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Who are Vaisnavas?

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keerthy • August 1, 2002 


Jai Sriman Narayana


The   Supreme  Personality  of  Godhead   glorifies  
the   
Vaisnavas  saying,  (The  whole world is under the 
care  of  the   
Vaisnavas.  All the demigods are     taking   care  of
 Vaisnavas.  I 
(the Supreme Personality of  Godhead)  am   under the
care of 
Vaisnavas, therefore Vaisnavas are the  topmost  
persons in this 
world.

Those who are preaching the transcendental  message
given   by  the 
Supreme Lord and follow it as a way of life  and 
worship   their own 
spiritual master are the real Vaisnavas.

Those who observe Ekadasi with full devotion and sing 
My   holy 
names are Vaisnavas.

Those who put tilaka marks on their forehead with the
mud   taken 
from the root of  Tulasi or those who put tilaka out
of the   paste 
of Tulasi wood are said to be Vaisnavas. 

In  those person's house, if Salagram Sila is found, 
and   Srimad  
Bhagavatam  scripture  is  found, they  are  said  to 
be   Vaisnavas

Whoever's head is washed with the water which is 
derived   by 
washing My two lotus feet and those who eat food
offered to Me   are  
said to be Vaisnavas.  Those who distribute food
grains  and   water  
to needy people who are suffering from hunger and 
thirst,   and  who 
follow the yogic path of devotional service are said 
to   be 
Vaisnavas. 

One  who brushes his teeth in the mid day  or 
afternoon,   neither 
the forefathers, the demigods or the sages accept it 
his   worship.

One  should worship the Supreme Lord, the husband of 
the   goddess 
of fortune by sitting upon a seat made with cotton, 
kusa   grass 
seat, or silk seat only. 

One  who always offers the Supreme Lord a  garland  
made   out  of 
Tulasi leaves, He becomes very pleased upon  that 
person   because 
the fragrance of Tulasi is very pleasing.

O brahmanas, any person who offers incense which is 
full   of  
fragrance  to Lord Sri Visnu, goes to the abode of 
Lord  Sri   Visnu 
after becoming free from millions of sins


Anybody  who offers a ghee lamp to Lord Sri Visnu  or 
he   offers  a 
lamp made of sesame oil, Lord Sri Kesava, in a 
moment,   removes all 
of his sins.  Anyone who offers a camphor lamp to Him 
 and betal 
leaf (made up with spice, etc.), the Supreme Lord, 
Who   holds  a 
disk in his hand, O best of the brahmanas,  Jaimini, 
he   achieves 
liberation.

One who pays long obeisances, while lying on  the  
ground to Lord 
Sri Kesava seven times, all the sins from his body  
turn  into  
asava immediately.

O Jaimini (a great sage), any body who smells the 
Tulasi   leaf 
which has emanated from Lord Sri Visnu, whatever sins
he has   in his 
body are all destroyed.

Even  a  sinful man who daily  drinks  the 
medicine-like   water 
which washes the two lotus feet of Lord Sri Visnu, 
removes   the 
disease of his sins.

I am telling you very truthfully that by worshipping
Lord   SRi Hari 
with lotus flowers, one achieves the Supreme abode.

Anybody  who makes sounds in the temple of Lord Sri 
Hari   at the 
time of worship (aratik) with a great drum and small
drum,   with  a 
bell metal plate and kartala cymbals, with a flute, 
they   become  
free  from  all  sins  and  Lord  Sri  Maha-Visnu 
awards   unlimited 
merits to him.

When Ekadasi arrives, at that time, all of the sins 
from   the three 
worlds reside in grains in the form of a sinful
person.

In millions and millions of universes, whatever places
of   
pilgrimage  are available on the Earthly planet,  they
 certainly   
all come and  take shelter in a Tulasi leaf.

Anybody  who  eats  a Tulasi leaf, all of  his  sins 
are   removed 
and he becomes meritorious.  Whatever sins he has 
within   his  
body  are removed at once.  ANyone who wears a  Tulasi
 wood   
necklace, no sins can reside in his body.  This is
exactly  true,   I 
say to you. 

Any intelligent person who wears twelve marks on his
body   daily  
with tilaka, he knows what is dharma and what is 
adharma.    He  
knows  what is religious principles and what  is 
irreligious   
principles.   One who knows the differnce between 
religious  and   
irreligious principles is said to be a Vaisnava.

One should not eat other's left overs and one should 
not   wear the 
clothes previously worn by others.  One should not 
talk   to 
avaisnavas (atheists) and one should not praise
others.

There  is  no  benefit for the  performer  of 
austerity,   sacrifice 
or charity if he does not worship Lord Govinda.


One  who sees the Deity form of Lord Hari gets the 
merit   of 
visiting all of the places of pilgrimage.  One who
chants  the   
Visnu  mantra (Harinama Mahamantra) gets the results
of  chanting   
all other mantras.

One  should not take bath nude and touch  fire.  
Without   using it 
on his head, one should not put oil all over his body.

All  the sins of human beings reside within food 
grains.     Hoever 
eats anyones food, actually eats his sins.

Those  people who are devoted to the twice borns and 
who   are 
strictly keeping away from another's wife, who are
very  much   
attached  to fasting on Ekadasi, who sings the holy
name of  Lord   
Hari,  who wear the Tulasi garland necklace and those 
who  drink   
the water emanated from the lotus feet of Lord Hari on
their head   
they should be understood as Vaisnavas.

Those  who  are attached to studying  Vedic 
literatures,   those  
who protect Tulasi forests, those who fast  on 
Radhastami   day,  
those who offer a lamp to Lord Sri Krsna with  good 
faith,   those 
who do not criticize others are understood to be
Vaisnavas.

ANy woman who fasts on the day of Lord Hari (Ekadasis 
or   the 
birthday of the Lord) with her husband, she obtains a
son  in   this  
life and remains the chaste wife of her husband life 
after   life.

Whatever results one achieves by performing 1,000
Ekadasi   fasts, 
one hundred times great resuts can be attained  by
fasting   on 
Radhastami and Janmastami days.


Anybody  who has a Tulasi wood necklace around his 
neck,   even if 
he is an unclean person or performs many bad 
activities,   he is 
taken with full respect to the abode of Lord Sri Hari.

Ramanuja Dasan

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