The idea to serve Krishna refers to our broad understanding that life is meant for serving him.
The ideas to serve Krishna refer to our different specific plans for serving him.
Every one of us is an inpidual – irreducibly. So we all have different ways of perceiving, thinking and acting. Consequently, when we understand our identity as servants of Krishna, we naturally have different ideas about how to serve him.
Of course, scripture gives the universal direction that we make him the center of our life. But that direction needs to be customized as we are all at different stages of our spiritual evolution. Accordingly, Gita wisdom offers an inclusive program of multi-level spiritual growth with various progressive paths such as karma, jnana and bhakti.
No doubt, the Bhagavad-gita (18.66) conclusively endorses bhakti. But it also urges sensitivity towards the spiritually under-evolved, recommending (03.29) that the enlightened not disturb the unenlightened, as long as the latter are also on the spiritual expressway towards Krishna, even if they are at a preliminary stage and are taking only baby-steps forward.
How much more worthy of similar sensitive accommodation are those who are evolved enough to want to serve Krishna, but just want to do it differently! The limitations of living in a finite, conditioned world may require us to do things in one way instead of the other, but this doesn’t have to engender a right-wrong, win-lose mentality.
If we focus on the common purpose to serve Krishna, we can not just tolerate but even celebrate the persity in the devotee community.
How celebrate?
By seeing persity as not only a potent tool for attracting widely varying people to Krishna, but also as a living testimony to his all-attractiveness in inspiring such different souls to serve him.
Explanation of article:
Everything comes from Lord Sri Krishna including our freedom, knowledge and perspective. All living entities, in fact everything in existence, is flowing to Him, like rivers flowing to the ocean. There is no right or wrong in that natural flow to the all-attractive Lord. In fact all pathways to Lord Sri Krishna are illuminated for the devotee and he is happy seeing even the ants going to Him. How wonderful to whisper Hare Krishna to the ant and seeing the Lord dancing in its soul. The ant may be completely ignorant about its actual position and it is a waste of time to convince it otherwise, but its eternal soul will resonate with the divine vibrations of Lord Krishna’s holy Name. In this way the devotee can always preach indirectly and be delighted in finding Krishna in even the most covered souls.
A most important message. By transcending the dualities of ideas of how to serve Krsna, both within and without the bhakti tradition, we avoid being sectarian in our service. JKH