Clothes Don't Make the Man: How do we know you're who you say you are?

Men of the Cloth

Who Follows the Principles of Religion? Hansadutta das

You cannot be a Christian priest and say that it is useless worshiping Christ, it is useless worshiping God. Then what is the use of being a priest? What distinguishes a priest from an ordinary man? Simply that he is wearing a robe and reading the Bible? That is not the difference. The difference is that he abides by the orders of God. And the first and foremost order of the Lord in any scripture, whether it is the Bible or the Bhagavad-gita or the Torah or the Koran is that one has to learn to love God. Without love of God, there cannot be love of any other thing, because everything, even the flowers, are a creation of God. more

"The blessed messengers of Lord Vishnu, the Vishnudutas, said: If you are actually servants of Yamaraja, you must explain to us the meaning of religious principles and the symptoms of irreligion."

shri vishnuduta uchuh
yuyam vai dharma-rajasya
yadi nirdesha-karinah
bruta dharmasya nas tattvam
yach chadharmasya lakshanam [Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.38]

They challenged... the Yamadutas challenged: "Who are you, interfering in our business? We have come to arrest him." So, before talking, the counterchallenge [from the Vishnudutas to the Yamadutas] was that "You spoke that 'We are servants of Dharmaraja. It is his jurisdiction... This person is impious. So this is the jurisdiction of Dharmaraja. He has to try the case and give him punishment, criminal department, law and order. So, you cannot interfere with us.'" Therefore the challenge is replied by Vishnudutas that "If you are actually representative of Dharmaraja, who tries the case of dharma and adharma, first of all explain what is dharma and what is adharma."

This is very nice challenge. Suppose if somebody, if you say that "We are Krishna conscious persons." So one may challenge you, "First of all, explain what do you know about Krishna." That is quite natural. If you do not know about Krishna, you have no right to say that "I belong to the Krishna consciousness movement." You have not right to say. So your position is like that. Simply if you have a tilaka [clay marking on the body designating it as a temple of Vishnu] and a kanthi [string of Tulasi beads worn around the neck], that does not mean that you belong to the Krishna consciousness movement. Any cheater can do that. You must know the philosophy. If one challenges, you must reply. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung a song indicating these cheaters. He says, ei oto ek kalir chela. "Here is a servant of Kali." What kind of chela? Na te tilal golai mala . "He has got a tilaka and golai mala, bas, that's all." He does not know what is the philosophy. If you do not know the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, if you simply mark your body with tilaka and kanthi, then you are not proper servant, you are not qualified. ...Just like a policeman. A bogus man, if he dresses like a policeman, he is not a policeman. He must know what is the police law, criminal law, who is to be punished, who is not to be punished, what is criminality, what is innocence. All these things he must know. So here is a very good challenge, that "You are talking that you are the servant of Dharmaraja. I know Dharmaraja." It is not that... Because they must know. They are coming from Lord Vishnu, and they know that everyone is servant of Krishna.

Ekale ishvara krishna, ara saba bhritya, yaiche nacaya, se taiche kare nritya in Chaitanya-caritamrita [Adi 5.142]. The master is one, Krishna or God. There cannot be two masters. That is not possible. Or two Gods. You cannot say, "In our faith, God is like this." That is nonsense. God is one. You cannot say, "In our country, gold is like this." No. Gold is everywhere the same. Either in your country or my country, it doesn't matter. Gold is gold everywhere. You cannot say "Christian gold," "Muslim gold," and "Hindu gold." No. Similarly, you cannot say "Hindu God," "Muslim God," "Christian God." No. God is one. Otherwise, there is no God. The definition of God is eka brahma dvitiya nasti. There cannot be any competitor of God. Just like nowadays so many rascals are coming, presenting, "I am God." What kind of God you are? You must check before accepting one rascal as God, what is God. The description of God is there in the shastra: yasyaika-nishvasita kalam athavalambya jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah [Brahma-samhita 5.48]. That is God. By His breathing, millions of universes are coming with exhaling. And when He's inhaling, billions of universes are going within. Can you show like that? That is also not original God. That is plenary expansion of God. Yasyaika-nishvasita-kalam athavalambya jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah vishnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-vishesha [Bs. 5.48]. This transaction is going on in the body of Maha-Vishnu. The material world is being created and annihilated. When there is exhaling, the universes are coming into existence; when there is inhaling, it is all finished. This material world is like that. It is not permanent. Everyone got such experience. Your body, it has a beginning at a certain date from your father and mother. It stays for some time, it develops, it gives some by-products, then it becomes old and you finish. This is material body. Everybody knows it. Similarly, the whole cosmic manifestation, what you are seeing, so big things—it may be very big thing, but the process is the same. Either you take the body of an ant or you take the body of Brahmaji or... The process, the same rules and regulations. Janma-mrityu- jara-vyadhi [Bhagavad-gita 13.9]. There is no change. So that is God. God is producing by His exhaling, inhaling, so many universes. Why should you take such a cheap God? As soon as the God has got some toothache, he goes to the dentist. And he's God! Don't take such cheap Gods. We don't take them. At least, we Krishna conscious persons. Just to accept Krishna as God...

Arjuna, he knew that Krishna is God. Therefore he requested Krishna, "My dear Krishna, can You show me Your form how You are universally working?" And He showed His universal form, how it is working, that is described in the Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. Why? Arjuna knew from the very beginning that "Krishna is the Supreme Lord; I am His servant." But either by Krishna's yoga-maya [power of illusion] or Arjuna's humility, he played that "My family is more important than Your service." He played like that. At last, he agreed that karishye vachanam tava [Bg. 18.73]. So, Krishna and Arjuna, they're teaching us by playing, because Krishna can play with His devotee, not with others. Most confidential devotee. What He wants to teach. So Arjuna presented himself as ordinary human being. He's not ordinary human being; he's personal friend of Krishna. He cannot be bewildered, but he played the part of ordinary being, that "I have got attachment with my family. Why shall I kill them by Your order, and what is this, what is that?" so many, you know. Bhagavad-gita, there are questions and answers. And at last, Krishna said that "Give up this foolishness. Surrender unto Me." So he agreed, Arjuna. That is perfection. That is perfection. So here the same thing. Krishna described what is the meaning of dharma.

Here the question is that "If you are servant of Dharmaraja, then explain what is dharma and adharma." Dharma means religiosity, and adharma means nonreligiosity. What is adharma? Everything is... Because this world is duality. If there is black, there is white. If there is good, there is bad. If there is father, there is son. Otherwise, there is no meaning of son, eh, father. "I am father, bachelor daddy." No. If you are father, you must have a son. If you are a son, then you must have a father. If the son says, "I dropped from the sky," how it is possible? These rascals say it that there is no creator. How is that there is no creator? First of all, prove that you have no creator. Your father has created. How you can say there is no creator? Silent. The rascal is silent. You are talking of "There is no creator," but you, yourself, you were created by your father. So these rascals are talking foolishly and other foolish persons are accepting them. But we are not so intelligent. Our answer is that "You say there is no creator. How you are created?" It may be we are rascals also, but this is our simple questions.

Anyway, he has got the right to ask that "You are representing Dharmaraja. First of all, explain what is dharma. Then we shall understand that you are representative or order-carrier or servant of Dharmaraja." That will be explained. So here, in the Bhagavad-gita, we also can understand what is dharma. This is the question and answers between Yamadutas. But if you are serious student of Bhagavad-gita, we can understand what is dharma. Krishna says in the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita, yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata, abhyutthanam adharmasya [Bg. 4.7]. Just like this world is duality. If you are sick, that means you are not healthy. And if you are healthy, then you are not sick. Duality. There are two things, sickness and health. So if you are really religious, you are not nonreligious. Two negatives make one positive. So two things are there. Religiosity and nonreligiosity. So duality. So Krishna says two things that yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata. When there are discrepancies in the matter of executing religious principles... So there is religion. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir [Bg. 4.7]. Glanir means discrepancies. When there is discrepancies of religious principles and abhyutthanam adharmasya, and the society is prominent in doing sinful activities, abhyutthanam... If you are not religious, then you must be irreligious. Two things are there. If there is no light, it is darkness. If it is not darkness, it is light. Similarly, two things cannot go. Either you are a demon or you are Krishna conscious, godly. This is the conclusion. Dvau bhuta-sargau loke ('smin) daiva asura eva cha [Bg. 16.6]. There are two kinds of men in this world. Not only in this world, throughout the whole universe. Two kinds. No third. What is that? Daiva asura eva cha. One is godly, another is demon. So what is the difference? Vishnu bhakto bhaved daiva. Those who are devotees of the Supreme Lord, they are called demigods, or godly. Asuras tad-viparyayah. And those who are opposite number, they are demons.

So we have got two tests. One test is sufficient. If one is not devotee, if one is not Krishna conscious, he's a demon, has finished our conclusion. We simply ask whether you are Krishna conscious, whether you know Krishna.