Category:Cheap Thing

Theme Analysis

In the modern age, people are accustomed to purchasing cheap, disposable items for instant gratification. Śrīla Prabhupāda observes that this exact same mentality has tragically infected spiritual life. Society wants a "cheap thing." Instead of undergoing the serious austerities required to understand the Absolute Truth, people flock to cheating gurus who promise that they can become God or see God immediately, without giving up their material sense gratification. Śrīla Prabhupāda vehemently condemns this, pointing out the absurdity of a person who cannot even remember what they did a few hours ago claiming to be the Supreme Being.

A central theme in this category is the absolute necessity of following authorized standards. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that God, the Vedas, and the genuine spiritual master are not cheap commodities available in the marketplace. To understand the Vedas, one must actually acquire brahminical qualifications; to approach Kṛṣṇa, one cannot simply jump over the paramparā system. Furthermore, Śrīla Prabhupāda criticizes the so-called advanced devotees (sahajiyās) who cheaply claim to have witnessed Kṛṣṇa's intimate rāsa dance with the gopīs. The true Gosvāmīs never made such cheap claims, focusing instead on rigorous devotional service. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is specifically designed to counteract this widespread cheating by presenting the authentic, uncompromising, and highly valuable science of the Bhagavad-gītā, completely free from the cheap compromises of the modern era.

• The Factory of False Gods: Śrīla Prabhupāda criticizes the modern trend—especially prevalent in India—of treating God as a cheap commodity, where any ordinary rascal can declare himself to be an incarnation.
• The Cheaters and the Cheated: A society that desires cheap spiritual perfection (becoming God while maintaining material enjoyment) inevitably attracts false gurus who provide exactly that nonsense.
• The Necessity of Qualification: Genuine spiritual assets are not cheap. Understanding the Vedas requires brahminical training, and approaching Kṛṣṇa requires strict adherence to the paramparā system through a bona fide guru.
• Rejecting the Sahajiyā Mentality: True spiritual advancement is marked by humility and rigorous service, not by making cheap, premature claims of witnessing the Lord's most confidential pastimes.

• Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Cheap Thing - Śrīla Prabhupāda on the Trivialization of Spiritual Life.