Verse 2.5.146-148

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.5.146-148:

শ্রদ্ধা করি’ মূর্তি পূজে ভক্ত না আদরে’ মূর্খ, নীচ, পতিতেরে দযা নাহি করে এক অবতার ভজে, না ভজযে আর কৃষ্ণ-রঘুনাথে করে ভেদ-ব্যবহার ‘বলরাম-শিব-প্রতি প্রীত নাহি করে ভক্তাধম’ শাস্ত্রে কহে এ সব জনারে ॥ ১৪৬-১৪৮ ॥

श्रद्धा करि’ मूर्ति पूजे भक्त ना आदरे’ मूर्ख, नीच, पतितेरे दया नाहि करे एक अवतार भजे, ना भजये आर कृष्ण-रघुनाथे करे भेद-व्यवहार ‘बलराम-शिव-प्रति प्रीत नाहि करे भक्ताधम’ शास्त्रे कहे ए सब जनारे ॥ १४६-१४८ ॥

śraddhā kari’ mūrti pūje bhakta nā ādare’ mūrkha, nīca, patitere dayā nāhi kare eka avatāra bhaje, nā bhajaye āra kṛṣṇa-raghunāthe kare bheda-vyavahāra ‘balarāma-śiva-prati prīta nāhi kare bhaktādhama’ śāstre kahe e saba janāre || 146-148 ||

sraddha kari’ murti puje bhakta na adare’ murkha, nica, patitere daya nahi kare eka avatara bhaje, na bhajaye ara krsna-raghunathe kare bheda-vyavahara ‘balarama-siva-prati prita nahi kare bhaktadhama’ sastre kahe e saba janare (146-148)

English translation:

(146-148) Those who faithfully worship the Deity form of the Lord but do not respect His devotees; those who do not show compassion to those who are foolish, wretched, and fallen; those who worship one incarnation of the Lord and do not worship other incarnations; those who discriminate between Kṛṣṇa and Rāmacandra; and those who have no love for Balarāma and Śiva are, according to the scriptures, the lowest of all devotees.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Those who faithfully worship the Supreme Lord but do not worship the devotees engaged in His service and inseparably related to Him; those who do not display mercy by instructing the fallen souls bereft of the Lord’s service; and those who do not display mercy by giving up the association of atheists averse to the Lord are described by the scriptures as low-class persons devoid of devotion. If worshipers of Rāma envy

devotees of Kṛṣṇa, or if so-called devotees of Kṛṣṇa blaspheme worshipers of Śrī Rāma-Sītā, then they should not be counted as devotees but as low-class persons. Lord Viṣṇu resides in innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets in His various eternal forms. Those who have no faith in the existence of that Viṣṇu or in His devotees are fit to be called adhama, or low-class. The worship of those who blaspheme servants of the Lord like Baladeva, Lakṣmī, Garuḍa, Vāyu, and Rudra is incomplete. That is why the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.2.47) declares that devotees situated on the platform of kaniṣṭha-adhikāra are eligible to fall down into material existence, as follows:

arcāyām eva haraye pūjāṃ yaḥśraddhayehate

na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ

“A devotee who faithfully engages in the worship of the Deity in the temple but does not behave properly toward other devotees or people in general is called a prākṛta-bhakta, a materialistic devotee, and is considered to be in the lowest position.” There are two kinds of Vaiṣṇavas—ordinary or unauthorized Vaiṣṇavas and pure or authorized Vaiṣṇavas. The Viṣṇusvāmi-sampradāya originated from Rudradeva, the Śrī Madhva-sampradāya originated from Brahmā, the Rāmānuja- sampradāya originated from Śrī Lakṣmīdevī, and the Nimbārka- sampradāya originated from the four Kumāras. If someone respects one and blasphemes another by taking into consideration their mutual disagreements, then he certainly falls from the platform of kaniṣṭha- adhikāra. All the demigods and demigoddesses pass their time fulfilling their responsibility of serving the Lord, and their entrusted positions are known to this world. Yet their constitutional position as Vaiṣṇavas is not lost. If one out of material conceptions disrespects the demigods and demigoddesses, he cannot have devotion to Viṣṇu. If one accepts the spiritual masters or the demigods and demigoddesses to be devoid of devotion to Viṣṇu, then he commits offense. But by worshiping the entrusted positions of the demigods and demigoddesses and thereby

forgetting the service of Kṛṣṇa, one cannot achieve any benefit. That is why Ṭhākura Narottama has said: hṛṣīke govinda-sevā, nā pūjiba devī- devā, ei ta’ ananya-bhakti-kathā—“I will engage my senses in the service of Govinda, and I will not worship the demigods. This is the description of unalloyed devotional service.” Becoming unalloyed in the service of the Lord does not entail blasphemy of the demigods. All the demigods and demigoddesses are under the shelter of the Supreme Lord, therefore simply by serving the Supreme Lord the worship of the demigods is automatically performed. If one worships a particular demigod or demigoddess, then other demigods and demigoddesses become displeased. But if one worships the Supreme Lord, then all the demigods, who are subordinate to the Supreme Lord, are automatically worshiped.

Blasphemy of a Vaiṣṇava is hundreds of times more severe than blasphemy of an ordinary living entity. Therefore no intelligent person should tread such a path.