Involve with Resolve

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nabadwip Dham
11 December 2010

You must remember this:

এ ঘোর-সংসারে পড়িয়া মানব
না পায় দুঃখের শেষ ।
সাধুসঙ্গ করি' হরি ভজে যদি
তবে অন্ত হয় ক্লেশ ॥

e ghora-samsare padiya manava
na paya duhkhera sesa
sadhu-sanga kari' hari bhaje yadi
tabe anta haya klesa

"Those who have fallen into this terrible world know no end of suffering, but if they associate with sadhus and serve Hari, their suffering comes to an end."

(Jaiva-dharma by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

We are suffering so much, getting too much unhappiness, what is the upaya, the solution? The solution is also given:

sadhu-sanga kari' hari bhaje yadi
tabe anta haya klesa

The solution is in good association and worship of the Lord in the association of a good devotee, a great devotee—

suddha-bhakata-charana-renu
bhajana-anukula

"The dust of pure devotees' feet is favourable to devotion."

If you get association of a pure devotee, then pure devotion will come.

I told it many times—Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, "সংসার ভিতরে, না বাহিরে, samsara bhitare, na bahire" [lit. "material life is within, not without"]. Maybe you think that if somebody is wearing white clothes, householder devotees' (grihastha) clothes, they are a householder; and if somebody is wearing saffron colour clothes, sannyasi clothes, brahmachari clothes, you think it is a renounced person—but you cannot tell it by the clothes. That is why Prabhupad said, "Samsara bhitare, na bahire."

Somebody may be wearing white clothes but have no attachment with the family, but the one who is wearing sannyasi clothes has attachment with the material matter—how will you recognise it by the clothes? It is impossible. You cannot see it by the clothes.

It is just like if there is a car accident, some pieces of broken glass are shining in the sun and you think, "Oh, it is mukta (মুক্তা, pearls)!" But it is not mukta—it is not.

So, you think if somebody wears saffron colour clothes, they are good, but if you look at their clothes, you cannot tell that. Prabhupad said also, "How should you see a sadhu? With your ears." You must recognise the sadhu through your ears, not your eyes. "সাধু কান দিয়ে দেখতে হয়, sadhu kan diye dekhte haya—you must see the sadhu with your ears." It is a very nice expression of Prabhupad.

In the same way, you cannot recognise where the original paddy plant, the rice plant is, and where the weeds are—there is some grass, it all looks the same, but you must see what is the plant and what is not.

It is very difficult, but

ষড়ঙ্গ শরণাগতি হইবে যাঁহার ।
তাঁহার প্রার্থনা শুনে শ্রীনন্দকুমার ॥

sad-anga saranagati ha-ibe yahara
tahara prarthana sune sri-nanda-kumara

"Sri Krishna hears the prayers of those who surrender in the six-fold way."

(Saranagati, 1.5, by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

If you surrender fully, if you actually want some good association, want a good bona fide Guru, then you have a chaitya guru and that chaitya guru will take you to the mahanta guru, will take you to the original Guru—if your desire is good.

There are so many gurus—a yogi guru, a karmi guru, a sikha guru, a school teacher is also a guru, a kaulik guru (কৌলিক গুরু, Kali-yuga guru), a laukik guru (লৌকিক গুরু, family guru)—there are so many kinds of gurus, but it is very difficult and rare to get a paramarthik guru (পারমার্থিক গুরু), a spiritual master, but

ব্রহ্মাণ্ড ভ্রমিতে কোন ভাগ্যবান্ জীব ।
গুরু-কৃষ্ণ-প্রসাদে পায় ভক্তিলতা-বীজ ॥

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

Having travelled throughout the universe and got the mercy of Guru, Krishna, a fortunate soul receives a seed of the devotional creeper.

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 19.151)

Kona bhagyavan jiva: the fortunate souls can understand, can realise it and can go there—only the fortunate souls.

We have got a great fortune—we have got the Guru parampara, a good line, we have got a good seed, but what will happen if we do not protect that seed? The seed will dry—no plant, no tree will come. Through practising—sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam, vandanam, dasyam, sakhyam, atma-nivedanam (hearing, chanting, remembering, offering obeisance, rendering service as a servitor, as a friend, and self-submission)—we can protect our bhakti-lata-bij, our seed of devotion. So, you must accept what is in favour of devotion and reject what is not favourable to devotion...

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