(3/9) Deity Is Not a Doll

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 3

[His Divine Grace notices the decoration of the altar.] They have decorated it beautifully, have they not? It is necessary to always keep the Deities' room clean. If the Deities' room is not clean, it is an offence to the Deity (seva-aparadh, an offence to service). Pujaris mostly only offer worship to the Deity, ringing the bell anyhow, and offer the bhog – that is it. But when cockroaches or ants enter the Deities' room or the room becomes very dirty, they take no notice of that. You can understand this yourself. If you stay amidst dirt and mess, will you like that? You must think about it yourself. 'I am staying in a dirty room, so the Deity can stay like that too, no problem.' Is that so? We all want to stay in a nice marbled room, in a clean place. The Lord is also like that. You must think about it. You can think what you like, what you need, what you require and apply that to the Deities...

I installed an air conditioner in the Deities' room in Vrindavan, is it still there?

Devotee: They use it from time to time...

Is the A/C there or not?

Devotee: It is there, but it is actually broken.

What is this?... I installed an A/C in the Deities' room because it gets very hot in Vrindavan. They will use an A/C yourself, but they do not worry that the Deities' A/C is broken. Do they have any brain? To get that A/C I had to fast one day! One man who was staying there took it off and kept it in his female friend's room. I told them that until and unless the A/C is installed in the Deities' room, I would not touch any food. Then everybody understood, 'Maharaj is very angry' and installed a new A/C... Anyhow, I will call them and ask what is going on. If the A/C is not working in your own room, you can let it, but if it does not work in the Deities' room, how can you ignore it? It is seva-aparadh. It get very hot in Vrindavan! Can the Lord stay in such heat? One time, I went to Vrindavan for Gurudev's disappearance, and it was so hot! I slept on the floor because it was so hot. After that, I bought an air conditioner for the Deities so that They did not have to struggle. I was thinking about the Lord, worrying that He may not suffer. In Vrindavan, it is always extremely hot and then extremely cold.

It is necessary to serve the Deities with much love. If you think that the Deity is an idol made of stone or wood, you cannot serve like that. He is not an idol – He is Lord Vrajendra-nandan Himself! The Deity can steal for His devotee, the Deity can speak, the Deity can give witness. You can remember the story of Saksi Gopal, when the Deity came from Vrindavan to give witness for His devotee. You have also heard about Ksir Chor Gopinath when the Lord stole ksir (condensed milk pudding, or sweet rice pudding) for Madhavendra Puri, His devotee from Vrindavan. The pujari offered twelve pots of ksir, and the Lord kept one pot of ksir under His seat. When the pujari went to pick up the offering, he forgot how many pots he had offered. At night, the Deity came to the pujari in a dream and said, 'My devotee has not eaten anything – he is sitting outside the temple and fasting. I have kept some ksir for him. Take it to him.' The pujari came out and started calling out, 'Where has Madhavendra Puri gone? Gopinath has stolen some ksir for you!' We sometimes go to Baleswar, that Deity of Ksir Chor Gopinath is there. The Lord stole ksir for His devotee...

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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