(3/10) Genuine Devotion Comes from Heart

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's appearance day
Sri Ekachakra Dham, noon class after parikrama
17 February 2019, part 3

We have been averse to Lord Krishna since time immemorial. We forgot the Lord. Slaves of Maya, we live in the lap of Maya Devi, who always engages us in her own works and service.

সংসার সংসার ক'রে মিছে গেল কাল ।
লাভ না হইল কিছু ঘটিল জঞ্জাল ॥

'samsara' 'samsara' kari' michhe gela kala
labha na ha-ila kichhu, ghatila janjala

'Time has passed as I have been busy with my material life, and the result is nothing—only garbage.'

কিসের সংসার এই, ছায়াবাজী প্রায় ।
ইহাতে মমতা করি' বৃথা দিন যায় ॥

kisera samsara ei chhayabaji praya
ihate mamata kari vrtha dina yaya

'What sort of world is this? It is only a trick, a show. While I affectionately take it as my own, days pass by in vain.'

দিন যায় মিছা কাজে নিশা নিদ্রাবশে ।
নাহি ভাবি মরণ নিকটে আছে বসে ॥

dina yaya michha kaje nisa nidra-base
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe base

'My days are passed in useless work and nights are wasted on sleeping. It never occurs to me that there is death sitting next to me.'

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We never think that death can come at any time – that the soul can leave this body at any time.

জীবন অনিত্য জানহ সার
তাহে নানাবিধ বিপদ-ভার ।
নামাশ্রয় করি' যতনে তুমি
থাকহ আপন কাজে ॥

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara
namasraya kari' yatane tumi
thakaha apana kaje

'Know that the main thing is that life is temporary and filled with all sorts of danger. Continue your life trying your best to take shelter of the Name.'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We do not prohibit anyone to live their lives, but when you do something, do it for Govinda. We do a lot of kinds of actions in our lives: somebody pursues some material gain, somebody pursues knowledge, mystic powers, and so on; but you cannot come to the Lord through any material activities, knowledge, yoga or meditation – you can only get the Lord through devotion. Offering some incense or worship to the Lord is not devotion. If you come, offer some incense, a lamp and throw a coin that hits the Lord's body, this is not devotion – it is only show-off devotion. It is necessary to love the Lord with your heart. Only chanting kirtan with your mouth will not do. People sing, 'O my Golden Gaura, I will keep You in my heart and never leave You (sonara Gaura chhede deba na, hrta-majhare rakhiba ara chhede deba na),' but they use Nitai's or Gaura's Names to do business.

The other day I went to Rampurhat to buy some things for the Lord. I saw some man begging – he was playing kartals and chanting, 'Jay Nitai Jay Nitai!' People do this for their own pleasure. Nitai is not to be enjoyed or used! Nitai is to be served. Those people do not offer bhog to the Lord – they do not feed the Lord, they do not dress the Lord – then how can they be serving Nitai? Service must be regular, eternal. Just as we eat every day, we take a shower every day, we go to the toilet every day, we change our clothes every day – in the same way, we must change the Lord's clothes, bathe the Lord, offer abhisek to the Lord, feed the Lord, dress the Lord, and so on. In this way, you can turn your Maya-centred lives into Krishna-centred lives and live as members of Krishna's family. Sadhus come to tell us about such a life. 'Kariya Krsnera samsara chhadi' anachara (করিয়া কৃষ্ণের সংসার ছাড়ি' অনাচার). You must make your family Krishna's family and give up all unwanted and unfavourable habits.'

If you can live a Krishna-centred life, then it will be service. If you do something for yourself (engage in karma), you will become entangled in material bondage. The result of such activities is suffering in hell. There is earth, heaven and hell within the fourteen worlds of each universe. These fourteen worlds are comprised of Bhur, Bhuvar, Svar, Maha, Jana, Tapa, Satya; Atal, Vital, Sutal, Talatal, Mahatal, Rasatal, Patal. You will have to come to all these planes and roam them again and again. If you are to come to Goloka Vrindavan, you must cross over all these planes, even heaven.

If you do some pious actions, you can go to heaven; and if you sin, you will go to hell. The more sins you commit, the longer you have to stay in hell: if you commit many sins, you will spend there a long time, and if you commit few sins, you will stay there only for a short time. In the same way, if you accumulate much piety, you will spend a long time in heaven, and if you have little piety, you will stay there only for a short time. In any case, you have to come back from there. I told you all in the morning that even demigods aspire for a human birth: becoming frustrated with their heavenly enjoyment, they want to again come to this world in human form to chant the Lord's Name – they, too, want to serve Nitai-Gaura and return to Goloka Vrindavan. Always remember this.

You can find this explained both in Srimad Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. If you read our books or the books of various Gaudiya Maths that explain the purport of Srimad Bhagavatam, you can understand where all these examples and explanations come from. But actually it is not necessary to read so many scriptures. It is not necessary to know or understand so many things. I have told you before also that if you feel thirsty, you can take a gulp of water or a glass of water and your thirst will be satiated – you do not have to think about a whole ocean of water. Similarly, there is a huge ocean of scriptures out there in the world – there are many ancient scriptures such as Vedas and Vedanta – but it is not necessary to read everything. What will you get by reading all that? You cannot even read all these scriptures – if you read too much, you can become crazy.

That is why Srila Prabhupad said, 'Bahu grantha na paribe, bahu kalabhyasa na karibe (বহু গ্রন্থ না পড়িবে, বহু কলাভ্যাস না করিবে). Do not read too many books, do not practise too many things.' I have also not read so many scriptures. My Gurudev told me to read Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Sri Gaudiya-kantha-hara and a few other books. So, I have read Sri Nityananda-mahimamrita, a few books by Srila Prabhupad's, Bhajana-rahasya by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Param Guru Maharaj Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamritam and all the English and Bengali books (Search for Sri Krishna Reality the Beautiful, Golden Volcano of Divine Love, and so on). I have also read some books about Srimad Bhagavatam. I have looked through those books, but actually you can get everything if you get the mercy of your Gurupadpadma. It is not necessary to know much, it is not necessary to be a great scholar.

One does not become a guru because of their great scholarship. Somebody knows much, somebody can give great lectures, somebody can chant great kirtans, but all this is not a qualification for becoming a guru. Who is a sadhu? I have written this in my books. I have written and printed what I am telling you in books – you can get these books. Somebody grows a big beard, somebody wears big tilaks, somebody wears fat beads on their necks or chants on fat beads, but this is not what makes one a sadhu. You cannot recognise a sadhu by his dress; otherwise, any outside person can dress as a sadhu. If I put on a police uniform or a judge's uniform, does it make me a policeman or a judge? If I wear a doctor's scrubs, does it make me a doctor? If I know how to check somebody's blood pressure, does it make me a doctor? Of course, not. It is necessary to study to become a doctor. In the same way, sadhus are those who always think only about Krishna and nothing else – sadhus are those who only think about service to Krishna and Krishna's devotees and nothing else. Those who constantly, at every moment, think about service to devotees are genuine sadhus. Sadhus always think about service to Krishna's and Gaura-hari's devotees and they are always expertly engaged in that service. They do not think about it only when they sit in front of everyone in a big chair. No. They live always thinking about service. This is what Mahaprabhu Himself did. He served devotees with His own hands. He would personally go begging and would later personally distribute prasad to devotees. He is the Supreme Lord Himself, but He taught us by His own example.

নিজ আচারি' ধর্ম্ম জীবকে শিখায় ।
আচার না করিলে শিখান না যায় ॥

nija achari' dharma jivake sikhaya
achara na karile sikhana na yaya

'First follow the instruction yourself, then teach others. If you do not practise what you preach, your preaching will not work.'

— : • : —

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CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 48 Mb
Length: 100 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Live in Nityananda Prabhu's Shelter
2) Cry, Pray and Remember
3) Genuine Devotion Comes from Heart
4) Worship Is Not Business
5) Nitai Consciousness
6) Sad and Foolish
7) Practise Devotion, Not Emotion
8) Live in Eternal Shelter
9) Our Hope and Solace
10) Effulgent and Munificent Lord Nityananda Prabhu