Staunch Stance

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 9
Translated from Bengali

You must give advice to your own self. It is very easy to say these things:

তৃণাদপি সুনীচেন তরোরিব সহিষ্ণুনা ।
অমানিনা মানদেন কীর্ত্তনীয়ঃ সদা হরিঃ ॥

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.239)

You learn this and other things by heart, but it is not so easy to follow this in your life. You must first establish this in your own life. First learn to be like this yourself, then you can give advice to others. You must practise first yourself:

গ্রাম্যকথা না শুনিবে, গ্রাম্যবার্ত্তা না কহিবে ।
ভাল না খাইবে আর ভাল না পরিবে ॥
অমানী মানদ হঞা কৃষ্ণনাম সদা ল'বে ।
ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ সেবা মানসে করিবে ॥

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

"Do not listen to the mundane talks, do not listen to the mundane news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krsna, and in your mind serve Radha-Krsna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.236-237)

You always run behind eating, sleeping, defending, and procreating—you eat, sleep and enjoy the whole day:

দিন যায় মিছা কাজে নিশা নিদ্রাবশে ।
নাহি ভাবি মরণ নিকটে আছে বসে ॥

dina yaya michha kaje, nisa nidra-vase
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe vase

"My days are passed in useless work and nights are wasted on sleeping. It never occurs to me that there is death sitting next to me."

Do we ever think that we have to leave this body, that we will have to leave this house, that we will have to leave all these bricks and buildings? One day, we have to leave. Do you understand it? One day, we will have to leave this place. It never crosses our mind, but Krishna is very merciful—He is waiting to bestow His mercy on us.

There are many hardships and struggles in life, and I want hardships! We do not pray to the Lord that everything may become happy and peaceful. No. It is impossible to live happily here. You can live happily in your house, but if you try to put up a boundary wall, your neighbours will start fighting; if you try to build a place for yourself, there will be problems too; you will go to a shop and fight with the shopkeeper. So, whatever you try to do in this world, you will always face problems. When you try to do something for yourself, you tolerate many things, but if you try to do something for the service of the Lord and some problem comes, why will you back out? You must never even think of doing it! "O Lord, give me more troubles! Give me power to tolerate more and more! For Your service, I will take more and more troubles on my head!"

তোমার সেবায় দুঃখ হয় যত,
সেও ত' পরম সুখ ।

tomara sevaya, duhkha haya yata,
seo ta' parama sukha

"All the distress I encounter in Your service is also my greatest happiness."

(Saranagati 16.4)

No matter what unhappiness or pain comes to us in the course of our service to the Lord, that is our greatest happiness—we must accept it.

"raghunathera niyama,—yena pasanera rekha"

"Raghunath Das Goswami's strict regulative principles were like lines on a stone (he never wavered in observance of regulative principles)."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.309)

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami followed all prescribed regulations (recited mantras, paid obeisances, worshipped his Deity, followed the word of the scriptures, circumambulated Sri Radha-kunda) every day—his practices were as unwavering as lines on a stone; and he did everything out of deep love. Sincere practitioners do not have many unwanted elements within them.

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