(5/13) Internal Purity

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Singur (West Bengal), 5 February 2021, part 5
Translated from Bengali

We sing the kirtan, ‘Krpa kara Vaisnava Thakura’:

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

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya, bhajite bhajite,
abhimana hau dura

‘Please be merciful, Vaishnav Thakur! May my ego go away by always worshipping you in full knowledge of the relationship.’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

First it is necessary to know the real relationship (sambandha). If you worship the Lord knowing the true relationship, your ego will go away. If one knows the spiritual relationship and worships the Lord, then even a father will offer obeisance to his son. This is a rule. If the son is very advanced in Krishna consciousness and serves the Lord, then even his father must pay obeisance to him and address him as ‘Prabhu’ (Master). Generally, people think, ‘I am his father, he is junior to me! He is my son!’ This ego is not good. If you know the real relationship and practise Krishna consciousness, your ego will go away. This is the meaning of these lines from the kirtan. Do you understand their meaning?

‘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”, I will never stop desiring honour – my heart will become polluted with the desire for prestige, and I will end up in hell.’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Somebody thinks, ‘I have become a Vaishnav!’ or ‘When did you take initiation? I took initiation long before you, why must I pay obeisance to you?’ If you think that you have become a Vaishnav, you will not be able to give honour to others. We must give honour to everyone. Somebody can be young, somebody can be old, it does not matter – we must offer obeisances to everyone. Srila Prabhupad often said, ‘All of you seated here are my gurus. You taking initiation from me means you are giving me mercy.’ These are very beautiful words. A real guru will never say, ‘I have given you mercy by giving you initiation.’ No. On the contrary, ‘You are giving mercy to me by taking initiation from me.’ A guru must have this kind of mood. This is called humility.

দৈন্য, দয়া, অন্যে মান, প্রতিষ্ঠা বর্জ্জন ।
চারিগুণে গুণী হই’ করহ কীর্ত্তন ॥

dainya, daya, anye mana, pratistha varjana
chari-gune guni hai’ karaha kirtana

‘Humility, compassion, honouring others and giving up your own prestige – become enriched with these four qualities and chant the Lord’s Holy Name and glories.’

(Sri Gitavali, Sri Siksastaka Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Who has the right to chant kirtan? Those who have humility, who have a heart for others, who can treat others with respect, and who reject any name and fame – those who have these four qualities have the right to chant kirtan. This is how one must practise Krishna consciousness.

I am saying all this here, but I am in fact saying this all to myself – I am saying all this now to teach my own self. I am not saying it for you only, I am saying it for my own self also. I too must practise all this. I also pray, ‘O Lord, please let me be like this. O gurudev! Please give me some intelligence so that I can become humble, kind, so that I may respect others and leave all desire for prestige.’ I am saying all this now so that I too can become like that because if I keep speaking about it, one day I can become like this. I am not coming to give advice to you; rather, if I keep speaking about this, then I believe that one day these qualities will come to me. We must think in this way.

দৈন্য, দয়া, অন্যে মান, প্রতিষ্ঠা বর্জ্জন ।
চারিগুণে গুণী হই’ করহ কীর্ত্তন ॥

dainya, daya, anye mana, pratistha varjana
chari-gune guni hai’ karaha kirtana

‘Humility, compassion, honouring others and giving up your own prestige – become enriched with these four qualities and chant the Lord’s Holy Name and glories.’

(Sri Gitavali, Sri Siksastaka Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Honouring Hari-Prasad
2) Exclusive Path
3) Lord's Messenger
4) 'Managing' Your Life
5) Internal Purity
6) Pray To Be One-Pointed
7) Mahaprabhu's Gift
8) At Vaishnavs' Mercy
9) Spiritual Deposit
10) Lacking Spirituality
11) About Srila Lochan Das Thakur
12) Leave Separate Interests
13) Muddled Minds