Sadhus' Blessing

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Translated from Bengali
9 December 2018, Tarakeshwar, part 4

কাম-ক্রোধের দাস হঞা তার লাথি খায় ।
ভ্রমিতে ভ্রমিতে যদি সাধু-বৈদ্য পায় ॥
তাঁর উপদেশ-মন্ত্রে পিশাচী পলায় ।
কৃষ্ণভক্তি পায়, তবে কৃষ্ণ-নিকট যায় ॥

kama-krodhera dasa hana tara lathi khaya
bhramite bhramite yadi sadhu-vaidya paya
tanra upadesa-mantre pisachi palaya
krsna-bhakti paya, tabe krsna-nikata yaya

"The conditioned soul becomes a servant of its masters, Lust and Anger, and always gets beaten by these two. But as the soul keeps wandering throughout the universe, it may by chance get connection with the doctor: a devotee, whose instructions and mantras can chase this witch (Maya) away. When they get devotion to Krishna, Krishna becomes closer to them."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.14-15)

By the mercy of sadhus, we can cut the net of Maya and get the Lord. You can all attain the Lord if you listen carefully—if you get sadhu-sanga, if you chant the Holy Name of the Lord, you can get supreme benefit. If you do not get the Lord in this life, you will have to come back again. You had travelled throughout 8,400,000 species before you got this human birth, and nobody knows how soon you will get a human birth again.

People come to me, pay obeisance and ask me, "Maharaj, put your hand on my head, give me your blessing (asirvad)." They ask me for asirvad. Do you know what kind of blessing we give? May you have a good husband, may you have a good wife, may you have a good job, etc.—we do not wish for this. When we give asirvad, it is asi-lakha-yena-vad-yaya (we pray that you do not have to go through the eight million species again). We wish that you do not have to go through trees, plants, animals, insects, aquatic life forms, etc. again. There are so many trees and plants in this world, so many species that live in water. There are 8,400,000 species in total, 400,000 of which are human species.

জলজা নবলক্ষাণি স্থাবরা লক্ষবিংশতি
কৃময়োরুদ্রসঙ্খকাঃ পক্ষিণাং দশলক্ষনম্
ত্রিংশললক্ষাণি পশবঃ চতুরলক্ষাণি মানুষাঃ

jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati
krmayo rudra-sankhyakah paksinam dasa-laksanam
trimsal-laksani pasavah chatur-laksani manusah

"There are 900,000 species living in the water. There are also 2,000,000 nonmoving living entities, such as trees and plants. There are also 1,100,000 species of insects and reptiles, and there are 1,000,000 species of birds. As far as quadrupeds are concerned, there are 3,000,000 varieties, and there are 400,000 human species."

(Padma Purana)

There are so many people in so many different countries, so many people of so many different religions. There are even places on this earth where it is forbidden to go—in such places people kill other people. Just recently a foreigner went to see such a place in the Andaman islands. He paid somebody, got a boat and went to one of the forbidden islands despite the law. The natives came and killed him. Police still cannot find his body—the natives must have eaten it. That is the kind of people that live there.

ভারত-ভূমিতে হৈল মনুষ্য-জন্ম যার ।
জন্ম সার্থক করি' কর পর-উপকার ॥

bharata-bhumite haila manusya janma yara
janma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara

"One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India should take advantage of his birth and bring benefit to all other people."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 9.41)

You have got birth in this land of Bharata (India), and you must help others. There are many big sampradays that help people by giving them medicine, clothes, warm blankets in winter, etc. They help with temporary difficulties. Always remember that this is only temporary happiness. Gaudiya Vaishnavs of Brahma Madhva Gaudiya sampradaya give such things to people by which people have no further need for such trifle things as medicine, money, wealth, etc. Vaishnavs go house to house stretching their hand to everyone, distributing such wealth to them by which all the things of this world seem insignificant.

Here in Bardhaman district, there is a town called Mankar. There lived one brahman, a devotee of Lord Siva in this town. His name was Jivan Chakravarti. He worshipped Lord Siva with so much sincerity that Lord Siva became very pleased with his service. One night, when Jivan Chakravarti finished his service and went to bed, Lord Siva came to him:

"Jivan, wake up, I have come to you," Lord Siva said.

Jivan Chakravarti opened his eyes and saw Lord Siva standing in front of him.

"Jivan, I am very pleased with your service. What boon would you like to get from me?"

"Prabhu, what can I want? I am a very poor brahman, I have no wealth, no money, I am worshipping you with just bael leaves, and you are pleased with that." (Lord Siva is pleased with even little things—he does not want much.) "My daughter has grown up and it is time for her to get married. If you can arrange for some money for her wedding, I will be able to get her married."

Sivji Maharaj said, "Where will I get wealth? I do not have money. Go to Vrindavan, you will get wealth from Sanatan Goswami who lives there."

In those days, there were no trains, buses, or planes—Jivan Chakravarti started walking to Vrindavan. He came to Sanatan Goswami and asked,

"Prabhu, is your name Sanatan Goswami?"

"Yes, it is me," answered Sanatan Goswami.

"So... you are Sanatan Goswami?" he hesitated.

"Why? Do you not believe? What has happened? Why have you come?"

"Prabhu, Siva Thakur has sent me to you."

"What for?"

"For money."

"Where will I get money?"

"Yes, I am thinking that too... At my home, I have some aluminium cookware, but you do not have even that—you only have some earthen pot, and even that has holes..."

"What will I do with a pot? If I had a pot for water, it would break one day or someone would take it. I live on madhukari—Vraja-basis give me some roti or something, so I do not cook. I take some prasad once a day. I go to collect madhukari, get ten rotis, and it lasts me five days..."

"Yes, you are right. Where will you get money? I will go then."

After Jivan Chakravarti left, Sanatan Goswami suddenly called him back,

"Jivan, wait! Listen!"

"Prabhu, you called me?"

"Yes, I have just remembered—I went once to bathe in the Yamuna and found a touchstone there. I did not bring it with me, I threw it into the sand. Go to the bank of the Yamuna, you will find it there."

Jivan went to the Yamuna and searched for the touchstone, but the bank is quite large and he could not find it. Sanatan Goswami went there himself and pointed him at a place, Jivan Chakravarti looked there and found the touchstone. He asked Sanatan Goswami, "How do we know it is a touchstone?" Sanatan Goswami said, "You have an iron kavach on your arm, touch the stone to it." As soon as he touched the touchstone to the kavach, it became gold.

Sanatan Goswami said, "Take it and go back to your home. You can make as much gold with it as you want. You will have a good house, you can get your daughter married, you will have no problem."

Jivan Chakravarti left, but as he was walking back he thought, "This sadhu had found such a valuable thing, but he threw it into the sand at the Yamuna! He must have something more than that!" He came back.

"Baba, you are here again? Have you not left?"

"I have, but I just have one question. What sort of wealth do you have that you do not consider a touchstone valuable? I am placing your feet on my head and praying for that wealth."

"Will you take it, Jivan?"

"Yes, I will."

"Then throw this touchstone."

Jivan Chakravarti went back to the Yamuna and threw the touchstone into the river. You must have heard that when Aurangzeb heard this story of the touchstone, he tried to find it—when he put a chain with an anchor into the water it actually became gold—but he did not find the touchstone.

Sanatan Goswami gave Jivan Chakravarti chanting beads saying, "This is that wealth. I am giving you the wealth that I have got from my Guru."

After that, Jivan Chakravarti stayed under a tree in Vrindavan and served the Lord. He did not think about his home again. Meanwhile, his wife and daughter were waiting for him, but eventually they found a good husband for the girl, with a big house, etc. Everything turned out well for them. Jivan Chakravarti did not have to bring a touchstone home for that—if you chant the Holy Name of the Lord, the Lord looks after you.

We too must think about it. You run behind these small things—behind money, lust, greed, anger. Srila Guru Maharaj said, "I have been a servant of so much lust, so much anger, so much greed! I have been following their false orders. Now that I have come to senses and can understand it, I will not follow their orders any more!"

কামাদীনাং কতি ন কতিধা পালিতা দুর্নিদেশা,
তেষাং জাতা ময়ি ন করুণা ন ত্রপা নোপশান্তিঃ ।
উৎসৃজ্যৈতানথ যদুপতে ! সাম্প্রতং লব্ধবুদ্ধি-
সত্বামায়াতঃ শরণমভয়ং মাং নিযুঙ্ক্ষ্বাত্মদাস্যে ॥

kamadinam kati na katidha palita durnidesa,
tesam jata mayi na karuna na trapa nopasantih
utsrjyaitan atha yadu-pate! sampratam labdha-buddhis
tvam ayatah saranam-abhayam mam niyunksvatma-dasye

"O Lord! How many kinds of wicked orders from lust and others I followed! They had no mercy on me, nor were they ever satisfied! O Krishna! Suddenly, I managed to leave their side and got some good intelligence—I have surrendered at Your fearless lotus feet, please engage me now as Your servant."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.16)

When happens when you follow anger's order? People kill each other—they shoot each other, they beat each other, etc. It means you are a slave of anger. When anger passes, you understand that you should not have beaten or killed the person. If people are overcome by lust, they kill their husbands, or the husband gets another woman and decides to kill his wife when she finds out about it. Slaves of lust. Many people kill for money—people start fighting for even ten rupees. There was a story in the news that some thief died just for one-two rupees. People die because of greed for money.

কাম-ক্রোধ আদি ছয় বাটপাড়ে দেয় ভয়
অবসান হৈল আসি বেলা

kama-krodha-adi chaya batapare deya bhaya
avasana haila asi bela

I am attacked by the six highway robbers lead by kama and krodha, and my life is coming to its end...

("Anadi karama-phale" by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

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