(And Why Porsche Thinks I’m a Pretender)
I recently received a message from Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd. addressed to Mahabhagavat Das.
The subject? An invitation to the Porsche Track Experience—a high-octane day at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The copy was polished, promising more than just a drive:
“It’s more than a track day. It’s a transformation… Experience our 911 fleet in its natural habitat… refining your driving skills and redefining your limits.”
On the surface, it’s a standard luxury pitch. But beneath the hood of this invitation lies a fascinating, and somewhat indicting, look at how modern culture perceives “spirituality.”
The “Transformation” Trap
The Porsche sales team didn’t send this to me by accident. They operate in a world where “spirituality” has been successfully co-opted by the Spiritual-Industrial Complex. In this world, ancient wisdom is repackaged as a “lifestyle upgrade” for high-performers. There are the people who practice yoga so they can have better sex, for example.
When they use the word “transformation,” they aren’t referring to the shedding of the false ego. They aren’t discussing the quieting the chattering mind. They are certainly not talking about spiritual advancement! They are talking about a peak adrenaline experience—the ultimate form of sense gratification (indriya-tarpana). They’ve seen the “Gurus” in 911s and the “Mindfulness Coaches” who use Zen to sharpen their competitive edge. There are Big Gurus who can cut a deal like almost no one else.
They sent me this email because they assume I am like the other pretenders. They think Mahabhagavat Das is someone who uses a spiritual veneer to decorate a sensuous life. Chasing money, commanding status, and maximizing materialistic, hedonistic sense gratification.
My Actual “Track Experience”: The Dust of Vrindavan
Porsche invites me to a racetrack in Ontario. However, as I write this, I am currently engaged in a very different “performance” experience. I am on a pilgrimage in Vrindavan, India.
Here, there are no engines, no carbon-fiber frames, and no 0-to-60 stats. Instead, I am walking on foot alongside millions of other pilgrims. We aren’t trying to “refine” our driving skills; we are seeking to shed the false prestige entirely.
In Vrindavan, the goal is to peel away the layers of false identity. We aim to shed the material designations. Additionally, we seek to eliminate the suffocating false pride that a luxury car is designed to bolster. My “coaches” aren’t Porsche Certified Driving Instructors; they are the people I meet on the path. I try to humbly listen to everyone. I listen to the “newbies” just discovering Krishna Consciousness. I also listen to the great, accomplished saints who have mastered the art of humility.
The Wealth of Simplicity
In this land, one finds a standard of “status” that would be incomprehensible to a luxury marketing team. I am surrounded by the mood of the eternal cow herds, the village boys of Vraja. These boys don’t look at The Supreme Personality of Godhead for any personal gain. They don’t regard Krishna and Balaram with awe, reverence, or the desire for a “blessing” of material wealth. In their utter simplicity, they think of Krishna and Balaram as no better than themselves. To them, Krishna and Balaram are just fellow cowherd boys. They do seek shelter of Krishna and Balaram. But most times, they see them as rather “poor wrestlers” who can be teased or defeated in a game. There is no overt hierarchy here, no “top of the line,” and no false prestige. There is only the intimacy of simple love. The world chases a Porsche to feel superior. In contrast, I find a higher state of being in the spiritual atmosphere of Vrindavan. This state is where we are all simple servants of one another, in our service to Krishna. Service for service’ sake.
The Sound of Surrender
Instead of listening to the roar of a flat-six engine, my focus is on a different sound vibration. I walk these dusty roads. I chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. I try to hear it in a mood of humble surrender. I am doing this as much as possible. I am doing it as best as I can. I understand that real power doesn’t come from a pedal. It comes from the humble heart’s call to the Divine Couple Sri Radha Shyamsundar.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Porsche talks about “taking the wheel,” but the Bhakti path is about deciding which wheel to take up. It is about realizing I am not the controller. Chanting is my attempt to align my consciousness not with a racetrack. Instead, it aligns with the Will of Krishna. I seek a transformation that no amount of horsepower could ever provide.
Why They Think I’m a “Pseudo-Spiritualist”. Bhakti vs. Bhukti!
To a marketing algorithm, a name like “Mahabhagavat Das” (Servant of a Great Devotee of Krishna) is just a data point. Their systems interpret “spiritual leader” as “High-Net-Worth Individual interested in Sense Pleasure.”
They believe my spiritual identity is just a “brand.” They think my true “natural habitat” is a racetrack, not a temple or place of service. They don’t think I really intend to serve suffering souls on their spiritual journey. They assume that, like many pseudo-spiritualists today, I am secretly chasing Bhukti (material enjoyment) while talking about Bhakti (devotion). Just one vowel makes syllable different, but almost nothing in common. One syllable is the difference between a soul bound by its desires and a soul liberated by its love.
Porsch vs. Toyot: The Illusion of Difference
Here is the reality that the Porsche sales team doesn’t understand. When you stop looking at the world through the lens of prestige, the “magic” of the brand disappears. The brand loses its allure.
I will not attend a Porsche Track Day. I see no fundamental difference between a Porsche and a Toyota. Remove the marketing, the leather, and the 500-horsepower engine. You are left with a temporary machine built of the same material elements. There is waste, and there is pollution. Infinitely more distraction in one case vs. the other.
In fact, past the labels, is there even a difference between a “Porsch” and a “Toyot”? These are just sounds. Just letters. Just labels we use to convince ourselves that one hunk of metal is “transformative” while the other is merely “functional.” Neither can move the needle of the soul. Neither can take me where I am actually trying to go.
Whether it’s a ‘Porsch’ or a ‘Toyot,’ it’s still just a machine of five elements (earth, water, fire, air, space). It carries a soul that is looking for a home. This home will never be found on a racetrack.
ज्ञानविज्ञानतृप्तात्मा कूटस्थो विजितेन्द्रिय: ।
युक्त इत्युच्यते योगी समलोष्ट्राश्मकाञ्चन: ॥ ८ ॥jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā
kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ
yukta ity ucyate yogī
sama-loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥA person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogī [or mystic] when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything – whether it be pebbles, stones or gold – as the same.
I’m not quite there myself, but chanting Hare Krishna sincerely will eventually will get me there.
The Ethics of Influence
There is a deeper, more personal reason for my “No.” In the Bhakti tradition, being a “Das” (servant) is a sacred trust. Any influence or facility I have been granted is meant for stewardship, not personal consumption.
Using one’s spiritual standing or influence to secure luxury toys or “sense-gratifying” experiences is a betrayal of that trust. The world is full of people who seek the peace of a monk. They also want the garage and harem of a mogul. But a true seeker doesn’t use the cloak of the Divine to chase the mirage of the racetrack.
कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् ।
इन्द्रियार्थान्विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारः स उच्यते ॥ ६ ॥karmendriyāṇi saṁyamya
ya āste manasā smaran
indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā
mithyācāraḥ sa ucyateOne who restrains the senses of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.
It is so very easy to get distracted. There is danger at every step for the careless spiritualist. But I am protected by my spiritual masters. As long as I stay within their protection. No one has taken my free will away.
With that free will, I can ascend to a higher realm, or degrade myself.
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: ॥ ५ ॥uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ
nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur
ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.
https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/5/
Closing the Gate
To the Porsche team, the 911 is a masterpiece of engineering. To me, it is just another useless distraction in a world already loud with them.
My path isn’t measured in lap times or gear shifts. It’s measured in the distance between my false ego and the truth. The 911 fleet waits for me in its “natural habitat.” Meanwhile, I’ll stay in mine. I am focusing on a transformation that doesn’t require a key or a combustion engine.
I’ll stay in mine. I strive to walk the dusty roads of Vrindavan, even when I’m in Toronto, or New York or London. The only thing I’m trying to “drive” is the desire for material status out of my heart. I hope to do this once and for all.
Alas, alas, I’m so very far from my goal.
With Gratitude to
The Porsche Marketing Team, for providing a seed many months ago.
Brahmanda Ghat is the sacred place where Lord Sri Krishna “ate dirt”. His friends and elder brother Lord Sri Balaram complained to Their transcendental mother Yashoda. She asked Krishna to open His mouth. She got a glimpse of the entire cosmic creation, many many universes, within Krishna’s mouth. She also saw herself inside herself looking into Krishna’s mouth. These few lines do not do justice to this pastime. Some day I will write more about this place of pilgrimage.
My simple spiritual master Sankarshan Prabhu, for blessing me to genuinely enter Vrindavan.
Vaisesika Prabhu, Mother Nirukula, Mother Shraddha, fanthespark.com.
The organizers and participants of the Pilgrimage of the Heart, 2026, showed immense tolerance. They encouraged and humbled me on my spiritual journey with their own grace.
Especially Vaisesika Prabhu for his “Porsch” vs. “Toyot” joke, apparently an old one!
Freedom through Genuine Spiritual Progress 