(3/12) Real Milk – Real Benefit

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Hooghly District, preaching programme,
23 February 2019, noon, part 3
Translated from Bengali

You are all Hooghly District people here – you all respect Lord Siva, who is staying in your district, in Tarakeshwar. So, if you respect and worship Lord Siva, then you must live following what he says. What does Lord Siva say?

আরাধনানাং সর্ব্বেষাং বিষ্ণোরারাধনং পরম্ ।
তস্মাৎ পরতরং দেবি তদীয়ানাং সমর্চ্চনম্ ॥

aradhananam sarvesam visnor aradhanam param
tasmat parataram devi tadiyanam samarchanam

'Of all types of worship, the worship of Lord Vishnu is the highest, but the worship of His devotee is higher still.'

(Quoted in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.11.31)

Parvati Devi asked Lord Siva whose worship was the highest, and Lord Siva replied, 'The highest type of worship is the worship of Lord Vishnu.' Hearing this, Parvati became sad. She thought, 'I always worship you [Lord Siva]... but if worship of Lord Vishnu is the highest, then I am wrong – I should be worshipping Vishnu, not you.' Then, Lord Siva continued, 'But higher still than the worship of Lord Vishnu is the worship of His devotee.' So, the worship of the Lord's devotee is higher than the worship of the Lord. This is what Lord Siva says.

And what does Lord Krishna Himself say? 'Those who say that they are My devotees are not My devotees; but those who are devotees of My devotees are My actual devotees.' Therefore, we must first become devotees of devotees (bhakta-dasa, vaisnava-dasa), devotees of our gurudev (guru-dasa), then we will be able to understand everything. We must become devotees of our guru and Vaishnavs; otherwise, we will never know any relief. There is no other way. Always remember this. Always think about this.

There is one more thing that Lord Siva said. We all know that when you drink milk, you get nourishment; but if a venomous snake touches that milk with its mouth, the milk will still look the same as normal milk, but if you drink it, you will have to leave the body and this world. So, we must make sure that we do not drink milk touched by a snake. You must think where real milk is. Similarly, when people hear the Holy Name, it brings them benefit, but if people hear nama-aparadh, it brings inauspiciousness. That is why you must never go to listen to lila-kirtans, pala-kirtans or kirtans sung by hired singers. Will you remember it? Always remember this. Never go to listen to any hired singers who come to dance and sing (even if they sing about God). If a genuine sadhu comes, come to listen to him.

Now, the question is 'How can I recognise a sadhu?' If you have sincere desire in your heart to hear about the Lord, the Lord will bring you to the right sadhu. Always remember this. One does not become a sadhu just by putting 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)

You think that you do something wrong secretly, so nobody will know about it, but Gora knows what you are doing. Always remember this, always keep it in your hearts; otherwise, you will not get anywhere.

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Eternal Servitude
2) Morning Tells the Day
3) Real Milk – Real Benefit
4) Sins and Animals
5) Remember Your Promises
6) Core of Krishna Consciousness
7) Relief from Miseries
8) Toxic Life
9) Keep Your Charge Up
10) Brahmans' Trade
11) Greed Is Sin, Sin Is Death
12) Seeking Happiness and Peace