By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
TheVaisnava Online MagazineTheVaisnava Online MagazineTheVaisnava Online Magazine
Notification Show More
Aa
  • Categories
    • Songs
    • Srila Prabhupada
    • Questions
    • Vedabase
      • Education
      • Auspicious Days
      • Personalities
      • Story
      • Writings
    • Books
      • Bhagavad-Gita
        • 00 Introduction
        • BG Chapter 01
        • BG Chapter 02
        • BG Chapter 03
        • BG Chapter 04
        • BG Chapter 05
        • BG Chapter 06
        • BG Chapter 07
        • BG Chapter 08
        • BG Chapter 09
        • BG Chapter 10
      • Garuda Purana
      • Krsna Book
      • Life of Tulasi
      • Srimad Bhagavatam
    • Lecture
    • Parikrama
    • Seminar
  • Bhagavad-Gita
  • Vaisnify
  • Songbook
  • Media
    • Documentary
    • Instruments
      • Harmonium
      • Mridanga
    • Videos
  • LifeStyle
    • Health
    • Fashion
  • Downloads
  • About
    • ISKCON
    • The Founder Archarya
Search
  • View All Articles
  • Vaisnava Songbook
  • Bhagavad-Gita As It Is
  • Bookmarks & Interests
  • Books
  • Documentary
  • Health
  • Instruments
  • Lecture
  • Questions
  • Auspicious Days
  • Story
  • Writings
  • Parikrama
  • Hare Krishna Community Radio
  • Glossary
  • Downloads
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Copyright © 2018 - 2023 TheVaisnava Online Magazine. In Service of Srila Prabhupada. ISKCON. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Don’t hear from non-Vaisnavas
Share
TheVaisnava Online MagazineTheVaisnava Online Magazine
Aa
  • Vaisnava Songbook
  • Vaisnify
  • Bhagavad-Gita As It Is
  • Bookmarks & Interests
  • Vaisnify – music streaming
  • Hare Krishna Community Radio
  • Categories
  • Downloads
  • Glossary
  • Contact
Search
  • Vaisnava Songbook
  • Vaisnify
  • Bhagavad-Gita As It Is
  • Bookmarks & Interests
  • Vaisnify – music streaming
  • Hare Krishna Community Radio
  • Categories
    • Books
    • Documentary
    • Health
    • Instruments
    • Lecture
    • Parikrama
    • Questions
    • Quizzes
    • Songs
    • Srila Prabhupada
    • Vedabase
    • Videos
    • View All Articles
  • Downloads
  • Glossary
  • Contact
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Copyright © 2018 - 2022 TheVaisnava Online Magazine. In Service of Srila Prabhupada. ISKCON. All Rights Reserved.
TheVaisnava Online Magazine > Blog > Books > Don’t hear from non-Vaisnavas
BooksSrila Prabhupada

Don’t hear from non-Vaisnavas

Radhika Raman Das
Radhika Raman Das Published 18 May 2022 1.6k Views 5 Min Read
Share
SHARE
Contents
TRANSLATIONPURPORT | Srila Prabhupada

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
Antya 13: Pastimes with Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī
Text 113

vṛddha mātā-pitāra yāi’ karaha sevana
vaiṣṇava-pāśa bhāgavata kara adhyayana

SYNONYMS

vṛddha—old; mātā-pitāra—of the mother and father; yāi’—going back; karaha sevana—engage in service; vaiṣṇava-pāśa—from a pure Vaiṣṇava; bhāgavata—Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; kara adhyayana—study.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said to Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, ”When you return home, serve your aged father and mother, who are devotees, and try to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a pure Vaiṣṇava who has realized God.”

PURPORT | Srila Prabhupada

One should note how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, advised Raghunātha Bhaṭṭācārya to learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He advised him to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam not from professional men but from a real bhāgavata, a devotee. He also advised Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa to serve his mother and father because they were both Lord Caitanya’s devotees. Anyone who wishes to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must try to serve the devotees of Kṛṣṇa. As Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra peyeche kebā: ”Without serving a self-realized Vaiṣṇava, no one has ever been released from the materialistic way of life.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would have never advised Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa to serve ordinary parents, but since his parents were Vaiṣṇavas, the Lord advised him to serve them.

Mahaprabhu in Varnasi

One might ask, ”Why shouldn’t ordinary parents be served?” As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.18):

gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt
pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt
daivaṁ na tat syāt na patiś ca sa syān
na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum

”One who cannot deliver his dependent from the path of birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a relative, a father or mother, or a worshipable demigod, nor should such a person become a husband.”

Everyone naturally gets a father and mother at the time of birth, but the real father and mother are those who can release their offspring from the clutches of imminent death. This is possible only for parents advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore any parents who cannot enlighten their offspring in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be accepted as a real father and mother. The following verse from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.200) confirms the uselessness of serving ordinary parents:

laukikī vaidikī vāpi yā kriyā kriyate mune
hari-sevānukūlaiva sa kāryā bhaktim icchatā

”One should perform only those activities—either worldly or prescribed by Vedic rules and regulations—which are favorable for the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

Concerning the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu clearly advises that one avoid hearing from a non-Vaiṣṇava professional reciter. In this connection Sanātana Gosvāmī quotes a verse from the Padma Purāṇa:

avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam
śravaṇaṁ naiva kartavyaṁ sarpocchiṣṭaṁ yathā payaḥ

”No one should hear or take lessons from a person who is not a Vaiṣṇava. Even if he speaks about Kṛṣṇa, such a lesson should not be accepted, for it is like milk touched by the lips of a serpent.”

Nowadays it is fashionable to observe Bhāgavata-saptāha and hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from persons who are anything but advanced devotees or self-realized souls. There are even many Māyāvādīs who read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to throngs of people. Many Māyāvādīs have recently begun reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Vṛndāvana, and because they can present the Bhāgavatam with word jugglery, twisting the meaning by grammatical tricks, materialistic persons who go to Vṛndāvana as a matter of spiritual fashion like to hear them. All this is clearly forbidden by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. We should note carefully that since these Māyāvādīs cannot personally know the meaning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they can never deliver others by reciting it. On the other hand, an advanced devotee of the Lord is free from material bondage. He personifies Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in life and action. Therefore we advise that anyone who wants to learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam must approach such a realized soul.

TAGGED: Antya 13, Mayavadis, Padma Purana, Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Srimad Bhagavatam, Vaisnava
Radhika Raman Das 18 May 2022 18 May 2022
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
What do you feel about this article?
Love0
Happy0
Surprise0
Joy0
Sad0
Angry0
By Radhika Raman Das
Follow:
Raman (Radhika Raman Das) joined ISKCON in 2003 and got initiated by HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami Maharaj in 2011. As the Editor in Chief at "The Vaisnava - Online Magazine", he helps readers around the world hone in their Spiritual Curiosity, express their unique realizations as aspiring Vaisnava writers and enthusiasts, as well as to spread the digital seed of Srila Prabhupada's mission to spread Krishna Consciousness all around the globe.
Previous Article Krsna teaches the parrot to recite a mantra
Next Article The Ten Offenses to the Holy Name
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Categories

Archives

Tags

12 Mahajanas 108 Practical Questions & Answers Amarendra Das Appearance Back To Godhead Magazine Bhagavad-Gita As It Is Bhajans Bhakti Shastri Death Etiquette Garuda Purana Gaura Nitay Kirtan Training God Harmonium Hell HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami How to? Jagannatha Janmashtami Karma Katha Krsna Book Life of Tulasi Devi and Her Care and Worship Lord Balarama Lord Brahma Lord Shiva Lord Vishnu Mother Yashoda Nrsimhadev Personalities Prayers Ramachandra Ramayana Seminar sin Sinful Activities Soul Sri Krishna Srila Prabhupada Srimad Bhagavatam Srimati Radharani Tulasi Devi Tutorials Vaisnava Vegetarianism

Download App

Quick QR Codes – Scan here

QR website link Logo 4
TheVaisnava.com
QR code whatsapp group
Join WhatsApp Group

You Might Also Like

Life of Tulasi

How to Worship Tulasī Devī

19 September 2023 135 Views
Life of Tulasi

Cultivation and Care of Tulasī Devī

19 September 2023 58 Views
Garuda Purana

Garuda Purana – Karma Kanda (Concise Excerpts)

12 September 2023 217 Views
Garuda Purana

The Whole Journey from the 13th Day to the 361st Day to Yamaloka | Narottam Das

12 September 2023 160 Views
  • Vaisnava SongBook
  • Parikrama
  • Pranam Mantras
  • Links and Resources
TheVaisnava Online Magazine

Chant Hare Krishna and Always Be Happy.

  • Questions
  • Bhagavad-Gita
  • Krsna Book
  • Srila Prabhupada
  • Auspicious Days
  • Vedabase
  • Documentary
  • Books
  • Songs
  • LifeStyle
  • Blog
  • Bookmarks & Interests
  • Become an Author
  • Gallery

Social and Links

Copyright © 2018 - 2023 TheVaisnava Online Magazine. In Service of Srila Prabhupada. ISKCON. All Rights Reserved.
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Glossary
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Hare Krishna, Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?