(2/4) Live for Service

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Evening programme, Tarakeshwar
21 November 2020, part 2
Translated from Bengali

মূকং করোতি বাচালং পঙ্গুং লঙ্ঘয়তে গিরিম্ ।
যৎকৃপা তমহং বন্দে শ্রীগুরুং দীনতারণম্ ॥

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

'The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill—all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First, I am offering my full obeisance at the lotus feet of my Divine Master Om Vishnupad Jagad-guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, begging him for his causeless mercy and aspiring to serve him; after that, I am offering my full obeisance to all the assembled guru-varga, all my godbrothers, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees and all the devotees. I am offering my obeisance at your holy feet and praying for your mercy to this lowly soul.

কৃষ্ণ যদি ছুটে ভক্তে ভুক্তি মুক্তি দিয়া ।
কভু ভক্তি না দেন রাখেন লুকাইয়া ॥

krsna yadi chhute bhakte bhukti mukti diya
kabhu prema-bhakti na dena rakhena lukaiya

'If devotees aspire for enjoyment or liberation, Krishna hides the knowledge about pure devotion from them and dismisses them, giving them enjoyment or liberation.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.8.18)

If we ask the Lord for enjoyment or liberation instead of devotion, He will give it to us, but He will not give us devotion. That is why we must never ask the Lord for any enjoyment. 'Give me this', 'Give me that' – never be like this. He will give you what you want, but you will lose devotion. We must always remember this. And another thing is this. When you were in Jagannath Puri, you saw Gambhira, where Mahaprabhu stayed. Mahaprabhu taught, 'You should accept an offence for the service of the Lord, but you should never accept any offence for your own enjoyment.' In other words, there is no objection if you commit some offence for the service of the Lord. The Lord Himself says, 'Even if My devotee makes some mistake or gets angry while doing My service, he is still My devotee.'

'Tomara sevaya yata haya duhkha, seo ta' parama sukha (তোমার সেবায় যত হয় দুঃখ, সেও ত' পরম সুখ): Even whatever unhappiness I feel when serving You is a source of great happiness for me' (Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur). If we are walking down the street and see some cows' dung or dogs' stool, we do not step on it but walk around it. In the same way, many obstacles and bad, dirty things will come on this path of devotion. We must avoid all that. We must not smear those things on our bodies. No matter what others may be doing, I must continue my Krishna consciousness life properly. Who said what behind my back, who said what to my face – I do not need to know all this. I will only continue practising Krishna consciousness properly. That is why it is said, 'Tomara sevaya yata haya duhkha, seo ta' parama sukha (তোমার সেবায় যত হয় দুঃখ, সেও ত' পরম সুখ): Even whatever unhappiness I feel when serving You is a source of great happiness for me.' We will happily accept whatever austerity comes.

So, why did Mahaprabhu say that we can accept any offence for the service of the Lord?

One day, after dancing and chanting the whole day, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu fell in the doorway of His room in Gambhira. Govinda served Mahaprabhu every day, and he would massage His feet. He did not use any oil or water, he only massaged His legs with his hands. That day, when he came to Gambhira, he saw Mahaprabhu lying in the doorway and thought, 'I do this service every day, but today I cannot come inside the room because Prabhu is lying in the doorway. Should I stop my service today then?' This is nistha. There are nine stages of devotion:

আদৌশ্রদ্ধা ততঃ সাধুসঙ্গোঽথ ভজনক্রিয়া ।
ততোঽনর্থনিবৃত্তিঃ স্যাৎ ততো নিষ্ঠা রুচিস্ততঃ ॥
অথাসক্তিস্ততো ভাবস্ততঃ প্রেমাভ্যুদঞ্চতি ।
সাধকানাময়ং প্রেম্ণঃ প্রাদুর্ভাবে ভবেৎ ক্রমঃ ॥

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha bhajana-kriya
tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha ruchis tatah
athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudanchati
sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah

'First, there is faith; then, saintly association and practising life. After that, unwanted habits gradually go away, spiritual life becomes stable, and spiritual taste comes. Then comes attachment, feeling and finally transcendental love. This is how love for the Lord comes to those who practise Krishna consciousness.'

(Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, 1.4.15-16)

Nistha means sincerity: I do my service every day, and I will continue doing it no matter what, I will never stop it. No matter what obstacles or problems come, I will never stop my service – by hook or by crook, I will continue doing it.

So, Govinda thought, 'How can I cross Prabhu? It is a sin.'

'Prabhu, please move a little bit inside the room. Let me go inside,' Govinda asked Mahaprabhu.

'What for will you go inside?' Mahaprabhu asked.

'I have my service, and I do it every day. Should I not do it today?' Govinda replied.

'This is your problem. Whether you do it or not do it and how you will do it or not, it is your matter. I am very tired, I cannot move because My whole body is sore.' Mahaprabhu was testing him.

Govinda thought, 'All right. I cannot stop my service to the Lord.' He put a cloth on top of Mahaprabhu's body and, crossing Him, entered the room. Collecting whatever dust fell on the cloth, he put it on his head to make sure that no dust fell on Mahaprabhu's body. After that, he massaged Mahaprabhu's body nicely. Then, he sat at a wall and dozed off. In the middle of the night, at about two o'clock, Mahaprabhu woke up and saw Govinda sitting in His room.

'What has happened, Govinda? Why are you still sitting here? Have you not taken prasad? Have you not gone to take rest? Why are you sitting here like this?' Mahaprabhu asked Govinda.

'Prabhu, how can I go? You are lying in the doorway, then how can I go to take prasad or rest?'

'Then how did you come inside?'

'Prabhu, I crossed You when I came in, and I would have to cross You again to come out. I cross You for Your service, but I cannot cross You for the pleasure of my senses (to eat, sleep and so on). I came for Your service, and even if I have committed a sin, I do not care, but I cannot cross You for my own pleasure.'

That is why it is said that you should accept an offence for the service of the Lord, but you should never accept any offence for your own enjoyment. But we do just the opposite...

— : • : —

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Length: 119 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) My Worst Misfortune
2) Live for Service
3) Remembering Gadadhar Pandit
4) Advaita Acharya's Mystic Personality