Transform Your Life

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
6 April 2013, Sri Puri Dham

Question: How can we transform our material desires into the desire to serve?

That is the main thing.

সর্ব্বধর্ম্মান্ পরিত্যজ্য মামেকং শরণং ব্রজ ।
অহং ত্বাং সর্ব্বপাপেভ্যো মোক্ষয়িষ্যামি মা শুচঃ ॥

sarva-dharman parityajya, mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo, moksayisyami ma suchah

"Give up all kinds of religion and surrender to Me alone. I will liberate you from all sins, do not despair."

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

Srimad Bhagavad-gita gradually came to this. You should think that you must do everything for the service of the Lord, for Gurudev. Everything in this world exists for the service to the Lord, so whatever you cook, whatever work you do, offer everything to the Lord.

It is said also in Srimad Bhagavad-gita (3.35), "Para-dharmo bhayavahah (পরধর্ম্মো ভয়াবহঃ)." It means that all other religions are very dangerous. You may read it and think, "Why am I then going to another religion, to this Krishna consciousness?" But Krishna consciousness is not a para-dharma, it is your own religion. Sarva-dharman parityajya: you must give up all religions, but Krishna consciousness is not another religion, it is your own religion. You may be Christian, may be Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim, but when you come to Krishna consciousness, you do not come to some religion, you come to your own religion.

Even if you stay in your house you can still practise properly. Last words of Gurudev were, "Wherever you stay, you must maintain your spiritual life." How should you maintain it? I will tell you now.

If you cook for Krishna, if you take Krishna's prasad, then all kinds of material elements will go away from your heart. In this way you can transform your material life into spiritual life. Whether you work, serve, go somewhere, or stay in a temple, you must think you have service for your Guru, Vaishnavs, Bhagavan.

Even if you live outside the temple, in householder life, it is not a problem, but you must maintain your spiritual life properly. How? You must think your house is not your house, it is Krishna's house, Krishna's property. When you cook something, offer it to Krishna, do arati for Krishna, and so on. You stayed in the temple for a few days and you saw what the temple life is like, and you can practise in the same way at home. When you cook, chant, "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare." You must chant when you cook, you must sing, "Sri-guru-charana-padma kevala bhakati-sadma", "Ohe Vaisnava Thakura dayara sagara", "Nitai-pada kamala." When you cook in the morning, you can also sing, "Samsara-davanala-lidha-loka." For example, in the morning when I go to bath, I put water in the bucket and sing this song "Samsara-davanala-lidha-loka."

Practise singing songs in this way, then your mind will be good—your mind, your heart and everything else will go to the Lord Himself, and you will get pleasure, pleasure and more pleasure, you will be happy. Try to do this and tell me what result you get in a month.

I am doing this and I am getting the result. I am actually a practitioner, that is why I am practising, I am singing, I am chanting when I go to the bathroom, and so on. I do not have time to chant on my beads, but I chant while I do other works...

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