(1/1) Service Is Above Rules

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
16 October 2019, Kolkata, part 1
Translated from Bengali

Often, when we give a class, we speak and speak and end up having no time to chant the kirtans. But we should sing Mahaprabhu's Sata-Nama and Krishna's Sata-Nama ('Nagare nagere Gaura gaya') in the mornings.

For us, the main thing is service. If you think, 'I will stay the whole day fasting, I will not eat anything, and I will not do any service – I will only stay silent and do nothing the whole day,' it is wrong. It is wasting time and being lazy. We must take what is necessary for the service of the Lord. Prabhupad Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and our Param Guru Maharaj have made the rules less strict. For example, before, people used to fast for three days on ekadasi (on the day before the ekadasi, on the ekadasi day, and one day after the ekadasi). Moreover, in Bardhaman, people like to say that fasting on ekadasi is only for widows, nobody else must fast on ekadasi. Is that written anywhere in the scriptures? This is just harassment of women. They say that when a lady's husband dies, she must fast on ekadasi, but if a man's wife dies, the man does not have to fast on ekadasi. Everybody must follow the rules of fasting on ekadasi.

As for the niyom-seva month, the rule is that you must eat directly from the ground, without using your hands. Can you do that? You must also sleep on the bare ground (only some dry banana leaves are allowed). Can you do that? Our Guru Maharaj said that if you want to follow niyom-seva rules, you can do it during the first three days, and the rest of the time is optional. You can make simple food on these days – boil some dal or vegetables and offer that with rice. In the evening, you can take rotis, and in the morning, some khoi (a kind of puffed rice).

Actually, the rules, this niyom-seva month or the kartik-vrata rules are not meant for the Lord. The Lord must be offered everything, whatever you can get. If you eat only boiled vegetables, you will not feel happy; in the same way, if you offer only boiled vegetables to the Lord, the Lord will be unhappy, too.

I remember one story that happened in Kaikhali. Sripad Damodar Maharaj (Srila Sridhar Maharaj's disciple) was in charge of the temple at that time. He liked to follow rules. At that time, only he and a brahmachari who did puja were staying at the temple. Actually, nobody could stay with him because he was very strict. Srila Guru Maharaj used to say that you cannot make an ornament from pure gold – it is necessary to add some alloy. He would tell Damodar Maharaj also, 'Where will you get pure things? You cannot make a good ornament with pure gold; it is necessary to use some alloy.' One time, Damodar Maharaj gave me one ruppe and sent me to the market to buy some green chilli. When I came back with some chilli, he told me, 'Give me the receipt.' Do you think anybody is going to give a receipt for one rupee? But he was very strict about all rules and regulations. So, one day, during the niyom-seva month, the pujari was giving prasad to Damodar Maharaj, and, whether on purpose or accidentally, he anyhow put some patal on his plate. Damodar Maharaj was livid – he chastised the boy and ran straight to Dum Dum Park to see Guru Maharaj. Guru Maharaj was resting at that time, so his servant stopped Damodar Maharaj, 'You cannot see him now because he is resting. You can come back later, when he wakes up.' After a few hours, Guru Maharaj woke up and got the news that Damodar Maharaj had come and had been waiting to see him for a long time. Guru Maharaj thought, 'Damodar Maharaj is sitting and waiting? Something must have happened.' Then, Damodar Maharaj was called; he came, offered his obeisance and said, 'I will not go back to that temple if he stays there! You must remove him from the temple, then I will return to Kaikhali; otherwise, I will declare a hunger strike.' Guru Maharaj told him, 'Maharaj, you are too strict and demand from everybody too much, so nobody wants to stay with you. That boy is staying at the temple, he is helping you – he does puja, cooks, and does everything on his own, where will you get another boy to do all this?' Then, Damodar Maharaj objected, 'But it is niyom-seva, and he has given me patal!' Guru Maharaj replied, 'Oh, Maharaj, but when I take prasad, I do not see any eggplant or patal – I only see prasad. You are practising so much, chanting the Holy Name so much, why do you see eggplant and patal in your prasad then?' That was Guru Maharaj's reply. 'I do not see any eggplant or any patal – I take prasad.' Whatever is offered to the Lord, we take prasad – we take whatever the Lord gives to us. Guru Maharaj also told him, 'What comes first for you, your own practice or the Lord? If I tell the boy to leave, who will cook for the Deities? Will you do the puja? Will you do everything yourself? If you can, then tell me, I will tell the boy to come and stay with me.' That was Guru Maharaj's reply. We should know what is necessary for service.

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1) Service Is Above Rules
2) Unconditional Servitude