Inner Wealth

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
22 May 2018, Siliguri, part 7

...Another thing is that you must be a sadhu, not pretend to be sadhu. It is very difficult to be a sadhu, and it is very easy to pretend to be a sadhu. Do you understand what a sadhu means? Somebody who is wearing a renunciate's dress, etc. You can see many of such people in the world.

Suppose I wear the uniform of a policeman and take a gun, do I become a policeman? I will be a false policeman. In the same way, there are also false sadhus in this world, and everybody must be careful of them. If somebody has a car accident, some glass breaks and scatters everywhere on the ground, and you go past in a car—seeing these bits of glass glittering in the sun, you think they are diamonds, so you stop the car and scoop some in your hand. What happens then? If you take glass in your hand, will you not cut your hand? You will. In the same way, if you come to such false sadhus, they will bring inauspiciousness in your life and your religion will be destroyed. They are a pitfall on the path to the Lord. Such sadhus are all over the world—they put on tilak, mala, they look just like a real sadhu. They dress as a sadhu, inside they are full of envy and insincerity, false renunciation. That is why it is said—you must be a sadhu, not pretend to be a sadhu.

Also it is said, you must pretend to be living in a family, but you must not live a family life. Suppose you have a family. You should stay in your family showing that you live with them, but internally you must have no attachment to them, you must have more attachment to the Lord. Always chant the Holy Name, and you will see that such mood will come to you—you will get the supreme benefit. We are advised to live in a family externally, but we are forbidden to live a family life. Live always remembering this.

The nature of a sadhu is

তৃণাদপি সুনীচেন তরোরিব সহিষ্ণুনা ।
অমানিনা মানদেন কীর্ত্তনীয়ঃ সদা হরিঃ ॥

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.239)

You must always, all the time chant the Holy Name. You have all heard about Vasudev Vipra. How did he live? You must listen to it with your very heart.

Vasudev Vipra had worms in his skin—he had leprosy. The worms would eat his flesh and fall out of the sores on his body, but he would scoop them and put them back into the sores. He thought, "This rotten body will be burnt one day at the Ganges or Yamuna, so if these worms are happy to eat my body, let them do so, let me bear the struggle."

We must have that kind of patience, forbearance, we must have that kind of tolerance. O Lord, when will that day be mine?

তৃণাধিক হীন কবে নিজে মানি
সহিষ্ণুতা-গুণ হৃদয়েতে আনি'

trnadhika hina kabe nije mani
sahisnuta-guna hrdayete ani'

"When will I feel that I am lower than a blade of grass, when will I bring the quality of tolerance into my heart?"

('Kabe habe bolo, se dina amar?' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

"When will that quality of tolerance be mine, O Lord? Please tell me when will that day be mine?" Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur writes this. When will the Lord give me the ability to tolerate? We must always think about this. It is necessary to tolerate otherwise you will not get any result. Always tolerate, always be patient.

— : • : —

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