A message concerning all of us, no offence intended !!

Dear Vaisnavas and all of you who are new to this wonderful movement of ...

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Vaisnavism has come to the Western World in a big way. It was

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who has founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and who has planted the seeds of devotion to Lord Gauranga and Sri Sri Radha Krishna into the hearts of so many western devotees world-wide. I would like to ask you to read the Peace Formula, composed by Srila Prabhupada and distributed by His first American disciples in the very beginning in New York. Next is a short part of `The Heart of Krsna` written by Srila Puri Goswami Maharaja. Both writings contain the most important instructions and advice coming from all the great Vaisnava teachers. We must all follow their advice, no matter if we are from Iskcon, The Gaudya Math or any other group associated and concerned with real genuine non sectarian Vaisnavism. "Always think of Krishna and never forget Him." "Whenwe do just this and try to understand Srila Prabhupada, then itwill become impossible to fight or to be sectarian towards any other Vaisnavas. As long as they are genuine followers of Lord Gauranga it should not matter if they are not from the Gaudya Math or from Iskcon. These instructions must be implanted deeply into our hearts, because without following them we do not stand a chance to please Krishna or enter The Lords spiritual abode ....Goloka Vrindavan....Srila Prabhupada was the perfect shining example and the living personification of all divine teachings. Recently I met Srila Narayana Maharaja who has reminded me of Srila Prabhupada so much, Prema was in the air and I experienced divine love once again. Everything like this only happens by divine grace. Thank You Srila Prabhupada for opening my eyes, thank You Srila Narayana Maharaja for waking me up when I feel a sleep again on Mayas lap

The people of this World can all be freed from Mayas clutches only when we are there to help them.

We must all work together for this common goal..How powerful we will all be when we forget our differences. That is why we must resist those powerful forces who try to divide us..

By His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Srila Prabhupadas

PEACE FORMULA

The great mistake of modern civilization is to encroach upon others' property as though it were one's own and to thereby create an unnecessary disturbance of the laws of nature. These laws are very strong. No living entity can violate them. Only one who is Krsna conscious can easily overcome the stringency of the laws of nature and thus become happy and peaceful in the world.
As a state is protected by the department of law and order, so the state of Universe, of which this earth is only an insignificant fragment, is protected by the laws of nature. This material nature is one of the different potencies of God, who is the ultimate proprietor of everything that be. This earth is, therefore, the property of God, but we, the living entities, especially the so-called civilized human beings, are claiming God's property as our own, under both an individual and collective false conception. If you want peace, you have to remove this false conception from your mind and from the world. This false claim of proprietorship by the human race on earth is partly or wholly the cause of all disturbances of peace on earth.
Foolish and so-called civilized men are claiming proprietary rights on the property of God because they have now become godless. You cannot be happy and peaceful in a godless society. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna says that He is the factual enjoyer of all activities of the living entities, that He is the Supreme Lord of all universes, and that He is the well-wishing friend of all beings. When the people of the world know this as the formula for peace, it is then and there that peace will prevail.
Therefore, if you want peace at all, you will have to change your consciousness into Krsna consciousness, both individually and collectively, by the simple process of chanting the holy name of God. This is a standard and recognized process for achieving peace in the world. We therefore recommend that everyone become Krsna conscious by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
This is practical, simple, and sublime. Four hundred and eighty years ago this formula was introduced in India by Lord Sri Caitanya, and now it is available in your country. Take to this simple process of chanting as above mentioned, realize your factual position by reading the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and reestablish your lost relationship with Krsna, God. Peace and prosperity will be the immediate worldwide result.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

See also Adilila Siksastaka

The Heart of Krsna

(Vaishnava Aparad & The Path of Spiritual Caution)


by
His Divine Grace
Om Visnupad
Srila Bhakti Promod

Puri Goswami
Maharaja

THE ETYMOLOGICAL development of the word aparadha is radhat arthat
aradhanat- apagatah, which means "to be distanced from worship."



Offenses committed at the lotus feet of Vaishnavas, the Devotees,
distance one from devotional service to the Supreme Lord. But in a
higher sense it means to be removed from the service of Sri Radha. All
divine service to Krishna is being conducted under her direction. To
offend her servitors is to make one unfit for her divine service. The whole
aim of Krishna consciousness is radha-dasyam, the divine service of Sri
Radha, and offenses at the lotus feet of Vaishnavas make one unfit for
such service.

The Lord is overly protective of his devotees (bhakta-vatsala ). He
cannot tolerate any offenses against them. They have bhakti (devotion),
and they can awaken it within us. Bhakti is the sole means to attract
Krishna, who is a slave of devotion. The same is true of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu. The Caitanya-Bhagavata states:

A person can attain the shelter of Mahaprabhu only by the
grace of a higher Vaishnava. Religious practices and even
chanting the Holy Name without devotion is useless.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada writes in his commentary:

Without developing a spirit of service, chanting the Holy Name
is vain. Real devotion can only be cultivated when one
receives the blessings of an unalloyed devotee.

Bhakti means devotion. Vrndavana dasa Thakur says:

If a person commits an offense at the lotus feet of a
Vaishnava, even though he may have received
Krishna's mercy, he will never attain divine love,
prema. (Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya-lila 22.8)

Srila Prabhupada writes:

Even if one is a Vaishnava, if he commits offenses to the Holy
Name, he becomes unfit to render pure devotion. Although it
may appear that he is still being shown favor by the Lord as he
continues to make a show of chanting without difficulty, the
Lord is actually very displeased with him because of his
antagonism toward devotees. Therefore, to give up
nama-aparadha we must first give up sadhu-ninda or finding
fault with devotees.

Regarding the phrase krsna krpa hoileo ("even though he may receive
Krishna's mercy"), Srila Saraswati Thakur comments:

People may think that because an offender appears to
continue to chant without difficulty, the Lord must still favor
him, but they are wrong. The Lord is not even slightly moved
by their sham devotion.

The author of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Vrndavana dasa Thakur, says
that these statements are not his alone; they are the verdict of the
Vedas. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur did not tolerate any
disrespect towards genuine Vaishnavas. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also
emphatically denounced any insults directed at Vaishnava devotees. To
understand the seriousness of vaisnava-aparadha, offending devotees,
one must grasp the multi-faceted, multi-dimensional nature of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Mahaprabhu is the source of all incarnations in Kali-yuga and the savior
of all souls. He is Krishna, the son of Maharaja Nanda, fully enriched
with the mood and radiance of Sri Radha. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja
Goswami offers prayers to all of these manifestations in the preface of
Sri Caitanya-caritamarta:

vande gurun isa-bhaktan
isam isavatarakan
tat-prakasams ca tac-chaktih
krsna-caitanya-samjnakam

I offer my obeisances unto all the gurus, the devotees, the
Lord's avataras, his expansions, his saktis (energies), and the
primeval Lord Himself, Sri Krishna Chaitanya.
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 1.1)

In the same way that Mahaprabhu is Krishna, he expands as Nityananda
Prabhu (prakasa ), who is Balarama. Balarama's partial expansion is
Sadasiva, Maha-Vishnu Avatara, whose counterpart in Chaitanya-lila is
Advaita Acarya. What is left of Sri Radhika after Krishna has plundered
her emotions and lustre is Sri Gadadhara Pundit. Sri Gadadhara and
Svarupa Damodara are his sakti (energies). Bhakta means Srivasa
Thakur who is Sri Narada Muni in Krishna-lila. Isa, Divinity means
Mahaprabhu Himself. The complete conception of Divinity must include
the predominating moiety and the predominated moeity. The slightest
disregard to any one of these is equal to disregrading the Supreme Lord
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. There are two aspects to the guru
principle: the siksa or instructing guru, and the diksa or initiating guru.
Both are represented in Srivasa Thakura.

In the beginning of the second chapter of the Antya-lila of the Sri
Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja offers the following
invocation:

vande ham sri-guroh
sri yuta-pada-kamalam
sri-gurun vaisnavams ca
sri-rupam sagrajatam
saha-gana-raghunathan vitam tam sa jivam
sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam
sri-krsna-caitanya-devam
sri-radha-krsna-padan
saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 2.1)

I offer my obeisances unto the lotus feet of my Guru and to all
the preceptors on the path of devotion. I offer my obeisances
unto all the Vaishnavas and to Sri Rupa Goswami and his
associates Raghunatha dasa, and Sri Jiva. I offer my
obeisances to Advaita Acarya, Nityananda Avadhuta,
Gadadhara Pundit, and to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with all
his devotees, headed by Srivasa Thakura. I then offer my
obeisances to the lotus feet of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna, and
all the gopis headed by Lalita and Visakha.
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 2. 1)

In the above invocatory prayers (mangala-carana ), the Vaishnavas are
venerated. Kaviraja Goswami writes further:

Before beginning the narration of the pastimes of Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, simply by meditating on Sri Guru, the
Vaishnavas, and Divinity, I invoke their benediction. Such
meditation destroys all detriments on the spiritual path, and
helps one to fulfill all their desires.

We must note very carefully that the Vaishnavas have been
included within the full conception of Divinity.

These writings describe the Vaishnava's extraordinary qualities, and the
spiritual benefit resulting from serving them. There are also several
warnings regarding the disastrous effects of vaisnava-aparadha.

The Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 19.156 states:

If a devotee commits vaisnava-aparadha, his offense is like a
mad elephant uprooting and trampling his creeper of devotion;
afterwards the creeper's leaves dry up and become lifeless.

There are three categories of Vaishnavas: kanistha (neophyte),
madhyama (intermediate), and uttama (advanced) described in the
Caitanya-caritamrta. Kaviraja Goswami states that to gain shelter of a
Vaishnava, it is imperative to first receive the mercy of Nityananda
Prabhu:

All of the Vaishnavas who live in Vrndavana are absorbed in
singing the all-auspicious name of Sri Krishna. Sri
Mahaprabhu and Nityananda are their life and soul. They do
not know anything but devotion to Sri Radha and Krishna. My
shelter at the Vaishnavas' lotus feet has been granted only by
the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prahhupada corroborates this fact:

All of the Vaishnavas living in the holy dhama of Sri Vrndavana
are very fortunate souls. They have taken shelter in the Holy
Name of Krishna. Sriman Mahaprabhu and Nityananda are
their life and soul. They know nothing but the eternal service
of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna.

Krishna's mercy descends only through the Vaishnavas.

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, a nitya-siddha (eternal associate) of the
Lord, instructs the devotees to pray to Mahaprabhu. He says that we
should seek shelter in the shade of a Vaishnava's lotus feet, shed tears
of remorse with total humility, submitting to him the plight of our material
existence, which is the result of turning away from Krishna. The
Vaishnava is an ocean of compassion and feels the pain of others. When
he pleads on our behalf to the Lord, Krishna responds and kindly
accepts us as the followers of his favorites. Krishna's mercy descends
only through the Vaishnavas.

There is Krishna and karsna. Krishna's mercy is embodied in pure
devotees, who are known as karsna. The lotus feet of a Vaisnava guru
represents the mercy of the Lord. Krishna is the priceless treasure
enthroned in Sri Guru's heart. The Lord can easily give this treasure to
those who are surrendered to his devotees. There is no other way to
receive Krishna's grace than to serve and take shelter at the lotus feet of
a Vaishnava. Sri Kaviraja Goswami discusses the importance of
honoring the Vaishnava's remnants, using the example of Sri Kalidasa,
the uncle of Raghunatha Dasa Goswami:

Taking the food remnants of Vaishnavas is so potent, it forced
Mahaprabhu to give his mercy to Kalidasa. Don't hesitate-eat
the Vaishnava's remnants, and you will fulfill your heart's
desire.

Food offered to Krishna is called maha-prasadam. After
maha-prasadam is taken by a devotee, his remnants are
glorified as maha-maha-prasadam. The dust of a pure
devotee's feet, the water of his foot bath, and his food
remnants are three extremely potent spiritual substances. By
honoring these three, one will be filled with ecstatic love for
Krishna. All the scriptures declare this again and again. My
dear devotees, please hear me: believe in these three and
honor them in a mood of service, and you will achieve the
purpose of your existence-ecstatic love of Krishna. This is the
greatest mercy of Krishna, and Kalidasa is living proof.

In Kalyana-Kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur writes:

When will Mahaprabhu shower his mercy upon me so I may
have shelter in the shade of the Vaishnava's lotus feet? I will
humbly stand before the Vaishnava holding a straw between
my teeth, weeping I will tell him of my miserable life, and I shall
give up all self-deception. I will admit that my life is one
never-ending misery and beg him to put an end to all of this.
The kind Vaishnava will beg Sri Krishna with all his might, and
Krishna, moved by the Vaishnava's sincerity, will shower his
divine grace.

And in Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur writes:

O Vaishnava, you are an ocean of mercy. Please shower your
compassion upon me. Give me the shade of your lotus feet
and purify my polluted heart. I am following you, begging-Sri
Krishna is yours-you have the power-give him to me!

Narottama dasa Thakura sings a similar song:

I am so sinful; how can I possibly serve the Lord? I have no
love for my guru. I have no love for the devotees and I am
constantly deluded. I am so absorbed in material life that I
have forgotten who I am. The witch Maya is waiting to hang a
noose around my neck. I have no power to resist her on my
own. I am helpless without your mercy. I know that you never
see the faults of anyone, so I'm begging you-please save me."
(Prarthana )

Narottama's songs are filled with wonderful glorification of Vaishnavas.
They are treasured by all devotees as priceless instructions for
increasing one's devotion. From his childhood, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Prabhupada chose Narottama's songbook as his constant companion on
the path of devotion. Vrndavana dasa Thakura considered himself to be
the last direct servant of Nityananda Prabhu. He has glorified the
Vaishnavas throughout his masterpiece Sri Caitanya-Bhagavata. In his
introduction he writes:

I first offer my unlimited obeisances at the feet of Sri Krishna
Chaitanya's dearest associates, the devotees. And then I pray
to him, who appeared in Nabadwip and was also known as
Visvambhara.

Sri Vrndavana dasa offers his humble obeisances unto Mahaprabhu's
devotees, and then to Sri Mahaprabhu. He explains:

The Supreme Lord has boldly declared in all the scriptures
that 'The worship of my devotees is higher than worshipping
me.' By first glorifying the Vaishnavas, I am guaranteed
success in writing my book. (This statement was made by
Krishna to Uddhava in the Srimad-Bhagavatam.)

The next statement is from the Itihasa-Samuccaya :

If one wants God's mercy, he must first serve his devotees.
Only this will satisfy the Lord; of this there is no doubt.

The following verse, from the Pausayana-Sruti, is quoted in Srila
Madhvacarya's commentary on the Brahma-Sutra :

Worship the devotees, serve them, hear from them, and they
will protect you.

The Mundaka-Upanisad states:

If you want the real treasure of liberation you must serve the
Lord's pure devotee.

In his Govinda-Bhasya commentary, Baladeva Vidyabhusana quotes
Srimad-Bhagavatam :

jnane prayasam-udapasya namanta eva
jivanti sanmukharitam bhavadlya-vartam
sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhir
ye prayas'o 'jita jito'py asi tais tri-lokyam
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.3)

Brahma prayed to Krishna,

My dear Lord, those who have given up abstract thinking and
armchair philosophizing, start hearing about you from devotees
and begin divine service with their body, mind, and words.
Although you are unconquerable and rarely attained, you are
conquered by them.

In the Padma Purana, Shiva says to his wife Parvati:

O Goddess, higher than the worship of all the gods and
goddesses is the worship of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. But
higher still is the worship of everyone and everything that is
dear to Him, including Ganga devi, Tulasi devi, the book
Bhagavata and the devotee Bhagavata.

Vrndavana dasa cautions us against seeing Vaishnavas externally. Such
superficial vision is condemned:

In order to teach us the absurdity of judging devotees
externally according to race, color, family, or other
considerations, the Supreme Lord arranged for Haridasa
Thakura to take birth in the lowest section of society. All the
scriptures emphasize that if a pure devotee appears even in
the lowest social circumstances, he is still to be worshipped by
everyone.

A Vaishnava may appear in any family or section of society,
yet he is still the most elevated person by the decree of the
scriptures.

God is the protector of all living entities, and he cannot tolerate insults
and disrespect shown to his devotees. Extremely mindful of his dear
devotee's well-being, he refuses to accept any worship from those who
slight them. The Lord loves his devotees so much that he not only
accepts food and gifts from them, but sometimes he even steals their
offerings! Whereas he is repulsed by offerings from a non-devotees.

In one pastime, Krishna was very eager to eat plain chipped rice cooked
by Vidura's wife, and ignored a royal feast set by Duryodhana. Similarly
the Lord could not resist eating the few morsels of flat rice offered by
Sudama. He told him:

O Brahmin! What wonderful things have you brought for me
from your home? Even a small offering from a devotee is a
grand feast for me, whereas a non devotee's feast cannot
satisfy me in the least. Anything offered to me with love, I
accept with love.

Sriman Mahaprabhu quotes from the Itihasa Samuccaya, recorded by
Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja:

A person may learn all the Vedas, but if he has no devotion,
how can he be my devotee? Whereas if a person born into the
lowest section of society has devotion, he is very dear to me.
All respect must be given to such an elevated soul. His
offerings must be accepted by all, for he is as much worthy of
worship as I am.

Mahaprabhu also quotes Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya:

A Brahmin's sins are burnt to ashes by the powerful fire of
krsna-bhakti. Whereas if a Vedic scholar is an atheist, he is
derided. Anyone devoid of devotion may take birth in a great
family or nation, have extensive knowledge of the scriptures,
perform austerities, or chant Vedic mantras, but such things
are like ornaments on a dead body. Only fools will be
impressed.

When Mahaprabhu went to embrace Haridasa Thakura, with all humility
Haridasa said to him:

My dear Lord, please do not touch me. I am most fallen, the
lowest of men. Mahaprabhu replied: I want to touch you just to
purify myself. You are so pure, it is as if at every moment you
are bathing in all the sacred rivers, visiting all the holy places
of pilgrimage, and performing every sacrifice, austerity, and
charity imaginable. You are more exalted than any Brahmin or
sannyasi.

The Lord then recited this sloka from the Srimad Bhagavatam:

One who always chants your Holy Name, even though born in
the worst circumstances, is a saint. We can understand that he
must have performed all austerities and sacrifices, bathed in
all the holy rivers, and mastered the Vedas. Therefore he is a
true Aryan (one who is pure).

In the Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda, it is declared:

When a person is admitted into Vishnu's family, he is called a
Vaishnava. It has been said that of all people, the Vaishnava is
certainly the most exalted.

The Dvaraka-Mahatmya states:

A person who is devoted to Janardana, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, is a saint even if he is born into a
low-class family; whereas if a person is born into an
aristocratic family of noble lineage and is not a devotee of the
Lord, he is of bad blood.

Any association with non-Vaishnavas or with Brahmins who lack
devotion is categorically denounced. The Padma Purana states:

The association of meat-eaters is strictly prohibited because
their lifestyle goes against scriptural regulations; in the same
manner, contact with a non-Vaishnava Brahmin must be
avoided. Whereas a Vaishnava-one who is initiated and who is
affectionate to the Lord and his devotees--even if born into a
low-class family, is capable of purifying all three worlds.

Vrndavana dasa says that intimate association with non-Vaishnavas,
regardless of their parentage, is suicidal. According to the Padma
Purana, the characteristics of a Vaishnava are as follows:

One who is dedicated to worshipping Vishnu, who has
received initiation into a Vishnu-mantra, is classified as a
Vaishnava by spiritual preceptors; all others are
non-Vaishnavas." (Hari-bhakti-vilasa 1.55)

Those who are simply born into a Brahmin family but are
non-Vaishnavas, and who are inimical towards Vishnu and Vaishnavas,
are condemned. Vrndavana dasa cries out against these namesake
Brahmins, citing the Varaha Purana:

In Kali-yuga, demons will be born in smarta Brahmin families to
harass and torture the righteous devotees of the Lord. The
demons choose Kali-yuga to be born in, so they can torment
those rare persons who adhere to the path enunciated by the
Vedas (sruti ). They viciously attempt to disrupt the devotee's
service to the Supreme Lord.

These Brahmin impostors view Vaishnavas who have a bad background
with contempt. They scoff at their spiritual practices, or when they see
them receive honor and respect, they vainly try to expose the
Vaishnava's background, and other mundane trivialities. The Brhad
Aranyaka Sruti describes them, saying:

One who leaves the world fully understanding the Absolute
Truth is honored as a Brahmin, but one who does not has
wasted his life.

According to Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraja, not only should one not consider
the form of God to be mundane, but the same is true of his devotees.As
written by Srila Krishna-Dvaipayana Vyasadeva, the author of
Srimad-Bhagavatam:

There is no greater blasphemy than to think that the body of
Vishnu is material. And Mahaprabhu says: The Vaishnava's
body is never mundane; it is supramundane, and
supercharged with ecstasy. (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila
7.155, Antya-lila 4.191)

The use of the term atmasama does not imply that pure devotees are
equal to the Supreme Lord in every respect. The Supreme Lord is the
only one who possesses transcendental qualities to an infinite degree.
The jiva can only possess these qualities to a finite degree.

Mahaprabhu says: "The finite and the Infinite can never be considered
equal, just as a tiny spark is never equal to a fire." The following verse is
found in the Bhagavat Sandarbha and also in Sridhara Swami's
commentary to the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

The Supreme Lord is the embodiment of etenality, knowledge,
and bliss. Two of his multifarious spiritual energies are:
hladini-sakti, the pleasure-giving potency, and samvit, perfect
knowledge of the self and all other things, while the jivas are
cocooned in ignorance, and deeply anchored in suffering.

Only by taking complete shelter of Sri Radhika and her serving group,
the hladini sakti, can we realize our innate spiritual identity and service
to the holy lotus feet of Sri Guru, Gauranga, and Krishna. Srila
Krishnadasa Kaviraja explains further why a pure Vaishnava's body is
aprakrta, or supramundane:

At the time of diksa (initiation), the devotee surrenders to
Krishna with body and soul. In reciprocation, Krishna accepts
him, elevating him, body and soul, to a status equal to his own.
The Lord transforms the Vaishnava's body and makes it a
repository of transcendental emotions." (Caitanya-caritamrta,
Antya-lila 8. 192-193)

He then quotes the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

When people reject materialism and conduct their lives under
my direction, they attain immortality. They become eligible to
be with me and share spiritual emotions (rasa ) with me in their
spiritual identity." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.29.34)

But what is meant by surrender, Srila Saraswati Prabhupada writes in
his Anubhasya commentary:

Although one who has completely renounced the world
(akincana ) and one who is completely sheltered in Krishna
(saranagatah ) may appear to be the same externally, the
devotee who has given up the world has also offered his soul.
At the time of initiation, the devotee gives up material
conceptions while he begins to understand sambandha-jnana,
one's eternal relationship with God and those who are part of
the family of God. When the devotee gives up the shelter of
maya, he takes shelter of Krishna and is Krishnized. At this
stage, the devotee's delusion as enjoyer of material pleasures
dissipates, and his real self merges with his new identity as an
eternal servant of Krishna. The devotee attains his spiritual
body (sac cid ananda svarupa )and his eternal service to
Krishna, serving him in his own transcendental form. The pure
devotee's ecstatic service is an elevated stage of devotion
which is often misinterpreted and misunderstood by those
unacquainted with the science of devotion. For this kind of
aparadha one is deprived of the shelter of a Vaishnava guru."
(Anubhasya, Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya 4.193)

Mahaprabhu taught everyone that a Vaishnava's transcendental body is
unlike that of an ordinary person, or even an extraordinary person. The
Lord did not view personalities like Haridasa Thakura, who took birth in a
low-class family, or Sanatana Goswaml, whose body was diseased, or
Vasudeva Vipra, who was suffering from acute leprosy, as social
outcasts or disease ridden beggars. Instead he embraced them, proving
that a pure devotee's body is never impure. The pure devotee's body is
transcendental, infused with spiritual bliss, and best suited to serve
Krishna. As the Lord himself says:

mad-bhakta-pujyabhyadhika
sarva-bhutesu man-matih

The worship of my devotees is the real worship of me. In fact it
is higher than worshipping my very self. (Bhag. 11.19.21)

My dear devotees, please read and listen carefully to the divine stories
and instructions that follow, and pray to the Supreme Lord and his
devotees-the Vaishnavas-that we may always worship and adore them,
and thereby enter The Heart of Krishna.




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