Internal and External Evolution

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Govardhan Puja Adhivas day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 15 November 2020, part 6

Question: I was reading a book where it is said that sraddha is faith, and nistha is also faith...

No, nistha means sincerity. It means always doing your service—no matter what kind of problems may come, you will not leave your service. Today doing, tomorrow not doing—not like that. You are an eternal servant, you are not a servant for two hours. You must identify yourself as an eternal servant.

Devotee: It is also said there that as a consequence of not chanting with attention, devotees become lazy, lose enthusiasm, and use up the facilities of their devotional life.

Yes, that is correct. It is very easy to understand this. Sometimes, devotees do not feel enthusiasm because not everybody has the same qualities, not everybody has the same enthusiasm. So, sometimes, somebody becomes lazy or late, etc. It happens. I can give you an example. Suppose you must come to the train station to catch an eight o'clock train, but because of your laziness you reach the station fifteen minutes late. The train has already left, and you may have no patience and become angry, "Ugh, I am going back home!" and somebody else may think, "Well, I will wait for the next train. When the next train comes, I can catch it, never mind I am late." So, there are these three kinds of people (who catch the right train, who catch the train but late, and those who have no patience and simply give up). Everybody wants to get to their destination, but some come late or miss their train...

It is said in the scriptures,

জলজা নবলক্ষাণি স্থাবরা লক্ষবিংশতি
কৃময়োরুদ্রসঙ্খকাঃ পক্ষিণাং দশলক্ষনম্
ত্রিংশললক্ষাণি পশবঃ চতুরলক্ষাণি মানুষাঃ

jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati
krmayo rudra-sankhyakah paksinam dasa-laksanam
trimsal-laksani pasavah chatur-laksani manusah

"There are 900,000 species living in the water. There are also 2,000,000 nonmoving living entities, such as trees and plants. There are also 1,100,000 species of insects and reptiles, and there are 1,000,000 species of birds. As far as quadrupeds are concerned, there are 3,000,000 varieties, and there are 400,000 human species."

(Padma Purana)

There are 3,000,000 kinds of beasts and 400,000 kinds of human species. By a great fortune, we not only have got a human body, but we have also got the association of our Gurudev. We may not have been born in India, but we have still got the association of Gurudev and the association of Vaishnavs who are enriched with great qualities. Through this association we can reach our real goal. Where is that place? That place is Goloka Vrindavan. There, you can get anything you ask for. If you ask a banana tree for an apple, you will get it; if you ask a jackfruit tree for a mango, you will get a mango. That place is so sweet—there is happiness, joy, transcendental love and beauty in that place. Everything is there. We always hanker for something in this world, we always hanker for love and affection and we fight so much in this world for love and affection, but we can easily get it all there, in Goloka Vrindavan, if you can reach it.

Devotee: The term that is used in the book is 'taranga-rangini'...

Yes, I always say 'taranga-sraddha.' 'Taranga' means 'a wave'. When there is a festival, like Gaura Purnima, so many people come from all over Bengal, India and the West—so many people come, join and chant, "Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol!" They become engulfed by this wave (taranga) and enjoy with it (rangini), but after the festival finishes, they go back to maya—they become attacked by the illusory environment. This is what is called taranga-sraddha, or taranga-rangini. ('Taranga' means 'a wave,' and 'rangini' means getting much pleasure when a wave comes.)

When we sing, we feel so much pleasure that we forget our house, we forget everything. When we do parikrama, we forget everything at that time. That is why, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says,

ara ye samsara mora nahi lage bhala
kanha yai, krsna heri e chinta visala

And I do not like this material world any more. Where shall I go to see Krishna? This is my biggest concern.

(Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Question: (from a young devotee): Why do animals have to be human to chant Hare Krishna? They can speak their own language and could chant in their own language.

Everybody wants to evolve and develop. An animal's brain is not the same as a human body's brain. If you tell an animal to chant Hare Krishna, it will not be able to chant. Perhaps, there are some birds, like parrots, that can chant Hare Krishna, but as soon as you threat them, they will make a lot of bird's noise. It happens like this even in this human world. Gurudev also says that somebody can be chanting Hare Krishna, but if you give them a slap or punch them into the stomach, they will not chant Hare Krishna—they will cry, "Oh, it hurts!" and call out, "O mother! O father!" However, if somebody has a proper brain, then they will not leave chanting Hare Krishna—no matter what condition comes, they will always chant the Holy Name.

It is said in scriptures (all the rishis and munis say) that one gets a human body after having changed so many other bodies. Moreover, even Lord Krishna Himself says that from all His pastimes, His human body pastimes are His favourite ("Krsnera yateka khela sarvottama nara-lila, nara-vapu tahara svarupa. There are so many pastimes of Lord Krishna, but among all these pastimes, His human pastimes are the highest. His original form is that of a human being.")

Krishna appears as Nrisinghadev, Varahadev, Vamandev, Jagannath, but Krishna says that His pastimes in a human body are His favourite and very dear to Him. Even Krishna Himself prefers a human body.

So, birds, beasts, etc. are evolving, they are developing their brain and knowledge, and after that they may get a human body one day through some sukriti. Even when one gets a human body, one can still go down and get a cat's or a dog's body after that.

When you grow up a little, you will understand it, and you can also gradually read more and more. Actually, you can understand everything by the mercy of Gurudev, it does not depend on your age—it depends on your sukriti, faith, and association. Children can get a great benefit through their parents' association. This is how they will develop a proper mood. You know, Vyasadev's son Sukadev Goswami was sixteen years old and he possessed all knowledge. In Mahaprabhu's time also there was His associate (parsada), Sivananda Sen's son Puri Das—he also got that kind of knowledge and brain, he could at once recite Srimad Bhagavatam slokas in front of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, even thought he was only five or seven years old at that time.

OK, I am finishing here for today. Please accept my obeisance and forgive my offences.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay.

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