Ten Offenses to Holy Dham OR Dham Aparatha OR Holy Dham Etiquette as said by By Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakura!
A Student devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Hare Krishna Prabhuji, I am an 18 YO student who is going to take admission in …………(a holy dham) I had a wish that instead of taking admission In ……….. or ………., I would like to take admission in ………., So that I can stay close to The Lord’s Temple and regularly take his blessings and do my study as well. But there is a doubt, recently I came to know that one should not go to vrindavan to stay till he is spiritually elavated. So my question is that is the same rule applied on all the dhams. Please Help me out Sir. Your’s Faithful……..”
REPLY:
See, Visiting a holy dham as a pilgrimage and coming back is a few days assignment. You can somehow manage to maintain the etiquettes related to the holy dham.
But, Living in a holy dham permanently or for years need genuine conviction and natural self control. Artificial self control may one day lead to offenses when a strong pulling opportunity comes to violate.
Vraj mandal is a zone where Krishna personally put His Lotus feet and performed many lilas. So, we should always remember that we are living where Krishna lived and live even now. Yes, Krishna, Radharani and gopis are performing Nitya lilas in Vrindavan that is not visible for us. They mercifully showed themselves more than 5000 years back.
So, just ensure yourself that you are naturally self controlled and you may not commit serious violations in holy dhams like Vrindavan.
Srila Prabhupada’s views about Holy Dham like Vrindavana:
(i) C.C.Adi 5.232, purport:
“All the inhabitants of Vrindavana are Vaisnavas. They are all auspicious because somehow or other they always chant the holy name of Krishna”
(ii) The positive results of our devotional activities performed in the holy dhama are magnified a thousand times and come to us. Therefore, one should avoid offenses in holy dhama to advance fast in devotion.
(TEN OFFENSES AGAINST CHANTING THE HOLY NAME OF KRISHNA! READ HERE!)
(iii) If one commits offenses in a holy dham, the results of those offenses are also magnified one thousand times. Therefore, one should avoid committing any offenses in the holy dhama.
Let us now know the Ten Offenses to Holy dham, also called as Dham Aparatha as said by By Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakura!
Ten Offenses to Holy Dham (or) Dham Aparatha (or) Holy Dham Etiquette!
See, anyone can visit and live in the holy dhams if he is ready to follow the etiquettes recommended to follow in holy dhams. That is the only condition. We can not wait till we get spiritually elevated because it may or may not happen in this birth. So, if you are ready to follow the rules honestly, you can visit and live in any holy dham.
Primarily, one who visits or lives in the holy dham should strictly follow the Four Regulative Principles – No meat eating, No Intoxication, No Gambling and No Illicit Relations.
Other than them, he should void the following offenses to holy dham as recommended by Srila Bhakti Vinodha Thakura:
(1) Disrespecting one’s Guru (spiritual master) who reveals the dham to the disciple.
(2) Thinking that the Vrindavan dham is temporary.
(3) Commiting violence towards any of the Vrajavasis (residents of the holy dham) or to the pilgrims and thinking that they are ordinary people.
(TEN PRIMARY SUBJECT MATTERS IN BHAGAVATHAM! READ HERE!)
(4) Performing mundane activities in the holy dham.
(5) Making business and money using deity worship and Harinam in the holy dham.
(6) Thinking that the holy dham belongs to a mundane country or province, (and) thinking that the Vraj dham is equal to the dhams of demigods (and) trying to measure the area of the holy dham.
(7) Commiting sinful acts in the holy dham (Violation of regulative principles).
(8) Considering Vrindavan dham and Navadvip Dham as different.
(9) Blaspheming the sastras (scriptures) that glorify the holy dham.
(10) Being faithless and thinking that the glories of the dhama are imaginary.
These are the Ten Offenses to Holy Dham OR Dham Aparatha OR Holy Dham Etiquette!
Just live happily in Vrindavan by avoiding the above offenses to holy dham. It will be a fortunate life that I too am dreaming and thinking of how to implement it.
(Ten Sins through Mind, Words and Body a devotee should avoid! READ HERE!)