SB 3.16.5
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 5
yan-nāmāni ca gṛhṇāti
loko bhṛtye kṛtāgasi
so 'sādhu-vādas tat-kīrtiṁ
hanti tvacam ivāmayaḥ
SYNONYMS
yat—of whom; nāmāni—the names; ca—and; gṛhṇāti—take; lokaḥ—people in general; bhṛtye—when a servant; kṛta-āgasi—has committed something wrong; saḥ—that; asādhu-vādaḥ—blame; tat—of that person; kīrtim—the reputation; hanti—destroys; tvacam—the skin; iva—as; āmayaḥ—leprosy.
TRANSLATION
A wrong act committed by a servant leads people in general to blame his master, just as a spot of white leprosy on any part of the body pollutes all of the skin.
PURPORT
A Vaiṣṇava, therefore, should be fully qualified. As stated in the Bhāgavatam, anyone who has become a Vaiṣṇava has developed all the good qualities of the demigods. There are twenty-six qualifications mentioned in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. A devotee should always see that his Vaiṣṇava qualities increase with the advancement of his Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A devotee should be blameless because any offense by the devotee is a scar on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotee's duty is to be always conscious in his dealings with others, especially with another devotee of the Lord.