What is namaparadh?

1. What is namaparadh?
2. How do we, the sadhak, know when we have done a namaparadh ?

3. How do we attone for namaparadh?

1. Namaparadh (spiritual transgression) means any kind of negative thinking about God, God's name, God's leelas, God's Divine abodes, or God's Divine Saints. Namaparadh can be committed by saying something negative, listening to something negative, reading something negative, or just thinking something negative. Namaparadh is more serious than an ordinary social sin (like lying or stealing). Social sins are generally punished in the next life when the person receives some kind of suffering as a result. Such sin also creates a negative sanskar (subtle imprint) on the mind, which makes the person more likely to have such sinful thoughts again. The effect of namaparadh is received instantaneously. It pollutes the mind, creates the worst kind of sanskar, and blocks the mind from being able to understand spiritual philosophy or feel the bliss of the Divine name. It also restricts the flow of Grace which the devotee is receiving from his Guru. It means that the Guru is still trying to Grace the devotee, but because of the devotee's wrong thinking, the devotee is unable to receive the Grace or experience it.

2. You will know when you have done a namaparadh because the effect on the heart is unmistakable. You will feel that the Grace you were experiencing when remembering the Divine name, or when thinking of your Guru, is now restricted. Your heart will feel heavy and polluted.

3. We should know that God and Guru do not look to punish someone who has done anamaparadh. The damage is done by our own mind. We pollute our own mind with our wrong thinking and then we suffer the consequences. But God and Guru know that as long as we are under the bondaarage of maya, we will continue to make such mistakes. They are more than willing to forgive us and to help us overcome the negative consequences of our mistake. All a sadhak has to do is admit his mistake, sincerely ask for forgiveness, and resolve never to make that mistake again. When you do that, your Guru will forgive you and will help you recover your lost devotion so that you can go ahead on the path.