(4/4) Root of Unhappiness

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Ganga Sagar, morning class
12 January 2020, part 4

When Ganga Devi was about to descend on this Earth, Earth said, "If you come, I will become flooded and sink to hell!" Ganga Devi replied, "I did not want to come. It was Bhagirath Maharaj's desire." Then, Bhagirath Maharaj went to Sivji Maharaj and asked him if he could hold Ganga Devi. Sivji Maharaj agreed, and Bhagirath Maharaj told Ganga Devi and Earth that they had nothing to worry about because Sivji Maharaj had agreed to hold Ganga Devi on his head, preventing Earth from getting flooded. This is how Sivji Maharaj got his name Gangadhar. In our Nabadwip temple, we have a Deity of Sada-Siva Gangadhar, and we always give jay to him: "Sada-Siva Gangadhar ki jay."

... People claim that they have become Vaishnavs, but those who say this are prakrita-sahajiyas (genuine imitators). If we want to know about anything, it is necessary to observe symptoms. For example, if you want to know if some tree if a coconut palm, you should look at its fruit; or if you want to know if some tree is a mango tree, you can see its fruit and realise that it is a mango tree. So, if you are to understand whether somebody is a sadhu, you can understand it by seeing the symptoms of the person's nature and behaviour. A sadhu is not just somebody who wears tilaks and sits on a chair with a garland on his neck. You can see many people like that here in Ganga Sagar, but have they all become sadhus? For example, when they are driving down the road and a tree falls and blocks their way, then their disguise will fall off (anger will replace their detached, calm nature)! You can see many 'sadhus' in Ganga Sagar, but they are all mayavadis and sahajiyas. They are not real sadhus! It is necessary to have faith in the purport of the scriptures—you must believe what the scriptures say. If you look through the evidence given in the scriptures, you can prove whether somebody is a sadhu.

First, it is necessary to take shelter of Sri Guru, sadhus and Vaishnavs and live in their shelter. There are six limbs of surrender. You know what they are, I will not repeat it now. Surrender is the foundation. The quality of one's devotion depends upon one's faith (sraddha-anusare haya bhakti-adhikari). Those who have much devotion have much faith. There are three kinds of faith: kamala-sraddha (soft, fragile faith), taranga-sraddha (fickle, wave-like faith), drdha-sraddha (strong faith), sudrdha-sraddha (the strongest faith). One's devotion depends on the degree of faith. Everybody's faith is not the same.

I have seen just now when *** came and did the puja—the chamara (yak-tail fan) has turned black. It is necessary to clean it, but they do not have time to do this for the Lord. So, everybody's faith is not the same. It is necessary to serve Deities with faith. You always keep your clothes clean so that others do not see you wearing dirty clothes, but you do not have a heart for keeping the Lord's things clean.

I know my words are harsh, and if somebody does not like it and does not want to be my disciple, I do not mind it—I do not need disciples. I cannot flatter anyone to get them to become my disciples. Prabhupad said that a flatterer can never be a guru. First, get the taste of my stick, then you can become my disciple: first, I will 'beat' you, and if you can tolerate it, then you can become a disciple.

You must serve without offences. Sometimes, we become unmindful and touch something with our foot. Prabhupad said that when your heart becomes stone-like (atheistic), you do not pay attention to such offences. You offer bhoga to the Lord on a plate, but you do not care if the plate is clean, or some rice falls on your foot, and you cannot tolerate it and throw it aside indignantly. This is how offences come. It is necessary to always serve without offences. Serve the Deities of the Lord with faith.

When we commit some offence towards somebody (if you say something bad or behave bad with somebody), the person feels pain and sadness, they feel upset; but as for us, we think that Gurudev and the Lord cannot see it, so it is not a big deal. We think that we can continue making offences day after day, and Gurudev will tolerate it. How long do you think he will tolerate it? When we do wrong, we live with the burden of sin. For example, those who steal something may continue stealing, but they feel disturbed inside and worry that their crimes can become exposed. Those who commit offences never feel happiness or peace. Such life is a sign of bad intelligence and bad fortune. If the Lord tolerates our offences, He will keep us amidst an unhappy life, but He does not actually want to keep us far, neither does He want to keep us amidst an unhappy life. We are His children, and we want to come to Him. The Lord also always sees, "How can My child's heart become clean?" If we commit offences at the holy lotus feet of the Lord, the mood in our hearts will be different...

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

We will sing some kirtans now, and after that it is breakfast time. They told me that there is no muri (puffed rice) available here, so they have made kitchuri. If there is no muri here, it is a good opportunity for business—somebody can open a factory here and supply it for the temple.

Hari bol. Hari bol. Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay. Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Sincerity in Service
2) Love and Preaching for the Lord
3) Wrong Vision
4) Root of Unhappiness