Spiritual Sustenance:
Association and Service Mood

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata-Worldwide, 23 August 2020, part 1

I see your smiling faces, your service mood faces, and I feel very happy.

Practitioners always want to stay in good association, that is their main view, main aim in spiritual life. Good association is necessary, good association always gives us very important good example, much enthusiasm and energy in our spiritual life. So, we always want good association. Gurudev also always says that we must always engage ourselves in service mood, we must always stay within service connection. You must try to do whatever service you do, whatever service you have the right to do, whatever service you have got under guidance of a bona fide Vaishnav or a bona fide Guru. That should be your main goal in your spiritual life.

Everybody gets a good result through service mood. We can see the example of Pandavas—they are always with Krishna, and they have got a good result. Those who are always in Krishna consciousness attain a good result. Wherever there is a Vaishnav, wherever there is connection with a Vaishnav, connection with great devotees, it will always be good for us. So, we must be always determined, we must always be intent on good association. It is necessary to have a good intention to become a good devotee. That is the main thing in our spiritual life.

If we do not engage ourselves in the service of the Lord, then the purpose and meaning of this human life will not be fulfilled. You have got this life to engage yourself, as well as other jiva souls, in the service of the Lord. Even if you make garlands, if you do Tulasi-seva, if you take care of the garden, pick flowers for the Lord, for the Guru, and for Vaishnavs, you can use all the trees and plants in the service of the Lord in this way. We can even use fruit trees for the service of the Lord when we offer fruit to the Lord. Everything can be and should be utilised in the service of the Lord. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur says that so many things exist and happen in this world by the will of Krishna—so many jiva souls exist in this world, and Krishna takes them for His service. All jiva souls come to this world for Krishna's service. Those who have got a human body—who have got intelligence, some good association and who have got proper teachings through that good association—use everything for the service of the Lord.

I went to a preaching programme at one house here in India last year. In that house, there are some mangoes trees, and there were so many mangoes on the trees—when we were walking by, we touched the mangoes with our heads! There was a little boy of perhaps four-five years old in that family. I asked him, "Why do you not pick the mangoes?" The boy replied, "Grandfather said they were for Krishna. When they are ripe, we will pick them and give them to Krishna." They learn these things because this is a devotees' house and the devotees teach their children in this way.

So, if you do not practise properly yourself, how will your children practise then? If you practise properly, if you give honour to Vaishnavs, etc., then your son, your daughter will also learn from you that you must give respect to Vaishnavs, that you must be humble, tolerant, and give honour to others. They will learn from you if you show them a good example. We have much responsibility for our children—if you live a family life and only produce a baby without taking care of the child, it is not good; you must teach your children everything. You must teach your children what is necessary for Krishna consciousness life from their childhood. If you yourself practise and learn properly, then you will be able to teach your children properly too, and then your children will become devotees. That is the main point.

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