(6/16) The Obstacle Is You

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, 23 April 2019, noon, part 6
Translated from Bengali

How is it possible to practise all sixty-four devotional practices by practising just one of them? For example, when you listen to Bhagavatam, it is not necessary to chant on your beads at that time – you are automatically chanting the Lord's Holy Names. When you chant 'Sri Guru-charana-padma' or 'Ohe Vaisnava Thakura', you are automatically chanting the Holy Name. Remember this. When you are cooking, you are thinking, 'O Lord, I have no qualification, but I am trying to cook this for the Deity and my gurudev' – you are thinking about the Lord, and you are automatically chanting the Holy Name. You can be cutting vegetables, you can be stirring a pot with a spoon, and at that time you can chant the Holy Name: 'Sevonmukhe kaha Krsna Nama (সেবোন্মুখে কহে কৃষ্ণনাম). Chant the Holy Name with service mood.' When you plant some trees or do gardening, you can chant, 'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare,' at that time. This is how you must live.

We have been in this world a very long time, and now, by immense good fortune, we have got a human birth. If you waste this opportunity, it is not certain that you will get this chance again. It is said in the scriptures that one gets a human birth after crossing 8,400,000 species, but it can actually be even more than that. We were born as humans 400,000 times before. You know, there are human species that eat other humans or that eat snakes, earthworms and frogs. There are such people in this world – in China, Garo, Khasi, Naga, Andaman Island (right near this country) and other places.

We must think about this. We will not get this human birth again. And we will have to leave this world one day. We cannot chant the Lord's Names, we cannot think about the Lord in this life – why is it so? For one reason only. We cannot give up small things. If we cannot give up small things, we cannot attain great things. We must give up small matters. What is this small, trifle matter? The greed of our tongues. When we give the Holy Name, we tell everyone that you cannot take fish, meat, eggs, garlic, onion, masoori dal (lentils), tea. When people hear this, they think, 'O God, how will I live then?' There are sadhus sitting here with us – ask them how they live. There are also Western devotees sitting with us – ask them how they survive; some of them are also born vegetarians – they have never eaten fish or meat in their lives. Doctors tell you that you cannot live without eating meat, fish and eggs, but they are steering you wrong. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says:

জড়বিদ্যা যয়, মায়ার বৈভব,
তোমার ভজনে বাধা ।
মোহ জনমিয়া অনিত্য সংসারে,
জীবকে করিয়ে গাধা ॥

jada-vidya yata, mayara vaibhava,
tomara bhajane badha
moha janamiya, anitya samsare,
jivake karaye gadha

'All mundane learning is a manifestation of illusion (maya) and an obstacle to Your service. It brings about infatuation with the temporary world and turns the soul into an ass.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

This is the kind of knowledge doctors learn and then they say, 'If you do not eat meat, you will not get the necessary nutrients.' Such knowledge is illusory – it obstructs spiritual life and turns the soul into an infatuated ass. What is the real education?

ঈশ্বরঃ পরমঃ কৃষ্ণঃ সচ্চিদানন্দবিগ্রহঃ ।
অনাদিরাদির্গোবিন্দঃ সর্ব্বকারণকারণম্ ॥

isvarah paramah krsnah sach-chid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam

'Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes.'

(Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.1)

Anadi means the original entity that was created prior to everybody; He who existed before even that entity is Lord Govinda. He is eternal and full of cognisance and bliss. He is eternal means that He existed before, exists now and will exist in the future. Who is this personality? It is the Supreme Lord: Krishna, Madhav, Yadav, Mukunda. He has many Names. The main problem is that we forget Him...

কৃষ্ণ ভুলি' সেই জীব অনাদি-বহির্ম্মুখ ।
অতএব মায়া তারে দেয় সংসারাদি-দুঃখ ॥

krsna bhuli' sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsaradi-duhkha

'Forgetting Krishna, the soul turned towards the external illusory world in primaeval times. As the result, illusion (Maya) gives such a soul various material miseries.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.20.117)

Because we have forgotten the Lord, we are now suffering from the agony of three-fold miseries (adhibhautik, adhidaivik, adhyatmik: the miseries caused by other souls, by the nature and by your mind). If you want to get relief from this agony, you must take exclusive shelter at the Supreme Lord's holy feet.

'Bhagavata pada Vaisnavera sthane, ekanta asraya kara Chaitanya-charane (ভাগবত পড় বৈষ্ণবের স্থানে, একান্ত আশ্রয় কর চৈতন্য-চরণে). Read Bhagavatam under guidance of a Vaishnav and take exclusive shelter of the lotus feet of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu' (Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.5.131). We must come to Vaishnavs to hear Bhagavatam and we must take shelter at the holy lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. There is no other way except for this.

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 except for the Holy Name. We must always remember this. We are in this situation now only because we forget about this. As the result, we keep coming to this world.

কয় বার এলি কয় বার গেলি
তবু তত্ত্ব না শিখিলি ।
নিজের মাথা নিজে খাইলি
এ দোষ দিবি কারে ভাই ?

kaya bara eli kaya bara geli
tabu tattva na sikhili
nijer matha nije khaili
e-dosa dibe kare bhai?

'Coming and going, coming and going, and never learnt anything. You have been eating your own brain, who will you blame now, brother?'

Who are you going to blame it on now? You are your own friend, and you are your own enemy. If you decide, 'I want to chant the Holy Name', 'I want to serve the Lord,' then nothing and nobody can obstruct you.

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Size: 41 Mb
Length: 85 min
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