View source for If a devotee does not do any of the above-mentioned three processes, he falls down from his position of devotion

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[[Category:A Devotee Does Not...]]
[[Category:Do]]
[[Category:Any]]
[[Category:Above-mentioned]]
[[Category:Three]]
[[Category:Process]]
[[Category:Fall Down]]
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[[Category:Position]]
[[Category:Devotion]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 09 - Further Considerations of Devotional Principles]]
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<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<h3>Nectar of Devotion</h3>
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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 do any of the above-mentioned three processes, he falls down from his position of devotion.
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[[Vanisource:NOD 9 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 9]]
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One should not tolerate blaspheming of the Lord or His devotees. In this connection, in the [[Vanisource:SB 10.74.40|Tenth Canto, 70th Chapter, 25th verse]], of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells Parīkṣit Mahārāj: "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 Śikṣāṣṭaka 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 Śrī Nityānanda, He immediately ran to the spot and wanted to kill the offenders, Jagai and Madhai. This behavior of Lord Caitanya is very significant. It shows that a Vaiṣṇava may be very tolerant and meek, foregoing everything for his personal honor, but when it is a question of the honor of Kṛṣṇa 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 do any of the above-mentioned three processes, he falls down from his position of devotion.

Tilaka, Tulasī Beads and Flower Garlands

In the Padma Purāṇa there is a statement describing how a Vaiṣṇava should decorate his body with tilaka and beads: "Persons who put tulasī beads on the neck, who mark twelve places of their body as Viṣṇu temples with Viṣṇu's symbolic representations (the four items held in the four hands of Lord Viṣṇu—conch, mace, disk and lotus), and who have Viṣṇu tilaka on their forehead, are to be understood as the devotees of Lord Viṣṇu in this world. Their presence makes the world purified, and anywhere they remain they make that place as good as Vaikuṇṭha."

A similar statement is in the Skanda Purāṇa, which says: "Persons who are decorated with tilaka or gopī-candana (a kind of clay resembling fuller's earth which is produced in certain quarters of Vṛndāvana), and who mark their bodies all over with the holy names of the Lord, and on whose neck and breast there are tulasī beads, are never approached by the Yama-dūtas." The Yama-dūtas are the constables of King Yama (the Lord of death), who punishes all sinful men. Vaiṣṇavas are never called for by such constables of Yamarāj. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the narration of Ajāmila's deliverance, it is said that Yamarāj gave clear instructions to his assistants not to approach the Vaiṣṇavas. Vaiṣṇavas are beyond the jurisdiction of Yamarāj's activities.
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