Every morning during his stay in Malaysia, Srila Gurudeva was taken to the same park by Bala singam prabhu for his daily walk. While there, he would usually speak a few words to the devotees accompanying him. Today, even at 6:00 am there were many people present in the park, most of whom were chinese, practicing Oriental exercises. In a couple of spots, teachers were leading the rest of their groups in tai chi exercises, moving gracefully and fluently from one flowing movement into another. This was all done in time to traditional Chinese music, playing from small tape recorders.

After Srila Gurudeva had walked enough, and was resting in the pavilion in the park, he began to explain something about the relative positions of kanistha,madhyama and uttama adhikara.

"One who has only laukika-sraddha is a kanistha. But a person with paramarthika-sraddha, who has *actually* taken diksa has come to the level of madhyama. When in Caitanya-caritamrta it says:

prabhu kahe yanra mukhe suni eka-bara
krsna-nama, sei pujya srestha sabakara
                                                                  (Cc Madhya 15.106)

That the devotee who chants just once is a kanistha, then this does not mean a general kanistha who may have taken harinama. Here the meaning applies only to a madhyama-kanistha. A madhyama-kanistha does not have such a full realization, but he has some sambandha jnana. He has sambandha of the relationship between Bhagavan and jiva, Bhagavan and maya, jiva and jiva, jiva and maya, maya and maya, and inert matter with inert matter.

"When the madhyama-kanistha chants harinama then it is with sambandha jnana. A kanistha does not always accept that which is anukula(favourable for bhakti) or reject that which is pratikula(unfavourable for bhakti), but he hesitates because of his worldly attachment. For example, if there is some opportunity to accept a very bonafide Guru or sadhu-sanga, the kanistha thinks that he will lose some material facilities, then he may hesitate or even decline it altogether. He'll offer obeisances to Deities and devotees not out of deep affection or love but simply because others are doing it. When it comes to accepting association, he will think 'what is favourable for my sense gratification?' If associating with worldly-minded people or even those who are offenders means that he will gain materially, then he will do it. We may see that there is a person who is very renounced and detached and who seems to have the qualities of a vaisnava. But if there is some influence of mayavada in him, then he doesn't even qualify as a kanistha. The heart of a kanistha is clean from this influence, like clean paper. He's never heard the teachings of mayavada, and he has never come in contact with them. A person who is attached to the rituals of demigod worship is also not a vaisnava. One who is on the level of madhyama will never make an aparadha to any vaisnava.

"What to speak of a kanistha, even a madhyama-kanistha is unable to understand the internal moods of different kinds of vaisnavas, and what is their level of realization. Therefore he should not try to categorize them as kanistha, madhyama or uttama, otherwise he will make offence. So how to honour Vaisnavas, because one is supposed to do it according to the level of the vaisnava. To do this, a kanistha or madhyama-kanistha should judge according to the external symptoms. For instance he should see how a vaisnava is absorbed in taking harinama, how he is serving Guru, vaisnava and Krsna, and also by his knowledge of siddhanta. We see that those who do not have any qualification to know are thinking: 'My Guru is a nitya parikara of Radha, but no-one else is.' But then, the next day, his Guru falls down, head down and feet up, and now the disciple sees that his Guru is even lower than a kanistha.

"We see that madhyamas will never quarrel: "Why is he coming to my zone and taking my money and disciples?" If they're worrying for this then it shows that they're general kanistha only. So in this way, so many people may be seen as uttama vaisnavas, but we see by their characteristics that it is not so. They're fearing: 'Why is Narayana Maharaja coming into my zone. Money and disciples will be lost', which shows that they are kanisthas. By this they make vaisnava aparadha. If a person is a vaisnava aparadhi, then one should not associate or pay respects to them, even within one's mind. Those who make vaisnava aparadha to a higher class vaisnava will lose their adhikara and become 'anadhikara'. They are not even kanistha anymore.

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