Practices Condemned in Bhagavad-gītā
While the Bhagavad-gītā offers a broad spectrum of spiritual knowledge, it is unequivocal in its condemnation of specific philosophical deviations and material attachments. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Lord Kṛṣṇa acts as the supreme authority, systematically rejecting practices that are temporary, misleading, or born of ignorance. The three primary areas of condemnation are the worship of demigods, the impersonalist view of the Lord, and unauthorized austerities.
Demigod Worship
A significant portion of the condemnations in the Gītā is directed at demigod worship. Kṛṣṇa explains that those who worship demigods do so because their intelligence has been stolen by material lust (kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ). Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that such worship produces only temporary and limited results, unfit for those seeking eternal benefit.
- The Bhagavad-gita (7.20) condemns demigod worship: Only persons whose intelligence is lost and who are mad with lusty desires worship the demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.
- The benedictions of the demigods, however, are condemned in Bhagavad-gita. Antavat tu phalam tesam tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam: (BG 7.23) "Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary."
- Demigods depend on the protection of Visnu; they are not independent. Bhagavad-gita, therefore, condemns the worship of demigods because there is no need of it and clearly states that only those who have lost their sense go asking favors of the demigods.
Deriding Personal Form
The most severe condemnation is reserved for those who deride the personal form of Kṛṣṇa. Thinking the Supreme Lord to be an ordinary human being is the symptom of a mūḍha, or fool. This includes the Māyāvādī idea that the Lord accepts a material body when He descends.
- Unfortunately the impersonalists or the atheistic class of men consider Krsna to be an ordinary man like themselves, and so they deride Him. This is condemned in the Bhagavad-gita by the Lord Himself when He says, avajananti mam mudhah.
- Mayavadi philosophers, they abuse that Visnu's body is. Visnu comes, appears, He accepts a material body. That is condemned by Bhagavan in Bhagavad-gita.
- For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied - Krsna has condemned meditators in Bhagavad-gita 12.5.
Unauthorized Austerities
Not all penance is spiritual. The Bhagavad-gītā condemns austerities that are performed for political ends, to cause pain to others, or without scriptural authority. Such displays are considered demoniac.
- Fastings which are meant not for self-realization but for some other purposes are condemned in the Bhagavad-gita (BG 17.5-6). Similarly, cleanliness is necessary both for the mind and for the body.
- A system of religion in which animal sacrifices are recommended is inauspicious for those who perform the sacrifices and for the animals. Envious persons who perform ostentatious animal sacrifices are condemned in Bhagavad-gita 16.17.
Bodily Concept
Ultimately, all condemned practices stem from the bodily concept of life. Identifying the self with the material body is the fundamental ignorance that Kṛṣṇa dispels in the very beginning of His instructions to Arjuna.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Condemned in the Bhagavad-gita. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.
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