Adopting the Process

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nabadwip Dham, translated from Bengali
22 March 2016

You must have the sambandha-jnan (knowledge of the relationship); after sambandha, there will come abhidheya (how to act according to that relationship); and after abhidheya, there will come prayojan (the goal). Sambandha, abhidheya, prayojan.

You have done this parikrama of the nine islands of Nabadwip Dham. It is said that each of these nine islands represents:

sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam
archanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam

"Hearing, chanting, remembering the Lord, serving His feet, worshipping His Deity, offering Him obeisance, serving as a servitor, as a friend, and offering one's self (surrender)."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.23)

These nine practices, or viddhi (behaviour within prescribed rules and regulations) are worshipped on these islands, and in this place (Koladwip) the process is pada-sevanam (serving the feet). You must think about this. It is necessary to practise this, and it is necessary to keep this in your heart. Who can give you the Lord? Will you get the Lord by giving some money? No, you will never get Him in this way. You cannot get the Lord through karma (independent activities), you cannot get the Lord through yoga (some exercise or bodily perfection), you cannot get the Lord through jnana (knowledge).

You have heard about it: we went today to Vidya Nagar—sankhya-yoga, Patanjali yoga, this yoga, that yoga—so many yogas are there, all knowledge (vidya) is there. It is also the place of Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was the incarnation of Brihaspati, the guru of the demigods.

When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu just came to Puri, He fainted, overwhelmed by the feeling of separation from the Lord. When devotees chanted the Hare Krishna maha-mantra into His ear, He gradually woke up and sat up. Then, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya asked the Lord,

"I see You have taken sannyas. What is Your name now?"

"My Name is now Sri Krishna Chaitanya."

"This is not a sannyasi name... What sampradaya did You take sannyas from?"

"I took sannyas from Keshav Bharati."

"So, You a sannyasi of Keshav Bharati's sampradaya. This is a karma sampradaya, but actually there are bigger sannyasis than him. As You have not learnt so much (You have only studied primary grammar), I will teach You the Vedanta. I will teach you very well and give you very fine conception."

This is what Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya told Mahaprabhu, but when he heard the explanation of the "Atmaramas cha munayo..." sloka from the Lord's lotus mouth, he became astonished, "Whom have I been teaching for these seven days?! Whom have I been reading Vedanta to?" Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya then took shelter of Mahaprabhu's lotus feet and became a very big devotee. Mahaprabhu instructed Sarvabhauma on the path of devotion and then He Himself said, "I have never seen another devotee like Sarvabhauma!"

Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was a karma-jnani, he had knowledge about yoga and was a great pandit, but Mahaprabhu made him a devotee and then Himself said, "It is extremely rare to get a devotee like you, Sarvabhauma!" So, you can understand that you do not have to become a Guru—one does not become a Guru, one is made a Guru. There are so many great personalities who were made Gurus, just as Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur made so many Gurus and sent them for our sake. Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj wrote about Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur,

গুরুদং গ্রন্থদং গৈরধামদং নামদং মুদা
ভক্তিদং ভূরিদং বন্দে ভক্তিবিনোদকং সদা

guru-dam grantha-dam gaura-dhama-dam nama-dam muda
bhakti-dam bhuri-dam vande bhakti-vinodakam sada

"He is the giver of Sri Guru; he is the giver of scriptures; he is giver of the holy dham of Gaura; he is the giver of the Name; he is the giver of pure devotion; he is the greatest donor. I always offer my obeisance to this Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur."

(Sri Laghu-chandrika-bhasya, 1.8)

"He (Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur) gave us our Guru! He gave us Gaura! He gave us Dham (the holy land)! He gave us Nam (the Holy Name)! Time and time again, do I offer my obeisance to him."

It is necessary to practise continuously. There are different kinds of devotees—kanistha-adhikari, madhyam-adhikari, and uttam-adhikari. The Guru is an uttam-adhikari, and he sees the Lord all the time, in everything, and to become a Guru (to be able to accept a disciple), he has to come down to the madhyam-adhikari stage.

Always remember these things, always keep this all in your mind.

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Other parts:
• My Grief
• Who Will Understand This?
• Adopting the Process
• Exclusive Line—Exclusive Dedication