(8) Spiritual Interest

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bokaro, 3 December 2019, evening, part 8
Translated from Bengali

'Krsna mata, krsna pita, krsna prana dhana (কৃষ্ণ মাতা, কৃষ্ণ পিতা, কৃষ্ণ প্রাণ ধন). Krishna is my mother, Krishna is my father, Krishna is my very life and wealth.' Krishna is your mom, Krishna is your dad – He is the one we should always remember. Why does Govinda always rest in Vaishnavs' hearts? Vaishnavs never wants anything from Govinda – all they know is that they want to give to Govinda. They always think, 'What makes Govinda happy?' Those who wants to enjoy come to Govinda and say, 'Make me healthy', 'Help my son find a job', 'Arrange good marriage for my daughter', and so on. They always want something. 'Dhanam dehi, vidyam dehi, rupam dehi, bharyam dehi, kavitam dehi, sundarim dehi. Make me rich, give me knowledge, make me beautiful, give me a good wife, make me a poet, give me a beautiful girlfriend, and so on.’ What did Mahaprabhu say?

ন ধনং ন জনং ন সুন্দরীং কবিতাং বা জগদীশ কাময়ে ।
মম জন্মনি জন্মনীশ্বরে ভবতাদ্ভক্তিরহৈতুকী ত্বয়ি ॥

na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi

‘O Supreme Lord (Master of the Universe, Jagadiswar)! I do not desire any wealth (religion, money or material desires), any followers (wife, sons, servants or maidservants) or material knowledge (beautiful poetry). My only prayer is that I may birth after birth have pure devotion to You, devoid of seeking any result.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.20.29)

'I always want only devotion to You.'

ধন জন আর, কবিতা সুন্দরী,
বলিব না চাহি দেহ-সুখকরী ।
জন্মে জন্মে দাও, ওহে গৌরহরি,
অহৈতুকী ভক্তি চরণে তোমার ॥

dhana jana ara, kavita-sundari,
baliba na chahi deha-sukha-kari
janme janme dao, ohe gaurahari,
ahaituki bhakti charane tomara

‘When will I say that I do not want any wealth, followers, poetic gift or any other bodily happiness? O Gaura Hari! Birth after birth, please give me unconditional devotion to Your holy feet!’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

নাহি মাগি দেহ-সুখ, বিদ্যা, ধন, জন ॥
নাহি মাগি স্বর্গ, আর মোক্ষ নাহি মাগি ।
না করি প্রার্থনা কোন বিভূতির লাগি’ ॥

nahi magi deha-sukha, vidya, dhana, jana
nahi magi svarga, ara moksa nahi magi
na kari prarthana kona vibhutira lagi’

‘O Lord! I am submitting this appeal at Your feet: I do not pray for any bodily pleasures, knowledge, wealth or companions. I do not pray for heaven or liberation, neither do I pray for any godly opulence or powers.’

(Sri Gitavali, Sri Siksastaka, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

কামাদীনাং কতি ন কতিধা পালিতা দুর্নিদেশা,
তেষাং জাতা ময়ি ন করুণা ন ত্রপা নোপশান্তিঃ ।
উৎসৃজ্যৈতানথ যদুপতে ! সাম্প্রতং লব্ধবুদ্ধি-
সত্বামায়াতঃ শরণমভয়ং মাং নিযুঙ্ক্ষ্বাত্মদাস্যে ॥

kamadinam kati na katidha palita durnidesa,
tesam jata mayi na karuna na trapa nopasantih
utsrjyaitan atha yadu-pate! sampratam labdha-buddhis
tvam ayatah saranam-abhayam mam niyunksvatma-dasye

'O Lord! How many kinds of wicked orders from lust and others I followed! They had no mercy on me, nor were they ever satisfied! O Krishna! Suddenly, I managed to leave their side and got some good intelligence – I have surrendered at Your fearless lotus feet, please engage me now as Your servant.'

(Sri Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, 3.2.25)

How many times I have had to endure beating from lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion and envy! I have followed their orders for so long – so many orders! Despite all that, they never took pity on me. I am still living following their orders... You must have heard the news recently about what had happened to a female vet doctor in Hyderabad. The people who did it followed an order of lust and are now in prison. They did not get any mercy (if they did, they would be released). Out of anger, children kill their parents. Recently a nineteen-year-old boy killed his father, a taxi driver, for money. It happened in Midnapore. The boy had been gambling and taking drugs, and when he needed more money, he killed his father. This is what the material world is like.

সংসার সংসার করি মিছে গেল কাল ।
লাভ না হইল কিছু ঘটিল জঞ্জাল ॥
কিসের সংসার এই, ছায়াবাজী প্রায় ।
ইহাতে মমতা করি বৃথা দিন যায় ॥
দিন যায় মিছা কাজে নিশা নিদ্রাবশে ।
নাহি ভাবি মরণ নিকটে আছে বসে ॥

samsara samsara kari michhe gela kala
labha na haila kichhu ghatila janjala
kisera samsara ei, chhayabaji praya
ihate mamata kari vrtha dina yaya
dina yaya michha kaje nisa nidra-vase
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe base

‘I have wasted all my time on material life and family and have got nothing but garbage as the result. What kind of life is this? It is only a trick, a show. I have wasted time taking this world and the people around me in it as my own. My days pass in useless work and nights are wasted on sleep. It never occurs to me that death is there, waiting right next to me.’

(Sri Kalyan-Kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Remember this!

You must always think how you should practise spiritual life, how you can get sadhus' and gurus' association. I have come to take you with me. Where to? There is going to be a festival in Ekachakra soon. Everybody should come to Ekachakra. Raise your hands who will come. Oh, nobody is raising their hands, how come? Are you afraid? Are you thinking, 'What if I come and he does not let me go back?'? Are you scared that, 'Oh, what if he sends me to God, who is going to look after my family? Who will take care of my children? Who will look after my old parents?' Such is our situation... We are so deeply engrossed in Maya, in our painful material lives, that we cannot even think of leaving it. All we care about is money, food, clothes and sleeping – even dogs, goats, pigs and cats live like that. Cats and pigs also have families – they also eat, they also sleep, they also pass stool. What else is there in their lives? What we should be doing is serving the Lord and chanting the Holy Name of the Lord.

Let us chant Nityananda Prabhu's kirtan now. Everybody should chant with me.

[His Divine Grace chants 'Nitai pada-kamala'.]

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