When Will It Hit Home?

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nabadwip Dham, evening class, part 2
7 November 2012, translated from Bengali

Since time immemorial you have been coming and going...

কয় বার এলি কয় বার গেলি
তবু তত্ত্ব না শিখিলি ।
নিজের মাথা নিজে খাইলি
এ দোষ দিবি কারে ভাই ?

kaya bara eli kaya bara geli
tabu tattva na sikhili
nijer matha nije khaili
e-dosa dibe kare bhai?

"Coming and going, coming and going, and never learnt anything. You have been eating your own brain, who will you blame now, brother?"

দিন যায় মিছা কাজে নিশা নিদ্রাবশে ।
নাহি ভাবি মরণ নিকটে আছে বসে ॥

dina yaya michha kaje nisa nidra-base
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe base

"My days pass in useless work and nights are wasted on sleeping. It never occurs to me that there is death sitting next to me."

('Durlabha manava janma labhiya' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

Time is passing—days are going one by one, but we are bound by maya.

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)

It is said here—what is Gurudev's job? Gurudev is the Lord's own man:

সাক্ষাদ্ধরিত্বেন সমস্ত-শাস্ত্রৈ-
রুক্তস্তথা ভাব্যত এব সদ্ভিঃ ।
কিন্তু প্রভোর্যঃ প্রিয় এব তস্য
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

saksadd-haritvena samasta-sastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

"I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is said by all the scriptures to be the Lord Himself, and considered to be so by the sadhus, yet is also the Lord's beloved devotee."

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, 7)

Gurudev, the Lord's dearmost devotee, comes here on the order of the Lord and when the Lord orders it he leaves. Why does Guru come? To give us the message (katha) of the Lord and to take our message to the Lord—if we tell something to Gurudev, he can send our message to the Lord.

We have got this opportunity today to speak about Gurudev's message. Gurupadpadma is the Lord's own man,

সাক্ষাদ্ধরিত্বেন সমস্ত-শাস্ত্রৈ-
রুক্তস্তথা ভাব্যত এব সদ্ভিঃ ।
কিন্তু প্রভোর্যঃ প্রিয় এব তস্য
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

saksadd-haritvena samasta-sastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

"I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is said by all the scriptures to be the Lord Himself, and considered to be so by the sadhus, yet is also the Lord's beloved devotee."

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, 7)

Guru is the Lord's dearmost associate, he comes when the Lord sends him to do His duty in this world. We are poor and fallen souls, we have fallen into this world, but there is loving search for the lost servant—the Lord is searching for us! "Kabe asi' madhava ama karibe sevan: when will Madhav come and serve Me?" (কবে আসি' মাধব আমা' করিবে সেবান, Cc, 2.4.39). He is searching for us! So low, we have fallen into this material world and been averse to Krishna since time immemorial, but the Lord sends His own man to us to take us all back, "Go, My child is in the bondage of illusion, he has forgotten everything—go and bring him back!"

But we cannot hear anything... You have heard this story. One time, demigod's Guru Brihaspati came to Indraloka. At that time Indra was busy with the apsaras and did not attend to Brihaspati, so Brihaspati cursed him, "Indra, you will be born as a pig!" Indra began to cry, but Brahma came to him and said, "Do not cry, your Guru gave you the curse, so have to be born as a pig, but when you are born as a pig, I will come as your Guru and rescue you."

When the time came, Brahma came to Indra (who was in his pig body) and began to explain to him who he was. He explained to Indra so many things, so many times, but "ami tava nitya dasa bhuliya mayara basa—I live in illusion forgetting that I am Your eternal servant."

কৃষ্ণ ভুলি' সেই জীব অনাদি-বহির্ম্মুখ ।
অতএব মায়া তারে দেয় সংসারাদি-দুঃখ ॥

krsna bhuli' sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsaradi-duhkha

Having forgotten Krishna, the soul wanders throughout the universe. Being thus covered by illusion, the soul goes through all kinds of material suffering.

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 20.117)

We have forgotten the Lord and as a result we are suffering, burning with the three-fold miseries...

So, Brahma spoke to Indra, saying, "Indra, come! You cannot even imagine it but you are Indra and I am Brahma." Indra was not impressed, "What Indra? I am a pig!" Brahma tried again, "Come, you used to drink nectar!" but Indra said, "Really? I am drinking nectar here too! [the stool]" That is what we, the conditioned souls of this world, say—time and time again... We have become blind!

ঐছন আমার মন ফিরে যেন অন্ধজন
সুপথ বিপথ নাহি জানে
না লইনু সৎ মত অসতে মজিল চিত
তুয়া পায়ে না করিনু আশ

aichhana amara mana phire yena andha jana
supatha vipatha nahi jane
na la-inu sat mata asate majila chita
tuya paye na karinu asa

"My mind wanders like a blind man who cannot tell the right way from the wrong way. I have never accepted the proper conception. My mind has been immersed in illusion, and I have never aspired for your feet."

'Thakura Vaishnava-gana' by Srila Narottam Das Thakur

We do not accept the real conception! Our mind is blind, it does not know what is the right path and what is the wrong path, it does not know how it can get real benefit, who is its real friend. But Gurupadpadma knows it. That is why sadhus always come in this world—they always come to rescue us, the low and fallen souls.

So, Brahma came to Indra in the form of a Guru and called him, "Let's go!" But Indra did not understand it... Many years had passed, and what did Brahma do in the end? He saw that Indra had so much attachment to his family, so he killed his sons (pigs), one by one. Brahma said, "You do not understand! I am your friend!" but Indra only got angrier, "What benefit you have come to give me?! You have killed all my children!!" Even then Indra did not understand it. Then, his last attachment was his wife (a pig). Brahma killed her too. After that, Indra became miserable without his wife, he cried, "I have lost everything! What am I to do now?" Then he started listening. He listened, listened, and finally Hari-katha entered his ear...

As long as we have material attachment, Hari-katha, Krishna-katha will not enter our ear.

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