(7/8) Genuine Devotion Comes from Genuine Devotees

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

We must always engage ourselves in service. If you listen to the kirtans of hired singers, do you think those singers come to give you benefit? They think, 'They are paying me ten thousand rupees, so I will sing kirtan for two hours and go home. I may or may not eat something, but I will just dress up, chant some Holy Name, and get my money. After that, I will go to another place and get more money.' Genuine sadhus never do like that.

Genuine sadhus think about your benefit, about how they can do you some good, just as genuine doctors will never give you bad advice regardless of whether they are getting paid for it or not. Genuine gurus will never encourage anybody to go down the path of material life or down the path of knowledge – they always talk only about the path of devotion and they increase others' devotion to the Lord's holy feet. Our mood must be, 'I am serving the Lord, and the Lord may or may not accept this service.' We are only servants.

What can you not renounce even after renouncing everything? On the one hand, it is pratistha (name and fame); on the other hand, it is the spiritual ideal. We must always remember this. We must always focus and take care of our spiritual ideal.

We are practising Krishna consciousness, but if we do it thinking, 'I will get something in return,' this is also one kind of desire – we must leave even that. You want to be a Vaishnav, but it is not possible to become a Vaishnav without serving Vaishnavs. First, you must serve Vaishnavs, then only can you become a Vaishnav yourself. Always remember this. One does not become a Vaishnav only by putting on tilaks and wearing neckbeads.

“গোরার আমি, গোরার আমি” মুখে বলিলে নাহি চলে ।
গোরার আচার, গোরার বিচার লইলে ফল ফলে ॥

"gorara ami, gorara ami" mukhe balile nahi chale
gorara achara, gorara vichara la-ile phala phale

'Just saying, "I am Gora's! I am Gora's!" does not do. Only when you follow Gora's practices and Gora's conception will you get the proper result.'

লোক দেখান গোরা ভজা তিলক মাত্র ধরি ।
গোপনেতে অত্যাচার গোরা ধরে চুরি ॥

loka dekhana gora bhaja tilaka matra dhari'
gopanete atyachara gora dhare churi

'You put on tilaks and show the whole world that you serve Gora, but secretly you do outrageous things. Gora will catch you, thief (hypocrite)!'

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6–7)

Gora knows what we are doing. The Lord knows everything. You can examine yourself and see how much you are actually practising – how far have you been able to go forward to the Lord?

One time, somebody asked me, 'Have you seen God?' Do you think I will say, 'Oh, I have seen God!'? Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says, 'Apana bhajana-katha na kahibe yatha tatha (আপন ভজন-কথা, না কহিবে যথা তথা). Do not tell anyone and everyone about your own bhajan, service and practice.' The main thing is not whether I have seen God or not, but the main thing is that I can show you in which direction you must go to come to the Lord yourself. If you come to this path and start walking down this road, you will see yourself how far you have to go to and how you can come to the Lord. If you can remember this, you will get supreme benefit – Lord Govinda will bestow His mercy upon you.

These are the main things in our lives. If you cannot understand these things, then it is very sad. I come and tell these things to thousands and thousands of people my whole life, but it makes me very sad to see that not even one out of a hundred people practises real Krishna consciousness in this world. They do not know Gurudev, Guru Maharaj or Srila Prabhupad – they are only always busy thinking about themselves... Do you think you have time? You never have time to think about your own selves. That is why, I am telling you with folded palms: please always live in loving attachment to Lord Krishna's holy lotus feet.

ধন জন আর কবিতা সুন্দরী
বলিব না চাহি দেহ-সুখকরী ।
জন্মে জন্মে দাও ওহে গৌরহরি
অহৈতুকী ভক্তি চরণে তোমার ॥

dhana jana ara, kavita-sundari,
baliba na chahi deha-sukha-kari
janme janme dao, ohe gaurahari
ahaituki bhakti charane tomara

'When will I say that I do not want any wealth, followers, poetic gift or any other bodily happiness? O Gaura Hari! Birth after birth, please give me unconditional devotion to Your holy feet!'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

If such unconditional devotion to the Lord ever comes to us, we will neither be turning the Lord into our servant nor turning worshippable gods into bribe-takers.

Much has been spoken already. Let us chant a few kirtans now; I will speak again after that. [His Divine Grace chants evening kirtans.]

— : • : —

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Length: 43 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Your Necessity and Interest
2) My Mission
3) Hari-Kirtan Comes from Heart
4) Come Forward
5) Do Not Cheat Yourself
6) Soul's Shelter
7) Genuine Devotion Comes from Genuine Devotees
8) Leashed and Lashed Life