(1/4) Path to Purification

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
6 January 2019, morning, part 1

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay.
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.
Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay.
Jay saparikara Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda Sundarjiu ki jay.
Jay Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay.
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay.
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay.
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay.
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay.
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay.
Suddha-bhaktir-vighna-vinasa-kari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay.
Harinam sankirtan ki jay.
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

We are very fortunate because today we have got another opportunity to chant the Holy Name and to hear Krishna-katha, Hari-katha. It is not every day that we get this kind of opportunity to hear Hari-katha, to hear what Krishna told us. Moreover, we cannot hear Krishna's message and Mahaprabhu's message (vani) properly because our minds and other instruments (senses, etc.) are always busy with their own service, not with our service... We forget that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that Krishna controls us; therefore, our senses are always controlling us. Our senses want to control us, but it is not right – we are attacked by the illusory environment, that is why our senses are controlling us. We must understand this through sadhu-sanga (association of saints), Nama-sankirtan (chanting the Holy Name), Bhagavat-sravan (hearing scriptures), Mathura-vas (residing in a holy place) and sraddhaya sri-murti-sevan (serving Deities with faith). The highest among these practices is sadhu-sanga and Nama-sankirtan, they are necessary for our spiritual life to go properly. When we get the seed of the creeper of devotion (bhakti-lata-bij), it is necessary to water it, and that water is sravan (hearing about the Lord) and kirtan (chanting the Lord's Name, practising Krishna consciousness).

[His Divine Grace tells the devotee who has received brahman initiation and is going to collect alms.] When you approach gents, you say, 'Bhavan bhiksam dehi (O gentleman, please give me some alms),' and when you approach ladies, you say, 'Bhavati bhiksam dehi (O lady, please give me some alms).'

You know that magnet always attracts iron, but if a piece of iron is covered with rust, how will magnet attract it? If you keep some iron outside and it gets covered with dust and rust, magnet will not be able to attack it. Therefore, if you practise sravanam (hearing about the Lord) and kirtanam (chanting the Lord's Name) and practise Krishna consciousness, then sadhu-sanga will remove all dust (the five tastes: rupa, rasa, gandha, sabda, sparsa – seeking the pleasures of eyes, taste, smell, ear and touch; and the six enemies: kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya – lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness, envy) from you.

'সাধুসঙ্গ', 'সাধুসঙ্গ'—সর্ব্বশাস্ত্রে কয় ।
লবমাত্র সাধুসঙ্গে সর্ব্বসিদ্ধি হয় ॥

'sadhu-sanga', 'sadhu-sanga'—sarva sastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu sange sarva siddhi haya

'All scriptures keep saying, "Good association", "Good association". You can attain all perfection even just by a drop of good, saintly association.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.54)

The scriptures tell us that sadhu-sanga (good association) is necessary for our spiritual life. Gurudev gave one example from Narad Pancha-ratra about the importance of association. He told that example when we were on a tour in Russia, and at that time I heard it from him.

There were two brothers who lived with the parents, and they had two birds. When their parents died, the brothers divided their property and made two separate houses. They also divided the birds between each other. One day, a sadhu went begging to the area where they lived. When the sadhu came to the first brother, the bird cried, 'Get out! Get out!' The sadhu was surprised to hear the bird speak like this. Then, he went to another house (to the house of the other brother) and saw a bird there too. He thought, 'Is this bird going to swear me, too?' But the bird did not say, 'Get out!' – instead, the bird said, 'Is anybody here? A sadhu has come! Give him an asan!' After this story, Narad Goswami went to Brahma, his gurudev, to ask him about those birds, and Brahma explained, 'Yes, when the birds lived together, both birds were good, but when they were split up between the brothers, they changed. One of the brothers was a devotee, so the bird got a devotee's association; and the other brother was not a devotee and did not like sadhus, so his bird took after him. So, the bird who got good association became good, and the bird who got bad association became bad.'

Therefore, we must understand whose association we will take.

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Path to Purification
2) What Is Good Association?
3) Stay Engaged in Service, Not Maya
4) Escape Ratty Life