(7/11) Internal and External Devotion

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sundarpur, 18 January 2019, noon, part 7
Translated from Bengali

Overwhelmed with feelings for Lord Krishna, Mahaprabhu spent the last twelve years at the house of Kashi Misra in Sri Puri Dham, relished the divine mood of separation. This pastime is called the pastime of divine separation (vipralambha-lila). He relished those pastimes in the company of Sri Ray Ramananda and Sri Svarup Damodar. This kind of hankering must also come to us, but this is something that we must keep in our hearts. Srila Prabhupad said that we must not show such things in front of others. 'Apana bhajana-katha na kahibe yatha tatha (আপন ভজন-কথা, না কহিবে যথা তথা). Do not tell anyone and everyone about your own bhajan, service and practice.' We must keep our internal service to ourselves (hidden); we must not show or tell about it to others.

If somebody says, 'I have come to Krishna,' then you can understand that this person is bogus. When I went to Nepal, somebody asked me, 'Have you seen Krishna?' I replied, 'I have not seen Krishna, but I know that I am going down the path towards Him. I do not know how long more there is left for me to walk, but I know that I am on the right path. And if you can walk on this path, you will see Krishna one day, too.' Saying, 'I have seen Krishna' is nothing. 'I have got so much', 'I have understood so much' – what is the use? You must first embrace servitude (the mood of a servant). What to speak of becoming devotees of Krishna – leave that, first we must become devotees of Krishna's devotees. This is what we want to attain, and becoming a devotee of Krishna comes later. Unless you serve a pure devotee of Krishna, you cannot become a devotee of Krishna yourself. Becoming a devotee means serving a pure devotee.

Service to a devotee means you must live following the devotee's instructions. I have told that you that when we worship some god, we turn that god into either our menial or a bribe-taker. This is how people practise Krishna consciousness, but we must not be like that – we must not practise Krishna consciousness because we want to get something (we must not even want to see Krishna!). Srila Prabhupad said one very important thing. He asked, 'What is it that cannot be renounced even when you have renounced everything?' He gave the answer also, 'It is pratistha (self-aggrandisement; desire for self-establishment; or name and fame).' One can give up everything, but it is impossible to give up pratistha. But Vaishnavs' vision is 'Vaisnavi pratistha tate kara nistha (বৈষ্ণবী প্রতিষ্ঠা তাতে কর নিষ্ঠা). Firmly establish yourself as a servant of the Lord.' This is the correct mood, but if you want to establish yourself, if you want to follow your own desires, then it will not get you anywhere.

We must serve – we are only servants. This should be our ego.

রাধিকা দাসী যদি হোয় অভিমান ।
শীঘ্রই মিলই তব গোকুল কান ॥

radhika-dasi yadi haya abhimana
sighrai milai taba gokula kana

'Those who pride themselves on being maidservants of Sri Radha will quickly meet Gokula Kan (Krishna).'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

If somebody becomes a guru and gets proud, 'I am a guru,' such people cannot be gurus. One must have a servant's ego. If you do not have this kind of ego, you will not be able to do service. You cannot come and suddenly become a devotee of Krishna. It does not work like that.

There is one more thing Srila Prabhupad said. Somebody gives you 'jay', and you say, 'No, no, you must not give me "jay"!' Srila Prabhupad said, 'When somebody behaves like that, it means that they want you to give them even more "jay".' People show that they do not want any recognition, but in their hearts, they want more and more glory. [His Divine Grace chuckles.] Srila Prabhupad said such nice things! I am writing this in Guidance 3 (the book will come out soon).

So, we must not have this kind of desire for pratistha. Do not serve the Lord, thinking, 'I will get something in return.' 'I am worshipping the Lord', 'I am cooking for the Lord', 'I am offering bhoga to the Lord', 'I am practising Krishna consciousness', 'I am putting tilaks', 'I am wearing neckbeads', 'I have come to this line' – people think like this and hope, 'I will get something.' This is also a desire, and even this kind of desire must not be there. That is why it is said that you must give up enjoyment (bhoga tyaga) and give up renunciation (tyaga tyaga). We are not renunciates (tyagi). Being a tyagi means practising false renunciation (phalgu-vairagya). Mahaprabhu said,

মর্কট-বৈরাগ্য না কর লোক দেখাঞা ।
যথাযোগ্য বিষয় ভুঞ্জ' অনাসক্ত হঞা ॥

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana

'Do not show your false renunciation to impress people. Use whatever material things you require, but without attachment.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.238)

Mahaprabhu called such renunciation 'monkey renunciation' (markata-vairagya). In Vrindavan, monkeys live on the street, naked, and if you go to Ganga-sagar, you will also see there many naked naga-sannyasis who show that they do not want anything, but if you come closer to them, they will point their trident at you and say, 'Hey, ten rupees will not do, give me fifty!' Such are the gurus of this world. That is why Sivji Maharaj said, 'There are many gurus in this world (kaulik-gurus, laukik-gurus, karmi-gurus, jnani-gurus, yogi-gurus), but there are very few spiritual gurus (paramarthik-gurus) who will never come to you in the hope of getting something from you.'

গুরুর্ন স স্যাৎ স্বজনো ন স স্যাৎ,
পিতা ন স স্যাজ্জননী ন সা স্যাৎ ।
দৈবং ন তৎ স্যান্ন পতিশ্চ স স্যান্ন,
মোচয়েদ্ যঃ সমুপেতমৃত্যুম্ ॥

gurur na sa syat svajano na sa syat
pita na sa syaj janani na sa syat
daivam na tat syan na patis cha sa syan
na mochayed yah samupeta-mrtyam

'It is not your guru, it is not your family, it is not your father, it is not your mother, it is not your god, it is not your husband if that person cannot save you from the world of birth and death.'

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 5.5.18)

If your wife cannot help you progress in Krishna consciousness, you must not even take water from her hand! This is what Bhagavatam says. If a guru cannot rescue you from the jaws of death (from getting born and dying again and again), this person can never be a guru. To become a guru, one must first become a disciple. One cannot become a guru without being a disciple. First, know what it means to be a genuine disciple, then you can become a guru. These are also Srila Prabhupad's words. You may not like to hear these things, but what am I to do? Even Sivji Maharaj said to Parvati Devi, 'O Devi! There are many vitta-harankari gurus in this world (those who crave your wealth, money, etc.), but there are very few santap-harankari gurus (spiritual teachers who will "rob" you of your material agony).' If somebody cannot save you from the three-fold miseries of this world, this person can never be a guru. It is necessary to find relief from this terrible suffering...

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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