When Norway’s World Cup hopes came to an end, emotions ran high. Erling Haaland was visibly frustrated when Alexander Sørloth failed to pass him the ball during a crucial attack. Many fans concluded that this single moment had cost Norway its chance of progressing further. In the days that followed, Sørloth reportedly received hundreds of thousands of hateful messages. Overnight, he became the villain.
Yet something remarkable happened later.
When the Norwegian team returned home after reaching the quarterfinals, they were greeted as heroes. The King of Norway welcomed them, crowds gathered to celebrate them, and the nation expressed its gratitude. No one threw eggs at Sørloth. No one demanded that he be excluded from the team. Instead, one banner beautifully captured the spirit of the occasion:
“Alexander Sørloth, you are one of us.”
That is how cultured people treat their own. They may not like what you did, but they don’t stop loving who you are.
In every family, every team, and every spiritual community, people will make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes have painful consequences. We may feel disappointed, hurt, or even angry. But if every mistake leads to rejection, condemnation, and alienation, we gradually destroy the very relationships that hold the community together.
The same principle applies in Krishna consciousness. Every devotee is struggling with material nature. We all have our moments when we fail Krishna, fail others and even fail ourselves. Devotees will sometimes speak unwisely, make poor decisions, or fail in their responsibilities. If our first instinct is to judge harshly, label them, or push them away, we create a culture of fear rather than a culture of devotion.
Acceptance does not mean approving of every action. Nor does it mean abandoning standards or accountability. It means remembering that behind every mistake is a soul sincerely trying to return to Krishna. We may correct the behaviour, but we should not reject the person.
We are a hospital; not police station
There is another way to look at our spiritual communities. They are more like hospitals than police stations/courtrooms. We have all come to Krishna with the disease of material consciousness. Every devotee is trying to overcome anarthas, learn to love Krishna, and become a better servant. Some recover quickly, while others struggle for years.
So, when we see a devotee stumble, we should remember that we are looking at a patient, not a criminal. Patients need treatment, encouragement, and time to recover. Our temples should resemble hospitals more than courtrooms, and we are all at different stages of recovery. If we turn our temples into courtrooms where everyone is investigated, judged, and condemned, many wounded devotees will simply stop coming. Krishna consciousness is meant to be a place where people heal, not a place where they are written off.
The question is not whether devotees will make mistakes. They will. The real question is: when they do, will they find judges or family? A healthy spiritual community is one in which devotees know that even after they fail, they will still be met with compassion, guidance, and the reassuring message:
“You are one of us.”
That spirit reflects Krishna’s own dealings with His devotees. He corrects them, purifies them, and guides them—but He never stops accepting them as His own. When we learn to deal with one another in the same way, our communities become places where devotees can grow, heal, and deepen their relationship with Krishna together.
Krishna consciousness is meant to be a family. Families correct one another, but they do not abandon one another.
