(6/15) Avoid Offences to Holy Name

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nrisingha Palli, Sri Jagannath Misra Anandotsav
22 March 2019, morning class, part 6
Translated from Bengali

One more thing you must listen carefully about is offences to the Holy Name.

The first offence is sadhu-ninda, criticising saints.

The second offence is when somebody thinks that Kali, Krishna, Siva and other gods are all one and the same, and also when somebody also things that they are independent of each other. Both conceptions are wrong. Like all gods, Lord Siva is part of Lord Krishna. Just as we all are parts of Lord Krishna, all gods are also His parts.

The third offence is to dismiss your guru. It means not listening to your guru. No matter how much you chant the Holy Name, there will be no use if you do not listen to what your guru says. Trying to do something without letting your guru know about it or wanting for something to happen without your guru's involvement is an offence. You cannot chant the Holy Name with such mentality.

The fourth offence is related to scriptures. There are many different kinds of scriptures in this world: Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Mahabharata, and so on. It is an offence to criticise them.

The fifth offence is to try to interpret the meaning of the Holy Name. It means wondering what the Holy Name means, what you will get if you chant it, and so on. This kind of mood is also offensive.

The sixth offence is to say that the Holy Name that actually comes from Goloka Vrindavan is imaginary. Somebody can think, 'Oh, somebody wrote about this Holy Name, so everybody chants it now' – it is not so. The Lord Himself personally (with His own mouth) chanted kirtan, chanting this Holy Name. The Lord Himself came from Goloka Vrindavan and distributed His genuine Holy Name in this world.

The seventh offence is to sin and chant. It means I will be doing wrong the whole day and in the evening I will think, 'Oh, it is OK – I will just chant some Holy Names in the evening, and all my offences will be removed.' To chant the Holy Name with this idea is an offence, it is not the Holy Name. When people do asta-prahar kirtans, this is all offences. They do all kinds of wrong things 364 days a year, and then they bring some hired singers to their house and get them to chant the Holy Name. This is not the Holy Name. It is all only offences. They chant kirtan during twenty-four hours, which means that they chant offences to the Holy Name during twenty-four hours; and people listen to those offences and make those offences themselves.

[Some devotees are leaving] Take prasad at noon! Stay a little longer. There will be sweet yoghurt and sweets! It is a festival today, so you will get everything today. They offered many things to the Lord yesterday also (sweet yoghurt, sweets, puris), so it will be distributed to everybody today. It is Jagannath Misra's grand festival. Everybody must take this prasad. I have told them to make paneer, sukta, dal, laphra (a five-vegetable mixed curry; I like it very much, too), chutney, sweet rice, sweet yoghurt, puspanna. You can take some puspanna with you home to have it in the evening. If you distribute it to others, they will get some benefit as well.

The eighth offence is to think that chanting the Holy Name that sadhus and gurus tells us to chant is the same as some pious activities or worshipping Kali or Durga. When your son or daughter gets married, you make a big festival at home, and when you bring sadhus and gurus to your home to chant the Holy Name, if you think that both are one and the same, that is an offence. There is no comparison. Doing some puja or good works and bringing sadhus and Vaishnavs for a programme and kirtan are not the same.

The ninth offence is giving the Holy Name to those who have no faith in it. Yesterday some person came here and they wanted me to give him initiation because he was going home. He has no faith in the Holy Name – why must I give him initiation? I refused. I said I could not. Srila Prabhupad waited many days before he could finally take initiation. Every time he came to his guru (Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj), he was told, 'Get out! Get out!' But Srila Pragbhupad came again and again.

'You again?'

'Yes, please give me initiation.'

'Your father is a great scholar. Go and take initiation from him!'

'Father has sent me to you.'

'Oh, he did? All right, I will ask Mahaprabhu then.'

When Srila Prabhupad came back the next day, Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj said, 'Oh, I have forgotten to ask Mahaprabhu.' The next day, he said, 'Oh, I asked Mahaprabhu, but I have not got any reply.'

But you come and say, 'Oh, I am leaving earlier, so give me initiation today. I will give money.' I will not give initiation like this. I do not need any disciples. It is an offence to give the Holy Name to those who have no faith.

The last, tenth, offence is to keep material attachments even after having heard about the glories of the Holy Name.

These are the ten offences to the Holy Name that must be avoided.

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Length: 108 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Take Prasad
2) Stay Focused
3) Remember Your Service
4) Help Yourself and Others
5) Avoid Offences to Service
6) Avoid Offences to Holy Name
7) Avoid Offences to Vaishnavs
8) Avoid Offences to Holy Dham (Part 1)
9) Avoid Offences to Holy Dham (Part 2)
10) Avoid Kali's Places
11) Devotional Strictures
12) Devotional Strictures
13) Rejoice!
14) Outstanding Happening
15) Wholesome Vision