Pretension (Conversations and Letters)

Expressions researched:
"pretense" |"pretenses" |"pretension" |"pretensions" |"pretention" |"pretentious" |"pretentiously"

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Talk -- October 18, 1968, Seattle:

Guest (2) (older woman): Divine Master, I came to pay my respect and I'm most distressed that I need to leave, but there is series of people who are waiting for me, for a spiritual meeting also. So permit me to bow to you.

Prabhupāda: Thank you very much. Please come again.

Guest (2): Thank you very much.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Take some prasādam.

Guest (2): Thank you very much.

Prabhupāda: So you did not question anything, if you have got any doubts?

Guest (2): I beg your pardon? (devotees explain Prabhupāda's question) Do I have any doubts? Divine Master, you have made me able to read my heart. I have no pretensions to speak one way or another. There is no doubt.

Devotee: She said there is no doubt.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. (mild laughter) (end)

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- July 9, 1974, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Cheat means that I am exploiting you. I am saying that I am creating you a religious, but you are most sinful. I am creating a most sinful. That is cheating.

Guru-kṛpa: Giving something under false pretensions.

Prabhupāda: That's all. You are taking something else while thinking something else. That is cheating. Actually, we see the so-called religious system... Religion means to become lover of God. But who is lover of God? Do not know what is God, and what to speak of love Him. They do not know, have no clear conception of God even.

Jayatīrtha: They are lovers of dog.

Prabhupāda: And actually they are lovers of dog. And still, he's professing "I am religious." This is not cheating.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Garden Conversation with Dr. Gerson and devotees -- June 22, 1975, Los Angeles:

He is not friend of the countrymen. So this is the position of the most exalted man, and what to speak of the ordinary man? Nobody is friend. All enemies. Therefore I am envious of you, you are envious of me. There is no question of becoming friend because everyone is selfish. He wants his personal benefit, so how he can become other's friend? This is false. By false pretension, he is occupying big, big post and taking money for his sense gratification. That's all. This is material world. And to keep up his position he is proclaiming, that "I am your friend." Just like when Nixon was being elected: "America needs Nixon now." (laughter) I have seen that signboard. And then again it became, "America needs to kick out." (laughter) This is going on. This is cheating. Both of them are cheater. Those who elected him, he is also cheater, and who became elected, he is also cheater. So this is the society of cheaters and cheated. The so-called human society means the society of the cheaters and cheated.

Morning Walk -- July 18, 1975, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: Because he carries the message of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is friend, and he is carrying the friendly message. Therefore he is friend. If there is a nice friend and if somebody gives information of that nice friend, he is also friend. Therefore nobody can become friend except Kṛṣṇa's representative. The material world is: "I am your enemy, and you are my enemy." This is the whole construction of the material world. So how the enemy can become friend? It is pretension, cheating.

Devotee: When we go out to distribute books, we try and show the karmīs that the devotee is actually their friend also.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, certainly. That is the real friendship work. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says,

kota nidrā jāo māyā-piśācīra kole,

enechi auṣadhi māyā nāśibāro lāgi'

hari-nāma mahā-mantra lao tumi māgi'

This is friendship. "You are sleeping under the spell of māyā, and how long you will sleep and suffer in this material world? So I have brought this medicine. You take it and you will no more sleep."

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 3, 1976, Fiji:

Prabhupāda: Pretend? Kick them! Why you should accept pretension? Then you are a fool also. You say "pretend," and still, you have to talk about them. That means you are also faithless. Why should you talk about the pretension? Pretension is pretension. That is faithlessness. Sometimes they pretend honest, but he's a thief. What is this philosophy? Thief is thief. That's all. (break) ...thoroughly the science of God. That is Bhagavad-gītā. The words which is spoken in the Bhagavad-gītā, that can be spoken only by God. Nobody else can speak like that. Who can say? Who has the right to say that "You surrender unto Me"? Nobody has right. Only God can say. That is God.

Room Conversation with Endowments Commissioner of Andhra Pradesh -- August 22, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: No. How long they can go on with false pretense? And these people, they have no idea what is spiritual life. It is a profession for collecting money. So if you... We do not like to criticize. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kanayalal Munshi, he did not believe there is life after death or he did not believe there is Kṛṣṇa, fact. This is the founder. So what is their knowledge? And Vivekananda made Nārāyaṇa daridra. So this is their manufacturing ideas. They have no sound knowledge, vacant. They are misled themselves, and they will mislead others. This is going on. But if you say that, "You are the only man?" I can say, "Yes, I am the only man" at the present moment. You believe or not believe. And why? Because I am following Kṛṣṇa's instructions. That's all. I do not touch anything. That is our process. What Kṛṣṇa has said, we say, that's all. Therefore there is little success. I don't manufacture. I have no extraordinary power or I cannot show magic or jugglery of words.

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to Ratanshi Morarji Khatau -- Bombay 5 August, 1958:

I beg to inform you that I am in reciept of your invitation letter in the matter of observing Bhagavata week through the secretary of Bombay spiritual centre. As I know what sort of Bhagavata week can be observed by the Mayavadins for misleading the innocent public and therefore I not only restrained myself from attending the function but also I advised many others not to attend for the very reason that the recitation of holy Bhagavata is being performed by men who have no access in this great scripture in which only the liberated persons, who are freed from all pretentious religiosities, can take part. The Mayavadins specially have no right to discuss Srimad-Bhagavatam Puranam for the only reason that they are aspiring after liberation (Moksa Vanohha). And Sripada Sankaracarya because He was the incarnation of Sankara, very carefully avoided to make any commentation on the holy Bhagavatam. Sripada Sankaracarya preached His Mayavada philosophy for bewildering the atheist class of men in order to confound them to become more and more atheist and thus suffer perpetually within the threefold miserable conditions of the material nature. But because He was great devotee at heart He dared not to commit sacrilege by unauthorized commentation on the Bhagavatam for He knew it well that a person who aspires after Mukti or merge one's identity in the impersonal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is debarred from the benefit of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Letter to Ratanshi Morarji Khatau -- Bombay 5 August, 1958:

As an Indian and a man of good sense with practical business-brain you should not at least indulge in such organization under the influence of unauthorized person. Instead of indulging in the organization of such unauthorized persons you may kindly learn the science from the authority and make your life enlightened and attain success of the boon of human form of life. The League of Devotees is an organized effort to render this service to the human society without any pretentious conventions. We are publishing one paper of the name Back to Godhead to educate people in the right direction and I am sending herewith one pamphlet in which the opinions of several respectable gentlemen are inserted as to how they are being appreciated.

1967 Correspondence

Letter to Rayarama, Satsvarupa -- San Francisco 30 March, 1967:

If it can be proved that Hill has no money to purchase the house then it is clear cheating case arranged by Mr. Payne. So on the 31st March challenge them whether they have entered into agreement with Mr. Taylor or whether they have actually paid our money to Taylor. If it is a fact that he (Mr. Hill) has paid the $5000.00 to Mr. Taylor and if actually we are going to have the house, do not lag behind, we are prepared to pay the balance within a fortnight rest assured. I do not know why the Lawyers are not serious about this cheating case. If Mr. Hill has no money and on pretention of purchasing the house on our behalf he has accepted the money, then it is a clear case of cheating and Payne is the organizer of this cheating maneuver. And if this is genuine case that the house is actually going to be purchased we are prepared to pay the balance $5000.00. Let us have the house or return back the money. In default there is clear case of cheating as far as I can guess. Now you can do as you like.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Subala -- Los Angeles 11 April, 1970:

So except Krsna Consciousness or Bhagavata Dharma or religion of the Bhagavata, any other system of religion is only pretension, that is the fact. It is not therefore surprising that your impression of the meeting of the Jews and Christians, where you had opportunity to speak, was that they were lacking so much in God-consciousness. So far we are concerned, our principle is to live with God as actual fact, and not to make God a supplying agent. Our process is different because we want to supply God everything—whatever we have got and whatever we have not got.

Regarding your need for men, Krsna will give you many assistants, don't worry.