False Teacher and The will of God? || Acharya Prashant, on Jesus Christ (2016)
The tree and Its Fruit
Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. ~ Jesus, Sermon on the Mount
Questioner (Q): What is meant by false teacher?
Acharya Prashant (AP): When Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets”—he says just see, what influence they are having upon you; tree is known by its fruits. Just see what their presence does to you. Are they really able to bring peace and lightness to you? Are they really able to remove fear from your mind or are they putting you in greater fear?
Do not know them by their forms, decorations, medallions, all the respect that society gives them—do not use that to know them.
Know them by one criteria only—what have they done to you? Have they liberated you or have they put you in greater bondage.
That is the only test of the prophet—He liberates.
I Never Knew You
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’ ~ Jesus, Sermon on the Mount
AP: Take the name of the God a thousand times – it will not suffice. Only surrender does the trick. So, you may do great deeds in the name of God. You may renounce, you may perform rituals, you may maintain routines, all kinds of penance, Japa, Mantra, Tapa—nothing is going to help you.
The only thing which is going to help you is (reading the verse): The one who does the will of my Father shall reach Him.
Surrender to Him. Let His will be your will. What does it mean to abide by the will of God? It simply means- not to abide by your own will. Let your will be secondary to the Truth.
Find something so overwhelming and so immense, that you can totally be devoted to it.
