20210721 Glorification of Devotees and Chanting the Holy Names Removes the Offense to the Devotees

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 21st July 2021 in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur, India

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram
Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book, the chapter entitled:

Glorification of Devotees and Chanting the Holy Names Removes the Offense to the Devotees
Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.442

vaiṣṇava-nindukera aparādha-khaṇḍanera ekamātra upāya vaiṣṇava-vandana o harināma-kīrtana—

henai samaye eka āsiyā brāhmaṇa
dṛḍha kari’ dharilena prabhura caraṇa

Translation: At that time one brāhmaṇa came there and firmly grabbed the Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.443

dvija bale,—“prabhu, mora eka nivedana
 āche, tāhā kahi yadi kṣaṇe deha’ mana

Translation: That brāhmaṇa said, “O Lord Caitanya, I have one request. I will tell You what it is if You will hear me with attention for one moment.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.444

bhaktira prabhāva muñi pāpī nā jāniyā
vaiṣṇava karinu nindā āpanā’ khāiyā

Translation: “I am so sinful that I did not know the glories of devotional service, so I degraded myself by blaspheming the Vaiṣṇavas.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.445

‘kali-yuge kisera vaiṣṇava, ki kīrtana’
ei mata aneka nindinu anukṣaṇa

Translation: “I would always make blasphemous statements like, ‘Who can be a Vaiṣṇava in Kali-yuga, and what is this kīrtana?”

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): People afflicted by argument in Kali-yuga cannot become Vaiṣṇavas, because there is no possibility for them to engage in chanting the glories of the Lord. Therefore, true Vaiṣṇavism and performance of kīrtana are not possible in Kali-yuga— sinners would always make such blasphemous statements.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, once Śrīla Prabhupāda said that once a devotee said to a non-devotee, “Please Chant, Chant, Chant” he would reply “I can’t, can’t, can’t”. So actually he said so many words but if he would have just chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa then he would have fulfilled the prescription for Kali-yuga, but sinners usually think of all excuses to not chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.446

ebe prabhu, sei pāpa-karma saṅarite
anukṣaṇa citta mora dahe sarva-mate

Translation: “O Lord Caitanya, when I now think remembering those sinful activities my heart constantly burns with repentance.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.447

saṁsāra-uddhāra-siṁha tomāra pratāpa
bala mora ki-rūpe khaṇḍaye sei pāpa”

Translation: “To deliver the entire world, You Lord Caitanya, are as powerful as a lion. Please tell me how to nullify those sins.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.448

śuni’ prabhu akaitava viprera vacana
hāsiyā upāya kahe śrī-śacīnandana

Translation: On hearing the sincere and simple words of that brāhmaṇa without duplicity, Lord Śrī Śacīnandana smiled and gave him the remedy.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.449

ye mukhe viṣapāna, sei mukhei amṛtasevana-prabhāve amaratva-lābha—

śuna dvija, viṣa kari ye mukhe bhakṣaṇa
sei mukhe kari yabe amṛta-grahaṇa

Translation: “Listen, O brāhmaṇa, one who has taken poison must drink nectar with the same mouth.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So if you drink poison with your mouth, the cure is to drink nectar with the same mouth. In other words chanting the holy name will purify the mouth.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.450

viṣa haya jīrṇa, deha hayata amara/ amṛta-prabhāve, ebe śuna se uttara

Translation: “Then the effect of the poison will be neutralized, and by the influence of the nectar, his body will become immortal. Now I will explain the meaning of this.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.451

ajñatākrame vaiṣṇavanindā viṣapāna-tulya—

nā jāniyā tumi yata karilā nindana
se kevala viṣa tumi karilā bhojana

Translation: “All the blasphemous statements that you spoke in ignorance are just like taking poison.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Committing offense to the Lord or His devotees or to blaspheme the process of Harinama saṅkīrtana out of one’s ignorance is like drinking poison. Many people out of ignorance they criticize the devotees and shout some offensive statements as they drive by, so all these things are like taking poison. They don’t know that the devotees are doing unconditional, beneficial work.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.452

jñānodaye amṛtapānatulya vaiṣṇava-vandana-krame viṣakriyāra vināśa—

parama amṛta ebe kṛṣṇa-guṇa-nāma
niravadhi sei mukhe kara’ tumi pāna

Translation: “Now you must constantly drink the supreme nectar of chanting the names and qualiites of Lord Kṛṣṇa with the same mouth.”

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.4.15) it is stated: “Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the all-auspicious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, about whom glorification, remembrances, audience, prayers, hearing, and worship can at once cleanse the effects of all sins of the performer.” In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.18.4) it is stated: “This was so because those who have dedicated their lives to the transcendental topics of the Personality of Godhead, of whom the Vedic hymns sing, and who are constantly engaged in remembering the lotus feet of the Lord, do not run the risk of having misconceptions even at the last moment of their lives.” In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.6.37) it is stated: “The highest perfectional gain of humanity is to engage in discussions of the activities and glories of the Pious Actor. Such activities are so nicely arranged in writing by the greatly learned sages that the actual purpose of the ear is served just by being near them.”

Jayapatākā Swami: The mouth can be purified by discussing and chanting the glories of the Lord and the ears can be purified by hearing the glories of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, so in this way all the sense can be used in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s chanting and hearing and thus their existence can be purified.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.453

ye mukhe karilā tumi vaiṣṇava-nindana
sei mukhe kara’ tumi vaiṣṇava-vandana

Translation: By the same mouth with which you blasphemed the Vaiṣṇavas you should glorify the Vaiṣṇavas.

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): If an offender blasphemes Vaiṣṇavas, he can attain auspiciousness if he glorifies the Vaiṣṇavas while repenting and admitting his offenses. Similarly, if by taking poison one’s body becomes wasted by the effects of that poison, the body can again become healthy by drinking remedial nectar. The sin born of blaspheming Vaiṣṇavas, which is not nullified by millions of atonements, can be destroyed at once by glorifying Vaiṣṇavas, if one does not blaspheme Vaiṣṇavas again.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, sometimes devotees ask how they can be freed from the offenses to the Vaiṣṇavas. Here we see that if they repent, abstain from any further offense and use their mouth to glorify the Vaiṣṇavas, in this way they can be purified.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.454

sabā’ haite bhaktera mahimā bāḍāiyā
saṅgīta kavitva vipra kara’ tumi giyā

Translation: “O brāhmaṇa, go and compose songs and poetry describing the supremacy of the devotees’ glories.

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.16.6) it is stated: “Please describe all these incidents if they relate to the topics of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The devotees of the Lord are accustomed to licking up the honey available from the lotus feet of the Lord.” In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.17.40) it is stated: “If one hears the glories of Citraketu from a pure devotee, he is freed from the conditional life of material existence.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.455

bhaktera mahimāra asamordhvatva sthāpanapūrvaka saṅgīta, kāvyādi racanā vā kīrtana-prabhāve nindāviṣera saṁhāra—

kṛṣṇa-yaśa-parānanda-amṛte tomāra
nindā-viṣa yata saba kariba saṁhāra

Translation: “The glories of Kṛṣṇa are full of transcendental nectar, and they neutralize the poisonous effects of blasphemy.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.456-458

ei satya kahi, tomā’-sabāre kevala
nā jāniyā nindā yebā karila sakala

nirbuddhitākrame vaiṣṇava-nindāra prāyaścitta- sarvatobhāve ciradinera janya vaiṣṇavanindā parityāga-pūrvaka viṣṇu-vaiṣṇavera nirantara guṇa-kīrtana—

āra yadi nindya-karma kabhu nā ācare
nirantara viṣṇu-vaiṣṇavera stuti kare

e sakala pāpa guche ei se upāya
koṭi prāyaścite o anyathā nāhi yāya

Translation: “I am telling you the truth. Those who unknowingly blaspheme Viṣṇu or the Vaiṣṇavas can be delivered from all sinful reactions if they always glorify Lord Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas and never again engage in blasphemy. Even millions of atonements cannot deliver them.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is the secret of how to get delivered from committing offense or blasphemy. Simply one uses the tongue, the mouth to glorify the Lord and the Vaisnavas then he will be freed from his offenses.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.459

prabhura dvijake bhakta-mahimā varṇanārtha ādeśa, tatphalei tāhāra aparādha khaṇḍana sambhava—

cala dvija, kara’ giyā bhaktera varṇana
tabe se tomāra saba-pāpa-vimocana”

Translation: “O brāhmaṇa, go and describe the glories of the devotees and all your sinful reactions will be destroyed.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.460

vaiṣṇavagaṇera jayadhvani—

sakala vaiṣṇava śrī-mukhera vākya śuni’
ānande karaye jaya jaya hari-dhvani 

Translation: On hearing these words from the Lord Caitanya’s lotus mouth, all the Vaiṣṇavas jubilantly chanted, “Jaya! Jaya! all glories to Lord Hari!”

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol!

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.461

śrī-gaurasundara kartṛka nindāparādhera vyavasthā—

nindā-pātakera ei prāyaścitta sāra
kahilena śrī-gaurasundara avatāra

Translation: Lord Śrī Gaurasundara thus revealed the essence of all atonements for sinful people who engage in blasphemy.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.462

ukta ājñā laṅghanakārīra duḥkhera avadhi nāi—

ei ājñā ye nā māne, ninde sādhu-jana
duḥkha-sindhu-mājhe bhāse sei pāpi-gaṇa

Translation: Those sinful people who do not accept this instruction and blaspheme saintly persons float in an ocean of misery.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.463

vedasāra śrī-caitanyājñāpālane sukhe bhava-sindhu-uttaraṇa—

caitanyera ājñā ye mānaye veda-sāra
sukhe sei jana haya bhava-sindhu-pāra

Translation: Those persons who accept the instructions of Lord Caitanya as the essence of the Vedas happily cross the ocean of material existence.

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): Those sinful persons who accept Śrī Caitanyadeva as the Absolute Truth and follow His instructions by begging forgiveness from the Vaiṣṇavas for their offenses are able to cross the ocean of material existence, keep faith in the words of Śrī Caitanya, and attain their own welfare.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is the glory of Kuliyādvīpa where if one begs for forgiveness and glorifies Vaiṣṇavas, and thus avoids committing blasphemy to them, they can be forgiven. So in Navadvīpa Parikramā, we reach this island of Koladvīpa and we go there in the place of Kuliyādvīpa where aparādhas are forgiven. So, we take advantage of Lord Caitanya’s instruction, go to Kuliyā and chant the holy names and glories of the Vaiṣṇavas and avoid making any offense.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Glorification of Devotees and Chanting the Holy Names Removes the Offense to the Devotees.

Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana