This is an article from the Matchless Gift magazine, volume 1. Matchless Gift is a brand new Krishna conscious magazine designed, written and edited by the BLISS devotees. All funds go towards spreading Srila Prabhupada's movement. Get your copy here!
Mizzy: Will He Be a Swami One Day?
TikTok, a social media where people post short videos to catch the attention of potential followers, and to simply get likes, has been recently acclaimed to be a culture-changing phenomenon, but it can also turn into a ticking bomb. Tick tock. Tick tock. For example, Mizzy, age 18, whose real name is Bacari-Bronze O'Garro from Stoke Newington, North London is using the app in a most unusual way. His cheeky face recently filled up the pages of all major London newspapers and tabloids and he even appeared on Piers Morgan's TalkTV show. He received all the hype, after he filmed himself entering a family’s home without the family's permission and while sitting on their couch. After entering the 2 million £ house of a banker and an interior designer with his two friends, he pretended to be looking for a study group and was opposed by the shocked owners. They are shortly seen in the video politely asking him to leave, pointing to their small children for his consideration. The mother, whose house Mizzy invaded, thought it was an attempted burglary. She said, ‘Mizzy has caused the family a lot of distress.’ We sympathize with her.
Can we possibly imagine a situation where a random person off the street randomly walks into our house, sits on our couch, and yet we remain equipoised? Quite the opposite. In the age where burglary, knife crimes and psychopathic individuals running around has become a norm, it could be pretty scary. Piers Morgan, a famous British TV host, has told Mizzy he was a “complete moron” after the prankster defended his shenanigans by saying “I can do what I want.”
Mizzy has been issued with a criminal behavior order at Thames Magistrates Court and fined £365. Many call the penalty ‘pathetic’ and lenient. The teenager, who is unemployed and on Universal Credit (the British welfare system), later said “UK laws are weak.”
Joanne, who did not want to give her last name, said, “I've known Mizzy all his life and since he got into TikTok he's been nothing but trouble. There are lots of people around here who've been harassed by him in his videos. He's burst into people's homes, stolen their shopping or knocked them off their bikes. The police are always going to his house but so far they've not been able to stop him. The boy is a nightmare, this is a lovely area, but he ruins it for many of us. He needs to be kept away from here for our safety.”
Francis, another neighbor, cried, “We've had enough of Mizzy, he needs to be excluded from this area.” A community protection order is not enough because he can't be trusted to behave himself. He might think he's being funny but he's ruining our lives. “Mizzy is a TikTok terror and a waste of space. Everybody around here knows what he's like. Lots of people are too afraid to go out and when they do, are always looking over their shoulders for Mizzy and his mates. Nobody has got a good word to say about him. We're sick and tired of his stupid behavior and these videos he makes.”
All the neighbors spoken to by the media were too afraid to give their full names or be photographed and claimed that Mizzy was part of a larger group of well-known teenagers who help him make his videos.
Ahmed, who lives along the same road as him, said, “There's a whole gang of them and they're all useless rules and regulations of the scriptures generally become as good as the father and mother, but children born illegitimately mainly become varna-sankara. The varnasankara population is irresponsible to the family, community and even to themselves." (SB 4.27.7 ) "Born illegitimately" means the parents have spontaneous sex life and these children are born by accident without their parents wanting them. Just think about it. They are an accident, an extra burden, a trouble. From their very birth the parents consciously or unconsciously infect them with the idea that their existence does not have a real meaning.
Since the nature of the soul is that it is full of meaning, being part and parcel of Krishna, the supreme meaningful, the child tries to fight back by overcompensating for the lack of meaning to his very existence by creating as much commotion as possible. "I am important. Look at me!" Unfortunately, this further entangles him in the vicious cycle of being the fifth wheel in the society, since the society wants to protect itself for smooth running and smooth social intercourse. He is an immediate threat and he will be eliminated for the peace of all concerned. We call this second class intelligence. If one does not want to follow the authority, he is put into jail and must learn the hard way. The foolish idea of " I can do what I want" is a desperate attempt of the jiva soul to imitate his allpowerful master with the consequence of being put into an even more subjugated position.
However, this propensity of entering other peoples' houses can be also found in the pastimes of great Krishna conscious sages such as Sukadeva Goswami or Narada Muni. They, of course, do not enter the houses of people with the intention of making funny Tiktoks. Their intention is to give them enlightenment in terms of Krishna consciousness. Just like Mizzy, they do not stay long. It is stated that Sukadeva Goswami, who is the speaker of the Srimad Bhagavatam, would only stay as long as it takes for a householder to milk a cow. This was not because Sukadeva Goswami was afraid of cops, but because he was afraid of material attachment. When a renounced person starts to meditate on the opulent life of a householder and wishes to enjoy as he does, he becomes fallen.
For this reason a preacher of Krishna consciousness should never become over-dependent on the good will of his householder benefactors and he should take only what is required to keep his body and soul together from them never desiring their opulent position. Mizzy and many such varna-sankarite youths would do well if introduced to the wonderful life of a brahmacari or a sannyasi under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. Due to their varna-sankarite nature, they have already experienced the bitterness of material existence, feeling unwanted and unloved. In fact, all of us will at one point realize this to be the true nature of material relationships when stripped of artificial pretensions. This is the way to become a prime potential for real spiritual life.
One must be, of course, willing to be educated in the principles of Krishna consciousness. Such willingness can be awakened by hearing and chanting the holy name and taking the remnants of Krsna prasadam. There is evidence of this in the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam. Narada Muni, who later on became a famous traveling preacher, in his childhood was himself a varna-sankarite, but because he associated with pure devotees, heard their discussions and chanting, and because he took the prasadam they left for him, he became a highly elevated Vaishnava preacher. Perhaps Mizzy should also be informed about the benefits of prasadam and devotee association. Will anyone message him and inform him before he breaks into another house and causes further psychopathic traumas or perhaps even heart attacks?
Matchless Gift issue #1
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