Choose Your Association

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata (Jatragachhi), 8 February 2021, part 5

[His Divine Grace chants 'Suddha-bhakata-charana-renu'.]

শুদ্ধ ভকত-চরণ-রেণু
ভজন-অনুকূল ।
ভকত-সেবা পরম-সিদ্ধি
প্রেমলতিকার মূল ॥

suddha-bhakata-charana-renu
bhajana-anukula
bhakata-seva parama-siddhi
prema-latikara mula

"The dust of pure devotees' feet is favourable to devotion. Service to devotees is the supreme perfection and the root of the creeper of divine love."

মাধব-তিথিভক্তি জননী
যতনে পালন করি ।
কৃষ্ণবসতি,বসতি বলি'
পরম আদরে বরি ॥২॥

madhava-tithi bhakti-janani
yatane palana kari
krsna-vasati vasati bali'
parama adare bari [2]

I take a great care in observing the holy days related to Madhava, the Supreme Lord for such days are the mother of devotion. With great adoration, I embrace the abode of Krishna as my own.

গৌর আমারযে সব স্থানে,
করল ভ্রমণ রঙ্গে ।
সে সব স্থান,হেরিব আমি,
প্রণয়ি-ভকত-সঙ্গে ॥৩॥

gaura amara ye-saba sthane
karala bhramana range
se-saba sthana heriba ami
pranayi-bhakata-sange [3]

In the company of loving devotees, I will behold all the places my Gaurasundar roamed during His ecstatic Pastimes.

"Service to the devotees is the supreme perfection and the root of the creeper of divine love. Bhakata-seva parama-siddhi prema-latikara mula (ভকত-সেবা পরম-সিদ্ধি প্রেমলতিকার মূল)." How does devotion come? Through service to devotees. You cannot get the Lord through any fruitive activies (karma), through any knowledge (jnana), or through any mystic practices (yoga). This is written in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita. How can one get the Lord? Through devotion. How does devotion come? "Devotion to the Lord comes through the association of the Lord's devotees. Bhaktis tu bhagavad-bhakta-sangena parijayate (ভক্তিস্তু ভগবদ্ভক্তসঙ্গেন পরিজায়তে; Brhan-naradiya Purana)" Where do you get this association of devotees? Does it mean you will walk on the street and look for somebody who wears tilaks and neck-beads and associate with any random tilak-wearing, neck-beads-wearing person? "Asat-sanga sada tyaga chhada anya gita-raga (অসৎ-সঙ্গ সদা ত্যাগ, ছাড় অন্য গীতরাগ)—give up bad association, do not listen to the material songs and music." (Sri Prema-bhakti-chandrika, 15) What is bad association? I have told you that there are nine kinds of devotion: sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam, pada-sevanam, archanam, vandanam, dasyam, sakhyam, atma-nivedanam—hearing, chanting, remembering the Lord, serving the Lord's lotus feet, worshipping the Deity of the Lord, offering obeisance, rendering service as a servitor, as a friend, and self-submission. If somebody does not practise even one of these practices, you must not associate with such persons—such association is bad. At the same time, if somebody practices at least one of these practices (minimum one), you should associate with them.

Yesterday, I was giving a worldwide class, and I was telling them the same thing. You must not associate with those who do not practise even one of the nine devotional practices. It can be hearing, it can be chanting, it can be praying, it may be worshipping the Deities, etc.—it is necessary to practise at least one of these practices.

This is the meaning of "asat-sanga sada tyaga chhada anya gita-raga (অসৎ-সঙ্গ সদা ত্যাগ, ছাড় অন্য গীতরাগ)—give up bad association, do not listen to the material songs and music." You must always leave bad association. Always chant the Holy Name of the Lord in saintly association:

অসাধুসঙ্গে ভাই কৃষ্ণনাম নাহি হয় ।

নামাক্ষর বাহিরায় বটে তবু নাম কভু নয় ॥

asadhu-sange bhai krsna-nama nahi haya
namaksara bahiraya bate tabu nama kabhu naya

"Brother, the Name of Krishna never appears in bad association: the letters of the Name may appear, but the Name never does."

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 7.1)

There can be no Holy Name in bad association. Therefore, you must always avoid the association of those who do not practise devotion.

It is said in this song that we observe Madhava-tithi (the day of the Lord). Ekadasi is the day of the Lord, and this day is the mother of devotion. We must observe these days with a great care and affection. Observing ekadasi is prescribed in the scriptures, it is a rule, and we print a calendar every year. If you look at the calendar, you will see there are so many beautiful things written in it: what the five diseases are, what the six urges are, what the six faults are, what the sixty-four limbs of devotion are, what the main limbs of devotion are. I wrote it all there very beautifully at the end. [His Divine Grace is referring to the addendum printed always at the end of Bengali calendars; the same is presented in the viddhi section on the website.]

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