Is attacking a devotee who physically attack us a Vaishnava Aparatha?

Is attacking a devotee who physically attack us a Vaishnava Aparatha?

A male Student devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:

Hare Krishna prabhuji I am a student studying in class 11 preparing for JEE. Sir I came in kC in dec 2019 or jan.as in my school few devotees came to preach. I have a friend named ……. he is slightly (not regularly) involved in kc. Sometimes he eat meat also means not following regulative principles. One day he threw a chalk on me then I did the same thing. Then he twisted my hand. so I also become violent. So if there will be vaishnava apradh. Please answer.

REPLY:

I appreciate your efforts to be offense-free in this young age of the age 16.

Though one chants occasionally, he too is a vaishnava.

Of course, there are some levels of vaishnavas. But, he is a starting level vaishnava.

I do not find any signs of matured devotees in the actions of that boy and you.

First, I like to clarify that both of you are wrong.

(Repenting For Vaishnava Aparatha (Offense) Properly! A Case Study! READ HERE!)

A matured devotee will instantly forgive and forget.

He has attacked you for a silly reason. This shows that he is less than an ordinary non devotee.

You have been easily affected by anger and ego.

This shows that you still have the domination of rajo guna.

See, if a devotee attacks you, you should bear that and leave him without retaliating.

You may gently give him good advice to avoid such acts.

If he does not hear, just leave him.

Am I promoting cowardness?

Not at all.

I speak based on the karma laws created by the Lord Krishna Himself.

Do you know an important fact?

If one retaliates, he is physically strong that adds karma.

If one forgives, he is spiritually strong that deletes his karma.

Read carefully again:

Yes. When a person verbally or physically attacks us, he adds negative karma.

When we are attacked by him, we lose part of our karma.

So, he has done only good for us.

(Dealing with a rude devotee without Vaishnava offense -Best Tips! READ HERE!)

If we just leave him, he is going to face the reactions of his karma of attacking us.

What will happen if we attack him back?

When he attacked us we lost part of our karma; When we attack him again, we too add negative karma of attacking a person.

Here, there is no question of our having genuine reason (of got first attacked) to attack him.

He added karma for attacking us.

We add karma for attacking him.

Both add karma of attacking a person.

So, both he and we add negative karma.

(Why should the devotees forgive though someone insults them? READ HERE!)

Then, what to do to avoid adding karma?

Just leave him if he attacks you.

If you retaliate, you add karma.

But, if you spare him un-attacked back, karma network will act for us.

He will lose his goodness.

We will not add new karma.

We will make karma network act for us.

This is the simple effect of not retaliating a person who attacked us.

When a vaishnava insults us, we need not insult him back.

Just say HARE KRISHNA and leave the place.

(Is a Vaishnava’s pardon for Vaishnava Aparatha approved by Krishna? READ HERE!)

If he realizes his offense later and asks for your forgiveness, forgive him without denying.

If you insult him back, it is an offense on your part.

Though he has insulted you, he is still a vaishnava, ie, erring Vaishnava.

We should give him chance to realize and reform.

Every person may commit mistakes in his life time.

So, just because a vaishnava commits mistake once, we should not treat him similarly.

He has committed an offense.

Let him realize and come to us for getting our pardon.

Let us concentrate in our more important works.

This is the clear advice for your offense-free devotional life.

Hope you are clear about attacking a devotee who physically attack us.

(How to avoid committing Vaishnava Aparatha repeatedly? READ HERE!)

Author: RAJAN

RAJAN from Tamil Nadu, India, a Life Patron and an Initiated Devotee being in ISKCON for nearly three decades, serves anonymously to avoid Prominence and crowd as an insignificant, Humble and Neutral Servant for all the devotees of Krishna! He promotes Social media forums and this blog-website as e-satsangha (e-forums) blessed with Lakhs of followers, to give Spiritual Solutions for all the Material Problems of the devotees since 2011! He writes friendly and practical tips to practice devotion (i) without hurting the followers of other paths, (ii) without affecting the personal and career life, and (iii) without the blind, superstitious and ritualistic approach! He dedicates all the glories and credits to his Guru and Krishna.