(5/10) Avoid Religious Hypocrisy

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Disappearance festival, Tarakeshwar
16 April 2019, evening, part 5
Translated from Bengali

We forgot the Lord and have been living in this forgetfulness since time immemorial, and as the result of this forgetfulness we are always suffering so much. But Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are very merciful – They distributed Their Holy Names in this Age of Kali. They came and granted Their own Names.

হরের্নাম হরের্নাম হরের্নামৈব কেবলম্ ।
কলৌ নাস্ত্যেব নাস্ত্যেব নাস্ত্যেব গতিরন্যথা ॥

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

'Chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name – there is no other way, no other way, no other way.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.7.76)

There is no other way in Kali-yuga except for chanting the Holy Names of the Lord. There are three things that you must remember: jive daya, Name ruchi, vaisnava-seva (জীবে দয়া, নামে রুচি, বৈষ্ণব সেবা). We must be merciful to other souls (jive daya) – we must bring to this path the souls who have turned away from Lord Krishna. If I can speak, speak and speak and bring at least one person to this path; if I can develop taste for chanting the Holy Name of the Lord (Name ruchi); and if I can serve Vaishnavs (vaisnava-seva), then our lives will be perfect.

Apart from this, there are also sixty-four practices, or limbs, of devotion. You may wonder, 'How can I practise so many things?' If you can practise only one of these practices, then all sixty-four practices are automatically accomplished. For example, you may be cooking and you cannot chant the Holy Name on your beads, but when you stir the pot, you can chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra with your mouth. 'Sevonmukhe kaha Krsna Nam (সেবোন্মুখে কহে কৃষ্ণনাম). Chant the Holy Name with service mood.' When you cut vegetables, you can also chant, 'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.'

Speak less, do not gossip or talk 'village' talks. For example, people love talking about politics, but we do not need such talks about such things. Whenever you turn on the TV or open a newspapper, there is only politics: which country is doing what against another country, what one country says against another country, how one country criticises another country, and so on. This is what they call 'news'. Do they preach what Gita says or what Mahaprabhu says? Do they ever speak about the Lord? Never. This is Kali-yuga, that is why people are like that. But it is my prayer to you all not to get involved in this.

There is an election going on now, and many ask me, 'Gurudev, are you not going to vote?' My reply is, 'Why must I vote? Mahaprabhu's Name is not there, then who must I vote for?' Then some disciples become scared, 'Oh my! I'd better not vote, too!' What we care for is service. Why should we worry about voting and about going here or there to cast the vote?

Some live near Siliguri, some live near Vrindavan or Puri, so they go and vote for the local ministers, but in either way, elections only create thieves. Those who win elections are thieves. We cannot go to vote for thieves. Now you will say, 'Oh, Maharaj is prohibiting everybody to vote.' I am not saying this. Actually, I have heard that now they have also included a new line in the bulletin saying 'Against everybody' for those who do not like any of the candidates. Government spends millions of rupees on the campaign and elections, but how does that help anybody? City people like talking about it a lot, but what about villagers? In the past, when kings fought against each other, villagers had to give their lives. Now, instead of such battles, they hold an election to decide who will be the next 'king'. What is it to you if one person comes to power or another? Do you think anybody will put you into jail or will take your job? Or do you think you will get any help from them? Nobody will come to your help. If you get into trouble, nobody does anything. People keep their money in some banks and then lose that money, and no matter how many court cases they file, nobody gives them that money back. Greed is a sin. It is greed that drives people to do so many atrocious things. We do not need to be part of that. We have come to practise Krishna consciousness. We are not dharma-dhvaji (ধর্মধ্বজী, pretenders, who show off religion in a hypocritical way or use it for politics). You know, it was Rama-navami yesterday, and they staged a fight between Lord Rama and Ravan. They made Modi look like Rama and Rahul Gandhi as Ravan and showed that Rama (Modi) defeated Ravan (Gandhi)! This is ludicrous – we only laugh when we see such madness. And they say that we are mad! Actually, yes, they are right – we are mad. Srila Advaita Acharya once told Mahaprabhu:

বাইলকে কহিহ,—লোক হইল বাউল ।
বাইলকে কহিহ,—হাটে না বিকায় চাউল ॥
বাইলকে কহিহ,—কায়ে নাহিক আউল ।
বাইলকে কহিহ,—ইহা কহিয়াছে বাউল ॥

"baulake kahiha,—loka haila baula
baulake kahiha,—hate na vikaya chaula
baulake kahiha,—kaye nahika aula
baulake kahiha,—iha kahiyachhe baula"

'Tell the Madman that people have gone mad. Tell the Madman that rice is not selling at the market anymore. Tell the Madman that there is no work left for the Madman. Tell the Madman that this news is brought to Him by another madman.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.19.20-21)

The meaning of this verse is this. The Lord had come to this world from Goloka Vrindavan answering to the ardent calls of Srila Advaita Prabhu and Srila Haridas Thakur. Srila Advaita Acharya Prabhu worshipped the Lord with Tulasi leaves and Ganges water (you can realise how much power Tulasi leaves and Ganges water have that responding to such worship the Lord came from Goloka Vrindavan to this world). Later, when Srila Advaita Prabhu understood that the time for Mahaprabhu's departure had come, he sent the Lord this letter. He said, 'I have not come to give You any relief or comfort. Just as You have become mad, I want to become mad like You.' Assuming Radharani's mood, Mahaprabhu became mad hankering for Krishna. His eyes, nose, ears, head, everything was massacred as He cried and rubbed His face against walls. And Advaita Acharya said, 'I am not coming to comfort You. I am coming to say that I want to become mad like You.'

Earlier, Sachi Mata also wondered, 'Why is my son behaving like this? What has happened to Him? Why is He speaking like a madman?' Then, somebody advised her to use cooling oil. She started rubbing cooling oil on Nimai's head, but when Srivas Pandit came there, he told her, 'O Didi! What are you doing? You think that He has become mad, that His head is overheated, so you think that some cooling oil will help it, but no oil can cure the kind of madness that He has got! I, too, want to become mad like Him!'

We must always think about these things. We must live as Vaishnavs.

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Chaste Submission Is Key
2) Busy Yourself with Service
3) Value of Chastity
4) Plan Your Journey
5) Avoid Religious Hypocrisy
6) Fight for Your Aspiration
7) Guru's Care
8) Learning the Ropes
9) Run behind the Lord
10) Gurudev's Abundant Blessing