WHEN KRSNA OR HIS PURE DEVOTEE IS BLASPHEMED,
A GENUINE DEVOTEE BECOMES ANGRY 
AND ACTS LIKE FIRE AGAINST THE OFFENDERS.

 
Dear prabhu's please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
 
I would like to present the following quotes for your careful consideration.
 
As you may know there have being different reactions to the unprecedented defamation of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
 
Some personalities like Puranjana dasa and associates are tolerant and happy to hear it. They even defend the low grade creatures who dare to blaspheme our beloved Spiritual Master, Srila Prabhupada, by preaching that such defamation is only very nominal. Never quoting from Srila Prabhupada's lawbooks they put forward bogus mundane material philosophy to support their offensive actions. When genuine devotees follow the instructions in these lawbooks and not only become angry with blasphemers but more so at these hypocrites who pose as Vaisnava's and Prabhupada defenders, they are labelled fanatics or GBC followers by Puranjana and co.
 
It appears that Puranjana dasa and associates have thrown out the baby with the bath water. When the correct Vaisnava philosophy of becoming fire like against offenders of Krsna and his pure devotees is applied, these so called Prabhupada defenders, (remembering how this was misused by fanatics to protect their child molester cult leaders) reject the principle and those who follow it.
 
When they are also exposed with sastric references as offenders due to their tolerating and attempting to minimise the defamation of Srila Prabhupada in defence of the lowest of creatures, rather than acting to rectify their greatly offensive behaviour, fall deeper into illusion by declaring their full support for these blasphemers.
 
Your servant Mukunda dasa.
 
P.S. If Puranjana dasa and co. are happy to keep their sentimental followers in fools paradise with sweet sounding words and all go to hell together, that is their business. But if they wish to speak in spiritual circles they have to quote from Srila Prabhupada's lawbooks to support their statements and actions.
 
 
When speaking in spiritual circles, one's statements must be upheld by the scriptures. One should at once quote from scriptural authority to back up what he is saying.
 
(B.G.17.15)
 
 
The Vedas are known as sruti because this knowledge is received from authorities. The statements of the Vedas are known as sruti-pramana. One should quote evidence from the sruti--the Vedas or Vedic literature--and then one's statements will be correct. Otherwise one's words will proceed from mental concoction.
 
(S.B. 7.13.23)

 

WHEN KRSNA OR HIS PURE DEVOTEE IS BLASPHEMED,
A GENUINE DEVOTEE BECOMES ANGRY 
AND ACTS LIKE FIRE AGAINST THE OFFENDERS.
 

Similarly, anger can be controlled. We cannot stop anger altogether, but if we simply become angry with those who blaspheme the Lord or the devotees of the Lord, we control our anger in Krsna consciousness. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu became angry with the miscreant brothers Jagai and Madhai, who blasphemed and struck Nityananda Prabhu. In His Siksastaka Lord Caitanya wrote, trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna: "One should be humbler than the grass and more tolerant than the tree." One may then ask why the Lord exhibited His anger. The point is that one should be ready to tolerate all insults to one's own self, but when Krsna or His pure devotee is blasphemed, a genuine devotee becomes angry and acts like fire against the offenders. Krodha, anger, cannot be stopped, but it can be applied rightly. It was in anger that Hanuman set fire to Lanka, but he is worshiped as the greatest devotee of Lord Ramacandra. This means that he utilized his anger in the right way. Arjuna serves as another example. He was not willing to fight, but Krsna incited his anger: "You must fight!" To fight without anger is not possible. Anger is controlled, however, when utilized in the service of the Lord.

 
(NOI Mantra 1)
 
 
                    nindam bhagavatah srnvams
                      tat-parasya janasya va
                     tato napaiti yah so 'pi
                    yaty adhah sukrtac cyutah
 
One who hears blasphemy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotees should immediately take action or should leave. Otherwise he will be put into hellish life perpetually. There are many such injunctions. Therefore as a regulative principle one should not be unfavorable toward the Lord but always favorably inclined toward Him.
 
(S.B. 7.1.26)
 
 
Just like Nityananda Prabhu went to preach amongst Jagai-Madhai. And Jagai-Madhai injured. "Why, You rascal, You have come here to disturb us?" And threw the piece of earthen pot, and Nityananda Prabhu was injured. Still prasanta. This is sadhu. Yes. "My dear Jagai-Madhai, you have injured Me. It doesn't matter. Chant Hare Krsna please." This is prasanta. He's not disturbed: "Oh, you have injured Me. I shall go to the police." No. Peaceful. "All right, never mind. You do not know how to behave; you have injured Me. It doesn't matter. Please chant." When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard it, He immediately came, and He was so angry, that "I shall kill these two men immediately. Bring My cakra." Nityananda Prabhu said, "My Lord, You have promised not to take weapon in this incarnation, so kindly be merciful upon them." "No! They have insulted Vaisnava!" This is another example. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is teaching this humbleness: trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna. But when Nityananda Prabhu was injured, did He stop punishing them? No. At that time He became fire: "I shall kill them!" Trnad api sunicena does not mean that if a Vaisnava is insulted or Visnu is defamed, you remain silent, "I am trnad api sunicena." No. At that time you should become fire. That is the teaching of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Just like Hanumanji, he's Vaisnava. But when there was need for the service of Lord Ramacandra, he set fire in the Lanka. So when there is visnu-vaisnava-ninda, defamation, you should not remain trnad api sunicena. You should take steps. This is the instruction. Anyway, Vaisnava is never angry, but that does not mean that you tolerate insult to Visnu and Vaisnava. No.
 
(S.B. Lecture 5.5.3 Vrndavana October 25th 1976)
 
 
Nevertheless, when the Lord was informed that Nityananda Prabhu was injured by Jagai and Madhai, He immediately went to the spot, angry like fire, wanting to kill them. Thus Lord Caitanya has explained His verse by the example of His own behavior. One should tolerate insults against oneself, but when there is blasphemy committed against superiors such as other Vaisnavas, one should be neither humble nor meek; one must take proper steps to counteract such blasphemy. This is the duty of a servant of a guru and Vaisnavas.
 
(C.C. Adi Lila 10.85)
 
 
 
Sati continued: If one hears an irresponsible person blaspheme the master and controller of religion, one should block his ears and go away if unable to punish him. But if one is able to kill, then one should by force cut out the blasphemer's tongue and kill the offender, and after that one should give up his own life.
 
                             PURPORT
 
The argument offered by Sati is that a person who vilifies a great personality is the lowest of all creatures. But, by the same argument, Daksa could also defend himself by saying that since he was a Prajapati, the master of many living creatures and one of the great officers of the great universal affairs, his position was so exalted that Sati should accept his good qualities instead of vilifying him. The answer to that argument is that Sati was not vilifying but defending. If possible she should have cut out Daksa's tongue because he blasphemed Lord Siva. In other words, since Lord Siva is the protector of religion, a person who vilifies him should be killed at once, and after killing such a person, one should give up one's life. That is the process, but because Daksa happened to be the father of Sati, she decided not to kill him but to give up her own life in order to compensate for the great sin she had committed by hearing blasphemy of Lord Siva. The instruction set forth here in Srimad-Bhagavatam is that one should not tolerate at any cost the activities of a person who vilifies or blasphemes an authority. If one is a brahmana he should not give up his body because by doing so he would be responsible for killing a brahmana; therefore a brahmana should leave the place or block his ears so that he will not hear the blasphemy. If one happens to be a ksatriya he has the power to punish any man; therefore a ksatriya should at once cut out the tongue of the vilifier and kill him. But as far as the vaisyas and sudras are concerned, they should immediately give up their bodies. Sati decided to give up her body because she thought herself to be among the sudras and vaisyas. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (9.32), striyo vaisyas tatha sudrah. Women, laborers and the mercantile class are on the same level. Thus since it is recommended that vaisyas and sudras should immediately give up their bodies upon hearing blasphemy of an exalted person like Lord Siva, she decided to give up her life.
 
(S.B. 4.4.17)
 
Vasudeva is that state from which Krsna, Vasudeva, is born, so Lord Siva is the greatest devotee of Lord Krsna, and Sati's behavior is exemplary because no one should tolerate blasphemy against Lord Visnu or His devotee.
 
(S.B. 4.4.22)
 
 
One should not at any time tolerate blasphemy and insults against Lord Visnu or His devotees. A devotee is generally very humble and meek, and he is reluctant to pick a quarrel with anyone. Nor does he envy anyone. However, a pure devotee immediately becomes fiery with anger when he sees that Lord Visnu or His devotee is insulted. This is the duty of a devotee. Although a devotee maintains an attitude of meekness and gentleness, it is a great fault on his part if he remains silent when the Lord or His devotee is blasphemed.
 
(S.B. 4.14.32)
 
 
The great sages, thus manifesting their covert anger, immediately decided to kill the King. King Vena was already as good as dead due to his blasphemy against the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus without using any weapons, the sages killed King Vena simply by high-sounding words.
 
(S.B. 4.14.34)
 
Srila Narottama dasa Thakura has sung in his prema-bhakti-candrika, 'krodha' bhakta-dvesi jane: anger should be used to punish a demon who is envious of devotees. Kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya--lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride and envy--all have their proper use for the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee. A devotee of the Lord cannot tolerate blasphemy of the Lord or His other devotees, and the Lord also cannot tolerate blasphemy of a devotee.
 
(S.B. 7.9.1)
 
One should be very meek and humble in his personal transactions, and if insulted a Vaisnava should be tolerant and not angry. But if there is blasphemy against one's guru or another Vaisnava, one should be as angry as fire. This was exhibited by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One should not tolerate blasphemy against a Vaisnava but should immediately take one of three actions. If someone blasphemes a Vaisnava, one should stop him with arguments and higher reason. If one is not expert enough to do this he should give up his life on the spot, and if he cannot do this, he must go away. While Caitanya Mahaprabhu was in Benares or Kasi, the Mayavadi sannyasis blasphemed Him in many ways because although He was a sannyasi He was indulging in chanting and dancing. Tapana Misra and Candrasekhara heard this criticism, and it was intolerable for them because they were great devotees of Lord Caitanya. They could not stop it, however, and therefore they appealed to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu because this blasphemy was so intolerable that they had decided to give up their lives.
 
(C.C. Adi Lila 7.50)
 
 
 
 "The Mayavadi sannyasis are all criticizing Your Holiness. We cannot tolerate hearing such criticism, for this blasphemy breaks our hearts."
 
                             PURPORT
 
This is a manifestation of real love for Krsna and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There are three categories of Vaisnavas: kanistha-adhikaris, madhyama-adhikaris and uttama-adhikaris. The kanistha-adhikari, or the devotee in the lowest stage of Vaisnava life, has firm faith but is not familiar with the conclusions of the sastras. The devotee in the second stage, the madhyama-adhikari, is completely aware of the sastric conclusion and has firm faith in his guru and the Lord. He, therefore, avoiding nondevotees, preaches to the innocent. However, the maha-bhagavata or uttama-adhikari, the devotee in the highest stage of devotional life, does not see anyone as being against the Vaisnava principles, for he regards everyone as a Vaisnava but himself. This is the essence of Caitanya Mahaprabhu's instruction that one be more tolerant than a tree and think oneself lower than the straw in the street (trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna). However, even if a devotee is in the uttama-bhagavata status he must come down to the second status of life, madhyama-adhikari, to be a preacher, for a preacher should not tolerate blasphemy against another Vaisnava. Although a kanistha-adhikari also cannot tolerate such blasphemy, he is not competent to stop it by citing sastric evidences. Therefore Tapana Misra and Candrasekhara are understood to be kanistha-adhikaris because they could not refute the arguments of the sannyasis in Benares. They appealed to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to take action, for they felt that they could not tolerate such criticism although they also could not stop it.
 
 
(C.C. Adi Lila 7.51)
                           
One should not tolerate blasphemy of the Lord or His devotees. In this connection, in the Tenth Canto, Seventy-fourth Chapter, verse 40, of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sukadeva Gosvami tells Pariksit Maharaja, "My dear King, if a person, after hearing blasphemous propaganda against the Lord and His devotees, does not go away from that place, he becomes bereft of the effect of all pious activities."
   In one of Lord Caitanya's Siksastaka verses it is stated, "The devotee should be more tolerant than the tree and more submissive than the grass. He should offer all honor to others, but may not accept any honor for himself." In spite of Lord Caitanya's being so humble and meek as a devotee, when He was informed about injuries inflicted on the body of Sri Nityananda, He immediately ran to the spot and wanted to kill the offenders, Jagai and Madhai. This behavior of Lord Caitanya's is very significant. It shows that a Vaisnava may be very tolerant and meek, foregoing everything for his personal honor, but when it is a question of the honor of Krsna or His devotee, he will not tolerate any insult.
   There are three ways of dealing with such insults. If someone is heard blaspheming by words, one should be so expert that he can defeat the opposing party by argument. If he is unable to defeat the opposing party, then the next step is that he should not just stand there meekly, but should give up his life. The third process is followed if he is unable to execute the above-mentioned two processes, and this is that one must leave the place and go away. If a devotee does not follow any of the above-mentioned three processes, he falls down from his position of devotion.
 
(NOD CHAPTER 9 Blasphemy)
 
 
The following details outline a general practice by which one can prepare himself for an easy journey to the Vaikuntha (antimaterial) planets, where life is free from birth, old age, disease and death.

General practice (positive functions):

 
18. He never tolerates blasphemy against the Lord or His devotees.
 
(Easy Journey to Other Planets)
 
 
Just as a lion does not care when a flock of jackals howl, Lord Krsna remained silent and unprovoked. Krsna did not reply to even a single accusation made by Sisupala, but all the members present in the meeting, except a few who agreed with Sisupala, became very agitated because it is the duty of any respectable person not to tolerate blasphemy against God or His devotee. Some of them, who thought that they could not properly take action against Sisupala, left the assembly in protest, covering their ears with their hands in order not to hear further accusations. Thus they left the meeting condemning the action of Sisupala. It is the Vedic injunction that whenever there is blasphemy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one must immediately leave. If he does not do so, he becomes bereft of his pious activities and is degraded to the lower condition of life.
   All the kings present, belonging to the Kuru dynasty, Matsya dynasty, Kekaya dynasty and Srnjaya dynasty, became very angry and immediately took up their swords and shields to kill Sisupala.
 
(KRSNA BOOK CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR The Deliverance of Sisupala)
 
NOTE: Those who agreed with Sisupala remained silent.
 
Gargamuni: You said we're not supposed to tolerate any blaspheming of the Lord, not of His name or in any way. How are we supposed to not tolerate that? It happens where I work people are sometimes blaspheming His name as a matter of course. How do you not tolerate? How do you...?
Prabhupada: The demons will always do that. You chant Hare Krsna. What is that?
Pradyumna: ...for Krsna.
Prabhupada: Yes. You remember Krsna. That's all. The rule is that when there is blasphemy, there are three kinds of activities. First thing is that one who is blaspheming, you should argue and defeat him by your arguments, by your evidences. If you are unable to do that, then you should die. That is the injunction. And if you are unable to do that, then you should go away from that place. That's all. Three things. First of all, you should fight with him. Then if you are unable to fight, then you should die. And if you are not able to die, then leave that place and go away. Hare Krsna.
 
(Srimad-Bhagavatam Lecture 7.9.13-14 Montreal, August 22, 1968)
 
 
 
It is the duty of devotees not to tolerate blasphemy. So they are presenting before the Lord that "The criticism by the other party has become unbearable. So something must be done. Otherwise, we shall die or commit suicide."
 
(Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Lecture Adi-lila 7.49-65 San Francisco, February 3, 1967)
 
 
Prabhupada: And as soon as you say that you are equal or greater, then you are rascal. We must expose you, that you are a rascal. This is our business. Because we are servants of God. We cannot see anything blasphemy against God. That is not our business. We must chastise immediately.
 
(S.P. Room Conversation July 7, 1976, Baltimore)
 
 
 
Yes, whenever strong and probable false statements are made against ISKCON (Note: Or Srila Prabhupada) are made, we can take defamation case against them
 
(S.P Letter to: Jayapataka Vrindaban 28 September, 1976)
 
 
 
And of all sinful activities, actions directed against a pure devotee out of sheer envy are considered extremely severe.
 

"O sinful person, envious of pure devotees, I shall not deliver you! Rather, I shall have you bitten by these germs for many millions of years.
 
                             PURPORT
 
We should note herein that all our sufferings in this material world, especially from disease, are due to our past sinful activities. And of all sinful activities, actions directed against a pure devotee out of sheer envy are considered extremely severe. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted Gopala Capala to understand the cause of his suffering. Any person who disturbs a pure devotee engaged in broadcasting the holy name of the Lord is certainly punished like Gopala Capala. This is the instruction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. As we shall see, one who offends a pure devotee can never satisfy Caitanya Mahaprabhu unless and until he sincerely regrets his offense and thus rectifies it.
 
(C.C. Adi Lila 17.51)