For some time now, a certain class of people has emerged within the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava community. These individuals, by taking fee or sustenance, recite sacred texts such as the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and other scriptures in exchange for monetary payment, thus using this practice as a means of livelihood. Within this profession, there is also considerable competition among them. They have intermediaries (brokers) who arrange engagements for them. Once the agreement is finalized, the reciter arrives and formally opens the scripture for recitation.
Among these hired reciters, those who have gained a reputation — particularly those who excel in entertaining the audience, especially women — receive invitations for speaking from multiple locations simultaneously. They keep track of time and as per agreement sometimes charge ten ṭākā per hour in one place, while in another, they may earn five ṭākā per session, adjusting the duration of their recitation accordingly. In some households, they recite for half an hour, while in others, they extend it to a full hour, making their profession quite lucrative. Then those who are less proficient, and thus take less visiting charges, lament their misfortune and curse their fate.
Some among them strive to enhance their qualifications by attending a few study sessions, knowing that educated and economically well-off listeners expect their reciters to be learned. Additionally, those among the audience who show dramatic display of sentiments or are easily deceived also necessitate that the reciters learn the art of dramatic display of emotions. In certain places, in order to captivate female audiences, these hired reciters even show the mannerisms and gestures which are particularly for women. Thus, in their pursuit of wealth and resources, each individual is busy in various strategies to acquire worldly skills. Consequently, they become so absorbed that they completely forget about paramārtha (ultimate spiritual goal).
If one does not forget the paramārtha, then the endeavor to accumulate wealth for personal material enjoyment can never become dominant. The term ‘paramārtha’ must be understood as the exclusive service of the Supreme Lord (Bhagavān) and His devotees. Anything apart from this is simply an engagement for one’s own material enjoyment. Wherever the idea of collecting wealth through material engagements is predominant, there the endeavor for paramārtha is proportionally weakened. Just as an abundance of light naturally dispels darkness, and the density of darkness indicates the relative absence of light, in the same way, where there is an abundance of service to Hari, the inclination for material enjoyment is diminished; and where the desire for enjoyment is predominant, the devotional service inevitably declines. Therefore, in places where the desire to accumulate wealth is strong — where larger payments are prioritized over smaller engagements for recitation — there even the very first letter of paramārtha is absent. However, it is astonishing that individuals who are highly skilled in worldly affairs take a long time to comprehend this fundamental truth. This, indeed, is the most perplexing aspect of the situation.
Now, a question may arise i.e. why do people go to such lengths, spending so much money, to listen to the recitations of hired reciters? If the sole purpose of such recitations is merely to gain worldly recognition, to serve as a pleasing elixir to the ears, or to be a spectacle similar to watching a theatrical performance, then who can possibly object to such indulgences? Even with hundreds of loud proclamations advocating for moral upliftment, it remains extremely difficult to liberate society from the grip of theatrical dramas, dance and music performances, bioscope, circuses, and similar frivolous entertainments. People clearly desire sensory enjoyment, and these arrangements are made solely for that purpose. However, if someone claims — or even harbors the internal conviction — that by attending these recitations, they are attaining progress in their pāramārthika dharma, then we would humbly like to submit to them that, in reality, such engagements serve only to obstruct the paramārtha. Therefore, it is not proper for those who sincerely endeavor for paramārtha, to listen to such commercialized and ostentatious recitations as it is nothing but an invitation to misfortune.
Even in the realm of laukika-dharma-śāstras (scriptures which pertain to the worldly roles), it is established that if one studies under a hired or salaried teacher, one’s status as a brāhmaṇa is compromised, and the teacher who accepts remuneration for teaching also becomes degraded. When such a strict rule applies even to conventional dharma-śāstra, it is inconceivable that any relaxation of this principle would be intended in matters of pāramārthika dharma. The dharma-śāstra known as the Bhārgavīya Manu-saṁhitā, while listing disqualified brāhmaṇas, states in its third chapter, verse 156: "bhṛtakādhyāpako yaśca bhṛtādhyāpitastathā" i.e. both the teacher who teaches for wages and the student who studies under such a teacher are considered disqualified brāhmaṇa.
Since ancient times, exalted sages such as Śuka, Śaunaka, and others — who have been the true speakers and hearers of real dharma — have never fallen into the realm of such material transactions of giving and receiving wages, and thus have not suffered spiritual degradation.
During the manifest pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and even in the period following His disappearance, exalted Vaiṣṇavas such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam commentator Śrīla Gadādhara Paṇḍita and Bhāgavatācārya Raghunātha never engaged in such reprehensible practices that lead to the degradation of dharma. The divine form of Śrī Bhagavān is non-different from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the Śrī-Nāma (the Holy Name) is also of the same transcendental nature. These sacred entities can never, under any circumstances, become objects of trade or commodities for sale in exchange for monetary remuneration. If anyone attempts to commercialize them, that person becomes a mahā-aparādhī (grievous offender) and is cast far, far away from the path of Bhakti. There is no doubt about this. If one listens from the mouth of such a person to the commodified form of the narrations of the Lord’s names, forms, qualities, and pastimes, then the listeners too are bound to suffer great misfortune due to the resulting inauspicious association. Alas! Do such individuals fail to grasp the true import of the Bhāgavata injunction, as emphasized by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī i.e. "na vyākhyām upayuñjīta" (One should not engage in the professional recitation of the scriptures).
Yet, in complete disregard of this solemn instruction of the pūrvācāryas, these hired reciters do not hesitate to ask, “If we do not take remuneration in exchange for recitation, how shall we sustain our livelihood in this world?” Moreover, they even justify themselves by arguing, “What fault is there in a brāhmaṇa accepting bhikṣā (alms)?” Therefore, further deliberation on this topic will be done on some other day.
