Shifting Our Attraction from False Things to Kṛṣṇa
Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that while the cosmic creation is temporary, it is not inherently false. True illusion lies in our misidentification with the material body and our pursuit of temporary sense gratification. By understanding these teachings, we can redirect our attention away from manufactured deceptions and toward the absolute reality of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
The Real Meaning of Illusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the material world is a temporary manifestation, not an absolute falsehood. Illusion occurs when the conditioned soul identifies with the temporary body and accepts a false paradigm, much like a thirsty man accepting a mirage in the desert as actual water.
- The world or the cosmic creation is not false, as maintained by the Mayavada school. It simply has no permanent existence. A nonpermanent thing cannot be called false altogether. But the conception that the material body is the self is certainly wrong.
- Just like in the desert, accepting the sand as water. That is called illusion. Similarly, every one of us who are identified with this body, he's under illusion. That is a false thing, but he has no knowledge. Even President Johnson, he's under illusion.
- This verse (SB 5.18.32) completely rejects the theory of brahma satyam jagan mithya, which states that spirit, or Brahman, is real, whereas the manifested material world, with its great variety of things, is false. Nothing is false.
Wasting Time on Sensuous Pursuits
The general mass of people waste their valuable human lives pursuing temporary bodily pleasures and worldly prestige. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that a pure devotee recognizes these pursuits as ultimately false and instead dedicates their energy to reestablishing their eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord.
- The fruitive worker aspires after a big fortune in the matter of wealth, woman and worldly adoration, but those who are fixed in perfect reality are not at all interested in such false things. For them it is all a waste of time.
- The pure devotee of Lord Vasudeva, enlightened by the transcendental service attitude, has no attraction for such false things as religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, or salvation, the last snare of Maya.
- The bhakti-vedantas see that the people in general are wasting time in false sensuous things. Their business is to get the ignorant mass of people to reestablish their lost relationship with the Personality of Godhead.
Propaganda and Cheap Magic
Conditioned souls are easily captivated by deceptive propaganda and cheap magical feats performed by so-called yogīs and false incarnations. Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that falling for these manufactured displays only deepens material entanglement and distracts one from the genuine path of self-realization.
- Modern so-called yogis and yoga systems manifest some magical feats, and ignorant persons are attracted by such false things, or they accept the yoga system as a cheap healing process for diseases of the gross body.
- If you make propaganda, if he's not ghost, you can make him ghost. This is propaganda. This is called propaganda. By propaganda you can establish a false thing as real. That's all. This is going on. They know how to do it. They're expert.
- As soon as one says, blasphemes, that "I am God. There is no God," immediately devotee should be very angry because he is preaching false things. He's blaspheming against the Supreme Lord, that he is making God as very cheap.
The Supreme Reality vs. Temporary Manifestations
True spiritual philosophy seeks to uncover the absolute substance beyond the temporary shadows of the cosmic manifestation. By diverting our attention away from temporary attractions and focusing on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we can connect with the real reality (vāstava-vastu) and achieve lasting happiness.
- Our Krsna consciousness movement is basically that we should not be attracted by the false thing. We should not be attracted by the false thing. The reality - vastava vastu vedyam atra (SB 1.1.2). Real reality, not false reality.
- Jnanis, they are trying to make it variety-less, and the Buddhists, they are trying to make it zero. Our philosophy is substance. This is difference: substance, reality. Vastava-vastu, real reality, not the false thing.
- You are attracted to something for getting some pleasure. So that pleasure is interrupted because we have posed our attraction in some false things. You have to change that attraction to the real thing, Krsna. Then you'll be happy.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully distinguishes the eternal substance from the temporary shadows of material existence. He refutes the idea that the universe itself is false, instead clarifying that the true illusion is our false bodily identification and the relentless pursuit of temporary sense gratification. By seeing through the deceptive propaganda of mundane society and the cheap tricks of false mystics, a sincere seeker can avoid wasting valuable time. The ultimate solution is to redirect our natural desire for pleasure away from false things and place it firmly in the supreme reality of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, where true and eternal happiness is found.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category False Things. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.