(8/9) Poverty of Mind

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 8

There is one more thing I want to say. I did not see so many people in the morning, but now everyone is starting to crowd. Do you know why? I will read to you what Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur says. In this country, people have the cult of feeding ‘Nara-Narayan’ (feeding people thinking that they personify Lord Narayan), but can a human (nara) ever be Narayan (the Supreme Personality of Godhead)? We call feeding people ‘service to poor Narayan’, but you tell me – can Narayan, who is the original master of Laksmi Devi (goddess of all wealth and prosperity), be poor? He is the master of the whole world, He is the owner of all wealth in this world, and they call Him ‘poor Narayan’! It is offensive to say this. Never utter such things.

One time, when Srila Prabhupad had finished Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama from Sri Chaitanya Math, there was a big festival. All the sadhus, devotees, brahmacharis and sannyasis had gathered at the festival coming from all the other temples. At that time, a man came to the temple and asked, ‘When are they going to give food to the poor?’ Any of us would feel pain to hear this. ‘Tell me, dear mind, are you a beggar for food (bhojan) or are you a beggar for spiritual life (bhajan)?’ We sing in Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur’s song ‘Sarvasva tomara charane sapiya’:

তব নিজ-জন, প্রসাদ সেবিয়া
উচ্ছিষ্ট রাখিবে যাহা ।
আমার ভোজন পরম-আনন্দে
প্রতিদিন হবে তাহা ॥

tava nija-jana, prasada seviya,
uchchhista rakhibe yaha
amara bhojana, parama-anande,
prati-dina habe taha

‘Whatever remnants Your devotees leave behind after honouring Your prasad, I will eat that very happily every day.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We say this, but when prasad is distributed, we take paneer out and keep it aside, giving mostly juice to others. What is this? I asked once, ‘What is all this paneer doing here?’ They said, ‘Oh, we have kept some in case nothing is left for us after the prasad is distributed.’ This is what they do, but they sing in the kirtan, ‘Whatever remnants Your devotees leave behind after honouring Your prasad, I will eat that very happily every day’…

You can remember the example of Kalidas. He never even sat together with Gaudiya Vaishnavs. He would hide in the forest when Vaishnavs were taking prasad, and when all the Vaishnavs finished taking prasad and threw their plates away, he would come and lick those plates. Later, Mahaprabhu gave him a certificate. It was generally prohibited for anyone to touch Mahaprabhu’s feet. (We also tell everyone, ‘Do not touch our feet.’ Why do we say this? Because we think, ‘Why will you, the highest Vaishnavs, touch the feet of a lowly soul such as myself with your pure hands?’ That is the rule. On the other hand, what should devotees also think? ‘I am such a lowly soul, how can I touch my gurudev’s holy feet?’ Remember this.) You know that when you enter Lord Jagannath’s temple through the Lion Gate, there is a place where water is coming and where you can wash your feet. One time, when Mahaprabhu was washing His feet there, Kalidas came and, touching Mahaprabhu’s feet, drank the water flowing down from His feet. Everybody rushed at him, ‘Do not touch Prabhu’s feet! Do not touch His feet!’ But Mahaprabhu stopped them, ‘Do not prohibit him.’ Why? Mahaprabhu explained, ‘Because he has become a “jhanu vaishnav” (“a seasoned, or crafty, Vaishnav”). He took all the Vaishnavs’ remnants and has become a seasoned Vaishnav.’ Why did Mahaprabhu say this? Because Kalidas never sat in one line with Vaishnavs to take prasad, but he took everyone’s remnants. How much humility he has! We must learn from his example.

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Vaishnav Rites
2) Disciple's Life
3) Sincere Spiritual Life
4) Eternal Servants
5) The Answer Is One
6) "Give Me These Alms"
7) Remembering Haridas Thakur
8) Poverty of Mind
9) "Come, Dear Mind, Come"