We are kicking out all these cheating type of religion

Srila Prabhupada Conversation, London – July 14, 1973

 

Indian man (1): But if an animal kills, he kills for food.

Indian man (2): Another one, Guru Mahārāja, they are taking our picture and selling all Christian books as religion education, moral education. And this is the tools. These people little cunning, eh? When it comes to my knowledge, I was almost . . .

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Indian man (2): Hare Kṛṣṇa. And they are selling all these Christian books in the schools and all over.

Prabhupāda: Wherever. This is our advertisement.

Indian man (2): Advertisement . . .

Prabhupāda: Demonstration of world religion.

Indian man (2): World religion.

Prabhupāda: This is world religion.

Indian man (2): But what inside . . . they say religion and moral education books, and all this . . . so actually, they should take our permission also. So this will sell our books. And our organization, not theirs, those . . . confusing the people.

Prabhupāda: No, they are taking.

Indian man (2): People are recognizing that this is very important. They say: “the world religion,” and this is the tool. They say, well, the tool, “Here is the new tool for religion education in the secondary schools.” So they are recognizing this fact.

Prabhupāda: Without canvassing, people join.

Indian man (2): This is the fact here, see.

Prabhupāda: And the world religion . . . the Ratha-yātrā, we did not ask any particular man. Everyone came and joined. You were there?

Indian man (1): No, I was not.

Prabhupāda: Everyone came and joined. Everyone took prasādam. And they were in Trafalgar Square from five to eight, continually. And Guardian published that . . .

Devotee: Several pictures . . .

Prabhupāda: “Rival to Nelson.” Our Ratha-yātrā is Rival to Nelson. Actually world religion. There is no doubt about it. Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. And we have no restriction. They, so long they, our so-called Hindus, they restricted. But now this is open. Toh hum India jaata toh humko bolta, “aap toh Hindu dharm ko naash kar diya.”(When I go to India, some say that, “You have destroyed the Hindu religion.”)

Indian man (1):Hindu dharm ko badha diya toh naash karna!(You have increased the Hindu religion and they say that you have destroyed it.)

Prabhupāda: Woh humko sab bolta hai, “aap toh naash kar diya. Bhaktivedanta Swami Hindu dharm ko naash kar diya. Sab mleccha logo ko jaaneoo de deta hai.” (They say: “You have destroyed everything. Bhaktivedanta Swami has destroyed Hindu religion. He gives the sacred thread to the mlecchas.”)

Indian man: Aaj ek article dekha tha . . . (indistinct) . . . weekly mei. Toh woh uska heading thaa (Today I saw an article in the . . . (indistinct) . . . weekly. The heading was) “Envy, our national character.” Envy, lot of envy. If you are successful or somebody is successful, everybody becomes jealous.

Prabhupāda: So that we explain every day. This material life means to become jealous. That is material life. Material life means you are jealous of me, I am jealous of you.

Indian man (1): Woh jealous hai isliye kahenge ki “aapne yeh dharm prachaar kyun kiya aur Hindu dharm ka aapne sab khatam kar diya.” Aapko kehte hain, hindu dharm aapne khatam kar diya. Toh woh jealous karte hain. (They are jealous so they will ask, “Why did you try to preach Hindu religion and spoil it completely as a result?” They tell you that you have finished Hindu religion. So they are jealous.) Jealousy and Envy.

Prabhupāda:Kaun bolta hai?(Who says that?)

Indian man:Jo bhi bolte hain.(Whoever it may be.)

Prabhupāda:Accha.(Okay.)

Indian man:Aaj kal dharm ka business bana rakha hai logo ne. Jidhar bhi jaao . . .(Nowadays people have made religion into business. Wherever one goes . . .)

Prabhupāda: Dharm toh ek hi hai. (There is only one religion.) Dharmaṁ tu sākṣad bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19): “Religion is given by God.” Aur toh sab religion hai hi nahi. Jo Bhagwan ki di hui hai woh religion hai. Bhagwan ka kya kehna hai, (There is no other religion. Only that which is given by God is religion. What does God say?) Sarva-dharmān parityajya, mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). So this is religion. Bhagwan ka charan mei sharanagati. Toh hum log toh asal religion de raha hoon, Bhagwan ka charan mei sharanagat hoye. Aur toh sab religion hai hi nahi. (To surrender at the lotus feet of the Lord. We are giving the actual religion which is surrender at the lotus feet of the Lord. All other ideas are not religion.) They are not religion. They are cheating. Bhāgavata says, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra (SB 1.1.2): “The cheating type of religion is kicked out.” So we are following the same principle. We are kicking out all these cheating type of religion.

It is explained any religion which does not recognize or do not understand the principles of religion, so that is cheating religion. Why religion?

Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo

yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

(SB 1.2.6)

This is religion. That is first-class religion, which teaches bhakti, yato bhaktir adhokṣaje, to the Supreme, which is beyond our perception. Akṣaja. Akṣaja means within material perception. Beginning from “a” to “kṣa,” whatever experience we have got . . . or akṣa means eyes, senses.

So within sense perception, whatever is there . . . God is beyond sense perception. Therefore God’s name is Adhokṣaja. Yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. That is first-class religion. Otherwise, there are so many religions, pseudo religions. They have been described in the Bhāgavata as kaitava. And Śrīdhara Svāmī gives his comments on this kaitava: chala-dharma. Chala-dharma means cheating. And he says particularly, mokṣa-vāñchāpi nirastam. That desire of merging into the Brahman effulgence, that is called mokṣa. Dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, CC Ādi 1.90).

Generally, people understand these four principles: religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and then merge into the effulgence, mokṣa, liberation. So Śrīdhara Svāmī says up to mokṣa-vāñchā is cheating, kaitava. Up to mokṣa-vāñchā. Mokṣa-vāñchāpy atra nirastam, kevala bhagavad-upāsanā. That is dharma. That is real dharma. Bhagavad-upāsanā. So we are teaching that religion, bhagavad-upāsanā, simply. We have no such ambition, to be elevated to the heavenly planet or to merge into the Brahman effulgence. No! We can live anywhere, even in the hell. It doesn’t matter. But our worship of Kṛṣṇa shall continue. This is our religion.

So we are not ambitious to go to heaven or higher planetary system or higher standard of life. We have no such ambition. We simply want Kṛṣṇa and worship Him, that’s all. Never mind where it is. This is real dharma. Yato bhaktir adhokṣaje.

 

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