Devotions to one’s own worshipable God do not always produce good results. The Bhāgavatam illustrates how devotion, when covered by different modes of material nature, produces varied and contrasting outcomes.

“abhisandhāya yo hiṁsāṁ
dambhaṁ mātsaryam eva vā
saṁrambhī bhinna-dṛg bhāvaṁ
mayi kuryāt sa tāmasaḥ”

𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥, 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. (𝗦𝗕 𝟯.𝟮𝟵.𝟴)

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝗦𝗕 𝟯.𝟮𝟵.𝟵)

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. (𝗦𝗕 𝟯.𝟮𝟵.𝟭𝟬)

In essence, devotion cannot stem from a superiority complex or involve judging others; rather, it is about continuously refining one’s own devotion.

The all-conquering religions do the exact opposite of self-development. They focus on converting, judging, or even destroying those who refuse to change.

Bangladesh is witnessing large-scale tamo-guṇa and rajo-guṇa worship, as if the state itself is endorsing the violent dance of exclusivist, where human sensitivity is completely destroyed. What an embarrassment to their God!

Unfortunately, such religion is prevalent in human society, causing the destruction of people. Certainly, religion has killed more people than any other form of conflict, and the Bhāgavatam proves it.

The exclusivists fail to see the essence and focus only on differences. The French missionaries greatly admired Shivaji Maharaja, yet at his departure, they believed he could not enter heaven because he worshiped pagan gods.

The concept of God is so distorted among the exclusivists. They see nothing good in human sensitivity, universal judiciousness, empowering people, or practicing spirituality because such individuals do not share their beliefs. As a result, they believe these people deserve to rot in hell eternally, justifying their killings and torture as worship of their god.

How can a well-educated, caring prime minister support such jihadi elements who are killing their own people simply for worshipping a different god? How can the same race, with different practices, deserve torture and death? The hunters in the forest are better situated, as they did not kill humans for believing differently.

Therefore, it’s important to raise questions to such exclusivist and embarrass them Publicly and globally.

It’s a lesson for students of dharma to be assertive about their own practice privately, but to remain human and sensitive to others—whether they practice differently or are simply good human beings. Such people deserve respect and the opportunity to thrive.

It’s easy to adopt a philosophical stance, but much more difficult to live as a true Dharmik human. A Dharmik human is cooperative, thrives in the diversity of others, and is deeply committed to personal devotion and practice. Will Bangladesh learn from this and protect its minorities from being killed, arrested and tortured?

– Govinda Das (ISKCON Member)