This is an era of adulteration. Nowadays, it is nearly impossible to find a single item that is free from adulteration. The urban populace is well aware of the adulteration present in food items. Our principal food item is rice, and adulteration in it is rampant. Even if other substances are not mixed under the guise of rice, many are aware of the practice of "polishing" in wholesale dealers’ warehouses. In superior quality rice, mixing of inferior grains is indeed adulteration. Moreover, rice is often mixed with stones as well. Oils and ghee, when adulterated, become toxic and have started to claim lives gradually. Adulteration in milk is widespread everywhere. In fabrics, there is adulteration with jute fibers; in shoes, with pitch, boards, and clay; in bronze utensils, with earth. How much can one mention? There is adulteration everywhere.
There is adulteration in humans, adulteration in animals, adulteration in food, adulteration in medicine, adulteration in essentials, adulteration in precious metals, adulteration in attire, and even in sports — where is adulteration not present? In this world, in this realm of illusion (māyā), all substances are adulterated. One can only be safe if one refrains from engaging with them.
Furthermore, adulteration has infiltrated even into the domain of paramārtha (spiritual matters). Indeed, in the transcendental Vaikuṇṭha realm — beyond māyā, where there is no trace of limitation or confinement — the stench of adulteration cannot enter. Hence, in the realm of paramārtha, adulteration does not exist. But efforts are being made all around to introduce adulteration into spiritual matters as well by misrepresenting certain illusory pursuits as genuine spiritual practices. The unmindful individuals, deceived by this, honor adulteration, mistaking it for true spirituality, and consequently neglect the actual paramārtha without any sense of regret.
In the path of devotion, adulteration has infiltrated primarily into the practice of arcana-mārga (the path of deity worship), which is the sole means of sustenance for the neophyte devotee (kaniṣṭhādhikārī). In many places, hired priests or temple brāhmaṇas enter the temple of the deity, devoid of any devotion, and fill the sacred space with adulteration by mechanically ringing bells without heartfelt devotion. Moreover, in some places, offerings or donations for the deity (ṭhākura praṇāmī) are forcibly collected from pilgrims, while in other instances, they are obtained through sweet words. The wealth thus collected is used to prepare ornaments for the priest’s wife, daughter-in-law, daughter, or even their young children. Instead of serving the deity with sincere devotion, adulterated offerings are made, treating the deity not as the object of pure worship but reducing the act of worship to a mere means of income generation. Alas! The deceivers deceive, and the innocent are deceived. The hard-earned wealth of sincere individuals, instead of being offered in the service of the deity, ends up serving the pleasures of the materialistic. Thus your intended purpose becomes corrupted. Yet, you, believing that you have accumulated religious merit, remain complacent and carefree.
In the realm of paramārtha, adulteration has also increased in the service of the Holy Name (śrī-nāma), which is the object of devotion for the intermediate devotee (madhyamādhikārī). Although the Holy Name may appear to be merely alphabetical or phonetic, it is actually transcendental and is the direct incarnation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. When the mahā-mantra of the Holy Name, which was given to the world by Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as mentioned in the Purāṇas, is altered, rearranged, or chanted in distorted, whimsical lyrics then we cannot imagine what destruction it can bring. Such manipulation constitutes adulteration in the chanting of the Holy Name. The direct instruction from the divine mouth of Śrī Śrī Mahāprabhu is as follows:
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare,
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare.
prabhu kahe kahilāṅ ei mahāmantra,
ihā japa giyā sabe kariyā nirbandha.
ihā jagate sarvasiddhi haibe sabāra.
Mahāprabhu says: "I have spoken this Mahāmantra. Chant it with firm determination wherever you go. Through this chanting, everyone will attain all perfections in this world."
Many people, violating the clear instructions of Śrī Śrīman Mahāprabhu, proclaim themselves to be His great devotees. Disregarding the guru-paramparā and opposing the commands of the source of all incarnations Śrī Śrī Mahāprabhu, they have concocted a strange and distorted concept by mixing the names of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Śyāma, who are completely in the mood of mādhurya or conjugal love, with the names of Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi, who are in the mood of audārya or magnanimity, thus creating an unnatural and unauthorized entity. Just as mixing ghee with honey can produce poison, similarly, by the illegal combination of mādhurya and audārya they have created a distortion of rasa (rasābhāsa), and have thus accumulated severe offenses, and are in fact still accumulating such offences. Such individuals are not only accumulating grave offenses themselves but are also making the simple-hearted, faithful devotees in their association as offenders to the Holy Name. They do not even attempt to understand that although Gaura and Kṛṣṇa are non-different in tattva, there exists a difference in their respective pastimes. Compassionate Vaiṣṇavas are always preaching for the welfare of these inattentive individuals, emphasizing that such unauthorized compositions are against the scriptures and disapproved by the great spiritual authorities (mahājanas). These distorted chants, born from disrespect toward the spiritual master, bring misfortune to sincere spiritual aspirants. Hence, we are warning: "Sādhu, be cautious!"
On the other hand, there is a sect that replaces "Kṛṣṇa" in the Mahāmantra with "Gaura" and "Rāma" with "Nitāi", creating new mantras like "Hare Gaura" and others. They consider this the pinnacle of devotion to Gaura. However, they fail to understand that by doing so, they are violating the commands of Gaura Himself and are deviating from Hari-bhajana. This sect holds the belief that "Gaura" is superior to "Kṛṣṇa". They lack the knowledge that Kṛṣṇa and Gaura are the same tattva, with only differences in their respective pastimes. One cannot be considered superior while the other inferior; such a notion is beyond their comprehension. These individuals treat the Holy Name as separate from the possessor of Name, considering it a material phenomenon — essentially, a mundane concept. They have fallen into the illusion that the Holy Name is merely an alphabetical, lexical sound, and thus they believe that they can freely alter its letters and form without incurring any fault. However, this very act constitutes the fifth offense among the ten offenses to the Holy Name, known as "arthavāda", or considering the Holy Name as ordinary and altering it arbitrarily. Without becoming free from such offenses, the ultimate goal of life cannot be achieved. As the scriptures state: “niraparādhe nāma laile pāya premadhana” i.e. By chanting the Holy Name without offenses, one attains the treasure of divine love. If offenses persist, attaining divine love is impossible. Therefore, it is evident that adulteration has even infiltrated the highest practice and perfection in spiritual life — the Holy Name itself.
Furthermore, adulteration has infiltrated even into the system of worship practiced by the uttamādhikārī (the topmost level devotee). Those who have desires other than serving Kṛṣṇa (anyābhilāṣīs) disguise themselves as mahā-bhāgavatas (great exalted devotees) and seek admiration and prestige. Various deviant sects (apasampradāyas) such as the Āula, Bāula, Kartābhajā, Neḍā, Daraveśa, Sāṁi, Sahajiyā, Sakhībhekī, and Gauranāgarī, among others, have distorted the pure path of devotion. They have introduced streams of adulteration into worship by labeling their immoral practices — tailored to suit their material comforts — as legitimate processes of devotional service. We will now present a few examples from these groups to illustrate this adulteration and attempt to steer clear of its influence.
Now, let us speak about the Sakhī-bhekīs. The servants of Śrī Śrī Mahāprabhu, the Śrī Rūpānuga devotees, engage in the worship of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in the mood of the gopīs (gopī-bhāva), considering it the highest form of devotional practice. In this process, remaining firmly situated in their intrinsic spiritual identity, they engage in pure devotional service, contemplating themselves in their siddha-deha (perfected spiritual body) as gopīs. This is indeed the pinnacle of devotional practice. However, neither Śrī Śrī Mahāprabhu Himself nor His exalted associates — such as Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, the Ṣaḍ Gosvāmīs, and other intimate devotees like Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya, Śrīla Ācārya Ṭhākura, Śrīla Cakravartīpāda, etc. — have ever resorted to external transformations, identifying their gross physical bodies as female, or practicing devotion by imposing the external form of a woman on themselves. Wearing women’s attire externally while internally maintaining a strong male ego cannot lead to the genuine worship of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. There is no scriptural evidence for such a practice, nor has it ever been observed in the conduct of the great spiritual authorities (mahājanas). Nowadays, some individuals, disregarding the teachings of the guru-varga, dress themselves in women’s clothing, adorn themselves with ornaments like women, and regularly shave their beards and mustaches during night-time rituals to maintain a feminine appearance. They engage in idle chatter, especially with women, feigning false humility and pretending to practice devotion in the mood of women. Alas! Even in the highest practice of devotional service — gopī-bhāva bhajana — they feel no hesitation in introducing adulteration.
Furthermore, groups like the Āula, Bāula, and Kartābhajās, pretending to be gurus and considering themselves as Kṛṣṇa, engage in immoral activities under the guise of worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. This is well known to everyone, and people naturally despise such actions. Due to the adulteration introduced by such groups, people lose faith in genuine Vaiṣṇavas and unknowingly commit offenses. Out of compassion, pure devotees, who are naturally kind-hearted, draw attention to these issues, caution people against falling into such deviations, and help them become free from offenses toward Vaiṣṇavas. In doing so, they contribute to the welfare of the world. Such compassionate actions are the natural expression of the Vaiṣṇava’s innate mercy.
There is another group that insists that instead of serving Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, one must worship Śrī Śrī Gaura-Viṣṇupriyā. According to their view, Śrī Gaura-sundara cannot be worshiped independently; rather, like the gopīs, He too has many female companions (nāgarī sevikās). Gradually, they have established the Gaura-Nāgarī doctrine, wherein they emphasize that Bhū-śakti Śrī Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī should be adorned in various forms representing conjugal enjoyment (sambhoga-mūrti). In the name of feminine devotional practices, they engage in behaviors that foster bodily consciousness, seeking material pleasures. Although this trend has somewhat diminished in the Kolkata region nowadays, it has become highly prominent in the Comilla region. To the saintly persons residing there, we say: Be cautious! Let no one be deceived by such adulterated practices that are contrary to the scriptures and rooted in improper conduct.
Finally, let us conclude the discussion on adulteration by addressing the adulteration found among certain so-called gurus and hired professional Bhāgavata reciters and speakers. Many materialistic individuals, posing as gurus, collect wealth from their disciples to maintain a lavish lifestyle for themselves, their wives, and children. Instead of genuinely serving the revered Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, they manipulate its recitation for their own service and use it as a means for personal gain through Bhāgavata recitation and public speaking engagements. Such recitation and discourse yield nothing but offenses. There is no other fruit except the accumulation of offenses for both the speaker and the listener. Hence, the warning: "Sādhu, be cautious!" Falling into such adulterated practices and causing unnecessary commotion leads to collective misfortune. In comparison, the adulteration found in material objects is far less harmful than this spiritual adulteration.
