Disciple's Life

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 2

[Following kirtans, His Divine Grace resumes the class:]

মূকং করোতি বাচালং পঙ্গুং লঙ্ঘয়তে গিরিম্ ।
যৎকৃপা তমহং বন্দে শ্রীগুরুং দীনতারণম্ ॥

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

"The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill—all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First, I am offering my full obeisance at the lotus feet of my Divine Master Om Vishnupad Jagad-guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj begging him for his causeless mercy, aspiring for his service; after that, I am offering my full obeisance to all assembled guru-varga, godbrothers, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees, and all the devotees. I am offering my obeisance at your holy feet and praying for your mercy to this low soul.

Today is the day of the last rites for Sripad Manoranjan Prabhu's mother... [Clamour in the audience.] "Sevon mukhe kaha Krsna Nam (সেবোন্মুখে কহে কৃষ্ণনাম). Do service with your hands and chant 'Krishna, Krishna' with your mouth." "Dinera madhye abala-tabala kata pachala parite para, tara madhye ki eka-bara govinda bolate nara! (দিনের মধ্যে আবল-তাবল কত পচাল পাড়িতে পার, তার মধ্যে কি একবার গোবিন্দ বলতে নার)—How many idle talks we have during the day, how much we talk during the day! We talk all sorts of nonsense and cannot even one time take the Name of Govinda!" We talk so much! We only think about money and food... We do not think about the service to the Lord—we only always think about our own happiness. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur said:

নিজ সুখ লাগি' পাপে নাহি ডরি
দয়াহীন স্বার্থপর ।
পর সুখে দুঃখী সদা মিথ্যাভাষী
পরদুঃখ সুখকর ॥

nija sukha lagi' pape nahi dari
daya-hina svartha-para
para-sukhe duhkhi sada mithya-bhasi
para-duhkha sukha-kara

I am never afraid to engage in sinful activities for the sake of my own happiness. I am unkind and selfish. I always tell lies. I am unhappy when others are happy and happy when others are unhappy.

অশেষ কামনা হৃদি মাঝে মোর
ক্রোধী দম্ভপরায়ণ ।
মদমত্ত সদা বিষয়ে মোহিত
হিংসা-গর্ব্ব বিভূষণ ॥

asesa kamana hrdi majhe mora
krodhi, dambha-parayana
mada-matta sada visaye mohita
himsa-garva vibhusana

"There are unlimited sinful desires within the core of my heart. I am angry and arrogant, always maddened with vanity, infatuated with mundanity, and malice and pride are my ornaments."

We do not have the mood or inclination to engage in service the whole day. "Now aged, we have become afflicted by the five-fold diseases." How will we practise Krishna consciousness? If we all think we have become Vaishnavs, how will we serve Vaishnavs then?

'আমি ত' বৈষ্ণব', এ বুদ্ধি হইলে
অমানী না হ'ব আমি ।

"ami ta' vaisnava," e-buddhi ha-ile,
amani na ha'ba ami

"If I think, 'I am a Vaishnav,' then I will never stop expecting honour from others (I will never become void of the desire for honour)."

(Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

If I have become a Vaishnav—if this thought comes to me—I will not be able to give honour to others. Who has the right to chant the Holy Name? Who can chant the Holy Name? Mahaprabhu said:

তৃণাদপি সুনীচেন তরোরিব সহিষ্ণুনা ।
অমানিনা মানদেন কীর্ত্তনীয়ঃ সদা হরিঃ ॥

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.239)

তৃণাধিক হীন দীন অকিঞ্চন ছার ।
আপনে মানবি সদা ছাড়ি অহঙ্কার ॥
বৃক্ষসম ক্ষমাগুণ করবি সাধন ।
প্রতিহিংসা ত্যজি অন্যে করবি পালন ॥

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi' ahankara
vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji' anye karabi palana

Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean. Practise tolerance like a tree. Give up vengeance and nurture others.

(Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We must be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree.

জীবন-নির্ব্বাহে আনে উদ্বেগ না দিবে ।
পর-উপকারে নিজ-সুখ পাসরিবে ॥
দৈন্য, দয়া, অন্যে মান, প্রতিষ্ঠা বর্জ্জন ।
চারিগুণে গুণী হই করহ কীর্ত্তন ॥

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe
dainya, daya anye mana, pratistha-varjana
chari gune guni hai karaha kirtana

"Live without causing anxiety to others; do good unto others without considering your own happiness. Humility, compassion, honouring others, and giving up prestige—become qualified with these four qualities and chant the Name."

(Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

You must be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree—then you can earn the right and qualification to chant the Holy Name. We must learn to be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, and we must learn to give honour to others. We pray to Gurudev:

সকলে সম্মান করিতে শকতি
দেহ' নাথ ! যথাযথ ।
তবে ত' গাইব হরিনাম সুখে
অপরাধ হবে হত ॥

sakale sammana karite sakati,
deha natha! yatha yatha
tabe ta' gaiba hari-nama sukhe,
aparadha habe hata

"O master! Give me the ability to befittingly honour everyone. Then I will sing the Lord's Name happily, and all my offences will be eradicated."

As you practise and practise Krishna consciousness, as you serve more and more, your ego will be going far away.

There are some sampradayas that say you must first become a devotees of Krishna: they give mala to someone and say, "You have come a Krishna-bhakta (devotee of Krishna)," but Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, "If there are a thousand Vaishnavs, there may be one devotee of Krishna among them." And some say that we must first become a devotee of Gauranga. If you first become a devotee of Krishna, then what will happen?

রাধা-ভজনে যদি মতি নাহি ভেলা ।
কৃষ্ণ-ভজন তব অকারণ গেলা ॥

radha-bhajane yadi mati nahi bhela
krsna-bhajana tava akarana gela

"If you do not worship Srimati Radharani, your worship of Krishna is nothing."

It is necessary to first worship Gauranga. Moreover, "Nitaiyer karuna habe Vraje Radha Krsna pabe (নিতাইয়ের করুণা হবে ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ পাবে, ধর নিতাইয়ের চরণ দুঃখানি)—when Nitai bestows His mercy you will reach Radha-Krishna in Vraja." What can you get without the mercy of Nitai, of Sri Gurupadpadma?

Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said: if you send a letter to the Lord, will you get a reply? Do you know the mobile number of the Lord? How many digit is His number? You know many phone numbers, but do you know Krishna's phone number? We have no right, no qualification to know it—we know our Gurupadpadma, our Gurudev. If you send a letter to Gurudev, you can get news about Krishna. What will you say to that? If you send a letter to Gurudev, you can get news about Krishna—you can hear back from Krishna. Unless you send your letter to Gurudev, you cannot get any news from Krishna. We must first send our letter to the Guru. We must keep in touch with Gurudev—if you do not keep in touch with your Guru, what is the use then? Many of us have taken initiation and think that when you take initiation, this is it, but it is not so. In his last days, Gurudev told me: "Maharaj, going village to village, you have brought so many people to me, so many have taken initiation from me, but can you say how many have become disciples?" One does not become a disciple just by taking the mantra. I wrote about this in Guidance 4, you can read about it there. One does not become a disciple just by taking the mantra...

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