This is something that I have thought about for a while. Is an apasampradaya only a physical thing i.e deviated lineage or can a deviated conception alone constitute an apasampradaya, even if the person appears in a bonifide sampradaya ? The symtoms of the 13 apasampradayas (I dont remember the names) can influence the internal conception of one who has even taken initiation in a bonifide sampradaya from a bonafide guru.
And kanishtas are sometimes known for being proud (ativadi) or proud of there sika (I forget the name for that one, actually I think there are 2) and there are some other qualities from the 13 apasampradayas that are sometimes described as being natural in the stage of a kanishta adhikari. If a person is in conection with a bonafide guru but has conceptions of an apasmprayika wich catagory do they fall into? kanishta or apasampradayika?
If someone is in a bonafide lineage but has a wrong conception they are guilty of apasiddhanta. If they branch off and start initiating people into that wrong conception (apasiddhanta) then they are in an apasampradaya.
If someone is in a bonafide lineage but has a wrong conception they are guilty of apasiddhanta.
Would this person be considered an inocent kanishta or is their situation more serious?
I guess it could very from case to case depending on the severity of the misconception, but in general how should such persons be seen?
It does depend on the individual circumstance. Guru Maharaja has said that Iskcon is in danger of breaking off into an apasampradaya. Such is the result of serious Vaisnava aparadha.
Sripad Narasingha Maharaja made an important point once that the result of Vaisnava aparadha is usually not that someone falls down with leprosy or immediately leaves spiritual life. What usually happens is that they continue to practice but apasiddhanta creeps in. This is what happened to Rupa Kaviraja:
Soon after the disappearance of Sri Mukunda Dasa, Rupa Kaviraja made a grave offence to the great Vaisnavi Srimati Krsna-priya Thakurani. One day, all the Vaisnavas assembled to hear Rupa Kaviraja recite the Bhagavatam. Before he began, Krsna-priya Thakurani arrived and the devotees offered her all respects. Rupa Kaviraja however, did not show her any respect. During his recital, Rupa Kaviraja noticed that she was chanting and he became disturber at this. With anger, he asked Krsna-priya Thakurani, “ How is it possible to be doing two things simultaneously? It is very disturbing to see how you are chanting while I am reciting the Bhagavatam.”
With great humility, the Thakurani replied, “It is simply the habit of my tongue to chant continuously – it doesn’t impede my hearing at all.” Hearing this, Rupa Kaviraja sat back and fumed in anger. From this moment he was ruined. He offended Krsna-priya Thakurani, then later he made offences to his guru, his parama-guru and other Vaisnavas. Then Rupa Kaviraja became more and more proud of his learning and was ultimately robbed of the results of his spiritual advancement.
Since that time the Gaudiya Vaisnavas have referred to Rupa Kaviraja as being an Ativadi, one who is too great or knows too much.
Later on Rupa Kaviraja published a manuscript supporting the sahajiya conceptions and claimed that it had been written by Srila Rupa Gosvami. For all of his outrageous activities, the daughter of Sri Srinivasa Acarya, Srimati Hemalata Gosvamini tore the kanti-mala from his neck and ostracized him from the Vaisnava community. After this, the followers of Rupa Kaviraja began to wear only one strand of tulasi-beads since he was only left with one strand after they were broken by Hemalata. (Krsna Talk 32: Ativadi)