Question: How does one deal with devotees who are easily offended?

Jayapataka Swami: If we didn’t mean to offend anyone, then you can explain to the devotee that you didn’t mean to offend him. Actually what is deemed an offence is fairly specific. If one is easily offended you see if you ask a question, and that question someone takes it as offensive. Srila Prabhupada said, asking a question is your right and it is not an offence, but if you offer your advice to someone who is senior to you, then that could be taken as an offence. So you should be very careful. That for senior devotees, you can ask question but you should not tender your advice. Citraketu offered Lord Siva who was certainly more advanced than Citraketu, he offered Him some advice, so mother Parvati took it as offensive, ‘who is Citraketu to offer advice to such a great soul like Lord Siva?’ So she cursed him, but he didn’t mean any offence. So he asked to be forgiven, but since he was cursed he had to follow that curse, but he remained a devotee. This history is given in the Bhagavat Purana, puranam means history, the Bhagavat history, eighteen histories or puranas and the best of all the puranas is considered the Bhagavat Purana.
27-OCTOBER-2019 SRIDHAM MAYAPUR, INDIA