(7/11) Lord Vamandev's Gift

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Hooghly District, preaching programme,
21 February 2019, noon, part 7
Translated from Bengali

Having spoken to Sukracharya, Bali Maharaj turned to Vamandev and said, 'I am going to give You the three steps of land now.' Then, he chanted, 'Om Vishnu! Om Vishnu!' and was going to pour water out of a kumandala pot, but at that time his gurudev, Sukracharya, on the strength of his mystic power, entered the kumandala to prevent the water from flowing. Bali Maharaj took a straw and poked it inside the pot. As the result, Sukracharya's one eye became blind and he got the name 'blind Sukra'. The meaning of this pastime is that if somebody obstructs the Lord's service, they become anga-hani (অঙ্গহানি, suffer a loss of a limb) – they can break their arm or leg, or they can lose their eyes or ears, and so on.

So, Bali Maharaj poured out water and said, 'Done. I am giving you one step of land, two steps of land...' When Bali Maharaj said 'I am giving you two steps of land,' Vamandev stretched His one leg to cover hell and then His second leg to cover heaven. He became so big that He had captured the whole universe. Everybody was astonished. 'What is this? How has this small boy become so big?! Where are His legs? Where are His hands? Where is His head?! We cannot understand anything!' Even all the brahmans were nonplussed. Bali Maharaj was also speechless. He thought, 'What is this? Gurudev was right. It was the Lord Himself who has come disguised as a dwarf brahman to ask for a presentation.'

'So, Bali!' Vamandev said. 'You have said one step of land, two steps of land, what about the third step? Where are My three steps of land? I have already made two steps – where am I to make the third step?'

'Where will I find more land? You have taken everything... I do not have anything else.'

'Oh, you do not have anything else?'

'Yes, my Lord, I do not have anything.'

'Take your time, think it over. Perhaps, you do have something.'

Bali Maharaj thought and thought but could not think of anything. Then, his wise devotee wife, Vindhyavali, came up to him and said, 'Can you not understand it? The Lord keeps asking you for the third step of land, and you keep saying that you have nothing, that you have given the Lord all land, but have you given Him your head? You have given away everything, but have you given yourself away? You must surrender yourself.'

Bali Maharaj fell in a prostrate obeisance before the Lord, saying, 'O Lord! I am giving You myself.' Then, one more leg appeared from Lord Vamandev's navel (there is nothing the Lord cannot do) and He kept it on Bali Maharaj's head. He got the third step of land.

'You have kept your promise,' Lord Vamandev said, 'and I am very happy with you. Now you must do one more thing. You must do the opposite.'

'What do You mean "the opposite"?'

'So far I have been taking from you, and you have been giving to Me, but now I want to give something to you, and you must take it.'

'No, no, dear Lord! You have mercifully come to me to bestow Your grace. What else can I want?'

Then, Lord Vamandev gave Bali Maharaj a planet in Vaikuntha, Sutalpuri. Later, Prahlad Maharaj came to live there, too. They live there to this day. The Lord said, 'You all will live there, and I will be your gatekeeper. I will guard you.'

You can see the result of service to the Lord. If you serve the Lord by serving His devotees, the Lord will come to serve you. When we go to Vrindavan, we visit a place called Terkadamba. 'Ter' means 'daka' (call). When Krishna plays His flute and calls everybody, all 900,000 cows come running to Krishna, who sits under a kadamba tree...

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Size: 31 Mb
Length: 64 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Step Forward
2) Be Content and Focused
3) Pursue Eternal Wealth
4) My Appeal to You
5) Lord Vamanadev's Appearance
6) Bali Maharaj's Sacrifice
7) Lord Vamandev's Gift
8) Rusted Souls' Solace
9) Read and Remember
10) Accept Guidance
11) Devotional Propriety