(6/10) Your Life, Your Escape

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ganga Sagar, morning class,
Deity Manifestation Anniversary day
12 January 2019, part 6
Translated from Bengali

If we can take shelter of a bona fide guru and practise Krishna consciousness under his guidance, we will get supreme benefit. We must think about the welfare of our souls. What we will eat in this world, what we will wear, we must do this, we must do that, we are always following the cravings of our tongues. We are alive by killing millions of souls, but if we live in Krishna's family – if we do everything for the Lord (be it cooking, farming, trading or running a business) – then you can take prasad. 'If the Lord keeps something for me, then I will get prasad.' The Lord sends food and all facilities for us. But if you take something without giving it to the Lord, then you will be stealing and eating – you will be eating sin. Remember this. You must honour prasad. You must first give everything to the Lord and then take it, then you will get the supreme benefit.

I am telling you these things briefly. I can talk for hours and days, it is not a problem. But the main thing is that we must understand today is why, by the mercy of Gurudev, we have installed Deities here? To bring highest benefit to others – so that others can join in the worship and service of the Lord.

We cannot do anything on our own. Mahaprabhu went door to door, saying:

জীব জাগ, জীব জাগ, গোরাচাঁদ বলে ।
কত নিদ্রা যাও মায়া-পিশাচীর কোলে ॥

jiva jago, jiva jago, gorachanda bale
kata nidra yao maya-pisachira kole

'Sri Gorachand says, "Wake up, souls! Wake up! How much longer will you sleep in the lap of the witch Maya?"'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

পিশাচী পাইলে যেন মতিচ্ছন্ন হয় ।

মায়াগ্রস্ত জীবের হয় সে ভাব উদয় ॥

pisachi paile yena mati-chchhanna haya
maya-grasta jivera haya se bhava udaya

'Those who are possessed by a ghost become delirious, and the same condition arises in those who are seized by Maya, illusion.'

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 6.3)

We live in illusion, which is why we pray every morning:

শক্তিবুদ্ধিহীন আমি অতি দীন
কর মোরে আত্মসাথ ॥

sakti-buddhi-hina ami ati dina
kara more atma-satha

'I have no power, no intelligence, I am very poor. Please hijack me.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'Gurudev! Please hijack me. Please take me out of this illusory world and let me join service to Lord Krishna!' Sadhus, gurus and Vaishnavs come to remind us that we have been living in Maya's bondage since time immemorial, going through one family life to another. We have been born in a cow's family, in a goat's family, a cat's family, a sheep's family, a tree's family, a dog's family, a pig's family – we keep leaving one family after another, travelling throughout 8,400,000 species. Now we have finally got this human birth here in India.

In this birth, we have got the darshan of sadhus and gurus, and our gurudev has brought us to this path. We must think about these things. We must think how fortunate we are to have been able to take shelter at the holy lotus feet of our Gurupadpadma, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

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Size: 25 Mb
Length: 50 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Power of Mindful Service
2) Service Is All About Mood
3) Help Yourself and Others
4) Beyond Body and Bondage
5) Do Not Cheat Yourself
6) Your Life, Your Escape
7) Keep Internal Purity
8) Embrace Devotion to Lord Krishna
9) Know Where You Belong
10) Result of Sadhu-Sanga