Service Mood Brings Service Joy

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj,
Speaking online to devotees in Caracas, part 1
22 July 2012

I am very happy to see you all today again. I got a chance to speak some Hari-katha, Krishna-katha, and I am getting energy through good association.

We must always engage ourselves in sadhu-sanga and Nama-sankirtan, that is why we have gathered here today. We do not want to miss this kind of day, this kind of moment. Every moment in our life is important, and we must engage every moment of our life in service of the Lord. In this life, in this human body, we have got a chance—we have got intelligence and good association—so we must use this opportunity and this time to serve the Guru and Vaishnavs.

Sometimes we think, "What service do I do?" Sometimes such thoughts come to our mind, but this is the not the question—everything that has some connection with our Guru, Vaishnavs and Bhagavan is service. How can you understand that what you are doing is service? If you serve realising that this kind of service fulfils your Gurudev's desire and you feel pleasure and happiness coming to your mind and heart, then you can understand that your service mood is proper.

Sometimes our health gives us some pressure, sometimes you have to do some difficult service... But here is what Gurudev told me once. Before, in old days, there was no money to buy vegetables and other ingredients for offering, so devotees would grow many things. Sometimes, Srila Sridhar Maharaj told each brahmachari to pick figs (dumur) from trees every day. They would cook it like a vegetable, and it is also very good for health, but it was very difficult to collect figs because the trees were full of ants. Gurudev said that when they would climb the trees, ants would bite them so much, but because they thought that service was giving pleasure to Guru Maharaj, they too actually felt pleasure from it.

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur wrote in one of his songs (Saranagati, 16.4),

তোমার সেবায় দুঃখ হয় যত,
সেও ত' পরম সুখ ।

tomara sevaya, duhkha haya yata,
seo ta' parama sukha

"All the distress I encounter in Your service is also my greatest happiness."

Sometimes, some sadness, some unhappiness comes through service, but that too is our happiness; when some kind of hardship comes, when we have to do so much hard work, that too is our happiness.

So, we must understand clearly what is service and what is karma. I always say this to everybody.

Sometimes you are doing something and you think it is service, but actually it does not make your Guru happy—if this is so, then in the end you too will not get any pleasure from it. Such action becomes karma, and the result of this bondage (karma bandhan) will be very bad. It is necessary to be careful.

We must understand how much, how many percent we can serve our Guru. Sometimes we may offer so many things, but we cannot make Krishna happy through that, but on the other hand, you can cook only one item, but the Lord, Gurudev will be pleased with that. It is necessary to understand what Gurudev wants, what his favourite items are, otherwise you will be cooking for your Guru, for Gaura Nitai and making so many things, but it will not make them happy. Krishna Himself said also, "I did not go to Duryodhan's house even though he was giving so much raj-bhog (king-style food), I did not take anything there; but I went to Vidhura's house and took there some laddu, some simple, poor kind of food—I was happy with that." So, we must understand this, then we can easily proceed in our spiritual life.

How will we proceed in this line? We must understand clearly how to practise, how to get proper benefit in our spiritual life—we must understand what Gurudev wants. I can give you my own example—even now, I am still getting the association of Gurudev because I remember what Gurudev told me, what he told me his wish was, and I am fulfilling his desire. Through that, I feel glad myself and through that, I am still getting my Guru's association.

I am also happy to see you all, to see that you are so enthusiastically, with heart and soul, coming so early to the temple to hear some Hari-katha. Gurudev told me one story. Once, a disciple of Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur came to Prabhupad and said, "Prabhupad, I cannot do bhajan... Actually, I cannot do anything, I cannot do any service for my Guru, and I am very sad. I want to do something but I cannot... What should I do?" Prabhupad asked him, "You are telling the truth?" "Yes, Prabhupad," answered his disciple, and Prabhupad said, "Then, something is happening." When you think that you have desire to hear some Hari-katha, Krishna-katha, then you must think that your mind is becoming clean and that you are proceeding, you are going forward, not backward.

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