garhito karaye yadi mahā-adhikārī |
nindāra ki dāya, tā̐re hāsilei mari ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.6.35)
“[Śrīman Mahāprabhu:] If a highly qualified person does something forbidden, [then] what [to speak] of the lot of a defamer—if one even laughs at him one is ruined.”
aninduka ha-i ye sakṛt ‘kṛṣṇa’ bale |
satya satya kṛṣṇa tāre uddhāriba hele ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.9.246)
“Truly truly Kṛṣṇa will deliver with ease anyone who, being a non-defamer, once chants, ‘Kṛṣṇa.’”
ābrahma-stambādi saba kṛṣṇera vaibhava |
‘nindā-mātra kṛṣṇa ruṣṭa’ kahe śāstra saba ||
anindaka ha-i ye sakṛt kṛṣṇa bale |
satya satya kṛṣṇa tāre uddhāriba hele ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.20.147–148)
“From Brahmā to a clump of grass and so forth—everything is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. [Therefore,] All the śāstras say, ‘Kṛṣṇa becomes angry at any defamation at all.’ Truly, truly, Kṛṣṇa will easily deliver anyone who, being non-defaming, once chants, ‘Kṛṣṇa.’”
tat saṁrakṣya satām āgaḥ kuñjarāt sat-prasādajā |
dīnatā-mānadatvādi-śilākḷpta-mahāvṛtiḥ ||
bhakti-vallī nṛbhiḥ pālyā śravaṇādy-ambu-secanaiḥ |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.1.1)
“Therefore, the creeper of bhakti, born of the grace of the sādhus, and set within the great stone-built enclosure of humility, respectfulness, and so forth, is to be protected by human beings from the elephant of offenses against sādhus, and to be nurtured with sprinklings of the water of hearing and so forth.”
caitanyacandra mama hṛt-kumudaṁ vikāśya
hṛdyaṁ vidhehi nija-cintana-bhṛṅga-raṅgaiḥ |
kiṁ cāparādha-timiraṁ niviḍaṁ vidhūya
pādāmṛtaṁ sadaya pāyaya durgataṁ mām ||
(Stavāvalī: Abhīṣṭa-sūcana, 11)
“O Caitanyacandra! Please cause the lily of my heart to bloom and make it adorable with the merriments of the bumblebee of thought of you. Furthermore, O gracious One, please dispel the dense darkness [that has engulfed me as a result] of my aparādhas and make my unfortunate self drink the nectar of your rays [alt., feet].”
dainyārṇave nimagno’smi mantu-grāva-bharārditaḥ |
duṣṭe kāruṇya-pārīṇa mayi kṛṣṇa kṛpāṁ kuru ||
ādhāro’py aparādhānām aviveka-hato’py aham |
tvat-kāruṇya-pratīkṣo’smi prasīda mayi mādhava ||
(Stava-mālā: Praṇāma-praṇaya-stava, 13–14)
“I am immersed in an ocean of distress and burdened by the weight of the stone of my offenses [which is shackled to me as I flounder]. O Adept in compassion! O Kṛṣṇa! Please bestow your grace upon my wicked self. Although I am a repository of aparādhas, and although I am blighted by indiscrimination, I wait [expectantly] for your compassion. Please bestow your grace upon me.”
bhaktyā vihīnā aparādha-lakṣaiḥ
kṣiptāś ca kāmādi-taraṅga-madhye |
kṛpāmayi tvāṁ śaraṇaṁ prapannā
vṛnde numas te caraṇāravindam ||
(Stavāmṛta-laharī: Vṛndāṣṭakam, 8)
“Devoid of bhakti and cast by lakhs of aparādhas into the waves of kāma and so forth [within the ocean of saṁsāra], O gracious one, we take shelter in you. [Please protect us.] O Vṛndā! We offer obeisance at your lotus feet.”
śraddhā-sadbhāva eva kathaṁ jñāyate? iti vicāryam | tatra ca liṅgatvena pūrva-pūrvaṁ śaraṇāpattir upadiṣṭaiva | yasyāṁ ca śaraṇāpattau vakṣyamāṇāni ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ ity-ādīni liṅgāni | tathā vyavahāra-kārpaṇyādy-abhāvo’pi śraddhā-liṅgaṁ jñeyam | śāstraṁ hi tathaiva śraddhām utpādayati—ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate | teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmyaham || ity ādi | kiṁ ca, śraddhāvataḥ puruṣasya bhagavat-sambandhi-dravya-jāti-guṇa-kriyāṇāṁ śāstre śrūyamāṇeṣv aihika-vyāvahārika-prabhāveṣv api na kathañcid anāśvāso bhavati | tatas tāsu prākṛta-dravyādi-sādhāraṇa-dṛṣṭyā doṣa-viśeṣānusandhānato na kadācid apravṛttiḥ syāt | te ca tādṛśa-prabhāvāḥ—akāla-mṛtyu-śamanaṁ sarva-vyādhi-vināśanam | sarva-duḥkhopaśamanaṁ hari-pādodakaṁ smṛtam || ity-ādayaḥ | kecit tu tatra tatra śraddhāvanto’pi svāparādha-doṣeṇa samprati tat phalaṁ nodetīti sthagitāyante | yat tu yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ sa bāhyābhyantara-śucir ity-ādau śraddadhānā api snānādikam ācaranti, tat khalu śrīman-nārada-vyāsādi-sat-paramparācāra-gauravād eva | anyathā tad-atikrame’py aparādhaḥ syāt | te ca tathā maryādāṁ lokasya kadarya-vṛtty-ādi-nirodhāyaiva sthāpitavanta iti jñeyam | kiṁ ca, jātāyāṁ śraddhāyāṁ siddhāv asiddhau ca svarṇa-siddhi-lipsor iva sadā tad-anuvṛtti-ceṣṭaiva syāt | … tasyāṁ svārtha-sādhanānupravṛttau ca dambha-pratiṣṭhādi-lipsādi-maya-ceṣṭā-leśo’pi na bhavati | na sutarāṁ jñāna-pūrvakaṁ mahad-avajñādayo’parādhāś cāpatanti, virodhād eva | … yadi vā śraddhāvato’pi prārabdhādi-vaśena viṣaya-sambandhābhyāso bhavati, tathāpi tad-bādhayā viṣaya-sambandha-samaye’pi dainyātmikā bhaktir evocchalitā syāt | yathoktaṁ—juṣamāṇaś ca tān kāmān duḥkhodarkāṁś ca garhayan ity atra bādhyamāno’pi mad-bhakta ity-ādau ca | … śāstrīya-śraddhāyāṁ tu jātāyāṁ sudurācāratvāyogaḥ syāt | para-patnī-para-dravyety-ādi-viṣṇu-toṣaṇa-śāstra-virodhāt, maryādāṁ kṛtāṁ tena ity-ādinā tad-bhaktatva-virodhāc ca | … asyāḥ śraddhāyāḥ pūrṇatāvasthā tu brahma-vaivarte—kiṁ satyam anṛtaṁ ceha vicāraḥ sampravartate |vicāre’pi kṛte rājann asatya-parivarjanam | siddhaṁ bhavati pūrṇā syāt tadā śraddhā mahāphalā || iti | … adhikāritāyāṁ śraddhaiva hetuḥ, sā cājñasya na sambhavatīti … |
(Excerpt from Bhakti Sandarbha: 173)
“How is the presence of śraddhā itself known? This is to be considered. (1) Previously, śaraṇāpatti (śaraṇāgati) was specified as an indicator (liṅga) thereof, and the indicators of śaraṇāpatti (śaraṇāgati) are resolve for the favorable (ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ) and so forth, which will be described ahead [in anuccheda 236]. (2) So also, the absence of poor-spiritedness and so forth [i.e., parsimony, feeling destitute, fear, anxiety, stress, dejection, depression, etc.] in the midst of world affairs is also to be known as an indicator of śraddhā. The śāstra verily produces such śraddhā [e.g., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in BG 9.22]: ‘I [personally] provide for the acquisition and protection [of the necessities] of those one-pointed, meditative, and ever-absorbed persons who worship me in full.’ (3) A person endowed with śraddhā never has a lack of confidence even in the powers heard about in śāstra of objects, classes, qualities, and actions related to Bhagavān in connection with present worldly affairs. Therefore, [such a person’s] non-engagement with them [i.e., with objects and so forth related to Bhagavān] as a result of sussing out particular defects [in them] by means of vision of [them being] ordinary material objects and so forth shall never come about. They [i.e., objects and so forth related to Bhagavān] are indeed of such power [as is stated in Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa (1.37.16) and elsewhere]: ‘The water from Hari’s feet is known to prevent untimely death, destroy all diseases, and cease all suffering.’ Some, however, even though they have śraddhā in these [objects and so forth related to Bhagavān] are closed off [from the effects of these objects and so forth] in that those effects do not manifest at present as a result of the fault of their own aparādhas [i.e., by understanding the reason why the powers of the objects and so forth related to Bhagavān that the śāstra says they possess are not seen to manifest, a person with śraddhā has no lack of conviction in the statements of the śāstra or in the existence of such powers in those objects and so forth themselves]. Since, however, even those who have śraddhā in [the statement], ‘One who shall remember he of lotus eyes [i.e., Bhagavān] is externally and internally pure’ and so forth [i.e., other such statements in śāstra still] engage in bathing and so forth, that is [to be understood as being done] only out of reverence for the conduct established by the paramparā (tradition) of the sādhus led by Śrīman Nārada and Vyāsa. Otherwise [i.e., if those with śraddhā were to do otherwise], even by transgression of that [i.e., the conduct established by Nārada, Vyāsa, et. al.] aparādha would occur. It is to be understood that they [i.e., those sādhus] have established such etiquette specifically to prevent troublesome behavior and so forth [i.e., unsociable habits, etc.] in a person [and thus bathing even after remembering Bhagavān should not be considered a symptom of lacking śraddhā in the purifying power of remembering Bhagavān]. (4) Furthermore, when śraddhā is present, then in [the stages of] both siddhi [i.e., attainment of bhāva] and asiddhi [i.e., the stage of sādhana], only continuous endeavor adherent to that [i.e., the etiquette established by the sādhus] shall occur just like that of one desirous of attaining gold [i.e., just as someone seeking to attain gold in its pure state engages in smelting it repeatedly according to a specific process, so a person with śraddhā will carefully adhere to the code of conduct established by the mahājanas]. … (5) During that constant engagement in the means (sādhana) to [attain] one’s object, even a trace of any endeavor possessed of deceit, desire for prestige, and so forth does not occur. (6) Therefore, intentional aparādhas as well, such as disrespect of the great, do not occur, because of evident contrariety [i.e., because an intentional aparādha is directly opposed to someone with śraddhā’s habitual activity, mentality, and objective, and thus has no scope to arise]. … (7) Alternately, even if someone with śraddhā, under the sway of commenced (prārabdha) karma [i.e., karmic reactions] and so on, has a habit of relation with sense objects (viṣaya), still, even at the time of relation with sense objects, because of that disturbance [to one’s sādhana], bhakti constituted of humility (dainya) will certainly become enkindled [in that person with śraddhā], as it is stated in this regard [in SB 11.20.28 and SB 11.14.18)], ‘Both partaking of and condemning those objects of desire, the consequences of which are [ultimately only] suffering,’ ‘Although obstructed by objects of the senses (viṣayas), a bhakta of mine who has not [yet] conquered the senses is generally not overwhelmed by objects of the senses (viṣayas) by virtue of vigorous bhakti,’ and so forth. … (8) When, however, śāstrīya-śraddhā [i.e., śraddhā based on śāstra] has developed [in someone], then the impossibility of being of [i.e., engaging in] extreme misconduct shall come to be, because of contrariety [in such misconduct] to injunctions that are pleasing to Viṣṇu, such as [in VP 3.8.14], ‘O King, Keśava is pleased by a person who does not think of others’ wives, others’ wealth, or others’ harm,’ and because of contrariety [in such misconduct] to one’s being a bhakta as per [statements such as this in Viṣṇu-dharma Purāṇa], ‘A human being who transgresses the code of conduct established by him [i.e., by Bhagavān Viṣṇu] should not be recognized as a bhakta of Viṣṇu, [because] Hari is worshipped by virtuous conduct [i.e., the dharma of the sādhus].’ … (9) The state of completeness of that śraddhā [i.e., of śāstrīya-śraddhā], however, is [described] in Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, ‘[First] Deliberation proceeds, ‘What is real and [what is] unreal here?’ Once [such] deliberation has also been performed, O King, full rejection of the unreal is accomplished, and then śraddhā, bearing the greatest fruit, shall become complete.’ … Śraddhā alone is the cause of being a bearer of eligibility [for ananya-bhakti], and that [i.e., śāstrīya-śraddhā] too is not possible for one who is ignorant [i.e., one who has not studied and learned śāstra].”
etad eva kevalaṁ paramaṁ śreya iti jāta-śraddho jāta-viśvāsaḥ … madīyānanyatākhya-bhaktāv adhikārī syāt, na tu jñānavaj jāte samyag-vairāgya eva | tasyāḥ svataḥ sarva-śaktimattvenānya-nirapekṣatvād … | … na ca karma-nirveda-sāpekṣatvam āpatitam | sa tu bhakteḥ sarvottamatva-viśvāsena svata eva pravartate | … ata eva yadyapi jñāna-karmaṇor api śraddhāpekṣāsty eva, tāṁ vinā bahir antaḥ samyak pravṛtty-anupapatteḥ, tathāpy atra śraddhā-mātrasya kāraṇatvena viśeṣatas tad-aṅgīkāraḥ | atrāpi ca tad-apekṣā pūrvavat samyak-pravṛtty-arthaiva, tāṁ vinānanyatākhya-bhaktis tathā na pravartate | kadācit kiñcit pravṛttā ca naśyatīti | … bhakti-mātraṁ tu tāṁ vinā siddhyati | … tat-pūrvato’pi tasyāḥ phala-dātṛtva-śravaṇāt | … sā ca śraddhā śāstrābhidheyāvadhāraṇasya evāṅgaṁ, tad-viśvāsa-rūpatvāt | tato nānuṣṭhānāṅgatve praviśati | … bhaktiś ca phalotpādane vidhi-sāpekṣāpi na syāt, dāhādi-karmaṇi vahny-ādivat, bhagavac-chravaṇa-kīrtanādīnāṁ svarūpastha-tādṛśa-śaktitvāt | tatas tasyāḥ śraddhādy-apekṣā kutaḥ syāt ? … helā tv aparādhādy-abuddhi-pūrvaka-kṛtā ced daurātmyābhāve na bhaktyā bādhyate … | jñāna-lava-durvidagdhādau tu tad-vaiparītyena bādhyate, yathā matsareṇa nāmādikaṁ gṛhṇati veṇe | kvacid vastu-śaktir bādhitā dṛśyate, ārdrendhanādau vahni-śaktir iva | … sa tu bhagavat-toṣa-lakṣaṇa-phala-viśeṣasyotpattāv anādara-lakṣaṇa-tad-vighātakāparādhasya nirasana-paraḥ | tasmāt śraddhā na bhakty-aṅgaṁ, kintu karmaṇy arthi-samartha-vidvat tāvad ananyatākhyāyāṁ bhaktau adhikāri-viśeṣaṇam eveti |
(Excerpt from the Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā and Bhakti Sandarbha: 172)
“‘One who has śraddhā’ (jāta-śraddhaḥ), that is, one who has the conviction, ‘This itself [i.e., ananyā-bhakti] alone is the supreme good’ … can become a bearer of eligibility for the [form of] bhakti related to me [i.e., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa] that is known as being unalloyed (ananya) [starting from that state], and not, rather, [can one become so] only after the emergence of complete detachment (vairāgya) as in [the case of] jñāna, because of its [i.e., bhakti’s] being independent of others [i.e., of the other paths, viz., karma and jñāna] on account of its being self-endowed with all potencies. … Dependence on disinterest in karma also does not arise [in regard to eligibility for the path of ananyā-bhakti, i.e., disinterest in karma is not a requisite for taking up the path of ananyā-bhakti]. That [i.e., disinterest in karma], rather, comes about of its own accord through conviction (viśvāsa) in the preeminence of bhakti. … Therefore, although there is certainly dependence on śraddhā in [i.e., on the paths of] jñāna and karma because of the non-emergence of a complete external and internal propensity [to follow any such path] without it [i.e., with śraddhā], still here [i.e., in regard to the path of ananyā-bhakti], its [i.e., śraddhā’s] acknowledgement in particular [as the principal criterion of eligibility] occurs because of śraddhā’s alone being the cause [of eligibility], since here as well [i.e., on the path of ananyā-bhakti], as in the previous [cases of the paths of karma and jñāna], dependence on it [i.e., śraddhā] is because of necessity for a complete propensity [to follow the path], and without it, the [form of] bhakti that is known as being unalloyed (ananya) does not come about [i.e., a complete, external and internal propensity to follow the path of ananyā-bhakti does not come about without śraddhā in ananyā-bhakti]. [If ananyā-bhakti is seen to be performed by someone without śraddhā, then that should be understood as follows:] It is sometimes engaged in somewhat and [then] lost. … Simply bhakti [i.e., bhakti that is not ananya], however, is accomplished without it [i.e., śraddhā], since its [i.e., bhakti’s] being a bestower of results even before it [i.e., śraddhā] is heard of [in SB 3.25.25, SB 6.2.49, etc.]. … Furthermore, this śraddhā [i.e., the śraddhā that manifests as a result of sādhu-saṅga or some form of engagement in bhakti], is certainly a part of ascertainment of the abhidheya [i.e., the import, or, principal directive] of the śāstra, because of its being a form of conviction (viśvāsa) in that [i.e., śraddhā is an instrumental cause of learning the import of śāstra, since one who has no śraddhā in śāstra will not have any propensity to learn its import and adhere to it]. Therefore, it does not enter into being a part of the practice [thereof, i.e., śraddhā is not a part of practice of bhakti itself]. … Furthermore, bhakti cannot be dependent on injunctions [i.e., injunctions given in śāstra] to produce [its] results, just as fire and so forth are not [dependent on injunctions] to cause burning and so forth, because hearing, praising, and so forth related to Bhagavān have such inherent potency [i.e., as fire burns things just by its nature, so bhakti by virtue of its inherent potency produces its effect in one in whom it manifests]. Therefore, how can it [i.e., bhakti] have any dependence on śraddhā and so forth? [It cannot]. … If carelessness or any other such aparādha is expressed unintentionally [in the course of an act of bhakti], then in the absence ill-heartedness (daurātmya), it [i.e., such carelessness and the like] is not obstructive of bhakti. … But in the case of those who are deluded by a meager modicum of knowledge (jñāna-lava-durvidagdha), it [i.e., carelessness or any other form of aśraddhā] is obstructive [of bhakti] because of contrariety to it [i.e., because of being an intentional expression of irreverence arising from ill-heartedness (daurātmya)], as in the case of Veṇa, who took the name [of Bhagavān] with enmity [towards Bhagavān]. Sometimes an inherent capability [in an object] is seen to be obstructed, like the capability to burn in wet wood and so forth [and thus even though bhakti has the inherent potency to purify its bearer and please Bhagavān, it does not do so when aparādha is present]. … This [i.e., ādara, reverence], however, is a dispeller of aparādha, the impediment, in the form irreverence (anādara), to the production of the special result of satisfying Bhagavān [which can ensue from performance of any act of bhakti, such as hearing, when its inherent potency is not obstructed by anything]. Therefore, śraddhā is not a part of bhakti, but is only an attribute of a bearer of eligibility for the [form of] bhakti that is known as being unalloyed [ananya], just as a possessor of wealth, capability, and knowledge is [a bearer of eligibility] for ritual action (karma) [i.e., śraddhā is a property of an adhikarī for ananya-bhakti, just as wealth, capability, and knowledge are properties of, or requisites for, a performer of karma].”
āmāke praṇati kare, haya pāpa-kṣaya |
tabe se ihāre bhakti laoyāile laya ||
praṇatite habe ihāra aparādha kṣaya |
nirmala hṛdaye bhakti kariba udaya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.17.263, 266)
[Śrīman Mahāprabhu deliberating on how to deliver the students of Navadvīpa who had misunderstood him and begun to defame him:] “If they offer obeisance to me, their sin [i.e., aparādha] will be removed. Then if I prompt them to take to bhakti, they will take to it. … By offering obeisance, their aparādha will be removed, and then I will manifest bhakti in their untainted hearts.”
