(8/10) Lost and Languid Souls

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme in Hooghly district,
26 February 2019, evening, part 8
Translated from Bengali

I want you to remember one thing.

What is devotion? How can you detect devotion? Devotion does exist. For example, there is this world with so many beautiful places and buildings in it, but is it of any value to a blind man? It is not. Only those who have eyes can appreciate this visual world. There is a beautiful kirtan going on here, there is nice Hari-katha being spoken here, but if somebody is deaf, will they hear any of it? They will not. So, just as there is a visual world for those who have eyes, just as there is a sound world for those who have ears, in the same way, God is there for those who have devotion. If you cannot undestand this, you will not be able to understand anything.

Strike while the iron is hot. Time is passing! Time is going, and when old age comes, then 'Vrddha-kala aola, saba sukha bhagala, pida-vase ha-inu katara (বৃদ্ধকাল আওল, সব সুখ ভাগল, পীড়াবশে হইনু কাতর). Now old age has come and all happiness has fled—distressed by diseases, I have become miserable' (Saranagati). When old age comes, you will suffer from so much pain – your fingers will pain, your knees will pain, your legs will pain, your lower back will pain, your upper back will pain, your head will pain, and so on. Everything will become invalid. You will not be able to see well with your eyes, you will not be able to hear well with your ears, you will not be able to walk with your legs, your hands will lose their mobility. You have time now, so try to serve the Lord now. Do not delay. If you can do that, you can reach your supreme destination; but if you do not do it, you will find no relief. There is no other way to get any good result.

কয় বার এলি কয় বার গেলি
তবু তত্ত্ব না শিখিলি ।
নিজের মাথা নিজে খাইলি
এ দোষ দিবি কারে ভাই ?

kaya bara eli kaya bara geli
tabu tattva na sikhili
nijer matha nije khaili
e dosa dibe kare bhai?

'Coming and going, coming and going, and never learnt anything. You have been eating your own brain, who will you blame now, brother?'

Always remember this. We have come to this world for Him, we have got everything in our lives for Him, but we forget Him and always suffer from the threefold miseries of this material world.

কৃষ্ণ ভুলি' সেই জীব অনাদি-বহির্ম্মুখ ।
অতএব মায়া তারে দেয় সংসারাদি-দুঃখ ॥

krsna bhuli' sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsaradi-duhkha

'Forgetting Krishna, the soul turned towards the external illusory world in primaeval times. As the result, illusion (Maya) gives such a soul various material miseries.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.20.117)

We do everything, forgetting the Lord... I am always thinking about it...

You can find the things I have told you in my books that have been published recently. They are small books – you can buy and read them. What I am saying is in these books; read them and remember it so that you can remember the Lord every day, so that you remember to practise Hari-kirtan, Krishna-kirtan every day. If we cannot live like this, then all will be in vain.

Coming to this world and falling into the bondage of the illusory environment, very few people come to practise spiritual life or can serve the Lord. Leaving God aside, we become managers ourselves. But we are not managers, we are not controllers. We are not masters – we are only servants. But we put on a show turning ourselves into masters. We pose as masters of our houses and create servants and maidservants for ourselves. This is how we keep ourselves bound within this illusory environment, floundering in this ocean of material life. If you throw something into an ocean, you will never be able to find it – just like that, we jumped into this ocean of material life, and now we are lamenting, 'When will I get out of it?' Think about this.

I always pray to you all: if you can remember the Lord and chant the Lord's Name as you leave your body, you will not have to face any inauspicious situation in the future. To be able to do that, you must start practising now. Practise Krishna consciousness starting from now. Do you think you have time?

উঠরে উঠরে ভাই, আর ত সময় নাই,
'কৃষ্ণ ভজ' বলে উচ্চৈঃস্বরে ।

uthare uthare bhai, ara ta samaya nai,
'krsna bhaja' bale uchchaihsvare

'They call out loudly, "Wake up! Wake up, brother! There is no time left! Worship Lord Krishna!"'

(Acharya Vandana)

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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