(14/14) Devotion to Devotion

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class,
16 February 2019, part 14
Translated from Bengali

It is said in the scriptures that enjoyment must be renounced (bhoga-tyaga) and renunciation must be renounced (tyaga-tyaga). Even when you renounce enjoyment, you must not become a renunciate. We are neither enjoyers nor renunciates; we are situated in the middle. Nirvisesvadis, mayavadis, or sunyavadis (impersonalists, voidists) preach that everything must be renounced. But I told you yesterday that everything that is created in this world is created for the Lord. For example, the microphone we are using today is also the property of the Lord, and it is also serving the Lord – if we had not been using this microphone today (if I had been speaking without it), would you have been able to hear? You would not. So, even this microphone was created for the Lord's service. The fans are working, the lights are on, the electricity is running, the cars are going – all these things are used for service (they are the media through which various services are accomplished). Prabhupad Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur used all science facilities in the service to the Lord. Everything that exists in this world should be used in the Lord's service. We must not renounce anything. But mayavadis renounce things – some eat only fruit, some eat only leaves, and so on. One does not become a sadhu by showing such renunciation. Such tricksters (ভেলকিবাজি) get caught – they can never deceive a genuine guru, a genuine sadhu. Somebody shows others that they do not eat anything, that they are fasting the whole day; or somebody says that they chant 300,000 Holy Names every day. All this cheating gets exposed sooner or later.

You must get the books and read them. We have printed Guidance 3 recently. There are very nice, beautiful things written in it. In one of the chapters it is written that you can give up everything in the world, but one thing that is not possible to give up is pratistha. Pratistha runs behind Vaishnavs.

বৈষ্ণবের পাছে, প্রতিষ্ঠাশা আছে,
তাত কভু নহে অনিত্য বৈভব ॥
সে হরিসম্বন্ধ, শূন্য-মায়াগন্ধ,
তাহা কভু নয় জড়ের কৈতব ।
তোমার প্রতিষ্ঠা, শূকরের বিষ্ঠা,
তার-সহ সম কভু না মানব ।

vaisnavera pachhe, pratisthasa achhe
tata kabhu nahe anitya vaibhava
se hari-sambandha, sunya-maya-gandha,
taha kabhu naya jadera kaitava
tomara pratistha, sukarera vistha,
tara-saha sama kabhu na manaba

'Fame runs behind Vaishnavs, and their fame is eternal. There is not a scent of illusion in relationship with the Lord – it can never be mundane cheating.... But your fame is pig's stool. Never compare it to the fame of Vaishnavs.'

('Vaisnav Ke?', Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur)

Many people in this world chant kirtan, but it is not actually kirtan: 'Kirtana chhadiba pratistha magiba (কীর্ত্তন ছাড়িব প্রতিষ্ঠা মাগিব).' You can chant at the top of your voice, but this is not kirtan – you are only begging for prestige. 'Kanak, kamini, pratistha-baghini chhadiyachhe yare sei ta vaisnava (কনক-কামিনী প্রতিষ্ঠা-বাঘিনী ছাড়িয়াছে যারে সেই ত বৈষ্ণব). Vaishnavs are those who can give up money, women and fame the tigress.' If you read this book, you will find these things there.

Many people also claim, 'I am a householder! Jagannath Misra and Sachi Mata, as well as Nanda Maharaj and Mother Yasoda, were householders all their lives, so I will live as a householder, too.' The problem is that people call themselves householder devotees, but they actually become householder enjoyers (they become attached to and engrossed in their households). These are Srila Prabhupad's words. You will find it all here, in Guidance 3. Read this book.

You must practise sravan (hearing about the Lord) and kirtan (practising and chanting the Holy Name and glories of the Lord). You cannot practise kirtan without practising sravan, and you cannot practise smaran (remembering the Lord) without practising kirtan. Kirtan must never be given up. These are also Srila Prabhupad's words. I have collected quotations from many scriptures. I have also wrote here something from Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's book Bhajana-rahasya. Read this book. If you read it, you will increase your scriptural knowledge.

There is also a chapter called 'Is Religion the Cause of Downfall?' Many politicians like to say that religion destroys everything. You should read this chapter carefully. The book is written in difficult language because I quoted much from Srila Prabhupad's writing. There is also a chapter about the endless fight between householders and renunciates. 'Those who do not possess single-minded dedication to the service of the Lord always waste time debating who should be called a "householder" (grihi) and who a "renunciate" (tyagi).' People say, 'Oh, I live at the temple! I am a brahmachari, and you are rotten householder!' Is this not what many people say?

Devotees: Yes.

'Those who do not possess single-minded dedication to the service of the Lord always waste time debating who should be called a "householder" (grihi) and who a "renunciate" (tyagi). "Who is greater, a householder or a renunciate?" – this designation argument possesses the hearts of people who have strayed from the service of the Lord. Whatever group one belongs to, whatever designation, or name, one hides behind, one will think that this group or designation is the "best" and will want to prove that. Such designation fanaticism is fertile soil for mutual apathy, dissension, envy, hatred and, eventually, many other effects.' We are not householders or renunciates:

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)

Our identity is that we are servants of the servants of the servants of Krishna's servants. We must remember this.

'Real grihasthas (householders) are not devoted to their homes – they are devoted to Krishna. Real sannyasis are those who do not renounce Krishna and kasna (servant of Krishna) – they live as members of Krishna's family, or they are attached to the house of the Lord and His devotees. There is no difference between the essence of Vaishnava grihasthas and Vaishnava sannyasis.' Srila Jagadananda Pandit wrote in his Prema-vivarta that those who draw distinction between the two fall into Kumbhipaka, the hell of boiling oil.

All right, much has been said today. We can speak more tomorrow. Please stay, do not leave for your homes. Tomorrow many of you will think, 'Oh, the festival is over, when can I sneak out and go home?' You have come with return tickets in your pockets, so you are waiting to run away. You have to struggle to stay here, but at home you sleep sweetly on a nice bed with a nice pillow. Where will all these things go?

এদেহ পতন হ'লে কি রবে আমার ।
কেহ সুখ নাহি দিবে পুত্র পরিবার ॥

e deha patana ha'le ki rabe amara?
keha sukha nahi dibe putra paribara

'When this body drops dead, what will remain "mine"? Upon death neither my sons nor my family will give me any satisfaction.'

শ্মশানে শরীর মম পড়িয়া রহিবে ।
বিহঙ্গ পতঙ্গ তায় বিহার করিবে ॥

smasane sarira mama padiya rahibe
bihanga patanga taya bihara karibe

'My body will be left at a crematorium, and birds and insects will heartily enjoy it.'

যে দেহের এই গতি তার অনুগত ।
সংসার বৈভব আর বন্ধুজন যত ॥

ye dehera ei gati, tara anugata
samsara-vaibhava ara bandhu-jana yata

'The same fate befalls all extensions of this body – all its family, wealth and friends.'

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Vultures and insects will enjoy your body when it drops down dead and taken to the cremation place. 'My body will be left at a crematorium, and birds and insects will heartily enjoy it.' This is what will happen to this body that we so dearly love now and to all its paraphernalia. Instead of living in submissive adherence to our guru (guru-anugatya), we live in submissive adherence to this body (deha-anugatya) – instead of following what our guru says, we do whatever Maya tells us.

So, Prabhu said earlier that we have not chanted one kirtan. Let us chant it now. [His Divine Grace then chants 'Suddha-bhakata-charana-renu', 'Jaya Radhe Jaya Krsna', 'Hari Haraye' and recites Sri Jaya Dhvani, concluding the class.]

Wake up early in the morning tomorrow. Take a shower and join the mangal-arati. We will chant kirtans and have a class here again in the morning; we will speak about the glories of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. After that, we will take paran (take some prasad) and go out for the parikrama. After the parikrama, we will again come here, speak again and after that, at noon, there will be arati and prasad. Everybody will get prasad tomorrow – thousands of devotees will come tomorrow, so I am requesting everybody to help with service. Ladies can distribute prasad too. I want to see everybody doing service tomorrow. I will be happy if you help, and Nityananda Prabhu will be happy, too.

Jay Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol.

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Length: 144 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Students' Chastity
2) Parikrama Outline
3) We Cannot Ignore Nityananda Prabhu
4) Reaching Out to Nityananda Prabhu
5) Dasya-Abhiman
6) Be Sincere and Serious
7) Worship Nitai!
8) Illusion of Devotion
9) Vaishnavs' Qualities
10) Who Are You Serving?
11) Learn to Appreciate Service
12) Lesson for Householder Devotees
13) Covering Up Prejudices
14) Devotion to Devotion