(9/11) Harmonising Wisely

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Adhivas of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's tirobhav
Sri Nrisingha Palli, 12 August 2018, morning, part 9
Translated from Bengali

One time, I put somebody in charge of cleaning Govinda Kunda and told him to be especially careful with the malati flower trees. But when he was cleaning, he cut a branch of a malati tree – so much pain for the tree. Not only that, he left it lying in the middle of the place... I still remember it. What kind of service mood is this? That is why Guru Maharaj said, 'Yata chila nadabune haye gela kirtane ara kaste bhenge gadano kattala (যত ছিল নাড়াবুনে হয়ে গেল কীর্ত্তনে আর কাস্তে ভেঙ্গে গড়ানো কত্তাল). Lit. all the foolish peasants come to do kirtan with broken scythes as kartals (Clodhoppers have turned artists; fools have turned leaders).' When they come to play the mridanga, they break the drum; when they come to play the kartals, they break the kartals; when they come to wash the dishes, they break the dishes... As they saying goes, 'Yantra yadi pare thake laksa janara majhe, yantri vihane yantra kemane baje (যন্ত্র যদি পরে থাকে লক্ষ জনার মাঝে, যন্ত্রী বিহনে যন্ত্র কেমনে বাজে). Even if you put an instrument amidst a million people, how will it play if there is no player?' Have you heard this sung in some lila-kirtans? People read the scriptures independently, on their own, and chant kirtans on their own, but we must not listen to them. There are some who bring spiritual benefit to others, and there are some who can also bring spiritual inauspiciousness.

Gurudev told me, 'Even if you get one coin, you must give it to me. Later, if you need any money, however much, you can take it from me.' When I went for preaching, both here in India and abroad, I gave whatever money I got to Gurudev, no matter how much or how little it was. And I always kept a copybook where I wrote down all expenses (for example, car petrol or some food, fruit or sweets, that I got on the way), and when I came back to Gurudev, I gave him that ledger and the money, everything to a coin. That was my rule. I never took anything for myself.

Gurudev said that there are different kinds of devotee. Many foreign devotees came to Gurudev, and Gurudev mostly spoke to them. So, he said that some devotees come only to see Gurudev, and as soon as they come, they give whatever they have to Gurudev – they come to Gurudev, talk to him, give him all their money (donation), and then they go to their rooms. Another kind of devotees first come, get a room, settle in, then come to Gurudev, give him some donation and go away. The third kind of devotees come to the temple, stay for a few days, a week or two, eat, enjoy, and in the end, they give to Gurudev whatever money they have left after all the expenses. Gurudev explained this. He could understand everything.

When Gurudev went to Kolkata, he would sometimes ask me, 'You must come to Kolkata too.' I would agree, and then Gurudev would ask, 'How much do you need for your train fare?' At that time, the train fare was twenty or twenty-five rupees. Gurudev could understand, 'He has given everything to me.' So, he would give me twenty rupees for the train fare and some change for the bus fare to get to the Dum Dum Park temple.

So, I heard from Gurudev that there are different kinds of servitors. Somebody comes for their own satisfaction, and somebody comes for Gurudev's satisfaction. Everybody is not the same. Your five fingers are not the same, so five servitors will also not be the same. It is necessary to manage and serve together with everyone. If somebody is going down a bad road, you must talk to them, explain it to them, you must try to keep them in this line. Never reject them.

Srila Prabhupad said that satisfying the whims of your mind is not Krishna consciousness. You can see this devotee here chanting on his beads during the class. He is following his own mind – his mind's whim is to chant on his beads, and he does so. One devotee put a lot of soil on the roof and planted some Tulasi there. I told them, 'Have you kept all this soil to make me a samadhi here?' [His Divine Grace laughs] We have to work with such devotees... It is necessary to be wise and use your intelligence.

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Length: 97 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Genuine Relation with Sri Guru
2) Pleasing Gurudev
3) Giving Gurudev Place In Your Heart
4) Gurudev's Transcendental Care
5) Live In the World of Faith
6) Value Your Service Life
7) Power of Genuine Devotion
8) Give Wholesale Attention
9) Harmonising Wisely
10) Seva-Sprha
11) My Humble Prayer to You