(9/9) Awkward Excuses

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Midnapore, 23 April 2019, evening, part 9
Translated from Bengali

Please come tomorrow – I will speak tomorrow again, and everybody can take prasad also. I have heard that somebody wanted to take initiation tomorrow. Please tell them to be ready all together by eight o'clock in the morning. I am very busy now, so I will not sit and wait for anybody. They should fast and come here, and after they receive initiation, they can take some prasad.

Devotee: Can a girl take initiation during...?

All these things are not a problem! There is no question about it when it comes to the Holy Name. It is just a kind of disease. Just as when we go to the bathroom and pass stool, we take a shower to cleanse ourselves after that; it is similar with them. They can chant the Holy Name and do service! Do they not feed their children and husbands during this time?! Then why must the Lord be kept fasting? I have told you that our problem is that we are not afraid to sin for our own happiness, but when it comes to the Lord, then we come up with excuses saying that there is this monthly problem. All this is not a problem! Even if somebody dies in the house, there is no problem. Even if somebody is born or dies in your family, you can always come here to serve the Lord. Service must never be stopped.

So, tell everybody who wants to take initiation to be here at eight – they can put on tilaks, etc. here. There are no restrictions regarding chanting the Holy Name.

কি শয়নে, কি ভোজনে, কিবা জাগরণে ।
অহর্নিশ চিন্ত কৃষ্ণ, বলহ বদনে ॥

ki sayane, ki bhojane, kiba jagarane
aharnisa chinta krsna, balaha vadane

'Whether you are lying down, eating or waking up, incessantly think about Krishna and chant the Name of Krishna with your mouth.'

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.28.28)

You can chant the Holy Name day and night, no matter where you are or what you are doing. There is nothing that can inhibit the chanting of the Holy Name.

Girls have this problem every month, what is there to be shy or ashamed of? If the body is sick, what is there to be shy about? Does that mean that you will not chant the Holy Name now? There are so many young girls who chant the Holy Name. Just today I got a phone call from two girls who go to high school – they want to take initiation. Both of them are vegetarian and have been observing ekadasi for a long time. I told them that I was busy now, but if they came later, I would give them initiation. So, there is no problem about this. The Holy Name must be chanted at all times.

Does anybody else have any questions? If you have any questions or doubts, we have time now – you can ask now. This is your temple, you are the ones serving here. I am not coming to take anything from here. You are the ones living here, serving here, so you are the ones who have the right over the temple. I only come here for one–two days once or twice a year and leave. So, if you have any questions, you can ask me.

Question: What does 'ignorance' mean?

Ignorance means material knowledge and forgetfulness of the Lord.

'কৃষ্ণ-নিত্যদাস'—জীব তাহা ভুলি' গেল ।
এই দোষে মায়া তার গলায় বান্ধিল ॥

'krsna-nitya-dasa'—jiva taha bhuli' gela
ei dose maya tara galaya bandhila

'The jiva soul forgot that it is an eternal servant of Krishna. Because of this mistake, illusion threw its ropes around the soul's neck.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.24)

When the soul forgets the Lord (forgets that it is an eternal servant of the Lord), and as the result of this ignorance Maya Devi throws her ropes around the soul's neck. That is what is called ignorance.

We have a relationship with the Lord. We are souls, and we come from the Lord. We get these bodies from our parents, but our souls come from the Lord. Do you understand now how the soul is related to the Lord? The soul is a particle of the Lord. It comes from the Lord, and it keeps getting different bodies, one after another. If you do not want to keep changing your bodies, travelling incessantly everywhere, then when you get a human body, you must serve the Lord – you can reach the Lord's domain, and you will not have to suffer from birth, death, old age and disease again.

Next you should realise that even this is also one form of material desire (to want to go to the eternal world of the Lord and live there). Our mood should be, 'I am here to serve the Lord, and the Lord can do as He pleases.' Hoping to attain or reach anything is lust, material desire. 'I will serve the Lord and go to live in His abode' – this is also a material desire (kama). We must leave both desires (bhog-tyag) and renunciation (tyag-tyag). Everything exists for the service to Lord Krishna. Suppose you have a mango tree growing at your house, but you show renunciation, 'I will not eat mangoes!' This is false renunciation.

মর্কট-বৈরাগ্য না কর লোক দেখাঞা ।
যথাযোগ্য বিষয় ভুঞ্জ' অনাসক্ত হঞা ॥

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana

'Do not show your false renunciation to impress people. Use whatever material things you require, but without attachment.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.238)

You can see that we have many facilities at the temple, and we have many trees growing at the temple, and we take that fruit and offer it to the Lord, and then give His prasad to everybody. We do not cut the trees down, we do let their fruit go to waste by refusing to take it. No. We must pick the fruit and offer it to the Lord. In this way, you can give some benefit to the tree. If you plant a flower tree, you should pick the flowers and offer them at the holy feet of Lord Govinda or gurudev, or make a garland for Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha. If you cannot make a garland, then offer the flowers like that. If you do this, then the flower tree will get some benefit. 'Karitechchha upakara, yate para upakara labhe jiva sri-krsna-sevaya (করিতেছ উপকার, যাতে পর উপকার লভে জীব শ্রীকৃষ্ণ-সেবায়). Benevolent kindness is such that receiving it souls get the benefit of attaining service to Lord Krishna.

All right, I would like to finish here for today.

বাঞ্ছাকল্পতরুভ্যশ্চ কৃপাসিন্ধুভ্য এব চ ।
পতিতানাং পাবনেভ্যো বৈষ্ণবেভ্যো নমো নমঃ ॥

vanchha-kalpatarubhyas cha krpa-sindhubhya eva cha
patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah

'I offer my obeisances to the Supreme Lord’s devotees, who are saviours of the fallen, oceans of mercy and wish-fulfilling trees.'

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Length: 81 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Whose Servant Are You?
2) Preaching Expansion
3) Our Preaching and Life
4) Genuine Worship
5) Give Your Heart
6) Use Your Time Wisely
7) God Exists for Those Who Have Devotion
8) Service Enthusiasm
9) Awkward Excuses