| Sri Harinama Cintamani :: Chapter 4 (part 1) |
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audience to, frivolous materialistic conversations. The wearing of fine clothes and the tasting of delicacies must be rejected. Being always ready to offer respect to others, demanding no respect for oneself, one should constantly chant the holy name. One should render intimate service to Sri Radha and Krsna in the mood of the residents of Vraja. Same basic quality in householder and renunciant "The svarupa-laksana or principal symptom (i.e. surrender to Lord Krsna) must prevail in a sadhu regardless of his varna and asrama. The tathasta-laksana or marginal symptoms will certainly vary according to the varnas and asramas. Undeviating surrender to Lord Krsna is the svarupa-laksana of devotional service. If you are wise, you are free of prejudice, racism, sexism, class consciousness, and so on. "Whoever possesses this quality will soon find that the other marginal symptoms have come to him unfailingly. But if perchance the marginal symptoms have not reached full maturity in a surrendered sadhu, and instead some serious discrepancies in character are visible in him, then he is still to be respected as a sadhu or saintly soul. This is the verdict of the scriptures, as expressed in Lord Krsna's own words in the Bhagavad-gita. A profound philosophical truth is revealed by this verse, and we are aware of it only due to Your mercy. It is offensive to criticize a sadhu for past sins "When one has developed a real taste for chanting, then a single utterance of the holy name can eradicate all previous sins. Some vestiges of sinful reaction may still remain in a particular individual, but these also are gradually removed by the process of chanting. As these last traces of sin disappear, he emerges a pure devotee. Of course, the lingering traces of sin are seen by the common man as sins; but if a saintly person is criticized because of the traces of almost extirpated sin in his character, that is a grievous offense. If criticism is made against a sadhu for sins committed prior to his surrendering to Krsna, that is likewise |