(12/15) False Ego's Folly

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata, preaching programme,
16 January 2021, part 12
Translated from Bengali

When you come to the temple of Lord Jagannath, there is a place where you can wash your feet before entering the temple (it is a rule that you should clean your feet from dust and dirt before coming in front of the Lord). That place existed in Mahaprabhu’s time also. One time, a Gaudiya devotee from Nabadwip called Kalidas came to Puri, and although he knew that it was prohibited to touch Mahaprabhu’s feet, he put his hands to catch and drink the water that was falling when Mahaprabhu was washing His feet at the entrance to the temple of Lord Jagannath. When devotees noticed what he was doing, they immediately tried to stop him, but Mahaprabhu said, ‘Let him be. Do not stop him.’

Mahaprabhu prohibited everyone to touch His feet, but for this one person He said, ‘Do not stop him. He is a jhanu vaishnav (“a seasoned, crafty Vaishnav”).’ What kind of a Vaishnav was Kalidas? When all the Vaishnavs were invited to take prasadam, he never sat in one line with everyone considering himself very lowly and poor; instead, he stayed far off in the jungle. When all the Vaishnavs finished taking prasadam and threw their plates in some place, Kalidas would come there and lick the plates. Do you understand what kind of a Vaishnav he was? When we see somebody’s prasadam plate, we feel squeamish or shy to touch it because we have ego.

You have heard about Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj also. One time, a very old lady invited him to take prasad at her house, ‘Babaji Maharaj, please come to my house. I will cook something and offer bhoga, and you can take prasad.’ Babaji Maharaj agreed to come and told her to arrange the date with his servitor, Bihari Das. Due to his age, Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj’s back was so bent that he could not walk, so Bihari Das would carry him in a basket. You know, when Mahaprabhu’s birthplace in Mayapur was discovered, he was carried there too, and as soon as he arrived, he jumped out of the basket and began to dance. So, on the way to this lady’s house, some rich man saw Srila Babaji Maharaj and noticed that he was wearing torn clothes (he did not actually wear clothes; he would just cover his body with some plain cloth). The rich man came to Babaji Maharaj and said, ‘Sir, please take this money. You can use it for some service.’ Babaji Maharaj took the money without second thoughts, but having walked about three miles, he suddenly told Bihari Das, ‘Let us go back. Take me to the house of the man who gave me this money.’ Bihari Das was surprised, ’But why?’ but Babaji Maharaj only said, ‘Go, go. Let us go back. You will understand it later.’ When they came to the house, Bihari Das called the man and said that Babaji Maharaj wanted to talk to him. The man thought, ‘Oh, he must have come to ask me for more money!’ But what did Srila Babaji Maharaj do? He took that money out and gave it back to the man! He said, ‘Listen, I cannot tolerate the burden of this money. I only keep thinking about what I will buy or do with this money. I cannot chant the Holy Name! I only keep thinking about this money!’ Such was Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj.

Finally, when they reached the house of that lady, it was already late (there were no mobile phones at that time, so they could not call and say, ‘Oh, Babaji Maharaj is coming a little late’). The lady said, ‘It is past lunch time, so everything is ready, please sit and take prasad.’ She told Srila Babaji Maharaj and Bihari Das to sit down and started serving them prasad. Srila Babaji Maharaj ate everything that was on his plate, and the lady thought to herself, ‘It was so hard to invite Babaji Maharaj, but I have not got any prasad – he has eaten everything…’ Then, she started giving more prasad forcefully, ‘Take some more! Take some rice, dal! Take some more subji! Take some more, take some more!’ Srila Babaji Maharaj understood what was going on (he is antaryami, omniscient, so he knows everything – he can see everything). First, he tried to refuse, but then, becoming suddenly grave, he thought, ‘Oh, so you want to take my prasad, that is why you invited me. OK, I will show you!’ When the lady put more prasad on Srila Babaji Maharaj’s plate again, Srila Babaji Maharaj ate everything again, and this time he also ate the plate!

That is why we sing in the kirtan ‘Krpa kara Vaisnava Thakura’: ‘Nije srestha jani’ uchchhistadi dane habe abhimana-bhara (নিজে শ্রষ্ঠ জানি’, উচ্ছিষ্টাদি দানে, হবে অভিমান-ভার). If I believe, “I am the greatest”, I will start giving others my food remnants and other things, getting weighed down by ego.’ I have seen many gurus who leave half of prasad on their plate and then distribute these remnants to others – people come with stretched out hands, and they sit and distribute their prasad to others. This is ego (guru-abhiman). They think, ‘I am the highest, and everyone is lower than me, so they should take my prasad.’

নিজে শ্রষ্ঠ জানি’, উচ্ছিষ্টাদি দানে,
হবে অভিমান-ভার ।
তাই শিষ্য তব, থাকিয়া সর্ব্বদা,
না লইব পূজা কা’র ॥

nije srestha jani’, uchchhistadi dane,
habe abhimana-bhara
tai sisya tava, thakiya sarvada,
na laiba puja ka’ra

‘If I believe, “I am the greatest”, I will start giving others my food remnants and other things, getting weighed down by ego. So, I pray to always remain your disciple and not accept worship from anyone.’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We must become disciples – there is no need to become a guru. These are very beautiful words.

You must read books…

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Length: 120 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Where Does the Lord Stay?
2) Mahaprabhu's Advent and Gift
3) Coming Out of Maya
4) Make Yourself Qualified
5) Six Limbs of Surrender
6) Sincere and Deep Prayer
7) Lend Me Your Heart
8) Follow the Footsteps of Great Souls
9) Suspicion Leads to Suspension
10) Only One Question
11) We Are Neither Enjoyers, Nor Renouncers
12) False Ego's Folly
13) Be Sincere and Studious
14) Remembering Mahaprabhu's Sannyas
15) Way Out