Managing or Damaging?

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nabadwip Dham, India
25 February 2016

If you always serve, bad thoughts will not come to your mind, durbuddhi (foolishness) will not come. Always keep yourself and your mind engaged in service, lectures, kirtan, etc. Also, when you serve the Lord, you must be sincere, must be nistha (fixed, stable). "Sarala hale gorara siksa bujhiya la-ibe: if you are sincere you will understand Gora's teachings." (Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.3)

Why did they call a meeting for service? We already have five-seven managers here. Who are They? Krishna is the first manager—He manages everything; Srimati Radharani helps Him, Mahaprabhu, Gurudev, and Guru Maharaj. There are also Gaura Nitai—They are the security guards, They watch who comes and goes.

There was a big festival in Ekachakra. It was only two days, but 100 bags of vegetables, 40 bags of potato, 50 bags of rice were finished during these two-three days. Who is managing everything? I did not call a meeting...

They gave you the service to go to the market with the devotees, but it is my 100% objection that you go to the market and sit and gossip in a restaurant. Then, they want to arrange for a washing machine—this is not a hotel, we do not come here for enjoyment. My whole life I have washed my clothes by hand, and to this day they are washed by hand. We have not come here to be managers, we have come here for service.

Almost all arrangement for Gaura Purnima is already finished—I am making the pandal, and the bamboo has already arrived, the people who will make it are here, I have already ordered the flowers and two loudspeakers. The day before yesterday I collected dal, sugar, flour—within one hour I got 200 bags. I told them to send everything later, five-seven days before the parikrama, because there is still time, and if they bring it now, it may rot or get spoilt. Also, we were short of pots for distributing prasadam, so I gave an order for twenty pots so that we have fifty pots for the festival. You went with me to Ekachakra on Wednesday, and you saw that on Thursday and Friday I went marketing, and on dvadasi day and on the day before it. Festival went smooth. Was any meeting necessary? Every month I make a big festival, and no big meetings are necessary.

Somebody comes, puts a chair and says, "Do this, do this, do this," who will follow his instruction, tell me? If I come to the Bagh Bazaar Gaudiya Math and tell some brahmachari, "Hey, do this, do this," will he listen to me? If I work, if I serve, then everybody will follow me—this is how it works; but somebody wants to do everything their way, wants to change all system—seva aparadh is the main problem. Be careful. Somebody comes for fifteen days and thinks, "I will become the boss." What kind of mentality is this? Who will follow them?

Gurudev told some devotee, "Go to Vrindavan and manage the temple there, I will be very happy," but he said, "No, everything is OK there, what is the problem? I called them just an hour ago, it is not necessary to go there..." Gurudev became very angry and started breaking things—he threw a chair, a table, a glass, etc. His servitors became afraid and ran to me, "What should we do? Please do something, only you can manage this." I am a simple boy and I have no fear of Gurudev—I went to Gurudev's veranda and Gurudev became peaceful. That day I saw Gurudev's Nrisighadev murti... This is how angry he was...

Too much courtesy is too much craft. If you make a mistake at the beginning, and after that try to do something, what will you get? It is the same as "killing a cow to donate shoes."

We have all come here because we want to be a servitor—we do not want to become a manager. You see that I got my position through service, Gurudev got his position because of his service. Before, Gurudev was not here: he lived a householder life, but Srila Sridhar Maharaj brought him here and gave him sannyas—he said, "If you do not take the temple, I will break it and give my Deities to my godbrother." That is love and affection. When Gurudev told me to take sannyas, I ran away—I was still at the Math, but I would come to Gurudev, pay obeisance and quickly go away to do my service. I did not want to take sannyas. I came here as a sweeper, and I want to die as a sweeper. It is not necessary to become a manager—being a manager means a big problem, a big ego...

Depend upon Nityananda Prabhu, depend upon Gurudev, depend upon Krishna, and everything will be all right by Their mercy. The day before yesterday when I went for collection, it was already evening and I thought, "Oh Krishna, Gurudev... Will I have to come here again another time for this job?" I thought I would not get anything at that time—the market closes at 6 o'clock and it was already 5:30 p.m., but I collected so much from four-five shops. Everything comes by the mercy of the Guru, but if you make offence to the Guru, what will you get? If you make an offence to the Guru and do different things, it will not work. If, however, you have mercy of your Guru, you will get everything.

Everybody's quality is like this—service. Devotees come here for service—there is not so much luxury here. In Srila Sridhar Maharaj's time there were no buildings, and many western devotees came and lived under a bamboo tree in a big tent. Now by the mercy of Gurudev so many buildings have appeared...

First give yourself, then give service. What is the use decorating a dead tree? If you have already poured hot water on the root of a tree, what is the use decorating the tree branches after that?

I do not want to say anything to anybody. I am only asking Gurudev for one thing, "Gurudev, please give me power to tolerate." I am tolerating so much, and I am only praying to Gurudev to be able to tolerate, I do not want anything else—I do not want to be a manager, I do not want to be an acharya, or a big devotee...

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