(11/11) Six Good Qualities

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, 20 December 2020, noon, part 11
Translated from Bengali

There is one boy from Midnapore who heard my lectures in the internet and decided to join the Mission. He got 96% in the matriculation exam and 95% in the high secondary exam (his result is higher than even mine – His Divine Grace chuckles). He called me yesterday and said that he wanted to leave everything and come to stay with me. I told him I was in Uluberia and that he could come. He was not able to get a train yesterday, so he spend the night at the train station and came to the temple today. His parents came running to bring him back... My parents even made the sraddha ceremony for me (last rites) because they had not heard from me for fifteen years. This boy came at a young age, so I told him to learn and to chant the Holy Name.

It is necessary to practise spiritual life from an early age. When you become old and bring something nice to the Lord but you bring it limping and panting, will the Lord like it?

I was also told, 'Why have you come to the temple at this early age? You can come when you get old.' When you get old, your legs will not move, your teeth will fall out, your nose will be leaking. Have you seen an old person? You say that you will worship the Lord when you are old, but when you are old, you will go to 'pick patol' (kick the bucket) in two days. No. You must come to Krishna consciousness when you are young, then the Lord will be happy with it. Suppose you cook some subji. If you make it using nice fresh vegetables, it will come out very nice; but if you use dry ten- or fifteen-day-old vegetables, neither the Lord nor you will like to eat this subji. So, if you think that you will put tilaks and practise spiritual life when you are old, you must think what will become of you when you are old, when your teeth fall out.

Guru Maharaj told us once about a man who used to do Kali-puja at his home. The man would donate a goat every year, but at some point he stopped doing it. Why? Because this man had lost all his teeth! 'I cannot eat, then why must I donate a goat?' So, such people think, 'If I can eat it, I will give it to the Lord, and now that I have no teeth, why will I give it to the Lord?'

If somebody tells you, 'Why have you come at this early age?' you must tell them these things. Can you use old, dried-up things in the Lord's service? The Lord will also say, 'This old man/lady is no good. They cannot even do anything! What will they do to serve Me?' If you try to practise Krishna consciousness before it is too late, then you will have some foundation – you will be able to do some service, you can stir the pots, and so on. But if you start when you are old and cannot see well, how will cook? You can chop off your hand! You will not be able to wash the dishes or to sweep. How will you serve the Lord, tell me? When you are old and eat too much, your stomach will burn or grow too big...

So, we were singing:

ছয় বেগ দমি' ছয় দোষ শোধি
ছয় গুণ দেহ দাসে ।
ছয় সৎসঙ্গ দেহ হে আমারে
বসেছি সঙ্গের আশে ॥

chhaya vega dami' chhaya dosa sodhi'
chhaya guna deha' dase
chhaya sat-sanga deha' he amare
basechhi sangera ase

'Please subjugate the six urges, rectify the six defects and bestow the six good qualities upon this servant. Please give me the six kinds of good association. I am waiting and yearning for this association.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

The six faults are the thing that are unfavourable to devotion, and the six good qualities are the things that are favourable to devotion. What are these six good qualities?

(1) Utsaha, enthusiasm, or eagerness. For example, you show eagerness and enthusiasm when your gurudev is coming to the temple. Always be enthusiastic, always be eager to chant kirtan, to see gurudev.

(2) Drdha visvasa, firm faith. 'Gurudev (or the Lord) said that if we practise Krishna consciousness, we can reach our own home. Gurudev has said it, so some day or another I must get there, provided I can practise Krishna consciousness properly!' It is necessary to have this kind of faith.

'শ্রদ্ধা' শব্দে—বিস্বাস কহে সুদৃঢ় নিশ্চয় ।
কৃষ্ণে ভক্তি কৈলে সর্ব্বকর্ম্ম কৃত হয় ॥

'sraddha'-sabde—visvasa kahe sudrdha nischaya
krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya

'Sraddha is a firm, determined faith that by serving Krishna all actions are accomplished.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.62)

When will all actions become accomplished? When I am able to serve the Lord.

(3) Dhairya, patience. Many lose patience. 'I took initiation many days ago, I have been practising Krishna consciousness all the time, but I am not getting any result!' – people think in this way, and when many kinds of problems, dangers and obstacles come, they leave Krishna consciousness. They have no patience.

(4) Bhakti-posaka karma, doing what nurtures devotion. This is sravan (hearing about the Lord), kirtan (chanting the Lord's Name and glories), smaran (remembering the Lord), pada-seva (serving the Lord’s lotus feet), archan (worshipping the Lord’s Deity), vandana (offering obeisances and prayers to the Lord), dasya (serving the Lord as a servant), sakhya (serving the Lord as a friend), atma-nivedana (submitting yourself to the Lord). These are the activities that nurture, or cultivate, devotion.

(5) Sanga-tyaga, giving up association. Whose association should you give up? Those who live in a non-religious way (who practise adharma), who mix with women, who are attached to women, who are mayavadis, who are materialists. I told you yesterday about Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj. When he came to Nabadwip from Vrindavan, he stayed in a public toilet for some time. Somebody asked him, 'Babaji Maharaj, are you not getting the stench? How can you bear it? We cannot stick it, we have to hold our nose!' Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj replied, 'This smell can be tolerated, but it is impossible to tolerate the stench of materialists! Their stench is very bad.' The association of dharma-dhvaji (ধর্মধ্বজী, pretenders, who show off religion in a hypocritical way or use it for politics) should also be given up. We do not follow this kind of religion. We preach jiva-dharma, the true religion of the soul – we do not preach about religion for any political reasons. Do not associate with mayavadis also: those who consider the Lord impersonal (who believe that the Lord has no form).

(6) Sad-vritti, purity. It means practising spiritual life in the way that was practised by saints, living your life in the same way (following the same mood) that is shown by saints.

These are the six urges, the six defects and the six good qualities.

[His Divine Grace continues chanting the kirtan.]

একাকী আমার নাহি পায় বল
হরিনাম সংকীর্ত্তনে ।
তুমি কৃপা করি শ্রদ্ধাবিন্দু দিয়া
দেহ কৃষ্ণ নাম ধনে ॥

ekaki amara nahi paya bala
hari-nama-sankirtane
tumi krpa kari sraddha-bindu diya deha' krsna-nama-dhane

'On my own, I am not getting strength to chant the Holy Name. Please give me a drop of faith, please grant me the Holy Name of Krishna.'

কৃষ্ণ সে তোমার কৃষ্ণ দিতে পার
তোমার শকতি আছে ।
আমি ত কাঙ্গাল 'কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ' বলি
ধাই তব পাছে পাছে ॥

krsna se tomara krsna dite para
tomara sakati achhe
ami ta' kangala 'krsna krsna' bali
dhaitava pachhe pachhe

'Krishna is yours, you can give Krishna – you have such power. I am very poor – calling out, "Krishna! Krishna!" I am running after you.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

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Length: 97 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Take Advantage of This Chance
2) Die to Live or Live to Die?
3) Immerse Yourself in Hari-Kirtan
4) Attachment to Sri Guru
5) Highest Gift, Highest Pastimes
6) Mahaprabhu's Teachings
7) Maintained by the Lord
8) Life beyond Ego
9) Control Six Urges
10) Subjugate Six Faults
11) Six Good Qualities