(3/7) Immerse Yourself in Kirtan

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, 30 December 2019, noon, part 3
Translated from Bengali

জীবে দয়া, নামে রুচি, বৈষ্ণব সেবা ।
ইহা বহি সনাতন নাহি আর ধর্ম্ম ॥

jive daya name ruchi vaisnava seva
iha bahi sanatana nahi ara dharma

'Be merciful to the souls, chant the Holy Name, and serve the Vaishnavs. Sanatan, besides this, there is no other religion.'

We must always remember that our religion is kindness to others, chanting the Holy Name and service to Vaishnavs. There is no other religion in this world. We must show kindness to all living entities by bringing to this path those who have turned away from Lord Krishna. When you meet somebody, say, 'Hare Krishna.' When you answer a phone call, do not say, 'Hello!' – you should say, 'Hare Krishna.' Always say, 'Krishna, Krishna.' When you meet devotees, offer them obeisances, say, 'Dandavat', 'Hare Krishna', 'Hare Krishna, Prabhu. How are you?' If you always say and say, 'Hare Krishna', then automatically you will start always chanting the Holy Name. Hare Krishna must come to your tongues – all other talks should come less and less. Talk less. Try not to speak without necessity.

(1) Do not eat too much (atyahara). (2) Do not hoard too many things (prayascha). We always want more, more and more. Is there any end to desires? Desires can never be fulfilled because we will always want more and more. (3) Do not talk too much or gossip (prajalpa). (4) Accept what is favourable to devotion, reject what is unfavourable to devotion (niyamagraha). (5) Give up greed (laulancha) and bad association (jana-sanghancha). All these things obstruct devotion, so they should be avoided. We always do what goes against devotion and have no enthusiasm for devotion. We do not feel excited thinking, 'Oh, sadhus and gurus are coming, I want to serve them!', 'Oh, Vaishnavs are coming to my home, I am so happy!' This feeling of excitement and joy in relation to devotees is favourable to devotion, and this is what we should embrace in our lives. We should not indulge in the things that oppose or obstruct devotion.

Another thing you must remember is sadhu-sanga. If you always keep holy association, your hearts will gradually be purified. Always keep good association and avoid bad association: 'Asat-sanga sada tyaga chhada anya gita-raga (অসৎসঙ্গ সদা ত্যাগ, ছাড় অন্য গীতরাগ). Always give up bad association and do not listen to material songs and music' (Srila Narottam Das Thakur). Here 'raga' does not mean anger; 'raga' means other music, kirtans, melodies, etc. When you chant kirtan, it is not necessary to play many instruments, produce elaborate tunes, and so on – simply chant with a khol (mridanga) and a pair of karatals (hand cymbals), that is sufficient, that is what is called sankirtan.

Do you know what service pleases Mahaprabhu most of all? Sankirtan-yajna: the sacrifice of congregational chanting. We must serve Mahaprabhu with sankirtan-yajna. The more kirtan you can chant, the more mercy the Lord will bestow on you. Therefore, it is necessary to chant kirtan as much as possible. I always tell all devotees to buy a copy of Sri Gaudiya Gitanjali (we have printed two books, the full version and a pocket-size kirtan book for those who cannot afford to buy the bigger one) and learn the kirtans by heart. Offer prayers to the guru (guru-vandana), to Pancha-tattva (Pancha-tattva vandana), to Vaishnavs (Vaishnav-vandana), to Nityananda Prabhu (Nityananda-vandana), to Gaurahari (Gaurahari-vandana), to Radha-Krishna (Radha-Krishna vandana). Offer all these prayers and chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. If you can chant in this way, you will get supreme benefit. Always chant kirtans every morning and evening. Play the kartals and chant. 'Kirtaniyah sada harih. Always engage yourselves in kirtan.'

Let us chant some kirtans now, I will speak more after that. There is much I want to say.

What guru should you take initiation from in this world? I have told you earlier today that there are many gurus in this world, but there are very few disciples. Guru Maharaj also told in his last days, 'Acharya Maharaj, I have given initiation to many people, but how many disciples do I have?' That is the main question. Many people take initiation, but how many people actually become disciples? Everybody can take initiation, but not everybody who takes initiation becomes a disciple. Being a disciple means placing the order of your guru on your head and following it to a T. We must always remember this.

So, let us chant a few kirtans now, after that I will speak some Hari-katha. We have much time today.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

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Length: 36 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Listen to Great Souls
2) Strive and Thrive
3) Immerse Yourself in Kirtan
4) Power of Pure Name
5) Control Your Heart
6) Primary Stumbling Block
7) Apply and Comply