(2) Property and Proprietor

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, 1 April 2019, part 2
Translated from Bengali

'I took initiation a long time ago, I took shelter in Gurudev a long time ago and have been chanting the Holy Name all this time, but I am not getting any result. I cannot practise anything. What does chanting the Holy Name give? Nobody is praising me for this, nobody is singing my praises. What does serving God give?' – thinking in this way, people start slacking their service to the Lord. They lose interest in it. It is a disease when such a mood comes.

Practising spiritual life, we must realise that God is great, but we are tiny souls, like atoms – how much service are we capable of doing? We have not done anything. We have come to this line, to God, we took initiation, and we think that we will get something in return for that – that we will go to Goloka Vrindavan for that. Even hoping to go to Goloka Vrindavan is also a desire. Even this desire must not be there.

Many people fight over who is greater, householders or renunciates. They like to quarrel about that, but they do not think about spiritual practice. Instead of spiritual life, they think only about their own interest, about their own happiness. Householders proudly claim, 'We are householders! But for us (householders), you (temple residents) would not be able to live. You come to beg, and we supply you with everything.' And 'sadhus' also can be proud thinking, 'Oh, if we did not go to people's homes, there would be no way for them to become rescued.' Both are bad, both are ego. I wrote a lot about this fighting between householders and renunciates in my books. You can read them, you will find everything there.

So, we are making a temple here. I am not the master here. Actually, nobody is a master. This land belongs to the Lord, and He only entrusted it to Rama Prabhu, or his father. Now the Lord took it forcefully away from them through His devotees. Everything happens by His will. For example, suppose you give me five rupees, you think, 'Oh, I have given five rupees,' but it is not so – the Lord kept these five rupees with you and He just takes it from you through some devotee and uses it for the service to Lord Govinda. The Lord takes from you what is actually His to bestow His mercy upon you, to rescue you. So, when somebody's land or house is used to open a temple and establish eternal worship and service to the Lord, it is great fortune.

You were chanting this kirtan just now:

শুদ্ধ ভকত- চরণ-রেণু,
ভজন-অনুকূল ।
ভকত-সেবা, পরম সিদ্ধি,
প্রমলতিকার মূল ॥

suddha-bhakata-charana-renu,
bhajana-anukula
bhakata-seva, parama-siddhi,
prema-latikara mula

‘Pure devotees’ foot dust is favourable to devotion. Serving devotees is the supreme fulfilment and the root of the creeper of divine love.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Service to devotees is our main goal. Many people open temples and preach, 'Become a devotee of Krishna,' but we do not preach about becoming devotees of Krishna. What does it mean to be a devotee of Krishna? Krishna Himself says, 'Those who say that they are My devotees are not My devotees. My devotees are those who are devoted to My devotees.' That is why we do not respect or accept Mirabai so much. She was all about 'Krishna', 'Krishna'. She would say, 'I have found my treasure – divine love for Krishna.' But Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would lament, 'I have not got any love for Krishna!' His mood was that He appeared in this Age of Kali as Sri Krishna Chaitanya, a combined form of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna – taking Radharani's heart and halo, He comes to understand and relish Her divine mood and devotion to Himself. Some organisations preach, 'Become a devotee of Krishna!' No. We must become devotees of Krishna's devotees – we must become devotees of Mahaprabhu, Radharani. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur also said,

রাধা-ভজনে যদি মতি নাহি ভেলা ।
কৃষ্ণ ভজন তব অকারণে গেলা ॥

radha-bhajane yadi mati nahi bhela
krsna-bhajana tava akarane gela

‘If you have not become devoted to the worship of Sri Radha, your worship of Krishna has been in vain.’

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'Radhara dasira Krsna sarva-vede bale (রাধার দাসীর কৃষ্ণ সর্ব্ব বেদে বলে). Krishna is the property of the maidservants of Srimati Radharani. All the Vedas say this.' Whom does Krishna belong to? To Radharani's maidservants. So say all Vedas. Remember this.

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