Intimate Service Mood

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bengali/English lecture on Sri Vyasa Puja Day
29 September 2019, Tarakeswar, part 3

I have read to you about Guru yesterday and the day before yesterday. Only giving some flowers to Gurudev, giving some puja to Gurudev, this is not what service is. Service means thinking, "What does Gurudev need for sleeping?" "What does Gurudev need at the time of his service?" "What does Gurudev need?"

Why are you afraid? I have told you this example many times. You have a chief minister in this country, but can you go to her? You cannot—she has so much security, so many bodyguards, but does this chief minister not go home to sleep? When she comes home, they tell her, "Didi, we do not have any turmeric left," "We do not have chili, salt," etc. She also has grandchildren who can climb on her shoulder and say, "Granny, bring me a cadbury! Bring me a chocolate!" Can you climb on her shoulder and ask that? When she is at home, she is not a chief minister any more. Such close relationship must come towards the Guru also.

Why are you afraid of Gurudev? If you call Gurudev and he chastises you, "Why are you calling me at this time?!" you must try to call again at another time. Many are scared to speak to Gurudev, but what is there to be scared about? Are you afraid of the one whose shelter you have taken? Relation with the Guru is not external—it is not only taking formal initiation, but you must think, "What does Gurudev like eating?" "Where will Gurudev rest?" "Where will he stay?" You must arrange all that. If Gurudev comes and you only give him a garland and say "jay," this is not sufficient, there are other responsibilities also.

You must think how to please your Gurudev, then it will be service mood. If you are not attentive to such things, then you will not be able to serve Gurudev, it means you have not got affection for your Gurudev. Gurudev is called the centre, the pivot of the disciple's life (prana-kendra, প্রাণকেন্দ্র). Always remember this. Where is the centre of one's life? In the heart. So, Gurudev is the very heart of the disciple. This is our line. You will not get it in any jnana-marg (path of knowledge) or yoga-marg (path of mystic powers).

Since the time I woke up and switched my phone on, I have been getting phone calls all day long. I have got almost one hundred phone calls already. There are 140 centres, and in every one of them, except for one, they are celebrating Guru-puja. In some countries, they even made a cake a week before. They said, "Gurudev, you will be busy on your birthday, so we have made the cake now." And they showed me a 40 kg cake! That is their tradition, but the point is that their heart is like this—they serve with their hearts. Service to the Guru is done not only with external limbs, but with one's heart.

Actually, I told you yesterday that there are two main services—service to the Deity and the service of cooking for the Deity. Everybody worships pujaris and considers them holy (touches their feet). When the pujari worships Gurudev, offers him flowers, does arati, offers a garland, etc. it is good, but Gurudev told me once, "I say I am hungry, but they give me a garland—must I eat the garland? I am hungry, so I will be happy if you give me something to eat." It is the cook who worries, "Is the kitchen clean?" You offer food to the Lord on a golden plate, but if the kitchen is in a mess, the Lord or Gurudev will not take your offering. Yet nobody comes to touch the cooks' feet. People say that those who cook are low and have no qualifications, that is why they cook. Nobody even comes to greet them. But Srila Prabhupad said, "Those who really cook for the Lord are Radharani's associates." Visakha, Lalita, Champakalata and others serve in their own way—everybody has their own service, but those who really cook in the Lord's kitchen, do the main service. Always remember this. You must have seen it many times too—when the pujari comes out of the Deities' room, people pay obeisance to him, but does anybody comes to pay obeisance at the kitchen? However those who cook do the most intimate service. Prabhupad said that those who cook do the most valuable service. They cook, they think about the Lord, they always think how to make something nice, how to make something better, how to improve their cooking, they think about what Gurudev or the Lord likes. You must cook what Gurudev likes. When you cook for Gurudev, you should ask him, "Gurudev, did you like it?" and you must learn from what Gurudev says. Do as Gurudev likes. This is how one should cook. Always remember this.

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