Volume 7 - Prabhupada

Text 185] The Lord Travels to Vrndavana 101"0 son of Prtha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protectionof the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service becausethey know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible."(Bg. 9.13)In the material world, the word mahatma is understood in different ways by differentreligionists. Mundaners also come up with their different angles of vision.For the conditioned soul busy in sense gratification, a mahajana is recognized accordingto the proportion of sense gratification he offers. For instance, a businessmanmay consider a certain banker to be a mahajana, and karmis desiring materialenjoyment may consider philosophers like jaimini to be mahajanas. There aremany yogis who want to control the senses, and for them Pataiijali i is a mahajana.For the jnanis, the atheist Kapila, Vasi!ha, Durvasa, Dattatreya and other impersonalistphilosophers are mahajanas. For the demons, Hirat:yaka,Hirat:Jyakasipu, Ravat:Ja, Ravat:a's son Meghanada, Jarasandha and others are acceptedas mahajanas. For materialistic anthropologists speculating on the evolutionof the body, a person like Darwin is a mahajana. The scientists who arebewildered by Krt:a's external energy have no relationship with the Supreme Personalityof Godhead, yet they are accepted by some as mahajanas. Similarly, philosophers,historians, literary men, public speakers and social and political leadersare sometimes accepted as mahajanas. Such mahajanas are respected by certainmen who have been described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.3.19):sva-vic;i-varahowa-kharai/:1sarhstuta/:1 puru?a/:1 pasu/:1na yat-karl)a-pathopetojatu nama gadagraja/:1"Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who neverlisten to the transcendental pastimes of Lord SrT Krt:Ja, the deliverer from evils."Thus on the material platform animalistic leaders are worshiped by animals.Sometimes physicians, psychiatrists and social workers try to mitigate bodily pain,distress and fear, but they have no knowledge of spiritual identity and are bereftof a relationship with God. Yet they are considered mahajanas by the illusioned.Self-deceived persons sometimes accept leaders or spiritual masters from apriestly order that has been officially appointed by the codes of material life. Inthis way, they are deceived by official priests. Sometimes people accept as mahajanasthose who have been designated by SrTia Vrndavana dasa Thakura asc;Jhanga-vipras (imposter brahmal)as). Such imposters imitate the characteristics ofSrTia Haridasa Thakura, and they envy Haridasa Thakura, who was certainly amahajana. They make great artificial endeavors, advertising themselves as greatdevotees of the Lord or as mystic hypnotists knowledgeable in witchcraft, hypnotismand miracles. Sometimes people accept demons like POtana, Trt:avarta,