Thoughts of Rascals - The Mindset of the Mūḍha
Śrīla Prabhupāda often used the word "rascal" to describe a specific type of mentality prevalent in the material world. This was not used merely as an insult, but as a translation of the Sanskrit word mūḍha (fool or ass) or duṣkṛtina (miscreant). A rascal is one who defies the authority of the Supreme Lord and constructs a false reality based on bodily identification and atheism. By analyzing the "thoughts of rascals," we can understand the pitfalls of the conditioned soul.
"I Am God"
The most prominent thought of a rascal is the desire to take the place of God. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that just as a foolish prisoner might think he is the governor because they are in the same building, rascals think they are equal to Kṛṣṇa. This mentality leads to the absurdity of claiming "I am God" or "I am an avatāra" while being completely under the control of material nature.
- A foolish prisoner may think, "Oh, here the governor is also in prison. So we are equal. I am also governor." Rascals think like that. "Because Krsna has descended as an avatara," they say, - I am also an avatara.
- Just like these Mayavadis, they want to imitate Krsna. They want to become Krsna. Nobody can become Krsna. These rascals, they think that by mystic yoga process one can become God. Simply rascaldom.
- The rascals, under the dictation of maya, they are thinking, "I am God," that's all. They have no intelligence even, that - How I can be God.
The Illusion of Independence
A rascal thinks he is free. He believes he can do whatever he likes—eat meat, drink wine, and have unlimited sex—without consequence. He views surrender to God as "slave mentality." However, Śrīla Prabhupāda points out the irony: while thinking they are independent, they are being kicked by māyā and forced to accept old age, disease, and death.
- Every living entity is under the full control of the stringent laws of material nature, but rascals think themselves independent. Actually they cannot be independent. This is foolishness.
- They (the rascals) think that to surrender to Krsna, this is slave mentality. "I shall remain free." But where is your freedom, sir? That is illusion.
- These rascals, they are tied with the laws of material nature, hand and legs, and they are thinking they are free to do anything and everything without any consultation of sastra.
Misunderstanding Kṛṣṇa and the Deity
Because they lack spiritual vision, rascals cannot understand the transcendental nature of the Lord. They think Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary human being, and they think the Deity in the temple is a stone idol. This offensive mentality is known as pāṣaṇḍī. They also consider the holy name to be ordinary material sound.
- Mudha means rascal. It is said in the Gita, Only rascals think of Lord Krsna as an ordinary person. They do not know what Lord Krsna's position is or what His transcendental potencies are.
- The rascal class of men, they cannot understand arca-murti. They think that, "They are worshiping idol." Even amongst the Hindus there are so-called followers of Vedas, they also say that, What is the necessity of worshiping Deity in the temple.
- Hare Krsna mantra is not ordinary sound. It is para-prakrti. Golokera prema-dhana hari-nama-sankirtana. Hari-nama-sankirtana is not this material sound. If you think it is material sound, you are rascal.
Atheistic Science and "Chance"
Rascals in the guise of scientists and philosophers propose that the world was created by chance or by the interaction of matter. Śrīla Prabhupāda specifically critiques Darwin as a "rascal" for thinking that the struggle for existence is the only reality, without knowing the destination of the soul.
- Atheistic rascals think that there is no God and that the creation has taken place by chance, just as a man and woman meet by chance and the woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child. Actually, however, this is not the fact.
- The Darwin's theory, because he's a rascal, he thinks that the struggle is the only business. His only observation is that the struggle is the only business: "Survival of the fittest." But he does not know how to become fit. He does not know.
- Our knowledge is so imperfect that it cannot deal with such subtle affairs, and because rascals cannot deal with such things, they think that matter is the cause of life.
Conclusion
The term "rascal" serves as a warning. It identifies a consciousness that is arrogant, defiant, and ultimately doomed to suffering. By hearing the thoughts of rascals analyzed by Śrīla Prabhupāda, one can learn to avoid these mental traps and take to the path of humility and surrender.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Thoughts of Rascals. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.