(6/6) Chastity and Purity of Association

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, evening class
20 January 2020, part 6

Srila Guru Maharaj always spoke about chastity. What does chastity mean? You have heard that Srila Raghunath Das Goswami came to Vrindavan after Mahaprabhu's and Srila Svarup Damodar's disappearance. First, he gave up eating rice and took some fruit; later, he gave up eating fruit and would take only water. When he came to Vrindavan, he thought of giving up his body, but having got the association of Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami, he forgot his intention and started again writing scriptures, resuming his worship of the Lord and service to Vaishnavs. During this time, one Vraja-basi (resident of Vraja Dham) would bring him some buttermilk in a leaf bowl from Sri Radha Kunda, and he would take that. One day, the Vraja-basi brought that leaf bowl from Chandravali Kunja, and when Srila Raghunath Das Goswami saw the leaf, he recognised where it had come from and threw it away along with the buttermilk, saying, "I will fast today, I will not eat." Such was his chastity. It is necessary to understand it properly and to always keep it in your mind.

Srila Narottam Das Thakur wrote the sloka: "Asat-sanga sada tyaga chhada anya gita-raga (অসৎ-সঙ্গ সদা ত্যাগ, ছাড় অন্য গীতরাগ): give up bad association, do not listen to the material songs and music." It is necessary to always give up bad, unholy association.

There is also one more important point that you can find in Srimad Bhagavad-gita (3.35), "Para-dharmo bhayavahah (পরধর্ম্মো ভয়াবহঃ): it is dangerous to follow another's religion." If a brahman follows the religion of a ksatriya, this is para-dharma (another's religion). This is the common understanding of these words, but this is not the real meaning. What is the religion of the soul? The religion of the soul is to serve the Lord, and if you do not serve the Lord, it means you are serving Maya—this is what "another's religion" is. We are following the religion of Maya, illusion—we are all serving Maya. We are always engrossed in serving our wife, brother, friends and relatives, but Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur says that even if they are your relatives, they are dacoits in disguise of your relatives—if they do not practise Krishna consciousness, you must give up their association. We must always think about it and always think how we can give up such association.

"Visaya-visama-visa satata khainu, Gaura-kirtana rase magana na hainu (বিষয়-বিষম-বিষ সতত খাইনু গৌরকীর্ত্তন রসে মগন না হইনু)—I have always been taking the deathly poison of the material world and have never been attracted to the kirtan of Gaura."

There is one very nice story told by Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. I have told it to you before; I will tell it to you now again and then finish. It is also written in our Bengali book called Bhakti-raksak Hari-kathamrita.

One time, two sadhus went to Haridwar and were sitting on the bank of the Ganges. Suddenly, they saw something black floating in the river. They thought it was a blanket. One sadhu told the other sadhu, "The water is not very deep, so why do you not bring this blanket? We can use it at night." The other sadhu jumped into the river and grasped the blanket. But it turned out that it was not a blanket—it was a bear. The bear was being carried away by the swift current and was trying to get out. We too are struggling amidst illusion and trying to stay afloat and not drown—if you are in an ocean, you will try to cling even to a straw to save your life. So, when the sadhu jumped into the water to get the blanket, the bear caught hold of him, and both started struggling and fighting with each other. The other sadhu, who had stayed on the bank, said, "Come, come quickly! Leave the blanket and just get out." The sadhu who was in the water replied, "I have given up the blanket, but the blanket is not leaving me!" It is the same with the material world—we leave the "blanket," but the "blanket" does not leave us.

মায়ারে করিয়া জয় ছাড়ান না যায় ।
সাধুর-গুরুর কৃপা বিনা না দেখি উপায় ॥

mayare kariya jaya chhadana na yaya
sadhur-gurur krpa bina na dekhi upaya

"You cannot conquer illusory environment and become released from it. I see no other way to get relief except by the mercy of saints and Guru."

(Prarthana, Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

We want to leave Maya (illusory environment), but we cannot do it on our own. You all know this sloka, you all have read Srimad Bhagavad-gita:

দৈবী হ্যেষা গুণময়ী মম মায়া দুরত্যয়া ।
মামেব যে প্রপদ্যন্তে মায়ামেতাং তরন্তি তে ॥

daivi hy esa gunamayi, mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante, mayam etam taranti te

"My supramundane trimodal illusory potency (alluring those who are averse to Me) is extremely difficult to overcome. However, this insurmountable potency of Mine can be overcome by those who exclusively surrender to Me."

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 7.14)

It is extremely difficult to overcome Maya: she is such that we are always subservient to her.

কামাদীনাং কতি ন কতিধা পালিতা দুর্নিদেশা,
তেষাং জাতা ময়ি ন করুণা ন ত্রপা নোপশান্তিঃ ।
উৎসৃজ্যৈতানথ যদুপতে ! সাম্প্রতং লব্ধবুদ্ধি-
সত্বামায়াতঃ শরণমভয়ং মাং নিযুঙ্ক্ষ্বাত্মদাস্যে ॥

kamadinam kati na katidha palita durnidesa,
tesam jata mayi na karuna na trapa nopasantih
utsrjyaitan atha yadu-pate! sampratam labdha-buddhis
tvam ayatah saranam-abhayam mam niyunksvatma-dasye

"O Lord! How many kinds of wicked orders from lust and others I followed! They had no mercy on me, nor were they ever satisfied! O Krishna! Suddenly, I managed to leave their side and got some good intelligence—I have surrendered at Your fearless lotus feet, please engage me now as Your servant."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.16)

"How many awful orders of lust I have been carrying out! But even having carried out all these orders, lust and all the other wicked faults within me have not shown any mercy on me. Now I have understood that I have done wrong—whatever I have done has been wrong. I understand now that the Lord is my father."

কৃষ্ণ মাতা, কৃষ্ণ পিতা, কৃষ্ণ প্রাণ ধন ।

krsna mata, krsna pita, krsna prana dhana

"Krishna is my mother, Krishna is my father, Krishna is the very treasure of my life."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.1.343)

He is our Supreme Father, but we have forgotten Him and end up always serving Maya Devi. That is why we leave everything behind, and now that we understand these things—if we can take shelter at the lotus feet of a genuine guru and can practise Krishna consciousness, we will get supreme benefit. Please always remember this. I will not take much more time today. If there is time later, I will speak again, but there are other sannyasis present also, so I am requesting them to speak now.

— : • : —

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Pure Kirtan Springs from Heart
2) Loving Relationship and Obedience
3) Stumbling Along
4) Build Service Relationship
5) Repairing Bad Fortune
6) Chastity and Purity of Association