(8/10) Live in Eternal Shelter

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 8

There is a group that say that you must first become a devotee of Krishna. A devotee of Krishna! Mirabai, a famous saint(?) from Vrindavan, says, 'I have got the treasure of divine love for Lord Krishna!' On the other hand, Mahaprabhu said, 'I have not got even a trace of divine love for Lord Krishna!' What do gopis, who are considered to be the highest devotees of the Lord, say? 'We have not been able to do any service to Krishna!' Those who have placed their hearts, minds, shame, shyness, everything, at the holy lotus feet of Krishna sit at Radha Kunda and sigh, 'We have not been able to do any service to Krishna! We have not been able to please Krishna! He has left us and gone to Mathura, Dvaraka!' They cry in separation from Krishna. Mahaprabhu also cried in separation. So, there is no question of saying, 'Become a devotee of Krishna.'

What does Krishna Himself say? 'Those who say that they are My devotees are not My devotees; My devotees are those who are devotees of My devotees.' What did Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur say? You all respect him – one may not respect Gaudiya Math, but everybody respects and accepts Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. As you commonly say, he is the father of Srila Prabhupad (Nayana Manjari). What did Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur say?

রাধা-ভজনে যদি মতি নাহি ভেলা ।
কৃষ্ণ-ভজন তব অকারণ গেলা ॥

radha-bhajane yadi mati nahi bhela
krsna-bhajana tava akarana gela

'If you did not become devoted to the worship of Srimati Radharani, your worship of Krishna was in vain.'

রাধিকা দাসী যদি হোয় অভিমান ।
শীঘ্রই মিলই তব গোকুল কান ॥

radhika-dasi yadi haya abhimana
sighrai milai taba gokula kana

'Those who pride themselves on being maidservants of Radhika will quickly come to meet Gokula Kan (Krishna).'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Only if you become a servant of Srimati Radharani can you hope to attain anything. All Vedas say that Krishna is the property of Srimati Radharani's maidservants (Radhara dasira Krsna sarva-vede bole; রাধার দাসীর কৃষ্ণ সর্ব্ব বেদে বলে). So, how can you get the right to serve Krishna? He belongs to Radharani, so unless you serve Radharani's devotees and associates (Vraja-gopis), you can never get the right to serve Krishna. In other words, unless you stay in the shelter of gurudev and live following his order with chastity (guru-tattva is non-different from Radharani-tattva), you can never get service to Krishna.

These things are explained and described very beautifully by our guru-varga. I have also written it all in the books: sometimes we hear things and then forget them, so, not to forget it, you can get the books and read these things.

It is similar to a mobile phone. Now, everybody has mobile phones – if there are ten people living in a house, there are ten mobile phones in the house. As soon as a child is born, people buy a mobile phone for the child. When you use your mobile phone, you have to charge it from time to time. Otherwise, the charge will last one–two days and after that it will not work. It is necessary to charge it. So, you have come today and chanted, 'Nitai, Nitai,' but when you go back to your home, you will forget everything – your charge will finish, and you will not call out to Nitai anymore. You must remember Nitai from time to time – you must 'charge' yourself, then everything will stay in your memory. Do you understand what I am saying? Just as a mobile phone does not work unless it is charged, you will forget Nitai unless you take time to remember Him. So, calling out, 'Nitai, Nitai' just once a year will not do. You are eating today, and you will eat tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and the day after that – you eat every day, and in the same way, you must serve Nitai every day, too.

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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