Understand Your Duty

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
6 December 2014, Bengali class, part 7

When Deities are installed, it means the Deities are coming to someone's hand. Jagannath Deity also came like this—He wanted raj-bhog, so He came to King Indradyumna's house. Madhavendra Puri's Gopal also—He had been suffering and suffering and after that He called Madhavendra Puri. Haridas's Banke Bihari also—Haridas (the Guru of Tamsen) got the Deity of Banke Bihari in Nidhuvan.

Deities always come through a devotee's hand. The Deity always wants service—They always engage in the loving search for the lost servant, always thinking, "When will My devotee come to serve Me?" The Lord is waiting for them. The Lord says, "Bhakta More bandhiya rakhiya hrdaya kamale (ভক্ত মরে বাঁধিয়া রাখিয়াছে হৃদয়-কমলে): devotees have tied Me to the lotus of their hearts." The Lord Himself cries, "When will My servitor come?" The Lord is waiting for the servitor...

Gurudev preached all over the world, and he planted so many trees all over the world—if we give some nourishment to these trees, if we give some energy to them, then, by the mercy of Gurudev, you get a proper result.

We must understand what is our duty. Raghunath Das Goswami said,

কি লাগি' ছাড়াইলা ঘর, না জানি উদ্দেশ ।
কি মোর বর্ত্তব্য, প্রভু করুন উপদেশ ॥

ki lagi' chhadaila ghara, na jani uddesa
ki mora kartavya, prabhu karuna upadesa

"I do not know why I have given up household life. What is my duty? Kindly instruct me."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.229)

We must understand this, otherwise

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?"

The fault is mine—I do not have any enemies, I am my own enemy. I am my own enemy, and I am my own friend. If I cannot help myself, who will help me? This is what Guru Maharaj says. If you read Sri Guru and His Grace, Bhakti Raksak Hari-kathamrita, you will find everything there.

...How many can understand that Maya is pulling them away? She digs into you like a leech and starts sucking your blood—and it is not so easy to get out of maya (illusory environment). I have told it many times:

মায়ারে করিয়া জয় ছাড়ান না যায় ।
সাধুর-গুরুর কৃপা বিনা না দেখি উপায় ॥

mayare kariya jaya chhadana na yaya,
sadhur-gurur krpa vina na dekhi upaya

"It is not possible to conquer maya by illusory environment (by engaging in maya); it is only possible to get relief by the mercy of Guru, Vaishnav."

Maya is always taking your time. We have got time to serve the Lord, but Maya is taking our time for her service and we do not even understand it. Bhagavatam says:

গুরুর্ন স স্যাৎ স্বজনো ন স স্যাৎ, পিতা ন স স্যাজ্জননী ন সা স্যাৎ ।
দৈবং ন তৎ স্যান্ন পতিশ্চ স স্যান্ন, মোচয়েদ্ যঃ সমুপেতমৃত্যুম্ ॥

gurur na sa syat svajano na sa syat
pita na sa syaj janani na sa syat
daivam na tat syan na patis cha sa syan
na mochayed yah samupeta-mrtyum

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 5.5.18)

"He is not a guru if he cannot rescue you from this world of birth and death. He is not your father, she is not your mother if he or she cannot show you the path to the service of the Lord. If a woman cannot help you in service to the Lord, you do not need to take her hand in marriage." These are not my words—these are Bhagavatam's words, but do we realise it? No, we do not. We do not understand anything, that is why we will have to keep coming here again and again.

Just as we are swimming in the ocean now, we will continue swimming in it in future too... Prabhupad said that having crossed 8,400,000 species, there is another 8,400,000 species awaits you. Among these 8,400,000 species there are 400,000 human species. If you do not reach the Lord in this birth, you will have to again go through all these species. If, amidst these 400,000 human species, you can get the Lord, then this will stop, and if not, then you will go through all these flies', insects', mosquitoes', spiders', stool worms' bodies...

Actually, you should be afraid of this! You can see worms in cow dung—they are enjoying so much in it, they are so comfortable in it that if you take them out, they will again go into the cow dung. It is necessary to fear this. If we do not serve the Lord, what will be our position? What danger will we be in?!

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