Symptoms of Spiritual Practitioner

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, evening programme
18 January 2020, part 4
Translated from Bengali

[Addressing the crowding audience] Please move forward, move forward. Rama Prabhu [the senior leader in the Ulubria group], do you see? It is full! Your nat-mandir has already become full!

দৈন্য, আত্মনিবেদন, গোপ্তৃত্বে বরণ ।
'অবশ্য রক্ষিবে কৃষ্ণ'—বিশ্বাস পালন ॥

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana

[Limbs of surrender] "Humility, self-submission, accepting the Lord as your maintainer, keeping faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me.'"

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

I believe my Gurudev, and I believe my Gurudev more than I even believe the Lord. Everybody says that the sun rises in the east, but if Gurudev tells me that the sun rises in the west, I will believe it, "Yes, the sun rises in the west." It is very important to have this kind of faith. It is necessary to always have sincere, determined devotion to Gurudev. You can remember Srila Raghunath Das Goswami. He stayed on the bank of Sri Radha Kunda, and when a Vraja-basi brought him some buttermilk, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami threw it away because it had come from a place of a person who is against Sri Radha. This is how strong and exclusive his devotion to Sri Radha and Sri Radha Kunda is. How did Radharani get Her name? Because Srimati Radhika has worshipped (aradhana) Lord Krishna most of all, She became known as Radharani. Srila Prabhupad, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, all our guru-varga, our Gurudev are dear associates of Srimati Radhika—they come to this world and incessantly preach about the Lord. They have established so many temples all over the world to preach about the Lord! We must come to this guru-varga and worship them, then we will get supreme benefit—we will get the real result.

How can you get the highest benefit? What is your highest benefit? This is what we do not understand. The main problem is that we do not even know who we are. We cannot conquer our senses, we cannot conquer our mind, but people sometimes boast, "I have conquered the whole world!" How can you? You cannot control your own mind, you cannot control your own senses—chaksu, karna, nasika, jihva, tvak, man, buddhi, ahankar (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, mind, intelligence, ego). If you cannot conquer and control yourself, then how can you practise spiritual life and worship the Lord? "Kisera bhalo haya kabhu na bujhinu (কিসের ভালো হয় কভু না বুঝিনু)—I do not know what is good and what is bad for me, I do not understand anything." When somebody realises this, it is a symptom of surrender.

It is necessary to understand what the symptoms of surrender are. "I do not know anything", "I do not understand anything," "I have no power," "I have no intelligence," "I am very poor, please hijack me! Ami sakti-buddhi-hina, ami ati dina, kara more atmasatha." You must not just say this with your mouth. Do not be a hypocrite. You must say this sincerely. You must sincerely remember that "I have no strength, I have no intelligence. I am extremely poor, please hijack me!"

"Sakale samman karite sakati deha natha yatha-yatha (সকলে সম্মান করিতে শকতি দেহ' নাথ ! যথাযথ). O Master! Please give me the strength to give proper honour to everybody." I want to give honour to everyone, and I do not care whether somebody respects me or not. It is necessary to be humbler than a blade of grass. We come with straw into our mouths (dante trna kari') because we are lower than everyone else, lower than even cows. Always remember this.

You must understand what spiritual practice is. Whether somebody respects me or not, I will always respect everyone. I will respect and give honour even to those who do not respect me. You must remember this.

তৃণাধিক হীন দীন অকিঞ্চন ছার ।
আপনে মানবি সদা ছাড়ি অহঙ্কার ॥

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi ahankara

"Give up ego and consider yourself lower than a blade of grass, poor, destitute and vile."

বৃক্ষসম ক্ষমাগুণ করবি সাধন ।
প্রতিহিংসা ত্যজি অন্যে করবি পালন ॥

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

"Practise tolerance like that of a tree, stop ill-treating others and nurture everyone."

জীবন-নির্ব্বাহে আনে উদ্বেগ না দিবে ।
পর-উপকারে নিজ-সুখ পাসরিবে ॥

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

"Live without causing anxiety to others; do good unto others forsaking your own happiness."

(Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

You must throw away your own happiness for the benefit of other souls. You must not think where you will stay—you must think where Vaishnavs and your godbrothers will stay. First, arrange to feed them, then think about yourself. If you think, "No, I live here, so I should be fed first," it is very bad. This not a symptom of a spiritual practitioner. You must always have service mood.

তদ্­বিদ্ধি প্রণিপাতেন পরিপ্রশ্নেন সেবয়া ।
উপদেক্ষ্যন্তি তে জ্ঞানং জ্ঞানিনস্তত্ত্বদর্শিনঃ ॥

tad viddhi pranipatena, pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam, jnaninas tattva-darsinah

"You will be able to attain knowledge by satisfying the divine master with submission, relevant inquiry, and sincere service. The enlightened souls who are learned in scriptural knowledge and endowed with direct realisation of the Supreme Absolute Truth will impart divine knowledge to you."

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 4.34)

'Pranipata' means full surrender. 'Pariprasna' means honest enquiry: (1) Who am I (কে আমি, ke ami)? (2) Why am I suffering (কেনে আমায় জারে তাপত্রয়, kene amaya jare tapa-traya)? (3) How can I get relief from this suffering and austerity? How can I get benefit? (কিসে হিত হয়, kise hita haya)? (4) What is the eternal goal (সাধ্য বস্তু কী, sadhya vastu ki)? (5) How can I attain this main goal (সাধ্য বস্তু কী করলে পাওয়া য্য়, sadhya vastu ki korle paowa yaya)? Then, there is 'sevaya'—service mood. We have come to this world and in this age to serve the Lord with these hands, to do the parikrama of the Lord's abode with these legs, to see the Lord's Deity with these eyes, and to hear about the Lord with these ears. You must use all your senses in the service of the Lord and in the service of your Guru and Vaishnavs. If you do not do this, you will not get any result. You must try and practise very hard.

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Length: 41 min
Language: Bengali