Embracing Hardships

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 5
Translated from Bengali

Today is a very important for us day—it is the adhivas (eve) of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's appearance day.

[Clamour in the audience.] Do not talk. No prajalpa. Never talk gramya-katha (village talks), never talk gramya-varta (mundane news). You always talk as it is, but the less you talk, the better it is for you. You must always talk about the Lord, about Lord Krishna. The problem is that we do not have patience. The most important thing is to have patience. We do not have the power of patience, the power of tolerance. We do not want to accept any austerity, but we must think, "Dear Lord, give me more austerity, give me more and more austerity." Those who go to Haridwar or jungle to avoid any difficulty or austerity are mukti-kami—they want liberation, they do not like any disturbance or problems. Who lives in this world without any troubles, tell me?

When you go to cook for the Lord, your eyes will burn, you will cry, but Srimati Radharani also cooked sweet rice with so much struggle and fed it to Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu. She took so much trouble—now you cook using gas or wood, but in those days, you would have to walk along the streets and gather dry branches and leaves! Sachi Mata also took so much trouble cooking for Nimai—smoke, heat, burning eyes, etc.. She struggled so much. And you want to cook at leisure with all comfort—no, your eyes will burn, smoke will come. If you want to get the Lord, you have to struggle. When you serve the Lord, you have to struggle. When you suffer and struggle, that is the mercy of the Lord. When you suffer, your service mood will increase. You will try to serve the Lord, and obstacles will come, you will suffer, you will struggle—this is your mercy. Do not think that this is sadness or pain—you must think this is your happiness.

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)

Troubles, problems, disturbances—so many things will come. If you run away, then you must know that you could not do any service. If you can overcome all obstacles and troubles, then you will be a gainer.

Therefore, we must understand and pray, "Dear Lord, please give me more austerity. Give me more and more austerity. I am serving You, my Lord—give me more austerity!" You do not understand the agony of the gopis, their separation...

Krishna left them and went away—who can understand this pain? When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was later in Gambhira, what agony did He experience? Overcome by the mood of Srimati Radhika, in a frenzy, He was madly looking for Krishna. His agony of separation was such that He was as if in a burning room.

"Where has Kanu gone? Where will I find Krishna? Where am I to go? What am I to do?" He would beat His head against the wall, and blood would flow from His nose and mouth because of that pain. This pain, this mood of separation is the highest mood. "Where am I to go to see Krishna again?!" This is the pain we must always feel.

You can never get the Lord without any struggle or pain. Can you say who has got the Lord without any effort? Everybody struggled. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami, Srila Sanatan Goswami, Srila Rupa Goswami, and even the Lord Himself. You can also see the example of Sri Nityananda Prabhu Himself—His family had an enormous land (their land stretched from here all the way to Rampurhat; and people are now enjoying with this land), they were very wealthy, but He left everything. He would roam the streets as if mad, chanting,

ভজ গৌরাঙ্গ, কহ গৌরাঙ্গ, লহ গৌরাঙ্গের নাম রে
যে জন গৌরাঙ্গ ভজে, সেই আমার প্রাণ রে

bhaja gauranga, kaha gauranga, laha gaurangera nama re
ye jana gauranga bhaje, sei amara prana re

"Worship Gauranga! Say Gauranga! Take Gauranga's Name! Those who worship Gauranga are My heart and soul!"

Mahaprabhu was also like that. He is the Supreme Lord Himself, but Nimai was born in the house of a simple brahman, you know it. When He was Krishna and lived in Dvaraka, He lived in kingly palace, slept on a royal bed, but in Nabadwip, after taking sannyas, He slept on a bed of dry leaves, on the ground! He was always absorbed in thoughts about Krishna. If the Supreme Lord can teach us this, then, if we want to become His devotees, if we want to become His followers, then we must live like Him—we must always go door to door and preach...

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