(4/10) Eternal Loving Worship

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme in Hooghly District, evening
Translated into English from Bengali
21 February 2020, part 4

You all know about Rama-lila, the pastimes of Lord Ramachandra. Morally impeccable, Lord Rama had to put Sita Devi through a fire examination (agni-pariksa). Even then, His subjects were not satisfied, 'No, Your wife is not right, she will not live a straight life.' Rama had to send her to Valmiki's ashram. Are there such things in Krishna-lila? There are not. There is sweetness. But there is no pastimes of conjugal sweetness in the pastimes of Lord Rama – Lord Rama sends Sita to an ashram. But in Krishna-lila, there is separation.

For example, suppose your husband is staying abroad. You know that he will come today by plane. You know that he will get off the plane at a certain time and it takes two hours to get home from the airport. Two hours pass, three hours pass, four hours pass. You will be anxious, 'Husband is not coming! What has happened?' Even if it was your son in place of your husband, you would worry and always think about him. But this kind of pull and anxiety should be there for Krishna. 'When will I see my Prabhu? When will I get to do some service for Him?' This is what we must always think about. This kind of pull of love should be there towards the Lord, then it will be bhajan (Krishna consciousness, or spiritual life).

Taking initiation does not mean you have become a devotee. Just as when you get admitted to a school, does it mean that you have passed the graduation exams? It does not. You have to study for ten years. When the time of the exam comes, then it will show what you have been doing for these ten years – whether you have been studying or not. Spiritual life is also like that: am I moving forward or backward? You think you have taken initiation and get everything, but this is not so. Taking initiation is like getting admitted to a school, the only difference is that initiation is a transcendental school, and the ordinary education is a material school. There are two Saraswatis, so one school is Suddha Saraswati's school, where transcendental knowledge is taught (para-vidya), and the other one is Vidya Saraswati's school, where mundane knowledge is taught (apara-vidya). So, when you get enrolled to a transcendental school, it does not mean you pass the final exams – it is necessary to study diligently. We must practise, follow the rules and regulations, preach. Practice makes perfect.

Suppose I am good at cooking, but if I do not cook for two years, I will forget how to cook. It is the same everywhere: if you learn to do something well but do not do it for some time, you will forget how to do it. It is the same with the Lord. We must do service regularly, every single day without fail. We eat every single day, sleep every single day, go to the bathroom every single day, bathe every single day. In the same way, we must bathe the Lord every single day, offer archan and worship to the Lord every single day, offer bhog to the Lord every single day, wake up for mangala-arati by four o'clock every single morning. You wake up and like to drink tea in the morning, but in the same way you must wake the Lord up every day and make an offering to the Lord (the Lord does not drink tea, but you can make some other offering). It is necessary to follow all the rules and customs in this way.

You cannot preach to others unless you practise what you preach yourself. Always remember this. Practice makes perfect.

It not so easy to become a devotee of Krishna. Among a thousand of Vaishnavs, there is only one devotee of Krishna. Out of ten million workers you will get one wise person; out of ten million wise people you will get one liberated soul (a soul who has no material desires or attachment, who does not want anything in this world), and out of ten million of such liberated souls you will get only one devotee of Krishna. Do you think you become a devotee just by putting some tilak marks and neck beads? You may dress as a devotee but it does not mean they have become a devotee.

Parvati Devi asked Sivji Maharaj, 'You have dressed as a gopi, but have you only dressed as a gopi or have you become a gopi?' So, have you become a sadhu or have you only dressed yourself as a sadhu? Which is true?

Anyhow, we will chant some kirtans now, after that we will hear Hari-katha again. Chant kirtans together with me and chant them attentively. It will not do if only I sing and you do not or you sing and I do not. You must chant, and I will chant too. It is necessary to practise.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

First, we must chant Guru-vandana, then Pancha-tattva-vandana, then Vaishnav-vandana, then Nityananda-vandana, then Gauranga-vandana, and finally Radha-Krishna-vandana. It is necessary to climb up following these steps. Please keep your phones switched off, please keep your heart, mind and soul at the lotus feet of Govinda for one–two hours, then the Lord will remember one day, 'At least he surrendered one hour of his entire life to Me.' Somebody can worry and try to disturb you, but there is nothing to worry about – nothing will happen if you do not answer your phones for two hours. You are not police superintendents or district magistrates – it is not like you have to deal with any pressing, burning questions. So, you do not need to worry about your phones and so on.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 35.7 Mb
Length: 75 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Detach Yourself from Illusion
2) Tenacious Tenants
3) Nurture Natural Devotion
4) Eternal Loving Worship
5) Essential Admonition
6) Where Is Substance?
7) How to Capture the Lord
8) Pillars of Spiritual Life
9) Undiluted Spiritual Life
10) Power of Sambandha-Jnana