Namaparadh-Spiritual Transgressions
There are several categories of sins. The spiritual transgressions known as namaparadh (Devanagari: नामापराध ISO15919: nāmāparādha) are the gravest of all sins.
For other sins Vedas prescribe repentant Vedic rituals. Also, other sins can be washed away by seeking refuge at the lotus feet of Shri Krishna. But those who do namaparadh, are sure to meet their downfall. Even God does not pardon these.
That is why every human being must know about namaparadh and be extremely vigilant to avoid them.
The punishment for namaparadh is loss of all love for God in the present. All divine attributes of God become unavailable to jeev and afterlife is full of suffering in narak for many kalpa. Then they come back to Earth in lower life forms and roam around in the cycle of birth and death.
According to the illustrious scriptures of Bhakti viz. Ujjval Neelmani and Bhakti Rasamrit Sindhu by Roop Goswami, and Prem Ras Siddhant by Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj etc., there are 10 namaparadh . No scripture prescribes any remedy for atonement of these sins.
Discriminating between forms of God
- Differentiating between Lord Shankar and Lord Vishnu is a namaparadh. Considering them to be different from one another or upholding one to be greater than the other also is namaparadh.
Denouncing Saints
- The examples of offences against a saint are physical abuse, censuring him, to be angry with him or feel no joy in seeing him etc. God does not excuse those who commit this offence.
हन्ति निन्दन्ति वै द्वेष्टि वैष्णवानामभिनंदति ।
क्रुद्धयति याति नो हर्षं दर्शने पतनाननि षट्॥
hanti nindanti vai dveṣṭi vaiṣṇavānāmabhinaṁdati ।
kruddhayati yāti no harṣaṁ darśane patanānani ṣaṭ॥
"The examples of offences against a saint are physical abuse, censuring him, to be angry with him or feel no joy in seeing him etc".
God absolutely despises disrespect of His extremely dear devotees. He does not excuse those who commit this offence. Only the saint towards whom the sin has been committed can forgive this transgression.
Recall that Chaitanya Mahapraphu refused to pardon Gadadhar Bhat when he thought ill of Pundarik Vidyanidhi. Mahaprabhu Ji sent Gadadhar Bhat to seek forgiveness from Pundarik Vidyanidhi and accept him as the Guru.
Dishonor Spiritual Master
- By considering a God-realized saint to be an ordinary human one falls sipiritually even if they are at the elevated state of Bhav Bhakti to the lowest level.
God reveres the saints so immensely that He says in Bhagawat -
अनुब्रजाम्यहं नित्यं पूयेयेत्यंघ्रिरेणुभिः
anubrajāmyahaṁ nityaṁ pūyeyetyaṁghrireṇubhiḥ
"I walk behind my devotees, so that their foot dust may fall on Me, and I will be purified." He is so subservient towards His devotees that He walks behind them to get their foot dust. When someone even slightly dishonors His beloved devotees that puts Him off like nothing else can.
You might recall that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called Sudarshan Chakra to kill Jagai Madhai when they hurt Nityanand. Similarly, Shri Krishna sent Charkra after Durvasa Muni when he insulted Ambarish, a king and a loving devotee of Shri Krishna.
Disrespect the authentic scriptures
- Having not faith or disrespecting the authentic scriptures like Vedas, Bhagavat, Gita and Ramcharit Manas is also a spiritual transgression.
Discriminate between divine names
- Discriminate between divine names or doubt their exquisite significance described in the scriptures. For example many devotees of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna fight to prove the supremacy of the name of their favorite deity. For example: In Shankarshan Upanishad there is a mantra which is referred to as Mahamantra.
हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे, हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे ।
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare, hare kr̥ṣṇa hare kr̥ṣṇa kr̥ṣṇa kr̥ṣṇa hare hare ।
It has three names of God: Hari, Ram and Krishna. The meaning of all these three names is one and the same, “The one who captivates the minds of all”. Devotees of Ram sing it the way it is written above.
Some devotees of Shri Krishna change the Mahamantra and say the second line first to establish His supremacy over Lord Ram. This is apex of ignorance and is a serious namaparadh. Know that all names of God are equal.
Misinterpret divine names to serve one’s ulterior motives
- Endeavoring to prove that God is formless, therefore all His names are also fictitious or discriminate between names of God is also a serious spiritual transgression. For example: Lord Ram has been referenced in Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs. Some ignorant (or maybe self-serving) people claim that the Ram depicted in Ramayan is different from the one mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib. These differences are seen and proclaimed only by the ignorant beings, whereas in the scriptures, which are written by God-realized saints, such interpretations are never to be found.
Using cleansing power of Divine Names as an excuse to continue sinning
- Knowing the unique cleansing power of Divine Names yet continue to frequently perform sinful acts . This is called Maya bhav and also a serious spiritual transgression.
Compare grandeur of divine names to Karma or dharm
- Some self-serving “holy” men, in order to earn money, misguide common men by saying, “you cannot be emancipated without performing particular rituals, or without visiting the sacred places, or without attaining knowledge of formless Brahm”. While our scriptures say –
गो कोटिदानं ग्रहणेषु काशी, प्रयागगंगाऽयुत कल्पवासः।
यज्ञायुतं मेरु सुवर्णदानं गोविंदनाम्ना न कदापि तुल्यम्।
पां गीता
go koṭidānaṁ grahaṇeṣu kāśī, prayāgagaṁgā'yuta kalpavāsaḥ।
yajñāyutaṁ meru suvarṇadānaṁ goviṁdanāmnā na kadāpi tulyam।
“Chanting the divine names of Shri Krishna far outweighs the combined effect of donating 100 billion cows, dying in the holy land of Kashi, leading the life of an ascetic at the bank of Ganges River even in the holy place of Prayag on an auspicious occasion, performance of fire sacrifices and donating the entire Meru, the mountain of gold ”.
Despite knowing the magnificence of divine names having no interest in chanting them.
- Despite knowing the magnificence of divine names having no interest in chanting them.
To persuade an atheist to chant divine names
- When a staunch non - believer is compelled to chant the divine names, he might utter God's name with anger / hatred or he might speak ill about God. That is why this is also namaparadh. Besides, forcing someone into doing something they dislike might increase his resistance and he might never ever want to do it again. Whereas, once you know he is not interested if you let it go, then in the future the divine name might attract the person and he might be inclined to chant it. That’s why Narad Ji didn’t attempt to make Ratnakar (Balmiki) chant the word “Rama Rama”. Ratnakar used to kill people so he was more inclined to say “Mara, Mara”. Narad Muni knew this and cleverly asked him to say “Mara Mara” which when said multiple times sounds like “Rama Rama”.
There is no Vedic ritual to atone for Namaparadh. The only way is to shed tears of repentance, ask for forgiveness, remember God and seek the grace of a saint. So, submit yourself unto the lotus feet of an authentic rasik saint with a determination to follow all his instructions. Then, practice devotion under his guidance staying clear of every spiritual transgression, especially towards saints, divine names and scriptures to attain your ultimate goal of attaining divine-love-bliss.
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