(3/8) Learn to Call the Lord

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Noon preaching programme in Adra,
13 November 2020, part 3
Translated from Bengali

[His Divine Grace remarks during kirtans.]

You must call the Lord by His Name. When you have children at home, you call them by their names, and you keep calling them until they turn. You must show the same for the Lord – you must call out to Him until He turns. You cannot do this just by clapping your hands – you must call Him with your mouth. You can clap your hands, but you must be chanting the Lord's Name at this time. You have heard us chant now kirtans in glorification of Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu, Vaishnavs. You cannot chant with us, but you can see foreign devotees sitting with us – they are chanting them in Bengali, and they know all these kirtans by heart. They come from thousands of miles, from so far, but they can sing with us. They have learnt it. We have small kirtan books. Get these books and chant five kirtans every morning and evening. I know that not everybody can buy the big Gaudiya Gitanjali books, so I have made small books. Keep them at your homes and chant kirtans in the morning and evening. It is not necessary to sing well. When you call the Lord, you do not need to show any tune. When you call your children at home, do you do it with some tune? You don't. In the same way, when you call the Lord, you do not need any tune, karatals or mridangas. If you do not play the kartals or mridanga, you can just clap and sing. All right?

[His Divine Grace resumes chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.]

Listen to some Hari-katha now, and after that there will be the bhoga-arati. Please listen quietly, do not speak.

গ্রাম্যকথা না শুনিবে, গ্রাম্যবার্ত্তা না কহিবে ।
ভাল না খাইবে আর ভাল না পরিবে ॥
অমানী মানদ হঞা কৃষ্ণনাম সদা ল'বে ।
ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ সেবা মানসে করিবে ॥

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

'Do not listen to village talks, do not speak about village news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself and give all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krishna and serve Radha-Krishna in your mind.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.236-237)

Mahaprabhu told this to Srila Raghunath Das Goswami.

What makes Gaurasundar happy? Sankirtan-yajna. Sankirtan-yajna means chanting kirtan together. When devotees gather together and chant about the Lord, it makes Gaurasundar very happy. We must glorify Him.

You like to sit and chat in chai shops in the evenings. And women gather at their homes and discuss what their daughters-in-law did, what problems they have and so on. What do you get by talking all this nonsense? Nothing. Discussing others, criticising others does not give anything. Instead of this, stay at home and chant some kirtan in the evening, read some scriptures. Wake up early in the morning and chant kirtan again, do service and go to work if you work. Offer bhog to the Lord and take prasad. 'Ye dina grhe bhajana dekhi grhete goloka bhaya (যে দিন গৃহে ভজন দেখি গৃহেতে গোলোক ভায়). Any day there is devotional service at home, I see Goloka manifest itself in it.'

[Clamour.] Quiet please. Do not speak. My God, these old people will die in a few days, but they are talking at this time. [His Divine Grace chuckles gently.]

...Whenever Krishna consciousness is practised at home, your home can become Goloka. You may think, 'Can the Lord come to stay in such a poor house, in this mud hut?' What does the Lord say?

ভক্তের জিনিষ প্রভু লুটিপুটি খায়
অভক্তের জিনিষ প্রভু উলটি নাহি খায়

bhakter jinish prabhu lutiputi khay
abhakter jinish prabhu ulti nahi khay

'The Lord eats anything and everything when a devotee offers it, but the Lord does not want to take anything from a non-devotee.'

(Based on Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.9.185)

'A non-devotee can stay in a grand ten-floor building, but I do not stay there. Where do I stay? I stay wherever Nityananda Prabhu is dancing, at the kitchen of Sachi Mata, at the house of Srivas Pandit and at the house of Sri Raghav Pandit.'

[Clamour again.] Again talking? If you keep talking, I will get angry. Do not speak during the class. The Lord has given you a mouth to speak about Him, to speak Krishna-katha. He did not give you a mouth to speak nonsense, this and that. It is necessary to speak very little. The Lord has given you a mouth to speak about Him, He has given you eyes to see His Deity, He has given you ears to hear about Him, He has given you hands to serve Him, He has given you legs to circumambulate His holy places. Your legs are for going to the places where the Lord has visited and is present, to visit the places where Vaishnavs stay.

দিনের মধ্যে আবল-তাবল
কত পচাল পাড়িতে পর
তার মধ্যে কি একবার
গোবিন্দ বলিতে নার ?!

dinera madhye abala-tabala
kata pachala padite para
tara madhye ki eka-bara
govinda balite nara ?!

'How much nonsense you can talk every day! How many idle talks you have! Can you not say the Name of Govinda even once?'

We speak so much, but 'Krishna, Krishna' never comes to our mouths because we do not get into this habit. It is necessary to practise. Practice makes perfect. What is the first word babies say? 'Ma'. They first learn to call their mothers or fathers. In previous ages, dogs, goats, sheep and cats also used to be able to call their parents. This was first they learnt too. So, if you do not learn to call the Lord, you can never learn to chant the Lord's glories.

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Sincerely, Conscientiously and Without Offences
2) Greatest Benefactors
3) Learn to Call the Lord
4) Loving Service Connection
5) Exclusive Enquiry
6) Rare Birth, Rare Gift
7) Devotional Progress
8) Step on Clean Path