Aparādha or offense is the primary obstacle that blocks sādhana bhakti from yielding its result. How can we diagnose whether we are afflicted by offenses? We can infer their presence when bhakti does not yield its results. Another way to ascertain the presence of offenses is by observing their effects. Offenses are the cause (kāraṇa), from which manifest effects (kārya).
In Bhakti Sandarbha, Anuccheda 153.2, Śrī Jīva Goswami identifies specific effects (kāryas) by which the presence of aparādha can be known. They are:
( 1 ) crookedness (kauṭilya),
( 2 ) faithlessness (aśraddhā),
( 3 ) absorption in objects unrelated to devotion that erode one’s fixity in Bhagavān (bhagavan-niṣṭhā-cyāvaka-vastv-antarābhiniveśa),
( 4 ) slackness in devotion (bhakti-śaithilya), and
( 5 ) pride arising from the execution of one’s own devotional acts (svabhakty-ādi-kṛta-mānitva).
Some introspection is needed to determine the extent to which these effects are present in us. If these qualities persist even after sustained association with a genuine devotee, Śrī Jīva Goswami explains that they are the effects of ancient offenses to Bhagavān’s name, i.e. offenses committed to the name in past lives.
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