate how to counteract, how to fight and defeat them. This is intelligence.
Without making any estimation of the opposing side, if we are not prepared for their strategy, then how can we become victorious? An intelligent man not only thinks of the bright side of his business, but of all the many possibilities he may have to deal with.
Similarly in other areas of life we should not calculate only the bright side. There is the darker side also. We should always think, “If there is some thief, if there are some rogues, they may try to cheat us; then what precaution can I take?” This is intelligence. If I simply calculate the bright side, that “In this business I will make so much profit,” in the meantime, somebody may come and cheat me; then what will I do? People are envious, and we have to be prepared for this possibility.
Therefore the dark side also should be considered. That is intelligence. Considering and calculating the dark side—the possible actions of the enemy—how they can attack us at any moment. That is the dark side. If do not understand the ways of the dark side, how can we defend against it?
Somebody was criticizing that “You are introducing this Esoteric Teaching. People are becoming caught by your cult. They simply study Bhagavad-gita and chant om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.” As if this is a bad thing! So I replied that “You will see the power of this movement in due course of time.”
There are 26 qualifications of a bona fide Initiate of the Esoteric Teaching. Out of the twenty-six, one qualification is daksa, expert. The Esoteric Teaching is not shallow or one-sided. Vedic wisdom, the Absolute Truth is all-pervading; similarly, the Esoteric Teaching is also all-pervading. It touches everything, even economics, politics, sociology, everything, as required to attain its aims.
Because the mission of this Esoteric Teaching is twofold: paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bhagavad-gita 4.8]. There are two missions: not only to give protection to the devotees, but also to neutralize and defeat the demons. So the students of the Esoteric Teaching are trained up both ways: to give protection to the devotees, to encourage them; and also to neutralize the demons and defeat false demoniac so-called spiritual teachings.
The demons are envious of everyone. They want to prevent the living entities from enjoying their spiritual birthright of a peaceful and happy life in God’s kingdom. Therefore they spread so many lies: false teachings in the guise of spirituality. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. And if you accept these false teachings out of ignorance, then your spiritual progress is ruined and your whole life is spoiled, useless. So besides our positive teachings, another side of our mission is to expose and defeat these tactics of the demons. And this side is just as important as the positive side.
This is the Esoteric Teaching. It is not for cowards, for those who are afraid to say no. It is a spiritual battle against ignorance and the demoniac mentality. A student of the Esoteric Teaching is non-violent. By nature an intelligent person is non-violent, but we are prepared to fight on the philosophical platform against wrong conceptions of spiritual life, against the damaging influence of false teachings.
Our mission is an open secret: paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bhagavad-gita 4.8]. There are two main aims of the Esoteric Teaching, two sides. So students of the Esoteric Teaching should be trained up both ways, and they should be prepared to fight, to defend the truth. There is no question of unnecessarily violence. But we are outspoken against the false teachings that hold people back from authentic self-realization.
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