In all humility and seriousness, I thank the harikatha-team of purebhakti.com for posting  what Srila Narayana Maharaja said about my Gurudeva, Srila Ananta das Babaji.

Since skimming through the new book by Srila Narayana Maharaja, where they attacked all  and everything about the so-called babajis, I always wanted to know what Srila Narayana Maharaja thinks  about my beloved Gurudeva.

In the book mentioned, the name of my Gurudeva is never mentioned.

This now is the first time I read that Srila Narayana Maharaja directly uses the name of Srila Ananta das Babaji.

I am utterly shocked, sad and disappointed, but like I mentioned before, I am also very thankful.

These words have a deep impact on me and on my spiritual life.

In all humility and seriousness I pray to Srimati Radhika that She may forgive  the harikatha-team for making these words public.

As a statement, I would like to mention that my Gurudeva NEVER, even NOT TO THIS day, EVER gave babaji-vesa to ANY WESTERNER.

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I want to end this note with the words of my Gurudeva:

“That is why the practising devotee should chant the holy name without committing offenses. Even if one chants for a long time, prema will not come in the heart as long as one commits offenses. That is why the devotional scriptures are always warning the practising devotees to beware of offenses.

When we investigate the root cause of offenses, then we can see that it is an envious mood that stops love from entering our hearts. This envy finds its cause in false egotism, and as a result a low person may consider himself to be the greatest, the ignorant may think themselves to be very learned, and one is unable to see one’s own fault and another person’s qualities. Thus one praises oneself and criticises others. In this way offensive persons are envious of another person’s success and cannot tolerate the greatness of another Vaishnava, although he can clearly recognise that greatness. They may even consider the guru, who is the very form of God’s great mercy (karunya ghana vigraha) to be an ordinary human being and they cannot have faith in the glorification of the holy name, even if they have clearly heard it. False words, violent behaviour and sinful acts like theft and so will create great offenses in the heart of such an envious and deceitful person. 

In the Padma Purana ten offenses to the holy name are written down and we will briefly describe them below: 

1) sadhu ninda (blaspheming the saint): Blaspheming the saint is a grave offense, and is called mahad aparadha. A sadhu is a devotee of God through whose preaching the holy name has become world famous. How can the holy name tolerate blasphemy of such a person? Many people think that there is no harm in discussing the fault of some devotee who is engaged in some wicked activities, because that criticism is true and justified, but Sripada Sridhara Svami writes in his commentary on Srimad Bhagavata: nindanam dosha kirtanam – “There is no question whether the devotee who is under discussion is at fault or not, speaking bad about such a person is called blasphemy.” It is natural that we wonder: “Who are these devotees, offending whom we commit an offense to the holy name?” In his book Madhurya Kadambini, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti gives the answer: “It is not proper to think that only those devotees who are merciful, nonviolent, tolerant etc. are to be considered saints, and that those who are not endowed with such qualities are not saints, and that one can thus blaspheme them without committing an offense to the holy name. Actually, anyone who worships God, be he deceitful, ill-behaved, hypocritical and unclean, is a saint, and to blaspheme or criticise such a person is an offense to the holy name. Sri Krishna Himself says in Bhagavad Gita (9.30): 

api cet suduracaro bhajate mam ananya bhak  sadhur eva sa mantavyah samyag vyavasito hi sah 

“Even if one commits the most abominable activities, he is to be considered a saint when he exclusively worships Me, for he is on the right path.” Those who have fixed the thought in their mind, “I will be blessed by worshipping the Supreme Lord”, and who do not worship demigods, but only the Supreme Lord, are saints, even if they misbehave, and to criticise even them is an offense to the holy name.

– Srila Ananta das Babaji Maharaja

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Please, dear Srimati Radhika, forgive these  souls and help them.