(3/13) 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 making sure 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 directly to Krishna, you will not get a reply. But 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, and so on. If you ask them about me, they can tell you everything because they stay with me, and they know it. In the same way also:

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 scriptures to be no doubt the Supreme Lord Himself, and considered to be such by pious souls, but who is also no doubt the Lord’s dear associate.’

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur)

The guru is the Lord Himself! At the same time, it is also said that gurudev is the Lord’s dearmost. Krishna told Uddhav, ‘Know 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 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
(eka bara) daya kari more, patita dekhiya,
kahila amare giya

‘I have fallen into this vile material world, but You have sent a great soul, Your associate, to me. Seeing me so fallen, he took pity on me and came to me and said…’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Seeing that I am an extremely lowly, fallen soul, 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. If it were not for him, how would we have known it? Mahaprabhu does not come Himself now, but the Lord’s close associates do. On the one hand, such associates are completely non-different from the Lord; on the other hand, they are 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, so She knows what Krishna eats, where He sleeps, and so on. That is why Her Name is Radha – ‘She who worships (aradhya) the Lord the most’. She did not study at any university, She did not go to any Cambridge or Oxford, but She has such 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 comes from 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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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