Have a Heart for the Temple

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bankura Anniversary Festival,
26 January 2021, part 5
Translated from Bengali

...You can stay here.

বিষয়ে যে প্রীতি এবে আছয়ে আমার ।
সেই মত প্রীতি হউক চরণে তোমার ॥

visaye ye priti ebe achhaye amara
sei-mata priti hauk charane tomara

"May I have the same affection and attraction to your feet that I now have for material things."

(Gitavali, 4.5, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

You must feel and say that this place is your home. You can still work in the field, earn some money, and if anything is required to be repaired or purchased for the temple, you can use the money to pay a worker to repair it. It is important to have a heart for the temple. You are staying in a room, and you must think this is your own room, you must take care of it as your own room. This is how love comes. Many blame others—they say, "I have told him to do it, but he has not done it." You must never look for faults in others. Always look for faults in your own self. I have told you before—you can be doing so much service, but if there are holes (shortcomings), then all result will come out through those holes. If you keep water in a pot with holes, all water will fall out. Gurudev also told me, "You are making so many temples, but you should also prepare somebody." I am trying to do that—I am looking for such a person, and I am training some, but I have not got this person yet. It is impossible to keep water in a pot with holes... I will give charge for all this work to the person who can hold and take care of everything.

A father also thinks, "I have many sons, but I will give charge for the land to those who can protect and take care of it. When I see any of my sons fit for this, I will give all charge for taking care of the family to him." Sometimes while the father is still alive, he gives all charge to one of his sons. It does not matter who is elder—sometimes the younger brother or the middle brother works well, then he can get all the responsibility. It is necessary to give charge to those who are qualified for it.

The problem is that many do not practise. I wrote books in clear Bengali, and if somebody cannot understand it even now, then what can I say? It is necessary to read. One person can read, and others can hear. Do not keep water in a pot with holes [you must close the holes—remove anarthas and practise properly].

One time, some paint had come off at some place in front of the nat mandir, and Gurudev said, "So many people stay at the temple, has no one noticed it before that it has to be painted? It came off a long time ago, and Vinod [His Divine Grace's brahmachari name] has brought workers to get it painted—how come he noticed it and nobody else did? Everybody can see it in front of them, how come only Vinod noticed it?" Everybody can see that there is some leakage near the door—am I the only one responsible for fixing everything? You can take care of everything yourself. It is necessary to understand this.

— : • : —

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

• Listen to the audio or download (1.5 Mb, 4 min)