Start the Fire

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj,
15 July 2012, speaking online to Caracas

Devotee: My initiating Guru has left this world. How can I now recognise the genuine Guru? I see that some people take shelter in other gurus...

Yes, there are different gurus—karmi gurus, jnani gurus, yogi gurus... We take prasad (rice, dahl, subji, etc.), and a pig eats stool, a cows eats grass—are we all the same? Even among people—we all look like human beings, but is our character the same? Some people eat man's and woman's meat; some people eat dog's meat, some people eat snake's meat—are we all the same? No!

There is a saying, "যদি তোর ডাক শুনে কেউ না আসে তবে একলা চলো রে, yadi tora daka suno keo na ase tabe ekla chalo re: you are calling everybody, 'Come with me!' but if nobody is coming, go alone!" Light the fire, and the wind will come: you think, "How will the fire burn?" but you first start the fire, the wind will come! Prabhupad told us not to be discouraged—not so many people in this world will come to Krishna consciousness, not so many people will get a bona fide Guru; but do not be discouraged—you do your job.

Tell her what you heard in my classes, what you learnt and read in Home Comfort, Saranagati, kirtan book. Preach simple things to her: your daughter is new and not a devotee, give her the primary stage. Tell her about Sanatan siksa from Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita (what Mahaprabhu taught Sanatan Goswami), "Who am I? Why are we suffering? How can we be rescued from this world?" Tell her about the answers to these questions...

Devotee: What is the meaning of Namabhas?

নামাভাসে মুক্তি পাইবে, Namabhase mukti paibe: one can get liberated through Namabhas. Namabhas is good. Even those who did not take initiation can chant the Holy Name and get benefit.

One day, Mahaprabhu asked Haridas Thakur, "In this Age, how will the yavan, the Muslim people, be rescued from this kind of environment?" Haridas Thakur answered, "নামাভাসে মুক্তি পাইবে, Namabhase mukti paibe—through Namabhas."

For example, Ajamil had a son named Narayan, and when he was going to die, he called out to his son, but Narayan is Krishna's Name, so by taking the Lord's Name he got relief—he was rescued from that kind of environment. That is called Namabhas.

In the case of a yavan, there was Chand Kazi who broke a mridanga. When Mahaprabhu spoke to him, Chand Kazi kept saying, "Haram!" 'Haram' in Muslim language means, "Not to say—it is bad, bad, bad! Do not say it!" Haridas Thakur said that it could also mean, "Ha Ram," which means, "O Ram!" In this way Chand Kazi got relief, got benefit.

If some devotee is going down the street and some drunkard lady sees them and as a joke says, "Hare Krishna!" or when somebody is mocking, "Hey, look, the Hare Krishna people are going!"—they say "Hare Krishna" and get relief. That is called Namabhas. Even if your daughter says out of criticism, "Oh Hare Krishna," she will be also rescued.

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