(1/11) Take Advantage of This Chance

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, 20 December 2020, noon, part 1
Translated from Bengali

We have again gathered here in uluberia after one year to hear and speak some Bhagavad-katha, Hari-katha. We cannot speak about the Lord all the time, but we have got this opportunity now. Where is the Lord (Hari kothay)? In Hari-katha (Hari-kathay). If you hear or speak about the Lord, the dirt in your hearts will be removed.

We are conditioned souls, always living in material, illusory bondage. We have been averse to Lord Krishna from time immemorial. Our whole life, birth after birth – whatever birth we get – we have only been busy with our own home, food and clothes, and we do not get a chance to speak about Lord Krishna, about the Supreme Lord. But sadhus are very merciful – they come to the places that jiva souls call their homes.

মহান্ত-স্বভাব এই তারিতে পামর ।
নিজ-কার্য্য নাহি তবু যান তার ঘর ॥

mahanta-svabhava ei tarite pamara
nija karya nahi tabu yana tara ghara

'The innate nature of great souls is to deliver vile, fallen souls: great souls never come to their homes for any personal purpose.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.8.39)

Sadhus, great souls and mahanta-gurus come to you, going door to door...

You must listen carefully to what is being spoken. I will take little of your time. I will use the time that I get from you for the Lord, and as the result you will get an opportunity to hear something about Him. These kinds of talks cannot be found anywhere and everywhere – you will not find them anywhere in this world. But if you hear these things, you will get spiritual benefit, spiritual advancement with the help of which you can reach your own home. We do not get this chance to hear about the Lord all the time, but we have got it today, so we must not lose this chance – we must take advantage of it. We can see and hear many kinds of lila-kirtans, asta-prahar-kirtans, and so on, but we cannot understand their meanings.

Why do we not get a chance to hear Hari-katha? Because we have been averse to Lord Krishna since time immemorial. If you keep a magnet outside, it will become rusty and will not attract metal, but if you clean it nicely, it will work again. In the same way, we must also clean our hearts through sadhu-sanga, sravan and kirtan. If you can practise sravan (hearing about the Lord) and kirtan (chanting the Lord's glory, chanting His Name and serving the Lord) in holy association, you can get the highest benefit. We must always remember this.

That is why sadhus, gurus and Vaishnavs mercifully come to your houses to rescue you. They do not come to take anything from you: they come to give you something.

[Clamour among some children] Quiet! I have told you not to speak. If you keep speaking, I will tell you to leave. If you want to be here, you must listen. If you speaking in a class at school, the teacher will kick you out. When you come to a lesson, you must listen to what the teacher says. This here is a spiritual class, so you must sit and listen. If you do not listen to the teacher during the lesson, the teacher will kick you out – you will get rebuked and punished. So, when you come here, you must listen nicely, carefully.

Submit your heart, mind, everything at the holy feet of the Lord. Our mind is fickle, and it is always swayed in different directions. Param Guru Maharaj told Gurudev, 'Do not listen to your mind. Listen to what your guru and Vaishnavs say.' Our mind says many things, it does not want to sit still in one place – it is always restless. But you do not get an opportunity to hear Hari-katha all the time; therefore, having got this opportunity now, we must take advantage of it.

— : • : —

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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