(1) Examine Yourself

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme in Hooghly District
Translated into English from Bengali
21 February 2020, noon, part 1

...There is one more thing that I tell you all the time. You must remember this. We chant the Holy Name so much, but why are we not getting the result? Suppose I have a glass. If I pour water into it, the glass will become full. But if it does not become full, why does that happen? Because there must be some holes in the glass. In the same way, we chant the Holy Name so much, we do so many things, but we have many faults. These faults are offences to the Holy Name (Nama-aparadha), offences to service (seva-aparadha), offences to devotees (Vaishnav-aparadha) and offences to the holy places (dham-aparadha).

Great acharyas tell us that there are also two more things: dosh-aropa and dosh-kirtan. For example, somebody files a case against me thinking they would create much problem for me, but I do not even think about it. Even when I went to jail, I was chanting the Holy Name there, chanted kirtan and spoke Hari-katha. I never had any trouble. Devotees never struggle. They feel proud that they have put so many cases against me and did so much against me, but what is it to me? If it disturbed me, would I be making festivals and spend the time happily? You must remember that devotees of the Lord never feel troubled or pained. So, as I started saying, there are two more great faults apart from the four kinds of offences: dosh-aropa and dosh-kirtan. Dosh-aropa means that somebody has no fault, but you attribute some fault to them and start fixating on it (doing 'kirtan' of that fault). And dosh-kirtan means you not only find fault in somebody but also tell others about such faults; this is even worse. Another example of dosh-kirtan is when you do not know something, but you hear about somebody's fault and then tell others about it. This is also very bad.

We commit many offences to the Holy Name.

কোটি জন্ম যদি করে শ্রবণ কীর্ত্তন ।
তবু না পায় ব্রজেন্দ্রনন্দন ॥

koti janma yadi kare sravana kirtana
tabu na paya vrajendranandan

"If you practise hearing and chanting for millions of lives, you may still not get the Son of Nanda who dwells in Vraja."

Even if you chant the Holy Name and hear about the Lord for millions of lifetimes, you will not get the Lord. Why? Because of too many offences.

হেন কৃষ্ণনাম যদি লয় বহুবার ।
তবু যদি প্রেম নহে, নহে অশ্রুধার ॥
তবে জানি, অপরাধ তাহাতে প্রচুর ।
কৃষ্ণনাম-বীজ তাহে না করে অঙ্কুর ॥

hena krnsa-nama yadi laya bahu-bara
tabu yadi prema nahe, nahe asrudhara
tabe jani, aparadha tahate prachura
krsna-nama-bija tahe na kare ankura

"If you chant this Name of Krishna so many times but still there is no love, there are no tears streaming from your eyes, then as I understand there are too many offences and the seed of Krishna's Name does not sprout."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.8.29–30)

We always make offences to the Holy Name (Nama-aparadha), offences to service (seva-aparadha), offences to devotees (Vaishnav-aparadha) and offences to the holy places (dham-aparadha), and the result of all our chanting goes out through these 'holes', just as all water falls through the holes in the glass. No matter how much we chant and how much service we do, all the result will leak out through the holes of our offences. It is necessary to always keep these holes closed. Always keep yourself away from all kinds of offences.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

[His Divine Grace then chants kirtans before resuming the class.]

Ten Offences to the Holy Name

(1) Criticising sadhus;
(2) considering gods independent of Lord Krishna;
(3) disrespecting (disobeying) Sri Guru;
(4) criticising revealed scriptures;
(5) discussing the meaning of the Holy Name;
(6) considering the Holy Name to be imaginary;
(7) behaving in a sinful way relying on the purifying strength of the Holy Name;
(8) considering, delusionally, that chanting the Holy Name is equal to other pious works;
(9) giving the Holy Name to those who have no faith because of material attachment;
(10) even after having heard about the glories of the Holy Name, being infatuated with the material life of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ and having no love for the Holy Name.

Four Types of Sadhu-Ninda (Offences to Saints)

Offenders of Vaisnavs are those who find faults in Vaisnavs due to their 1) caste (origin), 2) occasional slips (resulting from being overpowered by material influence), 3) almost eradicated mistakes, 4) mistakes committed before surrender.

Thirty-Two Types of Seva Aparadhas (Offences to Service)

(1) Entering the house of the Lord on a vehicle or wearing shoes
(2) Not making festivals on the birthdays of the Lord and devotees
(3) Not paying obeisance in front of the Deity
(4) Glorifying the Lord in an impure state of mind and body
(5) Paying obeisance with one hand
(6) Strolling in front of the Deity
(7) Stretching your legs out in front of the Deity
(8) Slouching: sitting front of a Deity embracing your knees with your arms
(9–17) Lying down, eating, telling lies, speaking loudly, speaking privately to another person, crying, quarrelling, harassing and treating another person partially in front of the Deity
(18) Behaving with or speaking to common people in a cruel way
(19) Covering yourself with a blanket when doing service
(20–23) Criticising others, praising others, using harsh or foul words towards others or behaving with others in a nasty way and passing wind in front the Deity
(24) Miserliness: having means but being stingy when arranging festivals, worship and other services
(25) Accepting unoffered things (eating unoffered food)
(26) Not offering seasonal fruit, crops and other produce
(27) Giving part of what you collect first to others and then using the rest for cooking for the Lord
(28) Sitting with your back to the Deity
(29) Greeting others in front of the Deity
(30) Keep silence in front of Gurudev: not offering him praise, etc.
(31) Praising yourself in front of Sri Gurudev
(32) Criticising gods.

Ten Kinds of Dham-Aparadh (Offences to Holy Places)

(1) Disrespecting (disobeying) Sri Guru and sadhu, the revealers of Sri Dham
(2) Considering Sri Dham temporary, non-eternal
(3) Feeling envious or prejudiced towards the residents or pilgrims of Sri Dham
(4) Engaging in material activities in Sri Dham
(5) Instead of serving Sri Dham, using the Deities in Sri Dham for making business and earning money
(6) Pursuant to material vision, trying to analyse and equal material places or other places of demigods to Sri Dham
(7) Behaving in a sinful way relying on the purifying potency of Sri Dham
(8) Discriminating between Sri Nabadwip and Sri Vrindavan
(9) Criticising scriptures containing the glories of Sri Dham
(10) Having no faith in the glories of Sri Dham and considering them imaginary

— : • : —

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Examine Yourself
2) Be Honest and Sincere
3) Assimilate the Substance
4) Getting Older but None Wiser
5) Senses vs. Soul
6) Desires and Forgetfulness
7) Irresistible Service Drive
8) Devotees Are Devoted
9) Lord Is Always Merciful