(1/5) Road to Home Is Paved with Hari-Kirtan

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Midnapore, 8 December 2020, evening, part 1
Translated from Bengali

After many days, we have got an opportunity to sit in front of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Vallabha jiu and speak some Hari-katha.

জীবন অনিত্য জানহ সার
তাহে নানাবিধ বিপদ-ভার ।
নামাশ্রয় করি' যতনে তুমি
থাকহ আপন কাজে ॥

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara
namasraya kari' yatane tumi
thakaha apana kaje

'Know that the main thing is that life is temporary and filled with all sorts of danger. Continue your life trying your best to take shelter of the Name.'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

This life is uncertain and full of many kinds of danger. We may have to leave this world at any time. At the same time, it is no use living for one hundred years. Even if you live here for only ten years, it is sufficient if you chant the Holy Name during this time.

I have been telling you for a long time that there is no use talking nonsense or hearing nonsense, there is no use worrying about fancy food and clothes.

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)

যস্য প্রসাদাদ্ভগবৎ-প্রসাদো
যস্যাপ্রসাদাৎ ন গতিঃ কুতোঽপি ।
ধ্যায়ং স্তুবংস্তস্য যশস্ত্রিসন্ধ্যং
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado
yasyaprasadat na gatih kuto 'pi
dhyayam stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

'I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, praising and meditating upon his glory at the three junctions of the day. By his grace, one gains the Lord's grace. If he is unsatisfied, one has no shelter anywhere.'

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam)

If you do not know your own address and do not try to find your own home, you will have to keep coming back to this material world, floundering in its bondage.

সংসার সংসার ক'রে মিছে গেল কাল ।
লাভ না হইল কিছু ঘটিল জঞ্জাল ॥

'samsara' 'samsara' kari' michhe gela kala
labha na ha-ila kichhu, ghatila janjala

'Time has passed as I have been busy with my material life, and the result is nothing—only garbage.'

কিসের সংসার এই, ছায়াবাজী প্রায় ।
ইহাতে মমতা করি' বৃথা দিন যায় ॥

kisera samsara ei chhayabaji praya
ihate mamata kari vrtha dina yaya

'What sort of world is this? It is only a trick, a show. While I affectionately take it as my own, days pass by in vain.'

দিন যায় মিছা কাজে নিশা নিদ্রাবশে ।
নাহি ভাবি মরণ নিকটে আছে বসে ॥

dina yaya michha kaje nisa nidra-base
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe base

'My days are passed in useless work and nights are wasted on sleeping. It never occurs to me that there is death sitting next to me.'

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We keep floating in the ocean of material existence life after life. Where is our home? We have got this human birth to search for it. Many people say, 'I am young now, so I will not practise spiritual life now. I will wait until I get old.' But when we become old, we feel sick, we cannot sit on the floor, we cannot walk much, we cannot see well, we lose teeth and cannot even chew prasad. This is the state we find ourselves in when we become old. 'Vrddha-kala aola, saba sukha bhagala, pida-vase ha-inu katara (বৃদ্ধকাল আওল, সব সুখ ভাগল, পীড়াবশে হইনু কাতর): now old age has come and all happiness has fled—distressed by diseases, I have become miserable' (Saranagati). When old age comes, all happiness will be gone and there will be only various diseases and health problems; we will not be able to practise Krishna consciousness.

We turned away from Krishna, but if, as we roam throughout various planets, we get some sadhu-sanga and find a genuine guru, if we can genuinely practise Krishna consciousness, we can return to our home and put an end to this miserable life. Do you know what makes Mahaprabhu happy most of all? Sankirtana-yajna (congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord). Mahaprabhu cannot be satisfied with anything else except for sankirtan. Therefore, we must worship the Lord with sankirtan, through the medium of kirtan. That is why I always tell you to chant kirtan. Always chant kirtans every morning and evening.

Pariksit Maharaj received a seven days' notice that he had to leave his body, but we will not receive this notice. We will not get even seven seconds. When the Lord sends Yamaraj after us, we will have to leave at once. If your fortune is good, then Yamaraj may not come after you because Yamaraj cannot touch all souls. That is why you must wear Tulasi neckbeads, you must chant the Holy Name on Tulasi beads. You always worry about money, food and clothes, who does not eat? Even cows get food to eat, even goats get food to eat, even pigs get food to eat...

Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Vallabha jiu and His Divine Grace Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj, the photographs were taken on the day this lecture was spoken.

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Length: 42 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Road to Home Is Paved with Hari-Kirtan
2) 'Wake Up!'
3) Appeal of Spiritual World
4) Search for Reality the Beautiful
5) Faith Is Not Idleness