(1/10) Service Greatness Is Not External

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Hooghly District, evening programme,
22 February 2019, part 1
Translated from Bengali

It is not necessary to do anything – just listen to the Hari-katha. If you can offer just some rice and dal to the Lord, the Lord will be happy. It is not necessary to arrange anything grand.

ভক্তের জিনিষ প্রভু লুটিপুটি খায়
অভক্তের জিনিষ প্রভু উলটি নাহি চায়

bhaktera jinisa prabhu lutiputi khaya
abhaktera jinisa prabhu ulti nahi chaya

'The Lord eats anything and everything when a devotee offers it, but the Lord does not want to take anything from a non-devotee.'

(Based on Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.9.185)

You say many things, 'Oh, I will cook this', 'I will cook that', but it is not necessary – if you offer just dal and rice to the Lord, the Lord will be happy. It is not necessary to arrange for any expensive things, for any expensive sweets – offer whatever you can according to your capacity. We must try to serve Vaishnavs nicely with whatever we have, however small our capacity may be. Remember that before you become a Vaishnav yourself, you must first serve Vaishnavs. Many people want to become Vaishnavs without serving Vaishnavs.

Also, it is not necessary to read too much. If you read too many scriptures, you can become crazy. Read and study only as much as it is necessary – if you try to know too much, you will be in trouble.

There was a man who came to this path about two years ago. Some of you know him very well. One time, I came to his house and saw he had so many books from all over the world. What happened to him in the end? He made a temple in his house and worshipped Laksmi, Durga, Ganesh and other gods there, trying to please every god. If you make a temple at home, it is not a problem – you can keep Gurudev's photograph and worship Gurudev; but he did not do that. That is why I kept some distance from him. There is a saying in Bengali, 'You read Ramayan the whole year and then ask, "Whose father is Sita?"'

Srila Prabhupad says that if you are thirsty, you can just drink one or maximum two glasses of water and your thirst will be satiated – you do not have to think about a whole ocean, 'Oh, the ocean has so much water!' If you are thirsty, you drink a glass of water – what do you need a whole ocean of water for? That is why, Srila Prabhupad said, 'Bahu grantha na paribe, bahu kalabhyasa na karibe (বহু গ্রন্থ না পড়িবে, বহু কলাভ্যাস না করিবে). Do not read many books, do not practise many things.' It is not necessary to read too much and it is not necessary to practise all kinds of meditations, practices, asans, etc. You cannot get the Lord through any material activities, knowledge or mystic powers. You can only get the Lord through devotion. Even those who have no knowledge, no education can easily get the Lord. All you need to have is devotion. If you have devotion, you will come to the Lord. For example, you have heard about Duhkhi and Srivas Pandit and about their devotion.

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Size: 27 Mb
Length: 56 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Service Greatness Is Not External
2) Srivas Pandit's Ideal
3) Sadhus' Dacoity
4) Short-Sighted Minds
5) Food for Thought
6) Quitting Maya's Play
7) Servants' Service
8) Lord's Arrangement
9) Bali Maharaj's Sacrifice
10) Sacrifice, Surrender and Succeed