The Material World - A Society of the Cheaters and the Cheated
When analyzing the interactions within mundane civilization, Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently quoted a striking observation made by his spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. He pointed out that the material world is fundamentally driven by exploitation and illusion, making it nothing more than a vast society of the cheaters and the cheated.
A Civilization Built on Deception
The foundation of material life is based on the false ego, where every conditioned soul tries to lord it over material nature. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that because human beings have imperfect senses and a natural propensity to make mistakes, any attempt to pose as an independent authority or teacher inevitably results in cheating. This mutual deception permeates all relationships and transactions within the conditioned state, creating an inescapable cycle where one is alternately the exploiter and the exploited.
- My Guru Maharaja used to say that "This is a society of cheaters and the cheated." That's all.
- Because our knowledge is imperfect, still, we take the position of teacher; therefore we are cheater - not teacher, but cheater. So the teacher society nowadays is the cheater society. And this modern world is a society of the cheater and the cheated.
- The so-called human society means the society of the cheaters and cheated. One man is cheated, another man is cheater, and alternately he is also cheated and others are cheated. This is going on.
- We are always thinking how I shall cheat somebody. And naturally, he's also thinking to cheat me. So the whole conditional life is the association of cheaters and cheated, that's all.
The Root Cause: Denying the Supreme
Why is society so easily misled? Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that the root cause is the conditioned soul's deep-seated desire to avoid accountability. To accept the genuine Absolute Truth means accepting the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which consequently requires giving up sinful activities. Because people wish to continue their sense gratification without restriction, they actively seek out philosophies, scientists, and leaders who will tell them what they want to hear, thus inviting deception.
- My Guru Maharaja used to say this material world is a society of cheaters and cheated. That's all. I want to be cheated because I don't accept God. If there is God, then I become responsible for my sinful life. So therefore let me deny God.
- The whole world is full of cheaters and cheated. Because they want to be cheated, there are so many cheaters. They don't want real thing. Here is the real thing: Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Personality of Godhead speaking personally about Himself.
- Unfortunately the foolish governmental head and the general populace do not know that the ultimate goal of life is to understand and approach Lord Visnu. Without this knowledge, everyone is in ignorance, and all society is crowded with cheaters and cheated.
- They are big, big scientists, philosophers, and cheating others. They are unable to understand, themselves, and the same rascal knowledge they are distributing to others and taking Nobel Prize. This is the mudhas, the society of the cheaters and the cheated.
Spiritual Bluffers in Kali-yuga
The realm of spirituality is not immune to this phenomenon; in fact, in Kali-yuga, it is one of the primary arenas for deception. Because the general populace is hankering for spiritual peace but is unwilling to undergo austerity, they are easily victimized. Śrīla Prabhupāda strongly warns against the so-called mahātmās, sādhus, and yogīs who lack pure devotion (bhakti). These bluffers may show cheap magic tricks or offer comfortable, compromised philosophies, but their relationships with their followers are merely transactions between the cheater and the cheated.
- In this age there are many cheaters who show some jugglery and magic. They even create gold to amaze their followers, and their followers accept them as God. This type of cheating is very prominent in Kali-yuga.
- Take real knowledge. Don't be misled by bluffers who have no authority to speak. And to cheat you . . . Because you are wanting, hankering after something, so so many bluffers, cheaters, they come and cheat you. Don't be cheated.
- The so-called formal spiritual master and disciple are not facsimiles of Brahma and Narada or Narada and Vyasa. The relationship between Brahma and Narada is reality, while the so-called formality is the relation between the cheater and cheated.
- So many mahatmas, sadhus, yogis, they are all useless, all useless, because they have no bhakti. Simply artificially cheating people. This is a society of cheaters and cheated.
The Solution: Authentic Kṛṣṇa Consciousness
The only way to escape this vast web of deception is to step out of the cycle of mundane speculation and receive knowledge from the perfect source. Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly emphasizes that one must hear the Absolute Truth through the authorized paramparā (disciplic succession). By taking to genuine Kṛṣṇa consciousness and establishing a pure, loving relationship with the Supreme Lord, one transcends the society of the cheaters and the cheated and achieves ultimate spiritual safety.
- By this process you'll be asammudhah. Nobody can cheat you. But if you want to be cheated there are so many cheaters. So don't make a cheater and cheated society. Just follow the parampara system as it is prescribed in the Vedic literature.
- Don't be members of the society of cheaters and cheated. Then the life will be spoiled. Our only request, this Krsna consciousness movement, is, Take to Krsna consciousness.
- You make your society so strong that you be not cheated and others may not cheat you. Then it will be first class. And if you make another society of cheaters and cheated, there is no profit.
- There are no cheaters and cheated in such a relationship. If we accept Krsna as our son, friend or lover, we will never be cheated.
Conclusion
The stark reality is that as long as we operate under the dictates of the false ego, we will remain entangled in a society defined by exploitation and illusion. Śrīla Prabhupāda compassionately urges us to stop seeking comfortable lies and instead embrace the rigorous, purifying truth found in the Bhagavad-gītā. Only by anchoring ourselves in the authentic disciplic succession can we protect ourselves from the bluffers of Kali-yuga and build a society founded on reality rather than deception.
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 Cheaters and Cheated. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.