(1/12) Check Yourself

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bakultala, noon class, 7 April 2019, part 1
Translated from Bengali

There are many desires (we want to enjoy form, taste, smell, sound, touch) and diseases (avidya, asmita, raga, dvesa, abhinivesa) within us that prevent us from developing devotion. There are also six enemies: lust (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), illusion (moha), madness (mada), envy (matsarya). You all know what lust is; it is a very bad thing, but Sri Prahlad Maharaj says that lust can be engaged in the service of the Lord:

বিষয়ে যে প্রীতি এবে আছয়ে আমার ।
সেই মত প্রীতি হউক চরণে তোমার ॥

visaye ye priti ebe achhaye amara
sei-mata priti hauk charane tomara

'May I have the same love and attraction to Your holy feet that I now have for material things.'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We must feel that kind of attraction towards the Lord, not towards material things. When you throw a piece of wood into fire, it fuels the fire – if you throw ten pieces of wood or a thousand pieces of wood, the fire will burn even more – if you keep throwing wood into the fire, the fire will continue burning. So, it is necessary to cultivate and increase lust, but where should that lust be directed? We have love and attachment towards material things and material family now, but that kind of attraction must come towards the opposite – it must come for the Lord. If you feel that, then you can understand that you have developed some devotion.

Do I remember the Lord or not? Do I think about the Lord or not? How can I serve the Lord? When will I feed the Lord? When will I go to cook for the Lord? When will I go to offer worship to the Lord? When will I go to put the Lord to rest? This is what we must always think about.

কি শয়নে, কি ভোজনে, কিবা জাগরণে ।
অহর্নিশ চিন্ত কৃষ্ণ, বলহ বদনে ॥

ki sayane, ki bhojane, kiba jagarane
aharnisa chinta krsna, balaha vadane

'Whether you are sleeping, eating or waking up, incessantly think about Krishna and chant the Name of Krishna with your mouth.'

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.28.28)

When you are lying down, eating, waking up, and even when you are sleeping, you must be always thinking about the Lord. Always, constantly think about the Lord.

So, the question is how much you are actually thinking about the Lord. You can examine yourself and judge it yourself. When you go to school, you take an exam after ten grades and then you can understand whether you have been studying for ten years or not. Here too, in the end, you will get an exam from the Lord to see how much of spiritual life you have learnt. Before you face that exam, you must prepare yourself.

You must reach your own home. You have lost your home now. You think that this here is your home, this here is your room, and you are always busy with all these false things...

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Length: 97 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Check Yourself
2) Spiritual Purity
3) Your Chance
4) Happy Existence
5) Look for Service, Not Excuses
6) Short Time, Short Life
7) Maya's Domain
8) Genuine Connection
9) Thoughtful Existence
10) Mature Vision
11) Places to Be Avoided
12) Do Not Be Afraid to Give