You Must Now Stop Offending a Vaishnava, Before It’s Too Late! 'kṛṣṇa-nāma' kare aparādhera vicāra kṛṣṇa balile aparādhīra nā haya vikāra [Chaitanya-charitamrta Adi-lila, 8.24] SYNONYMS kṛṣṇa-nāma—the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa; kare— takes;aparādhera—of offenses; vicāra—consideration; kṛṣṇa— LordKṛṣṇa; balile—if one chants; aparādhīra—of the offenders; nā—never; haya—becomes; vikāra—changed. TRANSLATION There are offenses to be considered while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Therefore simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa one does not become ecstatic. PURPORT It is very beneficial to chant the names śrī-kṛṣṇacaitanyaprabhu-nityānanda before chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra because by chanting these two holy names -śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanyaprabhu-nityānanda - one immediately becomes ecstatic, and if he then chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra he becomes free of offenses. There are ten offenses to avoid in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. The first offense is to blaspheme great personalities who are engaged in distributing the holy name of the Lord. It is said in the śhāstra (Cc. Antya 7.11), kṛṣṇaśakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: one cannot distribute the holy
names of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra unless he is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not criticize or blaspheme a devotee who is thus engaged. Śrī Padma Purāṇa states: satāṁ nindā nāmnaḥ paramam aparādhaṁ vitanute yataḥ khyātiṁ yātaṁ katham u sahate tad-vigarhām To blaspheme the great saintly persons who are engaged in preaching the glories of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the worst offense at the lotus feet of the holy name. One should not criticize a preacher of the glories of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. If one does so, he is an offender. The Nāma-prabhu, who is identical with Kṛṣṇa, will never tolerate such blasphemous activities, even from one who passes as a great devotee.