Surrendered Soul's Stance

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
27 October 2018, Dum Dum Park, part 2

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur sings,

সর্ব্বস্ব তোমার চরণে সঁপিয়া
পড়েছি তোমার ঘরে ।
তুমি ত' ঠাকুর, তোমার কুকুর
বলিয়া জানহ মোরে ॥

sarvasva tomara, charane sapiya,
padechhi tomara ghare
tumi ta' thakura, tomara kukura,
baliya janaha more

"I have offered everything at Your feet and taken shelter in Your home. You are my Master; please consider me Your dog."

(Saranagati, 19.1)

"Sarvasva tomara charane sapiya": I have given everything to You and have come to You, I am surrendering to You. "Tumi ta' thakura, tomara kukura, baliya janaha more": it is not necessary to be a pujari; if we can become a dog of the Deities, that is sufficient for us. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says, "Please, only consider me Your dog." A dog always takes care of its proprietor, always protects its master. Let me be like that. "Bandhiya nikate": You can tie me and keep me near You, and I will not allow anybody who is against You to come close to You without Your permission. That will be my duty.

I have told it many times: what is favourable to devotion must be always accepted. what is unfavourable to devotion must be rejected. Both things cannot go together. Sometimes, you follow Krishna consciousness, do what is favourable to devotion, and sometimes, you also do what is unfavourable. You cannot do this. It is important to understand this. When you drink milk, it does you good (you get some vitamins, and your health improves), but if you take alcohol at the same time, it will not work. The two do not go together. So, you must accept what is favourable, and you must reject what is unfavourable. Always remember this. You must practise properly in this way, then your spiritual life will be glorious.

তব নিজ-জন প্রসাদ সেবিয়া
উচ্ছিষ্ট রাখিবে যাহা ।
আমার ভোজন পরম-আনন্দে
প্রতিদিন হবে তাহা ॥

taba nija-jana prasada seviya
uchchhistha rakhibe yaha
amara bhojana parama-anande
pratidina habe taha

"Whatever remnants your devotees leave behind after honouring Your prasad, I will eat that every day in great ecstasy."

I will honour the remnants of your dearmost devotees. Sometimes, there is some classification—for example, Mahaprabhu divided devotees, or Vaishnavs, into three classes (it is written in Chaitanya-charitamrita): kanistha-adhikari, madhyam-adhikari, uttam-adhikari.

Some can only see and recognise Krishna in a Deity form (murti). That is kanistha-adhikari. Madhyam-adhikari are those who can see and observe Krishna not only in Deities but also in devotees—they can see that Krishna is present in the closest, dearmost servitors (sevaite) of the Deities. For example, Srila Rupa Goswami also says that if you respect the Deities, if pay obeisance to the Deities but do not respect the Deities' servitor, it is not correct. I have told this example many days ago:

One time, there was a programme in Jhamatpur Baharan, hosted by the brother of Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami (Jhamatpur Baharan is Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami's birthplace). His brother invited a pujari, Gunarnava Misra, to do the puja, but when a servitor of Nityananda Prabhu, Ramdas Minaketan, came there, Gunarnava Misra showed him no respect—he simply continued doing his job. He did not like Nityananda Prabhu, so he ignored Nityananda Prabhu's servitor. Gunarnava Misra made such a big offence. Ramdas Minaketan told Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami, "What is your brother doing, Krishna Das?" Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami understood what had happened, and he knew it was very bad. Anyhow, that day he got so much love and affection from Nityananda Prabhu; he got the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu—after that day, at night, Nityananda Prabhu Himself came to him and called him, "Listen, Krishna Das! Do not stay in Jhamatpur Baharan, come to Vrindavan! Do not stay in this bad association of your brother. Leave this bad association and come to Vrindavan."

Finally, uttam adhikari devotees are those who see Krishna always, everywhere. They do not even see any great buildings or anything else, they only see Krishna everywhere.

অন্ধীভূত চক্ষু যার বিষয ধূলিতে ।
কিরূপে সে পরতত্ত্ব পাইবে দেখিতে ॥

andhibhuta chaksu yara visaya dhulite
ki rupe se para-tattva paibe dekhite

"Our eyes have become blind by the dust of visaya, the material world—how can we see the transcendental world?"

The problem is that our eyes are full of dust...

— : • : —

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