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.

Q&A: Making up for lapses in devotional practices: What to do if one has been unable to complete his daily vows?

Q: What should one do if for some reason he's been unable to complete the daily devotional vows concerning the chanting of harinama or diksha-mantras, or puja?

A: It should be understood that there is no wonder trick by the doing of which the neglect of a previous day's devotional activities could be complemented whilst hoping to attain an equal result. One's daily devotional activities are nitya-niyamas, perpetual vows. One should not seek for ways to occasionally avoid them for the sake of one's leisure and pleasure. raghunAther niyama, yena pASANer rekha! - "The vows of Raghunath were like streaks on a stone." One should strive to embrace such firmness of practice to attain success in his devotional pursuits.

It may be that on account of some unforeseen, insurmountable obstacle one's devotional practice is compromized. If that is the case, some remedial measures have been taught in the Vaishnava-smriti and heard from the mouths of the sadhus. Yet, one should not, on their strength, neglect one's devotional vows in a calculated manner, "If I don't fulfill my vows of bhajan today, then here's what I need to do tomorrow to make up for it. Let me therefore leave it for tomorrow." No! This will imbibe the flaw of nAmno balAd yasya hi pApa-buddhiH, to assume that one may misbehave on the strength of devotional worship.

One should think, "I must complete my daily nitya-niyamas. I must." Just as one wouldn't leave a child unfed and uncared for a day, one mustn't leave one's tender bhajan unnourished, and one mustn't keep his Thakur waiting. Utsaha and dhairya, enthusiasm and fortitude, are vital in the growth of bhakti (Upadeshamrita 3); without them, devotional progress is halted.

Should a lapse occur on account of excessive and unavoidable seva or some formidable obstruction, the general principle is that one should do more than the remaining balance as a matter of devotional atonement, with a sincere feeling of unworthiness as Thakur's servant. One must understand that the daily niyamas are a part of a living personal relationship with Thakur, not a matter of ritualistic, obligatory observance. They are our expression of longing, of our heart's budding love.

The 19th chapter of Hari-bhakti-vilasa (19.1038-1039) notes, in the context of worshiping the deity:

ekAha pUjAvihitau kuryAd dvi-guNam arcanam |
tri-rAtre tu mahA-pUjAM samprokSaNam ataH param ||
mAsAd Urdhvam anekAhaM pUjA yadi vihanyate |
pratiSThaiveSyate kaizcit kaizcit samprokSaNa-kramaH ||

"If worship has been forsaken for a day, one ought to worship twice. If three days have passed, one should perform great worship with the bathing ceremony. If the worship has been repeatedly neglected for the duration of a month, some hold that installation should be done anew, while others recommend the bathing ceremony and so forth."

Such worship should be done in the spirit of apology, calling out for the Lord, begging him to again receive our worship, with firm determination that such neglect will not occur again.

Manohara-bhajan-dipika, discussing what ought to be done in the event that the chanting of the names has been halted for a day, states that one must then, on the following day, perform four-fold the daily vow. For example, if one's vow has been for 50.000 names daily, one should then chant 200.000 names, discarding all unneeded activity to arrange for time for its performance. In the event that daily vow has not been neglected but has been compromised, then doing the vow two-fold is sufficient.

For those chanting the Names in excess of one lakh, the four-fold atonement is not practicable for obvious reasons. Rarely it is seen, though, that someone with a lakh's daily vow would halt his nama-bhajan altogether for a day! Regardless, if their nama-bhajan has been compromised, they should chant a substantially increased quantity in proportion to their daily vows on the following day to atone for the neglect of Nama Prabhu's daily worship.

The above also applies for the chanting of the diksha-mantras and other quantifiable practices. If the practices neglected are not of a nature that could be quantified, one should sincerely regret having neglected the said practice and thereby a precious opportunity for acts of devotional worship, praying for a new opportunity. With that, one should make arrangements to see that the situation leading to the neglect will not occur again.

UP 3: Jihva-udara-vega and foods of bad nature, The urges of the tongue and the belly

NB. the views on the specifics of dietary restrictions in this post do not reflect the position of mainstream Gaudiya Vaishnavism, but rather a subsection among the babaji-ascetics I was familiar with. It does, however, for the most part derive from Puranas and dharma-shastras.


Jihva-vega and udara-vega, or the urges of the tongue and the urges of the belly, go largely hand in hand. The tongue is affected by the lower modes of nature, and therefore seeks to always eat items reflecting its character. The zAstra-kAras have, however, for our upliftment, given dietary recommendations, advising us to avoid foods tainted by ignorance and passion to uplift our consciousness.

Such recommendations have been issued in works such as Hari-bhakti-vilasa and the sattvika-puranas headed by Varaha, Vishnu, Padma and the rest. Some common items that are tainted with the lower modes of nature and hence to be avoided are onion, garlic, eggplant, carrots, cabbages, cauliflower, red lentils, radish, buffalo milk and products thereof, tomatos, beetroot, hing and others sharing a similar nature. Additionally, excessive use of oil, spices or heat-generating products taints the food with the mode of passion.

The general principles concerning foods in the three modes of nature are outlined in the Gita as follows:

AyuH-sattva-balArogya-sukha-prIti-vivardhanAH |
rasyAH snigdhAH sthirA hRdyA AhArAH sAttvika-priyAH || bg 17.8

"Foods that increase life-span, perseverance, strength, health, joy and satisfaction, that are juicy, fatty, solid and pleasing to the heart are dear to those in the mode of sattva."

kaTv-amla-lavaNAty-uSNa-tIkSNa-rUkSa-vidAhinaH |
AhArA rAjasasyeSTA duHkha-zokAmaya-pradAH || bg 17.9

"Foods that are too bitter, sour, salty, hot, astringent or burning are dear to those in the mode of passion, and are causes of sorrow, lamentation and disease."

yAta-yAmaM gata-rasaM pUti paryuSitaM ca yat |
ucchiSTam api cAmedhyaM bhojanaM tAmasa-priyam || bg 17.10

"Food that is old, tasteless, of bad odor, decomposed, left over by others or untouchable, is dear to those in the mode of ignorance."

One who wishes to lead a life of bhajan should always cultivate the mode of sattva, from which follows peace of mind, focus and so forth, qualities instrumental in becoming absorbed in devotional practice.

- Doesn't renunciation automatically follow bhakti? Why is there any need for separate endeavor?

While it is certainly true that bhakti makes one disinterested in material pleasures, one anga of bhakti, one among the ten first that are specially emphasized in the beginning to be precise, is kRSNarthe bhogAdi-tyAga, "Giving up enjoyments and so forth for the sake of Krishna." When the varieties of urges prove to be a distraction for bhakti, they must be immediately forsaken; if one does not do that, he acts against the spirit of surrender, anukUlyasya saGkalpaH, pratikUlya-vivarjanam.

I am positive you were not suggesting that one can freely indulge the senses while believing that bhakti will eventually free one from the such. Yet, such ideas are sometimes heard, and they deserve a mention.

- How to attain sattva-guna, and why is it important?

I was reading Sri Ananta Das Babaji's Rasa Darshan the other day. Early on in the text, he discusses the need for the presence of sattva-guna and the withdrawal of rajas and tamas as a prerequisite of being able to taste rasa; even the rasa present in mundane drama!

I am copying the relevant passage below. I apologize for possible mistakes in the Sanskrit, I don't have the original work at hand, and the English edition is a bit erratic with diacritics. I have revised the translations.

The question may arise, "How can we acquire sattva-guna?" One may then reply that by eating sattvika food, wearing sattvika clothes, living in a sattvika environment and by keeping the company of sattvika people, one's sattva-guna will be nourished.

zaucAt sattva-zuddhi saumanaH ekAgrendriya jayatAm Atma-darzanam yogyatAni ||

"Through zauca, pure habits, existence is purified, the mind becomes satisfied, the senses are conquered and one becomes qualified for perceiving the self."

The Upanishad says:

AhAra-zuddhau sattva-zuddhiH sattva-zuddhau dhruvA smRtiH smRti-labdhe sarva-granthInAM vipramokSaH ||

"Through pure eating, existence is purified. With the purification of existence, meditation becomes constant. With the attainment of meditation, all knots of bondage loosen."

- By which mode are buffalo milk and urad dal tainted?

Both are tainted by both passion and ignorance. Buffalo milk is specifically tainted by the rajas that sometimes arises in buffalos, a familiar sight for everyone living among them I'm certain. Urad dal is primarily in the mode of ignorance.

- What for those who can't get sattvic foodstuffs? Don't they have any scope for doing ideal bhajan? Is he exempted from the effect?

It is hard to imagine a situation where sattvic foodstuffs would absolutely not be available. Fruits are everywhere. Potato, cucumber, zucchini and so forth are widely available. Rice and varieties of other grains are everywhere.

Can someone be exempted from the effect of eating items tainted with the modes of passion and ignorance? Can someone's body be exempted from the effects of heat and the eventual sun-stroke if no shadow is in sight? The body is a machine, the mind is a machine. They behave in accordance with the fuel fed to them.

- If somebody has to eat foods in mode of passion but if he is feeling absolutely no attraction to that foodstuff, then what about him? Can he save himself from the effect?

That does not save him from being effected, though the inner spirit described will certainly serve to cut off its worst edge. It will eventually lead him to a situation where he can eat only sattvik foodstuffs, no doubt.

- How much time (and amount) does it take for the mode of a particular foodstuff to act? Maybe this varies from person to person but on what all factors does this depend?

The effects are instant. However, someone covered over by tamas and rajas, being accustomed to the presence of the two since his birth, may not be able to observe the difference. Therefore, I have suggested that an experiment first be preceded with an endeavor to bring oneself to sattva.

The more regular the consumption is, the deeper one sinks into the modes. An accidental, one-time consumption is easily nullified with the power of bhajan. However, one should remember: nAmno balAd yasya hi pApa-buddhir, na vidyate tasya yamair hi zuddhiH - "For the one, who thinks he can sin on the strength of the Name, it is unknown what may be done be redeemed in the eyes if Yama."

Therefore, if one ends up in a situation where an unwanted activity is committed, or has been committed, to avoid this nama-aparadha, one should rather think, "Alas, let this wretch get everything he deserves!"