(7/15) Avoid Offences to Vaishnavs

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nrisingha Palli, Sri Jagannath Misra Anandotsav
22 March 2019, morning class, part 7
Translated from Bengali

There are also four offences to Vaishnavs (sadhu-ninda).

The first offence is jati-dosa.

Devotee: What does it mean?

It means that somebody can be born in a lower caste, such as namasudra, or in the kayastha caste or in any other caste. A sadhu can be born in any family – he is born there to liberate that caste, or family. For example, there is a man who used to cell tea and bidi, but now he has come to the Math. He has not taken initiation. Whenever he came to the temple, he would be fed separately from everybody and he would keep distance in general, but he would often come to the temple and do some works. In the end, he took initiation from me, then he got the second initiation. His wife also came to the Math – she washed the dishes and even the nat mandir.

যেই ভজে, সেই বড়, অভক্ত—হীন, ছার ।
কৃষ্ণভজনে নাহি জাতি-কুলাদি বিচার ॥

yei bhaje sei bada, abhakta—hina, chhara
krsna-bhajane nahi jati-kuladi-vichara

'Only a nondevotee can be considered as worthless and abominable: anyone who takes to devotional service is great – there is no consideration of class, caste or any other status for those who have taken up service to Krishna.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.4.67)

These are Mahaprabhu's words. Even Muslim people can chant the Holy Name. So many people have come here from Islam, from Christianity, but they have all become Vaishnavs now. Is there any need to criticise them because of their past? One can come from a lowly background, but they can speak about such a high conception! You can hear some foreign devotees speak also – when they preach, they talk about very high things. Can people from our country speak like that? Do they know siddhanta as much as they do?

This is what jati-dosa offence is.

Do you know what I did with that man I started telling you about? When he took initiation, I placed him in charge of the temple and told him to do puja. Srila Prabhupad also did like that. There was Sripad Parvat Maharaj who also came from a low caste. Srila Sridhar Maharaj also did that [also accepted disciples from lower castes and gave them a high position].

The second offence is to criticise a sadhu because of some bad words that can come out of a sadhu's mouth. For example, yesterday there was some hitch with prasadam, so I scolded somebody and said a few bad words. Somebody can hear it and be put off, 'Oh, how can a sadhu speak like this?' But I had a reason for saying what I said. You should not criticise sadhus because of such slips.

The third offence is to criticise a sadhu for almost eradicated faults. For example, when I was a small boy, I was naughty, and I used to steal and eat all cucumbers or I would climb other people's palms and steal their green coconuts. Are you going to criticise me for this? Do I climb trees and steal anything now? That was my nearly removed offence, but if I now meet somebody who knew me back then, they will say, 'Oh, you used to steal coconuts in your childhood, how can you be a sadhu now?'

The fourth offence is to criticise a Vaishnav for what they did prior to their surrender.

These are the offences to Vaishnavs. You must read these things carefully. Many people do not recognise my Gurudev as the acharya. Do you know about this? They say that my Gurudev left the temple and went to live as a householder. Those who criticise others like that are not great souls themselves. They commit vaishnav-aparadh and nama-aparadh, so even if they chant the Holy Name, it cannot be the Holy Name. You must read about the offences carefully!

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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