(4/7) Rules of Love

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Gurudev's Vyasa Puja, Nrisingha Palli
14 December 2019, morning, part 4
Translated from Bengali

Lord Ramachandra is a righteous person dedicated to moral rules and obligations. But when it comes to the service to the Lord, there are no such moral rules. Remember this. Moral obligations, sense of duty, etc. have no value in the service of the Lord. You have heard about Mahaprabhu's pastime in Kali-yuga. One day, when He was lying down in His room in Gambhira, His servant, Govinda, put a cloth on top of His body and crossed over His body to enter the room. He broke the generally accepted rule that prohibits one to cross anybody's body, especially your guru's body. It is unheard of that you can raise your foot over your guru's body and cross over him. But Govinda did not shrink back. When Vraja-gopis sent with Narad Goswami their footdust for Krishna, they did not mind any rules. They did not care what would happen to them later, all they cared about was that Krishna may get well.

When Lord Ramachandra's subjects told Him that His wife, Sita Devi, had become polluted, He agreed to test her by making her enter fire. But Krishna would not do that.

When Lord Ramachandra was about to take the throne, Kaikeyi asked Dasarath to exile Him for fourteen years to the forest. Dasarath could not say no because he felt that he had to keep his word (he had to fulfil his moral duty). Sita Devi and Laksman went to live in the forest together with Lord Ramachandra. Kaikeyi never wanted to have Laksman exiled, but Laksman willingly went to the forest to serve His worshippable Lord. The fact that Ramachandra and Sita Devi had to go to live in the forest pierced Laksman's heart like an arrow, and the greatest pain was in the heart of Dasarath. Not being able to tolerate this terrible pain, Dasarath left his body, but he did not leave his adherence to morality. Ramachandra rejected His throne, but He did not cross His father's word. Still, Dasarath left his body, but he did not leave his sense of duty, and Ramachandra could give up the throne, but He could not cross His father's word.

Rules and moral obligations should never obstruct service because rules and moral obligations belong to a much lower level. Wherever there is love, there can be no obstruction caused by any rules or regulations. All the Vraja-gopis left their husbands and children and ran behind Krishna. Did the sense of duty or moral obligation stop them? It did not.

[Clamour] What is going on? Please do not make noise. Maharajs will come soon and our programme will start. We are fasting this morning because it is our Gurudev's appearance day. Those who do not understand these things can take some prasad. If you have to feed your children (if they cannot fast or sit still), you can come to the side of the temple and quitely take some prasad. Those who follow the rules should fast.

When we go for the Ratha-yatra festival in Jagannath Puri, we see the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra. Why does Baladev's chariot go first?

Devotee: Because gurudev comes first?

Yes, Baladev is non-different from gurudev, but there is another reason. Baladev goes first for service. If there is any obstacle or problem on the way, Baladev clears the path for His Lord. This is how He serves Lord Jagannath. Actually, there is absolutely no difference between Baladev and Jagannath: They are one but assume two forms. So, Baladev goes first to clear the road – if there is a jungle on the way, if there are any problems or obstacles, He removes everything and clears the path so that Lord Jagannath's chariot can proceed unobstructed. Remember this. Whenever a problem comes up, He feels, 'I will deal with it. I will deal with everything so that no disturbance comes to Jagannath.'

For example, when Krishna was going to kidnap Rukmini, Baladev also went first. He said, 'Take her away, I will stay behind and if necessary I will fight them.' In those days, there was a special wedding system, and everybody thought that the music band party was coming, but instead of that a fighting band party came, and Baladev was there too – when the fighting broke out, He fought and stopped the fighting.

When Kamsa called Krishna to Mathura and arranged a fighting competition, Balai went there first. He said, 'Whether Kamsa likes it or not, I am coming too.' Balai removed all obstacles (thorns) on the way when Krishna set off to kill Kamsa. He is within every service – being an embodiment of service, He nourishes the pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna.

Why is Ramachandra thought to be the ideal of righteousness? When He tested Sita Devi's chastity by making her enter fire, His subjects were still not convinced, so to preserve His honour, He exiled Sita Devi. He sent Laksman to do it. He told Him, 'Laksman, please take Sita to the forest and leave her there.' Even though it pierced Laksman's heart like an arrow, He could not cross Lord Ramachandra's order. He took Sita Devi to Tapovan. He could not cross the law and let love gain the upper hand. But it was not like that in Krishna's pastimes...

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Size: 29 Mb
Length: 50 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Take Advantage of This Day
2) Leave False Hopes
3) Seva-Vigraha
4) Rules of Love
5) Science of Devotion
6) Do Not Take This Birth for Granted
7) Sweetness in Bitterness