(4/7) Make Kirtan Your All-In-All

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Evening class, Sri Nrisingha Palli
3 November 2020, part 4
Translated from Bengali

Gaudiya Math managers often write letters saying, 'Prabhu! You have kept me here amidst so many disturbances, but servitors do not listen to me. I am toiling here alone!' Such complaints come all the time. The servitors also say all the time, 'Prabhu! I cannot stay with the temple manager. I have to wear torn clothes. When I am sick, he does not give me medicine. He does not give me proper food. And so on.' There are so many complaints. Practising devotees, temple managers, temple servitors should not have this mood. Service is never without problems. When you serve Deities, you have to serve even amidst problems. I will suffer all the problems myself not to cause any problem to Gurudev and Vaishnavs – such mood is the ideal of practising devotees. Service means not giving any anxiety to Gurudev and Vaishnavs. 'In the course of service, whatever problem comes, let it come, I will continue trying to please my Master amidst it.' One day or another, you must get the result of such service. One day, the Lord will give such a servitor a place in the transcendental world – He will take him on His lap.

The highest worship of Sri Gaurasundar is done through sankirtan. Sankirtan of pure Vaishnavs gives Sri Gaurasundar the highest satisfaction. It is quite easy to serve and worship Sri Gaurasundar through sankirtan; moreover, sankirtan's power of appeal is much stronger. If you chant the Holy Name, it makes it easy to practise devotional life. Through just a little practice you can get divine love and joy. Sankirtan is the highest worship of Sri Gaurasundar. This is the truth – this is indicated by Sri Sri Gaurasundar Himself. He takes this pleasure: whoever chants His Name gets easily hijacked. If you chant the Holy Name with your very being, with joy in your heart, it attracts Lord Sri Gaurasundar. You study scriptures for three–four hours a day, but you can get even a greater benefit if you chant the Holy Name with heart and soul for just half an hour.

The Holy Name cleanses the heart and lets one taste nectar. By studying scriptures you cannot get direct service, but if you chant the Holy Name, you can get everything directly. Chanting the Holy Name increases the joy in the Lord's heart – He cannot turn His eyes and look in another direction when one chants His Holy Name. That which you cannot get by practising yoga, sacrifices, meditation, etc. can be attained easily and more amply through chanting. This is Sri Sri Gaurasundar's incredible gift.

When you chant kirtan, it is necessary to do it with heart and soul. Heart is the most important ingredient of kirtan – not tune, rhythm, measure or tempo. Just as in cooking, salt is the main ingredient. If you put all the spices but do not put salt, your cooking will be inedible. If your heart is clean, you can easily chant with heart and soul. Therefore, heart is the most important thing in chanting and dancing.

Deity worship is quite troublesome – offering worship, shopping, cooking! But the result of chanting and dancing is greater than the result of serving a Deity. Worshipping Deities is for householders because if they do not worship Deities, they will be stealing and eating things stealthily. If they worship Deities, they will offer bhoga to the Deities first and then take prasad. It is said in the scriptures that if a householder has money, they must worship Deities. Mental Deity worship is theoretical, there is nothing tangible in it. I do not like it because this is like an exercise of intelligence or knowledge. It is necessary to do everything practically, in reality.

You must read Guidance 4 carefully. Try to understand the meaning of what is said here. These things are written very beautifully, but it is necessary to read these things very carefully.

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Worship Gauranga
2) Keep Your Fire Ablaze
3) Happiness Is Service
4) Make Kirtan Your All-In-All
5) Qualification for Kirtan
6) Sadhus' Surrender
7) You Must Want To Learn