(4/9) Our Greatest and Only Friends

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Nityananda-Trayodasi, 7 February 2020, part 4
Translated from Bengali

We are observing today the holy appearance day of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. You must always remember what is being told here, you must remember Srila Prabhupad's words. Take calendars with you. Those who are not new here can take calendars at Gaura Purnima because all calendars have not come now—more will come later, at Gaura Purnima time.

আমার প্রভুর প্রভু শ্রীগৌরসুন্দর ।
এ বড় ভরসা চিত্তে ধরি নিরন্তর ॥

amara prabhura prabhu sri-gaurasundar
e bada bharasa chitte dhari nirantara

"My Prabhu's Prabhu is Sri Gaurasundar. I always keep this great hope in my heart."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat, 1.17.153)

These are Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur's words. Who is his Prabhu? Nityananda Prabhu... We live in this world amidst various difficulties, and we cannot rely or place our trust on anything in this world. The only hope and trust we can have is that Mahaprabhu is the Lord of Nityananda Prabhu. This is our only hope.

এক 'মহাপ্রভু', আর 'প্রভু'—দুইজন ।
দুই প্রভু সেবে মহাপ্রভুর চরণ ॥

eka 'mahaprabhu', ara 'prabhu' duijana
dui prabhu seve mahaprabhura charana

"There is one Supreme Personality of Godhead ('mahaprabhu'), Sri Gaurasundar, and there are two 'prabhus'—svayam prakas-vastu Nityananda Prabhu and svamsa Advaita Prabhu—both of them serve Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.7.14)

গৌরাঙ্গ বলিতে হবে পুলক শরীর ।
হরি হরি বলিতে নয়নে ব'বে নীর ॥
আর কবে নিতাইচাঁদ করুণা করিবে ।
সংসার-বাসনা মোর কবে তুচ্ছ হ'বে ॥
বিষয় ছাড়িয়া কবে শুদ্ধ হ'বে মন ।
কবে হাম হেরব শ্রীবৃন্দাবন ॥

'gauranga' balite habe pulaka sarira
'hari hari' balite nayane ba'be nira
ara kabe nitaichand karuna karibe
samsara-vasana mora kabe tuchha ha'be

"My body will burst with delight as I chant the Name of Gauranga, and as I constantly chant the Holy Name of the Lord, tears will flow from my eyes. When will Nitaichand give His mercy to me? When will my material desires become trifle? When will I give up this material world and my mind become clean? When will I behold this Vrindavan?"

(Prarthana, Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

When will I retire from working in the ocean of material existence? When will I leave material work? When will I become stunned chanting and chanting Lord Gaurasundar's Name? When will such a day come to me when I become liberated from material bondage? We have not come to realise that the Lord is our eternal shelter. This judgement, or conclusion, has not come to us. You can get everything in every birth—you can get a mother and a father in every birth, but who is your friend, who is your well-wisher, who is your relative? Our greatest friends are those who help us go forward to Krishna, who help us see Krishna, who show us the path by telling us about the Lord.

সেই সে পরম বন্ধু সেই পিতমাতা
শ্রীকৃষ্ণচরণে যেই প্রেমভক্তিদাতা

sei se parama bandhu sei pita-mata
sri-krsna-charane yei prema-bhakti-data

"Those who give divine love for the holy lotus feet of Sri Krishna are my greatest friends—they are my father and my mother."

(Sri Chaitanya-mangala)

Who is your friend? Your greatest friends are those who help you progress towards Krishna. Gurudev and Nityananda Prabhu are your greatest friends. Do you understand it? They show us the road to Krishna, they show us, "If you take this road, you will come to the Lord." The holy lotus feet of Sri Guru and Nityananda are our only hope! There is nothing in this world except their holy lotus feet. Do you understand it?

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Value Your Time
2) Gaudiya Vaishnavs' Service
3) Perverted and Transcendental Charm
4) Our Greatest and Only Friends
5) Faith vs Acceptance
6) Pull of Maya
7) Wrong Preoccupation
8) World of Uncertainty
9) Inglorious Life