(4/11) Attachment to Sri Guru

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, 20 December 2020, noon, part 4
Translated from Bengali

শ্রীগুরুচরণ-পদ্ম কেবল ভকতিসদ্ম
বন্দোঁ মুঞি সাবধান মতে ।
যাঁহার প্রসাদে ভাই এ ভব তরিয়া যাই
কৃষ্ণপ্রাপ্তি হয় যাঁহা হৈতে ॥

sri-guru-charana-padma, kevala bhakati-sadma,
vando muni savadhana mate
yanhara prasade bhai, e bhava tariya yai,
krsna-prapti haya yanha haite [1]

'I carefully offer my obeisance at Sri Guru's lotus feet, which are an abode of exclusive devotion, by whose mercy, brother, we can cross this world, and through whom we can come to Krishna.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

By Sri Guru's mercy we can cross this material world: if we get his mercy, we can become free from the bondage of illusion and come to our own home in Goloka. Suppose you are staying in a rented house. You stay there for two months, then some problem comes (for example, you have a quarrel with the landlord), so you move out and go to stay in another house. You stay at the new place for four months, and then you feel you do not like it there, too. One day you will think, 'I keep changing houses... If I could get some small land of my own and build at least a shed, it would be better than living like this.' We came to this world leaving our own home, that is why we cannot find happiness. We are all sons of nectar: we are all related to each other. You are all children of the Lord, and I am also His child, then what is our relation? We are all brothers and sisters. The problem is that we have forgotten this relationship. You are my brothers and sisters, and I am your brother – we belong to one family, we are close relatives. You should understand this relationship and understand that everyone in this created world is temporary – they will leave this world, and I will leave this world, too. Somebody will leave earlier, somebody will leave later, but everybody has to leave. The truth is that we are all children of nectar, and our home is with the Lord. We come from the Lord. Because we left our home, we cannot find happiness in this world. You say, 'I have built this house!' or, 'My father has built this house!' but how long will you be here? You will be gone, and your sons or daughters will become the owners of this house.

We are children of nectar – we are children of the Lord, we come from the Lord. Therefore, we are all relatives, but once we forget our relationship, once we forget the Lord, Maya Devi (illusion) attacks us.

কৃষ্ণ ভুলি' সেই জীব অনাদি-বহির্ম্মুখ ।
অতএব মায়া তারে দেয় সংসারাদি-দুঃখ ॥

krsna bhuli' sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsaradi-duhkha

'Forgetting Krishna, the soul turned towards the external illusory world in primaeval times. As the result, illusion (Maya) gives such a soul various material miseries.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.20.117)

Why are we suffering in this material world? Somebody dies, somebody gets ill, somebody gets hospitalised... But:

বিষয়ে যে প্রীতি এবে আছয়ে আমার ।
সেই মত প্রীতি হউক চরণে তোমার ॥

visaye ye priti ebe achhaye amara
sei-mata priti hauk charane tomara

'May I have the same love and attraction to Your holy feet that I now have for material things.'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We are far away from the Lord now, but we never think, 'When will I reach my own home?' We have been away from home, averse to Lord Krishna, since time immemorial! When will we be able to come back to the Lord? Think about this! Until and unless you return to the Lord, you will have to stay here, changing rented houses. You become a cow, and stay in a goshala. A buffalo also has a house, a pig also has a house, a cat or a dog also has some place to stay. You keep travelling around this material world in a cyclic way, changing houses and bodies.

The Lord's sons and daughters, we must return to the Lord. As long as we remain in rented houses, we will continue suffering. We live now at a temporary address – somebody will stay there for fifty years, somebody will stay there for sixty years, but everyone will have to leave one day. Thousands of people are leaving this world every hour. In 2019 and now (in 2020), there is COVID-19, and in the future some other disease will come. There is no way to avoid it. This is all created by Maya, that is why we have to suffer. But if you practise Krishna consciousness even amidst all this, you will get supreme benefit – you definitely will. When death comes, nobody can stop it. We must remember it.

'Krsna-prapti haya yanha haite (কৃষ্ণপ্রাপ্তি হয় যাঁহা হৈতে)': if you get the mercy of a genuine guru, you can come to Krishna. Gurudev is the core of the disciple's heart – he is the Lord Himself.

সাক্ষাদ্ধরিত্বেন সমস্ত-শাস্ত্রৈ-
রুক্তস্তথা ভাব্যত এব সদ্ভিঃ ।
কিন্তু প্রভোর্যঃ প্রিয় এব তস্য
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

saksadd-haritvena samasta-sastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

'I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is said by all scriptures to be no doubt the Supreme Lord Himself and considered to be so by pious souls but who is also no doubt the Lord's dear associate.'

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur)

He is the Lord Himself (saksad hari), and at the same time he is also the Lord's dearmost associate (atyanta priya). Lord Krishna says, 'Acharya mam vijaniyan: know the acharya to be non-different from Me.' Therefore, Gurudev is Lord Krishna Himself who comes in this Kali-yuga to practise and preach Krishna consciousness. 'Acharya' means one who practises (achar) and preaches (prachar). He comes to teach this world, 'Practise in this way – if you go in this direction, you will reach Krishna.' So, what is our duty now?

Do you know the phone number of the Lord? You know the phone number of your parents, friends, lawyer, wife, son, husband, daughter, but do you know the phone number of the Lord?

Devotee: Your number.

[His Divine Grace laughs.]

When Krishna calls all the Vraja-gopis, He calls them with His flute (with the nine holes of His flute), and everybody comes to His call. Our phone numbers have ten digits, and Krishna's flute has nine 'digits'. Krishna is One, the prefix, and then there are the nine digits (His flute). When He plays His flute, all gopas, gopis, sakhas, sakhis and all 900,000 cows come running to Him. If you send a letter to the Lord, you will not get a reply. But if you give your letter or speak to one of His associates, you can get the news about the Lord. Therefore, you must go to them, then you can get the news about the Lord. That is why it is said in the kirtan that we are singing that we can cross this material world and come to the Lord by the mercy of the guru.

গুরুমুখ-পদ্মবাক্য, চিত্তেতে করিয়া ঐক্য,
আর না করিহ মনে আশা ।

guru-mukha-padma-vakya, chitete kariya aikya,
ara na kariha mane asa

'Make the teachings coming from Sri Guru's lotus mouth one with your heart and do not keep any desires.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

When gurudev says something, you must not listen to it with your ears. When you hear anything and everything with your ears, you end up deaf. You must listen with your heart and soul. We must keep the words of gurudev in our hearts. You do not become a disciple just by taking initiation. Remember this. Many have taken initiation but have not been able to become disciples. A disciple is the one who can take the disciplining of their guru (who can live following the instruction of their guru).

দীক্ষাকালে ভক্ত করে আত্মসমর্পণ ।
সেইকালে কৃষ্ণ তারে করে আত্মসম ॥

diksa-kale bhakta kare atma-samarpana
sei-kale krsna tare kare atma-sama

'Devotees submit their entire being when they take initiation. At this time, Krishna accepts them as His very own.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.4.192)

Initiation means living following the words of your guru, it means being able to digest the chastisement of your guru (being able to accept it and mould yourself accordingly). Those who do not follow what their gurudev says live independently. If you have the mood of independence (svatantrata), you cannot be a disciple. We want to be under our gurudev, so we must become submissive to him. Srila Prabhupad said, 'If you serve jiva souls, you will bring benefit to your our own soul. Satisfying the whims of your mind is not bhajan – following gurudev, serving the guru and Vaishnavs and satisfying them is what is called bhajan.' Remember this. We must please the minds of our guru and Vaishnavs.

গুরুমুখ-পদ্মবাক্য চিত্তেতে করিয়া ঐক্য
আর না করিহ মনে আশা ।
শ্রীগুরুচরণে রতি সেই সে উত্তম গতি
যে প্রসাদে পূরে সর্ব্ব আশা ॥

guru-mukha-padma-vakya, chitete kariya aikya,
ara na kariha mane asa
sri-guru-charane rati, sei se uttama-gati,
ye prasade pure sarva asa [2]

'Make the teachings coming from Sri Guru's lotus mouth one with your heart and do not keep any desires. Attachment to Sri Guru's holy feet is the highest path: all aspirations are fulfilled by his mercy.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

If you have attachment (rati, mati) to the holy feet of your guru, to the service of your guru, then all your aspirations will be fulfilled. You will not have any other desires. You will get all fulfilment in a complete way, not partially. Attachment to the holy feet of the guru is the real path. 'How can I serve my guru?', 'How can I please my guru?' We must always remember this.

চক্ষুদান দিলা যেই জন্মে জন্মে প্রভু সেই
দিব্য জ্ঞান হৃদে প্রকাশিত ।
প্রেমভক্তি যাহা হৈতে অবিদ্যা বিনাশ যাতে
বেদে গায় যাঁহার চরিত ॥

chaksu-dana dila yei, janme janme prabhu sei,
divya jnana hrde prakasita
prema-bhakti yanha haite, avidya vinasa yate
vede gaya yanhara charita [3]

'He who has given me eyes and reveals divine knowledge in my heart is my Master birth after birth. The Vedas extol him as being capable of giving transcendental loving devotion and destroying ignorance.'

শ্রীগুরু করুণাসিন্ধু অধম জনার বন্ধু
লোকনাথ লোকের জীবন ।
হা হা প্রভু কর দয়া দেহ মোরে পদছায়া
এ অধম লইল শরণ ॥

sri-guru karuna-sindhu, adhama janara bandhu,
lokanatha lokera jivana
ha ha prabhu kara daya, deha more pada-chhaya,
e adhama laila sarana [4]

'Sri Guru is an ocean of mercy and a friend of the worst lot. He is the master of the whole world and the very life of all that be. O Master! Please give me the shade of your feet. This wretch has surrendered to you.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

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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