Eternal Humble Prayer

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ratha-Yatra festival,
Kolkata-Worldwide, 23 June 2020, part 5

Question: Can you tell us about Sri Svarup Damodar? Today is his disappearance day...

Svarup Damodar is an incarnation of Lalita Devi and you know also that Svarup Damodar always helps Mahaprabhu, especially during the last period of His pastimes when Mahaprabhu experienced the pain of separation. Srila Svarup Damodar and Srila Raya Ramananda were always there helping Mahaprabhu. You know that when Srimati Radharani felt too much separation from Lord Krishna, at that time Lalita and Visakha would give so much nourishment to Her; in the same way, Srila Svarup Damodar also gave much nourishment to Mahaprabhu. Both Svarup Damodar and Raya Ramananda stayed with Mahaprabhu all the time, from morning to evening. Also, sometimes some devotees or scholars would write something and wanted to present it to Mahaprabhu, but it had to first go through Svarup Damodar—first, Svarup Damodar would see it and if he thought it was correct, then Mahaprabhu could see it otherwise it would not go to Mahaprabhu. Once, a big writer brought something written to present to Mahaprabhu, but Svarup Damodar did not approve what was written, so that written piece could not go to Mahaprabhu. So, Svarup Damodar was very intimate, very close to Mahaprabhu.

This is what we remember today, on his disappearance day. Srila Svarup Damodar was with Mahaprabhu, and when Mahaprabhu felt separation from the Lord, at that time Srila Svarup Damodar helped Mahaprabhu in many ways. This is what we can remember. Actually, there are so many pastimes in his life. The main thing that we should remember is that Srila Svarup Damodar is an associate of Mahaprabhu, and Srila Svarup Damodar was Mahaprabhu's intimate associate during Mahaprabhu's hidden pastimes (guhyatama-lila). We remember Srila Svarup Damodar in this way...

Are there any other questions?

Question: How can we surrender properly? How can we become strong, always follow Guru's instruction and increase sincerity in the heart?

How to do that? Follow what Gurudev has told you. What do I show you? You can see that. You can see the example of Gurudev, how Gurudev surrendered to his Guru Maharaj. You can see the example of all guru-varga, how our great guru-varga surrendered to their Gurudev, and you will understand it easily. Gurudev told me two things, "If I tell you that the sun rises from the west, you must believe it. Also, suppose you are walking with Gurudev and suddenly say, 'Oh, Gurudev, there is a snake over there!' but if Gurudev says, 'No, it is not a snake, it is a rope,' you must believe it."

Question: We have heard that Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda Prabhu are the Supreme Lord, but this is only my understanding—how I can convert it from merely knowing it to realising it in the core of my heart?

Yes, it is a very nice desire. You can do it through service.

Always sing,

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য প্রভু দয়া কর মোরে
তোমা বিনা কে দয়ালু জগৎ মাঝরে

sri krsna chaitanya prabhu daya kara more
toma vina ke dayalu jagata majhare

O Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! Be merciful to me. Other than You, who is merciful in this world?

Always pray to the Lord. Always pray through Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's songs.

পরম করুণ পহুঁ দুই জন
নিতাই গৌরচন্দ্র ।
সব অবতার- সার শিরোমণি
কেবল আনন্দ কন্দ ॥

parama karuna pahu dui jana
nitai gaurachandra
saba avatara-sara siromani
kevala ananda-kanda

Nitai and Gaurachandra are the two most merciful Lords. They are the best, the crest-jewels, of all Avatars and the only source of joy.

Always sing this. Always pray, "When, Prabhu, will You place Your lotus feet on my head? When will You place Your lotus feet on my head? When will You engage me in Your service? I have no quality or qualification to serve You—but please engage me, please let me serve You!" Always pray to the Lord in this way, humbly. Everybody should pray to the Lord, "I always do some wrong. My habits are very bad! When I was young, when I was a baby, I acquired all sorts of bad habits, and my habits are still very bad, I cannot control myself. All my elements—my eyes, ears, etc.—go in a bad direction. Please show me the right way. How can I serve You? I have no quality, no qualification, I am such a tiny thing, I am such an incredibly low and small thing—please accept me as Your dog. Please..." Always pray and cry to the Lord in this way...

Another thing is that you must always give more importance to preaching programmes because:

“গোরার আমি, গোরার আমি” মুখে বলিলে নাহি চলে ।

গোরার আচার, গোরার বিচার লইলে ফল ফলে ॥

"gorara ami, gorara ami" mukhe balile nahi chale
gorara achara, gorara vichara la-ile phala phale

Just saying, "I am Gora's! I am Gora's!" does not do. Only when you follow Gora's practices and Gora's conception will you get the proper result.

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6)

We must follow what Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu have told us! What does Nityananda Prabhu sing?

ভজ গৌরাঙ্গ, কহ গৌরাঙ্গ, লহ গৌরাঙ্গের নাম রে
যে জন গৌরাঙ্গ ভজে, সেই আমার প্রাণ রে

bhaja gauranga, kaha gauranga, laha gaurangera nama re
ye jana gauranga bhaje, sei amara prana re

"Worship Gauranga! Say Gauranga! Take Gauranga's Name! Those who worship Gauranga are My heart and soul!"

This is what Nityananda Prabhu says. Our Param Guru Maharaj Om Vishnupad Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj always told in his later days, "I will not chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra any more. Now I will chant only 'Doyal Nitai, Nitai Gaura Hari bol, Doyal Nitai, Nitai Gaura Hari bol.'"

We always chant,

গুরুদেব!
কৃপাবিন্দু দিয়া কর এই দাসে
তৃণাপেক্ষা অতি দীন ।
সকল সহনে বল দিয়া কর
নিজমানে স্পৃহাহীন ॥

gurudeva!
krpa-bindu diya kara' ei dase
trnapeksa ati dina
sakala sahane bala diya kara
nija-mane sprha-hina

"O Gurudev! Give this servant a drop of your mercy, and make me more humble than a blade of grass. Please give me the power to tolerate everything and to be free from any selfish desires."

"When will I be able to tolerate everything? When will I be able to tolerate my Gurudev's chastisement? Please give me such power so that I can tolerate everything." Always think about this.

সর্ব্বস্ব তোমার চরণে সঁপিয়া
পড়েছি তোমার ঘরে ।
তুমি ত' ঠাকুর, তোমার কুকুর
বলিয়া জানহ মোরে ॥

sarvasva tomara, charane sapiya,
padechhi tomara ghare
tumi ta' thakura, tomara kukura,
baliya janaha more

"I have offered everything at Your feet and taken shelter in Your home. You are my Master; please consider me Your dog."

(Saranagati, 19)

"I am giving everything to you!"—do not only say it, you must actually do it. You say, "Yes, I am giving everything to you," but in the meantime you always keep the key with you. You say, "O Gurudev, everything is yours, all money is yours," and inside you think, "Yes, everything is yours, but the key from the place where I keep the money is with me." This is not surrender.

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