Five Kinds Of Bluffers

By krishnasmercy on January 27, 2024 • ( 0 )

“That which is built only upon words and appearance gets ruined in the end, whereas that which is done with a pure mind meets the proper end and is successful by the grace of Shri Rama, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 154)

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बचन बेष तें जो बनइ सो बिगरइ परिनाम।
तुलसी मन तें जो बनइ बनी बनाई राम ॥

bacana beṣa teṃ jo banai so bigarai parināma।
tulasī mana teṃ jo banai banī banāī rāma ॥

1. The cheating paramour

“I would stay away from that person. They are a player. They say whatever they need to get by. They praise you right now, but they say the same thing to everyone else. They will turn on you whenever it is convenient. After they have extracted sufficient enjoyment, they will forget that you even exist.”

2. The slick department head

“Do you get the feeling that this guy is bluffing? I saw him tell one lie after another at the board meeting. There is no way we can deliver the project on the timelines provided. When we later fall short, when we fail, he will find some other excuse to keep it going. There is a reason he has been at this company for so many years.”

3. The Ponzi scheme creator

“If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Don’t think that making money can be so easy. Okay, people have done it in the past. They bet on the right startup company; they invested their resources wisely. But I have a feeling this person is only relying on one IOU after another. He has stacked them together. He has built everything on credit. I don’t see any real assets to his name.”

4. The pop singers

“Wow, they were fakes. They never sang those songs. It was someone else. These artists were merely mouthing along to the tapes. Just see how popular they became. I think they are victims of the system. I lay the blame on the people who hatched the scheme. Fame is so tempting it will make people do anything.”

5. The false guru

“Are you really surprised? You couldn’t tell? No one is that perfect in the way they speak. Their mannerisms gave it away to me. There was nothing genuine about them. But now so many of the followers are heartbroken. They are in such disbelief that they refuse to acknowledge the truth, that they have been fooled. The institution is forcing them to find another guru, who might also turn out to be a fake. What a mess!”

…

There is the saying, “Put your mind to it.” This is to distinguish from the cavalier approach. I have an idea for a new business. I contemplate moving to a different location. I have these dreams and accompanying expectations.

For anything significant to come to fruition, there has to be genuineness in purpose. The mind has to be applied. By putting my mind to the objective, I have a better chance at success. With the mind involved, there is also an investment in the outcome. There will be more willingness to persevere through the difficulties, to tolerate the adversities, if the mind has sufficiently bought into the process.

As Goswami Tulsidas warns, with only words or an outward appearance there may be success in the short term, but it will not last. At some moment in the future there will be total destruction. The skeptics reach the bottom of the pyramid. The pretender gets exposed. The truth comes out.

With respect to material life in general, will not everything meet with destruction? Is that not the guaranteed fate? What goes up must come down. As soon as there is birth, death is certain.

जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्
ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च
तस्माद् अपरिहार्ये ऽर्थे
न त्वं शोचितुम् अर्हसि

jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur
dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca
tasmād aparihārye ‘rthe
na tvaṁ śocitum arhasi

“For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.27)

The advice from Tulsidas holds when there is association with spiritual life. The mind will drive the individual towards success, since they are linked to the Supreme Lord. God provides whatever is lacking and preserves whatever is already there.

अनन्याश् चिन्तयन्तो मां
ये जनाः पर्युपासते
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां
योग-क्षेमं वहाम्य् अहम्

ananyāś cintayanto māṁ
ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ
yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham

“But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.22)

Tulsidas warns against relying only on words or external appearance. Just because I wear the clothes of a renounced mendicant does not mean I have gained the favor of the Supreme, who is worshiped as Rama by saints of the Vaishnava tradition.

I may speak sweet words in public. I may deliver riveting speeches on the science of self-realization. In the background, my mind is elsewhere. I have interests in the senses. I want to satisfy every desire which manifests. I am cruel in my treatment of others and wicked in my deeds.

This ruse will be exposed in the manner of the pretend parivrajaka Ravana visiting the hut of Sita and Rama. He is a ten-headed ogre and simply changing the rupa does not alter the reality. Ravana will remain a demon of wicked deeds.

मनो हि हेतुः सर्वेषामिन्द्रियाणां प्रवर्तने।।
शुभाशुभास्ववस्थासु तच्च मे सुव्यवस्थितम्।

mano hi hetuḥ sarveṣāmindriyāṇāṃ pravartane।।
śubhāśubhāsvavasthāsu tacca me suvyavasthitam।

“It is certainly the mind that is instrumental in causing the senses to act in ways that lead to either auspicious or inauspicious conditions. And my mind right now is positively situated.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 11.41)

Whereas someone like Shri Hanuman may blame himself for having a monkey’s mind, for being fickle in thought, but since he is fully devoted to Shri Rama, everything ends successfully. There is continued devotion, and even the material nature cannot attack that bridge.