Avoiding 10 Offenses to the Holy Name- Initiation Ceremony | Rus Split |20.5.92 |Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī

The third birth is realized when you get initiated into the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra. And the fourth birth is realized when you accept the sannyas order. So in our Vaishnava sampradaya, only men are allowed to take sannyas, but the ladies can go as far as accepting Brahmin initiation. I was listening to an initiation lecture that Prabhupada gave in Los Angeles in 1968. And in that lecture, Prabhupada said that initiation is just the beginning of spiritual life. It's a contract. The spiritual master agrees to take the disciple back to Godhead, and the disciple agrees to follow the instructions of the spiritual master. It's a contract that is being done, executed in front of the deities, in front of Prabhupada, in front of the spiritual master, in front of the Vaishnavas. In this contract, the disciple agrees to live by certain spiritual standards. Spiritual guidelines are a must if you want to make spiritual advancement. With impure senses, impure mind, we are unable to appreciate the greatness of Kṛṣṇa and the greatness of the process of devotional service. But as we chant and execute the regulative principles— um, no meat, fish, and eggs, no intoxication, no illicit sex life, no gambling— Purification is realized, and as we get purified, we appreciate the process of bhakti more and more. According to the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, there are three different stages of chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. The initial stage is when you chant and commit offenses. The second stage is when you chant and you minimize the offenses. Third stage is when you chant without any offenses at all. So those who are accepting initiation must understand that their business is not only to chant 16 rounds and on Ekāda, this is another day, is 25 rounds. But their business is also to try and chant, avoiding the 10 offenses. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, it is said that one may go on chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa birth after birth, but if one is not avoiding the offenses, then it will not be possible to develop love of God. So it is important that we not only memorize the 10 offenses and repeat it like a parrot, but actually we put the 10 offenses, avoiding the offenses, into practice. And the 10 offenses should be avoided by everyone, whether you're new bhakta, whether you're getting initiated, or whether you're even if you're a sannyasi. The 10 offenses apply to everybody who is serious about spiritual life. So the first of the 10 offenses is to blaspheme those who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy names of the Lord. Chaitanya Mahāprabhu had described this as a mad elephant offense. Just like you may have a very beautiful garden, but if you have a mad elephant, he can go and destroy the beautiful garden. So committing vaishnava prasad can uproot one's devotional creeper. We have seen in this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement over the past 25 years, so many devotees had rendered very valuable service. They had occupied very important positions in our society, but because of the vaishnava prasads, Gradually they were taken out from devotional path. Vaiṣṇava prāda means vaiṣṇava prāda. Not that you just be respectful to your guru and you say, "To hell with all the other vaiṣṇavas." One should be respectful and follow the Vedic etiquette in dealing with all senior vaiṣṇavas, all vaiṣṇavas. Because if one is committing vaiṣṇava prāda, then even if you are chanting, serving, the power of vaiṣṇava prāda is so strong that your chanting will not be able to protect you. Therefore, this is mentioned as the first of the 10 offenses. So we should not criticize or blaspheme due to envy or hatred. As we discussed in the class this morning, Prasad Maharaj said, "I'm not interested in dividing the society into friends and enemies. I'm everybody's friend." Second offense is to consider the names of Lord Vishnu, uh, to consider demigods to be equal to or independent of the holy names of Lord Vishnu. And the holy names of Lord Viṣṇu are non-different from the Lord. So these two points are important. Sometimes devotees lose sight of the vision of the reality that the holy names are non-different from the Lord. This is the difference between material names and spiritual names. Material names, there's a difference between name and substance, but spiritually there's no difference between name and substance. Therefore it is said, Nāma-cintām-ni-kriṣṇa-cetanirāṭṣavigraha-pūrṇo śuddha-nitya-mukta-bhinna-tvāṁ nāma-nāminaḥ. That is, that there's no difference between the holy names of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself. And the demigods are not in any way independent or equal to the Supreme Lord. Fortunately, you devotees don't have this problem in this part of the world. But in some parts of the world like India, this is a big problem where people think demigods are equal to the Supreme Lord. The third offense is to disobey the instructions of the spiritual master. One should be loyal to the spiritual master's instruction till the end of his life. Not that you be loyal to the spiritual master's instructions only when you're a new bhakta or a new devotee. And when you become an old devotee, or when you've been in the movement for a few years, you say, oh, now I'm independent, now I need— now no one needs to tell me what I should do. This is Maya's plan to bewilder you, to make you believe. Now you're old devotee, now you know everything, you don't have to ask the spiritual master for anything. So, um, one should always regard one's— the instruction of the spiritual master as one's guiding principle. Just like you cannot separate the body from the soul, similarly Bhaktivedanta Ṭhākura has said you cannot separate your life from the instructions of the spiritual master. The spiritual master is not pleased with some material offering. Like many times you see in many countries, disciple will go and give the spiritual master a lot of money, and he thinks the spiritual master can be pleased just by giving money. The real thing that pleases the spiritual master is when he sees the disciple developing attachment to Kṛṣṇa and detachment to māyā. In our Kṛṣṇa conscious movement, we all derive our knowledge, authority, power from the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda, the Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Prabhupāda occupies a very special position in ISKCON. He is like Vyāsadeva is to Vedic scriptures. Like Vyāsadeva is considered the authority because he's a compiler of the Vedic scriptures. Similarly, we in ISKCON consider Prabhupāda as the Founder-Ācārya and the source of all knowledge and instructions that we need to give to disciples. So the spiritual grandfather, Prabhupāda, is always guiding and blessing us. Now, one should not think that the spiritual master should only tell me what I want to hear. The business of the spiritual master, Prabhupāda said, is to find fault in the disciple. Why? Because when he sees some fault, it is his business to get it corrected. Rāṣādhvā Mahājāna said one should not become a father till he can take his children back to Godhead, till he can guide his children on the path back to Godhead. One should not become a spiritual master till he can take his disciples back to Godhead. So accepting disciples is a big responsibility for the spiritual master. Spiritual master undertakes to take these disciples back to Godhead as long as the disciples are following the spiritual path. So if one is chastised or corrected by the spiritual master, one should not feel offended, but rather one should feel fortunate that somebody cares for him and somebody's trying to correct him or her so that the person can make progress on the journey back to Godhead. Also, one should not analyze or view the spiritual master from a material angle. In the Updesharamit, Rupa Gosvāmī says that one should not be consider— analyze or examine or advance Vaiṣṇava from any material angle. The spiritual master's qualification is that he should have control over the senses and be absorbed in serving Kṛṣṇa. He doesn't need any material qualifications. Gour Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Bābādī, the spiritual master of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī ṭhākura, couldn't even read and write his name. His only qualification was he was completely attached to Kṛṣṇa. He would chant the holy names near a public toilet. So that nobody would come and disturb him. So, but he was accepted by Bhaktisiddhānta Mahāprabhu as a spiritual master because of one qualification: his attachment to Kṛṣṇa and his dedication to Kṛṣṇa. Then the fourth offense is blaspheming Vedic literature and the Purānas, to consider that they're compiled by some ordinary person. Śruti-smṛti-nindanām. Nindanām means to blaspheme. So śāstra means words of God. In the sixth canto of the Bhāgavatam, Yāma Rāja said, dharmāṁ ti sakṣaḍ bhāgavatpraniṭām. Religion means the words of God. So religion means the words of God. And the Vedas were compiled by whom? By God Himself, who incarnated as Vyāsadeva to compile the vast Vedic literature. Vedaśāstrakai sambandhā abhidaya prayojana. All Vedic scriptures say how one should establish one's relationship with the Lord. So the Vedic scriptures should not be understood to be limited to belonging to some country or some community. For example, one should never think the Vedic scriptures belong only to India. They belong to the whole planet. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhāgavad-gītā, haṁ vidyā pradāpitā, I am the seed-giving father of all living entities. Not only the Vedas compiled by the Supreme Lord, but also the Purāṇas, which are 18 in number, are compiled by the Supreme Lord. Of the 18 Purāṇas, the topmost Purāṇa is the Bhāgavad Purāṇa. Another thing is that we should not think that the Vedas contain message that is limited to a certain period in history. Just like, for example, even in India you meet many people who say, oh, the Vedas were okay at one time, but now it's modern 20th century, the Vedas are not applicable today. The Vedas contain Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana Dharma means the eternal religion of the living entity. It means that was true yesterday, it is true today, it is going to be true tomorrow. Then the fifth offense is to give some interpretation to the holy names of the Lord. And the sixth is to consider the glories of the Lord to be imaginary. So one should not give interpretation to the holy names of the Lord, nor should one consider the glories of the holy name as described in the scriptures to be imaginary. The scriptures clearly say, Hare Naam, Hare Naam, Hare Naam, Eivak Kevalam, Kalo Nasteva Nasteva Nasteva Eivak Gati Raniyatha. All you need in this age of Kali is the name of Hare Naam, Hare Naam, Hare Naam, Eivak Kevalam. Eva kevala means this is the only medium and no other medium is needed. So all you need is the Holy Name. Anyone thinks that besides the Holy Name he needs some other mantras, some other forms of worship, then that is an offense. So we should not consider the chanting of the Holy Names to be imagination. We should not think in our mind, oh, in the scripture that is said that chanting Hare Krishna is so powerful, but maybe it's not so powerful. This is just brainwashed. And don't give any interpretation to the chanting of the Holy Name. Very clearly the Holy Name says, "Oh Lord, please engage me in Your service." So don't concoct some artificial meaning of the Holy Name. Just like some commentators in commenting on the Bhagavad-gītā have said, "Kṛṣṇa is the doctor and Arjuna is the patient." And they give so many interpretations to the Bhagavad-gītā. So we don't give any interpretation to the Holy Name. But accept the Holy Name in its original pure form. Then the next offense is to commit sins on the strength of chanting. I heard in many initiation lectures Prabhupāda would say that this is the worst of all the offenses. What does this mean in practical language? It means as follows: you've been chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra for some time, you feel that so many of your sins have been wiped away, so now you feel you can commit some fresh sins, no problem. So We should not commit sins on the strength of chanting because the devotee's attitude is, I don't want any service from Krishna. We heard in the lecture this morning how Prahlāda Mahārāja had to go through so many inconveniences just because of one offense: he was attached to Krishna. So Prahlāda Mahārāja was offered any benediction that he may desire, but Prahlāda Mahārāja said, no, I don't want any benediction in exchange from you. So the point is that a devotee does not want to ask the Lord for anything. He doesn't expect anything in return for His service. So one should not think, "Now I've been chanting, I can commit sinful activities, no problem, Kṛṣṇa will excuse me." Devotee is careful not to be a burden on Kṛṣṇa. We don't adopt the Christian path. You go to the church, atone on Sunday, then you come back and start sinning again. Just like even in India, you see, people will go on pilgrimage to Vrindavan, Haridwar, place of pilgrimage. They will think that they have washed away all their sins. They'll have their bath in the Ganges. And as soon as they've had their bath, they start to smoke and do other nonsense activities. So no more sinning. Prabhupada in one initiation lecture in Los Angeles said that Jagai Madhai were the most fallen of all men in society. So they came to Lord Caitanya and Lord Caitanya said, okay, you can go back to Godhead, but now you stop sinning. No more sinning. Once Prabhupada was giving japa beads to a devotee. In Paris who was previously a butcher in his life. So when Prabhupāda was handing him his beads, he said, "Now, no more sinning." So if you can avoid sinful activities and chant holy names and at the same time avoid the offenses, then your spiritual progress will be very rapid. And the proof of spiritual progress being rapid will be that māyā will appear more and more distant to you. And the eighth offense is to consider the chanting of the holy name as one of the auspicious ritualistic activities that are offered in the Vedas, that's karma-kanda. So what is karma-kanda? Karma-kanda means you perform certain religious duties, but in exchange you want material profit. Hiranyakāśipū, we heard in the class, he was also doing some type of karma-kanda activity. Karma-kanda, you perform, you invite saints, you invite sadhus, you give them donation, you have a yajña, but then you do all this because you want some material desires to be fulfilled. I want a ticket to America, a ticket here, this facility, that facility, in exchange for my chanting. Karma-kanda has been compared by Narottama Das Thakura to drinking poison from a golden cup. So whether you drink poison from an ordinary cup or a golden cup, the result will be the same. So we should not consider the chanting of the holy names as one of the karma-kanda activities. Then the 9th offense is to preach the glories of the holy name to the faithless. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has told us, jāre dakotahe kaho kṛṣṇa-padēśa. Whoever you see, please tell him about Kṛṣṇa. So whoever we see, we tell him about Kṛṣṇa. But the significance of the holy name, the deep meaning of the holy name, may only be revealed when one has developed some understanding of the holy name. Just like anybody you meet, you may tell him what your name is, but you don't tell him your secret. So preach to everyone you meet, but the deep meaning of the holy name may be revealed after the person has developed some faith in the holy name. Then the 10th offense is to maintain material attachment in spite of chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. So we come to spiritual life. Why? Because we need the assistance of the spiritual practices to get rid of our material desires. When you come to spiritual life, you recognize my enemy number one are these different material desires. But if after chanting we're still keeping material desires in the heart, then that is very bad. So we must recognize material desires have to be thrown out. Just like nobody likes to keep garbage at home, as soon as you see some dirt, you want to throw it out of the house. So your heart must melt At the present moment, your heart is like a rock, black like a coal, and the heart is so hard like a rock, you can knock with any amount of hammer, it won't crack. You can try jnana yoga, karma yoga, sankhya yoga, all these things will not work in Kali-yuga. Hatha yoga, it won't work, it won't crack the hard rock. But what will crack the hard rock is the chanting of the holy names of Krishna. So therefore we chant. But if you even after chanting Your rock is not melting. Then the Bhāgavatam says in the second canto that your heart is made of steel. So when the heart is made of steel, then even after chanting it doesn't melt. Just like there are many materialists, they eat meat, they kill people in abortions, but they don't feel sorry at all. They think everything they're doing is perfectly all right. So similarly, the devotees, sometimes they're chanting, but then the material desires are there coming back, and you feel you're not doing anything wrong, it's okay. So this is a wrong approach. Sometimes you also see a person comes to spiritual life, he begins to give up material desires, but after having been in the movement for some time, once again his material desires begin to develop. So why does that happen? The Bhagavatam has given— why— has explained why it happens. Bhagavatam explains that just like a sick man, he begins to take the medicine from the doctor, but before he is completely recovered he stops to take the medicine of the doctor, then he gets a relapse. So many times we come to spiritual life, we'll start chanting, we start reading, we start doing service, but then after some time we become careless in our devotional practices. Instead of completing our rounds in the morning, we complete our rounds 12 o'clock in the night. Instead of doing service every day, you begin to do service once a week. Slowly, slowly you become lax, and as you become lax, the material desires become more strong in your body, mind, and senses. Just like as you reduce taking the medicine, as you stop taking Taking the medicine, the sinful, the germs in the body increase. So we should always be alert so that we don't let Maya to walk in even for a minute. So these are briefly the 10 offenses. Of course, there can be a much more explanation to the 10 points, but the point has been made with a brief explanation. Those who are accepting initiation in the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra must understand and remember the qualities of a Brahmana that are mentioned in the 18th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Śamaḍāmatāpo socaṁ śādera-jāmām eva ca gyanam iñyānam astekyaṁ brahma-karma-akaśva-māhaka-jām. In the 18th chapter, Kṛṣṇa explains what are the qualities of a brāhmana. Śamaḍāmatāpo socaṁ. He must be pure. He must believe in austerity. He must believe in truthfulness. He must be self-controlled. He must be peaceful. He must be truthful, self-controlled, austere. He must believe in purity. He must have transcendental knowledge. He must apply the transcendental knowledge in practice. So all these things must be there. It is not that, oh, now I have a Brahmin thread, so I'm a 5-star general, I've got promoted. Brahmin means you have a license to touch Kṛṣṇa. So you can do Deity worship, you can cook for the Deities. The Brahmins must engage in brahminical activities also, and that includes Deity worship. So these qualities of brahmana must be cultivated because The Vaishnava Siddhānta is you become a Brahmin not by birth but by qualifications. And Brahmin is one who also preaches. Of course, higher than a Brahmin is a Vaishnava. So all of you who are taking Brahmin are Brahmin Vaishnavas. Because the Vaishnava, he believes in total dedication to Kṛṣṇa. Mānasā deha gau-kicchur-mora arpalam tu yapa nanda-kṣora. My dear Lord, I place everything at the lotus feet. My wife, my children, my house, my possessions, everything. So once again, we humbly want to beg all those who are taking initiation today to please take your vows of initiation very seriously. In the material world, there will always be duality, there will always be some disturbance. So whenever you notice some disturbance, please take shelter of senior Vaiṣṇavas who may be there near you, and other advanced Vaiṣṇavas, and the spiritual master, and the śāstras, and proper teachings, and thereby protect yourself. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has said there should be 6 types of rāsās amongst devotees. One rāsā is to reveal your mind to those who are more advanced, and the other is to take their advice. The other is to invite prasāda and to serve prasāda. Giving charity, accepting charity. So don't conceal anything. When māyā is striking you, when māyā is disturbing you, please reveal your mind. Don't feel embarrassed. And everyone should dedicate themselves to the important mission of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Which is the preaching mission. Prabhupada started a preaching mission. They should preach from morning to night and take everyone back to Godhead. So that is our position. Jīvēra-sarūpāya kṛṣṇa-nityadāt. We are the eternal servitors of Kṛṣṇa in all situations. The guru is also servant of his guru and Kṛṣṇa, and the disciple is also a servant. So we should be good devotees, good disciples, and help Prabhupada's movement become more glorious all over the world. And that is what will give pleasure to the spiritual master, to Prabhupada, and the whole guru parampara. So this initiation ceremony is being performed on the most auspicious day of Lord Nrsimhadeva's appearance on the planet. Every devotee's goal should be to become dear to Lord Nrsimhadeva. Lord Nrsimhadeva is giving all of us hundreds of opportunities to become dear to Him. So we should take advantage of these opportunities and thinking of Kṛṣṇa, talking of Kṛṣṇa, and thereby make spiritual advancement. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare, Hare. Hare, Hare, Hare, Hare.