(4/13) Utter Desperation

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sitalpur (Bagnan), West Bengal,
31 January 2021, part 4

[Chanting ‘Gurudev bada krpa kare’ and ‘Kabe Sri Chaitanya more’, His Divine Grace remarks.]

কবে শ্রীচৈতন্য মোরে করিবেন দয়া ।
কবে আমি পাইব বৈষ্ণব-পদছায়া ॥১॥

kabe sri chaitanya more karibena daya
kabe ami paiba vaisnava-pada-chhaya [1]

‘When will Sri Chaitanya (my chaitya-guru) be merciful to me? When will I come in the shade of Vaishnavs’ feet?’

কবে আমি ছাড়িব এ বিষয়াভিমান ।
কবে বিষ্ণুজনে আমি করিব সম্মান ॥২॥

kabe ami chhadiba e visayabhimana
kabe visnu-jane ami kariba sammana [2]

‘When will I give up this mundane ego? When will I give honour to the Lord’s devotees?’

গলবস্ত্র কৃতাঞ্জলি বৈষ্ণব নিকটে ।
দন্তে তৃণ করি’ দাঁড়াইব নিষ্কপটে ॥৩॥

gala-vastra krtanjali vaisnava-nikate
dante trna kari’ dandaiba niskapate [3]

‘I will stand before a Vaishnav sincerely, with a cloth around my neck and joined palms, holding a straw between my teeth.’

কাঁদিয়া কাঁদিয়া জানাইব দুঃখগ্রাম ।
সংসার অনল হৈতে মাগিব বিশ্রাম ॥৪॥

kandiya kandiya janaiba duhkha-grama
samsara anala haite magiba visrama [4]

‘Weeping, I will tell Vaishnav Thakur about my miserable life and pray to him for respite from the fire of material existence.’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We must cry and tell Vaishnav Thakur about our unhappiness, about our austerities. What austerities? Not some bodily austerities or a lack of affection or love – all these do not make you a beggar. What beggar are you? Do not come as beggars for food – you can get money, food, clothes and other material things everywhere on the street – but come as beggars for spiritual life. Come as a beggar for Hari-katha: come begging to hear about the Lord, sadhus, gurus and Vaishnavs. May your minds become beggars for that.

It is very sad that we speak so much nonsense and have so much nonsense in our minds.

দিনের মধ্যে আবল-তাবল
কত পচাল পাড়িতে পর
তার মধ্যে কিন্তু তুমি একবার
গোবিন্দ বলিতে নারা

dinera madhye abala-tabala
kata pachala padite para
tara madhye tumi ki ekbara
govinda balite nara

‘How much nonsense you can talk every day! How many idle talks you have! Can you not say the Name of Govinda even once?’

We should submit our application to Vaishnav Thakur. What does the Lord say in Srimad Bhagavad-gita? ‘I do not know anyone except My devotees, and devotees also do not know anyone except Me.’ Therefore, we must come to devotees and tell them about our unhappiness, ‘Prabhu, when will I get relief from the fire of this material life? I keep burning and coming to this material world, but how can I become free from it all?’ This is what we should pray to Vaishnav Thakur about. ‘When will we get some respite from the fire of this material life?’ Many times I have heard people say, ‘Oh, Maharaj, I will retire from my job, then I will come to live at the temple.’ I always say, ‘When you retire, you will forget everything – your grandchildren will grow up and you will want to first get them married, and after that you will kick the bucket… You will not get time later.’

That is why Gurudev says that it is no use living one hundred years in this world – you can live just ten years, but if you can practise Krishna consciousness during this time, you will be successful. If you live for one hundred years but spend this time on material life, then there is no use living so long. What will you get by living for one hundred years if you do not practise Krishna consciousness? Always remember this. These are Gurudev’s words.

When will we get respite from this material life? We keep coming and going to this material life, but when will we be saved from this agony? When will we return to our own home? Once we return to our home, we will never have to return here. We are living now in a rented house. You can understand it easily. If you stay in a rented house and there is some problem, you will have to move to another place. You move to another place, then some problem happens again, and you again have to move to another place. One day, you will think that even if you buy a small plot of land and make a thatched hut, it is better to live in a thatched hut than keep going house to house all the time. So, when you can reach your own house, you will get such peace and happiness that you can never find here no matter how much you seek it.

We must give up material desires for this world. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami gave up everything like stool and urine. When you eat, you enjoy and fill your stomach, relishing the food, but once that food is digested and you pass stool, you do not even want to look at it – you hold your nose not to feel the stench. This material world and all the pleasures of this world are stool. We must give it all up like stool and urine.

আসক্তিরহিত, সম্বন্ধসহিত,
বিষয়সমূহ সকলি মাধব ॥

asakti-rahita, sambandha-sahita,
visaya-samuha sakali madhava

‘When you are free from material attachment and establish relationship with the Lord, then you will see that everything around you is Lord Madhav Himself.’

(‘Vaishnav ke?’ Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur)

We must know the relationship and see that everything here is meant for the Lord. It is necessary to remember this.

কাঁদিয়া কাঁদিয়া জানাইব দুঃখগ্রাম ।
সংসার অনল হৈতে মাগিব বিশ্রাম ॥৪॥

kandiya kandiya janaiba duhkha-grama
samsara anala haite magiba visrama [4]

‘Weeping, I will tell Vaishnav Thakur about my miserable life and pray to him for respite from the fire of material existence.’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

When you pray to Vaishnav Thakur in this way, what will Vaishnav Thakur do? Vaishnav Thakur will pray for me to the Lord. If you go directly to the Lord, your application will not be granted. You must come to the Lord through Vaishnavs.

শুনিয়া আমার দুঃখ বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর ।
আমা’ লাগি’ কৃষ্ণে আবেদিবেন প্রচুর ॥৫॥

suniya amara duhkha vaisnava thakura
ama’ lagi’ krsne avedibena prachura [5]

‘Hearing about my sorrow, worshippable Vaishnav Thakur will ardently pray to Krishna on my behalf.’

বৈষ্ণবের আবেদনে কৃষ্ণ দয়াময় ।
এ হেন পামর প্রতি হবেন সদয় ॥৬॥

vaisnavera avedane krsna dayamaya
e hena pamara prati habena sadaya [6]

‘Hearing Vaishnav Thakur’s appeal, merciful Lord Krishna will take pity on this wretched sinner.’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Vaishnav Thakur will appeal to Krishna on my behalf, and Krishna will take pity on me. He will give me shelter at His feet and engage me in His service. When we appeal to Vaishnavs, they will come asking us, ‘Have you called me?’ Then, we must pray, ‘Yes, gurudev. Please engage me in the service of the Lord.’ After that, gurudev will teach us how we can serve the Lord and Vaishnavs, how we should live and practise. Mahaprabhu Himself taught everybody by His own example. That is why Krishna told Uddhav Maharaj, ‘Acharyam mam vijaniyan (আচার্য্যং মাং বিজানীয়ান্). Know that the guru (acharya) is non-different from Me.’

Is what I am saying entering anyone’s mind? If you truly hear this, if all these things enter your minds and hearts, then nobody will be able to keep you in the bondage of this world anymore. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami had a wife who was as beautiful as an angel, he possessed enormous wealth, but he gave it all up like stool and urine. His father gave him a wife of angelic beauty, made him the owner of thousands of acres of land, but could that stop him and keep him there?

At first, Mahaprabhu told him, ‘Go back home. Go and live with your family, do not become crazy.’

মর্কট-বৈরাগ্য না কর লোক দেখাঞা ।
যথাযোগ্য বিষয় ভুঞ্জ' অনাসক্ত হঞা ॥

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja’ anasakta hana

‘Do not show your false renunciation to impress people. Use whatever material things you require, but without attachment.’

সে ছল সেকালে কৃষ্ণ স্ফুরাবে তোমারে ।
কৃষ্ণকৃপা যাঁরে, তাঁরে কে রাখিতে পারে ॥

se chhala se-kale krsna sphurabe tomare
krsna-krpa yanre, tanre ke rakhite pare

‘When time comes, Krishna will reveal to you the clever way how you can come to Him. Who can stop you if you have received Krishna’s mercy?’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.238, 241)

When Krishna bestows His mercy on someone, nobody can stop them.

বিনোদের নিবেদন বৈষ্ণব চরণে ।
কৃপা করি সঙ্গে লহ এই অকিঞ্চনে ॥৭॥

vinodera nivedana vaisnava charane
krpa kari’ sange laha ei akinchane [7]

‘Bhaktivinod prays at the holy feet of Vaishnavs: “Please take this destitute soul with you.”’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

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Length: 119 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) In Search of Hidden Treasure
2) Know Your Own Identity First
3) Sambandha Jnana: Launching Pad
4) Utter Desperation
5) Path to Qualification
6) Sincere Devotion
7) Highest and Rarest
8) Rivet Yourself to Sadhu-Sanga
9) Genuine Benefit
10) Great Gift
11) Enter the Land of Faith
12) Unchaste Faith
13) A Test of Faith