(3) Serve Intently

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme in Kinkarbati
Translated into English from Bengali
26 February 2020, part 3

I told you the other day that if I take rice and vegetables, my stomach will be full, but if I take some chips and snacks, will that fill my stomach? It will not, but you will get taste in your mouth. So, if you gossip, talk about material things and news, have idle talks, if you watch films and TV, you feel taste (you feel attracted to doing it), but your stomach will not be full through that – it will only cause damage. If you eat snacks, you get gas; similarly, if you gossip and talk about material things, the result of such activities will slowly take you away from the line of devotion. That is why always remember and follow Mahaprabhu's advice:

গ্রাম্যকথা না শুনিবে, গ্রাম্যবার্ত্তা না কহিবে ।
ভাল না খাইবে আর ভাল না পরিবে ॥
অমানী মানদ হঞা কৃষ্ণনাম সদা ল'বে ।
ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ সেবা মানসে করিবে ॥

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

"Do not listen to village talks, do not speak about village news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself and give all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krishna and serve Radha-Krishna in your mind."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.236–237)

You must stop idle talks. Speak very little. If you are to talk, then only say, 'Hare Krishna,' 'Krishna, Krishna.' No other things should come out of your mouth. The more you speak, the more mistakes you will make.

You must always remember these things. If we do not keep these things in our minds, we will end up in a great trouble.

Always give more priority to sravan and kirtan. Krishna Himself says, 'I do not stay in the hearts of yogis, Narad! Neither do I stay in Vaikuntha. I stay wherever My devotees speak about Me and chant My glories.'

Nobody can see how the cooking is done for the Lord – they always stay very quiet. They cook silently and very intently. You can offer bhog on a golden plate, but you do not see whether there is no salt or too much salt in the preparations or whether it was cooked through or not. The Lord will not take such offering because it was not done properly. Cooking should be done silently, thinking about the Lord. We must always do our service with full concentration (lit. 'giving all our mind').

You think, 'I do not want to do this,' 'I do not like doing that,' but Gurudev knows better. Even if you refuse to do something, that service will still be done – Gurudev will make the arrangement. So, when Gurudev gives you some service, you must do it with full attention.

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Length: 58 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Become Good Listener
2) Eternal Engagement
3) Serve Intently
4) Worse Than Death
5) Increase Your Devotion
6) Real Substance of Devotion
7) Shameful
8) Exclusive Self-Realisation
9) Keep Your Focus Straight