VMA 2.16 : Where sin is concerned, be dumb, deaf, blind and inactive
Sri Sri Radha Damodar, parīhāse'py anyāpriya-kathana-mūko'tivadhiraḥ pareṣāṁ doṣānuśrutim anu viloke'ndha-nayanaḥ | śilāvan niśceṣṭaḥ para-vapuṣi bādhā-lava-vidhau kadā vatsyāmy asmin hari-dayita-vṛndāvana-vane || When will I become dumb, incapable of speaking words that are hurtful to others, even if only spoken in jest? When will I become deaf, incapable of hearing others' faults, and blind to seeing them? When will I become as inactive as a clod of earth, incapable of any movement that brings others even the slightest pain? When will I thus reside in this Vrindavan forest, which is so dear to Hari? C omment As if to soften his statements in the previous verse , Prabodhananda turns to the quietism that is more natural to him. The qualities that he speaks of here are those taught by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his famous verse about chanting the Holy Names in humility and tolerance and respect for all creatures. For just as the...