Seva-Vidya

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata (Jatragachhi), 8 February 2021, part 3

Some think how to please the Lord, but when it comes to taking care so that no difficulty or austerity comes to the devotees of the Lord, they do not think it is necessary to do that. If you send a letter to Krishna, you will not get a reply. However, Krishna has Vraja gopis and other associates, who come to this world as Gurudev. You can ask Gurudev, "Where does Krishna stay? What does Krishna eat?" For example, those who stay with me know what I like, what I eat, what chair I like to sit on, etc. If you ask them about me, they can tell you that. They stay with me, so they know it. In the same way here:

সাক্ষাদ্ধরিত্বেন সমস্ত-শাস্ত্রৈ-
রুক্তস্তথা ভাব্যত এব সদ্ভিঃ ।
কিন্তু প্রভোর্যঃ প্রিয় এব তস্য
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

saksadd-haritvena samasta-sastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

"I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is said by all the scriptures to be the Lord Himself, and considered to be so by the sadhus, yet is also the Lord's beloved devotee."

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, 7)

Guru is the Lord Himself! At the same time, it is also said that Gurudev is the Lord's dearmost. Krishna told Uddhav, "Known the acharya to be non-different from Myself. Acharyam mam vijaniyan. There is no difference between Me and the acharya. I cannot come to this world all the time Myself, so I sometimes send My own associate." We sing in one of the kirtans:

তব নিজ-জন কোন মহাজনে
পাঠাইয়া দিলে তুমি
দয়া করি' মোরে পতিত দেখিয়া
কহিল আমারে গিয়া ।

tava nija-jana kona mahajane
pathaiya dile tumi
daya kari more patita dekhiya
kahila amare giya

"You have sent a great soul, Your associate (to rescue me)! Seeing me so fallen and being merciful, he came to me and said...."

I am an extremely fallen soul, I am very low and fallen, so Gurudev comes to me and says, "Will you worship the Lord? Gauranga Mahaprabhu has come in this Kali yuga—will you become His devotee? Will You follow what He says?" This is what Gurudev teaches us; otherwise, how would we have known it? Mahaprabhu does not come Himself now, but the Lord's own associate does. On the one hand, such associates are absolutely non-different from the Lord; on the other hand, they are the dearmost servitors and associates of the Lord. Who is the dearmost associate of the Lord? Srimati Radharani. Therefore, Gurudev is Srimati Radharani Herself. She is Krishna's dearest and She knows what Krishna eats, where He sleeps, etc.. That is why Her Name is Radha—She is the one who worships (aradhya) the Lord the most. She did not study at any university, She did not go to any Cambridge or Oxford. Yet She has that kind of knowledge that even Krishna Himself becomes irresistibly captured by Her. It is not some knowledge of capturing and controlling others. Her knowledge is bhakti-vidya (knowledge of devotion), seva-vidya (knowledge of service). Her superb qualification is due to Her devotion and service. That is why Her Name is Radha: She who serves the most and the best. It is necessary to know these things.

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