(2/9) Faith in Deity

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Mejhiari, temple inauguration programme,
21 April 2019, noon, part 2
Translated from Bengali

I will speak about deities today because there are Deities being installed here today. I told you earlier during the class that if you come to the Lord's Deity thinking, 'I will go to see the Deity,' then you will not be able to see the Lord – you will only see an idol made of wood, stone, etc. Remember this. But if you come in front of a Deity with the faith that 'the Lord is the object of my service, I want to serve the Lord, I am His servant,' then the Lord will reveal Himself to you.

'Ahankare matta haina, nitai-pada pasariya asatyere satya kari mani (অহঙ্কারে মত্ত হৈঞা, নিতাইপদ পাসরিয়া অসত্যেরে সত্য করি মানি). Maddened with pride and forgetting Nitai’s feet, you take untruth for truth.' Because of our ego, we think that we do everything, that we are entitled to something, that without us nothing will happen. Such mood comes to us, but this mood is delusional. 'Ahankare matta haina, nitai-pada pasariya asatyere satya kari mani (অহঙ্কারে মত্ত হৈঞা, নিতাইপদ পাসরিয়া অসত্যেরে সত্য করি মানি). Maddened with pride and forgetting Nitai’s feet, you take untruth for truth.'

I would like to tell you a few things related to Vrindavan and Nabadwip. Those of you had the great fortune to visit Vrindavan know about one place that is situated near Vamsivat and Nidhuvan. Vrindavan used to be all covered with forests, and there were two big forests, Nikunjavan (our Math is right next to it; this forest is also known as seva-kunja) and Nidhuvan.

[Clamour among the audience] Please give attention to what I am saying. Can you not stay quiet without talking?

দিনের মধ্যে আবল-তাবল
কত পচাল পাড়িতে পর
তার মধ্যে কি একবার
গোবিন্দ বলিতে নার ?!

dinera madhye abala-tabala
kata pachala padite para
tara madhye ki eka-bara
govinda balite nara ?!

'How much nonsense you can talk every day! How many idle talks you have! Can you not say the Name of Govinda even once?'

I told you yesterday that when we leave this world we will lose everything. Do you think the Lord has given you a mouth only to eat and speak? The Lord has given us mouths so that we can speak about Him, and He has given us ears so that we can listen about Him. One day the Lord will take away everything from us – when we grow old, we will not be able to hear with our ears or see with our eyes; our teeth will fall out and we will not be able to say 'Hare Krishna' properly; our legs will not allow us to do dham-parikrama anymore – even when we walk four times around Tulasi Devi, our feet and knees will pain. This is what awaits us in old age. 'Vrddha-kala aola, saba sukha bhagala, pida-base hainu katara (বৃদ্ধকাল আওল, সব সুখ ভাগল, পীড়াবশে হইনু কাতর). Now old age has come and all happiness has fled – distressed by diseases, I have become miserable' (Saranagati).

Listen attentively – I am going to tell you about Deities and some pastimes from Vrindavan. There was one devotee in Vrindavan who practised spiritual life very nicely. You may have heard the name of this devotee. He is the author of Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa – Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami. Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami worshipped twelve salagram-silas. Salagram-silas are Deities of Lord Narayan found on the banks of the Gandaki River near Muktinath, and many bring them from there. Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami brought twelve such silas from the Gandaki River. He offered abhisekh and worship to Them every day. One day, a rich man from Delhi came to Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami and told him, 'Prabhu, I have brought some Deity jewellery and clothes.' Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu was busy at that time with worship, so he replied, 'All right, you can keep it over there.' The man kept the clothes and the jewellery and went away. In the evening, when Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami came to put Deities to rest, it suddenly hit him, 'That man has brought clothes for the Deities, but my Deities do not have any legs or arms... How will I dress Them into these clothes? The man has brought it for service, but I cannot use it – the man is so unfortunate.' He put the Deities to sleep and went to rest in the evening.

The next day, when Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu woke up in the morning for the mangal-arati and opened the altar's door, he found a Deity of Krishna on his altar! He was very surprised: the door was locked all night, who had brought that Deity of Lord Krishna? How is this possible? Then, he counted the silas and discovered that there were only eleven silas – one was missing. He could not find the missing silas anywhere, but then he noticed that there was a small magnet-like stone on the back of Lord Krishna's Deity. Then, he realised that the twelfth silas had turned into a Deity. He gave this Deity the name Radha-Raman. This Deity is still there in Vrindavan – if you go there, you can see Him. Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu served this Deity – this Deity had manifested Himself through him.

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Length: 58 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Gaura-Nitai's Mercy
2) Faith in Deity
3) Madan-Mohan's Miracle (Part One)
4) Madan-Mohan's Miracle (Part Two)
5) Deity and His Devotee
6) Lord Jagannath's Appearance (Part One)
7) Lord Jagannath's Appearance (Part Two)
8) Lord Jagannath's Appearance (Part Three)
9) Eternal Deities of Eternal Servants