(6/13) Live in Domain of Mercy

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

Mahaprabhu taught,

ন ধনং ন জনং ন সুন্দরীং কবিতাং বা জগদীশ কাময়ে ।
মম জন্মনি জন্মনীশ্বরে ভবতাদ্ভক্তিরহৈতুকী ত্বয়ি ॥

na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi

'I do not want wealth, I do not want followers, I do not want beautiful women, I do not want to be a poet. I only want causeless devotion to Your lotus feet. Give me that kind of devotion to Your lotus feet so that I could serve You life after life.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.20.29)

Outside people say, 'Dhanam dehi, vidyam dehi, rupam dehi, varyam dehi, kavitam dehi, sundarim dehi. Give me wealth, give me knowledge, give me beauty, give me a good wife, make me a poet, make me beautiful.' 'I want to be rich', 'I want knowledge', 'I want people around me', 'I want a beautiful wife' – how many days does such happiness(?) last? All these things give some temporary happiness. You know better than me how much happiness there is in material family life. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur prayed, 'I have been following so many orders of Maya – orders of lust, orders of anger, orders of greed, orders of illusion, orders of envy, and so on. But all unhappiness is gone now that I have taken shelter at the Lord's holy feet.'

বড় দুঃখ পাইয়াছি স্বতন্ত্র জীবনে ।
সব দুঃখ দূরে গেল, ও পদ বরণে ॥

bada duhkha paiyachhi svatantra jivane
saba duhkha dure gela, o pada varane

'I was very unhappy in my independent life, but all my unhappiness is gone now that I have embraced the Lord's feet.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'I have suffered a lot in my life, but all unhappiness went away when I took shelter at the holy lotus feet of Govinda. Once I took shelter at the holy feet of the Lord and gurudev, all unhappiness was gone.' Therefore, always keep yourself away from any vaishnav-aparadh.

হরিস্থানে অপরাধে তারে হরিনাম ।
তোমাস্থানে অপরাধে নাহিক এড়ান ॥

hari-sthane aparadhe tare harinama
toma-sthane aparadhe nahiko edana

'If one commits an offence at the feet of Lord Hari, he can be forgiven if he chants the Holy Name. But if one offends you, there is no salvation for him.'

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

As far as it is possible by you, keep yourself away from any offence to Vaishnavs. You must give respect to everyone. We have just chanted this kirtan:

সকলে সম্মান করিতে শকতি
দেহ' নাথ ! যথাযথ ।

sakale sammana karite sakati,
deha natha! yatha yatha

'O Master! Please give me strength to give proper honour to everyone.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'Sarva-jive krsna-adhisthan (সর্ব্বজীবে কৃষ্ণ-অধিষ্ঠান). Krishna is present in all jiva souls' (Gitavali). The Lord is there in every living entity, so we must give honour and treat everyone respectfully.

If you want to manage this temple or this Mission, there is one thing you must think about. Listen carefully, especially those of you who stay at the temple. A body has various parts and limbs: the Lord has given you eyes, ears, two hands, two legs, a stomach, a head, and so on. If one of the organs or limbs gets crippled, it becomes a problem. For example, if your arm withers, you will struggle to write, eat or wash yourself in the bathroom; if one of your eyes becomes blind, you will struggle to write because you will have to see only with one eye; or if your ears become deaf, it is very hard to live like that, too. In the same way, there are many people at the temple, and we need every single person. Just as a body needs every single limb, a temple also needs every single person who lives there.

You must stay together with everyone; whether somebody is good or bad, you must be able to manage with everybody. Srila Prabhupad said that everybody can manage with good people, but not everybody can manage with bad people. If somebody is not good, you must try to make them good. We must not reject them. Mahaprabhu did not reject anyone, He rescued even Jagai and Madhai. Nityananda Prabhu rescued Madhai even though Madhai had beaten Him! But Jagai and Madhai never committed any vaishnav-aparadh. You may think, 'But they hit Nityananda Prabhu! Is that not an offence?' If they had not hit Nityananda Prabhu, how would Nityananda Prabhu's glory become revealed then? Nityananda Prabhu bestows the Holy Name and the treasure of divine love even to those who beat Him, and this glory was revealed in this world through Jagai and Madhai. At the same time, Jagai and Madhai never criticised Vaishnavs. They could have done many wrong things – they could have killed, robbed and raped – but the Lord rescued them, and they went to the abode of the Lord. Valmiki was also a dacoit at first, but then he surrendered to the Lord, and, in the end, as you have heard, he composed Ramayana.

অপি চেৎ সুদুরাচারো ভজতে মামনন্যভাক্ ।
সাধুরেব স মন্তব্যঃ সম্যগ্ব্যবসিতো হি সঃ ॥

api chet suduracharo, bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah, samyag vyavasito hi sah

'If even a very sinful person serves Me exclusively with devotion, he should be regarded as saintly, for his resolve is perfect.'

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 9.30)

One can be a very sinful person, but if this person takes shelter of the Lord's holy feet, the Lord forgives all their faults and offences and uses them in Krishna's service. Can there be anyone more merciful than Him in this world? He bestows mercy and the treasure of divine love even to those who beat Him! There is nobody as merciful as He is. That is why we chant in one of the kirtans:

আর কবে নিতাইচাঁদ করুণা করিবে ।
সংসার-বাসনা মোর কবে তুচ্ছ হ'বে ॥

ara kabe nitaichand karuna karibe
samsara-vasana mora kabe tuchha ha'be

'When will Nitaichand give me His mercy? When will my material desires become trifle?'

(Prarthana, Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

কবে নিত্যানন্দ মোরে করি' দয়া ।
ছাড়াইবে মোর বিষয়ের মায়া ॥

kabe nityananda more kari' daya
chhadaibe mora visayera maya

'When will Nityananda be compassionate to me and relieve me from mundane illusion?'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

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Length: 89 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Clean Your Heart and Cultivate Devotion
2) Seva-Dharma and Mano-Dharma
3) Strive for Spiritual Subsistence
4) Where There Is a Will There Is a Way
5) Excreting Visaya
6) Live in Domain of Mercy
7) The Side-Tracked and the Drowning
8) Servants' Wealth
9) Live Thinking about Lord
10) Turtle Consciousness
11) Learn and Practise
12) Sadhu's Duty
13) Internal Asuddha