Avoiding Six Kinds of Vaishnava-aparadha

How do the scriptures define Vaishnava-aparadha, the mad elephant we are told to keep away from the garden of our hearts? In the 265th anuccheda of his Bhakti-sandarbha, in explaining the ten offenses against the holy name, Sri Jiva quotes a verse from the Skanda Purana, delineating varieties of unbefitting acts in relation with a Vaishnava.

satAM nindA ity anena hiMsAdInAM vacanAgocaratvaM darzitam | nindAdayas tu yathA skAnde zrI-mArkaNDeya-bhagIratha-saMvAde –

nindAM kurvanti ye mUDhA vaiSNavAnAM mahAtmanAm |
patanti pitRbhiH sArdhaM mahAraurava-saMjJite ||
hanti nindanti vai dveSTi vaiSNavAn nAbhinandati |
krudhyate yAti no harSaM darzane patanAni SaT || iti |
“Defamation of the saints, as violence and so forth, as well as verbal, is now presented. Blasphemy and so forth are presented in the Skanda in the discourse of Sri Markandeya and Bhagiratha:

‘The fools who defame Vaishnava-mahatmas fall into a place known as Maharaurava along with their ancestors. The six degrading acts against Vaishnava are (1) killing him, (2)  blaspheming him, (3) being envious of, or hating him, (4) not glorifying him, (5) being angry at him, and (6) not being happy upon seeing him.’”

According to Jiva it is also not acceptable to witness one, or several among the aforementioned degrading acts of defamation. The place known as Maharaurava is described in the fifth skandha of the Bhagavata (5.26.12) as follows:

evam eva mahArauravo yatra nipatitaM puruSaM kravyAdA nAma ruravas taM kravyeNa ghAtayanti yaH kevalaM dehambharaH ||

“Thus certainly a person who is exclusively absorbed in nourishing his body will be thrown to Maharaurava, where blood-thirsty hounds will devour his flesh and torment him.”

That said, let us examine the six kinds of degrading deeds.

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1.To kill. This is obviously a heinous act bound to destroy the creeper of devotion. Under this heading, any and all acts of physical violence are also included.

2. To blaspheme. All verbal acts of defamation come under this category. Calling a Vaishnava names, speaking harshly to him or about him, speaking lies of him and so forth are considered blasphemy.

3. To be envious or hateful. To be envious of a Vaishnava, to wish for his demise or suffering and to act towards this goal, and other thoughts, speech and deeds prompted by a feeling of malice towards a Vaishnava come under this heading.

4. To not glorify. All Vaishnavas are worthy of respect. To not respect a Vaishnava in accordance with his qualification, or to refuse from recognizing a particular good quality or deed of a Vaishnava, is unbefitting. Everyone is to be given all the respect they deserve, regardless of their having different opinions from ours.

5. To be angry. Whatever a Vaishnava does, we are not to display an outburst of anger towards him. It is permitted to display anger towards someone who is hateful towards the bhaktas, but this, too, is to be done in a civil, constructive way for the rectification of the wrong-doer.

6. To not be happy upon seeing. Whoever has accepted the holy names of Krishna is a blessing to the world. To not feel happiness upon meeting a soul who has chosen to approach the Lord, regardless of his defects, is inappropriate.

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Now I would like to bring this down to a practical level and examine the implications of the above unbefitting acts or attitudes when we evaluate the history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the doctrinal differences between various teachers, and so forth, in our discussions. Let me condense it into two sentences.

Regardless of what anyone has said or done, we should not (1) assault him or his followers, (2) call him names or speak of him harshly, or (3) wish anything bad for him. We should (4) justly give him all the credit he is due and praise his achievements, (5) avoid anger towards him as a person, and (6) be happy upon seeing or hearing of him or his followers, remembering that despite all differences, they also chant the all-auspicious names of Krishna.

I believe if we keep this in mind, we can live our devotional lives with a feeling of safety in the heart.

UP 2: Krodha-vega - The urge of anger; Anger, the destroyer of all world

Thakur Mahashaya, discussing the evils of anger in his Prema-bhakti-chandrika, says: krodha vA nA kare kibA, krodha tyAga sadA dibA - "What can anger not accomplish? Always give up anger!" On the evils anger will accomplish, Dharmaraja Yudhisthira speaks in the Vana-parva of Mahabharata:

krodha mUlo vinAzo hi prajAnAm iha dRzyate |
kruddhaH pApaM naraH kuryAt kruddho hanyAt gurUn api ||
kruddhaH paruSayA vAcA zreyaso'pyavamAnyate |
vAcyAvAcye hi kupito na prajAnAti karhicit |
nAkAryam asti kruddhasya nAvAcyaM vidyate tathA ||
kruddho hi kAryaM suzroNi na yathAvat prapazyati |
nA kAryaM na ca maryAdAM naraH kruddho'nupazyati ||

"Anger is seen at the root of all human destruction. Due to anger, people commit sins, due to anger they may even slay their gurus. When an angry person speaks beneficial words, they'll be disregarded still. The incensed man never knows not what is to be said and what to be left unsaid. There is no forbidden deed the angry will not do, nor is there anything he cannot say. O Draupadi! The deeds accomplished by anger are unforeseen and unpredictable. The angry man does not know what is to be done, nor does he act according to proper etiquette."

Anger has a great captivating power over the mind. Anger drags the mind down to a hellish state. The sequence of the growth of anger is described as follows:

dhyAyato viSayAn puMsaH saGgas teSUpajAyate |
saGgAt saJjAyate kAmaH kAmAt krodho ’bhijAyate ||
krodhAd bhavati sammohaH sammohAt smRti-vibhramaH |
smRti-bhraMzAd buddhi-nAzo buddhi-nAzAt praNazyati || bg 2.62-63

"As one contemplates on sense-objects, association arises. From association, desires come about, and due to desires anger awakens.
"From anger comes madness, from madness the bewilderment of memory, from the bewilderment of memory the destruction of intelligence. With the destruction of intelligence, one perishes."

Anger is overcome with wisdom and humility. The desired wisdom is discussed in the Bhagavata:

tat te ’nukampAM su-samIkSamANo
bhuJjAna evAtma-kRtaM vipAkam |
hRd-vAg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jIveta yo mukti-pade sa dAya-bhAk || bhp 10.14.8

"Always longing for Your compassion,
Enduring all as the fruits of one's own deeds,
Offering respects to You with heart, words and body,
The feet of Mukunda become one's due inheritance."

Always regard evils that befall upon us as the fruits of our own misdeeds. Do not fault others for carrying the fruits of your ill acts. Rather, within your heart, call for their forgiveness for having to carry out the fruits of your karma. Always find a lesson in the tribulations you meet, face them with gratitude.

Now, Thakur Mahashaya has also said, krodha bhakta-dveSi-jane -- "Be angry to those hateful of devotees." Yet, this krodha is not to be brought out as an outburst of rage. Within there is fire, without there are only good wishes for another. Whichever medium the inner fire assumes, it is done with the sole purpose of rectifying the offender.

The 11th canto of the Bhagavata mentions that the medium-grade devotee neglects (upekSa) the envious (dveSi). Why? Because he may not have the power it takes to rectify the offender, and may only cause the offender to make further offence, thereby plunging himself ever so deeper into the net of madness he is already enrapt in.

Is there more to it where the quote from Mahabharata came from?

The Shanti-parva of Mahabharata contains lengthy discussions on anger and its evils. The following words of wisdom from Bhishma struck me:

"Assailed with harsh speeches, one should not assail in return. Indeed, one who, under such circumstances, renounces wrath, succeeds in burning the assailant and taking away all his merits. That person who when assailed with harsh speeches does not utter a harsh word in reply, who when praised does not utter what is agreeable to him that praises, who is endued with such fortitude as not to strike in return when struck and not to even wish evil to the striker, finds his companionship always coveted by the gods. He that is sinful should be forgiven as if he were righteous, by one that is insulted, struck, and calumniated. By acting in this way one attains to success." (MBh. 12.300)

Suggested questions:

- Why is anger harmful for devotion?
- What are the different ways of controlling anger, and moreover, of getting rid of it for good?
- What should one do if has given room for this urge to manifest, and notices the same?
- Why do madness and the rest follow anger, as in Gita 2.62-63?