Guidance, Volume 3

Offenders

There have been some side-long glances from the club of modern amalgamating theories (that claim that matter and spirit is one) towards Vaishnavism, alluding to its certain stupidity and illegitimate practices. Ascribing fault to Vaishnavism, they say, "As much as Christians are fanatic about being free from sin, so much are Vaishnavs terrified of making an offence at every step. There is fear of offences in every word of Vaishnavism. When you try to serve the Deity, even if you do not put slacked lime in the paan, it is an offence—there are offences to service, offences to the holy dham, so many offences!"

These amalgamists cite such examples and affectionately call their fancy (do-what-you-like) a religion. Unless you blow up the offences and sins with a dynamite and make sure no trace of them remains, you cannot practise religion randomly without obstruction. When somebody's belief is that puffed rice and rock candy, the virtuous and the unvirtuous, the truth and a lie, stool and sandalwood are one and the same, then there can be nothing unreasonable in their ideas. Some religious sects claim that killing cows for food is religion. When amalgamists try to promote the idea that all religions are the same, they place both on the same seat: according to them, both those who eat cow's meat and those who abstain from it follow different paths of religion, therefore there is no reason why it should be called a sin. Along this line of thought, in this modern feminist day people say, 'If women are not bound to some particular man, it is unreligious—we refuse to accept this bigotry! This is nothing but a superstition and bigotry! Religion must be good for everyone and liberal (it must cater for each person), therefore one should be free to act as one pleases."

An example of such feminist 'liberalism' can be often seen in the Western countries in parks and squares for evening walks—Eastern eyes see this open mixing of women with men, other than their husbands, and call it obscene, but those who are initiated into the 'mantra' of liberalism call it 'platonic love.'

Anyhow, it is because such liberalists are unable to differentiate between sin and offence, heaven and Vaikuntha, that the hidden treasure of pure religion is kept safe within the store room of pure devotees. In Vaishnavism, nobody wants to invoke sin. Unless sin (papa) and piety (punya) become a thing of the past, one will not get any proper result from taking initiation within Vaishnavism (devotional school). Devotion to the Lord is naturally free from sin and supremely pure. Sin and piety have to do with the material world, but a bona fide devotee is transcendental. Material heaven is a transitory place of enjoyment, and transcendental Vaikuntha is an imperishable abode. The concept of 'sin' in inferior religions is completely different from the concept of 'aparadha' (offence) or anartha (unwanted element) in pure Vaishnavism, i.e. an impediment that keeps one away from the service of the Lord.

Offences are independent of sin. An offence is something unwanted, or an obstacle, for the practice of pure religion, so, normally, for those who want to quickly remove offences, these 'do-what-you-want' practices are nothing but enticing maidservants of impersonalists. Actually, material enjoyers and impersonalist offenders to Krishna, who are themselves guilty of unforgivable offences, do not see themselves as 'offenders.' However, experts of service in separation, who are eternally liberated and free from offences, consider themselves 'offenders.' Srila Kaviraj Goswami Prabhu's words prove that: "I am more sinful than Jagai and Madhai (jagai madhai haite muni se papistha)", etc.

Our eternal wealth, or necessity, is the divine love for Godhead manifest as intent joy of service to Lord Krishna, and the hindrance on the path of this love is that I myself have brought about the end or hindrance by misusing the independence that my spiritual soul is endowed with—this is my offence. I am an offender—I have been making offences pretending to enjoy and renounce. If you can become a sincere (free from deceit) servitor, then there will no longer be this offence, or obstacle.

People who follow the path of fruitive activities (motivated by a material result), always commit five types of sins, but if I act as though I have embarked on the path of devotion, then I will be committing five kinds of offences, too. I do not use Krishna's cows, wind, water, fruit or the pancha-bhuta (earth, water, fire, air and ether)—that are meant for Krishna's enjoyment—in the service of Krishna, I detain them on the way to use them for my own enjoyment. If I drink the milk that Krishna's cows give—if I enjoy the sky, wind, light that are meant for Krishna's enjoyment—then I am merely roughing it and carrying on my non-devotional life; therefore, I am an offender to the santa-rasa devotees of Krishna (cows, bamboo stick, etc.)

Everyone in their intrinsic form is an eternal servant of Krishna; gods and demigoddesses are also eternal servants of Krishna; but I am engaging the devotees of Krishna as my material slaves. The servant of the Lord's house supplies me water to wash my feet, and I collect service from them in many ways. I turn gods and goddesses into menial servants of the happiness and comfort for my mundane life; therefore I am an offender to the feet of Raktaka, Patraka, Chatraka, and other servants of Krishna's house.

How many people I take as my friends and equals! Instead of following Prahlad Maharaj's example and giving my peers an opportunity to hear about Krishna consciousness (engage them in the sravan-kirtan-seva), I spend days with them enjoying the common material life. They collect the fuel for my pleasure-sacrifice; so, forgetting Krishna's pleasure-sacrifice, I am an offender to the feet of Sridam, Sudam, and other friends of Krishna.

How many mothers and fathers I have been constantly milking for breast-milk and wealth to suit my material lifestyle when I come to this world in the form of their child? Because I have not been able to become completely dedicated to the service of Krishna, I am missing out on engaging them in the service of Krishna. To nurture my own material satisfaction, I am nurturing their material desires as well; therefore, I am an offender to the feet of Sri Yasoda and Sri Nanda.

Desiring to create a home, I have taken a wife thinking that, since I have no attraction towards the illegitimate urges of the senses, then it means I have no problem, I am pious; but I forgot what Srimad Bhagavatam says—when a man does his service absent-mindedly, Maya (illusion) comes to him as his lawful wife and, nursing him, gradually climbs on his shoulder and forces him to fall down being overcome by the male ego of a dominator. Just as, suppose, a traveller does not know that there is a well covered by grass on the way—he enjoys walking barefoot on the beautiful soft and green grass when suddenly, before he knows it, he falls into the well. Because we, too, are absent-minded in our service, we have got into the same position.

I want to live with a lawful pious wife, taking her service, therefore I am an offender to the feet of Lord Ramachandra, who vowed to take only one wife. When I also see married or single ladies and my heart gets overwhelmed by a surge of the desire for union with her, then I am making an offence to the feet of one and only Consort of milkmaids, Lord Sri Krishna. I forget my own true self, I forget my eternal religion, and I forget that I am an eternal servant. The only maidservant who all satisfaction is meant for is a transcendental embodiment of union, one without a second—I am only fuel for Her enjoyment, I am not the enjoyer.

Unless we remember this sobering instruction of Sri Gurupadpadma within our serving hearts, we will lose the power of Baladev (we will become spiritually weak)—we will become offenders in many ways: instead of serving in the stance of a servitor, we will become unconsciously possessed by the ego of a service-taker. When every thing and every jiva soul tempts me to take service from them and I do not see them as mercy coming from Srimati Radharani, the dearmost and beloved of Sri Govinda, and do not fold my palms to show my respect—i.e. I do not accept everything that comes to me as assistance to the preaching of Krishna consciousness (hearing and chanting) that is to be utilised for the service of the Lord, the embodiment of Hari-kirtan—then my spiritual ruin and falldown will be inevitable. Whatever and whoever tempts me to accept service from them actually strikes me like an animal with a whip—they point their finger right before me showing me my unwanted habits and traits. They teach me: "Do not become this five-fold offender to the lotus feet of Krishna. By your intrinsic nature you are an eternal servant of Hari, Guru, Vaishnavs. Take up the vow to serve in your true identity."

When will I be able to sincerely pray to the lotus feet of Sri Guru?

mattulyo nasti papatma, naparadhi cha kaschana
parihare 'pi lajja me, kim bruve purusottama

"There is no parallel to my sinful, criminal life. Everything that can be conceived of as bad is found in me. O Supreme Lord, I am even ashamed to come before You to petition, 'Please forgive my offenses.' What more can I say than this?"

bhumau skhalitapadanam, bhumir evavalambanam
tvayi jataparadhanam, tvam eva saranam prabho

"For those who have stumbled and fallen upon the ground, that very ground is the only support by which they can arise once again. Likewise, for those who have offended You, O Lord, You alone are their only refuge."

There are some peculiarities and distinctions between this (practitioner's) stance and the stance of a guru, or a servant of the guru. The practitioner's stance is "I pray for mercy," and the stance of a guru means, "I will show kindness to the souls by extending love of God to them." The goal of both ideals is to make Krishna happy, but one is an agent of madhurya (sweetness) and the other is an agent of audarya (magnanimity). Sriman Mahaprabhu and Sri Rupa-Sanatan are visaya-vigraha (worshippable), but taking the stance of asraya-vigraha (shelter-givers), they never climb atop the Govardhan Hill. Srila Madhavendra Puripad, in his stance of a guru, climbed on top of Govardhan on the order Gopaldev, for His service. The seat of gurus is in Chatak Parvat, but the guru and the servants of the guru, taking the stance of servants, do not climb there.

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CONTENTS:

• Foreword
• (Preface) Meaning of Festival
• What Is Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math and Its Distinctions
• "Without Lord Krishna Life Is Meaningless"
• The Unrenounceable
• Sri Radhastami
• Proper Renunciation
• Astakala-Lila
• Is Religion the Cause of National Downfall?
• Householders and Renunciates
• Provincialism and Service to the Lord
• Offenders
• Hell
• Devotional Mood (Bhakta-Bhav)
• Home-interest vs Math-interest
• Samsara and Bhakti
• Questions and Answers