The Ten Offenses to the Holy Name

1. To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name of the Lord.
2. To consider the names of demigods like Lord Shiva or Lord Brahma to be equal to or independent of the name of the Lord Vishnu.
3. To disobey the orders of the spiritual master and to consider him as an ordinary person.
4. To blaspheme the Vedic literatures or literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.
5. To consider the glories of chanting Hare Krishna to be an imagination.
6. To give some mundane interpretations to the holy name of the Lord.
7. To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name.
8. To consider the chanting of Hare Krishna as one of the auspicious ritualistic activities which are offered in the Vedas as frutive activities (Karma kanda).
9. To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name.
10. To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding so many instructions on this matter.

It is also offensive to be inattentive while chanting.

Every devotee who claims to be a Vaiṣṇava must carefully guard himself against these offenses in order to quickly achieve the desired success which is KṚṢṆA PREMA!

The Ten Offenses to the Holy Dhama

1. To have contempt or disrespect towards the Guru (spiritual master), who is the revealer of the Holy Dham.
2. To think that the Holy Dham is temporary.
3. To commit violence towards any of the residents of the Holy Dham, or to any of the pilgrims who come to the Holy Dham, or to think that they are ordinary or mundane.
4. To perform mundane activities while living in the Holy Dham.
5. To earn money by, or to make a business of Deity worship and the chanting of the Holy Name of Sri Krishna.
6. To think that the Holy Dham belongs to some mundane country or province, or to think that the Dham of the Supreme Lord is equal to a holy place connected to some demigod, or to attempt to measure the area of the Dham like Vraja.
7. To commit sinful acts while residing in the Dham.
8. To consider Sri Vrindavan and Sri Nabadwip to be different.
9. To blaspheme the Shastras which glorify the Holy Dham.
10. To be faithless and to think that the glories of the Holy Dham are imaginary.

Further Guidance from Śāstra

Adi 8.24 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta-1975 Edition
'kṛṣṇa-nāma' kare aparādhera vicāra kṛṣṇa balile aparādhīra nā haya vikāra
There are offenses to be considered while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Therefore simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa one does not become ecstatic.

It is very beneficial to chant the names śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda before chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra because by chanting these two holy names one immediately becomes ecstatic, and if he then chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra he becomes free of offenses. There are ten offenses to avoid in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. The first offense is to blaspheme great personalities who are engaged in distributing the holy name of the Lord. It is said in the śāstra (Cc. Antya 7.11), kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: one cannot distribute the holy names of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra unless he is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not criticize or blaspheme a devotee who is thus engaged.

satāṁ nindā nāmnaḥ paramam aparādhaṁ vitanute yataḥ khyātiṁ yātaṁ katham u sahate tad-vigarhām

To blaspheme the great saintly persons who are engaged in preaching the glories of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the worst offense at the lotus feet of the holy name. One should not criticize a preacher of the glories of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. If one does so, he is an offender. The Nāma-prabhu, who is identical with Kṛṣṇa, will never tolerate such blasphemous activities, even from one who passes as a great devotee.

śivasya śrī-viṣṇor ya iha guṇa-nāmādi-sakalaṁ dhiyā bhinnaṁ paśyet sa khalu hari-nāmāhita-karaḥ

In this material world, the holy name of Viṣṇu is all-auspicious. Viṣṇu's name, form, qualities and pastimes are all transcendental, absolute knowledge. Therefore, if one tries to separate the Absolute Personality of Godhead from His holy name or His transcendental form, qualities and pastimes, thinking them to be material, that is offensive. Similarly, to think the names of demigods such as Lord Śiva to be as good as the name of Lord Viṣṇu-or, in other words, to think Lord Śiva and the other demigods to be other forms of God and therefore equal to Viṣṇu-is also blasphemous. This is the second offense at the lotus feet of the Lord.

The third offense at the lotus feet of the holy name, which is called guror avajñā, is to consider the spiritual master to be material and therefore envy his exalted position. The fourth offense (śruti-śāstra-nindanam) is to blaspheme Vedic scriptures such as the four Vedas and the Purāṇas. The fifth offense (artha-vādaḥ) is to consider the glories of the holy name to be exaggerations. Similarly, the sixth offense (hari-nāmni kalpanam) is to consider the holy name of the Lord to be imaginary.

nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhir na vidyate tasya yamair hi śuddhiḥ

To think that since the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra can counteract all sinful reactions one may therefore go on with his sinful activities and at the same time chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to neutralize them is the greatest offense at the lotus feet of hari-nāma.

dharma-vrata-tyāga-hutādi-sarva- śubha-kriyā-sāmyam api pramādaḥ

It is offensive to consider the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to be a religious ritualistic ceremony. Performing religious ceremonies, following vows and practicing renunciation and sacrifice are all materialistic auspicious activities. The chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra must not be compared to such materialistic religiosity. This is an offense at the lotus feet of the Lord.

aśraddadhāne vimukhe 'py aśṛṇvati yaś copadeśaḥ śiva-nāmāparādhaḥ

It is an offense to preach the glories of the holy name among persons who have no intelligence or no faith in the subject matter. Such people should be given the chance to hear the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, but in the beginning they should not be instructed about the glories or the spiritual significance of the holy name. By constant hearing of the holy name, their hearts will be purified, and then they will be able to understand the transcendental position of the holy name.

śrute 'pi nāma-māhātmye yaḥ prīti-rahito naraḥ ahaṁ-mamādi-paramo nāmni so 'py aparādha-kṛt

If one has heard the glories of the transcendental holy name of the Lord but nevertheless continues in a materialistic concept of life, thinking "I am this body and everything belonging to this body is mine [ahaṁ mameti]," and does not show respect and love for the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, that is an offense.

On offenses: Even if a person is a severe offender in many ways, he is freed from offensive life if he takes shelter of the Lord’s holy name. One should therefore be very careful not to commit offenses at the lotus feet of the Lord’s holy name. The effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord is perceived by the chanter as liberation from the conception of false egoism. The factual effect of chanting the holy name is to become free from such misconceptions.

It is recommended that even if one commits offenses, one should continue chanting the holy name. In other words, the chanting of the holy name makes one offenseless. In the book Nāma-kaumudī it is recommended that if one is an offender at the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava, he should submit to that Vaiṣṇava and be excused; similarly, if one is an offender in chanting the holy name, he should submit to the holy name and thus be freed from his offenses. One should chant such prayers to become free from offenses at the lotus feet of the holy name.

(References: Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Padma Purāṇa, SB 3.15.25, SB 2.1.11, SB 7.5.23-24)