(4/7) Serve with Love

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Nrisingha Palli, 26 December 2020, part 4
Translated from Bengali

It is necessary to love others, to love them with affection, with your heart. There is one elderly Didi. She is from Australia and gets a pension of 25,000 rupees, but she says, 'I am staying now in India and not spending that pension. Gurudev, it is your money, so I am giving it to you.' There is also another devotee. His parents have nothing, but he asked them for some money and they sent 3,000 rupees – he gave it to me for guru-puja. We must love them for this. We must love devotees, we must serve them with care and affection. This is how things work.

Mahaprabhu said:

নাহং বিপ্রো ন চ নরপতির্নাপি বৈশ্যো ন শূদ্রো
নাহং বর্ণী ন চ গৃহপতির্নো বনস্থো যতির্বা ।
কিন্তু প্রোদ্যন্নিখিলপরমানন্দপূর্ণামৃতাব্ধে-
র্গোপীভর্ত্তুঃ পদকমলয়োর্দাসদাসানুদাসঃ ॥

naham vipro na cha nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro
naham varni na cha grha-patir no vanastho yatir va
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher
gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah

'I am not a brahman, not a ksatriya, not a vaisya, not a sudra; neither am I a brahmachari, a householder, a vanaprastha or a sannyasi. I identify Myself as a servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, who is the beloved of the gopis, an ocean of nectar, eternally self-effulgent (self-manifest) and filled with the entire scope of all possible highest ecstasy.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.13.80; Padyavali)

'I am not a sannyasi, I am not a brahmachari, I am not a ksatriya, I am not a vaisya. What am I? I am a servant of a servant of a servant of a servant of devotees. I am a servant.' This is what Mahaprabhu Himself said. But we say, 'I have become a Vaishnav' or 'I have become a devotee'...

The other day I received some news about a brahmachari who used to distribute prasad. Now when he is told to distribute prasad, he says no and shows his brahman thread. I do not understand this. Where does it say in any of the scriptures that you cannot distribute the Lord's prasad if you have received a brahman thread? Even a sannyasi should distribute prasad! It is necessary to serve devotees. Our identity is a servant of a servant, a servant of devotees! We are given a brahman thread as a sign of service qualification. Before you distribute prasad, you must first actually get the qualification to do it.

There is a tradition in our Gaudiya line that those who do not have a brahman thread should not be distributing prasad, but when there are big festivals, it is inevitable because many people come and you cannot find so many brahmacharis with brahman threads. There are crowds of people during festival, but on quieter days, how many people are there at the temple? You must serve them. It is our duty to serve Vaishnavs, to distribute prasad, to treat everyone with affection, to care for others, to love them. This is a symptom of a Vaishnav.

We are not ISKCON. ISKCON says, 'Become a devotee of Krishna!' We say no. Krishna Himself said, 'Those who say they are My devotees are not My devotees. My devotees are those who are devotees of My devotees. My devotees are the devotees of Vraja gopis and Radharani.' ISKCON is preaching the opposite. This is not Gaudiya Math line. How can you become first a devotee of Krishna? Is it so easy to become a devotee of Krishna? It is said that if there are a thousand Vaishnavs, you will find only one devotee of Krishna among them. But we have not even been able to become a Vaishnav yet. We sing in the kirtan 'Krpa kara Vaisnava Thakura': '"Ami ta vaisnava" e buddhi haile amani na ha'ba ami ('আমি ত বৈষ্ণব' এ বুদ্ধি হইলে অমানী না হ'ব আমি). If I think, "I am a Vaishnav," then I will never stop expecting honour from others.'

কৃপা কর বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর ।
সম্বন্ধ জানিয়া ভজিতে ভজিতে
অভিমান হউ দূর ॥

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

'Please be merciful to me, Vaishnav Thakur! I pray that my ego goes away and I may worship the Lord knowing the relationship.'

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

It is necessary to know the relationship. What is my relationship with gurudev? What is your relationship with others? You are a servant, and they are masters; and others will also think, 'I am a servant, and they are masters.' This is how it works. 'He is my master, and I am his servant.'

Who has the right to chant kirtan? Who can chant kirtan? Those who are humbler than a blade of grass, who are more tolerant than a tree and who can give honour to others.

দৈন্য, দয়া, অন্যে মান, প্রতিষ্ঠা বর্জ্জন ।
চারিগুণে গুণী হই করহ কীর্ত্তন ॥

dainya, daya, anye mana, pratistha-varjana
chari gune guni hai karaha kirtana

'Humility, compassion, giving honour to others and giving up your own prestige — become qualified with these four qualities and chant the Holy Name.'

(Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We must be humble, we must treat others with respect, and we must give up name and fame, then we will get the right to chant kirtan, to chant the Holy Name. Other than that, you cannot get this right.

কৃপা কর বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর ।
সম্বন্ধ জানিয়া ভজিতে ভজিতে
অভিমান হউ দূর ॥

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

'Please be merciful to me, Vaishnav Thakur! I pray that my ego goes away and I may worship the Lord knowing the relationship.'

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

If we know the relationship, then our ego will go away. We are servants. If somebody says something bad to me, what is it to me? If somebody scolds me, they can scold me all they like, it is not a problem for me. If they scold, they will reap the result. If somebody makes an offence or says something bad to me, I will not go to tell anybody about it. This is what is called:

দৈন্য, দয়া, অন্যে মান, প্রতিষ্ঠা বর্জ্জন ।
চারিগুণে গুণী হই করহ কীর্ত্তন ॥

dainya, daya, anye mana, pratistha-varjana
chari gune guni hai karaha kirtana

'Humility, compassion, giving honour to others and giving up your own prestige — become qualified with these four qualities and chant the Holy Name.'

(Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We must be humble, compassionate, treat others with respect and give up our own prestige. Always remember this.

And when you serve, you must do it with love. Love must come. You must serve with love! If you do something without love, it cannot be service. You feel drawn to your father and mother, to your wife, but this kind of attraction and pull must come to your guru, Vaishnavs and the Lord. If it does not come, then you will not get the supreme result, the highest benefit. Always remember this. This kind of love must come to us!

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Length: 49 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Serve and Study
2) Eagerness to Study
3) Watch Your Activities
4) Serve with Love
5) Exemplary Service Mood
6) Deep Faith and Service
7) Service Acumen