(Kadamba Kanana Swami, March 2018, Durban, South Africa, Human Relationships Lecture)
Question: What is the most appropriate way to inspire your spouse towards Krsna consciousness?
With a lot of love! It is going to take a lot of love because it is through love that the inspiration will come to the other person – the inspiration to make a sacrifice. It is a challenge for someone to inspire a spouse to take up Krsna consciousness therefore, it must be done in a loving way. It does not mean that every word has to be decorated with roses. No, it means that we have to speak simply with the interest of the other person at heart, not that we are the centre and that we are going out of our way for someone else and that we are adjusting ourselves to others. Love means to give. Love means that we are ready to sacrifice and when someone sees this, that can really awaken something within them.
Srila Prabhupada’s sister was an extraordinary devotee. She looked just like Prabhupada in a female form. In her younger years, she was married to a man who was not a devotee. Her husband was engaging in all kinds of activities, which during that time in India was quite shocking. But she never gave up. She never left him. She kept on serving him and so on. It took quite a long time but eventually one day, he admitted it, “My wife is a saint!” and that actually changed him. He gave up all his bad habits. So in this way, she conquered him by her saintliness.