Blossomed Relationship

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata-Worldwide, 9 August 2020, part 3

Question: If someone feels guilty for making some mistake, what can they do to remove that feeling of remorse?

If you think you are guilty, you have made a mistake, then you must never make that mistake again—if you think you are guilty, then next time you will not do that wrong again. That is the main thing.

Gurudev and Guru Maharaj always take clean service, but we cannot do proper, clean service. Does it mean that we will not do any service? No, that is not correct. Gurudev has given me some service, I may be not qualified, I may be unable to do it, but I will still try to do it because Gurudev has given me that service.

Sometimes also, you always do something wrong, you are always guilty, but you think that Gurudev could not see it. This is not so. Gurudev knows everything. You do wrong once, you do wrong twice, ten times, twenty times, a hundred times, and you are not trying to correct yourself. That is not good. If you think you did wrong and you feel guilty, then correct yourself, do not do it again. That will be perfect for you.

Question: What thought, or feeling, is appropriate—that Gurudev is mine or that am I Gurudev's?

Gurudev is mine, I am his property—I am not anyone else's property, I am his property. He can use me as he likes—he can use me as his own property as he likes.

Devotee: I think the question is coming because a few times recently and also in Guidance 4, you had said that we should have this feeling that 'Gurudev is mine,' so perhaps the question is whether we should feel that 'Gurudev is mine' or that 'I am Gurudev's'?

I am Gurudev's. Yes. It means 'I am Gurudev's property!' 'I am Gurudev's' is correct, but not that 'I am a Guru!' Gurudev is mine and I am Gurudev's property. Both is correct. There is no contradiction. The question is how many per cent devotees can feel that? I know very well 'my parents,' 'my sister,' 'my husband,' 'my wife'—these are mine, but we do not think that the Lord is mine, that Gurudev is mine...

Devotee: In the material world, when people think something belongs to them, they often try to exploit it, try to get or take something from it, so that conception of 'Gurudev is mine' seems to almost have that concept of trying to take something from Gurudev, which is obviously not correct...

'Gurudev is mine' does not mean taking something from him. Sometimes, we take his advice, we take his guidance—these things are necessary for a disciple because then Gurudev can chastise them, Gurudev can guide them. At the same time, we sometimes do something wrong and Gurudev tolerates it because such is the Guru's quality—he is always tolerant with his disciples. We do so many things wrong, but Gurudev tolerates it.

We will never take anything from Gurudev for our own purpose. At the same time, for example, a sannyasi or a brahmachari live in the temple—they have left everything and come to live in the temple, so they will have to use all the temple property. Everything in a temple is Gurudev's property, but disciples sometimes use it for service—sometimes they use a car, sometimes they use a room, etc. There are many things one needs to use, what can you do? A sannyasi or a brahmachari has left everything, has left his house and come to surrender fully—they come empty-handed to Gurudev, so they will have to use Gurudev's property. What is the problem? After all, Gurudev is mine...

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