In the village of Vilaspur lived a blacksmith named Vama- caran. One he went to Haripur to visit a friend who was a potter. He found his friend engaged in the delicate work of hammering a copper pot into the right shape. Vamacaran asked if he could help; his friend said yes, so he took a hammer and smashed the pot flat in one blow.

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The moral may be summed up thusly: “Same tool, different technique.” Though both blacksmiths and potters use hammers, the way they use them is very different. Similarly, though materialists may think they understand the methodology of devotional service to Krsna, the fact is unless they submissively learn from a qualified devotee the science of bhakti-yoga, their efforts to worship the Lord will be like the blacksmith’s efforts to shape a pot with a hammer. An example of a materialistic worshiper is the pancopasaka.