(1/11) Spend, Serve and Succeed

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bhanjipur, preaching programme
12 November 2019, evening, part 1
Translated from Bengali

We are assembled here today by the mercy of Sri Gurupadpadma. Present with us today are Sripad Sadhu Maharaj (from Venezuela), Sripad Niriha Maharaj (you all know him, he comes here all the time; he is staying in Nrisingha Palli now) and several brahmacharis, as well as Sri Jagannath Vallabha Prabhu, Kamalendu Prabhu, Ashok Prabhu (from Hooghly), Kishor Prabhu, Prabir Prabhu, Gauranga Prabhu (he is a devotee from your area).

As each year, you have spent much money to arrange this festival – every year you install a big pandal, many lights, and so on. If you spend your energy on the right cause – on the service of the Lord – then it will bring you benefit. You have called this festival Sri Krishna Rasotsav. This is a very high conception. Today is the Rasa-Purnima day. This 'rasa' (divine rasa-dance pastimes enjoyed by the Lord in the company of the gopis) is not the same 'rasa' (dancing, enjoying) that you see in this world. 'Rāsa' (রাস) comes from the word 'rasa' (রস) meaning divine joy and sentiment. This rasa-lila takes place in Vamsivat, Nikunjavan and other places. It is an eternal pastime.

You make a festival in honour of rasa-lila every year. You spend much money on hiring various performers, renting music instruments and other things, but if the Lord is not satisfied and happy thereby, then it is simply a waste of money. You may please people's minds, you may get some name and fame through such festivals, but this is not why such festivals are arranged. The very meaning of our human births is to please the Supreme Lord, our guru and Vaishnavs and serve them. This is what we all have got these human births for. So, if you arrange a festival but cannot serve Vaishnavs (or if Vaishnavs are displeased thereby), then all your effort is wasted.

You all know about what happened when the Pandavas were making a huge fire sacrifice and invited so many people and what Draupadi did. You also know what happened when Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhu arranged vaishnav-seva in Vrindavan.

[Clamour] Please do not speak. If you do not like to listen to Hari-katha, you can leave, we do not mind it. But if you stay and talk while Hari-katha is being spoken, it is an offence. Why will you sit here and make offences? It is the worst offence.

So, when Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu was doing vaishnav-seva in Vrindavan, he invited everybody, and everybody came except one Vaishnav. He kept to himself and stayed alone on the bank of Govinda Kunda. When the festival was going on, Srila Sanatan Goswami asked Srila Rupa Goswami, 'Have a look and see if everybody we invited has come.'

'Yes, I think everybody has come, I cannot see only one person,' Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu replied. 'He stays at Govinda Kunda.'

(Those who have been to Vrindavan have seen that Govinda Kunda. I have taken you there. It is the place where Gopal brought milk for Srila Madhavendra Puri and gave him His darshan.)

Then, Srila Sanatan Goswami sent Srila Rupa Goswami to Govinda Kunda to meet that Vaishnav.

'Prabhu,' Srila Rupa Goswami said to the Vaishnav, 'I have invited you to the vaishnav-seva, but you have not come. Why did you not come? We must have made some offence at your holy feet.'

'Yes, you have!' the Vaishnav said, grudgingly. At that time, Srila Sanatan Goswami came there, too.

'What offence have we made?' he asked. 'I do not remember anything like that. Can you remind us, please? If we have done something wrong, please forgive me.'

The thing is that this Vaishnav had partial paralysis, so he walked in a very cautious manner. One day (it was the Purnima tithi, Rasa Purnima, in the month of Kartik, the same day as today) when Srila Sanatan Goswami was doing Sri Govardhan parikrama, that Vaishnav was also going on parikrama. So, that Vaishnav said, 'You laughed at me! Do you remember now?'

'Yes, I do,' Srila Sanatan Goswami replied.

'Then? You made an offence!'

'Prabhu, please forgive me. It was a mistake, but can I say something? I did not laugh at you.'

'Then why did you laugh?'

'When I was doing parikrama, I looked up and saw Radha-Krishna's pastimes. Seeing that pastime, I could not help laughing. That is why I laughed.'

'Oh! Is that so?'

'If I have made any offence, please forgive me. Come with me.'

Then, Srila Sanatan Goswami took the Vaishnav to his bhajan-kutir. He gave him nice prasadam, some pranami and then took him back to his place. This is vaishnav-seva. Even though he did nothing wrong, he still apologised and asked forgiveness.

— : • : —

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Length: 75 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Spend, Serve and Succeed
2) What Is What, Who Is Who
3) Shameless Servants
4) Material and Spiritual Desires
5) 'Kidnap Me'
6) Distraction Leads to Destruction
7) Lost and Found
8) Spiritual Sepsis
9) Eternal Parikrama Life
10) Settle in Mathura
11) Mahaprabhu's Advent