First Requirement

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata-Worldwide, 10 May 2020, part 7

Question: I know that we must be 100% dependant on Krishna, but sometimes when one is married, our mind is in such a position that we think that we are dependent on the behaviour of our wife. How shall we control that?

Be tolerant. It is necessary to have patience and tolerance.

Question: How can we help a devotee who is losing the desire to take association in the temple?

Talk to them from time to time, try to talk to them by phone. Now is lockdown, so no one can come to the temple, but you can always call them, always get news about them, always give them some Hari-katha by phone. That is necessary.

Question: What should we do if our mind is lazy and does not want to do service?

Try to serve more and more. If you feel you want to relax, you must say to yourself, "No! This is not good! I want to serve more." That will be good. Do not follow your mind. Your mind tells you something like, "Oh, it is necessary to relax, it is necessary to sleep"—do not listen to your mind. Tell yourself, "I have service, and I must do that service first." It is necessary to do what is required, and your first requirement is your service. At the same time, rest is also necessary for health, but it does not mean you must rest all day long. Sleeping is a part of service, sleep is also necessary because if you do not sleep at all, it is not good for health, so it is also necessary to sleep.

Question: It is said that we must chant japa not so loud...

Who told you that it must be not so loud? The government? No. You can chant loudly. If the government is giving a problem and it harms the service of the temple, then that is OK, do not chant so loudly in the temple, otherwise if you chant loudly, it is good. What is the problem? You must always chant out loud,

হরে কৃষ্ণ হরে কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ হরে হরে ।
হরে রাম হরে রাম রাম রাম হরে হরে ॥

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Do not sit like a yogi chanting in your mind, silently. You must chant out loud, but not very loudly—do not shout—but out loud.

Question: Is feeling guilty avidya (ignorance)?

No, it is incorrect.

অপি চেৎ সুদুরাচারো ভজতে মামনন্যভাক্ ।
সাধুরেব স মন্তব্যঃ সম্যগ্ব্যবসিতো হি সঃ ॥
ক্ষিপ্রং ভবতি ধর্ম্মাত্মা শশ্বচ্ছান্তিং নিগচ্ছতি ।
কৌন্তেয় প্রতিজানীহি ন মে ভক্তঃ প্রণশ্যতি ॥

api chet suduracharo, bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah, samyag vyavasito hi sah
ksipram bhavati dharmatma, sasvach-chhantim nigachchhati
kaunteya pratijanihi, na me bhaktah pranasyati

"If even a very sinful person serves Me exclusively with devotion, he should be regarded as saintly, for his resolve is perfect. He swiftly becomes a person of virtuous practices and attains constant peace. O son of Kunti, declare to the world that My devotee is never vanquished! (O son of Kunti, declare to the world that My devotee is never vanquished. One who declares this swiftly becomes virtuous and attains eternal joy)."

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 9.30-31)

Krishna says that those who feel guilty can gradually overcome their feeling of guilty—Krishna removes all kind of dirt from them and again gives them shelter at His lotus feet, again engages them in His service.

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