“Bhagavan” Becomes a Ghost Under Intrigue

 

In a certain town lived a learned person named Bhagavan who became very friendly of that country by dint of his scholarship . At this, the kings ministers became very envious and they hatched a plot so that the pandita would be driven out of the country. The ministers told the gatekeeper, “The king has ordered that the pandita should not be permitted to enter the royal palace again.”  The gatekeeper carried the instruction as advised. However the king was anxious as he did not see the pandita.  When he asked the ministers about the whereabouts of the panditas, they said, “Bhagavan has expired.” According to the ministers’ plot, the royal physician had also reported that Bhagavan had died. The king was very depressed of the news of the panditas death.

   After a few days the king came out of the palace for a stroll and the Bhagavan pandita wanted to take a chance to  meet him. Of course the ministers and aides were all around the king and very cleverly they made such a tight human barricade that Bhagavan pandita was simply unable to penetrate them and meet the king. Being desperate, the pandita climbed a tree and started shouting to the king, “O king! Here I am, your Bhagavan pandita!” As soon as the king glanced at him all the aides and ministers, “O king! Bhagavan pandita has now become a ghost after his death and look! He is now calling you from that tree-top. Let us be quick to move aside.”

   Considering that so many people were saying the same thing and confirming it to be true, the king ignored the call of Bhagavan pandita and went away in a different direction, while the pandita lamented saying, “Oh, how powerful is the intrigue of these people! Under there intrigue even Bhagavan pandita has become a ghost!”

 

PURPORT

This is now exactly the situation in the material world under the intrigue of atheistic public opinion, particularly in the domain of religion and spiritual living. The so-called public opinion is now demoniacally preventing saintly people from listening to any sort of devotional subject. The majority of common public are strongly of the opinion that devotional practice is just like other  material or academic practices. They advocate that there are as many ways of liberation as there are philosophies. They are unable to realize that devotional service is the ultimate philosophy of living.