In India sometimes you have these impostors who claim to be God. Somebody in South India now was claiming to be Kalki. People said Kalki is not supposed to come for four hundred twenty-eight thousand years; you are a little bit out of schedule. [laughter] He said, “Well, I may not be Kalki, but I am still Narayana”. Then they questioned that. “Well, whatever you say, but I am Bhagavan.”
So here we get the blessings cheap. You want the maha blessings from him, you have to pay five lakhs of rupees. Then he’ll give you a special drink that makes you go mad for three days. I don’t know what that drink is, it might be a controlled substance that might not get through the American or Canadian customs. So these kinds of people are doing their tricks. That’s why in Kali-yuga the Lord doesn’t assert himself because if he asserts, then everyone will say, “I am Bhagavan; I will give you a blessing.” Make up some decoction of cactus or something, who knows what or some belladonna or something. Give somebody a little shot glass and wipe him out, make a little money, a lot of money.
So we had also in Bengal one person that claimed to be an avatara of Lord Caitanya. He said he was a descendent and he would sit on the stage and smoke cigarettes. He would put his foot out and everybody would come and touch his foot. He would give mass initiations. He said you don’t need the scripture because I am here now. Don’t bother referring to the scripture. People touched his foot and they felt a deadly cold freezing feeling coming over them. Maybe they were losing all their good karma.
Then the person died and they put his body on a big slab of ice. The neighbours complained, why are you not burying or burning the body, he’s dead. They said, no he’s not dead, he’s in nirvikalpa-samadhi, he’s in a special profound samadhi. So why are you keeping his body on ice? Well, he’s very hot, so we’re keeping him cool.
Then they gave a half price sale on all his buttons, get rid of the stock quick. Finally the police made a raid and found there was a look alike of him, but he was growing his beard, it was not quite as long as the dead so called avatara’s beard. They were obviously planning to do a switch, but they got caught before they could do it. These things are going on. I could tell you so many, but you know the Bhaktivinod Thakur one. What was that? Which baba? We know that story. He kept the power in his hair.
Even although it says in scripture that the Lord does not assert himself, still so many are asserting. Lord Caitanya did not assert, but for his own associates, he revealed to them, especially Advaita Gosai, that “I am the person that you have done your tapasya to bring.”
HH Jayapataka Swami
Lecture
March 19th 2008
Sridham Mayapur, India.
Prabhupada says, ‘It’s like someone is shaving with a straight edge razor, and they’re a little careless, they can easily cut themselves’.
