Danger of Fighting Amongst Ourselves

While Śrīla Prabhupāda encouraged a fighting spirit against māyā, he was adamantly opposed to his disciples fighting amongst themselves. In numerous letters, he expresses deep anxiety that internal conflict, bickering, and politics would "ruin our great movement." He instructs that the only way to maintain the spiritual strength of the society is through cooperation, tolerance, and a united focus on the mission of Lord Caitanya.

A Grave Warning

Śrīla Prabhupāda's most severe warnings often center on disunity. He states that fighting amongst "godbrothers" is a sign of the Yadu-kula disaster—where a family destroys itself. He clarifies that external enemies cannot defeat the movement, but internal friction can cause it to crack and crumble. If the devotees fight, the movement loses its spiritual potency and becomes just another mundane institution.

• The only fear I have is that you may fight. Please do not. That will ruin everything we have done. If there is any misunderstandings which arise, as they will, settle them up.
• Another lesson is that if we fight amongst ourselves, even we belong to the family of Krsna, we are ruined. This is the instance of Yadu-kula.
• If you manufacture whims and disagree and fight amongst yourself, then it will be another edition of these so-called movements. It will lose the spiritual strength. Always remember it.

The Cause: Material Individualism

Why do devotees fight? Śrīla Prabhupāda pinpoints "individualism" and the desire for supremacy as the root cause. When everyone wants to be the boss, conflict is inevitable. This mentality is described as a "previous qualification" from material life that must be abandoned. If devotees bring their fighting spirit into the temple, they are merely reviving the very material disease they came to cure.

• Everyone is thinking, "I am intelligent. I am boss. I must order you." And the other is thinking, "Why you shall be boss? I am also boss." So fighting will go on.
• Personal grudge is not inhuman and as I have told many times, that individualism is the cause of personal misunderstanding. When such individualism is employed in the center of Krishna there is no harm even if there is personal misunderstanding.

The Test of Love

Śrīla Prabhupāda explicitly states that the test of his disciples' love for him is their ability to cooperate. Unity in diversity is the Vaiṣṇava standard. Discord and factions indicate that the persons involved are not actually attached to Kṛṣṇa, but to their own petty interests. He begs his disciples to stop fighting for his sake, so that he can peacefully translate his books.

• The test of our actual dedication and sincerity to serve the Spiritual Master will be in this mutual cooperative spirit to push on this Movement and not make factions and deviate.
• If there is some discrepancy anywhere, some non-cooperation, fighting, or if the work is slow or not to the standard, it is to be supposed that the person or persons in charge are not very much attached to Krishna.

Leaders Must Be Ideal

The burden of maintaining peace falls heavily on the leaders. Śrīla Prabhupāda expresses great disappointment when GBC members or sannyāsīs—who are supposed to be the "brain" of the society—engage in politics. He reminds them that the GBC was created specifically to manage affairs peacefully, not to become a source of conflict.

• I have appointed the GBC not to fight amongst yourselves but to manage.
• First of all, there must be a class of men, ideal men, brain; people will follow them. My request is therefore that you should become ideal men. If we fight . . . now there is fighting amongst ourself. That is very disappointment to me.

Tolerate and Preach

The solution is simple but difficult: tolerate. Śrīla Prabhupāda advises that whenever there are two people, there will be misunderstanding, but we must learn to forgive and forget for the higher cause. The world is going to hell; in light of that emergency, arguing amongst ourselves is a criminal neglect of duty.

• The whole world is going to hell and everyone is suffering. In light of this, how can we argue amongst one another and neglect our responsibility for reclaiming these fallen souls for going Back to Home, Back to Godhead.
• We should learn to forget and forgive minor incidents because whenever there are two men in a place, there is always some misunderstanding.

Conclusion

Fighting amongst devotees is not just a social issue; it is a spiritual deviation. By engaging in internal conflict, we risk destroying the "shelter" of ISKCON that Śrīla Prabhupāda built for the world. The instruction is clear: keep the fighting spirit for māyā, but keep the cooperative spirit for the devotees. As Śrīla Prabhupāda implores, "You must stop this fighting between brothers. Otherwise the whole program will be spoiled."

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Our Fighting With Each Other (Disciples of SP). We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.