Path to Qualification

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 5

[His Divine Grace continues chanting kirtans:]

কৃপা কর বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর ।
সম্বন্ধ জানিয়া ভজিতে ভজিতে
অভিমান হউ দূর ॥

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"O Vaishnav Thakur! Please be merciful! Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

'আমি ত বৈষ্ণব' এ বুদ্ধি হইলে
অমানী না হ'ব আমি ।
প্রতিষ্ঠাশা আসি' হৃদয় দূষিবে
হইব নিরয়গামী ॥

'ami ta vaisnava' e buddhi haile
amani na ha'ba ami
pratisthasa asi' hrdaya dusibe
haiba nirayagami

"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)—my heart will become polluted by the desire for fame and I will end up in hell."

Both is not right—if you do not become a Vaishnav is a problem, and if you think you have become a Vaishnav is also a problem. You must become a servant of Vaishnavs, a servant of your Guru. The road to hell is open—if you think you have become a Vaishnav, you will go to hell. When you plant something, you have to take care of the seed and protect it from both heat and cold. When it is hot, you must water the seed twice a day sometimes, but at the same time, if you pour too much water, it will rot then. Sahajiyas are those who get 'rotten' in this way—they have eaten too much and end up in trouble. That is why we are told, "Never associate with any of the thirteen sampradayas—aul, baul, kartabhaja, neda, daravesa, saki, sahajiya, sakhibheki, smarta, jata-gosani, ativadi, chudadhari, gauranga-nagari."

So, if you think, "I have become a Vaishnav," pratistha will come to you. You will think, "I am a Vaishnav, so why must I offer obeisances to others?" Such people have the path to hell open for them—the road to hell is cleared for them (they themselves clear it).

তোমার কিঙ্কর আপনে জানিব
'গুরু'-অভিমান ত্যজি' ।

tomara kinkara apane janiba
'guru'-abhimana tyaji'

"I will consider myself Your servant and give up the ego of a guru."

The ego of a guru must be given up. Do not take worship from anyone. Everyone says, "I am the acharya, so you must offer me arati, you must wash my feet, you must worship me every day." This is the ego of a guru—as a result, they become very heavy and sink (just as when you load a boat too much, it sinks). Many think, "Oh, Gurudev has given me sannyas, so I have become a guru!" It is not so easy! It is said here that "I will consider myself your servant and leave all ego of being a guru. I will always live on your remnants."

তোমার উচ্ছিষ্ট পদজলরেণু
সদা নিষ্কপটে ভজি ॥

tomara uchchhista pada-jala-renu
sada niskapate bhaji

"I will always earnestly take Your remnants, Your foot dust, the water that has washed Your feet."

নিজে শ্রেষ্ঠ 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, loving myself more than anyone else, bestow my remnants, etc. on others, then I will become filled with ego. Therefore, I will always remain Your disciple, I will not take worship from anyone."

We will always remain disciples. It is not necessary to become a guru. Remember this. It is not necessary to become a guru—you must become a servant of your Guru. If you become a guru without becoming first a disciple, it is very difficult. It is a great danger. Such people have the road to hell cleared. That is why it is said, "I will always remain your disciple." I will not become a guru—I will become a disciple. We must give honour to everyone and not desire honour for ourselves, then the Lord will give us the right to chant kirtan. When does one get the right to chant the Holy Name of the Lord?

sri-krsna-kirtane yadi manasa tohara
parama yatane tanhi labha adhikara

"If you are intent on chanting the Name of Krishna, then, with great care, become qualified to do so."

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi ahankara

"Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean."

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

"Practise tolerance like a tree. Give up vengeance and nurture others."

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

"Do not trouble others for your own upkeep, and forget your own happiness in the course of helping others."

If you are determined to chant the Name of Krishna, then try your utmost to become qualified to do so. We must give honour to others and leave our own honour. When you pay obeisance, you say "jay", and the more you pay obeisances, the more you will chant the Lord's Name. When Srila Raghunath Das Goswami was in Vrindavan, he would pray obeisances to Vaishnavs every time he saw them—if he met someone five times during the day, he would offer him obeisance five times.

Many people want to practise yoga or yoga-asans, but if you just go down on the floor, offering obeisances—if you do it ten times a day, you get all the exercise. Our yoga-asan is pranam and sastanga-pranam.

So, it is said in this kirtan: "I will always remain your disciples and never take worship from anyone. When will you give me the right and qualification to chant the Holy Name? When I learn to give honour to everyone."

অমানী মানদ হইলে কীর্ত্তনে
অধিকার দিবে তুমি ।
তোমার চরণে নিষ্কপটে আমি
কাঁদিয়া লুটিব ভূমি ॥

amani manada haile kirtane
adhikara dibe tumi
tomara charane niskapate ami
kandiya lutiba bhumi

"When I become free from the desire for honour and be able to give honour to others, you will give me the right to chant Your kirtan. I will earnestly roll on the ground and cry at Your holy feet."

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