(1/5) Worship Is Not Doll Play

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme in Hooghly District, evening
Translated into English from Bengali
22 February 2020, part 1

Despite being so busy, we have got this opportunity to hear and speak some Hari-katha today. It is not all the time that we get a chance to hear about the Lord. We can hear and speak about the Lord as the result of great fortune. Speaking Hari-katha and chanting Hari-kirtan are one and the same. But when we engage in sankirtan, congregational chanting, we feel more happiness because we do it all together, and the Lord is always enchanted by sankirtan-seva. When Krishna left Vrindavan and went to Dvaraka, all the cowherd friends of Krishna, overcome with separation from Him, would cry and sing about Him. They would roam the fields and sing about Krishna's glories and pastimes. The Lord always resides wherever devotees sing about Him or speak about Him.

Therefore, it is a great fortune that we have got this opportunity to hear and speak about the Lord. Actually, you have an opportunity to hear and speak about the Lord's pastimes and glories every evening. There must be no idle, empty talks or gossiping here. Those who talk idly or gossip are offenders. We do not chant anyone's glories except the glories of the Lord. Devotees never speak about anything else except the Lord. Where are you from? Where do you live? There is no need to know all this. In this world, we are only always busy thinking about ourselves. What will I eat? What will I wear? Where will I sleep? Where will I stay? Where can I go to get some nice sleep? Always engrossed in these things, we become lazy, slothful. We become apathetic towards service: we do not care whether we do service or not. This is a very bad thing. Laziness is very bad. Laziness means slacking in your service to the Lord.

If you do not feel enthusiastic to serve the Lord, if you are not eager to serve the Lord, if you do not feel happy to chant the glories of the Lord, then you must understand that there is some fault in you. Suppose you pour some water into a glass: you keep pouring and pouring water, but the glass does not become full – it means that there are some holes in the glass, and all water is going out through the holes. In this case, no matter how much we chant the Holy Name, no matter how much we fast, no matter how much we chant kirtan, no matter what we do, we will not get the result as long as we make offences to the Holy Name, service, holy places and Vaishnavs and as long as nonsense talks and other desires live within your mind.

Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu said:

অন্যাভিলাষিতা-শূন্যং জ্ঞান-কর্ম্মাদ্যনাবৃতম্ ।
আনুকূল্যেন কৃষ্ণানুশীলনং ভক্তিরুত্তমা ॥

anyabhilasita sunyam jnana-karmady anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanusilanam bhaktir uttama

'The highest devotion is that which satisfies Lord Krishna, free from the coverings of any pursuits, such as action or knowledge.'

(Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, 1.1.11)

Srila Narottam Das Thakur also wrote:

অন্য অভিলাষ ছাড়ি, জ্ঞান কর্ম্ম পরিহরি,
কায়মনে করিব ভজন ।
সাধুসঙ্গে কৃষ্ণসেবা, না পূজিব দেবী-দেবা,
এই ভক্তি পরম কারণ ॥

anya abhilasa chhadi, jnana karma parihari
kaya-mane kariba bhajana
sadhu-sange krsna-seva, na pujiba devi-deva
ei bhakti parama karana

"The topmost process of devotional service is to worship the Lord with body and mind, giving up desires for fruitive activities and mental speculation. One should serve Lord Krsna in the association of devotees without worshipping any demigods."

(Sri Sri Prema-bhakti-chandrika, Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

It is not possible to serve Krishna without sadhu-sanga because those who try to do that do not know proper rules and procedure. When I went to some house recently, one man told me, 'Maharaj, I have service.' I asked him, 'What service do you do?' He is proud that he is doing service, but in fact he just makes an offering to the Deities once a year – the whole year he eats whatever, and once a year he makes an offering. This is worship of a doll (putul-puja), not service to the Deity (vigraha-seva).

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Worship Is Not Doll Play
2) Believe and Surrender
3) Intoxicated with Animal Life
4) Cherish Your Service
5) Love Your Lord, Love Your Service