(6/6) Appreciate Prasad-Seva

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Basirhat, 15 December 2020, evening, part 6
Translated from Bengali

We must chant the Holy Name, but how can we do it without offences? How can we leave offences? Do you realise that we are making so many offences? Do you remember what these offences are?

We have passed many lives amidst victories and defeats. Every day consists of twenty-four hours – every single day, the sun rises for twelve hours, and after that it starts setting, and another twelve hours pass. In the winter, the nights are longer, and in the summer, the days are longer and the nights are shorter. In this way, days are passing.

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)

It is uncertain when death will come, and when it comes, it will not give you any advance notice. The devotees of the Lord get some notice, they know, 'I will leave this world soon,' but such fallen souls as ourselves will never get such a notice. Therefore, we must chant the Holy Name.

For example, one of the offences we make is that we live off killing millions living entities. You eat rice, wheat, cabbage, fruit, you cut vegetables, dal, and so on. It is not like these things come out for you all to eat them; you have to cut these things (kill living entities). Even when you drink milk, you drink milk from a cow that eats grass. In this way, we live in this world killing millions of living entities. How can all this offence be removed? If you throw your life (your material life or family life) at the holy feet of the Lord. 'I am cooking for Govinda', 'I do farming for Govinda', 'I run a business for Govinda', 'I go to work for Govinda' – if you live like this and take the Lord's prasad, then it is possible. Do you live for eating or do you eat for living? You must eat only to upkeep your body (to survive) – do not live for eating. Srila Sridhar Maharaj often said, 'Die to live.' Do you live to die, or do you die to live?

We live in this world not for eating. We are alive, so we have to eat something, but what should we take? Prasad. 'Prasada-seva karite haya, sakala prapancha-jaya (প্রসাদ-সেবা করিতে হয় সকল প্রপঞ্চ জয়)—by honouring the Lord's prasad I conquer all worldly illusions' (Saranagati). What does prapancha mean? It means pancha-roga: avidya (ignorance), asmita (false identification), raga (misdirected love), dvesa (aversion to anything that goes against one's enjoyment), and abhinivesa (being unable to give up unfavourable habits).

For example, you are going down the street and see some singara (samosas) frying, so you think, 'I will have some.' I cannot prohibit you to eat singara, but you must buy it, bring it home, offer it, and then you can take prasad. You see some kachori, nimki, beguni (eggplant fritters) frying on the street – it is the same. Actually, you should not buy beguni because everybody has eggplants at home, so you can make it yourself. But you can buy singara. When you give something to the Lord, you yourself will feel pleased. Actually, I see that when you grow something and offer it to the Lord, it gives much pleasure, but when you buy something and offer it, it does not give so much pleasure. If you have some land, if you grow cabbage, patol, sem beans, eggplants and offer these things to the Lord, you will feel happy in your mind, but buying these things at the market does not bring so much happiness. If you make something yourself and offer it the Lord, the Lord will be happier. So, you can bring something from the market, cook it and offer it. But if you feel greedy to eat something and, for example, you cannot make singaras or some sweets yourself, then you can buy some singaras or sweets at a shop, bring them home and offer them to the Lord. The Lord is offered sweets. You may think, 'Oh, singaras are made by somebody else,' but sweets are also made by somebody else. And the people who make sweets make them with the same hand that they hold bidi (cigarettes) in. There was one devotee who liked eating singaras. One time, he bought some singaras at a shop, but when he broke one, he found a cigarette butt inside it! He showed it to me, and I asked him, 'Are you still going to continue eating singaras?' They smoke cigarettes and make singaras, and they do not even notice if anything falls into it. The people who make sweets, singaras and other things make them with the same hand that they use to cut and eat goats, chicken, fish and meat. If you can offer sweets made by such people to the Lord, then you can also offer singaras.

Devotee: Can we use green chilli on ekadasi?

Yes, you can.

Devotee: And calabash (chal kumro, চাল কুমড়া)?

Yes, you can use all vegetables. Do no worry about it. Because cabbage, cauliflower and other cruciferous or gourd-family vegetables have gas, that is why we always say to take potato cooked with black pepper. When people do not get rice and eat other things on empty stomach, they can have a problem with their stomaches, that is why it is good to use black pepper. I have diabetes, that is why I cannot take black pepper, I just take aloo dum (plain boiled potato chunks).

Devotee: Some say that it is not good to use green chilli.

No, you can use it. If you boil potato or vegetables with green chilli, it reduces gas.

Devotee: Can we use sago and dalia (ডালিয়া)?

Sago can be used, but you cannot use dalia because it is made from wheat and dal! I wrote everything at the end of calendars. Read it and you will see what can and cannot be taken. Green bananas, green pawpaw can be taken. You can take milk, curd, but do not buy sweets at shops on ekadasi.

Devotee: There is one more question. We can take milk on ekadasi, but sometimes they dilute it...

So, this is a problem then.

Devotee: Yes, and people say that we should not take milk.

Then do not take it if you are not sure or cannot find out for sure...

Devotee: Also, when they make rasagullas, they mix with curd with wheat flour...

Listen, if you are hungry, just take five kg of potato. I am diabetic, but I only eat two kg of potato on ekadasi. You know, come ekadasi, the Lord always gives me more work (I always have to go out in the car to many places), so I have to eat properly. I take potato.

Devotee: But can also take nuts...

Listen, nuts give gas, so I do not take nuts. Doctors also told me not to take it. But sometimes, my tongue is greedy, so I take a few on ekadasi.

Devotee: What about chana-dal?

No dal at all. Do not take it on ekadasi.

Devotee: What is the problem with green chilli?

There is no problem with green chilli.

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Length: 78 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Do Not Overstep Your Limit
2) Do You Ever Think of It?
3) Glories of Great Souls
4) Do Not Deflect
5) Preserving Purity
6) Appreciate Prasad-Seva