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(5/12) Look for Service, Not Excuses

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bakultala, noon class, 7 April 2019, part 5
Translated from Bengali

 

We must chant kirtan and we must do service every day. One time, somebody asked me, 'When will I have time to chant the Holy Name?'

'Do you go to the toilet to pass stool?'

'Yes, I do.'

'How long does it take you?'

'Fifteen minutes.'

'So, you are sitting in the toilet for fifteen minutes doing nothing – you can sit and chant the Holy Name there. What is the problem?'

If you chant the Holy Name for half an hour, 'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare,' you can chant ten thousand Holy Names. If you chant slowly, you will chant less, but if you chant fast, you can chant up to ten thousand Holy Names [about six rounds] in half an hour.

When I told him that, he did not say anything. If you do not have time, then chant the Holy Name while you are in the toilet. Of course, you must not take your beads there. You must not take your beads to any dirty places (where you take bath, where you change clothes, etc.).

Mahaprabhu Himself showed this by His example. One time, when Mahaprabhu was in Puri, He was going to the bathroom with a bucket of water, holding His tongue between His teeth. At that time, Gopal Prabhu, the pujari at the temple, saw Him and asked Him, 'Prabhu, is anything wrong? Why are You going to the bathroom with Your tongue between Your teeth?'

'Oh, because My tongue has become very naughty.'

'How so?'

'Because it always keeps chanting, "Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna." I am going to the bathroom, an unclean place, so how can I chant the Holy Name there?'

'But why?' Gopal asked. 'You Yourself said, "Whether you are lying down, eating or waking up, incessantly think about Krishna and chant the Name of Krishna with your mouth."'

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 lying down, eating or waking up, incessantly think about Krishna and chant the Name of Krishna with your mouth.'

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.28.28)

'You have told us to chant the Holy Name continuously, twenty-four hours a day. Then what is the problem?'

'O Gopal!' Mahaprabhu replied. 'You have taught Me the right thing today! I will chant the Holy Name in the bathroom now. And from today, your name is not just Gopal – you are now Gopal Guru.'

Therefore, we must chant the Holy Name all the time, incessantly, at every moment. Suppose you are cooking. You can stir the pot and at that time time chant, 'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.'

Do you know where Mahaprabhu stays? He Himself said, 'I always stay in Sachi Mata's kitchen.' The Lord Himself comes and stays in the kitchen. When Sachi Mata was cooking, she would think, 'If my Nimai Vishvambar was here, He could have this banana-flower curry that He loved so much.' And when she offered bhog to the Deities, Nimai would come and take her offering. One day, she made the offering and when she came back, she saw that there was nothing on the plate! She blamed it on her daughter-in-law, 'Have you eaten the bhog I offered to the Deities?'

'Mother, what are you talking about?' Vishnupriya Devi asked, surprised.

'I have offered bhog just now – what has happened to it? Where are all the cakes I have made and offered?'

'Maybe you forgot to offer it,' Vishnupriya Devi suggested.

Sachi Mata went back to the kitchen to check if she had offered bhog or not, and when she came there, she saw that all the pots were full as before! 'What is this?' she thought, 'I am sure I offered bhog – I remember reciting the mantras and thinking about Nimai and the Lord; but when I came back, the plate was empty...'

Later, Mahaprabhu sent Damodar Pandit to His house in Nabadwip and told him, 'Last Sankranti, Mother cooked many patishapta, sharkuli and other nice things – she offered it all to the Deities, and I came and ate everything. Please tell Mother about it.' So, when he came to Sachi Mata, he told her, 'Mother, your son took sannyas and is not staying in Puri, but He came, ate everything and went back to Puri that day.' Then Sachi Mata understood, 'Oh, then I must apologise for blaming it on Vishnupriya!'

So, we must always serve the Lord. Even when we drink water, we must think about the Lord – there are living entities even in water, so before we take water, we must think, 'O Lord, I am offering this water to You, and then I am taking it.'

 

— : • : —

 

 

 

 

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CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 47 Mb
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

 

 


 

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