(7/17) Learn to Love Lord

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

When I was in Nepal recently, somebody asked me during a lecture, 'You have been practising for so long, have you seen Krishna?' I replied, 'No, I have not seen Krishna, but I know where to go to see Him. I am going there, and if you come with me, I will take you along and you will get to see Him, too.' Devotees never say, 'I have got the treasure of divine love for Krishna.' True devotees never say, 'I have become a Vaishnav.' If one thinks, 'I have become a Vaishnav,' it is a big problem. '"Ami ta vaisnava" e buddhi haile amani na ha'ba ami ('আমি ত বৈষ্ণব' এ বুদ্ধি হইলে অমানী না হ'ব আমি). If I think, "I am a Vaishnav," then I will never stop expecting honour from others.' We must try to be servants of Vaishnavs, not Vaishnavs.

Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said very nicely – what cannot be given up even after giving up everything? For example, we all have come to this line, we have taken shelter in gurudev, we worship Lord Krishna, we listen to Hari-katha, but we have some subtle desires, 'I am serving Krishna, so I am likely to come to Goloka and live there after this life.' Srila Prabhupad says that even this is a desire and should be given up. We must think, 'I do not know anything. Gurudev, I am only following your order and serving you out of love for you. I do not know how much love I can have, but I am serving you because I love you. What will become of me, what I will get – I do not care about it.'

Srila Prabhupad also said that instead of serving the Lord, we actually turn the Lord into our menial servants. Be careful! When you come to serve the Lord, do not turn Him into your servant. You serve the Lord and pray, 'Please give my son a good job', 'Please let my daughter get a good husband', 'Please give me good health', 'Please keep my husband in good health' – you think about all these things, expecting the Lord to do everything for you, so you turn the Lord into your servant. Do not do this! Do not turn the Lord into your servant. Serve the Lord with love and affection without asking Him for anything. Your only duty is to serve, you do not need to want anything or ask for anything.

Another thing Srila Prabhupad said about our worship is that we often turn Deities into bribe-takers. How so? Where else can you find such things? Buy our holy books, you will find everything in them; you will not find these things anywhere else. Suppose you have a son. He studied well, got a degree, but he cannot find a job. Then, you get to hear that if you come to some minister or local leader and given him one–two million rupees, he can secure a job for you. We call the person who takes money a bribe-taker and the person who gives the bribe a briber. Both are criminals. So, what do we do? We come to a worshippable Deity (Durga, Kali, Laksmi, Ganesh, Krishna or any other Deity), worship it, offer it something (fruit, money, sweets, etc.) and then ask the Deity for something. It means you are giving the Deity some bribe and turn the Deity into a bribe-taker. So, Srila Prabhupad warns us that we must not turn Deities into bribe-takers. Everybody worships gods and prays, 'Dhanam dehi, vidyam dehi, rupam dehi, bharyam dehi, kavitam sundarim dehi – make me rich, make me clever, make me beautiful, give me a good wife, make me a poet.' People come to a Deity, offer their obeisances, party and dance to some disco music and then drink alcohol in the evening. During Durga-puja, they play music so loud that you can go deaf... But what did Mahaprabhu say?

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)

'I do not want wealth, I do not want anybody, I do not want even liberation or heaven.'

প্রভু ! তব পদযুগে মোর নিবেদন ।
নাহি মাগি দেহ-সুখ, বিদ্যা, ধন, জন ॥
নাহি মাগি স্বর্গ, আর মোক্ষ নাহি মাগি ।
না করি প্রার্থনা কোন বিভূতির লাগি’ ॥

prabhu tava pada-yuge mora nivedana
nahi magi deha-sukha, vidya, dhana, jana
nahi magi svarga ara moksa nahi magi
na kari prarthana kona vibhutira lagi

'O Lord, I am appealing at Your holy lotus feet—I do not pray for bodily pleasure, learning, wealth, or followers. I do not pray for heaven, I do not pray for liberation, and I do not pray for any supernatural powers.'

(Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Self-Realisation
2) Seek Soul's Solace
3) 'Why Am I Suffering?'
4) Relief from Reaction
5) Escaping Life of Sin
6) Highest Attainment
7) Learn to Love Lord
8) From Hell to Heaven and Back
9) Sadhus' Clothes and Sadhus' Hearts
10) Genuine Gurus' Mission
11) Money Does Not Buy Devotion
12) Higher and Highest Devotion
13) Learn the Conception
14) Start Practising Sincerely
15) Make Effort
16) Cure from Material Misery
17) Live for the Lord