(2/9) Be Genuine

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Vyasa Puja Adhivas
Nrisingha Palli, 31 December 2020, morning, part 2

The Lord's associates appear in this world to rescue all souls. Mahaprabhu Himself came to teach Krishna consciousness: He came to bestow the gift of His own Name to this world (nija nama kari dana; নিজ নাম করি’ দান).

হরের্নাম হরের্নাম হরের্নামৈব কেবলম্ ।
কলৌ নাস্ত্যেব নাস্ত্যেব নাস্ত্যেব গতিরন্যথা ॥

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

'Chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name. There is no other way, no other way, no other way.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.7.76)

There is no other practice, or way, in Kali-yuga. There is one place on the island of Madhyadwip where we go to during Nabadwip Dham parikrama. You must remember this beautiful place. It is called Gadigacha. When the pastime happened in that place, Mahaprabhu was very young (perhaps, seventeen). He preached the Holy Name from a very young age and showed many beautiful pastimes. One day, Nimai took all the devotees on a walk. They swam across the Saraswati River and came to Madhyadwip. Now, in Gadigacha, there was one cowherd called Bhima Ghosh. As soon as he saw Nimai, he called Him 'uncle'. They were not related: the cowherd was a 'ghosh' (cowherd), but, to bestow His mercy to this world, Mahaprabhu appeared in a brahman lineage (at the house of Jagannath Misra, His father, and Nilambar Chakravarti, His grandfather). When Bhima saw Nimai, he came up to Him and called Him, 'Uncle, please come to my house.' He took Nimai to his house, seated Him. Bhima Ghosh's mother said, 'O Nimai Dada [elder brother], how is Mother?' Nimai replied, 'She is all right.' 'Please sit, I have arranged for some prasad for you all. I have curd, paneer and other things ready.' They were cowherds, so they had a lot of dairy products at home. After taking prasad, Nimai told everybody, 'Let us go and chant some kirtan! There is a big pond nearby, let us go there.' Bhima Ghosh became alert, 'O Uncle! Please do not go there! There is a crocodile living in that pond! Even our cows are afraid – they never go there to drink water.' Nimai replied, 'It is all right! What is there to be afraid of?' Mahaprabhu knows everything... Actually, that crocodile was a child of demigods but he had been cursed for a very long time. He had made an offence. When Durvasa Muni was once lying down and resting in a forest, that demigods' child cut off his dreadlock (sikha). He did not understand what he was doing – he was playing and having fun. Durvasa Muni suddenly woke up and realising what had happened, he cursed the child, 'You have made such a big offence! I am cursing you to be a crocodile for four ages. You will keep taking birth as a crocodile for four ages.' The boy began to cry. Then, Durvasa Muni said, 'I have already cursed you, I cannot do anything now. But I can one offer solution to you: when Lord Sri Krishna advents in Kali-yuga as Gauranga Mahaprabhu, a combined form of Radha-Krishna, He will rescue you through the Holy Name. He will be distributing the Holy Name, and when you hear it, you will become rescued.' After that, the boy become a crocodile. Although he was a son of demigods, he, too, was cursed and had to be born as a crocodile. Then, Mahaprabhu went to that lake with all the devotees, chanting the Holy Name loudly (He knew that there was somebody there). Hearing Mahaprabhu's kirtan, the crocodile immediately came out of the water and turned into a human boy. The boy then came to Mahaprabhu's holy feet, and Mahaprabhu showed surprise, 'Where have you come from? What were you doing in the water?' The boy explained, 'Prabhu, I have been a crocodile for four ages. Durvasa Muni told me that Lord Krishna would advent in Kali-yuga and distribute His Holy Name, and that I would become rescued hearing that Name.' Such is the influence of the Holy Name. The boy then clasped Mahaprabhu's feet and asked forgiveness, 'I have made a mistake, I could not understand anything; that is why I was born as a crocodile... You have rescued me, Prabhu. I am offering my respectful obeisances unto You. Please give me permission: I have not seen my parents for a long time, please let me go and see them now.' After that, the boy returned to heaven.

This is the influence of the Holy Name, but we cannot genuinely chant the Holy Name – we never get time to chant the Holy Name with mind, heart and soul, giving full attention...

অসাধুসঙ্গে ভাই কৃষ্ণনাম নাহি হয় ।

নামাক্ষর বাহিরায় বটে তবু নাম কভু নয় ॥

asadhu-sange bhai krsna-nama nahi haya
namaksara bahiraya bate tabu nama kabhu naya

'Brother, the Name of Krishna never appears in bad association: the letters of the Name may appear, but the Name never does.'

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 7.1, Sri Jagadananda Pandit)

“গোরার আমি, গোরার আমি” মুখে বলিলে নাহি চলে ।

গোরার আচার, গোরার বিচার লইলে ফল ফলে ॥

"gorara ami, gorara ami" mukhe balile nahi chale
gorara achara, gorara vichara la-ile phala phale

'Just saying, "I am Gora's! I am Gora's!" does not do. Only when you follow Gora's practices and Gora's conception will you get the proper result.'

লোক দেখান গোরা ভজা তিলক মাত্র ধরি ।

গোপনেতে অত্যাচার গোরা ধরে চুরি ॥

loka dekhana gora bhaja tilaka matra dhari'
gopanete atyachara gora dhare churi

'You put on tilaks and show the whole world that you serve Gora, but secretly you do outrageous things. Gora will catch you, thief (hypocrite)!'

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6–7)

Gora will catch up with us – He will expose our thievery. Do you understand it? What we do or not do, Gora is always above us, watching. Therefore, we must practise Krishna consciousness very nicely. 'Very nicely' means you must be serious and fixed (when you do something, you must do it every day). Only saying things will not take you far. Do not only say that you are a devotee of Mahaprabhu. You must accept the practices (achara) and conception (vichara) of Mahaprabhu. We always think about our own happiness, we always run behind our own happiness, but we never think what makes the Lord happy...

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Surrender Yourself
2) Be Genuine
3) Deity Is Not a Doll
4) Prasad-Seva
5) Nimai's Mercy to Devotees
6) Remember Lord's Mercy
7) What Are We At?
8) Imperishable Truths
9) Do Not Serve Misconception