(9/10) Student Means Studying

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Hooghly District, preaching programme,
20 February 2019, evening, part 9
Translated from Bengali

You have been listening all this time. I want to ask now if anybody of you has any questions. You must study. Read Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata. There is also Garga-samhita, Loving Search for the Lost Servant, Search for Sri Krishna Reality the Beautiful. You must search for the Lord, you must try to know the Lord. We have all these books that can help you. There is also Nityananda-mahimamrita. You will also get much from Sri Gaudiya Gitanjali. If you are poor and cannot buy books, you can at least buy the pocket-size kirtan book. You can always carry it in your pocket and chant these kirtans wherever you go. If you do not have time to chant at home, you can do it on the way to work, for example. If any of you wants to buy our books, we have brought some with us. I have also mentioned earlier the three-volume Upadesh books. The third volume has just come out. I have written very nice things in it. For example, there is a chapter about proper renunciation and false renunciation.

We do not practise false renunciation (phalgu-vairagya). 'False renunciation' means showing renunciation to impress others or trying to pass yourself off as a renounced person just to impress others. Many people shave their heads completely, put on some saffron clothes – they do not even keep a sikha, neither do they wear any neckbeads; but what do they do? They live an enjoyment life. These are mostly known as members of mayavadi sampradayas. Srila Prabhupad called such people 'sunyavadi' (they are zero, sunya – they do not have any doctrine at all). They may look like renounced people, but they eat everything (fish, meat, and so on), they do anything and everything. They only practise some meditation and Deity worship, but they do not even offer bhoga to Deities. This is what is called false, bogus renunciation. Mahaprabhu called it 'monkey renunciation' (markata-vairagya):

মর্কট-বৈরাগ্য না কর লোক দেখাঞা ।
যথাযোগ্য বিষয় ভুঞ্জ' অনাসক্ত হঞা ॥

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana

'Do not show your false renunciation to impress people. Use whatever material things you require, but without attachment.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.238)

You can read about this more in Upadesh, Volume 3.

I also wrote there about astakaliya-lila, the pastimes during the eight division of the day. These eight devisions are nisanta (pre-dawn), pratah (early morning), purvahna (pre-noon), madhyahna (noon), aparahna (afternoon), sayam (dusk), prados (evening) and ratri (night). When people sing astakala-lila kirtans, they sing from Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami's Sri Govinda-lilamrita and Jayadev Goswami's Gita-Govinda – 'there is a certain prakrta-sahajiya sampradaya that starts astakaliya-lila-kirtans from the nocturnal pastimes, but Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, following Srila Rupa Goswami's guidance, did not advise to start service to astakaliya-lila from the nocturnal pastimes. Srila Kaviraj Goswami Prabhu composed a sloka in his Sri Govinda-lilamrita that summarises the slokas that Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu wrote concerning the astakaliya-lila and shows which pastimes must be remembered first. According to this sloka, one must serve the eternal pastime of the Lord starting from the dawn pastimes (the kunja-bhanga pastimes—when Radha-Krishna leave Their grove).' People do so many things, enacting and imagining various pastimes, but this is nothing but their own sense-gratification. I have written here (in Guidance, Volume 3) everything; if you read it, you will understand everything.

— : • : —

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Sadhus' Approach
2) Help Yourself and Others
3) Wasteful Living, Low Thinking
4) Immerse Yourself in Service
5) Clear-Cut and One-Pointed
6) Sincere Devotion
7) Hari-Kirtan Adhikar
8) Devotion to Gopis
9) Student Means Studying
10) Read and Learn