(6/6) Daily Grind or Daily Gain?

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme in Hooghly district,
27 February 2019, afternoon, part 6
Translated from Bengali

It is already late now, it must be after 3 p.m. already. We arrived late, then it started raining, but we must still chant some kirtan. Let us chant now.

Practise Krishna consciousness properly. What I spoke today is written in books – we have a series of books called Upadesh, and there is part one, two and three. They do not cost much. You earn and spend so much money in your lives on other things. You go to tea stalls and sit and gossip there, telling each other stories. What is the use? When you have some free time, read books instead. Study yourselves and then speak to others, explain these things to other people. When I see the situation in this world, I feel pain. When people get off the train at Howrah, they immediately dash away. If you tell them, 'Take this book for ten rupees,' they brush you off, 'I have no time! No time!' They run to their offices only to get some nice food and clothes. People get hit by buses and cars, but nobody cares to think about anything. When I see this, it makes me think...

Stray dogs roam the streets the whole day in search of food, and if you come out at night, you can see so many rats roaming the streets in search of food and so many cats roaming the streets in search of those rats. People in this world are just like them: they only live to eat. Rats search the streets for some food (some rice may have fallen somewhere, and they come and eat it), and cats search the streets for rats; some bigger animals also come out and search for cats to eat. This is how everybody in this world lives. If we live our lives without religion, then we are no better than animals:

আহার-নিদ্রা-ভয়-মৈথুনং চ
সামান্যম এতৎ পশুভির নরাণাম ।
ধর্ম্মো হি তেষাম অধিকো বিশেষো
ধর্ম্মেণ হীনাঃ পশুভিঃ সমানাঃ ॥

ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam cha
samanyam etat pasubhir naranam
dharmo hi tesam adhiko viseso
dharmena hinah pasubhih samanah

'Both animals and humans eat, sleep, fear and copulate. The difference between a human life and an animal life is that a man can search after God but an animal cannot. Therefore, a man devoid of spiritual quest is no better than an animal.'

(Hitopadesh, 25)

How are we any different from animals? Animals also have families – dogs have families, pigs have families – and we also have families. Somebody sleeps in a mud house, somebody sleeps in a tiled house, and dogs also can sleep on the street or can live in luxury palaces and even travel by planes. I saw a man taking out his dog's passport at the airport in Malaysia. There are dogs that have passports, that have visas and get to travel the world with their masters. They are fortunate, but in our country so many dogs roam the streets. People in this world are like that, too: some sleep on trains, some sleep on the streets, some sleep on the platforms, some sleep in good houses. What is the difference between humans and dogs then? Both have families, both sleep and eat. Dogs sleep on the street so comfortably – you can blow the car horn to get them to move, but they do not even stir. Like those dogs, we sleep comfortably in our A/C rooms. Everybody lives their lives indulging their habits. The main problem is that we forgot the Lord.

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

krsna bhuli’ sei jiva—anadi bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsara-duhkha

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

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.20.117)

We forgot the Lord, and as the result of that we are suffering the agony of the threefold miseries now. If you want to get relief from this suffering, the only way to do it is to take shelter at the holy feet of the Lord. People also suffer so much mentally – they can have millions of dollars, but do they live happy lives? Are they peaceful in their lives? Not at all! Those who are rich suffer even more...

Always practise spiritual life, cultivate Krishna consciousness, worship and serve Lord Krishna, then you will get supreme benefit – you can come to the Lord. If you have any questions, you can ask them, and you should all come to Nabadwip for Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama. Wherever I am at that time, we will do the parikrama from there. [Electricity goes out] The rain has stopped, and now the electric current has stopped... Anyway, come for Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama. We have come here as part of our Nabadwip Dham Pracharani Sobha: we come to call you all to Nabadwip. There are devotees in this area who will go to Nabadwip, you can join and come with them.

— : • : —

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Beyond Superficial Reverence
2) Your Faith and Priorities
3) Burning Your Boats
4) Coming Unstuck
5) Beware Imitation
6) Daily Grind or Daily Gain?