(12/13) Ekadasi: Devotional Practice

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata (Jatragachhi), 8 February 2021, part 12

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

Today is an ekadasi-tithi. It is not necessary to know what the glories of each ekadasi is because if you hear or read about it, you will want to get some result. There is much written about ekadasi days: if you fast on a certain ekadasi, you will get this pious credit, that pious credit, and so on. When you read the glorification of Srimad Bhagavad-gita, it is also written there that if you read Gita, you will get this result, that result. It is not necessary to see all this. It is sufficient to only know that we must fast on ekadasi.

Yesterday’s day was viddha, so we are fasting today, on dvadasi (there was no fast yesterday). Outside people fasted yesterday, but those who practise in a pure way follow the Gaudiya calendar and fast today according to the calendar.

Mahaprabhu Himself once said to His mother, ‘Mother, will you promise Me something? There is just one thing I want from you in this life. Will you give it to Me?’

‘All right,’ Mother Sachi agreed.

‘Say three times that you will do it.’

‘I will, I will, I will.’

‘Do not take grains on ekadasi,’ Mahaprabhu said.

That is why we do not take grains on ekadasi. Mahaprabhu observed ekadasi, and our guru-varga observed ekadasi. Prabhupad Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur made the rules a little easier. Our Param Guru Maharaj, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, wrote this sloka about him:

নিখিল-ভুবন-মায়া-ছিন্নবিচ্ছিন্নকর্ত্রী
বিবুধবহুল-মৃগ্যা-মুক্তি-মোহান্ত-দাত্রী ।
শিথিলিত-বিধি-রাগারাধ্য-রাধেশ-ধানী
বিলসতু হৃদি নিত্যং ভক্তিসিদ্ধান্ত-বাণী ॥

nikhila-bhuvana-maya-chhinnavichchhinna-kartri
vibudhabahula-mrgya-mukti-mohanta-datri
sithilita-vidhi-raga-radhya-radhesa-dhani
vilasatu hrdi nityam bhakti-siddhanta-vani

‘He slashed to shreds the illusion of the whole material universe, putting a stop to scholarly speculations and conceptions of liberation; he eased the strict rules and regulations, bestowing the conception of natural loving worship of the Divine Couple – may the devotional teachings of this Sri Bhaktisiddhanta play eternally in our hearts.’

(Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

Srila Prabhupad eased many rules and regulations. Before, people would follow ekadasi during three days: one day before ekadasi, on the day of ekadasi itself and the next day. The rules were very strict, but Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur allowed everyone to take anukalpa (non-grain items). Everybody knows that Bengali people cannot live without rice, so he allowed everybody to fast during only one day instead of three.

One time, in His childhood, Mahaprabhu went to the house of Hiranya and Jagadish on an ekadasi day. He had been crying very much and could not stop – they had tried everything, even called a doctor, but nothing helped. Eventually, when they somehow brought Nimai to the house of Hiranya and Jagadish, where a full offering of all items had been made, Nimai took that non-ekadasi prasad and calmed down. In this way, Mahaprabhu showed that for the Lord there is no fasting on ekadasi.

Ekadasi is prescribed in the scriptures (fasting on ekadasi is one of the sixty-four limbs of devotion), so all of us must fast on this day.

I have told you about the gist of ekadasi. We must observe it following this conception. It is necessary to practise Krishna consciousness taking shelter at the lotus feet of a bona fide guru and follow all rules and regulations properly and strictly. We must become genuine disciples. Practise sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam, vandanam and other kinds of devotion.

ব্রহ্মাণ্ড ভ্রমিতে কোন ভাগ্যবান্ জীব ।
গুরু-কৃষ্ণ-প্রসাদে পায় ভক্তিলতা-বীজ ॥

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

‘Having travelled throughout the universe, some fortunate souls receive the seed of the devotional creeper by the mercy of Sri Guru, who is non-different from Krishna.’

মালী হঞা করে সেই বীজ আরোপণ ।
শ্রবণ-কীর্ত্তন-জলে করয়ে সেচন ॥

mali hana kare sei bija aropana
sravana-kirtana-jale karaye sechana

‘As caring gardeners, they plant this seed and water it with sravan (hearing) and kirtan (chanting, practising).’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.19.151–152)

Sravan and kirtan are the water that you must nurture your devotion with. We must listen to the glories of the Lord (sravan) and practise (chant the Holy Name of the Lord – do kirtan). Just as it is not enough to only plant a flower tree – you must water it; similarly, it is not enough to only take initiation – we must practise sravan and kirtan. Wake up early in the morning every day. We have small kirtan books – take those books and chant five kirtans in the morning and five kirtans in the evening. You can see there what morning arati kirtans we sing, what we sing during the Tulasi parikrama, what kirtans we sing in the afternoon, what bhoga-arati kirtans and evening arati kirtans we sing. You must learn these kirtans by heart. Chant and chant them, and you will learn them by heart. Practise every day; this is smaran (remembering the Lord). Take karatals and chant yourselves every day. We sing, ‘Sri-guru-charana-padma kevala-bhakati-sadma vando muni savadhana mate. I carefully offer my obeisance at Sri Guru’s lotus feet, which are an abode of exclusive devotion.’ We must offer obeisances and pray to gurudev, ‘Ami sakti-buddhi-hina, ami ati dina, kara more atmasatha. O gurudev, I have no strength, I have no intelligence, please hijack me! Please take me from this material illusory world and use me for the service of the Lord, for the service of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda.’

Do whatever service gurudev gives you. Those who have service have mercy; those who have no service have no mercy.

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 40 Mb
Length: 84 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Practise Devotion
2) Land of Religions
3) Seva Vidya
4) Conditioned Souls' Inaptitude
5) Choose Your Association
6) Lost and Languid Souls
7) "Make the Teachings of Sri Guru Non-Different from Your Heart"
8) Price of Independence
9) "Come Back to Your Home"
10) Fighting Misconceptions
11) Goloka at Your Home
12) Ekadasi: Devotional Practice
13) Stay Connected