(7/14) Internal and External Mood of Servants

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Ishwarpur, 19 January 2019, part 7
Translated from Bengali

Those who become proud, 'I am a Vaishnav!' cross the line and enter where they have no right to enter. Listening about rasa-lila, Krishna-prema, etc. is all trespassing. You have read in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita:

ব্রহ্মাণ্ড ভ্রমিতে কোন ভাগ্যবান্ জীব ।
গুরু-কৃষ্ণ-প্রসাদে পায় ভক্তিলতা-বীজ ॥
মালী হঞা করে সেই বীজ আরোপণ ।
শ্রবণ-কীর্ত্তন-জলে করয়ে সেচন ॥

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
mali hana kare sei bija aropana
sravana-kirtana-jale karaye sechana

'Having travelled throughout the universe, some fortunate souls receive the seed of the devotional creeper by the mercy of Sri Guru, who is non-different from Krishna. Becoming gardeners, they plant that seed and nurture it with the water of hearing and chanting.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.19.151–152)

When you plant a seed and water it, the seed sprouts. So, when we pour the water of sravan and kirtan, our devotional seed sprouts and grows, but when sahajiyas pour too much water, their seeds rot and die. Always remember this. Do not go to discuss the highest things so much (about rasa-tattva and other high topics). This is beyond our qualification. We are simple servants. We only serve Nitai-Gaura and offer bhoga to Them. Mahaprabhu can say to this, 'This is external, go further,' but we offer whatever we have to the Deities, take prasad, preach about the Lord, speak Hari-katha so that people can come to this path. We speak about simple things. But the internal pastimes of Radha-Krishna and what Mahaprabhu showed to Ramananda Ray (Rasa-raj, Maha-bhava) – these are all highest things. It is not necessary to speak about it anywhere and everywhere. Keep this inside you. Srila Prabhupad said:

মাতল হরিজন কীর্ত্তন-রঙ্গে ।
পূজল রাগপথ গৌরব-ভঙ্গে ॥

matala hari-jana kirtana-range
pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange

'From afar we shall worship the raga-patha, the path of spontaneous affectionate service, while we ourselves shall live within the Vedic guideline.'

(Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad)

We will chant kitan with Hari-jana (devotees of the Lord) and keep the raga-patha (the path of spontaneous ecstatic devotion to the holy feet of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna) in our hearts.

What is the highest service? What is the highest meditation? Meditation on Radha-Krishna. But we must keep it in our hearts, inside. When Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj explained the gayatri-mantra, he told, 'Gayatri muralista-kirtana-dhanam Radha-padam dhimahi (গায়ত্রী-মুরলীষ্ট-কীর্ত্তনধনং রাধাপদং ধীমহি). Krishna's flute does not make any other tune except the glorification of Srimati Radharani, and that is the real meaning and gist of the gayatri-mantra.' This is the gist meaning of the gayatri-mantra: attachment and love for the holy lotus feet of Sri Radha. Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj explained this to the whole world, and now everybody accepts it and preaches it.

If you read Srimad Bhagavad-gita, you can see that our Param Guru Maharaj explained it differently. You can read many other editions and understand everything easily, but if you read Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's interpretation, you can see that it is very difficult to understand it (many cannot understand it because he presented the highest conception). When Krishna spoke to Arjuna, the highest message of their conversation is service to Radha-Krishna, service to servants of Radharani. If you read Srimad Bhagavatam, you can also find this conception there. Even married ladies of Vraja wanted to stay with Krishna, but Krishna told them, 'How can this be possible? I am a ksatriya, but you are brahmans' wives. People will say bad things.' He explained this to them and sent them back to their homes, 'Go back to your homes. You do not need to stay next to Me. You can make My Deity and serve Me in this way.' That is how people started to serve Gopal Deities. Many people like how Gopal Deities look, so they keep such Deities at home (if there are children at home, they like such Deities even more). People eat fish, meat, onions, etc. and they just give some laddu to Gopal.

“গোরার আমি, গোরার আমি” মুখে বলিলে নাহি চলে ।
গোরার আচার, গোরার বিচার লইলে ফল ফলে ॥

"gorara ami, gorara ami" mukhe balile nahi chale
gorara achara, gorara vichara la-ile phala phale

'Just saying, "I am Gora's! I am Gora's!" does not do. Only when you follow Gora's practices and Gora's conception will you get the proper result.'

লোক দেখান গোরা ভজা তিলক মাত্র ধরি ।
গোপনেতে অত্যাচার গোরা ধরে চুরি ॥

loka dekhana gora bhaja tilaka matra dhari'
gopanete atyachara gora dhare churi

'You put on tilaks and show the whole world that you serve Gora, but secretly you do outrageous things. Gora will catch you, thief (hypocrite)!'

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6–7)

This is showing off. You say, 'I am a devotee of Gora', but you do wrong things. You tell people about Nityananda Prabhu, but you do not follow what Nityananda Prabhu says. Nityananda Prabhu did not preach about Krishna – He preached about Gauranga. To be a devotee of Gauranga means to have internal loving devotion to Radha-Krishna and to serve in the mood of a servant. We must understand this.

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Dearth of Hari-katha
2) Follow without Imitation
3) Higher Conceptions
4) Pursuit-Free Devotion
5) Dasya-Abhiman, not Prapya-Abhiman
6) Servant's Stance
7) Internal and External Mood of Servants
8) Highest Vaishnavs and Pseudo Vaishnavs
9) Example of Vaishnav Quality
10) Action and Reaction
11) In Search of Reality
12) Cutting Illusory Bondage
13) Love for Lord, Love for Yourself
14) Come to Serve Devotees