"Wake Up! Arise! Come with us!"

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Speaking to the devotees in London
7 August, 2011, part 1

First, I am giving my full obeisance to my Divine Master Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, to all my Guru-varga, godbrothers and godsisters, as well as all the devotees and Vaishnavs.

We are very happy today because we have got a chance to hear some Hari-katha, Krishna-katha, Gaura-katha. This opportunity does not come all the time in our life. Such moment comes only to very fortunate souls—only they can hear it. Krishna-katha does not always come in our life and in our mind. When Gurudev gives his mercy, when Gurudev engages us and gives us chance to say something, then only we can say something—without his mercy we cannot say anything.

"Krsna bolo, sange chalo!" Always speak about Krishna! And let us go together in this life. By a great fortune we have got this life, and time is very short... Somebody said in the song glorifying Prabhupad Srila Saraswati Thakur, "Uthare uthare bhai ara ta samaya nai (উঠরে উঠরে ভাই আর ত সময় নাই)"—wake up! arise! quick! There is no time in our hand! We must wake up.

We must give something—some benefit—to the jiva souls. How is it possible? We can give some benefit to the jiva souls through sravanam and kirtanam, through Krishna-katha, through Hari-katha. Bringing benefit to the jiva souls is our life.

জীবন অনিত্য জানহ সার
তাহে নানাবিধ বিপদ-ভার ।
নামাশ্রয় করি' যতনে তুমি
থাকহ আপন কাজে ॥

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara
namasraya kari' yatane tumi
thakaha apana kaje

"Understand the essence: life is temporary and filled with all sorts of adversity. Carefully taking shelter of the Name, engage in your work."

We sing this every morning...

দুর্লভ মানব জন্ম লভিয়া সংসারে ।
কৃষ্ণ না ভজিনু দুঃখ কহিব কাহারে ॥

durlabha manava janma labhiya samsare
krsna na bhajinu duhkha kahiba kahare?

"I have got a very rare human life in this world, but I have not worshipped Lord Krishna. Whom can I tell of my misery?"

Also,

এমন দুর্ম্মতি সংসার-ভিতরে
পড়িয়া আছিনু আমি ।
তব নিজ-জন কোন মহাজনে
পাঠাইয়া দিলে তুমি ॥

emana durmati samsara bhitare
padiya achhinu ami
tava nija-jana kona mahajane
pathaiya dile tumi

O Lord! I am very wicked-minded and have fallen into this material world, but You have sent a great soul, Your associate (to rescue me).

'Emona Durmati' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

এক বর দয়া করি' মোরে পতিত দেখিয়া
কহিল আমারে গিয়া ।
ওহে দীনজন শুন ভাল কথা
উল্লসিত হবে হিয়া ॥

(ek bar) daya kari' more patita dekhiya
kahila amare giya
ohe dina-jana suna bhala katha
ullasita ha'be hiya

Seeing me so fallen and being merciful, he came to me and said, “O humble soul, listen to this wonderful message and your heart will rejoice.

'Emona Durmati' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

It is a very nice song, Gurudev always sang it. We are always suffering—we are always busy enjoying material life, and we do not get time to chant Your Name, O Lord, to serve You... But the Lord Himself sent our Guru (our Gurudev) to give us some advice, to awaken us. Lord Krishna sent him to bring us some message from Him. For whose benefit? For our own benefit! For our own benefit Gurudev came here. Krishna Himself came as a Guru to rescue us, but we cannot understand it, that is why we are suffering...

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)

Only greatly fortunate souls who have some sumedha (yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasa, যজ্ঞৈঃ সঙ্কীর্ত্তনপ্রায়ৈর্যজন্তি হি সুমেধসঃ—SB, 11.5.32)", some good merit, can understand these things. Only they can understand that we have made a promise to the Lord, but we forgot it under the influence of the illusory environment. But if we get some good association and as a result engage in sravanam (listening), kirtanam (chanting), in reading the scriptures, then we can clean our hearts—it will remove all bad elements from our hearts and we can get great joy and pleasure in serving the Lord.

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