(5/16) Search for Reality

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, 23 April 2019, noon, part 5
Translated from Bengali

Srila Sridhar Maharaj says that there is a question of quality and quantity. It is necessary to consider quality. The main thing is not quantity or numbers. For example, you go to the market to buy eggplant. You see somebody selling eggplants for ten rupees a kilo and another person for five rupees. You buy forty kilos from the second man, but when you come home and open the sack, you see that all eggplants are all rotten. One kilo of good eggplants for ten rupees is better than forty kilos of rotten eggplants. That is why quality is more important than quantity.

These days, political parties only think about how many people they have in their party and how many people other parties have. They worry only about numbers. People give their votes for politicians, but they do not realise what these politicians actually do in their lives – politicians promote themselves and make promises, but what they do after those promises is something else. It is necessary to search for genuine things. Do not be led by the mob.

“গোরার আমি, গোরার আমি” মুখে বলিলে নাহি চলে ।
গোরার আচার, গোরার বিচার লইলে ফল ফলে ॥

"gorara ami, gorara ami" mukhe balile nahi chale
gorara achara, gorara vichara laile phala phale

'Just saying, "I am Gora's! I am Gora's!" does not do. Only when you follow Gora's practices and Gora's conception will you get the proper result.'

লোক দেখান গোরা ভজা তিলক মাত্র ধরি ।
গোপনেতে অত্যাচার গোরা ধরে চুরি ॥

loka dekhana gora bhaja tilaka matra dhari'
gopanete atyachara gora dhare churi

'You put on tilaks and show the whole world that you serve Gora, but secretly you do outrageous things. Gora will catch you, thief (hypocrite)!'

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6–7)

Many people wear tilaks, but what is their behaviour like? Some come all dressed up, chant kirtans, but when they finish kirtans and go away, they do all kinds of wrong things. What benefit do you get from listening to such hired singers? This is nothing but 'Nama bale papachar' – sinning on the strength of the Holy Name (thinking that you can chant the Holy Name and all the sins you keep committing will be removed by the power of the Holy Name). People do kirtan as a way to atone for their sins.

I heard recently somebody said, 'I have committed a sin, so I must atone for it. If I invite gurudev and arrange for him to give a class, then my sins will be removed.' You think that you can sin, chant some Holy Name and then sin again and then again chant some Holy Name. Do you think that this is how it works? Your sins will never go away like this. If you atone only out of fear for the consequence of your sins, such atonement will never bring you any good result. I was just reading about this in Srimad Bhagavatam yesterday. Sukadev Goswami told about it to Pariksit Maharaj citing the pastime of Prahlad Maharaj. So, if you think that you can do wrong the whole day and then chant some Holy Name in the evening and all your sins will go away, this is called 'Nama bale papachar': sinning and relying on the strength of the Holy Name to remove your sins. This is an offence to the Holy Name.

When we give the Holy Name to anybody, we always say that it is necessary to chant the Holy Name without the ten offences, then only will there be some result.

The Holy Name always considers offences – the Holy Name knows whose mouth He will come to, and He never comes to the mouths of offenders. Their chanting will sound like 'Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna' but actually it will be just 'Phore Keshto, Phore Keshto'. One lady took initiation from Srila Sridhar Maharaj and went home. There were no mobile phones at that time, and we all wrote postcards and letters to get in touch with each others. So, when that lady came home, she realised that her husband's name was Hare Krishna. She asked her husband,

'What am I to do now? My guru told me to chant Hare Krishna, but this is your name, I cannot chant it!'

'Yes!' her husband agreed. 'I am your husband, you cannot take my name! You must go back to your guru and tell him about it.'

'But it will take time. Guru Maharaj told me to chant on the beads minimum four rounds every day. How will I do that?'

'Well, then do not chant Hare Krishna – instead, just chant Phore Keshto Phore Keshto Keshto Keshto Phore Phore! Sounds almost the same.'

No way. Never compare anything to the Holy Name! If you compare anything else – any fire sacrifices or any other practices – this is also an offence to the Holy Name.

— : • : —

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Be Resolute
2) Pillars of Service Mood
3) Tongue's Attachment
4) Tread with Caution
5) Search for Reality
6) The Obstacle Is You
7) Bogus Love, Bogus Claims
8) Core of Devotional Life
9) Love Me, Love My Dog
10) Bad Days Turn Into Bad Life
11) Tottering Life
12) Control Your Mind
13) Devotees' Benevolent Kindness
14) Gift of Vision
15) Seal Your Heart from Maya
16) My Question to You