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Instructions by Mahārāja Pṛthu
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Caitanya Mahāprabhu, while instructing Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, has compared the devotional service of the Lord with a creeper. A creeper has a feeble stem and requires the support of another tree to grow, and while growing, it requires sufficient protection so that it may not be lost. While describing the system of protection for the creeper of devotional service, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has especially stressed protection from offenses unto the lotus feet of Vaiṣṇavas. This is called  vaiṣṇavāparādha .  Aparādha  means offense. If one commits  vaiṣṇavāparādha , all of his progress in devotional service will be checked. Even though one is very much advanced in devotional service, if he commits offenses at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava, his advancement is all spoiled. In the  śāstras  it is found that a very great  yogī , Durvāsā Muni, committed  vaiṣṇavāparādha , and thus for one full year had to travel all over the universe, even to Vaikuṇṭhaloka, to defend himself from the offense. At last, even when he approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Vaikuṇṭha, he was refused protection. Therefore one should be very careful about committing offenses at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava. The most grievous type of  vaiṣṇavāparādha  is called  gurvaparādha , which refers to offenses at the lotus feet of the spiritual master. In the chanting of the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this  gurvaparādha  is considered the most grievous offense.  Guror avajñā śruti-śāstra-nindanam (Padma Purāṇa) . Among the ten offenses committed against the chanting of the holy name, the first offenses are disobedience of the spiritual master and blasphemy of the Vedic literature.
The simple definition of “Vaiṣṇava” is given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: a person who immediately reminds one of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is a Vaiṣṇava. In this verse, both Vaiṣṇavas and  brāhmaṇas  are mentioned. A Vaiṣṇava is a learned  brāhmaṇa  and is therefore designated as  brāhmaṇa-vaiṣṇava ,  brāhmaṇa-paṇḍita  or as a Vaiṣṇava and  brāhmaṇa . In other words, a Vaiṣṇava is supposed to be a  brāhmaṇa  already, but a  brāhmaṇa  may not be a pure Vaiṣṇava. When a person understands his pure identity,  brahma jānāti , he immediately becomes a  brāhmaṇa . In the  brāhmaṇa  stage, one’s understanding of the Absolute Truth is mainly based on the impersonal view. When a  brāhmaṇa , however, rises to the platform of personal understanding of the Supreme Godhead, he becomes a Vaiṣṇava. A Vaiṣṇava is transcendental even to a  brāhmaṇa . In the material conception, the position of a  brāhmaṇa  is the highest in human society, but a Vaiṣṇava is transcendental even to a  brāhmaṇa . Both the  brāhmaṇa  and Vaiṣṇava are spiritually advanced. A  brāhmaṇa ’s qualifications are mentioned in  Bhagavad-gītā  as truthfulness, mental equanimity, control of the senses, the power of tolerance, sim-