Remedy for Stagnation

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
2 July 2013, Sri Nabadwip Dham, part 7

Question: When we receive some inspiration or motivation for service in our heart, how can we keep it for a long time? How can we maintain that enthusiasm?

That depends only upon the devotee. I have told you that it is down to surrender and non-stopping service. You must understand that you are always surrounded by maya, maya is always nearby (nikatastha maya tare japatiya dhare, নিকটস্থ মায়া তারে জাপটিয়া ধরে—nearby Maya seizes the soul; Prema-vivarta, 6.2)

You must be always alert that maya is near you. As soon as we start to neglect our daily service—if we keep even a little distance, we do not do so many activities and start some material works—then slowly, slowly that service will be removed. How to keep it? Through sincerity, nistha. When you do something, and you must do it every day, non-stop. When you do some service, you must do it every day, with sincerity, nistha. You must be a sincere seeker, you must have chastity.

You think, "Oh, I am tired today, I will not do it." You must stop and think, "No, my mind is feeling tired! No! I will wake up!" Haridas Thakur said also, "Yes, Prabhu, it is correct. I am not sick, my mind is sick." If you do your service every day with sincerity, then you will get energy, you will get enthusiasm. Gurudev said, "If you want to play football, the ball will always come to you; and if you are scared of the ball and keep some distance from it, then the ball will run away from you." If you always go forward, service will always come, more and more.

"Oh, this service has come today... No, I will not do it today, I will do it tomorrow." Tomorrow you will have another job. No. "I will do now. Gurudev gave me this service today, OK, I will do it." Not today—do it now. If you think, "Oh, I will do it later, I will do it tomorrow," then tomorrow you will be even lazier and gradually that service will run away from you. So, it depends on your activities. It is necessary to be active and to act, otherwise day by day you will be going down.

You can check yourself—do you do more and more service or less service every day? If you think you are doing less, then it is not good, you must jerk yourself and wake up, "No, I must do it now!"

I can tell you my own example also. Three-four days before ekadasi, I think, "Oh, I must finish all service, all works, before ekadasi, then on the ekadasi day I will not have to do so much. There is no breakfast on ekadasi, so I will be hungry in the morning and will not be able to do that much." So, I finish everything before ekadasi, but on the ekadasi day more things come up! On the ekadasi day too I have to go out, run here, there, and I think, "Oh, this is my good fortune!" My example is like that.

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