Evidence Regarding Devotional Principles 61

Personality of Godhead is not accepted and is called atheism. Atheism
means defying the authority of the Vedas and decrying the great
acaryas who teach Vedic scriptures for the benefit of the people in
general.

Lord Buddha is accepted as an incarnation of Krsna in the Srimad-
Bhagavatam, but in the same Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that
Lord Buddha appeared in order to bewilder the atheist class of men.
Therefore his philosophy is meant for bewildering the atheists and
should not be accepted. If someone asks, ‘““Why should Krsna propa-
gate atheistic principles?” the answer is that it was the desire of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead to end the violence which was then
being committed in the name of the Vedas. The so-called religionists
were falsely using the Vedas to justify such violent acts as meat-
eating, and Lord Buddha came to lead the fallen people away from
such a false interpretation of the Vedas. Also, for the atheist class,
Lord Buddha preached atheism so that they would follow him and
thus be tricked into devotional service to Lord Buddha, or Krsna.

Inquiring about External Religious Principles

In the Naradiya Purana it is said: “If one is actually very serious
about devotional service, then all of his purposes will be served with-
out any delay.”

Residing in a Sacred Place

In the Padma Purana it is stated: “For one who has given up his
material sense enjoyment and has accepted the principles of devo-
tional service, the opulence of Visnu-loka [the kingdom of God] is
awaiting.” In the same Padma Purana it is also said that for a person
who has lived in Dvaraka for six months, for one month, or even for
one fortnight, there is awaiting elevation to the Vaikuntha-lokas and
all the profits of sdripya-mukti (the privilege of having the same
four-handed bodily features as Narayana).
