(8/10) Gist of Religious Life

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Gurudev's Vyasa Puja, Nrisingha Palli
14 December 2019, evening, part 8
Translated from Bengali

In Srimad Bhagavad-gita, Krishna lastly tells Arjuna:

সর্ব্বগুহ্যতমং ভূয়ঃ শৃণু মে পরমং বচঃ ।
ইষ্টোঽসি মে দৃঢ়মিতি ততো বক্ষ্যামি তে হিতম্ ॥

sarva-guhyatamam bhuyah, srnu me paramam vachah
isto 'si me drdham iti, tato vaksyami te hitam

'Now again hear My supreme teaching, the most hidden treasure of all. I tell you this for your benefit as you are most dear to Me.'

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 18.64)

'Arjuna, I am going to tell you a secret. I have taught you about the impersonal Absolute and about your real self. Now listen to what I shall say. The conception I will teach you is the highest of all the advice I have given you so far. You are very dear to Me, so I am going to tell this to you for your benefit.'

মন্মনা ভব মদ্ভক্তো মদ্­যাজী মাং নমস্কুরু ।
মামেবৈষ্যসি সত্যং তে প্রতিজানে প্রিয়োঽসি মে ॥

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto, mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te, pratijane priyo 'si me

'Think of Me always, devote yourself to Me, worship Me and bow to Me, and surely you will come to Me. I promise you this, because you are dear to Me.'

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 18.65)

'Become My devotee and submit your entire self to Me. Do not think of Me in the same way as karma-yogis, jnana-yogis, dhyana-yogis do. Karmis know Me in Me impersonal manifestation, but I promise to you that if you follow what I say, you will be able to attain Me and serve Me in My eternal, cognisant, blissful form. If you meditate, offer worship, whatever you do, dedicate everything to Me. You must give up karma (seeking material gain), jnana (seeking knowledge) and vairagya (affinity for renunciation). Even if you think, "I will not eat anything! I will fast and live as a yogi," leave all this and always listen, speak and remember about My beauty, Names, pastimes. This is the highest religion.'

তস্মাদেকেন মনসা ভগবান্ সাত্বতাং পতিঃ ।
শ্রোতব্যঃ কীর্ত্তিতব্যশ্চ ধ্যেয়ঃ পূজ্যশ্চ নিত্যদা ॥

tasmad ekena manasa bhagavan satvatam patih
srotavyah kirtitavyas cha dhyeyah pujyas cha nityada

'You should constantly, with one-pointed attention listen about, glorify, remember and worship the Personality of Godhead, who is the protector of His devotees.'

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.2.14)

Sukadev Goswami, Narad Goswami, Prahlad Maharaj and other great souls up to Kapiladev spoke about the glory of practising nirguna bhakti (transcendental devotion, not tinted by any material connection), which was later recorded in Srimad Bhavagatam. Here, Sri Krishna also says to Uddhav Maharaj:

স্বধর্ম্মস্থো যজন্ যজ্ঞৈরনাশীঃকাম উদ্ধব ।
ন যাতি স্বর্গনরকৌ যদ্যন্যন্ন সমাচরেৎ ॥

sva-dharma-stho yajan yajnair anasih-kama uddhava
na yati svarga-narakau yady anyan na samacharet

'My dear Uddhava, a person who is situated in his prescribed duty, properly worshiping by Vedic sacrifices but not desiring the fruitive result of such worship, will not go to the heavenly planets; similarly, by not performing forbidden activities he will not go to hell.'

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.20.10)

'Dear Uddhava, if you sincerely practise varnasrama-dharma (prescribed socio-religious duties), offering the result of all the sacrifices and activities you perform, and do not do what is prohibited by the scriptures, then you will not go to hell or heaven. Instead, as the result of your religious practice, you will become free from material attachments and all other undesirable elements and can attain devotion to Me in this present birth as the result of developing exclusive knowledge and living in the association of My devotees. You can attain devotion by stopping all jnana-yoga, karma-yoga and all other yogas and surrendering to Me.'

The very root of religion is the Supreme Lord Hari, who is the knower of all Vedas. If you place the Lord at the centre of all your activities and do everything for His happiness, then this can be called varnasrama-dharma. Varnasrama-dharma means worshipping the Lord, making fire sacrifices, living in the grihastha-ashram, and following all the other prescribed duties. But the main thing behind everything is that you must serve the Lord with love and affection.

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Length: 86 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Preaching Life
2) One-Pointed Happy Life
3) Do Not Get Blown Away
4) Temples Are Not Temporal
5) Danger of Deviation
6) Love for Kirtan
7) Soul Consciousness
8) Gist of Religious Life
9) Burning Burden
10) Living the Dream