Organized Religion — Demons preaching from the Pulpits
Sri Krsna manifest His eternal birth, the pure cognitive essence of the serving soul who is located above all mundane limitations, King Kamsa is the typical aggressive empiricist, ever on the lookout for the appearance of the truth for the purpose of suppressing Him before He has time to develop.
This is no exaggeration of the real connotation of the consistent empiric position. The materialist has a natural repugnance for the transcendent. He is disposed to link that faith in the incomprehensible is the parent of dogmatism and hypocrisy in the guise of religion. He is also equally under the delusion that there is no real dividing line between the material and the spiritual, he is strengthened in his delusion by the interpretation of scriptures by persons who are like-minded with himself. This includes all the lexicographic interpreters.
The lexicographical interpretation is upheld by Kamsa as the real scientific explanation of the scriptures, and is perfectly in keeping with his dread of and aversion for the transcendental. These lexicographical interpreters are employed by Kamsa in putting down the first suspected appearance of any genuine faith in the transcendental. King Kamsa knows very well that if the faith in the transcendental is once allowed to grow it is sure to upset all his empiric prospects.
There is historical ground for such misgivings. Accordingly if the empiric domination is to be preserved in tact it would be necessary not to lose a moment to put down the transcendental heresy the instant it threatens to make its appearance in earnest. King Kamsa, acting on this traditional fear is never slow to take the scientific precaution of deputing empiric teachers of the scriptures, backed by the resources of dictionary and grammar and all empiric subtleties to put down, by the show of specious arguments based on hypothetical principles, the true interpretation of the eternal religion revealed by the scriptures.
Kamsa is strongly persuaded that faith in the transcendental can be effectively put down by empiricism if prompt and decisive measures are adopted at the very outset. He attributes the failure of atheism in the past to the neglect of the adoption of such measures before the theistic fallacy has had time to spread among the fanatical masses.
But Kamsa is found to count without his host. When Krsna is born He is found to be able to upset all sinister designs against those who are apprised by Himself of His advent. The apparently causeless faith displayed by persons irrespective of age, sex and condition may confound all rabid empiricists who are on principle adverse to the Absolute Truth Whose appearance is utterly incompatible with the domination of empiricism.
But no adverse efforts of the empiricists, whose rule seems till then to be perfectly well-established over the minds of the deluded souls of this world can dissuade any person from exclusively in following the Truth when He actually manifests His birth in the pure cognitive essence of the soul.
Putana is the slayer of all infants. The baby, when he or she comes out of the mother’s womb, falls at once into the hands of the pseudo-teachers of religion. These teachers are successful in forestalling the attempts of the good preceptor whose help is never sought by the atheists of this world at the baptisms of their babies. This is ensured by the arrangements of all established churches of the world. They have been successful only in supplying watchful Putanas for effecting the spiritual destruction of persons from the moment of their birth with the cooperation of their worldly parents. No human contrivance can prevent these Putanas from obtaining possession of the pulpits. This is due to the general prevalence of atheistic disposition in the people of this world.
The church that has the best chance of survival in this damned world is that of atheism under the convenient guise of theism. The churches have always proved the staunchest upholders of the grossest form of worldliness from which even the worst of non-ecclesiastical criminals are found to recoil.
It is not from any deliberate opposition to the ordained clergy that these observations are made. The original purpose of the established churches of the world may not always be objectionable. But no stable religious arrangement for instructing the masses has yet been successful. The Supreme Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in pursuance of the teachings of the scriptures enjoins all absence of conventionalism for the teachers of the eternal religion. It does not follow that the mechanical adoption of the unconventional life by any person will make him a fit teacher of religion.
Regulation is necessary for controlling the inherent worldliness of conditional souls.
But no mechanical regulation has any value, even for such a purpose. The bona-fide teacher of religion is neither any product of nor the favourer of, any mechanical system. In his hands no system has likewise, the chance of degenerating into a lifeless arrangement. The mere pursuit of fixed doctrines and fixed liturgies cannot hold a person to the true spirit of doctrine or liturgy.
The idea of an organised church in an intelligible form, indeed, marks the close of the living spiritual movement. The great ecclesiastical establishments are the dikes and the dams to retain the current that cannot be held by any such contrivances. They, indeed, indicate a desire on the part of the masses to exploit a spiritual movement for their own purpose. They also unmistakably indicate the end of the absolute and unconventional guidance of the bona-fide spiritual teacher. The people of this world understand preventive systems, they have no idea at all of the unprevented positive eternal life. Neither can there be any earthy contrivance for the permanent preservation of the life eternal on this mundane plane on the popular scale.
Those are, therefore, greatly mistaken who are disposed to look forward to the amelioration of the worldly state in any worldly sense from the worldly success of any really spiritual movement. It is these worldly expectants who become the patrons of the mischievous race of the pseudo-teachers of religion, the Putanas, whose congenial function is to stifle the theistic disposition at the very moment of its suspected appearance. But the real theistic disposition can never be stifled by the efforts of those Putanas. The Putanas have power only over the atheist. It is a thankless but salutary task which they perform for the benefit of their unwilling victims.
But as soon as theistic disposition proper makes its appearance in the pure cognitive essence, of the awakened soul, the Putanas are decisively silenced at the very earliest stage of their encounter with new-born Krsna. The would-be slayer is herself slain. This is the reward of the negative services that the Putanas unwittingly render to the cause of theism by strangling all hypocritical demonstrations against their own hypocrisy.
But Putana does not at all like to receive her reward in only form which involves the total destruction of her wrong personality.
King Kamsa also does not like to lose the services of the most trusted of his agents. The effective silencing of the whole race of pseudo-teachers of religion is the first clear indication of the appearance of the Absolute on the mundane plane. The bona-fide teacher of the Absolute, heralds the Advent of Krsna by his uncompromising campaign against the pseudo-teachers of religion.
About the Author
Related Posts
Modernizing Traditional Religions [an Interview] →
Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Appearance Day Lecture, London, September 23, 1969 →
Krishna Consciousness–The Yoga for the Modern Age →
Hare krisna prabhuji dandvat pranam thanks for organising books of prabhupad his dealings whith his associates his different lilas letters and articles so well so that we can take utmost benefit from it and become capable to gain prabhupada mercy thank u very much bless me so that i can become staunch devotee of krisna and strict disciple of prabhupad. I wish I can make prabhupad and his associates proud and happy hare krisna prabhuji.
Try https://prabhupadabooks.com
Everything is nicely organized there.
Hare Krishna Prabhuji
Dandavat Pranam
Is there any possibility of such putanas being corrected? It seems some of the people around me are like this who want to discourage me from becoming devotee of Lord Krishna, either by threatening or telling me that I am a pretender, etc. It is the mercy of Guru maharaj Sripa Prabhupada and Lord Krishna that I am not getting discouraged. I am not even able to chant Hare Krishna 16 rounds. Family members of whom some are devotees are also not helping me in any way. My father although utters this word God many times does not like me anymore so he is particularly inimical towards me. It seems only few people are not envious of Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and those who are His devotees or trying to become His devotees.
Hare Krishna Aman
Yes. This is the material world. We are all more-or-less demons. The material world is like a prison. So as criminals are sent to a prison for rectification the rebellious living entities who have rejected Krishna and want to become the lord and master themselves are sent here for rectification. So more-or-less everyone in the material world is against Krishna. Against surrendering to God. Even though there are many who pose as great devotees of God. But mostly they are doing it for some selfish purpose, generally for fame, profit, adoration, followers, etc.
So one who genuinely understands that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that our purpose in life is to surrender to and serve Krishna is a very rare soul. And such rare souls face a great deal of opposition from the demons. So if we want to become devotees we have to get used to it. But there is hope for everyone. Lord Caitanya appeared as patita pavana, the deliverer of the most fallen. So being fallen is no disqualification for becoming a pure devotee of Krishna with the help of the unlimited mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya.
But there are many people who will not become devotees. So we have to concentrate on becoming pure devotees ourselves and then we need to find people who are at least a little bit open to hearing about Krishna from us. There is no point trying to preach to and convince a demon who is totally against the idea of surrendering to and serving God. That is useless. We can give them prasadam and try to convince them to read some of Prabhupada’s books and let them hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. But it is useless to try to preach to them if they are totally antagonistic.
So don’t worry. Try not to unnecessary disturb the demons but don’t let them discourage you in any way in your Krishna consciousness. And just concentrate on becoming a pure devotee of Krishna yourself and as you advance more and more in Krishna consciousness Krishna from within your heart will guide you how to deal with people in such a way that they become transformed from demons into devotees.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank you so much Prabhuji….I will not get discouraged and curb my own demonic qualities by chanting Hare Krishna by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s grace then when I’m strong then only try to help others.
Hare Krishna!
In the picture above Srila Prabhupada is looking amazing! Look at the eagerness he has to hear his guru maharaja! This is how eager his followers become to hear him. Jai Prabhupada!
Dear Madudvisa Dasa,
Combining your article Organized Religion with Mr. Gauranga das’s comment:
I understand the latter’s word-choice: drunken pirates. Indeed I think the ISKCON ship, which was meant for savely crossing us over the ocean of material existance, has become steerless by the course set out by a power-drunken crew of land-ludders, and well after Shrila Prabhupada’s sudden depart after his complaint of being poisoned.
Now these self-appointed new ‘leaders’ with poisoned breast’s had seized the power with which they appoint mostly young and ambitious ‘devotees’ who are, as they were themselves, for their livelihood dependent on the GBC’s ISKCON, into a one of the many departments, in which they cleverly divided ISKCON.
Result: like Kansa (Chr. Herod) the GBC divides and rules in a worldly manner, spreading the venom of personal interests based on ambition.
Indeed Kansa and Herod are well known as the Child-murderers. Herod was a self-profit thinker, who was not able to come to his heart and let the Christ-child (the true-self or Atman) be discovered and thus be able to hear the ingivings of the nearby Paramatma.
As like so many leaders in other Organized Religions the ISKCON leaders as well miss the virtue of having the Self-, and the Superself (Paramatma) realized, which is mandated to become Krishna-conscious. So, in fact, they should not be respected as such.
So my pledge is: “Let every ISKCON centre on this globe, become independent of this GBC leadership, and chant the Holy names individually and do Harinama, read Shrila Prabhupada’s books, enjoy the Sunday feasts, etc., having their own appointed temple-president, and temple-council.
And be obedient to Shrila Prabhupada’s request to organize worldly things like the Catur-Varnya system to found a God-wanted civilization on mother Earth for the interests of all living and even non-living beings. Yes, we have a mission to fulfill, and everyone who frustrates it should be abandoned.
Let it be ISKCON’s task to keep the transcendental standards high, not appointing even one person who is the victim, or cultivator, of false ego.
Hare Krishna
My observation is that the present ISKCON was taken over by drunk pirates immediately after Srila Prabhupada’s departure, and it is no longer a safe ship for crossing over this miserable ocean of material existence, even though the drunk pirate leaders say on the contrary. It would be wise for the sober persons not to come in close contact with this ship, and to run off if some of them are already inside.
In my observation iskcon and personal experience living withing the organization for five years has become just like the churches discribed in Bhaktisidanta Saraswatis article. What is needed is the unconventional preceptor teaching real vaishnavism out side the box cut by Material motivated motivated leaders speculations.
We have developed a unconventional working prototype for vaishnavism that has worked to deliver the ultimate result of Krishna prema. As unbelievable as it sounds we have done it and have practical examples of persons manifesting the symptoms of pure devotion to Krishna confirmed by the bonafide devotional scriptures. So like the author of the article says. The church of ISKCON is not interested. Like the author the article says. There has never been an example of a religious organization That would work to deliver the masses due to natural by product of religion which is corruption. So the real work for real advancement in vaishnavism beyond the neophyte stage will be naturally done in more small groups under the guidance and shelter of a genuinely empowered person genuinely linked to the real disciplic succession