Pretenders Who Pose As Well-Read Sadhaks
In October 2019, a UK national daily conducted a survey, and to its utter consternation, it discovered that many people pretended to have read books, especially classics. The survey results revealed that people generally lie about their reading habits because they thought it made them appear more cultured or highbrow.
More than half of the 2,000 people asked in a Sky Arts poll admitted to pretending to have read a book cover-to-cover. Thirty-one per cent said that they lied about the books they had read to seem more intelligent, while 37 per cent said they just wanted to join in a conversation about the book in question.
Humbugs and Pretenders in the Spiritual Sphere
The curious but unfortunate truism about this hypocrisy is, the same dubious habitude is quite common even among the so-called "spiritual" and "religious" people, who want and love to be known for their spiritual knowledge, scriptural information and "wisdom". They deceive everyone, particularly their believers, by professing to possess spiritual and scriptural knowledge.
It is one thing to say, "This is not right", but it is quite another if one laces his assertions with "This is not right because according to the ..." or "The Bible on this says that..." or "The Lord declares in Rigveda that...".
The introduction into one's conversation, arguments and discussions the names of scriptures as alleged books and texts that one has read and studied not only hugely impresses one's hearers but it also lends credence and authority to one's opinions and standing among one's peers and even detractors. Innocent people should be wary of such sanctimonious pietists who pass themselves off as well-read and well-informed.
How do they actually do that? That is the $64,000 question!
Veritably, in these times, it is not difficult to lie at all. It is quite effortless and trouble-free given one's easy access to social media, particularly like Google, Wikipedia and YouTube. Let us discuss how they do it:
1. "The-According-to Liar" Who Pretends to Possess Knowledge
A girl had an argument with her father over her rights and freedom. After an hour's argument, when the father was finally driven into a corner, he played his trump card, saying "according to the Bhagavad Gita, girls have to..."; but when the girl still remained unconvinced, the sexist quoted yet another scripture, which allegedly encouraged the enslavement of women. In answer to the daughter's final riposte, the father ultimately said, "If you look at the Bible, it says...".
The girl was not at all fazed by his arguments, but was quite honestly by his "enormous knowledge" (as she later put it): she had hardly seen her father reading anything, much less studying scriptures. She looked around her house that night: other than some old TV magazines which the family used as coasters, and about 15 mint-condition books, two of which were still shrink-wrapped, that had collected a patina of dust in the book cabinet which had rarely been opened, she saw no evidence of the Bible or the Quran anywhere about the house.
How did he, then, know what the scriptures had said about women's freedom?
Lied in His Throat
Actually, he did not. He lied. Lied in the throat. Like all religious humbugs, the father hoodwinked his daughter by pretending to be in possession of knowledge which he, in the first place, did not have any. He put the girl's naivety and trustfulness to advantage.
There are, regrettably, masses of such plaster saints, who are ever too ready with their audacious clinchers "according to a study...", "a clinical experiment recently showed...", "the ancient Mesopotamian believed...", "In the Dharma Pada, Buddha says...', etc., when they are challenged and dared to substantiate their views. Anyone who fears being classed ignorant would flinch away, but little do they know that these "according-to" fibbers are nothing more than foolish paper tigers, and nothing less than fragile tin gods with no substance.
The time-tested way to expose them is to defy them to show proofs of their citations in the Bible, Bhagavad Gita, Quran or Dhammapada, and challenge them to give you the details of the clinical trials or studies, and you would then know what accomplished hypocrites these people are.
2. Pseudo-Pundit's False Scriptures
If the above charlatans are dangerous, there are yet another highly treacherous and hazardous spiritual hypocrites whose principal and only source of information on spiritual and scriptural matters are the Google, YouTube and Wikipedia. They have not studied the Puranas, and have no knowledge of the Darshanas, and do not have any inkling of the main tenets of the weighty tomes, viz., Ithihaas --- yet they pass themselves off as some well-read pundits of immense learning. They piggyback on the social media for everything that they tell their believers, and what is even worse is, they have no compunctions about purveying misinformation and disinformation.
3. The Avid-Plagiariser
Not only in literary circles but also in spiritual world, there are avid plagiarisers, who copy what a certain spiritual leader has said, parrot the opinions of mahatmas and archaryas, and quite unabashedly represent them as their own without letting their hearers know their source. They do not, however, stop at that, but go even further in deceiving people by adding their own perverse views on to the plagiarised materials. Innocent people who cannot separate the wheat of truths from the chaff of poppycock fall for their deceit and fraudulence.
4. Scripture-Twisters
The people in this category are the synthesis of the above three. They have not read any scriptures, or whatever little that they may have acquired from their random searches on the social media, and have obtained from disreputable sources, they present as their own, with their own interpretation of the scriptures.
Not many years ago, a man became determined to avenge himself on his relative who had betrayed his sister. He corralled a bunch of hitmen to cause bodily injury to the relative. Learning of his designs, his wife warned him of the far-reaching consequences of his unethical conduct. The man, however, cited the instance of Lord Krishna's advice to Arjuna to kill his relatives, and stoutly defended his criminal action as wholly justified.
Quoting truisms out of context, people like him purposefully misinterpret and misuse the scriptures in support of their own beliefs and practices outside the circumscribing boundaries of the Hindu dharma and Mahatmas's teachings.
Spiritual life is not easy. No mahatmas who have encouraged us in the ways of spirituality has ever said that it is easy. We would, therefore, not want to be further misled and led astray by nefarious people who have deep existential problems, and deep-set unresolved issues with themselves. Giving these people a wide berth will help us moor ourselves to the objective of human life.
Beware of people who pretend to be well-informed and widely-read.
More than half of the 2,000 people asked in a Sky Arts poll admitted to pretending to have read a book cover-to-cover. Thirty-one per cent said that they lied about the books they had read to seem more intelligent, while 37 per cent said they just wanted to join in a conversation about the book in question.
Humbugs and Pretenders in the Spiritual Sphere
The curious but unfortunate truism about this hypocrisy is, the same dubious habitude is quite common even among the so-called "spiritual" and "religious" people, who want and love to be known for their spiritual knowledge, scriptural information and "wisdom". They deceive everyone, particularly their believers, by professing to possess spiritual and scriptural knowledge.
It is one thing to say, "This is not right", but it is quite another if one laces his assertions with "This is not right because according to the ..." or "The Bible on this says that..." or "The Lord declares in Rigveda that...".
The introduction into one's conversation, arguments and discussions the names of scriptures as alleged books and texts that one has read and studied not only hugely impresses one's hearers but it also lends credence and authority to one's opinions and standing among one's peers and even detractors. Innocent people should be wary of such sanctimonious pietists who pass themselves off as well-read and well-informed.
How do they actually do that? That is the $64,000 question!
Veritably, in these times, it is not difficult to lie at all. It is quite effortless and trouble-free given one's easy access to social media, particularly like Google, Wikipedia and YouTube. Let us discuss how they do it:
1. "The-According-to Liar" Who Pretends to Possess Knowledge
A girl had an argument with her father over her rights and freedom. After an hour's argument, when the father was finally driven into a corner, he played his trump card, saying "according to the Bhagavad Gita, girls have to..."; but when the girl still remained unconvinced, the sexist quoted yet another scripture, which allegedly encouraged the enslavement of women. In answer to the daughter's final riposte, the father ultimately said, "If you look at the Bible, it says...".
How did he, then, know what the scriptures had said about women's freedom?
Lied in His Throat
Actually, he did not. He lied. Lied in the throat. Like all religious humbugs, the father hoodwinked his daughter by pretending to be in possession of knowledge which he, in the first place, did not have any. He put the girl's naivety and trustfulness to advantage.
There are, regrettably, masses of such plaster saints, who are ever too ready with their audacious clinchers "according to a study...", "a clinical experiment recently showed...", "the ancient Mesopotamian believed...", "In the Dharma Pada, Buddha says...', etc., when they are challenged and dared to substantiate their views. Anyone who fears being classed ignorant would flinch away, but little do they know that these "according-to" fibbers are nothing more than foolish paper tigers, and nothing less than fragile tin gods with no substance.
The time-tested way to expose them is to defy them to show proofs of their citations in the Bible, Bhagavad Gita, Quran or Dhammapada, and challenge them to give you the details of the clinical trials or studies, and you would then know what accomplished hypocrites these people are.
2. Pseudo-Pundit's False Scriptures
3. The Avid-Plagiariser
Not only in literary circles but also in spiritual world, there are avid plagiarisers, who copy what a certain spiritual leader has said, parrot the opinions of mahatmas and archaryas, and quite unabashedly represent them as their own without letting their hearers know their source. They do not, however, stop at that, but go even further in deceiving people by adding their own perverse views on to the plagiarised materials. Innocent people who cannot separate the wheat of truths from the chaff of poppycock fall for their deceit and fraudulence.
The people in this category are the synthesis of the above three. They have not read any scriptures, or whatever little that they may have acquired from their random searches on the social media, and have obtained from disreputable sources, they present as their own, with their own interpretation of the scriptures.
Not many years ago, a man became determined to avenge himself on his relative who had betrayed his sister. He corralled a bunch of hitmen to cause bodily injury to the relative. Learning of his designs, his wife warned him of the far-reaching consequences of his unethical conduct. The man, however, cited the instance of Lord Krishna's advice to Arjuna to kill his relatives, and stoutly defended his criminal action as wholly justified.
Quoting truisms out of context, people like him purposefully misinterpret and misuse the scriptures in support of their own beliefs and practices outside the circumscribing boundaries of the Hindu dharma and Mahatmas's teachings.
Spiritual life is not easy. No mahatmas who have encouraged us in the ways of spirituality has ever said that it is easy. We would, therefore, not want to be further misled and led astray by nefarious people who have deep existential problems, and deep-set unresolved issues with themselves. Giving these people a wide berth will help us moor ourselves to the objective of human life.
Beware of people who pretend to be well-informed and widely-read.
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