Remember Where You Belong To

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj,
9 March 2012, Sri Nabadwip Dham

When devotees would be going back home [after a festival], Guru Maharaj used to say, "Where you are going?" They would replied, "We are going back to our home today." Then he often said what Prabhupad had told. Prabhupad said, "Where is your home? The place where you are going is not your home. When you took initiation you promised me that you will always service, all your time—you will serve the devotee, you will serve the Guru. Why are you now going back to your home?"

You must promise me now that if you go back to your home, you will serve the Guru, Vaishnavs, Bhagavan, that you will practise properly. You are going back to your home, but do not go back to the mundane world, do not go back to the attachment with the family life. Gurudev said that you can live anywhere, you can stay anywhere, but you must maintain your spiritual life properly. This is our life. Jive daya, Name ruchi, Vaishnava seva (mercy to other jiva souls, chanting the Holy Name, and service to Vaishnavs). You are chanting, you enjoying the festival this year, but next year you must engage others in enjoying the festival, in service to the devotees, and in chanting the Holy Name.

Actually, you are very fortunate. Devotees come knocking at your door and they are bringing you to such a spiritual place, to Gurudev's place, your real home. You may live in another country, but you can think about your home, Nabadwip. There, it is your rented house; and here, it is your real home.

মহান্ত-স্বভাব এই তারিতে পামর ।
নিজ-কার্য্য নাহি তবু যান তার ঘর ॥

mahanta-svabhava ei tarite pamara
nija karya nahi tabu yana tara ghara

"It is the general practice of all saintly people to deliver the fallen. Therefore they go to people's houses, although they have no personal business there."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 8.39)

Mahantas (great devotees), spiritual master, acharya, Guru, Vaishnavs, great Vaishnavs—they all go door to door not for themselves, but to bring benefit to others. They come to your home to give benefit to you—they do not come to take something from you, they come to your house to help you.

...What did Gurudev leave sannyasis, leave brahmacharis for? Not to show, "I am a sannyasi," or, "I am a brahmachari"—not for that! Sannyasis and brahmacharis are like soldiers—Gurudev has left us here as soldiers so that we can bring more people to Gurudev's lotus feet. That is your main duty.

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