(7/9) What Are We At?

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 7

Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Lord's combined form. 'Combined' means Mahaprabhu is Radha and Krishna together. Krishna stole Radharani's heart and halo and came as Gauranga Mahaprabhu, and whatever was left of Her was taken by Gadadhar Pandit (that is why it is said that Gadadhar Pandit is Radharani's incarnation).

Always remember how merciful Mahaprabhu is.

We are seated now in Devapalli (Nrisingha Palli). You can see right next to our temple an ancient Deity of Nrisinghadev that has existed here since Satya-yuga. The main gate of our temple faces that temple, but the local people did some mischief and did not allow us to have the entrance there. I said, 'All right, I will make the entrance on the side, from the street...'

You are very fortunate to be here. Every year, we do a parikrama of this Nabadwip Dham. We mostly come here only once a year (I sometimes come for a short time for various services). Thousands of people come to this place: they circumambulate the temple, chant kirtan, do manot (মানত; when one promises to offer a sacrifice to a deity upon fulfilment of their prayer). Nrisinghadev removes obstacles to pure devotion (suddha-bhaktir vighna vinash kare). Many people come to Him with their material desires – some wear amulets with Lord Nrisinghadev's Name on them, some do manot (they promise that if they get a son, they will come and offer worship to the Lord), and so on. But Gurudev often said: 'Serve the Lord, do not use the Lord.' Do you understand it? Do not use the Lord, do not use gurudev. Many serve the Lord, but many see the Deity as a way to earn money. This is how it is here. People see Deities and think how they can earn money.

It is not possible to worship Lord Nrisinghadev without Laksmi Devi, that is why we installed here Deities of Laksmi-Nrisingha. In the same way, we do not worship Krishna only – we always worship Him together with Srimati Radharani, His potency. You cannot worship the Lord without His potency. Krishna is Powerful, and Radharani is His Power. There is no value in Powerful without His Power. Nrisinghadev is also the Lord, so you cannot worship Him without His Power (Laksmi Devi). You cannot worship Lord Narayan without Laksmi Devi. Nrisinghadev is one of the ten incarnations of the Lord. There is Matsya avatar, Kurma avatar, Varaha avatar, Vaman avatar, Nrisingha avatar, Baladev avatar, Buddha avatar, Parasurama avatar, Kalki avatar, Rama avatar.

The Lord is extremely merciful, He has bestowed so much mercy upon us, allowing us to sit in Godrumdwip. All temples and missions come here when they do Nabadwip Dham parikrama. A little behind the temple, ISKCON also purchased the land to make a pandal there during the parikrama because they come with many devotees. They have not made a temple there, but they are arranging for some facility to let devotees stay there.

When somebody told Gurudev that they were going to get a Nrisinghadev amulet, Gurudev would get angry. He would say, 'You are using Nrisinghadev for your own body, your own health. You are using Nrisinghadev. Why are you engaging the Lord in your work? You should be serving the Lord, why must the Lord serve you? First you must serve the Lord and His devotees, then the Lord will come to serve you.' Gurudev was unhappy to hear such things. He would say, 'No, do not use the Lord for your own self. Serve the Lord, and the Lord will take care of you. You must have faith in this.' But people do not believe it – they come and tie stones making a wish for themselves. This is their conception and way of meditation. When I used to go to Krishna Nagar from Nabadwip Town, I would pass the old temple here on the way, so I would stop the car, get out, offer my obeisance and go away. But now we are staying next to Him.

I have written about the glories of Sri Nabadwip Dham very nicely in a book (Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala). At the beginning of the book, there is poetic description of the glories of Nabadwip Dham composed by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, and in the second part, I wrote about each place we visit during the parikrama. I wrote it in plain Bengali. If you read this book, you will think that you are in Nabadwip. Even when you are at home, you can read this book every day – read about Antardwip today, about Madhyadwip the next day, about Simantadwip the third day, and so on. Read about all islands: Antardwip, Madhyadwip, Simantadwip, Rudradwip, Godrumdwip, Ritudwip, Jahnadwip, Modadrumdwip and Koladwip.

This year, I have bought a land in Jahnudwip. Every year when we do parikrama, we always have a lot of people with us, so we always end up crowding a temple when it is time to take prasad. So, I have bought a land for us to take prasad separately. There is no temple at that place, only a field.

Buy and read this book, Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala. There is also Sri Puri Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala – I wrote in it about all the places we visit when we go on Sri Puri Dham parikrama. It is hard to remember everything, which is natural, so I have written everything in these books. This year, I will see if I can make Vrindavan Dham Parikrama Mahatmya-mukta-mala. I am already writing it, and I will see if I can finish it...

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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