Mahaprabhu's Teachings (1):
No False Renunciation

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata-Worldwide, 17 May 2020, part 1

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
Vrinda Devi Tulasi Devi Sri Bhakti Devi ki jay
Sri Shyama Kunda Radha Kunda Sri Giri Govardhan ki jay
Sri Mayapur Dham Sri Nabadwip Dham Sri Vrindavan Mathura ki jay
Sri Purusottam Ksetra ki jay
Baladev Subhadra Jagannathjiu ki jay
Akar Math-raj Sri Chaitanya Math ki jay
Mayapur Yogapith ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Tandiya sakha Math samuha ki jay
Sri Mather sevak vrinda bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Ananta-koti Vaishnav vrinda ki jay
Sri Gaudiya Acharya vrinda ki jay
Tridandi-pad-gan ki jay
Srila Bhakti Pavan Janardan Maharaj ki jay
Srila Bhakti Kusum Ashram Maharaj ki jay
Sripad B.N. Sadhu Maharaj ki jay
All the sannyasi-vrinda ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

I am very happy to see you all by the mercy of Gurudev, one week. We are all still in our houses, but we can contact devotees and get devotees' association through technology. Association of devotees (sadhu-sanga, good association) and engaging ourselves in the service to our Guru, Vaishnavs, and Bhagavan (sadhu-seva, or bhakta-seva, service to devotees) are the main things in our spiritual life.

We must learn from the teachings of the previous great personalities (mahajans)—whether one is a householder devotee (grihastha) or a renunciate (sannyasi, grha-tyagi), there is no difference because everybody can practise Krishna consciousness. In Mahaprabhu's time, many great devotees practised in householder life—Srila Srivas Pandit, Sri Sivananda Sen, Sri Pundarikaksa Vidyanidhi, Sri Raya Ramananda, Sri Advaita Acharya Prabhu, and many others. They all showed us how they maintained their householder life, it is an example for all of us. A house is not a place for only enjoyment—your house is Krishna's house, Vaishnavs' house, guru-varga's house, your house is meant for the service of the Lord. This is how we must stay in our house, this is the main conception for householder life.

Mahaprabhu teaches us through His teaching to Sri Raghunath Das Goswami. We can read it in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita or Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat. Mahaprabhu told him, "Be sensible. Go back to your home, do not be crazy. Everyone will reach their goal gradually."

স্থির হঞা ঘরে যাও, না হও বাতুল
ক্রমে ক্রমে পায় লোক ভব-সিন্ধুকূল

sthira haya ghare yao, na hao batula
krame krame paya loka bhava-sindhu-kula

"Be sensible, go back to your home. Do not be crazy. One reaches the shore of material existence gradually."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.237)

Mahaprabhu also taught him,

মর্কট-বৈরাগ্য না কর লোক দেখাঞা ।
যথাযোগ্য বিষয় ভুঞ্জ' অনাসক্ত হঞা ॥
অন্তরে নিষ্ঠা কর, বাহ্যে লোক-ব্যবহার ।
অচিরাৎ কৃষ্ণ তোমায় করিবে উদ্ধার ॥

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana
antare nistha kara, bahye loka-vyavahara
achirat krsna tomaya karibe uddhara

"Do not show your false renunciation to people. Serve accepting material things, but without attachment. Be fixed internally, and behave like everyone else externally. Krishna will rescue you soon."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.238-239)

"It is not necessary to show monkey renunciation—you can keep your house, you can keep everything, enjoy your life but without material attachment. Be sincere in your heart, practise with heart and soul, and Krishna will rescue you from this situation." In householder life, if the house is favourable to devotion, you can live householder life, it is not a problem, but if your house is not favourable to devotion, then you can reject that house and become a sannyasi.

This is what Sriman Mahaprabhu tells householder devotees.

ভারত-ভূমিতে হৈল মনুষ্য-জন্ম যার ।
জন্ম সার্থক করি' কর পর-উপকার ॥

bharata-bhumite haila manusya janma yara
janma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara

"One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India should take advantage of his birth and bring benefit to all other people."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 9.41)

নাচ, গাও, ভক্তসঙ্গে কর সঙ্কীর্ত্তন
কৃষ্ণনাম উপদেশি' তার' সর্ব্বজন

nacha, gao, bhakta-sange kara sankirtana
krsna-nama upadesi' tara' sarva-jana

"Dance, chant, and do sankirtan in the association of devotees, go out and preach about the chanting of the Holy Name of Lord Krishna—by this process you will be able to deliver all fallen souls."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 7.92)

You are all born in this Bharat-bhumi—in India, or actually anywhere else because people all over the world are now coming to Mahaprabhu's line. This Krishna consciousness line is spreading all over the world through our guru-varga who preach so much all over the world. Gurudev has brought so many people to Krishna consciousness line, Krishna consciousness life, pure devotional life, perfect line, perfect life—Gurudev has given you all a new life, and you are now enjoying this life with service to devotees (bhakta-seva) and devotional activities. So, Sriman Mahaprabhu tells householder devotees: dance, chant, do sankirtan with devotees and advise others to chant the Holy Name.

Moreover, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also says that if you do nagar-sankirtan, you should do it with pure devotees—it is not necessary to practise kirtan, etc. with non-devotees:

শুদ্ধ-ভক্ত সঙ্গে নৃত্য-সঙ্কীর্ত্তন
অভক্তের সঙ্গে কীর্ত্তনাদি না কর প্রয়োজন

suddha-bhakta sange nrtya-sankirtan
abhakter sange kirtan-adi na kara prayojan

"Dance and chant in the association of pure devotees. It is not necessary to practise kirtan or any other devotional activities in the association of non-devotees."

Also, householder devotees must depend on the Lord in everything—they must think, "Whatever is happening, whatever will happen, everything depends on the Lord."

শুন মাতা ঈশ্বরের অধীন সংসার
স্বতন্ত্র হইতে শক্তি নাহিক কাহার

suna mata, isvarera adhina samsara
svatantra haite sakti nahika kahara

"Listen, dear mother, the whole world is under the control of the Lord. No one has the power to become independent."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.28.55)

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