The Cre e pe r of De v otion G rows
Do Not Criticise Anyone Do not criticise any Vaiñëava – but Vaiñëava must be real. In fact, do not criticise anyone, whether that person is wrong or right. Criticism will take time, that time will be wasted, and that person’s bad qualities will come in you. So, don’t criticise. yadi vaiñëava-aparädha uöhe häté mätä upäòe vä chiëòe, tära çukhi’ yäya pätä [“If the devotee commits an offence at the feet of a Vaiñëava while cultivating the creeper of devotional service in the material world, his offence is compared to a mad elephant that uproots the creeper and breaks it. In this way the leaves of the creeper are dried up.” (Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 19.156)]
Häté mätä means ‘mad elephant’. If that elephant sees banana trees, or any other trees and plants, he will uproot them. He will pull them out of the ground from the root. Mad elephant refers to offences to Vaiñëavas. Do you know the ten offences to chanting of the holy names? Try to know these mahä-aparädhas, great offences.3 Do not commit them, even in a dream. 3. The offences against the chanting of the holy name are as follows: (1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name of the Lord. (2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Çiva or Lord Brahmä to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Viñëu. (Sometimes the atheistic class of men take it that any demigod is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu. But one who is a devotee knows that no demigod, however great he may be, is independently as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if someone thinks that he can chant “Kali, Kali!” or “Durga, Durga!” and it is the same as Hare Kåñëa, that is the greatest offence.) (3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master. (4) To blaspheme the Vedic literature or literature in pursuance of the Vedic version. (5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Kåñëa to be imagination. (6) To give some interpretation on the holy name of the Lord. (7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name of the Lord. (It should not be taken that because by chanting the holy name of the
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