nanu bhÄgavatÄ nityaá¹
bhÅ«tÄnugraha-kÄtarÄḥ
á¹›te tvÄá¹ sauhá¹›da-ghnaá¹ vai
vairaá¹…-karam avairiṇÄm
nanu - now; bhÄgavatÄḥ - devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; nityam - eternally; bhÅ«ta-anugraha-kÄtarÄḥ - very much anxious to bestow benedictions upon the fallen conditioned souls; á¹›te - except; tvÄm - yourself; sauhá¹›da-ghnam - a breaker of friendship (therefore not countable among the bhÄgavatas, or devotees of the Lord); vai - indeed; vairam-karam - you create enmity; avairiṇÄm - toward persons who are not enemies.
Such are the criticisms that must be borne by the servants of NÄrada Muni in the disciplic succession. Through the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we are trying to train young people to become devotees and return home, back to Godhead, by following rigid regulative principles, but our service is appreciated neither in India nor abroad in the Western countries where we are endeavoring to spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. In India the caste brÄhmaṇas have become enemies of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement because we elevate foreigners, who are supposed to be mlecchas and yavanas, to the position of brÄhmaṇas. We train them in austerities and penances and recognize them as brÄhmaṇas by awarding them sacred threads. Thus the caste brÄhmaṇas of India are very displeased by our activities in the Western world. In the West also, the parents of the young people who join this movement have also become enemies. We have no business creating enemies, but the process is such that nondevotees will always be inimical toward us. Nevertheless, as stated in the Å›Ästras, a devotee should be both tolerant and merciful. Devotees engaged in preaching should be prepared to be accused by ignorant persons, and yet they must be very merciful to the fallen conditioned souls. If one can execute his duty in the disciplic succession of NÄrada Muni, his service will surely be recognized. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (18.68-69):
ya idaá¹ paramaá¹ guhyaá¹
mad-bhakteá¹£v abhidhÄsyati
bhaktiá¹ mayi parÄá¹ ká¹›tvÄ
mÄm evaiá¹£yaty asaá¹Å›ayaḥ
na ca tasmÄn manuá¹£yeá¹£u
kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ
bhavitÄ na ca me tasmÄd
anyaḥ priyataro bhuvi
“For one who explains the supreme secret to the devotees, devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.†Let us continue preaching the message of Lord Kṛṣṇa and not be afraid of enemies. Our only duty is to satisfy the Lord by this preaching, which will be accepted as service by Lord Caitanya and Lord Kṛṣṇa. We must sincerely serve the Lord and not be deterred by so-called enemies.
In this verse the word sauhá¹›da-ghnam (“a breaker of friendshipâ€) is used. Because NÄrada Muni and the members of his disciplic succession disrupt friendships and family life, they are sometimes accused of being sauhá¹›da-ghnam, creators of enmity between relatives. Actually such devotees are friends of every living entity (suhá¹›daá¹ sarva-bhÅ«tÄnÄm), but they are misunderstood to be enemies. Preaching can be a difficult, thankless task, but a preacher must follow the orders of the Supreme Lord and be unafraid of materialistic persons.