Root of Devotion

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata—Worldwide, 18 October 2020, part 3

Question: Srila Sridhar Maharaj told Srila Govinda Maharaj that he would live until eighty-two years old, and he did. How many years did your Gurudev, Srila Govinda Maharaj, tell you that you would live?

Gurudev did not tell me that. Gurudev only said, "Krishna will save you." I never asked Gurudev, "How many years will I live?" Srila Gurudev told Srila Guru Maharaj, "You are giving me this position, but my horoscope says I will not live more than fifty or fifty-five," and Srila Sridhar Maharaj said to Gurudev, "Throw your horoscope away! I am giving you eighty-two years of life!" Gurudev saw my hand, but I never asked him how many years I would live. One day, he told me, "Bring your hands here." When I showed him my hands, he said, "Oh! Brihaspati is tunge." I asked him, "What does Brihaspati mean?" He said, "It means guru-kripa. Guru-kripa is very powerful [tunge—at its peak] in your life." After that, he told me, "Krishna will protect you, Guru Maharaj will protect you." He did not tell me how many years I would live and I never asked it either. I always think that it does not matter how many years I will live, it is not a question, the main question for me is how much service I can do for my Guru. I do not want to live two hundred years, all I want is to serve my Guru for as long as I am alive, until my death. This is the main thing for me.

Question: I have accidentally got Srila Prabhupad's book wet. What should I do with the book?

You must dry the book and keep it safe! These books are grantha, they are non-different from the Lord. We must always keep properly and give respect to the books written, composed by our guru-varga. These are not ordinary books. They are grantha. Always make a good place to keep them and keep them well, protect them. It will be good for you. Give proper respect to grantha. There is grantha-bhagavat and there is vaishnav-bhagavat—Bhagavatam manifests itself in a book form and as a Vaishnav, they are non-different.

Question: How can we recognise our anarthas?

It is easy to recognise it. Always see your own fault, stop seeing others' faults, then you will recognise your anarthas. I told you yesterday that Krishna lives in every living entity (sarva jive Krishna adhisthan), but along with that there can also be some demoniac propensity (asurik pravritti) in the living being. It is easy to recognise your anarthas. Ask yourself, "Are any material desires coming to you or not? Does your heart or mind always want to chant the Holy Name or not? Do you always remember Krishna or not? Do you always remember your family or Krishna's family? Do you remember devotees' circle much or do you have much affection for your parents, family, etc.?" Ask yourself and you can easily understand it. Also, Gurudev says that as soon as you see some little anartha is coming, you must finish it at the root (nip it in the bud). It is very important. You must finish anarthas at the root. The main thing here is guru-kripa and vaishnav-kripa. It is necessary to have guru-kripa and vaishnav-kripa (mercy of your Gurudev and mercy of Vaishnavs).

মায়ারে করিয়া জয় ছাড়ান না যায় ।
সাধু-গুরুর কৃপা বিনা না দেখি উপায় ॥

mayare kariya jaya chhadana na yaya
sadhu-gurur krpa vina na dekhi upaya

"It is not possible to conquer maya by engaging in maya. I see no other way to get relief except for the mercy of sadhus."

('Ki rupe paibe seva', Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

If you want to conquer illusory environment, it is necessary to have the mercy of Guru and Vaishnavs, sadhus and Vaishnavs. For example, if you damage the root of a tree, the tree will slowly dry. In the same way, if you have no guru-kripa, your bhakti-lata-bij (seed of the creeper of devotion) will slowly dry up. Guru-kripa is the root of your bhakti-lata-bij (your creeper of devotion). If you cut your creeper at the root, your devotion, your practice will dry just like a tree dries up when uprooted.

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