Srila Gurudeva: There are three kinds of Vaisnavas: those who are chanting the holy name sometimes, those who are always chanting the holy name, and those by whom seeing them Krsna’s name comes and dances on the tongue. Then there are three types of madhyama-adhikari Vaisnavas: those who are chanting the holy name even once, those who are always chanting, and those that don’t criticize anyone. They don’t see any, even a little fault of anyone. They are above criticism. They are twenty-four hours a day absorbed in trance, remembering Krsna’s asta-kaliya-lila, His pastimes throughout the eight parts of the day and night. So, one kind has chanted the holy name even just once. What name?
Even if he has chanted the holy name even once...but what kind of name? That Krsna-nama that is manifesting automatically on that devotees tongue, that kind of name. Not the chanting of a kanistha, not nama-abhasa. Not chaya-nama-abhasa, not pratibimba-namabhasa, nothing like this. This means the pure name. He is a madhyama-adhikari. Then those who are always chanting and remembering, what kind of name is this? It is more superior. They are always chanting and remembering and Krsna-nama is always coming and dancing on their tongue, like Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When Mahaprabhu was going to pass stool, Gopala Guru was there, a boy of eight years old, and he asked Mahaprabhu, “Mahaprabhu, why are You catching hold of Your tongue very tightly?”
Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very tightly holding His tongue. He asked Him, “Why are You doing this?”
“Now I am going to be impure, so I am telling and warning this tongue not to chant Krsna’s name, ‘Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna,’ but she is not following My order. I don’t want to chant, so that is why I am catching hold of My tongue. Because forcibly she is chanting ‘Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama.’ When I sleep, My tongue is always chanting ‘Hare Krsna Hare Krsna’ all the time, so now she should stop.”
Then Gopala Guru asked Him, “Prabhu, I am now in doubt that if anyone is dying and passing stool and urine, then should he chant or not? If he is not chanting, then he will go to hell. So should he chant or not chant?”
Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Oh yes, he should chant.”
“So why are You holding Your tongue then?”
“Oh, I only wanted to hear all of these things from you. Now you have become perfect like Guru and you can preach.” So those who are doing like this, always chanting, and more than this if they are not criticizing anyone because they are seeing that everyone is serving Krsna, then they are uttama-adhikari.
[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on April 30th, 1998, France, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 27]
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