Ditching the World

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Translated from Bengali, part 1
Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's appearance day
29 January 2018, evening, Sri Ekachakra Dham

Today we have successfully made Sri Ekachakra Dham parikrama...

[There is too much background noise.]

I am begging you, please do not talk. I am clasping your feet and asking you. Please do not talk, you are making offence. "Dinera madhye abala-tabala kata pachala parite para, tara madhye ki eka-bara govinda bolate nara! (দিনের মধ্যে আবল-তাবল কত পচাল পাড়িতে পার, তার মধ্যে কি একবার গোবিন্দ বলতে নার)": You can talk about so many nonsense things all day long, but amidst all can you not say "Govinda!" just once? We talk so much, but when the Lord takes the power of speech from us, then we will not be able to say a word. You think you have got this mouth for eating and talking—the Lord will send you to a cow's body, then you will moo and eat grass all day long!

Sadhus, Gurus, Vaishnavs they come to your door as bhava-roga doctors and stand in front of you just to tell you some Hari-katha. In this world, to see a good doctor, you have to wait in the queue, you have to go to a good hospital, but the bhava-roga doctors go door to door distributing the medicine for the material disease of heart (bhava-roga), but if you do not take this medicine properly, will there be any result? If you keep on talking gramya-katha, gramya-varta (village talks and village news), then you will not get anything.

কোটি জন্ম যদি করে শ্রবণ কীর্ত্তন ।
তবু না পায় ব্রজেন্দ্রনন্দন ॥

koti janma yadi kare sravana kirtana
tabu na paya vrajendranandan

"If you practise hearing and chanting for millions of lives, you may still not get the Son of Nanda who dwells in Vraja."

Even if you hear about the Lord and chant the Lord's Name, practise for millions of lives, you will not get the Lord. Why?

হেন কৃষ্ণনাম যদি লয় বহুবার ।
তবু যদি প্রেম নহে, নহে অশ্রুধার ॥
তবে জানি, অপরাধ তাহাতে প্রচুর ।
কৃষ্ণনাম-বীজ তাহে না করে অঙ্কুর ॥

hena krnsa-nama yadi laya bahu-bara
tabu yadi prema nahe, nahe asrudhara
tabe jani, aparadha tahate prachura
krsna-nama-bija tahe na kare ankura

"If you chant this Name of Krishna so many times but still there is no love, there are no tears streaming from your eyes, then as I understand there are too many offences and the seed of Krishna's Name does not sprout."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 8.29-30)

Because you must chant the Holy Name without offence! You must give up offences. This is natya-mandir—this is a place only for talks about Prabhupad, Guru Maharaj, Gurudev, for singing Nityananda Prabhu's glories. This is not a place for anything other than that. This is "bhakti-siddhanta sravan sadhan"—this is a place where we must talk about devotional teachings (bhakti-siddhanta). You can talk about all sorts of nonsense things all day long at home, but here you are tolerating so much austerity lying on the cold floor. Have you got no realisation? Has the Lord not given you any understanding? Do you think the Lord does not see you? Do you think He does not see that you come and only talk all the time?

We have come here by a great fortune. Not everybody can come here. We must take the dust of this place, we must take prasad at this place.

অল্প ভাগ্যে সেবা নাহি হয়
কোটি জন্ম থাকলে ভাগ্য
বিষয় ছেড়ে হয় বৈরাগ্য

alpa-bhagye seva nahi haya
koti janma thakle bhagya
visaya chhede haya vairagya

"Service does not come by just a little fortune. Only after ten million births of good fortune, can you leave this material world behind."

ব্রহ্মাণ্ড ভ্রমিতে কোন ভাগ্যবান্ জীব ।
গুরু-কৃষ্ণ-প্রসাদে পায় ভক্তিলতা-বীজ ॥
মালী হঞা করে সেই বীজ আরোপণ ।
শ্রবণ-কীর্ত্তন-জলে করয়ে সেচন ॥

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
mali hana kare sei bija aropana
sravana-kirtana-jale karaye sechana

Having travelled throughout the universe and got the mercy of Guru, Krishna, a fortunate soul receives a seed of the devotional creeper. As a gardener, they must plant that seed and water it with practising: hearing and chanting.

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 19.151-152

We want this sravan and kirtan water. You must always think, "How can always I chant the Holy Name in good association?" You must earn devotion—if you do not earn devotion, you will not get the Lord. How does one earn it? "Bhaktis tu bhagavad-bhakta-sangena parijayate (ভক্তিস্তু ভগবদ্ভক্তসঙ্গেন পরিজায়তে, Brhan-naradiya Purana)—you can get devotion through the association of devotees." It is necessary to associate with devotees.

What is association with devotees? Eat with them from one plate? Sleeping with them in one room? Living with them? This is not association with devotees. If you listen to what devotees say and follow that, if you practise according to their advice, then you will come in touch with devotion. You must always remember this.

Every day we sing in the morning,

ভক্তি-অনুকূল মাত্র কার্য্যের স্বীকার ।
ভক্তি-প্রতিকূল ভাব—বর্জ্জনাঙ্গীকার ॥

bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara

Engaging only in activities that are favourable to devotion, rejecting everything unfavourable to devotion.

Mahaprabhu told Raghunath Das Goswami:

গ্রাম্যকথা না শুনিবে, গ্রাম্যবার্ত্তা না কহিবে ।
ভাল না খাইবে আর ভাল না পরিবে ॥
অমানী মানদ হঞা কৃষ্ণনাম সদা ল'বে ।
ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ সেবা মানসে করিবে ॥

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

"Do not listen to the mundane talks, do not listen to the mundane news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krsna, and in your mind serve Radha-Krsna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.236-237)

What did Nityananda Prabhu say? We have come here to the holy abode of Lord Nityananda Prabhu to please Nityananda Prabhu. How can we please Him? Do you think He will be happy if we come and talk all kinds of nonsense talks here? Nityananda Prabhu told us to chant the name of Gauranga:

ভজ গৌরাঙ্গ, কহ গৌরাঙ্গ, লহ গৌরাঙ্গের নাম রে
যে জন গৌরাঙ্গ ভজে, সেই আমার প্রাণ রে

bhaja gauranga, kaha gauranga, laha gaurangera nama re
ye jana gauranga bhaje, sei amara prana re

"Worship Gauranga! Say Gauranga! Take Gauranga's Name! Those who worship Gauranga are My heart and soul!"

This is what Nityananda Prabhu told and this is what we must do!

When Mahaprabhu left Nabadwip and took sannyas, what did He tell all the devotees?

যদি আমা'-প্রতি স্নেহ থাকে সবাকার ।
তবে কৃষ্ণ-ব্যতিরিক্ত না গাইবে আর ॥

yadi ama'-prati sneha thake sabakara
tabe krsna-vyatirikta na gaibe ara

"If you have any love and affection for Me, then only say 'Krishna'—do not say anything except 'Krishna.'"

Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda, 28.27

If you love Mahaprabhu, then you must chant the Holy Name of Krishna. And not only say it:

“গোরার আমি, গোরার আমি” মুখে বলিলে নাহি চলে ।

গোরার আচার, গোরার বিচার লইলে ফল ফলে ॥

"gorara ami, gorara ami" mukhe balile nahi chale
gorara achara, gorara vichara la-ile phala phale

Just saying, "I am Gora's! I am Gora's!" does not do. Only when you follow Gora's practices and Gora's conception will you get the proper result.

লোক দেখান গোরা ভজা তিলক মাত্র ধরি ।

গোপনেতে অত্যাচার গোরা ধরে চুরি ॥

loka dekhana gora bhaja tilaka matra dhari'
gopanete atyachara gora dhare churi

You show the world you serve Gora simply by wearing tilak but secretly you misbehave. Gora will catch you, you thief!

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6-7)

If you are to practise truly, then you must cook, you must serve the Lord nicely, you must become detached and peaceful (shanta). Always think about this. If you do not think about this, where will it take you? You have got this rare human birth having travelled throughout 8,400,000 species (among them only 400,000 are human species, and the rest are so many species—trees, plants, insects, beasts, birds, aquatic species, etc.), you have got birth in Bharata-bhumi (India):

ভারত-ভূমিতে হৈল মনুষ্য-জন্ম যার ।
জন্ম সার্থক করি' কর পর-উপকার ॥

bharata-bhumite haila manusya janma yara
janma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara

"One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India should take advantage of his birth and bring benefit to all other people."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 9.41)

What is benefit to others? Jive daya, Name ruchi, Vaishnava-seva (be kind to the jiva souls, have taste for chanting the Holy Name, and serve Vaishnavs. If you give somebody ten rupees or if you give somebody prasad in winter, but they will go away and later they will again come to you. This is not charity. What is the true charity? If you bring even one soul averse to Krishna to this path and engage them in the service of the Lord, that is called true charity. Sarva-jive Krsna adhisthan: Krishna lives within all jiva souls. All souls are born to serve Krishna, and you must use every jiva soul for the service of Lord Krishna. Then it will be charity to others.

So called learned people of this world say, "Jive prema kare yei jana sei jana sevichhe isvara (জীবে প্রেম করে যেই জন সেই জন সেবিছে ঈশ্বর): love God by loving others." They tell others, "As many faiths, so many paths (yata mat tata path, যত মত, তত পথ)." People are attracted to this, but we do not understand the real thing. Do you see our condition? We must cry,

আর কবে নিতাইচাঁদ করুণা করিবে ।
সংসার-বাসনা মোর কবে তুচ্ছ হ'বে ॥

ara kabe nitaichand karuna karibe
samsara-vasana mora kabe tuchha ha'be

"When will Nitaichand give mercy to me? When will all my material desires become insignificant?"

('Prarthana' by Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

"When will material attachment be removed from my heart? When will that happen?"

কবে জীবে দয়া হইবে উদয়,
নিজ সুখ ভুলি' সুদীন-হৃদয়

kabe jive daya haibe udaya,
nija-sukha bhuli' sudina-hrdaya

"When will compassion to all souls arise in my heart and I forget my own happiness?"

('Kabe habe bolo, se dina amar?')

কবে নিত্যানন্দ মোরে করি' দয়া ।
ছাড়াইবে মোর বিষয়ের মায়া ॥

kabe nityananda more kari' daya
chhadaibe mora visayera maya

When will Nityananda be compassionate to me and relieve me from the mundane illusion?

("Kabe habe bolo se dina amar" by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

When will our material desires become insignificant and leave me?

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur wrote,

এমন দুর্ম্মতি সংসার-ভিতরে
পড়িয়া আছিনু আমি ।
তব নিজ-জন কোন মহাজনে
পাঠাইয়া দিলে তুমি ॥

emana durmati samsara bhitare
padiya achhinu ami

O Lord! I am very wicked-minded and have fallen into this material world.

('Emona Durmati' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

When Mahaprabhu left and took sannyas, Guru Maharaj said He would sing about His position, "Ami yai yai mane kari, yaite nahi pari—maha-maya pichanete dhaya! (আমি যাই যাই মনে করি, আমি যাইতে না পারি—মহামায়া পিছনেতে ধায় !)" The Lord says, "I have decided that I will leave, but I could not! I want to leave this material world, but Maya is always running behind Me!"

We must think about it. We must always think how we can reach the Lord.

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