True spiritual authority demands philosophical knowledge, not external dress; God is one, and only Krishna consciousness qualifies.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
[Prabhupāda sings Jaya rādhā-mādhava, then chants prema-dhvani] [break] [04:58] Pradyumna: Translation: "The blessed messengers of Lord Viṣṇu, the Viṣṇudūtas, said: If you are actually servants of Yamarāja, you must explain to us the meaning of religious principles and the symptoms of irreligion." Prabhupāda: śrī viṣṇudūtā ūcuḥ yūyaṁ vai dharma-rājasya yadi nirdeśa-kāriṇaḥ brūta dharmasya nas tattvaṁ yac cādharmasya lakṣaṇam [SB 6.1.38] They challenged, the Yamadūtas challenged: "Who are you, interfering in our business? We have come to arrest him." So, before talking, the..., the counterchallenge was that "You spoke that 'We are servants of Dharmarāja. So it is his jurisdiction. This person is impious.
So this is the jurisdiction of Dharmarāja. He has to try the case and give him punishment, criminal department, law and order. So you cannot interfere with us.' " Therefore the challenge is replied by Viṣṇudūta that "If you are actually representative of Dharmarāja, who tries the case of dharma and adharma, first of all explain what is dharma and what is adharma." This is very nice challenge. Suppose if somebody, if you say that "We are Kṛṣṇa conscious persons." So one may challenge you, "First of all, explain what do you know about Kṛṣṇa?" That is quite natural.
If you do not know about Kṛṣṇa, you have no right to say that "I belong to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement." You have no right to say. So your position is like that. Simply if you have a tilaka and a kaṇṭhi, that does not mean that you belong to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Any cheater can do that.
You must know the philosophy. If one challenges, you must reply. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung a song indicating these cheaters. He says, eo ta’ eka kalira celā: "Here is a servant of Kali." What kind of celā?
Nāke tilaka galāya mālā. "He has got a tilaka and galāya mālā. Bās. That's all." He does not know what is the philosophy.
If you do not know the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if you simply mark your body with tilaka and kaṇṭhi, then you are not proper servant; you are not qualified. So tilaka, mala is necessary. Just like a policeman. A bogus man, if he dresses like a policeman, he is not policeman.
He must know what is the police law, criminal law, who is to be punished, who is not to be punished, what is criminality, what is innocence. All these things he must know. So here is a very good challenge, that "You are talking that you are the servant of Dharmarāja. I know Dharmarāja." It is not that... Because they must know.