(12/12) Be Attached and Detached

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Vaishnav-seva programme in Begampur (Hooghly),
Early February 2019, part 12
Translated from Bengali

When an elderly lady invited Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj desiring to get his prasad, Srila Babaji Maharaj not only took twice everything she had given him, but he also ate the banana-leaf plate! He did not consider himself a Vaishnav, so he did not want to give his remnants to anybody.

Another time also, a former brahmachari, who had got married, came to Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj. Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj told him, 'Oh, you have got married? Very good. Now you will earn money and buy bhoga, and your wife will cook and offer it to the Lord. After that, she will take the Lord's prasad first, and you will take her remnants. You will do this, and then you will not see your wife as an object of your enjoyment – you will see her as your guru, as a devotee.' This is what Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj taught. A wife is not an object to be enjoyed. You live in a family, thinking that you are the master and everybody is your servants and maidservants, but this kind of mood must never come to you. Outside people live like that, not devotees. All living entities are meant for Krishna – they are ingredients for His service. We take Krishna's light, wind, water, etc. and enjoy with it. Krishna has created water, air, etc. – these are His things, but we take them and enjoy, swelling more and more with ego day by day. We think that everything is created for our pleasure, and we feel proud, but as the result, we will only have to enter this material world again and again. If you want to get relief from this agony, the only way is to understand that everything is meant for Govinda's service.

'কৃষ্ণ-নিত্যদাস'—জীব তাহা ভুলি' গেল ।
এই দোষে মায়া তার গলায় বান্ধিল ॥

'krsna-nitya-dasa'—jiva taha bhuli' gela
ei dose maya tara galaya bandhila

'The jiva soul forgot that it is an eternal servant of Krishna. Because of this mistake, illusion threw its ropes around the soul's neck.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.24)

Because we forget that we are eternal servants of Krishna, Maya throws her ropes around our necks. We keep making the same mistakes. We keep getting tangled with the illusory environment, living with our wives, sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, and so on. I have told you many times:

আসক্তিরহিত সম্বন্ধসহিত ।
বিষয়সমূহ সকলি মাধব ॥

asakti-rahita, sambandha-sahita,
visaya-samuha sakali madhava

'When you are free from material attachment and establish relationship with the Lord, then you will see that everything around you is Lord Madhav Himself.'

('Vaishnav ke?' Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur)

You must not be attached. We must remember this. We must remember Srila Jagadananda Pandit. He said that if you have nothing, you must then treat others with sweet words and affection. First of all, you should give others some prasad, but if you have no prasad, then give others sweets words and affection. There is no difference between householders and renunciates. Those who discriminate between them go to a foul hell. Mahaprabhu had many devotees, and most of them were householders – when others saw how they practised (when they saw their highest ideal), even sannyasis paid obeisances to them, rolling at their feet. We must learn from their example and practise and live as proper householders.

Like Srivas Pandit, we must have no attachment. When Srivas Pandit's son died, he did not tell the Lord about it because he did not want to disturb the Lord's kirtan. There is no attachment. You must understand what kind of mood they had... Srivas Pandit did not come to Mahaprabhu and did not tell Him about his son because he did not want to interrupt kirtan – you can see how much attachment he had for kirtan and how much detachment he had for his family. We always think in terms of enjoyers and renunciates, but we are neither enjoyers nor renunciates. We have not come here to enjoy anything or to renounce anything and become false renunciates. The main focus in our lives is service. We do not understand anything except service, 'Dear Lord, dear Gurudev, You have given me this service – You may accept it or may not accept it, but I will carry on serving You.' Our mood should be like that. This should be our proper mood. Remember it. 'I will serve You, and You may take my service or You may not take it, it is up to You – I will not force You.' Such devotion is jnana-sunya bhakti, and from such devotion then come various divine mellows of service (santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, etc.)

[Clamour] Why are you talking over there? What is going on? Why are you fighting? Or are you talking gramya-katha? When I came, the first thing I told you is that you must not talk any nonsense or discuss any material news (no gramya-katha, no gramya-varta). Do not gossip about others, do not criticise others. Do not be jealous of others. If somebody lives a good life, you should be happy for them. Even if you see a sannyasi who has made a good temple and lives a happy life at the temple, you should be happy. We should not be jealous. If somebody lives well, eats well and dresses well, we do not mind it; rather, we should be happy for them.

We must always be happy. The Lord is an embodiment of bliss (rasa-maya vigraha).

ঈশ্বরঃ পরমঃ কৃষ্ণঃ সচ্চিদানন্দবিগ্রহঃ ।
অনাদিরাদির্গোবিন্দঃ সর্ব্বকারণকারণম্ ॥

isvarah paramah krsnah sach-chid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam

'Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes.'

(Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.1)

He is the cause of all causes.

Always remember these things. Always practise Krishna consciousness properly. This is my prayer to you all. Live in adherence to your guru and Vaishnavs and always serve your guru. Eternal servants of Krishna must serve and remember Krishna eternally, at every moment. 'Eternally' does not mean just regularly – it means always, all the time. Always live chanting the Holy Name. Whether you are eating, lying down or sitting down, always chant the Holy Name, then Nama Prabhu will take you to the Lord's lotus feet and give you a place in His abode. Do not be proud. There is nothing to be proud of. We are always lowly and mean. Always pray to Sri Gurupadpadma, 'Ami sakti-buddhi-hina, ami ati dina, koro more atmasatha (আমি শক্তিবুদ্ধিহীন আমি অতি দীন কর মোরে আত্মসাথ): I have no strength, no intelligence, I am very poor. Please hijack me! Yogyata vichare kichhu nahi pai—tomara koruna-sara (যোগ্যতা বিচারে কিছু নাহি পাই তোমার করুণা সার)! If you judge my qualifications, you will find I have none. Your mercy is everything.' Always remember this. Mercy is everything. If you can remember this, you will get supreme benefit. Never think that you are a Vaishnav. We are servants of our guru, Vaishnavs and the Lord – this is what we must always remember. Do not forget this. Whenever you forget this, Maya will come and remove you from the Lord's service.

— : • : —

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Size: 54 Mb
Length: 109 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Your Sreyo Must Become Your Preyo
2) Joy in Sadness
3) Who Will Understand?
4) Vaishnavs' Dignity
5) Read and Absorb
6) Sincere Self-Realisation
7) Mahaprabhu's Conception
8) Gist of Spiritual Life
9) Prison of Misconception
10) Learn and Live the Ideal
11) Service Alertness
12) Be Attached and Detached