One of the ten offenses to the Holy Name of the Lord is to instruct the glories of the Lord's name to the unfaithful

Expressions researched:
"One of the ten offenses to the Holy Name of the Lord is to instruct the glories of the Lord’s name to the unfaithful" |"name to the unfaithful" |"unfaithful"

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 7.73, Translation and Purport:

"'Simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.'"

In his Anubhāṣya, Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī says that the actual effect that will be visible as soon as one achieves transcendental knowledge is that he will immediately become free from the clutches of māyā and fully engage in the service of the Lord. Unless one serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead Mukunda, one cannot become free from fruitive activities under the external energy. However, when one chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly, one can realize a transcendental position that is completely aloof from the material conception of life. Rendering service to the Lord, a devotee relates to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one of five relationships—namely, śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya or mādhurya—and thus he relishes transcendental bliss in that relationship. Such a relationship certainly transcends the body and mind. When one realizes that the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Supreme Person, he becomes completely eligible to chant the holy name of the Lord. Such an ecstatic chanter and dancer must be considered to have a direct relationship with the Lord.

According to the Vedic principles, there are three stages of spiritual advancement, namely, sambandha-jñāna, abhidheya and prayojana. Sambandha-jñāna refers to establishing one"s original relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, abhidheya refers to acting according to that constitutional relationship, and prayojana is the ultimate goal of life, which is to develop love of Godhead (premā pum-artho mahān). If one adheres to the regulative principles under the order of the spiritual master, he very easily achieves the ultimate goal of his life. A person who is addicted to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra very easily gets the opportunity to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. There is no need for such a person to understand the grammatical jugglery in which Māyāvādī sannyāsīs generally indulge. Śrī Śaṅkarācārya also stressed this point: na hi na hi rakṣati ḍukṛñ karaṇe. "Simply by juggling grammatical suffixes and prefixes one cannot save himself from the clutches of death." The grammatical word jugglers cannot bewilder a devotee who engages in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Simply addressing the energy of the Supreme Lord as Hare and the Lord Himself as Kṛṣṇa very soon situates the Lord within the heart of the devotee. By thus addressing Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, one directly engages in His Lordship's service. The essence of all revealed scriptures and all knowledge is present when one addresses the Lord and His energy by the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, for this transcendental vibration can completely liberate a conditioned soul and directly engage him in the service of the Lord.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu presented Himself as a grand fool, yet He maintained that all the words that He had heard from His spiritual master strictly followed the principles stated by Vyāsadeva in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.6).

anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje

lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām

"The material miseries of a living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam), which is in relation to the Supreme Truth." One can overcome all misconceptions and entanglement in the material world by practicing bhakti-yoga, and therefore Vyāsadeva, acting on the instruction of Śrī Nārada, has very kindly introduced Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to relieve the conditioned souls from the clutches of māyā. Lord Caitanya's spiritual master instructed Him, therefore, that one must read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly and with scrutiny to gradually become attached to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

The holy name and the Lord are identical. One who is completely free from the clutches of māyā can understand this fact. This knowledge, which is achieved by the mercy of the spiritual master, places one on the supreme transcendental platform. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu presented Himself as a fool because prior to accepting the shelter of a spiritual master He could not understand that simply by chanting one can be relieved from all material conditions. But as soon as He became a faithful servant of His spiritual master and followed his instructions, He very easily saw the path of liberation. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra must be understood to be devoid of all offenses. The ten offenses against the holy name are as follows: (1) to blaspheme a devotee of the Lord, (2) to consider the Lord and the demigods to be on the same level or to think that there are many gods, (3) to neglect the orders of the spiritual master, (4) to minimize the authority of scriptures (Vedas), (5) to interpret the holy name of God, (6) to commit sins on the strength of chanting, (7) to instruct the glories of the Lord's name to the unfaithful, (8) to compare the chanting of the holy name with material piety, (9) to be inattentive while chanting the holy name, and (10) to be attached to material things in spite of chanting the holy name.

Initiation Lectures

Lecture & Initiation -- Seattle, October 20, 1968:

Madhudviṣa: "Number seven: Instructing the Lord's name to the unfaithful."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Unfaithful, those who have no faith, that Lord and His name are absolute. Just like here in this material world, the name and the person is different. Suppose your name is Mr. John. So if I chant "John, John, John," so John may be a hundred miles away. There is no response. But the name, holy name of God, God is present everywhere. Just like the television. Television is being, I mean to say, released in some place. If you have got the machine, immediately the picture is in your room. If it is, materially, it can be so possible, how much possibility there is in spiritual Kṛṣṇa name? Immediately you chant Kṛṣṇa's name, that means Kṛṣṇa is immediately on your tongue. So what is that?

Madhudviṣa: Seven? "Instructing the holy name to the unfaithful."

Prabhupāda: So, one who has no faith that the name of the Lord and the Lord Himself the same, there is no difference, one should not be instructed about the glories of the Lord. He should be instructed to understand, but if he's unable to understand, then he should not be initiated. He should require some time to understand. But you should always remember that nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ: (CC Madhya 17.133) Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name nondifferent. As soon as you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, that means Kṛṣṇa is dancing on your tongue. You should be careful in that way. Just like if Kṛṣṇa... As you offer so much respect to your spiritual master as soon as he's present, so if Kṛṣṇa is present on your tongue, how much careful you should be. So you should always know that Kṛṣṇa is there. Kṛṣṇa is always everywhere. God is everywhere, but we have no realization. But this particular chanting, as soon as chant holy name, that means you must know. So by associating with Kṛṣṇa you become purified. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ. Just like associating with fire you become warm, similarly, associate with Kṛṣṇa means you become purified. Gradually you become spiritualized. No more material. Finished. This is the process.

Talk, Initiation Lecture, and Ten Offenses Lecture -- Los Angeles, December 1, 1968:

Revatīnandana: "The seventh offense is instructing the Lord's name to the unfaithful."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Those who do not believe in God, atheists, what is the use of...? But not to bother him, but give him the chance of hearing. That will make him competent to come forward. Therefore we are distributing this holy name. Not that everyone will be immediately turned to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but we are giving chance. If they hear... You have got practical experience. Somebody's hearing, he's reforming. So we should give chance. But if one is staunch atheist, we should not talk very much with him about Kṛṣṇa. He may say something against, offensive. Yes.

Initiations -- Los Angeles, January 10, 1969:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Seven: Instructing the Lord's name to the unfaithful."

Prabhupāda: Yes, this initiation is not canvassing. We don't canvass that "You become our disciple." Anyone who understands, "Oh, this is very nice," if he comes, "Swamijī, initiate me," he is welcome. But there is no canvassing or selling the mantra. No. We have no such business. We give everyone freedom to hear this chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra without any charges. We go from door to door, street to street: "Hear and be purified." And if anyone wants to be intimately associated with us, we welcome. But we don't canvass. That is no use. If I artificially ask somebody that "You become initiated and...," no, that will not stand. One must willingly come. Therefore, as a general principle, we distribute this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. But if we find somebody reluctant, then we become callous. We don't mind. There are many others. Then?

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Sacisuta -- Allston, Mass 30 May, 1968:

So, after due chanting I am sending both your beads by separate first class post parcel. Receive it and chant without any offense. The 10 kinds of offenses are like this:

Blaspheming the Lord's devotee

Considering the Lord and the demigods on the same level—or assuming there are many gods

Neglecting the orders of the spiritual master

Minimizing the authority of the Scriptures

Interpreting the Holy Name of God

Committing sin on the strength of chanting

Instructing the glories of the Lord's Name to the unfaithful

Comparing the Holy Name with material piety

Inattention while chanting the Holy Name

Attachment to material things while engaged in the practice of chanting

So you follow those principles as well as the four restrictive rules, namely;

No addiction to indulgence in any form of intoxication, including coffee, tea and cigarettes

No illicit sexual relationships

Must be strictly vegetarian

No gambling

And the other standard practices for initiated devotees:

Must attend evening and morning classes

Should not extensively mix with non-devotees

Should not eat food cooked by non-devotees

Should not waste time in idle talks

Should not become engaged in frivolous sports

Should always chant and sing the Lord's Holy Names

Chanting as enunciated by Lord Caitanya is the only means for spiritual realization in this age of dissension. So chant at least 16 rounds daily, and for other help you can ask assistance from your elderly God-brothers.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Kulasekhara (Colin Jury), Digvijaya (Dick Withey), Tirthapada (Tim Austin) -- Los Angeles 31 July, 1969:

This initiation ceremony is a Vedic principle to lead a conditioned soul to the higher level of transcendental life. In the Caitanya Caritamrta you will find the instruction as we have given it in our book, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, that after many, many births through approximately 8,400,000 species of life, a living entity gets this human form of life, which is a chance to get freedom from the material condition. When a child is born it is the responsibility of the state, of the father, of the mother, of the relatives, and of the teachers just to raise the child to the standard of Krishna Consciousness so that the child may not have any more to repeat the process of birth and death, but being fully situated in Krishna Consciousness he may be transferred to the spiritual world and situated in one of the Vaikuntha planets. The most important of the Vaikuntha planets is called Krishna Loka, or Goloka Vrindaban. In these days the propagation for landing on the moon planet is very encouraging to the common man, but so far as a Krishna Conscious person is concerned, he is not at all interested in any of the material planets. His target is to be transferred to the topmost spiritual planet, namely Krishna Loka.

So this initiation means the preliminary chance for preparing oneself to achieve this highest perfection. I am very glad that you are already interested in the Krishna Consciousness Movement, and you will please chant at least 16 rounds daily, observing the rules and regulations. The four principle rules is that you will refrain from 1) meat-eating or partaking of fish or eggs, 2) illicit sexual connections, 3) intoxication (including cigarettes, coffee and tea) and 4) gambling. In addition to these rules there are ten offenses to chanting the Maha Mantra which should be avoided. These rules are as follows: 1) blaspheming the Lord's devotee. 2) Considering the Lord and the demi-gods on the same level. 3) Neglecting the orders of the spiritual master. 4) Minimizing the authority of the Scriptures. 5) Interpreting the Holy Name of God. 6) Committing sin on the strength of chanting. 7) Instructing the glories of the Lord's Name to the unfaithful. 8) Comparing the Holy Name with material piety. 9) Inattention while chanting the Holy Name. 10) Attachment to material things while engaged in the practice of chanting.

So follow faithfully the above rules and regulations, help your godbrothers and sister in London to propagate Krishna Consciousness, and there is no question that you will all come out successful.

Letter to Jananivasa -- Los Angeles 19 August, 1969:

You should chant on these beads 16 rounds every day and avoid the following offenses: 1. Blaspheming the Lord's devotee, 2. Considering the Lord and the demigods on the same level, 3. Neglecting the orders of the spiritual master, 4. Minimizing the authority of the Scriptures, 5. Interpreting the Holy Name of God, 6. Committing sin on the strength of chanting, 7. Instructing the glories of the Lord's name to the unfaithful, 8. Comparing the Holy Name with material piety, 9. Inattention while chanting the Holy Name, 10. Attachment to material things while engaged in the practice of chanting. The four basic regulative principles to be followed by all initiated devotees is as follows: no illicit sex life, no intoxication, no meat-eating or fish or eggs, and no gambling. If you will follow all of the above rules very carefully, then surely you will make very nice advancement in Krishna Consciousness and your life will be sublime.

Actually, one who is Krishna Consciousness is to be understood as the topmost intelligent man and the best yogi. The whole purpose of the yoga system is to gain control of the mind and concentrate the full attention on Lord Visnu within the heart. In Krishna Consciousness, by chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra, we immediately fix our mind upon Krishna's Name, which is exactly identical to Krishna Himself, and Krishna is the source of Lord Visnu. So one who has taken fully to Krishna Consciousness must be accepted as having surpassed all of the perfections obtained in other yoga processes. This idea is confirmed by Krishna Himself in Bhagavad-gita when He instructs Arjuna that one who worships Him in transcendental loving service is the highest of all yogis. Now you have very good opportunity to make perfection of your life, and do it very, very seriously in the association of your Godbrothers.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Aditi -- India 29 September, 1970:

You are a very fortunate girl to have come in contact with our Krsna Consciousness Society and I am so happy that you are tasting a drop of the nectar of devotional service to Lord Krsna. If you simply continue seriously following this program of rendering loving service to the Lord your life is sure to become soon filled with happiness and joy in Krsna's service.

I have duly chanted the beads sent by you and I am glad to accept you as my initiated disciple on the recommendation of Sriman Gurudasa. Your initiated name is Aditi devi Dasi. Aditi is the name of the mother of the demigods. Please try to learn this Krsna science perfectly well and that will give ultimate meaning and perfection in your life.

Please follow very carefully the four restrictions of no eating of meat, fish or eggs; no gambling; no illicit sex; and no taking of any kinds of intoxicants. Chant at least sixteen rounds on your beads daily without fail and avoid the ten offenses in the matter of chanting the Holy Names of the Lord. They are: 1) Blaspheming the Lord's devotee; 2) Considering the Lord, Krsna, on the same level with the demi-gods or assuming that there are many Gods; 3) Neglecting the order of the Spiritual Master; 4) Minimizing the authority of the Scriptures; 5) Interpreting the Holy Name of God; 6) Committing sin on the strength of chanting; 7) Instructing the glories of the Lord's Name to the unfaithful; 8) Comparing the Holy Name with mundane piety; 9) Inattention while chanting the Holy Name; and 10) Attachment to material things while engaged in the practice of chanting.

Study our literatures with the help of your senior God-brothers and sisters, go on Sankirtana when possible, take special care to remain always engaged in some Krsna conscious activity, chant Hare Krsna Mantra always and be happy.

I am very pleased that you are so sincerely and humbly trying to surrender to the instructions of Krsna and your Spiritual Master. This is the prime qualification of a devotee, so maintain fine attitude and advance in Krsna's loving service.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Jaya Jagadisa -- Bombay 24 April, 1971:

I have duly chanted your beads and given you the spiritual name Jaya Jagadisa Das Brahmacari. I am very pleased by your humble attitude, so if you will kindly continue to execute your devotional practices in such state of mind then you are sure to achieve perfection of Krsna consciousness very quickly as it is stated by Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His third verse of Siksastakam, "In such humble state of mind one can chant the Holy Names of the Lord all day long."

Please regularly chant the Hare Krsna Mahamantra sixteen rounds daily and follow the regulative principles faithfully. By observing the four restrictions and avoiding the ten offenses to the Holy Name (i.e. blaspheming the Lord's devotee, considering the Lord and the demigods as being on the same level, neglecting the orders of the Spiritual Master, minimizing the authority of the sastras, interpreting the Holy Name of God, committing sins on the strength of chanting, instructing the glories of the Lord to the unfaithful, equating the chanting of the Holy Names with material piety, inattention while chanting of the Holy Name and maintaining attachment to material things while engaged in chanting the Holy Names) you will become qualified to receive the mercy of the Lord and thus advance yourself in His transcendental loving service, which is the perfect stage of transcendental life of bhaktirasa life. When one is factually experiencing existence of pure spiritual service to Krsna, he enjoys fullness of eternal life full of bliss and knowledge. So one should always strive for this end and thus be released from the grips of material happiness and miseries which characterize the conditional, mundane life within the temporary cosmic manifestations.