The devotional service becomes very dry. The ecstasy of pure love is obstructed. There was a pastime of the six Goswamis, when one of the goswamis was reading the Bhagavatam, and he felt great ecstasy. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho! He started laughing! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! and then one devotee was walking by, and he was handicapped. So he thought that this, I forget who, Rupa Goswami or whoever, he is laughing at me. So he thought he was offended. I never expected that one of the acharyas will laugh at me because I am physically handicapped! I feel so bad! So then all of a sudden that goswami lost his ecstasy, and then he was finding devotional service very dry, no taste! So then he consulted with another goswami, I think it was Sanatan Goswami, and he said invite everyone to come to a feast, and whoever you had offended, he won’t come – one who thinks he is offended. So then he noticed that this one devotee did not come. So he went to his house and he asked him, they started talking out and the devotee said, you laughed at me! I was not laughing at you, you are a vaishnava, I was reading Bhagavatam and was feeling bliss and I started to laugh. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Haaa! I was not laughing at you! I did not know you were there even! He said, I have committed an offence to you as I thought you had offended me. So please forgive me and then the two bowed down and then the goswami got his ecstasy back! So even a thing like this when one feels accidentally offended, and it was not intended at all, but the goswami lost his ecstasy! So what to speak of us! If we offend a devotee, and when don’t have a taste for devotional service, then we know why. So we should be very careful not to offend any devotee. Hare Krishna!

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami
29th January 2019
Chennai, India