Your Chance—Your Choice

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Siliguri, 20 May 2017, Bengali class, part 1

মূকং করোতি বাচালং পঙ্গুং লঙ্ঘয়তে গিরিম্ ।
যৎকৃপা তমহং বন্দে শ্রীগুরুং দীনতারণম্ ॥

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

"I am offering my obeisance to Sri Guru who delivers all fallen souls and by whose mercy even the dumb can speak, even the lame can climb a hill."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

ওঁ অজ্ঞানতিমিরান্ধস্য জ্ঞানাঞ্জনশলাকয়া ।
চক্ষুরুন্মিলিতং যেন তস্মৈ শ্রীগুরবে নমঃ ॥

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
chaksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

'I offer my obeisance unto Sri Gurudev, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, applying the kajal of divine knowledge on my eyes.'

"I am offering my obeisance to Sri Guru by whose mercy even a dumb man can speak, even a lame man can cross a mountain..."

সাধুসঙ্গে কৃষ্ণনামে—এই মাত্র চাই ।

সংসার জিনিতে আর কোন বস্তু নাই ॥

sadhu-sange krsna-nama—ei matra chai
samsara jinite ara kona vastu nai

I desire only to chant the Name of Krishna in the association of the sadhus. There is no other way to conquer samsara.

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 6.13)

Every day you are chanting the Holy Name in the association of the sadhus... There are five most important practices,

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."

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.124

Among these, sravan-kirtan is main:

তার মধ্যে সর্ব্বশ্রেষ্ঠ নাম-সঙ্কীর্ত্তন ।
নিরপরাধে নাম লৈলে পায় প্রেমধন ॥

tara madhye sarva-srestha nama-sankirtana
niraparadhe nama laile paya prema-dhana

"Of the practising processes, the best is Nama-sankirtan. If you chant the Holy Name without offence, you will get the wealth of divine love."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 4.71)

You must chant the Holy Name without offences. The Lord has given us a tongue so that we can do Hari-kirtan (chant the Holy Name and glories of the Lord). Mahaprabhu said to Raghunath Das Goswami,

গ্রাম্যকথা না শুনিবে, গ্রাম্যবার্ত্তা না কহিবে ।
ভাল না খাইবে আর ভাল না পরিবে ॥

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe

"Do not listen to the mundane talks, do not listen to the mundane news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.236)

বৈরাগীর কৃত্য—সদা নাম-সঙ্কীর্ত্তন ।
শাক-পত্র-ফল-মূলে উদর-ভরণ ॥

vairagira krtya—sada nama-sankirtana
saka-patra-phala-mule udara-bharana

"The duty of a person in the renounced order is to always chant the Hare Krishna mantra. He should satisfy his belly with whatever vegetables, leaves, fruits and roots are available."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.226)

This is the nature of a vairagi, renunciant. They fill their stomach with vegetables, leaves, fruits and roots... You must live remembering it. It is necessary to leave unfavourable association—there are things that are not favourable to devotion and it is necessary to gradually leave them, otherwise if you do not leave what is unfavourable, you will not get attachment to this path of devotion.

"Jivana anitya janaha sara tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara (জীবন অনিত্য জানহ সার তাহে নানাবিধ বিপদ-ভার)": life is uncertain, any time danger can come... Every day you sing kirtans, and it is necessary to understand their meaning and think about their meaning. Just now we were singing,

জীবন হইল শেষ, না ভজিলে হৃষীকেশ ।
ভক্তিবিনোদ-উপদেশ, একবার নামরসে মাত রে ॥

jivana ha-ila sesa, na bhajile hrsikesa
bhaktivinod-upadesa, ek-bar nam-rase mata re

"Your life is ending, but you have not served Hrsikes. Bhakti Vinod advises: once relish His Name's nectar."

Bhaktivinod Thakur is saying, "Please say this Holy Name once! Say it just once!" Life is uncertain and full of all kinds of dangers—so many diseases obstruct us, all the time something comes up, and we cannot serve the Lord...

জীবন অনিত্য জানহ সার
তাহে নানাবিধ বিপদ-ভার ।
নামাশ্রয় করি' যতনে তুমি
থাকহ আপন কাজে ॥

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara
namasraya kari' yatane tumi
thakaha apana kaje

"Understand the essence: life is temporary and filled with all sorts of adversity. Carefully taking shelter of the Name, engage in your work."

Nobody prohibits you to do your own work, but when you become old and so many diseases come, how will you serve then? When your health is bad, when you are not feeling well, you do not feel like doing anything, you know it yourself. Now your health is good, but every day we waste our time on other things. We have got this life only to serve the Lord, but if we waste time on other things, then, when this body is gone later, we will regret, "I could not serve the Lord! I could not do any service!" When this life is gone, who know whether you will get this chance again or not. We have time now, we can do service, but so many problems come in the way...

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