Selfless and Proper Renunciation

By His Divine Grace
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nrisingha-chaturdasi day,
24 May 2013, Sri Nabadwip Dham

Did you go for the chira-dahi mahotsav in Panihati last year? This year it is on 21 June (2013). I am thinking about people...

People come to Nrisinghadev, pray to Him for something ("O Nrisinghadev, please do this for me") and in return promise to give some offering or sacrifice, but when Nrisinghadev asked Prahlad Maharaj, "What do you want?" he said, "Please remove this asking desire from me." We are just the opposite.

We must think like Prahlad Maharaj, "Please, remove this asking desire from me. You have appeared for my sake, that is sufficient for me." That is the difference. There is sakam bhakta (a devotee motivated by some gain) and there is niskam bhakta (a selfless devotee); there is karma-misra bhakti (devotion mixed with pursuits of material gain) and there is jnana-misra bhakti (devotion mixed with pursuits of knowledge). Prahlad Maharaj prayed, "Please, forgive my offence. You have come taking so much trouble to protect me—You had to struggle so much to rescue him [Hiranyakasipu]. You actually had to fight for me... What can be a greater debt for me than this? What can I want from You?"

ইতো নৃসিংহঃ পরতো নৃসিংহো,
যতো যতো যামি ততো নৃসিংহঃ ।
বহির্নৃসিংহো হৃদয়ে নৃসিংহো
নৃসিংহমাদিং শরণং প্রপদ্যে ॥

ito nrsimha parato nrsimho
yato yato yami tato nrsimhah
bahir nrsimho hrdaye nrsimho
nrsimham adim saranam prapadye

"Nrsimha is here, Nrsimha is there—Nrsimha is wherever I go. Nrsimha is outside, Nrsimha is within my heart. I am surrendered unto that primeval Lord Nrsimha."

I always remember Prahlad Maharaj more than Nrisinghadev. Nrisinghadev came for Prahlad Maharaj...

Material desires are not good—you will not get the Lord unless you live in proper renunciation (yukta-vairagya). We want and we need yukta-vairagya. Yukta-vairagya means service to the Lord. People say, "I am fasting today," and they sit all day in their room (or chant some maha-mantra at the temple and then sleep there with a pillow). Yukta-vairagya means you must go to the market, buy something for the Deity, start cooking in the afternoon, offer opulent bhog to Nrisinghadev, etc. That is the symptom of a yukta-vairagi (proper renunciate), not of a tyagi (renunciate). Last night, I told Santosh Prabhu that I had bought very good quality rice for Nrisinghadev and that he had to cook sweet rice with it...

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