(5/10) Wrecked Intelligence

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme in Hooghly district,
26 February 2019, evening, part 5
Translated from Bengali

দিন যায় মিছা কাজে নিশা নিদ্রাবশে ।
নাহি ভাবি মরণ নিকটে আছে বসে ॥

dina yaya michha kaje nisa nidra-base
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe base

'My days pass in useless work and nights are wasted on sleep. It never occurs to me that death is there, waiting right next to me.'

ভাল মন্দ খাই, হেরি, পরি, চিন্তাহীন ।
নাহি ভাবি এ দেহ ছাড়িব কোনদিন ॥

bhala manda khai, heri, pari, chinta-hina
nahi bhavi e deha chhadiba kona dina

'I eat, see and wear whatever I fancy without a worry in the world. I never think that I will ever leave this body.'

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Every day, at every moment, our lives are passing away, coming gradually to an end, and most of our lives we spend sleeping. Suppose you live another twenty years: ten of them will be taken by nights, so you will spend half of the time sleeping, eating and going to the bathroom. How much time do you have to serve the Lord? That is why Srila Prabhupad said that no matter how many years you still have, there is no time to waste on material life. Think about the Lord!

You think that you will live for a hundred years, but how much is one hundred years? In this whole universe you have been coming and going so many times that these hundred years are nothing, it is like a mere moment. You think that you will live for a long time, so you can enjoy your lives; but instead of that, why do you not worship the Lord? What stops you? What is the problem? 'Our days pass in useless work and nights are wasted on sleep. It never occurs to us that death is there, waiting right next to us.' We never think that we can leave this world tomorrow – our souls can leave these bodies and get other bodies.

'I eat, see and wear whatever I fancy!' This is how we live, without a worry in the world. We never think that we will ever leave these bodies... Do not be like this; always think about the Lord.

দেহ গেহ কলত্রাদি চিন্তা অবিরত ।
জাগিছে হৃদয়ে মোর বুদ্ধি করি’ হত ॥

deha geha kalatradi chinta avirata
jagichhe hrdaye mora buddhi kari’ hata

'Constant thoughts about my body, home, wife and other things stir my heart, wrecking my brain.'

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We always think about our bodies, the bodies that one day will fall dead and be burnt – we do so many things for these bodies. We always worry about our bodies: How can I keep my body healthy and fit? How can I keep my body happy? Why are we like that? Because our intelligence (buddhi) is wrecked (hata). Why do all the billions of people all over this world worry about this? Because this is a play of Maya.

If you take a piece of iron and put it into fire, what will happen? The iron will become red-hot, and if you touch that heated iron, you will get burnt; or if you put that iron on a piece of cloth or paper or touch it to somebody's body, the iron will burn everything. Where does iron get this kind of power? From the fire. Getting this power to burn from fire, iron can burn everything it touches. Maya's play is also like that. She is created by the Lord, so getting her power from the Lord, she turns us all into her servants. She makes us follow her orders and keeps us away from the Lord. This is how she runs this world.

However, Maya Devi can also take pity on a soul. There are some fortunate souls who turn into sadhus. At first, Maya Devi attacks them, too, but when they get some pure intelligence as the result of other sadhus' association and when they keep hearing Hari-kirtan in their holy association, then such souls become devotees and come to surrender at the holy feet of the Lord and Vaishnavs. The Lord is the master of Maya Devi, so when she sees, 'This person has surrendered at the holy feet of my Master,' she leaves that soul alone. After that, the soul can gain entrance into the service to the Lord in the transcendental abode of the Lord. Not before that.

So, first become surrendered. Make a step forward. Otherwise, Maya will not leave you – she will always be there, walking step in step with you, keeping you forever enslaved. Even sadhus are attacked by Maya. Sadhus practise spiritual life, but when Maya attacks them, other thoughts (material thoughts) start coming to their minds. Wearing Tulasi neckbeads or keeping chanting beads does not make one a sadhu. There are many kinds of sadhus. Some sadhus live to increase their enjoyment and always think about their sense gratification. They live in Maya's clutches and do not serve or worship the Lord, do not chant Nama-sankirtan, do not practise anything, do not preach anything. They do not know anything about the rules or regulations – they just live doing whatever they fancy...

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Size: 32 Mb
Length: 66 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Our Predicament
2) Life Worth Living?
3) Grow Up
4) Relief from Burden
5) Wrecked Intelligence
6) Misdirected Love
7) Devotion Comes from Devotion
8) Lost and Languid Souls
9) Grasp onto Guru, Not Maya
10) Surrender and Thrive