Real Religion versus Cheating Religion
True religion is not a mere designation or a set of mundane rituals; it is the ultimate science of understanding and loving the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda boldly explains that any system masquerading as faith but lacking a clear conception of God, or driven by ulterior material motives, is simply a cheating religion designed to keep the soul in illusion.
The Godless Fabrications
Without knowing who God is, religious practice becomes a mere social convention. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that many so-called religions today either have no concrete information about the Supreme or falsely teach that God is imaginary or formless. Furthermore, one cannot simply manufacture their own religious process; true dharma must be authorized by the Supreme Lord Himself. Any system that fails to establish a direct, factual relationship with God is a deception.
- Any religion which does not teach about God, which does not know what is God, that is cheating religion. That's all.
- In religion, a godless religion, where there is no conception of God, that is not religion. That is called cheating religion. In the name of religion, but there is no conception of God. That is not religion.
- Dharma does not mean I manufacture at my home some religion and it becomes dharma. No. That kind of religion is rejected. Dharmah projjhita kaivato 'tra - That kind of cheating religion is rejected.
- There are so many religious systems which say, "God has no form. There is no God. Let us imagine." This kind of religion is cheating religion.
Violence and Hidden Motives
A spiritual path is judged by its symptoms, and unnecessary violence is a clear sign of cheating. Śrīla Prabhupāda heavily criticizes those who profess to follow great prophets like Jesus Christ but blatantly ignore the commandment not to kill. In addition, any religious system motivated by material gain, economic development, or even the desire for impersonal liberation (dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa) is classified as cheating because it seeks to extract a selfish result rather than offer pure dedication.
- Any religion committing unnecessary violence to the animals, (it is) third-class. It is not religion, it is cheating. Simply cheating.
- Jesus Christ also preached, "Thou shall not kill," but these rascals, all violating. And still, they are proclaiming as Christian and Buddhist. No real religion will allow this kind of violence. No religion. It is cheating religion.
- As soon as there is some motive, that is cheating religion. But bhakti, there is no such thing, dharma, artha, kama, moksa. It is above, transcendental.
- Neither in their principles there is service of God, there is dedication to God. Simply official in the so-called religion. Therefore Vrndavana dasa Thakura said, "These are all cheating religions."
Kicked Out by the Bhāgavatam
The supreme spiritual literature makes no compromises with deception. Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly quotes the opening of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which declares that all cheating religions are completely swept away or kicked out (dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra). This uncompromising stance is necessary because presenting a false path to innocent people cannot make them truly happy; it only diverts their attention from the actual goal of life, which is unalloyed surrender to Kṛṣṇa.
- Actual philosophy is this: the religion means surrender to Krsna. Anything else which does not surrender to Krsna, that is not religion. That is rejected in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, dharmah projjhita-kaitavo (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.2): all cheating religion is rejected.
- Just like we sweep very nicely, cleansely, our room, similarly all types of cheating religion is wiped out, swept away. Dharmah projjhita-kaitavo atra - Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.2.
- We are against all so-called cheating religion. The Hinduism is also a cheating religion. We are preaching Bhagavata, and Bhagavata beginning that "We have kicked out all cheating religion." What is cheating religion? That one has to understand.
- Why I say, "cheating religion"? Because it is said in the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam, dharmah projjhita-kaitavo 'tra (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.2). Kaitava means cheating. You cannot make people happy by presenting some cheating religion. That is the injunction of Srimad Bhagavatam.
The First-Class Religion
To move beyond the mundane labels of society, one must embrace the universal spiritual reality. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that first-class religion is defined by one specific criterion: it teaches the follower how to unconditionally know and love God. When one actually becomes a pure devotee and engages in bhakti, they transcend all cheating processes and achieve the eternal, blissful service of the Supreme Lord.
- That is first-class religion, which teaches how to surrender to God and how to become a lover of God. That is religion. Otherwise, they are simply cheating religion.
- Religion means to know God and love Him. But generally, a man does not know what is God, and what to speak of loving Him? So therefore that is cheating religion. That is not religion.
- Unless one becomes a devotee of God, there is no question of religion. It is all cheating.
- We are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, this, that. They are all third-class, cheating religion. What is real religion? That is religion which teaches how to love God. That is religion. Yato bhaktir adhoksaje. That is first-class religion.
Conclusion
The world is filled with sophisticated systems that promise spiritual elevation but ultimately fail to connect the soul with the Supreme Lord. By recognizing the symptoms of cheating religion—violence, material motives, and a lack of clear knowledge of God—we can save ourselves from profound illusion. The path forward is simple but demanding: we must abandon all deceptive practices and embrace the unalloyed, loving devotional service recommended by the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
The instructions of the pure devotee are our eternal guide. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Cheating Religion. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.