Look for Purity

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Translated from Bengali, part 3
Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's appearance day
29 January 2018, evening, Sri Ekachakra Dham

Sivji Maharaj told Parvati Devi, "O Devi, there are so many vitta harankari gurus in this world!" Vitta means money—there are many gurus who steal money from people.

Suppose you come to a doctor. The doctor sends you for a blood test to check your sugar, and the result comes that you have diabetes. What does the doctor do then? He will give you medicine and a chart with the foods you must avoid. He will tell you that you must not eat any sweets or potato. But you say, "Doctor, I have much money. Whatever medicine you prescribe, I will take it, but I cannot give up sweets." If it is a good doctor, if the doctor loves you, he will say, "I do not want such patient as you." And if the doctor loves your money, he will say, "OK, you can eat, but a little less, try to give up sweets gradually."

There are such gurus in the this world that say, "Eat whatever your soul desires." But the soul wants to serve the paramatma, it does not want to eat anything! It is the eyes and the mind that want to eat! People go to a fish market and when they see some nice big fish, their mouth waters. Eyes want it and if you have money you buy it. This is all the disease of eyes, mind and other senses. This is jihva-veg (urge of tongue). We sing in the kirtan also, "Chhaya vega dami' chhaya dosa sodhi' (ছয় বেগ দমি' ছয় দোষ শোধি'), subjugate the six urges, rectify the six" defects..."

When Mahaprabhu wanted to take sannyas, He told Keshav Bharati,

"Prabhu, My age is 100 now."

Keshav Bharati replied, "If you cannot control your ten senses, then even if you are a hundred, you cannot become a sannyasi." (Mahaprabhu took sannyas at twenty-four.)

Mahaprabhu said, "I am fifty."

Keshav Bharati replied, "If you cannot control your five sense, then even at fifty you cannot take sannyas."

"I am sixty."

"If you cannot control the six enemies (kama, krodha, lobha, mada, moha, matsarya), then even at sixty you cannot take sannyas."

"I am ninety."

"If you cannot follow the nine practices of devotion, then even at ninety you cannot take sannyas!"

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)

This is how service comes, gradually.

It is said so beautifully in the scriptures, If you get relief from the disease of this world, you can get spiritual world. For that you must listen properly, you must follow the regulative principles properly (no gambling, illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating), if you can follow the five main practices (sadhu-sanga, sravan-kirtan, Mathura-vas, Bhagavat-sravan, sraddhaya Sri Murti sevan). This is what is practised at Gaudiya Math. If somebody asks you, "What happens at Gaudiya Math?" What will you reply? "Oh, they chant the Name." Everyone everywhere chants the Lord's Names. You can pay someone and they will sit and sing all day long, and if you give more money, they will sing even longer. There is one story that Prabhupad told.

There were two brothers who always fought with each other. Once, one of the brothers arranged asta-prahar kirtan at his house—he brought a band to the house, fed them and they started singing and playing kirtans. They sang so well and showed so much emotion that they would even float in the Ganges. The other brother came to them after that and said, "You have done a nice kirtan at my brother's house. You must do even a better kirtan at my house! You must show even more emotion!" They said, "Yes, we can, but you must give more money as well. And bring some pan (betel leaf)." The singer took the betel leaf with some drug and began singing, "Hare Krishno-o-o-o-o" and fell down. He fell down and did not get up. One hour passed. Someone started shaking him, "Brother, wake up, wake up! Long time has passed, wake up." This is all deception.

I have also seen this. In my previous life, when I was a small kid, some kirtan party from this or that sampradaya would come to our house. And they would come to our house with onions—they would put some onion juice or mustard oil in their eyes to start crying. Do you think that if you hear such kirtans you will get benefit? No, you will only get inauspiciousness.

Sivji Maharaj said if you take milk, you will get nourishment and health, milk has many vitamins. Suppose you have two cups with milk, if you put some snake poison in one of them and drink it, what will happen? Both look the same, but if you drink one you will get nourishment and if you drink the other one you will die. In the same way, if you hear the Holy Name, you will get benefit, but if you hear Nama-aparadh, you will get inauspiciousness, you will die. That is why it is said,

অসাধুসঙ্গে ভাই কৃষ্ণনাম নাহি হয় ।

নামাক্ষর বাহিরায় বটে তবু নাম কভু নয় ॥

asadhu-sange bhai krsna-nama nahi haya
namaksara bahiraya bate tabu nama kabhu naya

"Brother, the Name of Krishna never appears in bad association: the letters of the Name may appear, but the Name never does."

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 7.1)

One time, when there were no mobile phones (when people used to write letters and postcards to communicate with each other), a lady came to a festival and took initiation from a Guru. Now, it happened so that her husband's name was Hare Krishna, so when she came home, she realised, "Gurudev told to chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, but it is my husband's name!" She told her husband, "Listen, Gurudev told me to chant the Holy Name, but it is your name, how can I say your name?" (In India, wives do not say their husband's name.) The husband said, "Yes, I am your husband! Your Guru did not do right. You cannot take my name. You must write to him and say about this." The wife asked, "But he told me to go home and chant the Name, what should I do now?" The husband replied, "Then chant Pare Keshto Pare Keshto Keshto Keshto Pare Pare."

That's how we chant the Holy Name...

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)

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