(7/16) Pure Association, Residence and Practice

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's appearance day
Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
17 February 2019, part 7

What is called sadhu-sanga? 'If you associate with non-devotees (asadhu) or with false devotees, or if you make a show of coming to a bona fide devotee (sadhu) but protect your own independence, then this is not sadhu-sanga.' Do you understand what is said here? It is necessary to listen to what sadhus say.

How can one live in Mathura? We always say that living in Mathura is one of the five main practices of devotion: sadhu-sanga, Nama-sankirtana, Bhagavata-sravana, Mathura-vasa, sri-murtira sraddhaya sevana ('devotees' association, chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, hearing Srimad Bhagavatam, residing at Mathura and worshipping the Deity with faith'). Srila Prabhupad says, 'If you want to enjoy and imitate living in Mathura, this is not living in Mathura.' You think, 'I will go to Mathura and enjoy. I will go for walks and live a happy life.' Just as there are many babajis living in Vrindavan who live there for the pleasure of their own senses, for their own happiness. Do they preach about the Lord? They do not; they live for their own interests. Leaving everything, they become babajis and go to live in a jungle, but even there they still live worrying about their food and clothes – they do not serve the Lord. That is why it is said that living in Mathura with such consciousness of enjoyment is a mere show, it is not actual living in Mathura.

One time, I asked Guru Maharaj, 'Who were the Vrindavan monkeys before?' Guru Maharaj replied, 'They were all Vrindavan babajis before.'

I have also written here about Vivekananda. People like to say, 'Taka mati, mati taka (টাকা মাটি মাটি টাকা). Money has no value (lit. "Money is mud, mud is money").' I wrote about all such brahmavadis, sunyavadis and mayavadis quoting verses from Srimad Bhagavatam. They say that stool and sandalwood are the same, mud and money are the same, lowest dog-eaters and brahman priests are the same, prostitutes and chaste ladies are the same, souls and Brahman are the same. Are these the people who are called paramahamsas? People called Rama-Krishna a paramahamsa, but is he? I wrote the answer here, in Guidance 3. If anybody reads it, they can understand it. I did not write it hiding anything or holding anything back.

We chant in one of the kirtans:

শ্রবণ, কীর্ত্তন, স্মরণ, বন্দন,
পাদসেবন দাস্যরে ।
পূজন, সখীজন, আত্মনিবেদন
গোবিন্দ দাস অভিলাষ রে ॥

sravana, kirtana, smarana, vandana
pada-sevana, dasya re
pujana, sakhi-jana, atma-nivedana
govinda-dasa-abhilasare

Govinda Das hankers to engage in the nine practices of devotion: listening about the Lord, chanting the Lord’s Names, remembering the Lord, praying to the Lord, serving the Lord’s feet, serving the Lord as a servant, worshipping the Lord, serving the Lord as a friend and submitting oneself to the Lord.

One day, Hiranyakasipu heard this conception of service from his son, Prahlad Maharaj. You will find the original verses in Srimad Bhagavatam. There, Prahlad Maharaj explains what service to the Lord is. Hearing it, Hiranyakasipu said, 'We always rely on our empirical experience and knowledge (we pride ourselves on having attained brahma-jnana, knowledge of the impersonal manifestation of the Supreme Lord), but what you have just told me is a new conception that none of us has ever heard before, that none of us knows about.'

শুদ্ধভক্ত-পালন, শুষ্কজ্ঞান-তাড়ন,
ছলভক্তি-দূষণ-রাম ॥৫॥

suddha bhakta-palana, suska-jnana-tadana,
chhala-bhakti-dusana-rama

'He takes care of His pure devotees and drives away dry knowledge. He delights in refuting bogus devotion.'

Devotion must not be mere pretence, there must be no deceit. Such pseudo-devotion must not even be discussed.

What does showing mercy to jiva souls mean? Is supplying food, clothes, etc. to them not help? 'We will help those who after many lifetimes could establish faith in the Lord and have started serving the Lord. (For example, if you give some medicine to such a devotee, then it will be help.) We will help the needy with food, clothes and other facilities so that they can serve the Lord, but other than that why do we need to tame a snake with milk and bananas? [Feeding milk to a snake only increases its venomous poison.] This is not mercy, rather, on the contrary, after that the person can be caught by maya or be tempted to become a terrorist. The mercy that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu distributed to the jiva souls liberated everyone eternally from the three-fold miseries. There is nothing inauspicious in this mercy and no inauspiciousness of this world can come to the souls who are fortunate to receive it – on the contrary, they will swim in the ocean of divine love and eternally relish nectar.'

This is such a beautiful description. Try to read this book and realise what is written in it. It is written in a little difficult language, but try to read it carefully and understand it.

— : • : —

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Nityananda Consciousness
2) Seek Real Help
3) External and Internal Contamination
4) Sheltered and Shielded
5) Make Effort
6) Collecting vs. Begging
7) Pure Association, Residence and Practice
8) Proper Utility
9) Our Sole Concern
10) Lord's Arrangement
11) When? And How?
12) Stay on Board
13) Service, Desire and Mercy
14) Mindless Service
15) Disciple's Folly
16) Love for Service