(5/11) Adjust Your Aspiration

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
15 February 2019, part 5
Translated from Bengali

As you know, every year we make a chida-dahi mahotsav (a festival of chipped rice and yoghurt) in Panihati. Even though he had tried many times, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami could not get Mahaprabhu's mercy. He tried again and again. Then, one day Nityananda Prabhu punished him by making him arrange a chida-dahi mahotsav. This festival is also called 'danda mahotsav', or 'punishment festival'. What punishment was that? Nityananda Prabhu made him arrange vaishnav-seva – in other words, Nityananda Prabhu engaged him in the service to Vaishnavs.

Many of us want to become Vaishnavs, but we do not know how one becomes a Vaishnav. Many want to become Vaishnavs without serving Vaishnavs, but Srila Prabhupad says that you can never become a Vaishnav without service to Vaishnavs. Remember this.

Unless you serve Vaishnavs, you can never become a Vaishnav, just as you can never become a pure devotee without serving a pure devotee. Before you become a guru, you must first become a disciple, and one does not become a disciple just by taking initiation. Who is called a disciple? Disciples are those who can accept the chastisement of their guru (who can digest it and correct themselves accordingly). Only those whom the guru accepts as a disciple can become a disciple. Disciples live their lives following the instruction, the order of their guru; they live keeping the words of their guru on their heads. And those who practise spiritual life without strict adherence, or submission, to the guru (guru-anugatya) are essentially mere offenders – they practise Maya consciousness, not Krishna consciousness. Remember this. Many of us practise Maya consciousness (serve and worship Maya, illusion). How many people genuinely practise Krishna consciousness, tell me? People put tilaks, wear kanthi-mala and say, 'I belong to Gora, I belong to Gora!' but:

“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.'

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6)

One time in Barisala (Bangladesh), some thieves broke into a householder's house by saying, 'Jay Gaura! Jay Nitai!' (They came to the house and cried, 'Jay Gaura! Jay Nitai!', and the man opened the door, thinking devotees had come.) So, 'Jay Gaura! Jay Nitai!' is not for robbing people, is not for sitting and collecting tax from people. Many people beg people for alms but do not use it for the service to Krishna – they impose a tax on others and then come to collect it. Gaudiya Vaishnavs never impose any tax on anybody. 'You must give this', 'You must give this every month', 'You must do this' – they do not impose any such 'tax' on others. We must always remember this.

Many people, especially sahajiyas, say that Gaudiya Math's sadhus do not worship Nityananda Prabhu, but we say that it is Gaudiya Math's sadhus that actually genuinely worship Nityananda Prabhu. They preach, 'Become a devotee of Krishna!' but how can that be so? Krishna Himself says, 'Those who say they are My devotees are not My devotees! It is those who are devotees of My devotees that are My devotees.' What is written in the scriptures?

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 the servants of the servants of gopis.' This is what we must worship. This is what Mahaprabhu showed in His pastimes of divine separation. 'How can I live without Krishna? How will I survive?' He comes in Kali-yuga to relish the ecstasy that Radharani feels. On the one hand, He comes to distribute the Holy Name, and on the other hand, He comes to relish the ecstasy that Radharani experiences when She serves Krishna and chants Krishna's Name. Mahaprabhu tasted this divine mood of Radharani in Jagannath Puri, at the house of Kashi Misra. This is the mood, the ecstasy (this servitude to gopis) that we must accept. Becoming a servant of Krishna comes later – first become a servant of devotees, a servant of your guru, a servant of Vaishnavs. This is the spiritual life that we must always practise. If we do not practise spiritual life in this way, we will never be able to get any result.

— : • : —

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Length: 111 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Worship Nityananda
2) Immerse Yourself in Exclusive Worship
3) Fill Your Heart with Kirtan
4) Mahaprabhu's Caution
5) Adjust Your Aspiration
6) Meaning and Value of Fortune
7) Have You Found What You Are Looking For?
8) Follow and Preach
9) Our Real Necessity
10) Seek Soul's Fulfilment
11) Stay on Right Track