(1/11) Basis of Mahaprabhu's Conception

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sundarpur, 18 January 2019, noon, part 1
Translated from Bengali

I had some job in Kolkata yesterday and finished late in the evening, so I am coming a little late today. I have kept you waiting... The devotees had told me that I could come for a programme here, and I thought that my duty is to preach Hari-katha – my Gurupadpadma has kept me here to preach about the Lord, so whenever and wherever an opportunity comes to preach, I must take it regardless of any personal inconvenience or struggle.

Sometimes, we do not know the conception. We do not understand how we must practise Krishna consciousness. The problem is that we are still green  – we still do not practise Krishna consciousness properly. That is why sadhus, gurus and Vaishnavs go house to house to tell people how to practise, they try so hard to bring to this path people who have turned away from Krishna. And if there are any pure grihasthas, sannyasis and brahmacharis who follow the rules and regulations and serve the Lord, it is my duty to think about them and worship them. This is the result of spiritual life.

Srila Prabhupad said that if we keep serving jiva souls, it will bring benefit to us. Following the whims of your mind is not Krishna consciousness. Spiritual life means to follow Sri Guru and Vaishnavs with submission and chastity, serving them and fulfilling their desires. The problem is that there is a lack of chaste submission (anugatya). We do not have that which is the most necessary and important to have. We often get wrong ideas and begin to follow various misconceptions; therefore, we must understand the conception and the mood that Mahaprabhu taught.

There are five spiritual service moods: santa (neutrality), dasya (servitude), sakhya (friendship), vatsalya (parenthood) and madhura (consorthood). You think that you are practising Krishna consciousness and what I am saying is very harsh. For example, Nityananda Prabhu represents dasya-rasa, sakhya-rasa and vatsalya-rasa, but even He showed that He was practising spiritual life (worshipped the Lord as a practitioner). There is one thing you must understand and remember. Before you do anything, you must know who you must worship and why you will worship the Lord or practise Krishna consciousness. You have written here that your ashram's name is 'Sri Krishna Ashram'. Giving this name to a place means your conception is sahajiya conception. I will explain why. Do you know what Krishna says? He says, 'If somebody says, "I am a devotee of Krishna", they are not My devotee.' Do you know this? This is what Krishna Himself says. If somebody says they are a devotee of Krishna, then they are not a devotee of Krishna. Mahaprabhu would often say,

নাহং বিপ্রো ন চ নরপতির্নাপি বৈশ্যো ন শূদ্রো
নাহং বর্ণী ন চ গৃহপতির্নো বনস্থো যতির্বা ।
কিন্তু প্রোদ্যন্নিখিলপরমানন্দপূর্ণামৃতাব্ধে-
র্গোপীভর্ত্তুঃ পদকমলয়োর্দাসদাসানুদাসঃ ॥

naham vipro na cha nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro
naham varni na cha grha-patir no vanastho yatir va
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher
gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah

'I am not a brahman, not a ksatriya, not a vaisya, not a sudra; neither am I a brahmachari, a householder, a vanaprastha or a sannyasi. I identify Myself as a servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, who is the beloved of the gopis, an ocean of nectar, eternally self-effulgent (self-manifest) and filled with the entire scope of all possible highest ecstasy.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.13.80; Padyavali)

'I am a servant of a servant of a servant of Krishna's maidservants.' Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur also says, 'Radhara dasira Krsna sarva-vede bole (রাধার দাসীর কৃষ্ণ সর্ব্ব বেদে বলে). Krishna is the property of the maidservants of Srimati Radharani; all the Vedas say this.' Whom does Krishna belong to? He belongs to the maidservants of Radharani. Krishna does not belong to me or you – Krishna belongs to the maidservants of Radharani. Therefore, we must become devotees of Her maidservants, then only can you become a devotee of Krishna. Did you understand this? First, we must enter Radharani's circle.

রাধা-ভজনে যদি মতি নাহি ভেলা ।
কৃষ্ণ-ভজন তব অকারণ গেলা ॥

radha-bhajane yadi mati nahi bhela
krsna-bhajana tava akarana gela

'If you did not become devoted to the worship of Srimati Radharani, your worship of Krishna was in vain.'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

You have not been able to worship Radharani yet, but you rush to first worship Krishna. It can never work like that. One time, a devotee from another mission came to Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj and asked him to give him sannyas. Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj replied, 'You have become a devotee of Krishna, but first you must become a devotee of Radharani, then I can give you sannyas.'

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Basis of Mahaprabhu's Conception
2) Learn the Ropes
3) Watered Down Conception
4) Become a Good Practitioner
5) Spiritual Selfishness
6) Do Not Overstep
7) Internal and External Devotion
8) Step Forward
9) We Are Servants, Not Devotees
10) Learn Proper Meaning
11) Come to Nirguna Plane