There Is No Shame In Service

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nrisingha Palli, evening class
16 March 2019, translated from Bengali, part 3

Some think, "What am I going to see? Where am I going to walk? Where am I going to get some chanachur [spicy snack]? Where can I have some muri [puffed rice]?" Do not forget—tomorrow is ekadasi. Has any of you stashed away some muri? You know, some think it is ekadasi tomorrow, so they keep some muri from the evening to eat it secretly during the day. Leave all this! Give up all these bad habits! Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur wrote, "Saisava-yauvane, jada-sukha-sange, abhyasa ha-ila manda (শৈশব-যৌবনে, জড়সুখ-সঙ্গে, অভ্যাস হইল মন্দ)"—since the time I was young, since my childhood so many bad habits have come to me, and now I am suffering from the five diseases.

We should pray sincerely, "How will I do this dham parikrama? I am a fallen soul, it is impossible for me to serve. O Lord, I only pray I can serve Your devotees." Through such mood we can do this dham parikrama. We must serve the dham!

Many of you do not know why I was forced to leave Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Nabadwip. The reason is that I did some service to this dham: not so long ago, the local government had allocated some land and built a cow slaughter there. I opposed it so much and managed to stop it, and as a result I fell out with the government. Killing cows, etc. is this not service to the holy dham! As long as I am alive there shall not be any slaughterhouse in Nabadwip Dham. This is the reason why I had to leave Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math temple in Nabadwip Dham, enduring so many atrocities from my own godbrothers... Still, Srila Gurudev has mercifully given me a place in Godrumdwip, near you all, near Nrisinghadev. I suppose when the political regime changes in the country, I will be able to come back. That is the problem there.

Anyhow, the Lord is there. We must leave everything to the Lord, He will see to it. When a problem comes, it means the Lord is testing us. Demigods too had to leave their entire heavenly kingdom when the demons attacked then, did they not? But then the Lord Himself defeated the demons and the demigods could return to their homes. So, we do not worry—I do not feel any sadness because all happiness and sadness comes and goes like cold and heat, like winter and summer. Actually, happiness and sadness is not our line—we never think about our own happiness and sadness. Sometimes we feel happy, sometimes we are sad, but we must not worry about it. We must not be cowed down. Did the gopis feel ashamed? They ran behind Krishna having left all their shame, fear, everything—then what should we be ashamed of? What should we be afraid of? Some are scared, "Oh, if I chant the kirtans with the book, somebody will say that Maharaj does not know it by heart." So what? What is there to be afraid or ashamed of? I do not want to hide anything, and who I hide anything from? There is no need for that.

In this way, we should try to do the parikrama in the proper mood...

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