Purity in Bhakti

Dear devotees,

        Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! My humble pranams!

         Now-a-days in order to advertise Lord Gauranga Krishna and attract people, we see places where people sell everything from plastic pendants to clocks, wallpapers, T-shirts, pants, Pens, dolls, bottles, plastic covers, shopping backs, bracelets, showcase items, calendars, even japa bead bags, etc..etc all of which contain pictures of the Lord or His devotees. It is not uncommon to see the names or pictures of the Lord on T-shirts and other such products. But the Lord's picture, His name or anything that has His paraphernalia are all Him. A picture of the Lord is a deity and the deity must be exclusively meant for worshipping, not for use and throw. You and I would never throw the Lord into the dustbin would we?

          The goal is not to attract people and get followers. No. "Na dhanam na janam na sundarim...." (Sikshastaka 4). Advertisement and show off stuff to pull in the crowd is not our goal. Our goal is to make ourselves pure devotees and give that pure devotion to others. Our goal is to make people into devotees. One may get the temptation to attract the crowd thinking that it will increase devotion. But eventually one might only become a crowd puller and forget devotion.

          Our clothes will become unusable by wear and tear and after a while we will be using them as rags for example. Then the name of the Lord has to be dirtied, torn and thrown on the floor and used to clean filthy items. Calendars are not useful after one year and we cannot keep so many pictures in any place except our hard disk. Of course  calendar pictures can be framed so that they can be used for deity worship. Japa bead bags and clothes need washing and for that the poor Lord and His devotees have to be thrown, spun and scrubbed in a washing machine. Pens often fall on the ground or get old and then we throw them away.

        Showcase or statue deities are not appropriate because having the Lord and not worshipping him by neglect is not right. Given the culture, I do not know how far showcase dolls and deities can be avoided, but atleast once bought they must not be damaged or thrown away. One good way to solve the problem is to give them away to people who need deities for worshipping and who don't have any.

      One can see very clearly that wherever this kind of commercialisation enters into spiritual life, then devotion is lost. So many people have started complaining that devotional centres and Holy Places have now lost their purity due to commercialism.

          Therefore one hidden and unapparent reason for people not advancing is because of these problems. Devotees please listen! In case one is unknowingly been a part of this, then please say "No" to it from now on and keep the deity only for worshipping.

          That is my humble request which comes from my experience. I am sorry and I apologise right here if my words are harsh. Still I feel that I have only done my service in pointing out a problem that often goes unnoticed. I humbly request the sangha to contribute their opinions on this issue and correct me wherever I am wrong. I would sincerely like to have some feedback on my latest realisations.

Daaso'smi,
Srinath

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