(10/14) Appreciate and Care

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Gurudev's Vyasa Puja Adhivas, Nrisingha Palli
13 December 2019, part 10

Practise properly. How long do you think you are going to stay in this world? You have already crossed over millions of years! You have got this one-hundred-year-long human birth, but what are these hundred years compared to millions of years? Somehow, by some fortune, you have got this human birth, but if you do not take advantage of this rare birth – if we spend this life like goats, dogs, sheep, cats – what result will you get? What is the meaning of human life? Why are we born as humans? Why did the Lord send us in this body? You must have the answer. The Lord will say, 'I have sent you to this human body, but you never tried to hear about Me – you did not speak about Me, you did not care to know Me. Even after taking shelter of a bona fide guru, you still wasted your chance.' This is something that we must always be conscious of. We must practise Krishna consciousness.

The Lord gives so much reassurance in Srimad Bhagavad-gita:

অপি চেৎ সুদুরাচারো ভজতে মামনন্যভাক্ ।
সাধুরেব স মন্তব্যঃ সম্যগ্ব্যবসিতো হি সঃ ॥

api chet suduracharo, bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah, samyag vyavasito hi sah

'If even a very sinful person serves Me exclusively with devotion, he should be regarded as saintly, for his resolve is perfect.'

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 9.30)

Somebody can be an extremely bad person and behave absolutely rotten, but Lord Krishna says, 'Even such a person, if he surrenders to Me, I will free him from all sins and offences and engage him in My service.' How beautiful this is!

You can see this devotee here who has taken sannyas today. Before, he took sannyas from Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, but his fortune was such that he fell down and went back to family life. He had a wife and children. But now he has again given everything up and come first to Gurudev, and after Gurudev left, he came to me. Somebody can scorn him, 'Oh, he fell down!' But what do the scriptures say?

দুর্দ্দৈবে সেবক যদি যায় অন্য-স্থানে ।
সেই ঠাকুর ধন্য তারে চুলে ধরি' আনে ॥

durdaive sevaka yadi yaya anya sthane
sei thakura dhanya tare chule dhari' ane

'If, by some misfortune, a servant goes in a wrong direction, glorious is the master who catches him by the hair and brings him back.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.4.47)

If an unfortunate disciple goes in a wrong direction – if he becomes swayed by the influence of illusion – what will a genuine guru do? Grabbing him by the hair, he will bring him back and throw again at his guru's holy feet.

He distributes many books, he does many things – he has much enthusiasm, much eagerness to do service. So, I told him, 'You are much more senior than me. You took sannyas many years before me. Somehow, you had the misfortune to fall down and again live in family life; you have made some offence at Sri Guru's holy feet, but you have come again – you came to Gurudev, and he gave you mercy, gave you shelter again. If you want to preach, I will give you sannyas.' Gurudev also did this, and he brought many people to this line. Param Guru Maharaj also did that. We, too, must think about this and follow their example.

Sri Gurupadpadma's glories are so great.

সাক্ষাদ্ধরিত্বেন সমস্ত-শাস্ত্রৈ-
রুক্তস্তথা ভাব্যত এব সদ্ভিঃ ।
কিন্তু প্রভোর্যঃ প্রিয় এব তস্য
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

saksadd-haritvena samasta-sastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

'I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is said by all scriptures to be no doubt the Supreme Lord Himself and considered to be so by pious souls but who is also no doubt the Lord's dear associate.'

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur)

We sing this kirtan every morning.

যস্য প্রসাদাদ্ভগবৎ-প্রসাদো
যস্যাপ্রসাদাৎ ন গতিঃ কুতোঽপি ।
ধ্যায়ং স্তুবংস্তস্য যশস্ত্রিসন্ধ্যং
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado
yasyaprasadat na gatih kuto 'pi
dhyayam stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

'I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, by pleasing whom one can please the Lord, and by displeasing whom one will have nowhere to go; I sing and meditate on his glory at the three junctions of the day.'

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur)

There is no other way, no other shelter without his shelter! If you get your guru's mercy, you get the mercy of the Lord. If you get your guru's mercy, you do not need to get any other mercy! There is no other way, no other shelter (na gatih kuto 'pi) without his mercy! That is why, we always pray at his holy feet: dhyayam stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam vande guroh sri-charanaravindam; I sing and meditate on his glory at the three junctions of the day.

Param Guru Maharaj, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, also explained about the nature of the guru. When a lotus flower grows in a pond, it looks very beautiful; but once you pull it out of the pond, it will dry up in the sun. As long as the lotus is in the shelter of the water and the soil, the sun cannot do anything to it (it does not dry up); in the same way, as long as we stay in the shelter of our gurudev, even the Lord cannot do anything to us. Always remember this.

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Length: 78 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Golden Time for Golden Purpose
2) Emerging from Darkness
3) Leaving Maya's Shelter
4) Sitting on Two Chairs
5) Deep Chastity
6) Accept and Appreciate
7) Join Service Festival
8) Meaning of Chastity
9) Leave Bargaining Mentality
10) Appreciate and Care
11) Who Is Your Own?
12) Spiritual Determination
13) Spiritual Progress
14) Service, Submission and Purity