Critical Questions

[Guest guest]

Critical Questions

 

Q.

> How to preach the glories of chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantras

> alongwith the Maha-mantra?

 

A.

Order of Acharyas & Shastra-------- to constantly chant 'Nityananda'

Order of Lord Nityananda -------- to constantly chant 'Gauranga'

Order of Lord Gauranga -------- to constantly chant'Hare Krsna mantra'

 

If we follow all these three orders, we will achieve rapid success in the

chanting of the pure Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

 

Lord Gauranga said in Cc that I am the sole gardener and the original

distributor of the fruits of pure love for Krishna. He furthur said that I

require more volunteers who can taste this fruit and distribute it to one

and all and thus relieve My anxiety. Thus one should first taste this fruit

of pure love by chanting the Nityananda and the Gauranga mantra alongwith

the maha-mantra and simultaneously distribute these three mantras to one and

all. Even if we can make one person chant once 'Nityananda', 'Gauranga' and

Hare Krishna daily, then our preaching will be considered successful. We

have succeeded in delivering him or her from this material world.

This is confirmed by Sri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 1, which states:

 

gauranga-nitai yei bale eka bara; ananta karama-dosa anta haya tara.

 

"The most fortunate person who chants the names Nityananda and Gauranga just

once immediately destroys the unlimited sinful reactions accumulated for

unlimited number of lives in the past."

 

nitai-caitanya bali yei jiva dake; suvimala krsna-prema anvesaye thake.

 

"If one calls out the names of Nityananda and Gauranga just once, the purest

Krsna-prema (pure love of Krsna) comes searching after such a person."

 

Q.

> If one is just STARTING to chant to Lord NITYANANDA (& GAURANGA), ALONG

> WITH 16 ROUNDS OF THE MAHA-MANTRA should one FIRST just chant NITYANANDA

> several rounds or many rounds;

> THEN after several days, weeks, months, begin to ALSO chant GAURANGA?

> OR should one chant both NITYANADA & GAURANGA BOTH, even if one just

> chants a few rounds of each?

 

A.

My personal recommendation is that one should chant 10 rounds each of

Nityananda and Gauranga both from the beginning alongwith the chanting of 16

rounds of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra (& Pancha-tattva mantra before each

round) and chant more and more extra rounds of Nityananda and also Gauranga

if one feels like throughout the day. Surely and undoubtedly Lord

Nityananda's Name is the most merciful Mantra in the whole creation and very

beneficial for the offensive conditioned souls.

 

Q.

> I have been spending much time reading Caitanya Bhagavata in the last few

> days and I am constantly reading something about Vaishnav aparadha. So

> much stress on not comitting it or associating with anyone who does. So

> I'm wondering if you can help me understand this more clearly. So we

> definitely know not to offend a pure vaisnava.

 

A.

Yes, Shri Chaitanya-Bhagavata repeatedly says that the most merciful Lord

Gauranga delivers everyone except those who offend or criticize the

Vaishnavas. Jagai and Madhai were delivered only because they never offended

any Vaishnava before hitting Lord Nityananda. This is because they were so

drunk and intoxicated that they had no time to talk to Vaishnavas.

 

> How should one deal with a devotee whom one clearly knows is having

> ulterior motives or is envious of other Vaishnavas?

 

One should totally avoid the association of such a person in a devotee's

dress if one is sure about his or her ulterior or non-Vaishnava intentions

and envy towards other Vaishnavas because taking his or her association will

mean making more offenses towards him or her and to other Vaishnavas also.

 

Regarding this point Shrila Prabhupada writes most wonderfully in Cc Madhya

1.218:

 

"The spiritual master initiates the disciple to deliver him, and if the

disciple executes the order of the spiritual master and does not offend

other Vaisnavas, his path is clear. Consequently Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

requested all the Vaisnavas present to show mercy toward the two brothers,

Rupa and Sanatana, who had just been initiated by the Lord. When a Vaisnava

sees that another Vaisnava is a recipient of the Lord's mercy, he becomes

very happy. Vaisnavas are not envious. If a Vaisnava, by the mercy of the

Lord, is empowered by Him to distribute the Lord's holy name all over the

world, other Vaisnavas become very joyful-that is, if they are truly

Vaisnavas. One who is envious of the success of a Vaisnava is certainly not

a Vaisnava himself but is an ordinary, mundane man. Envy and jealousy are

manifested by mundane people, not by Vaisnavas. Why should a Vaisnava be

envious of another Vaisnava who is successful in spreading the holy name of

the Lord? An actual Vaisnava is very pleased to accept another Vaisnava who

is bestowing the Lord's mercy. A mundane person in the dress of a Vaisnava

should not be respected but rejected. This is enjoined in the sastra

(upeksa). The word upeksa means neglect. One should neglect an envious

person. A preacher's duty is to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

make friendships with Vaisnavas, show mercy to the innocent and reject or

neglect those who are envious or jealous. There are many jealous people in

the dress of Vaisnavas in this Krsna consciousness movement, and they should

be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is

in the dress of a Vaisnava. When Narottama dasa Thakura says chadiya

vaisnava seva nistara peyeche keba, he is indicating an actual Vaisnava, not

an envious or jealous person in the dress of a Vaisnava."

 

> If one is initiated by a spiritual master, how should one decide whether

> to associate with other institutions?

 

It may be best decided for the disciple by the spiritual master himself. But

I may try to give some broad guidelines.

 

There is a major problem which any institution should be very careful of. If

some of their members commit Vaishnava-aparadha and the other members do not

stop him (which is indirectly supporting it) then all of them become guilty

of committing Vaishnava-aparadha. Thus it becomes mass-scale

institutionalized Vaishnava-apradha which has devastating results in the

individual and collective spiritual lives of one either hears it or supports

it. Thus it is incumbment for every spiritual Vaishnava organization to have

an anti-Vaishnava aparadha council which continuously monitors and checks

the members of that organization from making hasty judgements and

blazpheming and minimizing other Vaishnavas just basing their rash

judgements orn hearsay or rumours or gossips. Otherwise sincere devotees who

want to avoid sectarian Vaishnava-aparadha will gradually leave such an

institution. Therefore it is for the institution's own benefit that they do

something to stop it.

 

But for this, the members of the anti-Vaishnava aparadha council themselves

have to be free from envy towards other Vaishnavas and sectarian,

narrow-minded managerial organizational considerations. Ofcourse the

anti-Vaishnava aparadha council should also see that their own Acharya's

teachings are not being minimized or criticized by other Vaishnava

organizations. If this is actually the case, it should be publicly

challenged and confronted by the council instead of back-biting, criticizing

and mud-slinging in the background. If a satisfactory response is not

received by the council to their challenge, the council has the right to

warn the members of their own organization by presenting shastric proof to

avoid the association of so and so who is very clearly minimizing or

criticizing their acharya.

 

As for the individual devotee, one has to decide for oneself whether one is

being sucked into this most dangerous whirlpool of Vaishnava-aparadha by a

particular environment or whether it is possible for one to just take some

association (like the basic temple programs) while remaining totally aloof

from this institutionalized prajalpa and aparadha. Till the time one can do

the latter one may continue this kind of association but simultaneously one

may try to seek the association of those devotees who are sincere, learned

and sarala (simple-heated) because such devotees never envy or blaspheme

other Vaishnavas whichever institution they may belong to. This is a very

subjective thing and it has to be decided as per the specific case by the

devotee himself who is directly there on the spot with the guidance of his

or her guru or superiors. The bottom line is that the shiksha received from

the association of Vaishnavas in any institution or group should make us

more dedicated to the service of our diksha-guru, Shrila Prabhupada and Lord

Nitai Gauranga. If it takes us furthur away or minimizes in any way one's

diksha-guru, Shrila Prabhupada and Lord Nitai Gauranga by making us hear

more Vaishnava-aparadha, then it is to be avoided.

 

It is also said in Chaitanya-Bhagavata that even a guru who is on the level

of Lord Shiva may barely manage to protect himself from falldown if his

disciples are offending pure devotees of Lord Gauranga. Then what to speak

of gurus who are not on the platform of Lord Shiva. They have to constantly

warn, protect and prevent their disciples from blazpheming other Vaishnavas

for their own well-being.

 

Ofcourse according to Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a spiritual master who is

very well-versed and authority in the scriptures has a right to warn the

disciple from improper association or discuss the faults of some persons

sometimes for the disciple's and world's benefit. According to BVT, this is

not Vaishnava-aparadha but sad-upadesha or eternal well-wishing instructions

simply to protect the spiritual life of his disciples and followers.

But if the guru is doing it because of envy towards other successful

Vaishanvas then it falls in the category of Vaishnava-aparadha. It has thus

to be judged from case to case.

 

Q.

> What is situation where one group claiming itself as non-sectarian

>criticizes or minimizes the acharya or devotees of other groups for being

>sectarian without valid basis?

 

A.

That's again low-class sectarianism by those groups by considering their

guru as greater than anyone else. It is not non-sectarian at all.

 

Also one may stay in the society founded by the acharya but one must be

careful not to minimize or belittle one's own acharya by introducing or

allowing deviations grossly or subtly, diluting the instructions, etc.

 

Thus one should associate with those sadhus in a non-sectarian mood who

uphold the real dignity and glory of Shrila Prabhupada's great contribution

not only verbally but in their heart also, and also those sadhus who uphold

the glories of all the previous acharyas and Lord Nityananda-Gauranga by

properly understanding and preaching the siddhanta.

 

There is a big possibility that such sadhus may not be in one institution

but in various institutions also. Because Shrila Prabhupada states in the SB

7.13.34 purport, "A sannyasi should have an institution meant to preach

KŠa consciousness." A sannyasi can thus have his own institution to spread

the glories of Shrila Prabhupada, the Acharyas and Lord Nityananda-Gauranga.

 

Q.

> How can one counteract a sin of not leaving fast in the given time.

>Is it serious?

 

A.

Yes, it is really serious. It is as good as not doing the fast.

 

Om Visnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada used to say

that if one did not break the fast in the parana timings on dvadashi, he

should again fast again on that day (dvadashi).

 

Maharaja Ambarisha broke the fast at the proper time even though he expected

to incur the wrath of the powerful yogi Durvasa Muni by doing so and his

very life was in danger.

 

Vol 1. Questions and Answers with His Holiness Tridandi Bhikshu

Bhaktiratna Sadhu Swami.

Visit www.nitai.org (after a few weeks, presently under construction).