(4/10) Be Kind

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Siliguri, evening, 7 September 2019, part 4
Translated from Bengali

I wrote a book, Guidance 3, and there you can find a chapter '108 Questions and Answers' and also a chapter about what you should speak on the appearance day of Srimati Radharani (Radhastami) and Lord Sri Krishna (Janmastami). Outside people like to say that religion is the cause of the national downfall – I wrote a reply to that. I also wrote a chapter about why Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math was created. If you read this book, you will find everything in it. You should especially read the 108 questions and answers at the end.

Many people ask, 'What do you get by serving the Lord?'

1) Question: What does service to the Lord give?

Answer: We consider that taking shelter in the service of the Lord is the only duty. Fortunate are those who serve the Lord. You must hear, practise and remember Krishna consciousness despite all difficulties. I have nothing else to offer you except this.

2) Question: How can one escape from the material world?

Answer: This earth, i.e. this material world, is an examination place. Those who want to pass this examination must practise sravan and kirtan (hearing and chanting) in the company of devotees. There is no other way to do it.

3) Question: How does Maya work?

Answer: If you heat a piece of iron in fire, it gets burning power from the fire and can burn other things—Maya also takes her materials from the Lord and removes souls from His service.

If you put a piece of iron into fire, it becomes red and very hot – after that, if you take that iron with some special cloth and touch it to somebody's body or put it on a usual cloth, the iron will burn everything. Where does iron get this power to burn? From fire. Maya Devi is also like that. She envelops every single soul and keeps them away from the Lord – makes the soul forget the Lord and removes it from the service to the Lord. Where does she get this power? From the Lord. That is why she is so powerful. If, by some fortune, a soul surrenders to the Lord, then Maya Devi sees, 'This souls has surrendered to my Master,' and she slowly, gradually flees from that soul – then the soul is able to see the transcendental world. Did you understand what I have just told? This is how Maya Devi works. She gets her power from the Lord.

This is the reason why many people cannot come to this line. There are billions of people in this world, but how many of them practise spiritual life? It is said that among millions of selfish people, you will find one wise person; among millions of wise people, you will find one liberated person; among millions of such liberated people, you will find only one devotee of Krishna. Although it is very rare to find a devotee of Krishna, just one such devotee can liberate the entire universe. Among millions of liberated souls, there may be only one pure devotee of Krishna! Similarly, there are many karmi-gurus (who will teach you how to get material benefits), jnani-guru (who will teach you how to attain the unlimited knowledge of the universe), yogi-gurus (who will teach you how to attain various mystic powers), but it is very rare to find a spiritual guru (who will teach you how to get devotion to Lord Krishna).

4) Question: How can one show kindness to jiva souls?

Answer: The only kindness, or mercy, to jiva souls is speaking to them about Krishna consciousness (Hari-katha kirtan). There can be no other way to show kindness to a jiva soul that could compare to Krishna-kirtan. Mercy to jiva souls means to engage a soul averse to the Lord in the service of the Supreme Lord through the medium of Hari-kirtan.

When you speak about the Lord and chant the Lord's Names and glories, this is when you show kindness to other souls. There is no greater gift than this. Hari-kirtan is the only way you can show kindness to other souls. It is much greater benefit than giving somebody five thousand or five million rupees.

তব কথামৃতং তপ্তজীবনং
কবিভিরীড়িতং কল্মষাপহম্ ।
শ্রবণমঙ্গলং শ্রীমদাততং
ভুবি গৃণন্তি তে ভূরিদা জনাঃ ॥

tava kathamrtam tapta-jivanam
kavibhir iditam kalmasapaham
sravana-mangalam srimad-atatam
bhuvi grnanti te bhurida janah

'My Dear, bestowing the greatest fortune that is attained after so many births, exalted souls come to this world and live here by singing and spreading Your nectarean glories that are life and soul for those suffering in this material world being devoid of Your divine love; that are the gist of all poets' songs; that are the destroyer of all sins; that benefit anyone who hears them; and that possess universal attraction.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.14.13)

Sri Prataparudra Maharaj recited this verse to Mahaprabhu.

Therefore, 'mercy to jiva souls means to engage a soul averse to the Lord in the service of the Supreme Lord through the medium of Hari-kirtan.' It is very easy to leave service to the Lord and to take service from others, but it is very hard to engage yourselves and others in service. People have some faults, have some bad things inside them, but it is necessary to try to make them good – it is necessary to engage them in the Lord's service. At the same time, we must be careful not to imitate service: many people only pretend to be doing service...

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Length: 93 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Guru: Repository of Divine Love
2) Genuine Practising Life
3) Unconditional Service of Conditioned Souls
4) Be Kind
5) Fundamental Questions
6) Becoming a Devotee
7) Meaning of Spirituality
8) Solution to Internal Debates
9) Soul's Needs
10) Non-Sectarian Conception