There was once a sādhu and a prostitute. They used to live nearby
each other. That sādhu always criticized the prostitute, saying, “Oh,
she is a prostitute, a very degraded person. She is selling her body
and doing many nonsense activities. She will surely go to hell.” In
contrast, the prostitute used to say, “Oh, fie on me, fie on me. How
saintly that sādhu is! So many people go to him for good instructions
on bhakti. His life is successful.”
After some time passed, one day the Yamadhūtas, the constables
of Yamarāja, the god of death, went to that sādhu and began to take
him away. The sādhu objected, “No, don’t take me. I am not a sinful
person. You’ve made a mistake. It is that prostitute you must take.”
The Yamadhūtas replied, “No, no, we are right. You always criticized
that prostitute. You’ve never thought anything good.” They forcibly
took that man to hell.
The Viṣṇudhūtas, the messengers of Lord Nārāyaṇa in Vaikuṇṭha,
went to the prostitute, and she told them, “Oh, I am not the right
person. Go to that sādhu.” The Viṣṇudhūtas said, “We know that we
have come for the right person. You have always thought about the
good qualities of the sādhu, so we are knowingly coming to you to
take you to Vaikuṇṭha.”
It is important to know this history. Do not criticize anyone,
even if he is doing nonsense.

―Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja

 

 

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