— { HARI-KATHA IN KULGACHIA } —
Entering Higher Abode

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kulgachia Gram, Howrah District
6 May 2018, part 19

Foreigners ask so many questions, "Why must we worship Krishna and not Jesus or Buddha? What does Krishna do? He only steals all His life! Why must I worship Krishna? Why is Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Why is Lord Rama not the Supreme Personality of Godhead?" They ask me questions like this... You know these things and understand it, but those who come from other countries, come from a different religion—some come from a Christian background, some come from a Muslim or Buddhist background, but when they take initiation, they shave their heads and take the Holy Name!

Before, they used to eat beef, pork, lamb, goats, cats' and dogs' meat, but they come here, become vegetarian, and they chant the Holy Name, they do service. Do you think it is easy to come to this line? Even people from India cannot give up meat and fish. I try so hard, I tell people so many times that if you kill any soul, later that soul will come to kill you. I tell people so many things, but, attached to the pleasures of their tongues, they cannot give up eating meat and fish, or they agree to give up meat, but not fish—they take fish and think they are vegetarian. You cannot offer these things to the Lord; it is not written anywhere in the scriptures that you can do this.

It is very hard for the people of this world to come to this path, and even if everyone was to go to the Lord, what would become of the world then? It is not so easy to come to the Lord. Not everybody can cross the Viraja River—and it is not money that you cross it with, you can only cross it through service, through service to Vaishnavs, the Lord, the Guru. If you can engage yourself in this service while here in this world, then you can cross the Viraja River, and after the Viraja, there is Paravyoma, and then Goloka. Many people go to Vaikuntha because many people want liberation, and the abode of liberation is in Vaikuntha, but it is very difficult to cross the Viraja and enter into higher abodes. In order to cross the Viraja, it is necessary to chant the Holy Name, to serve the Vaishnavs, the Guru.

জীবে দয়া, নামে রুচি, বৈষ্ণব সেবা ।
ইহা বহি সনাতন নাহি আর ধর্ম্ম ॥

jive daya name ruchi vaisnava seva
iha bahi sanatana nahi ara dharma

"Be merciful to the souls, relish chanting the Holy Name, and serve the Vaishnavs. Sanatan, besides this, there is no other religion."

You must be merciful to the souls, you must feel taste for the Holy Name and you must serve the Vaishnavs. "Chhadiya vaisnava-seva nistara payechhe keba (ছাড়িয়া বৈষ্ণব-সেবা নিস্তার পায়েছে কেবা): without service to Vaishnavs, you cannot get relief." Service to Vaishnavs is necessary.

'আমি ত' বৈষ্ণব', এ বুদ্ধি হইলে
অমানী না হ'ব আমি ।

"ami ta' vaisnava," e-buddhi ha-ile,
amani na ha'ba ami

"If I think, 'I am a Vaishnav,' then I will never stop expecting honour from others (I will never become void of the desire for honour)."

(Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

You must try to engage yourself in service. Be always joyful and serve the Vaishnavs. I always tell you, "Have you become a sadhu or do you only dress as a sadhu?"...

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