Keep Your Promise—Until Death

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Speaking to the devotees in Malaysia
19 November 2011, part 4

Practise properly. You have got a human body, so use your life properly—practise properly. Anywhere. You can go to a workplace and you can preach there, it is not a problem. You can preach Krishna consciousness everywhere. Think about Krishna, remember Krishna, talk about Krishna. That is my request to everybody. When you go to work, you can tell them something about Krishna—you will be benefitted and you will get sukriti through that. If somebody sees you and says, "Hare Krishna!" they will also get sukriti.

One time, when Gurudev went to Russia, I went with him, and I saw some drunkard lady, dressed like naked, dancing and saying, "Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!" I became surprised—a lady with vodka in her hand dancing and saying, "Hare Krishna"! Gurudev said to me, "Do you see? They are getting sukriti."

You can also read the Harinam mahatmya book (the glorification of the Holy Name). There, it is written about "helaya" [one of the four namabhasas, or shadow chanting of the Holy Name]. Helaya means that even if somebody says neglectfully or criticising you, "Hare Krishna!", he or she will be getting sukriti through that. Do you understand? This Name is powerful. Krishna's Name, beauty, pastimes are non-different from Krishna. Krishna Himself comes in this world in the form of the Name, so this Holy Name is non-different from Lord Krishna. If you chant this Holy Name, you must engage others also in chanting. The only problem is that we cannot chant properly...

Chanting is medicine. Gurudev is a doctor, and he prescribed this medicine for our treatment. His prescription is to chant the Holy Name but we are not following his prescription. If the doctor prescribes you some medicine and you do not take it, your disease will never be cured. You are neglecting it thinking, "Oh, maybe the doctor is not good!", "No, that medicine is not necessary!", or, "That medicine is not good!" You take the medicine one day, another day you do not take it, or perhaps you take it for seven days and then stop—this will not do. You must take this medicine until death, then you will be cured. The medicine may be bitter, may not have a good taste, but still you must take this medicine.

I am telling to everybody: Aprakrita Prabhu was the main leader of your centre in Malaysia, and if you want to make him, his soul, happy, then you must preach. That is my request. You must fulfil his desire. One day this centre will be yours and it will not be necessary to pay rent, and it will run smoothly. You can see Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's example—when he just came to Nabadwip in 1941 he stayed in a bamboo house, but now this Chaitanya Saraswat Math is such a big international mission with the headquarters there in Nabadwip. At first he rented only a piece of land, without even a house, but later he bought it and made a big centre.

শ্রীমচ্চৈতন্য-সারস্বত-মঠবর-উদ্­গীতকীর্ত্তির্জয়শ্রীং
বিভ্রৎ-সংভাতি গঙ্গাতটনিকটনবদ্বীপ-কোলাদ্রিরাজে ।
যত্র শ্রীগৌর-সারস্বত-মতনিরতা গৌরগাথা গৃণন্তি
নিত্যং রূপানুগশ্রী-কৃতমতি-গুরুগৌরাঙ্গ-রাধাজিতাশা ॥

srimach-chaitanya-sarasvata-mathavara-udgita-kirtir jaya-srim
bibhrat sambhati ganga-tata-nikata-nabadwipa-koladri-raje
yatra sri-gaura-sarasvata-mata-nirata-gaura-gatha grnanti
nityam rupanuga sri-krtamati-guru-gauranga-radha-jitasa

"In the Holy Abode of transcendental touchstone Sri Nabadwip Dham—the selfsame Sri Vrindavan, in the land of Koladwip, whose inner identity is the King of mountains Sri Govardhan, near the charming shores of the holy River Bhagirathi who delivers all the fallen souls, stands that grand and glorious King of all Temples—Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

If you read the meaning of this sloka, you can understand what I am saying easily.

If you think about Krishna, Krishna will think about you, but if you think, "I can do everything", "I am doing everything," then Krishna will also think, "He has so much ego, I will not help him." You must be fully surrendered. "Sraddha-anusari bhakti-adhikari (শ্রদ্ধা-অনুসারী ভক্তি-অধিকারী): quality of devotion depends faith." (Cc, 2.22.64)" Those who have a strong faith, will get the strongest devotion. Sraddha (faith) is of four types: kamala-sraddha (soft, fragile faith), taranga-sraddha (flickering faith), drdha-sraddha (strong faith), sudrdha-sraddha (the strongest faith). It is necessary to have strong and the strongest faith. If you make your platform, your foundation properly, then your Krishna consciousness will stand properly. It depends upon faith.

Life is very short, and time is always passing day by day. We must understand that we can die, we can leave this body at any time. We made a promise to the Lord, "I have got this body, and I will serve You," and we must keep that promise—we must serve the Lord...

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