(13/13) Concluding Words

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Hapaniya Dham, Vyasa Puja Mahotsav
22 October 2019, morning, part 13
Translated from Bengali

Today is the month of Sri Damodar, and we are sitting here in front of Sri Sri Radha-Gopinath...

Param Gurudev Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was born in 1895. When he passed B.A. and was then studying law, he came to Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. In 1926, he came to Sri Chaitanya Math and took initiation. At that time, he could not join the temple full time because he was forced by his parents to return to his house. He had some material bondage, and he would always think, 'How will this bondage go away?' That bondage was Shanti Devi. When Shanti Devi left her body, then Ramendra Bhattacharya (Srila Sridhar Maharaj's previous name) went to Sri Chaitanya Math. He started staying at the temple. Four years later, in 1930, he was given sannyas. Srila Prabhupad gave him sannyas crossing over many other, more senior devotees.

Many years later, in 1965, when Srila Swami Maharaj, whom Srila Sridhar Maharaj called 'Nityananda Prabhu's saktyavesa avatar (empowered incarnation)', was going to travel abroad for preaching, he came to Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj to ask for his blessing. He told him, 'Maharaj, I am going abroad and I would like to ask you for your blessing.' Srila Sridhar Maharaj blessed him, 'May you be successful.' Srila Swami Maharaj left and started preaching in a very wide way. He was successful. Many devotees came to him, and later they asked him also, 'Maharaj, we see that you are becoming old – who should we go to if you leave?' Srila Swami Maharaj told them, 'I have a siksa-guru and a dear godbrother, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. You should go to him.'

We can find many gurus in this world who will happily take your obeisances and donations. When it comes to the day of guru-puja, you come, offer some flowers, do some arati and that is it, done. We do not come for this kind of initiation. As Maharaj said today, what we must accept is submissive mood (anugatya). If there is no submission, there is no initiation. Srila Prabhupad said, 'Following the whims of your mind on pretext of service is not service; service means submissively following the orders of your guru, serving Vaishnavs and satisfying them.' This is the meaning of spiritual life.

Even if we take initiation, even if we stay in Vrindavan, it does not mean that what we are doing is actual initiation or staying in Vrindavan. Making a show of living in Mathura is not living in Mathura. Mathura-vas is all about mathura-viraha [separation that Vraja-gopis felt when Krishna left for Mathura], and it is about this mathura-viraha, the highest aspiration of Gaudiya Vaishnavs, that we chant kirtans during the month of Damodar.

শূন্য ধরাতল, চৌদিকে দেখিয়ে,
পরাণ উদাস হয় ।
কি করি, কি করি, স্থির নাহি হয়,
জীবন নাহিক রয় ॥

sunya dhara-tala, chaudike dekhiye,
parana udasa haya
ki kari, ki kari, sthira nahi haya,
jivana nahika raya

'When I glance all around me, I feel the world is empty – my heart has become indifferent to everything. What am I to do? What am I to do? I cannot calm down. My life is leaving me…'

(Sri Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

But our situation is this:

অপরাধ-ফলে মম, চিত্ত-ভেল বজ্রসম,
তুয়া নামে না লভে বিকার ।

aparadha-phale mama, chitta-bhela vajra-sama,
tuya name na labhe vikara

'As the result of my offences, my heart has become as hard as a thunderbolt, and I do not feel any spiritual transformation when chanting Your Names.'

(Sri Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

As the result of our countless offences at the holy feet of Vaishnavs, we lose everything. You can see people come here and talk so much... How much can you talk! Mahaprabhu told, 'Do not listen to village talks and do not talk village talks!' but how much people talk! They can talk about anything and everything, but 'Hare Krishna' will not come out of their mouths.

Guru Maharaj said jokingly, 'They say, "Hare Krishna", "Hare Krishna", but if you hit them in the stomach, they will cry, "O Ma! [Mother]", "Baba! [Father!]" – no more "Hare Krishna".'

So, appearing in this family here, Srila Sridhar Maharaj blessed the entire lineage. Srila Guru Maharaj (Srila Govinda Maharaj) composed a very beautiful poem about Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. You do not read it, but if you hear even a few lines from it, you can understand how beautiful this poem is:

শ্রীগৌরমণ্ডল-মাঝে হাপানিয়া গ্রাম ।
যঁহি অবতীর্ণ মোর প্রভু গুণধাম ॥

sri-gaura-mandala-majhe hapaniya grama
yanhi avatirna mora prabhu guna-dhama

'In Sri Gaura Mandal, there is a village called Hapaniya where my Lord, an abode of all good qualities, appeared.'

পতিতপাবনী গঙ্গাতীর সন্নিহিত ।
‘ন্যায়রত্ন বিদ্যাপীঠ’ ভুবন-বিদিত ॥

patita-pavani ganga-tira sannihita
‘nyaya-ratna vidya-pitha’ bhuvana-vidita

'It stands on the bank of the Ganges, who is very merciful to fallen souls; renowned in the whole world, this abode is a holy repository of knowledge and jewels of logic.'

তঁহি বৈসে বিপ্রবর প্রশান্ত উদার ।
শ্রীউপেন্দ্রচন্দ্র ‘বিদ্যারত্ন’ নাম যাঁর ॥

tenhi vaise vipra-bara prasanta udara
sri-upendra-chandra ‘vidyaratna’ nama yanra [3]

'In this place resided an honourable brahman of a very peaceful and magnanimous nature whose name was Sri Upendra-chandra Vidyaratna.'

ভট্টাচার্য্য-কুল-রবি পরম বিদ্বান ।
নিরন্তর সেবাপর লক্ষ্মী-নারায়ণ ॥

bhattacharya-kula-ravi parama vidvana
nirantara seva-para laksmi-narayana

'Highly learned, he is the sun of the renowned Bhattacharya family line, always engaged in service of Sri Laksmi-Narayan.'

তাঁর পত্নী গৌরীদেবী পরম পাবনী ।
মহাসাধ্বী জগন্মাতা প্রভুর জননী ॥

tanra patni gauri-devi parama pavani
maha-sadhvi jaganmata prabhura janani

'His spouse, Sri Gauri Devi – a supreme saviour, a great saint and the mother of the whole universe – is the mother of my Lord.'

(Sri Guru Prasastih, Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

Try to read this poem. It is quite long, so I will not read all of it now. Now is the time of niyom-seva, the time when there are a lot of rules (niyom) observed. You have taken great trouble to come here, many Vaishnavs have also come from Mayapur. If I can make my life successful and blessed by always serving them. One day I have to go. This life will not be there forever. Even if I sit in one place, I will still have to go one day. This life is for 'jive daya, Name ruchi, vaisnava-seva' (for being kind to others, for chanting the Holy Name and for serving Vaishnavs), so if I can spend this whole life and leave this world serving Vaishnavs and chanting Hari-kirtan, then I will consider my life blessed and successful.

Such a fallen, lowly soul as I am does not have any quality or qualification, but Guru Maharaj has placed this lowly person, a mlechha, on this path, so if I can finish this life serving Vaishnavs together with you all, then I will think that I have been able to do something. But it is not happening... What to speak of serving Vaishnavs, I am only always committing offences. I am always making offences to the Holy Name, to service. Therefore, offering my prostrate obeisances at the holy lotus feet of Vaishnavs, I am finishing my lecture at this. I do not want to keep you any longer.

I am praying to you all, to all the motherly ladies, to all the villagers: please do not fight over prasadam.. Prasad will be given to everybody until the evening. You all know that we do not leave anybody out – we give prasad to everybody. But there are Vaishnavs here who have come from Mayapur, they have come fasting because they are observing the niyom-seva rules, so please do not make any offence to them. Do not run upstairs. Do not think, 'Oh, I have been born in a brahman family!', 'Oh, my parents are big people!' May such ego not come to you. Ahankare matta haina, nitai-pada pasariya asatyere satya kari mani (অহঙ্কারে মত্ত হৈঞা, নিতাইপদ পাসরিয়া অসত্যেরে সত্য করি মানি). Maddened with pride and forgetting Nitai’s feet, you take untruth for truth.' Always remember this. Leave all envy and spite.

বৃক্ষসম ক্ষমাগুণ করবি সাধন ।
প্রতিহিংসা ত্যজি অন্যে করবি পালন ॥

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

'You must practise tolerance like that of a tree and nurture others giving up vengeance.'

জীবন-নির্ব্বাহে আনে উদ্বেগ না দিবে ।
পর-উপকারে নিজ-সুখ পাসরিবে ॥

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

'You must live without causing anxiety to others and do good unto others forsaking your own happiness.'

(Sri Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Do not cause any disturbance to others because you want to eat yourselves. Throw away your own happiness for the happiness of others. Sadhus and Vaishnavs should take prasad first. It is written in the scriptures:

তব নিজ-জন, প্রসাদ সেবিয়া,
উচ্ছিষ্ট রাখিবে যাহা ।
আমার ভোজন, পরম-আনন্দে,
প্রতিদিন হবে তাহা ॥

tava nija-jana, prasada seviya,
uchchhista rakhibe yaha
amara bhojana, parama-anande,
prati-dina habe taha

‘Whatever remnants Your devotees leave behind after honouring Your prasad, I will eat that very happily every day.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

If we can take their remnants, it will bring us great benefit. You think, 'I will go first and eat nicely!', 'I will eat nice paneer-rasa!', 'I will eat nice sweets and yoghurt!' Do not be like this.

I would like to finish here. Offer guru-puja first, then the sannyasis who have come from Mayapur can come upstairs to take prasad, then all the Vaishnavs and initiated devotees can come, too. After that, everybody else can take prasad. Do not worry – the prasad is the same for everybody. Hari bol.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

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CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 66 Mb
Length: 138 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Blessed Navami-Tithi
2) Step Beyond Material Knowledge
3) Outsmarting Gopal
4) Glorious Hapaniya
5) Beautiful Twist of Fate
6) Austere Beginnings
7) Hapaniya: Hidden Jewel
8) Transcendental Values
9) Month of Internal Churning
10) Devotees' Inner Wealth
11) Holy Assembly at Sripat Hapaniya Dham
12) Appreciation for Prasad
13) Concluding Words