RELIGION OF HOSTILITY

Kaitavodharmaḥ nyāyaḥ (cheating religion)

Lakshmi-Narayana, Borne By Garuda

Once am old lady was carrying a heavy load of wood on her head, from forest to home. At an uneven path she tripped, and the wood fell off, and scattered on the ground. Because she was pious she was earnestly calling out for Nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa Himself appeared before her in full greatness. “What do you need mother that you are calling my name so earnestly.” She spontaneously answered, “I need this wood for cooking the lunch for my family. Please can you help me put it up on my head?” “Certainly.” answered God. With no strain loaded the heavy wood back on her head, and disappeared His duty fulfilled. The lady then realized what a foolish she was to ask God just to give her back on her head the burden of wood.

A lesson, an intelligent man can take from this anecdote, is that religion, for most of the its adherents, means to get satisfaction for material greed and need. For that end any semi-demigod is worshiped and often mistaken to be supreme. If the worship is followed in a proper way, the yearned fruit will be bestowed upon the worshiper.

A commonplace religious person at least turns to God, but only to get more entangled, because usually after getting what he wanted, he is so enthralled by the desired result that he easily forgets about the God. This is described in ghaṭārthin nyāyaḥ.

There are two kinds of cheating religionists. One is using the garb of eternally existing pure process with the aim to fulfill his motives of either to prosperously prolong the stay within the realm of material illusion, or to get into the realm of liberated godless illusion. Second group is openly denouncing the Godhead, while creating the philosophy and culture of religion on their own. Both of them are ridding themselves and others of the highest benefit the joyful service to Śrīman Nārāyaṇa can bestow. As for the gravity of offense kaitava-dharma is adhering to prescribed method and thus there is great chance on the way to be purified of putrid desires. Lady with the bundle of the wood on her head serves as an example for this. Though there are many more in Puraṇas. Prajāpati Dakṣa is epitome for them all. Gravest offence is harbor hostile ideas within the pure realm of Vaikuṇṭha, and present them as innovative and truly functional actions of bhakti. The term for this stand is chala-dharma. Such a person is hopeless unless he grabs onto feet of pure Vaiṣṇava and sincerely chucks away his antagonistic attitude. Or else he will be destroyed and dissolved by Śrīman Mahāprabhu.

(from https://www.kasyadas.com/tools-of-logic)

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