(2/7) Jewel Devotees

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Tarakeswar, evening, 27 September 2019, part 2
Translated from Bengali

Seated among us is a devotee from Malaysia, Rama Ratan Prabhu. He is my godbrother and a householder like all of you. He has come here on the occasion of my birthday after a long time. We have a temple in Malaysia, and he is the one who runs it. He works the whole day outside, but he makes sure that all services at the temple (Deity worship, etc.) are performed properly. He has several children (some of them are eight, thirteen and twelve, around that age) – they are all initiated. Some of them chant kirtan, some play the mridanga. All of them have come to this line. His wife is a high school teacher – she helps to run the household with her money and also gives something for the temple maintenance. The temple is actually right next to their house. They always serve at the temple, and many devotees also come there to do service. Rama Ratan Prabhu cannot stay here for a long time, he has only come for the festival, and after that he will go back because he has much service in Malaysia.

Over there, behind, seated is Jayasri Didi. Her husband, Aprakrita Prabhu, was my very dear friend; he was very dear to Gurudev also. Many of you face some dangerous situations in life, but you must never forget the Lord, whether you are happy or unhappy. You must not forget the Lord when you are happy, and you must not forget the Lord when you are unhappy. You can see Jayasri Didi's example – she lost her husband (he had a problem with his heart, a heart attack, and when he was going for an operation, he died in hospital), but all their children are initiated and serve the Math. They work, earn money and maintain the temple. Jayasri Didi herself works in a nursery school for very small children. You can imagine how much patience and tolerance she has! You lose your patience easily with your one–two children, but she has thirty small children under her care.

Didi, how old are the youngest children you tend to?

Jayasri Didi: From two months to six years old.

Two months! Just think about it. She raises two-month-old babies! You can think how many children she has brought up, but you cannot bring up properly even one child. In their country, everybody has to work, so they keep their children in a nursery school. She takes care of those small babies (makes sure they are safe, that they do not fall down, do not injure themselves, and so on) and when they grow up a little, she also teaches them basic subjects. I have been to her school and have seen where she works.

Listen to how they run the temple. You can see one of her sons seated here, Abhimanyu Prabhu. There are six brothers: Yudhisthir, Bhima, Arjun, Nakul, Sahadev and Abhimanyu. The first five brothers were named after the five Pandavas, and when the sixth boy was born, he was named Abhimanyu. I asked him if he was working now (he has finished college and got a degree). He told me that they had set up a place at the temple where they make and sell vegetarian cakes and cupcakes for sale. His elder brother Nakul stayed with me for some time a few years; now he is married and has a child. He and his wife are working there, making cakes, and Abhimanyu helps them sell these cakes online. This is how they run the temple. They come for the mangal-arati in the morning, worship the Deities, do service at the temple and the rest of the time they make cakes and sell them online. This is how they get money to run the temple. They have submitted everything at the holy feet of the Lord. Their mother scolded them, 'You are using the temple for your business! If you do that, you must also contribute to the temple and serve the Deities.' You can see her example – she has no husband, but she has brought up so many children alone and she is also preaching.

This is how they serve the temple. How much can you get by collection? They run a business and earn money for the temple.

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Length: 74 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Tarakeswar: Turning Point
2) Jewel Devotees
3) Rectifying Stray Temples
4) Disciple's Determination
5) The Meaning of Kirtan
6) Guru-Disciple Sambandha
7) Service Attracts More Service