So-called gods are accepted by so-called devotees. These are all rascaldom. Therefore it is called māninaḥ. They are thinking, by mental speculation, that "I have become God." What you have got, power? What you have done that you have become God? But they are foolish. They do not calculate the value of his . . . strength of his becoming God. But they are thinking of . . . therefore it is called māninaḥ. Now, you can think at your home that, "I am the proprietor of the Bank of America." So you may become a crazy fellow like that. But to become proprietor of the Bank of America is different thing. But these foolish men will think like that: "I am God. I am moving the sun, I am moving . . ." This is their meditation. Perhaps you know. These rascals, these dogs, not gods, they think like that, "I am moving the sun, I am moving the earth . . ." Therefore it is called vimukta-māninaḥ. Mānina, thinking, foolishly thinking. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ.
Why they are thinking foolishly? We see they are advanced in knowledge. They can put forward so many words about becoming God. That has been described by Śrīdhara Svāmī, vāk-cāturya. Their so-called explanation that they have become God, that has been described by vāk-cāturya, jugglery of words, to befool another fool. That's all. Therefore in Bhāgavatam, in another place, it is said that śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ (SB 2.3.19). Puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. If one person who is not devotee, if he is praised as very exalted, so wherefrom these praising words are coming? Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ. Such praising comes from the persons who are like dogs, śva; viḍ-varāha, the stool-eater pigs. Śva-viḍ-varāha uṣṭra, camel, and khara means ass. These classes of men, they praise such another big, big animal, śva-viḍ-varāha uṣṭra. Because anyone who is not a devotee of the Lord—he is not rājarṣi, devarṣi—he is not praiseworthy at all. He is a fool. He is a rascal. That is our conclusion. No, it is real conclusion, because Kṛṣṇa says mūḍha. Mūḍha means rascal. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15).
So our simple test is whether a man is devotee or not. If we find that he is a devotee, then we respect, "Yes, here is nice Vaiṣṇava." Even Yamarāja says: "Offer my respect to the Vaiṣṇava." But if we see that he is not a devotee, he is claiming himself as God, as the supreme, then immediately, according to the formula of Bhagavad-gītā, we accept, mūḍha. Because a mūḍha does not surrender. Mūḍha. That is the test. Anyone who has not surrendered to the principle of Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja . . . (BG 18.66). That is the test. If he has not surrendered to God, or Kṛṣṇa, then he is mūḍha. That is also explained in the Bhāgavatam, that ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. Why they are so mūḍhas? Just like cause and effect. If a man has no money, he is called poor, poor man. Similarly, if a man has no such sense to surrender unto God, he is mūḍha. He is mūḍha. So ye 'nye . . . but thinking that he has become liberated, he has become one with God, and he is God Himself, everyone is God; therefore they are mūḍha. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ.
So it is in good words, vimukta-māninaḥ. Because it is said by Vyāsadeva or a devotee, little respectful, vimukta-māninaḥ, falsely thinking that he has become liberated. But when Kṛṣṇa says, because He is the Supreme Lord, He says that, "He is a mūḍha. He is a rascal." Just like father can immediately call his son rascal or spiritual master can say, because superior position, a rascal. Others, the rascal may be addressed in an ornamented language. He is to be proved a rascal, but some, for friendly sake . . . just like Kṛṣṇa, when He was talking with Arjuna, He directly did not say: "My dear Arjuna, you are rascal number one. You are rascal number one." Because friend. But He did not say that. But He said:
- aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ
- prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase
- gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca
- nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ
- (BG 2.11)
"My dear Arjuna, you are simply lamenting on this body. So this is not the subject matter of lamentation."
Actually, that is the fact. He was thinking that, "My grandfather, my brothers, they will be killed," and he was putting forward great philosophy, this, that. Humbug. "And after all, this body will be finished. Either your grandfather's body or your brother's body, we do not kill them, in due course of time everything will be finished. That's a fact. Therefore aśocyān, why you are anxious, pertaining to their body?" Aśocyān anvaśocas tvam. "And at the same time, you are talking great philosophy." Prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase. Prajñā. Philosophy means prajñā-vādān. So aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase. But nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ: "One who is actually learned, he does not take very much care of these things." That means "You are a fool." That means "You are a fool." It is called parenthesis, or . . . that "A paṇḍita, a learned man, does not do like this." It is called . . . what is the English, I do not remember now, that if I speak that, "Sometimes, from my home, this thing was stolen, and the man who stole, he looked like you." But not directly, "You are the man who had stolen my property," but you can say in a gentlemanly way, "He looked like you." You see?
So similarly, Kṛṣṇa says: "Anyone who is not surrendering unto Me, who is not a surrendered soul, and thinking that he has become God, he is very learned scholar, vedānti . . . these things are vimukta-māninaḥ."