(3/5) Intoxicated with Animal Life

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 3

Materialistic people are attached to material things and this material family life, always busy with their grandsons and granddaughters. It does not occur to them that 'Here, look at this cow that goes out to eat grass on the street and returns to its cowshed in the evening! Are we not just like that?' They get up in the morning, spend the whole day earning money for some food and return to their place in the evening to watch TV; or they work all day without eating and when they come home, they eat and go to bed. The next day, they wake up in the morning and roam around toiling the whole day again. What for is this labour?

গর্দ্দভের মত আমি করি পরিশ্রম ।
কার লাগি' এত করি না ঘুচিল ভ্রম ॥

gardabhera mata ami kari parisrama
kara lagi' eta kari, na ghuchila bhrama

I toil laboriously like a donkey. For whom am I doing this? Still my illusion has not been dispelled.

(Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Who and what are you doing all this for? Once you close your eyes, everything will be gone. Who are you worrying so much for? Please think at least a little about the wellbeing of your own soul! Think about the spiritual benefit for your soul. You always, all day long think about your body. A pig, a goat or a cow roam the streets and then go somewhere to sleep in the evening – what you are doing is the same! What is the difference? Animals roam the streets the whole day, eating something here and there, and people also roam the streets on their bicycles or motorcycles, and when they get hungry in the afternoon, they stop somewhere to eat, and in the evening, they come back to their room and either watch TV or just go to bed. This is not life!

We chant in one of the kirtans: Yaoya asa sara haila – coming and going, all in vain. How many time we have come to this world and how many times have we left it? You are born, then you die, and when you die, you have to get another body again. How many more days are you going to continue like this? You must think about it. You have some intelligence. We must behave like humans, not like animals. If you do not give a lion or a tiger five kg meat, it will cry and become excited – if they do not eat, they become mad. But we can live without meat. Those who do not have money to buy meat and fish every day, do not eat it. What is the problem? There are many vegetables and greens at the market, there is no lack of food, but people do not have knowledge, that is why they would rather eat meat and fish.

The other day, when I was returning to the temple after an evening programme (it was probably ten o'clock at night), and when I came out of the house and was going to the car, I saw a man sitting in the middle of the road, drinking liquor. When he saw us coming, he slowly moved away. Just like such materialists, we are intoxicated with the material world... We must be eager to serve. If we do not have eagerness to do service, we will not get anywhere.

— : • : —

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Length: 29 min
Language: Bengali

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