Concentrate On Your Life

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Evening class, Sri Nrisingha Palli
2 March 2020, part 6

These are the main things for our spiritual life. I am telling some small points—what mistake we are making, how to correct ourselves, etc. Actually, when we speak Hari-katha, Krishna-katha, it is easy to say, "Na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye—I do not want wealth, I do not want knowledge, I do not want beauty, I do not want to be a poet." We say this, but it is very difficult to actually apply this for ourselves. We say we must be "trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena—humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, give honour to others without desiring it for yourself," but it is necessary to practise this yourself first (nija achari). You must experience it yourself. That is why, when we speak Hari-katha, we do not speak it for others—we speak only for ourselves. Srila Guru Maharaj says that if you speak Hari-katha, nobody may be listening to it, but you are listening to it, Krishna is listening to it—that is sufficient. The most important thing is that you are listening to it.

There is also another thing.

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 the mundane talks, do not listen to the mundane news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krsna, and in your mind serve Radha-Krsna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.236-237)

Mahaprabhu told many things to Srila Raghunath Das Goswami. We must think about it and we must have a clear understanding about those things. You know, once a Russian devotee, who now lives in Thailand, asked Gurudev, "Gurudev, please give me your mercy. Please bless me"; his flight was the next day, so the next day he again came to Gurudev and said, "Gurudev, please bless me, please give me some mercy." Gurudev replied, "I gave you my blessing yesterday—is it already finished?" I remember this—I heard it from Gurudev and saw it myself also.

So, we say,

ন ধনং ন জনং ন সুন্দরীং কবিতাং বা জগদীশ কাময়ে ।
মম জন্মনি জন্মনীশ্বরে ভবতাদ্ভক্তিরহৈতুকী ত্বয়ি ॥

na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi

"I do not want wealth, I do not want knowledge, I do not want beauty, I do not want to be a poet. I only want causeless devotion to Your lotus feet. Give me that kind of devotion to Your lotus feet so that I could do Your service life after life."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 20.29)

But we must experience it ourselves. This is the main thing. When Mahaprabhu told Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu, "Go back to your house. Maintain your life as a non-devotee and keep Krishna in your heart without showing it to others." Then, when his parents saw, "Oh, my son is back, he is taking care of the property, etc." At that time, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami said, "They say, 'My son has become very good'—but these words strike me as death. To hear this is the same as death for me." Then you can understand easily what is necessary for your spiritual life.

Somebody thinks, "Oh, I have taken initiation, it is sufficient," but only initiation is not sufficient. Just as in the case of every university or school—you receive admission to a school or university, or a spiritual university, but this is not enough; you must attend that school, you must study all books, then you will take an exam, and only then you will see whether you pass or fail—you will see whether you have really studied or not. We say, "Oh, I have taken initiation, that is it," but no, you must study, you must practise, you must take the exam.

We say we will start practising from tomorrow, but no—start now. There is no time. You must study, and it is actually very hard—you must practise every day, work on it every day. That is the main thing.

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