How to get relief from Vaishnava Aparath (offense)?
Qn. In detail by a girl devotee (Name hidden):
Hare krishna prabu…if someone hurts the devotees of krishna very badly…krishna punishes them or not…dont show my name prabu
REPLY:
Out of all the offences by the devotees, vaishnava aparath (offense) hurting or offending the devotees of Krishna, ie, Vaishnavas, is the most serious offence.
The fact is that Krishna does not interfere in this matter and He does not give relief for the devotees from Vaishnava Aparath (Offense) though we cry throughout the life.
Then, what can we do?
There is only one remedy for Vaishnava offence. The Vaishnava Himself should forgive us.
(Who are Pancha Tatvas? Whom they represent? READ HERE!)
We should go to the Vaishnava whom we offended, offer our humble obeisances and sincerely beg him to forgive our offences against him.
Since the vaishnavas are very merciful, they usually forgive the offenders and give them opportunity to continue their devotional journey.
MAHAPRABHU’s MOTHER’s OFFENCE AGAINST ADVAITHA ACHARYA
Sachi matha, the mother of Sri caitanya Maha Prabhu, felt that Sri Advaitha separated her sons from her and took them to the service of Lord. She felt so because of her affection with her sons.
Here is an incident from Caitanya Bhagavat 2.22.114-6:
When she felt that Sri Caitanya too was going to constantly associate with Advaitha leaving his wife Lakshmipriya alone at home, she started to think that the name Advaita (Unification) is not suitable for him and he must be called DVAITHA (Separation). She felt “one son of mine, as beautiful as the moon, has left home because of him, and he hasn’t let me keep the other one settled. No one has mercy on me who am now without anyone in this world. He may be one (advaita) with the world, but I see him as maya (dvaita).”
(SRI ADVAITA ACHARYA – LIFE HISTORY – DIARY : PART- 1 – READ HERE!)
Of course, she criticized Advaita within her mind out of her love on her sons. But, her son, Sri Caitanya Maha Prabhu knew her thoughts since he is Lord’s incarnation.
On the day of the “Mahaprakasha”, in the house of Srivasa, when Mahaprabhu was fulfilling the desires of every one of his devotees by allowing them to see his divine form for twenty-one hours, Srivasa asked him whether Sachi Devi could also be blessed with this divine vision.
Mahaprabhu answered, “My mother has committed Vaishnava Aparath (offense ) against Advaita Prabhu, so I will not show her this form.”
Maha Prabu also said that He Himself can not forgive her and only Advaitha Prabhu should forgive her and she must take the dust from the lotus feet of Sri Advaitha Prabhu.
When the devotees told this reply to Sachi matha, she immediately went to Advaita and begged him for forgiveness.
(How to deal with the erring devotees without Vaishnava Aparath (Offense)? READ HERE!)
Advaitha, hearing Sachi Matha’s confession, started to glorify her as the one who had carried the supreme lord of all creation in her womb. He continued to do so until he became unconscious from the overwhelming love that he felt.
When he fell unconscious, Sachi Matha took the dust of his lotus feet and thus be free from her offense.
Then, Mahaprabhu was satisfied with his mother and showed her, his glorious, divine form.
As soon as she became aware of having committed an offense, she immediately went without any hesitation to Advaita and prayed to be pardoned.
(Dealing with a rude devotee without Vaishnava Aparath – The best Tips! READ HERE!)
LESSON FROM THIS INCIDENT:
Thus, when we insult any Vaishnava, we should not pray to Krishna for forgivenesss, as He does not help us in this serious offence.
We must directly go to that Vaishnava and beg for his forgiveness. Since the vaishnavas are merciful, we will definitely get their pardon.
In case you had offended against any Vaishnava, do not hesitate to beg for pardon from him/ her.
If we do not do this, we can not go back to Krishna’s kingdom in this birth.
A good Vaishnava supports the missions of other vaishnavas. Advaitha Prabhu’s mission was glorifying the Lord’s Names. He included Sri Caitanya Maha Prabhu in his mission. Sachi Matha offended his efforts of glorifying Lord. Maha Prabhu indicated that. Finally, she got the pardon of Advaitha Acharya.
Every devotee should support other vaishnavas and should not insult or demotivate them. This is the IMPORTANT character of a Vaishnava. Though a vaishnava offends, we should indicate his mistakes politely and move. If his offenses are true beyond doubt, we should inform about him to the higher authorities and we should not take steps on our own.
Hope you are clear.
(Also read THIS POST: HOW A DEVOTEE SHOULD TREAT KRISHNA AND HIS DEVOTEES?)