Other Preachers: No Free Mixing

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
speaking to the devotees of Ukraine and Russia,
22 November 2014

Devotee: Gurudev, will you be happy if your disciples go to take some instruction from other Vaishnav missions outside Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math?

Actually, we belong to Srila Sridhar Maharaj's temple—we do not mix with so many people. Once in Gurudev's times, a sannyasi from another mission wanted to make a programme here in Nabadwip on behalf of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, and Gurudev was very upset. Gurudev said, "We will not allow anybody to have any sahajiya kirtan here."

You heard about Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu. He was very fanatic about Srimati Radharani. A babaji would bring him some buttermilk every day, and he would bring it in a leaf bowl from Radha Kunda, but one day he could not bring the bowl from Radha Kunda, instead he brought it from another kunda that was nearby, Surya Kunda. Raghunath Das Goswami asked, "Where did you get this dona, bowl? It is not from Radha Kunda." The babaji said that it was from Surya Kunda, a place near Chandravali's house. When Raghunath Das Goswami heard it, he threw that dona with the buttermilk away. Do you understand?

Our mission is like that—we do not like our disciples to go everywhere. Even Chaitanya Mahaprabhu does not like it. He mentioned everybody's name, but He did not mention Mukunda's name, because he went everywhere.

Also when Jagadananda Prabhu wanted to go to Vrindavan, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told him, "You can go to Vrindavan, but when you are there, always stay with Rupa Goswami and Sanatan Goswami. Do not mix with other people, do not go to any places without Rupa Goswami and Sanatan Goswami."

We will not go to so many places or allow other temples in, because we do not mix with those who do not like my Guru, who criticise my Guru and think they are more than my Guru.

We have kamala sraddha (tender faith)—we do not have such a strong faith—so we can be easily cheated by some Guru. There are so many kinds of Gurus in this world and because we do not have firm faith, because we are simple-hearted, immature and do not know so much background history, when we see some saffron colour Vaishnav, we at once think they are maha-bhagavat. This is our foolishness.

You must sing this song that Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur wrote in Saranagati, "Sarvasva Tomar Charane Sapiya." If you sing and explain this song, you can understand what is necessary in our spiritual life.

প্রতীপ-জনেরে আসিতে না দিব,
রাখিব গড়ের পারে

pratipa-janere asite na diba,
rakhiba gadera pare

It means: I will not allow those who are against my Guru to come close; I will keep them outside. I am a dog—you can tie me, and as a guard dog I will keep those who are against my Guru away.

The problem is that we think we are maha-bhagavatas, great Vaishnavs, but Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, "Those who think, 'I am a Vaishnav,' they are not Vaishnavs." We should understand what a Vaishnav's qualities are.

Bhakti Vinod Thakur writes in one of his Siksastakam songs:

তৃণাধিক হীন দীন অকিঞ্চন ছার ।
আপনে মানবি সদা ছাড়ি অহঙ্কার ॥

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi ahankara

Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean.

বৃক্ষসম ক্ষমাগুণ করবি সাধন ।
প্রতিহিংসা ত্যজি অন্যে করবি পালন ॥

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

Practise tolerance like a tree. Stop ill-treating others, instead nurture them.

জীবন-নির্ব্বাহে আনে উদ্বেগ না দিবে ।
পর-উপকারে নিজ-সুখ পাসরিবে ॥

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

Do not trouble others for your own upkeep, and forget your own happiness in the course of helping others.

We must be humble, tolerant and give honour to others. আপনে মানবি সদা ছাড়ি অহঙ্কার , apane manabi chhadi ahankar: You must leave your ego and give respect to everybody. বৃক্ষসম ক্ষমাগুণ, vrksa-sama ksama-gun: if somebody insults you, you must forgive them; if somebody says something bad to you, you must embrace them. When somebody is cutting a branch of a tree, the tree still gives them shadow, so if somebody is beating you, you will embrace them. You must have this kind of quality, then you can think that you can become a servant of a Vaishnav—not a Vaishnav, you can be a servant of a Vaishnav.

Devotee: Gurudev, there is one more question. What quality is the most important for a disciple?

A disciple's most important quality is to follow their Guru's instruction...

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

• Download (3 MB)

Further reading:
• Sarvasva tomara charane sapiya
• Sri-krsna-kirtane yadi manasa tohara