Courtyard of Vrindavan

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
5 January 2020, part 4

সাধুসঙ্গ, নামকীর্ত্তন, ভাগবতশ্রবণ ।
মথুরাবাস, শ্রীমূর্ত্তির শ্রদ্ধায় সেবন ॥

sadhu-sanga, nama-kirtana, bhagavata-sravana
mathura-vasa, sri-murtira sraddhaya sevana

"One should associate with devotees, chant the Holy Name of the Lord, hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, reside at Mathura and worship the Deity with faith."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.124)

"Sraddhaya sri-murtira sevan" is archan, or archcha of Svayambhu-vigraha (serving and worshipping the original, self-born Supreme Lord). A Deity of the Lord can be made of eight elements—stone, wood, metal, earth, paint, sand, the mind or jewels. On the one hand, any of these types of Deities are non-different from Svaymabhu-vigraha (the image of the original Supreme Lord), even a picture of the Lord (alekya-mayi) is also a vigraha, but it is also different in the sense that it is very difficult to serve Svayambhu... Anyway, you keep some altar and serve, make offering, etc. This is an important service for you. We must understand and clarify how to make our Gurudev happy. If you think, "I like this," "I do not like that"—this is maho-dharma (concocted religion).

When you chant kirtan, there are so many kirtans, but it is necessary to have adhikar (right)—the kind of kirtan you chant depends upon adhikar, and the quality of your kirtan depends upon devotion. Srila Narottam Das Thakur sings, "Vrndavane chabutara tahe mora mano-ghera (বৃন্দাবনে চবুতরা তাহে মোর মনোঘেরা)—My entire mind dwells within the courtyard of Vrindavan." But we all know where our mind goes. [His Divine Grace laughs.]

Therefore, we must practise constantly and practise perfectly. This is how you must do your service, this is how you must make yourself a devotee. Always preach, engage in sankirtan (congregational chanting), prachar (preaching), etc. Do what is necessary. Continue in this way. Also, everyone must keep in touch with each other, this is the main thing. Devotees' good association gives energy to devotees, be they householders, brahmacharis, sannyasis or vanaprasthas. It is all about bhakta-bhav, the mood of the devotion. Krishna always sees how much devotion you have. Bhakta-bhav (mood of devotion) is the main thing.

যেই ভজে, সেই বড়, অভক্ত—হীন, ছার ।
কৃষ্ণভজনে নাহি জাতি-কুলাদি বিচার ॥

yei bhaje sei bada, abhakta—hina, chhara
krsna-bhajane nahi jati-kuladi-vichara

"Only a nondevotee can be considered as worthless and abominable: anyone who takes to devotional service is great—there is no consideration of class, caste or any other status for those who have taken up service to Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 4.67)

It is necessary to have the mood of devotion. Yesterday, one devotee asked me a very nice question, "I chant the Holy Name, but my mind is always chanchal (fickle, restless), my mind goes everywhere. What can I do?" I told him the same answer that Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave—"if you chant sankirtan loudly, then your mind will be controlled."

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