(6/8) No Double Standards

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme, 18 April 2019, part 6
Translated from Bengali

For the service to the Lord, you should be ready to even commit an offence. But this is what we do not understand.

When they were taking initiations today, I told one of the men that when somebody dies or is born at home, people say that this is an impure time (asudha) – they continue eating themselves and feeding their children, but they will not go to the Lord's temple, they will not offer worship or even water Tulasi at this time. Why? What crime has the Lord committed? Somebody is born or dies at home, but what is the Lord's fault? Why do you stop feeding Him? Tell me, which scripture says to do so? There are no such rules.

Suppose you leave your child on the bed and go to pass stool. The rule is that after we pass stool, we wash our hands, mouths, take a shower, change clothes and then come out. But if your child suddenly wakes up, starts crawling around and falls off the bed and starts crying, are you going to follow all the rules and regulations? You will not – you will run to the child!

So, when it comes to the Deities, you follow all the rules, but when it comes to you and your interests, then there are no rules! Do you think Vraja-gopis ever think about themselves? Do they ever worry that if they do something for the Lord, then they would be committing a sin? Narad Muni asked them again and again, 'What are you doing? If you give your footdust, you will plunge yourselves into an ocean of sins! How can you allow your footdust to be placed on Krishna's head?' They replied, 'We do not mind it! We can plunge into an ocean of sins, our legs can catch leprosy and rot – we do not care about all this. Our Lord is not well and if our footdust can cure His headache, then take it and give it to Him!' Do you understand how Vraja-gopis were ready to even commit an offence for the service of the Lord? But we never think about it.

Mahaprabhu also showed this in His pastimes. One day, Mahaprabhu came to His room in Puri (Gambhira) very tired and He could not move. Govinda hesitated, 'I cannot enter the room crossing over the Lord,' but then he still went there to massage the Lord's feet. After that, he stayed in the room and dozed off. At night, Mahaprabhu awoke and saw Govinda sitting in the room. He asked him, 'Govinda? Why are you here? Why did you not go out?'

'Prabhu, how will I go? You are lying in the doorway.'

'How did you enter then?'

'I came for Your service. If it is necessary for the service of the Lord, I am ready to even commit an offence. But I cannot cross over You for my own pleasure – for my own food or rest.'

Always remember this. It is my prayer to you all – I keep asking you this again and again – please chant the Holy Name of the Lord giving up all unhealthy habits. 'Kariya Krsnera samsara chhadi' anachara (করিয়া কৃষ্ণের সংসার ছাড়ি' অনাচার). You must make your family Krishna's family and give up all unwanted and unfavourable habits.' We must leave all unhealthy, unfavourable habits – until and unless we do that, we will not get any result.

You cannot both drink milk and take tobacco because when you drink milk you get vitamins, but when you smoke or eat tobacco it destroys all the benefit of taking milk. In the same way, you cannot drink both milk and alcohol. You think that you will do what is favourable to devotion and at the same time also do that which is not favourable to devotion. This is one of the offences to the Holy Name: Nama-bale papachara, to sin relying on the purifying strength of the Name. The whole day, from morning to evening, you do all kinds of bad things, and in the evening, you think, 'I will chant on my beads in the evening, and all will be OK – all my sins will go away.' Chanting the Holy Name with this kind of idea is an offence.

Gurudev tells us to chant the Holy Name and all the scriptures tell us to chant the Holy Name, so we do that – it is OK to think like this. But if you think that you will chant and all your sins will be removed, then it is an offence to the Holy Name.

People host asta-prahar kirtans – you do all kinds of wrong things 364 days a year, and then one day you bring a hired singers' party and host asta-prahar during one day. After that, you gather all your extended family, all your in-laws and feast on fish and meat of goats, sheep, dogs, etc. It is all a waste. It is as useful as an elephant's bathing. There is no use chanting the Holy Name(?) like this.

Always practise Krishna consciousness.

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Life in Hari-Kirtan
2) Busy Lives
3) Your Responsibility
4) No Shortcuts
5) Sacrifice to Thrive
6) No Double Standards
7) Selfless Devotion
8) Serve with Heart and Soul