Eradicate Hypocrisy from the Heart
Hypocrisy is defined as a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess or practice, a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude. Source
Practice what you preach or walk your talk, these are common phrases that define a person of integrity. A person who adheres to their own values and principles and leads a life as an example for others to follow. Who in this material world walks their talk? I am sure there are many; I know that my Gurudev does. He sets an example of a pure devotee and leads by that example, by giving love, following scriptures, and following Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings for this age of Kali.
The discussion of hypocrisy is not an easy one and as I take upon this task for my own realization, I understand that I have shortcomings and hypocritical ways of passing through this life. I cannot say I am clean of it nor a great devotee of Lord Krishna. No, in fact far from that, but I can say that I am trying to follow in the steps of my Gurudev. Recently coming in contact with things, people, and situations it does make me wonder what Krishna has to say about this topic.
Remember that God is always watching us from within. Krishna says lying to the soul is being a hypocrite. Ultimately it doesn’t really matter how we appear in the world, we either fake it till we make it or are true to others and to our beliefs. In either case Krishna is always watching us. He knows our dealings.
This is the age of Kali where hypocrisy is meant to be. We cannot get away from it as it’s a part of this age of degradation, but on a individual level, whether following a spiritual path or not, we must try to eradicate hypocrisy from our heart. In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna tells us about hypocrisy
BG 3.6:
karmendriyāṇi sanyamya ya āste manasā smaran
indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā mithyāchāraḥ sa uchyateThose who restrain the external organs of action, while continuing to dwell on sense objects in the mind, certainly delude themselves and are to be called hypocrites.
An ascetic way of life can be an attractive spiritual path, but renunciation of sense objects is not that easy. It may be better to follow karma yoga in family life and practice devotion than to create a situation where one becomes a hypocrite. Caitanya Mahaprabhu himself took up sanyasa (renounced way of life) but shunned it for anyone in this age of Kali. Saint Kabir beautifully says:
mana na raṅgāye ho, raṅgāye yogī kapaṛā
jatavā baḍhāe yogī dhuniyā ramaule, dahiyā baḍhāe yogī bani gayele bakarā[v2]
O Ascetic Yogi, you have donned the ochre robes, but you have ignored dyeing your mind with the color of renunciation. You have grown long locks of hair and smeared ash on your body (as a sign of detachment). But without the internal devotion, the external beard you have sprouted only makes you resemble a goat.
The hypocrite develops an artificial external personality. A person is defective from the inside, but creates a facade of virtuosity on the outside. Unfortunately, the external display of virtues is skin-deep and hollow. Hypocrisy comes when we want to conveniently change our view or external persona to fulfill a ever changing personal agenda. But one should have only one personal agenda: how to be a genuine and sincere devotee. Whether a family person or otherwise, in Kaliyuga this character defect is found in the majority of people. The goal of life is defined as loving service to God, so therefore that is what we must try to do, everything else will fall into place.
Idealism is good, but we cannot take that to an extreme in the material world. The conditioned soul is known to have four defects according to scriptures. These defects of the conditioned soul are:
Committing mistakes
Being in illusion
A cheating propensity
Imperfect senses
Time and time again we will see hypocrisy and it will frustrate us. The only chance to be idealistic in character is when we come away from this material conditioning, and sometimes that can take lifetimes. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave us a very easy method to remove this conditioning. Chanting of the holy names can remove conditioned responses of hypocrisy. It can take you to your true self, your true ego. When we no longer function from the platform of the false ego, then hypocrisy cannot be found. You are no longer trying to pretend to be something you are not.
I will give a recent example where political agendas become religious agendas and vice-versa . How many who lit a diya on Ram bhoomi puja day yesterday truly are Ram devotees who follow Ram Ji’s ideal character? Not many. The ideal Ram rajya (the perfect society when Lord Ram appeared) will not be here again as it is the age of Kali, the age of hypocrisy. Let's first accept that and then try to correct our own actions.
If we feel very idealistic in life from a young age, which I have been all these years, then we must realize that we carry samskaras from past lives which were suited for previous yugas where it was still possible. But yet, I fell down from my position and never made it to the lotus feet of Krishna. Why? There was something lacking. Something went wrong in my ideal behavior that brought me here again. So now I have been given a chance to mend my ways.
Instead of trying to make it an idealistic society in the age of Kali, which is wasted breathe and time, one can correct one's own flaws and lead by example on how to chant the holy names and practice Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings. If we want future generations to follow these principles, we have to practice it and bring it into our households. Children will not listen but will observe and will require reasoning for everything. Unless we learn ourselves, how can we guide them?
Other examples of hypocrisy are
You are a communist/socialist until you become rich.
You are an atheist until your life or your loved one's life is in danger.
You are a liberal until you feel that your way of life is threatened.
You are an animal lover except if the animal is tasty.
You speak against the caste system unless you are looking for a bride or bridegroom in your family.
You are anti-reservation until you become a benefactor.
You hate government employees and deride them for their laziness but desperately want a government job for yourself.
You worship cows and consider cow urine holy except when you shop for belts, shoes and premium cars with leather upholstery.
You lament about racism that you experienced in the west but you want a fair and beautiful bride.
Women want equal rights and respect, but fail to give the same to men.
Blaming the government for being corrupt, but then turning around and giving bribes to get a government contract.
Wanting free sex, saying it’s natural, but not wanting the consequences of sex which is pregnancy and childbirth which are natural outcomes.
These and other acts of hypocrisy range from insignificant to having a major impact on one or many people. For example, if one takes sanyasa vows but engages in sexual behavior, then that has a major impact on society at large.
As spiritual aspirants and practitioners we must practice tolerance as Caitanya Mahaprabhu defined. Seeing the hypocritical behavior of the mass population, should we try to correct it? Futile I think. Instead let’s try to be the best example of love and devotion based on teachings of scriptures and not only on feelings. Then peace will prevail in our heart. Then others will be attracted to follow you.
Look at Sri Gurudev. Why do we find him so attractive? He's an ideal devotee, always following Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings, and always peaceful and blissful. Love can conquer all. He is love. He is an agent of Krishna .
As the famous saying goes you can take the horse to the water, but you cannot make it drink. In Kaliyuga, hypocrisy will prevail and likely increase. The best thing we can do is try to follow in the footsteps of honest saints and practice teachings from the scriptures. Then we can lead by example. Srimad Bhagavatam tells us in the chapter describing the symptoms of Kaliyuga SB 12.2.5
anāḍhyataivāsādhutve
sādhutve dambha eva tu
svīkāra eva codvāhe
snānam eva prasādhanamA person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.
Please forgive me if I said anything to offend anyone. These are musings, thoughts, realizations, things that I am trying to learn myself and I am sharing on this platform. Prabhupada Prem Gopal Goswami shared with us that we are always trying to get rid of our bad qualities. But there is no such thing as bad qualities. It’s just an absence of good qualities, just as science doesn’t consider darkness to be anything but an absence of light. Someone with atheistic views is just a soul who has not yet had any realizations of God, but when they do they will not be an atheist anymore. So we should focus our energies on developing the good qualities. Please chant the holy names!!
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare