(8/10) Lord's Arrangement

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Hooghly District, evening programme,
22 February 2019, part 8
Translated from Bengali

There is one very nice pastime described in Srimad Bhagavatam. Listen to it attentively. Many of you must have heard it in previous classes, but some of you may not. I spoke about this pastime yesterday also. Listen to it attentively.

I have told you many times that devotees want neither hell nor heaven. It is said in Srimad Bhagavad-gita also that even when you go to heaven, you have to return from there once your pious merit (punya) is exhausted – and when you return, you have to take a much worse birth than a human birth. But if some gods or goddesses in heaven aspire for the Lord, they return to get a human birth and practise spiritual life. There are many gurus, sadhus and Vaishnavs who were demigods before – they come to this world to give us their mercy. So, even gods and goddesses think about the Lord, praying, 'When will we get a human birth again? When will we get this chance to go to the Lord, to Goloka Vrindavan, a land of no return?' When you go to heaven, you have to return from there. Gods live and enjoy their lives in heaven, and you can also go there and enjoy, but when your pious merit finishes, you will have to come back from there. All 330,000,000 gods living in heaven have to come back from there. You must think about this. It is said in Srimad Bhagavatam also that if you do something good, you earn punya and go to to heaven; but after you come to heaven, you have to again come back from there. Many fall from heaven to hell, and those who can remember the Lord in heaven attain a human birth – they serve the Lord and reach the Lord's abode.

At some point, the Lord thought, 'When these demigods come to heaven, they enjoy their happy lives and forget Me. I should cut down on their happiness.'

As you know, there were two gatekeepers in Vaikuntha, Jay and Vijay. By the will of the Lord, it happened so that they had to take birth as demons, and when they were born as demons, they started harassing all the gods. [To the audience] Listen attentively to what I am saying – do not get distracted by anything else; no matter what happens – even if the whole world comes tumbling down or there a universal annihilation – do not worry about anything! So, when Jay and Vijay became demons by the will of the Lord, they started harassing gods and creating so much disturbance that all the gods began to flee heaven. At this time, the Lord thought, 'The demons have become very strong and all the gods are suffering, so I must arrange for somebody to rescue them.' First, the Lord assumed the form of a boar and killed Hiranyaksa. After Hiranyaksa's death, demons started harassing everybody even more because the gods rejoiced, 'The demon is killed! We are saved!'

In the meantime, there was a demon king called Bali Maharaj.

[An elderly devotee suddenly groans softly: O ma!] Hey! No 'ma'! Krishna! Think about Krishna, not about your mother!

Bali Maharaj, the king of a demon dynasty, had a guru, Sukracharya. (Demigods' guru is Brihaspati.) Sukracharya told Bali Maharaj, 'The demons' power is decreasing, so you must arrange for a great fire sacrifice.' On the order of his gurudev, Bali Maharaj invited twenty-four priest brahmans to do the sacrifice and invited all brahmans to give donation to them. Sukracharya ordered him, 'Invite all brahmans and grant them whatever they ask you for.' Bali Maharaj eagerly agreed, 'Do not worry, Gurudev, I will do it. I lord over the three worlds (hell, earth and heaven), so I have no lack of money or property. I will give brahmans whatever they ask for.'

At this time, Aditi and Kasyap Rishi worried, 'Our sons (gods) are suffering so much. O Lord! O Krishna! O Govinda! Please send us somebody who can give peace to gods and bring the demons to the right path.' Then, a boy called Vamandev came to Aditi's womb. You have all heard this name before – He is the dwarf-brahman incarnation of the Lord.

— : • : —

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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