Service: Adherence and Attachment

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance, evening class
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 25 February 2021, part 6
Translated from Bengali

Actually, sahajiyas are better than mayavadis [because unlike mayavadis, sahajiyas believe in the existence of the Lord]. You have seen today at the Bankarai Krishna's temple that somebody was dressed as Krishna and chanting some 'kirtans.' This is what sahajiyas are like. They only dress as Krishna, just as Siva once dressed as a gopi, but the difference is that Lord Siva had anugatya (strict adherence and devotion), that is why he was able to take part in the Vrindavan pastimes. There is no Krishna consciousness without anugatya. If you practise Krishna consciousness without anugatya, it is Maya consciousness (serving Maya). You must remember this. If somebody practises Krishna consciousness without strict adherence and devotion to a Guru, it is Maya (illusion).

You know, one time, I went for collecting rice. Somebody told me, "I can give you rice. How much will you take?" I told him, "OK, give one quintal (100 kg)." He said, "OK, I'm going." I said, "Wait, give the rice first," and then I saw that the sack the man had given was full of rice husk paddy! I still took it because it is good paddy for cows. Another time, I went to some place, the man said, "I have not got any rice, I only have husk paddy." I took it, and everybody laughed at me, "Maharaj has brought husk paddy!" We must always think how we can help our Gurudev—whatever your capacity is. There is no question that everybody must give money. I never ask for money from anyone. When I come to your house, I say, "Give me a sack of potato, give me five kg rice, etc." Why do I say this? Because when a sannyasi comes from a temple, you must give him something. When you come to a sannyasi, when you come to the Lord, you must give something, some food items.

You can see that whenever I go to some temple, I always give some pranami. Such is the rule. Whenever I go to temples in Vrindavan, Puri, etc. I never leave the temple without giving some pranami (a small donation). Gurudev taught me this. Even when I go to the Kolkata temple, there is Gaura Nitai there: if I go out preaching and I am coming back to Kolkata late, I bring some bhoga for Gaura Nitai (especially if I know I am passing a shop where good bhoga is sold)—it can be offered the next day in the morning. You must bring something for the Deities. When I come here, I bring some fruit, some vegetables. When I go to Nrisingha Palli, when I go to Tarakeshwar, etc. I always bring something. Such is the rule, and I do this wherever I go. This is what Gurudev taught me. One time, Gurudev told me, "Let us go to Hapaniya. My Guru Maharaj told me Hapaniya is my temple; I want to go there." On the way, Gurudev gave me 100 rupees and told me to buy some yoghurt and sweets. When I came back, Gurudev told me, "Why did it take you so long? Were you bargaining? When you buy for the Lord, you must never bargain." This is what Gurudev taught me.

How should we serve Vaishnavs?

কিরূপে পাইব সেবা মুঞি দুরাচার ।
শ্রীগুরু-বৈষ্ণবে রতি না হৈল আমার ॥

ki-rupe paiba seva muni durachara
sri-guru-vaisnava rati na haila amara

I am so wicked, how will I ever get service? I do not have any attachment to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs!

We do not have attachment to the lotus feet of Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! We are wicked...

We must practise Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness means we must please the Lord. Therefore, we must please the Lord, we must please our Gurudev. You can never please the Lord without pleasing Gurudev. Krishna Himself says, "Worship of My devotees is higher than worshipping Me." That is why we always say we are devotees of Gauranga Mahaprabhu, devotees of Nitai. Before you become a devotee of Krishna, you must become a devotee of Srimati Radharani.

রাধা-ভজনে যদি মতি নাহি ভেলা ।
কৃষ্ণ-ভজন তব অকারণ গেলা ॥

radha-bhajane yadi mati nahi bhela
krsna-bhajana tava akarana gela

"If you do not worship Srimati Radharani, your worship of Krishna is nothing."

We must worship Srimati Radharani. Her worship is this:

মাতল হরিজন কীর্ত্তন-রঙ্গে ।
পূজল রাগপথ গৌরব-ভঙ্গে ॥

matala hari-jana kirtana-range
pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange

"From afar we shall worship the raga-patha, the path of spontaneous affectionate service, while we ourselves shall live within the Vedic guideline."

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