(5/5) Priorities in Life

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Tarakeshwar, evening class, 11 July 2020, part 5
Translated from Bengali

...[Addressing a newcomer] It is hard when you live in a family because you cannot eat vegetarian food, there are always fights.

Newcomer: They do not eat meat.

Meat, fish, etc. are all the same. Those who eat meat eat their own flesh. It is written in Manu-samhita. It is the same with fish – if you eat fish, you are eating your own flesh because this body is composed of five elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether – ক্ষিতির, আপস, তেজো, মরুদ, ব্যোম), so when a goat, a fish or a human dies, their bodies are mixed with soil. Dead bodies merge into soil and become again produced from soil [through grains]. So, when you kill a chicken, goat or fish, you cannot kill the soul of that animal or fish – you will kill only the body, and the soul of the animal will get another body. After you eat that animal, it will come out of your body as stool and will again mix with soil – worms and other insects will eat it. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If I kill something, it will come and kill me later. If I slaughter a goat, it will come and slaughter me later (for example, that goal will become a human, and I will be born as a goat to be eaten by that human). So, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Every living being has a soul, but the problem is that people cannot leave their greed.

কাম-ক্রোধ আদি ছয় বাটপাড়ে দেয় ভয়
অবসান হৈল আসি বেলা

kama-krodha-adi chaya batapare deya bhaya
avasana haila asi bela

'I am attacked by the six highway robbers lead by kama and krodha, and my life is coming to its end...'

(Sri Gitavali, Sri Siksastaka, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We are full of kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya (desire, anger, greed, illusion, madness, envy), rupa, rasa, gandha, sabda, sparsa (seeking pleasures of eyes, taste, smell, ear and touch).

জিহ্বার লালসে যেই ইতি-উতি ধায় ।
শিশ্নোদরপরায়ণ সে কৃষ্ণ নাহি পায় ॥

jihvara lalase yei iti-uti dhaya
sisnodara-parayana se krsna nahi paya

'One who is subservient to the tongue and who thus goes here and there, devoted to the genitals and the belly, cannot attain Krishna.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.227)

If you honour (serve) mahaprasad, your soul can become purified. 'Prasada-seva karite haya sakala prapancha-jaya (প্রসাদ-সেবা করিতে হয় সকল প্রপঞ্চ জয়): by honouring the Lord's prasad I shall conquer all worldly illusions' (Saranagati). I am stricken with five material diseases of ignorance (avidya) false identification (asmita), misdirected love (raga), aversion to anything that goes against one's enjoyment (dvesa) and being unable to give up unfavourable habits (abhinivesa) – how is possible to become cured from these diseases? By honouring, or serving, maha-prasad. We must give up eating what is not offered to the Lord (anivedya-vastu tyaga). Even when you drink a glass of water, you must remember the Lord and your Gurudev. When you are on the street and need to eat something, you can buy some fruit and, offering it mentally to your Gurudev, take it. Always offer bhog (unoffered items) to the Lord and then take prasad, remembering your Gurudev. Follow this, it will be good.

Does any mother want her son to become a sadhu and live by begging? It is very rare. No wife will agree to give her husband away to the temple. Husbands and wives always want to enjoy. Even when the husband retires, his wife takes half of his pension. There is no peace.

বিষয়ীর অন্ন খাইলে মলিন হয় মন ।
মলিন মন হৈলে, নহে কৃষ্ণ-নাম গ্রহণ ॥

visayira anna khaile malina haya mana
malina mana haile, nahe krsna-nama grahana

'If you eat the food that comes from materialistic people, your mind becomes contaminated. When your mind is contaminated, you cannot chant the Name of Krishna.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.278)

If people eat unoffered food, the Holy Name will not comes out of their mouths. Why is it so? Because they eat what their wives feed them...

You are young now, what I am telling you is that you can come to this path, you can take initiation. I will find you a good wife who will offer bhog, and you will be able to practise properly. I do not have any objection.

In spiritual life, you must always associate with pure devotees. The people of Kali-yuga do not want to practise Krishna consciousness, that is why Krishna consciousness is always getting more and more scarce...

Hari bol! Please take care of yourself and please come on the Janmastami to the temple. We will have a festival here.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

[His Divine Grace then chants 'E-ghora samsare padiya manava' and 'Hari Haraye Krsna' and finished the evening class.]

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 41.2 Mb
Length: 81 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Love for Service
2) Practise and Preach
3) Remember Your Nitya Svarup
4) Life in Remembrance
5) Priorities in Life