Stick To Your Service

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Speaking to the devotees in London
3 October 2015

Question: How do we make ourselves a proper student, and how can we stop pretending to be a sadhu and be sincere?

Actually it comes from above. It comes if you have a strongest faith in your Guru. The scripture says that even if your Guru goes to a prostitutes' house, he is still your Guru:

yadyapi nityananda sura-badi yaya
tathapio haya nityananda-raya

"Even if Nityananda Prabhu goes to the prostitutes' quarter, He is still Nityananda Prabhu."

It is necessary to have full faith, the strongest faith in your Guru—it is the main thing. It is necessary to serve with full faith, to have patience, to have much tolerance... People can say so many bad things about you, but you should always ignore, always avoid that—you do your service properly. Gurudev told me, "Do not run behind small things: big things are waiting for you." You must avoid small matter—if somebody speaks bad about you behind your back or in front of you, always ignore it, always go forward and do your service. If you do it in this way, you can progress in your spiritual life.

In my life also, when I joined there were so many obstacles, and still I am facing so many obstacles, but I only depend upon Gurudev—I take what Gurudev desires on my head and follow it.

• • •

Question: How can I understand my own nature? I try to serve, I do different things, but still I do not understand what I am good at, what I should do, what my purpose is...

It is not necessary to understand this. If you think something is in favour of devotion, you can do that. Read the scriptures and you can see what is unfavourable to devotion—atyahara, prayasa, prajalpa, niyamagraha, laulya, janasanga (অত্যাহার, প্রয়াস, প্রজল্প, নিয়মাগ্রহ, লৌল্য, জনসঙ্গ; too much eating, doing nonsense, talking nonsense, superficial attachment to rules and regulations, greed, associating with nondevotees).

আদৌশ্রদ্ধা ততঃ সাধুসঙ্গোঽথ ভজনক্রিয়া ।
ততোঽনর্থনিবৃত্তিঃ স্যাৎ ততো নিষ্ঠা রুচিস্ততঃ ॥
অথাসক্তিস্ততো ভাবস্ততঃ প্রেমাভ্যুদঞ্চতি ।
সাধকানাময়ং প্রেম্ণঃ প্রাদুর্ভাবে ভবেৎ ক্রমঃ ॥

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha bhajana-kriya
tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha ruchis tatah
athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudanchati
sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah

"In the beginning there is faith, then good association, then practising life. After that, the offences gradually go away, faith becomes stronger, taste comes, then attachment, then there arises affection and love. This is how love to God comes to those who practise Krsna consciousness."

(Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhuh, 1.4.15-16)

You can do sixty-four types of bhaktyanga, but these five are the most important,

সাধুসঙ্গ, নামকীর্ত্তন, ভাগবতশ্রবণ ।
মথুরাবাস, শ্রীমূর্ত্তির শ্রদ্ধায় সেবন ॥

sadhu-sanga, nama-kirtana, bhagavata-sravana
mathura-vasa, sri-murtira sraddhaya sevana

"One should associate with devotees, chant the Holy Name of the Lord, hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, reside at Mathura and worship the Deity with faith and veneration."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.124)

If you can do these, it is good for you.

You must understand, "I have some time, it is not good for me to gossip and talk about nonsense things—if I have time, I will chant the Holy Name; if I am tired, I will take rest." It is not a problem—taking rest is a part of service. If, on the other hand, you go to the cinema hall, if you watch nonsense video, mix with bad people, talk about nonsense—talk about girls, sex, and so on—it is not good.

What else is bad for you? Atyahara, eating too much. Prayascha, laulya, thinking, "I want this, this, this; I want to keep some money for my own enjoyment." Prajalpa, talking nonsense. Niyamagraha, not accepting what is in favour of devotion. Janasanga, mixing with the people who are not devotees. It is not good—if I talk with some people and it is not good for devotion, why should I talk with them? Why will I waste my time?

When I joined the temple, I remember on the first day I saw that after the evening arati and Tulasi parikrama finished, everybody sat under the Tulasi plants (you saw that place in Nabadwip) and gossiped, talked to each other. I thought at that time, "There is no job here for me," and I did not cooperate with them—I went to another place. So, because I was not mixing with them and kept a little distance from them, they thought bad about me, but what can I do?...

— : • : —

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