(5/13) 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,
প্রমলতিকার মূল ॥

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

‘Pure devotees’ foot dust is favourable to devotion. Serving devotees is the supreme fulfilment and the root of the creeper of divine love.’

মাধব-তিথি, ভক্তি জননী,
যতনে পালন করি ।
কৃষ্ণবসতি, বসতি বলি’,
পরম আদরে বরি ॥

madhava-tithi, bhakti janani,
yatane palana kari
krsna-vasati, vasati bali’,
parama adare bari

‘I carefully observe all holy days related to Lord Madhav – such days are mothers of devotion. With much affection, I take Krishna’s holy abode as a place of my own residence.’

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

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

‘In the company of loving devotees, I behold all the places my Gaura visited during His pastimes.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

‘Serving devotees is the supreme fulfilment and the root of the creeper of divine love (bhakata-seva parama-siddhi prema-latikara mula).’ How does devotion come? Through service to devotees. You cannot come to the Lord through any material activities (karma), knowledge (jnana) or mystic practices (yoga). This is written in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita. How can one come to 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’ (Brihan-naradiya Purana). Where do you get this association of devotees? Does it mean that 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). Always give up bad association; do not listen to mundane songs and music’ (Sri Prema-bhakti-chandrika, 15). What is bad association? I have told you that there are nine kinds of devotion: sravanam (listening about the Lord), kirtanam (chanting the Lord’s Name and glories), smaranam (remembering the Lord), pada-sevanam (serving the Lord’s lotus feet), archanam (worshipping the Lord’s Deity), vandanam (offering obeisances and prayers to the Lord), dasyam (serving the Lord as a servant), sakhyam (serving the Lord as a friend), atma-nivedanam (submitting yourself to the Lord). If somebody does not practise even one of these practices, you must not associate with them – their 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 listening, it can be chanting, it can be praying, it can be worshipping Deities – it can be any of the practices, but it is necessary to practise at least one of the practices.

This is the meaning of ‘asat-sanga sada tyaga chhada anya gita-raga; always give up bad association, do not listen to mundane 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 cannot be chanted in bad association: it may certainly sound like the letters of the Name, but it can never be the Name proper.’

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, Srila Jagadananda Pandit)

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 always observe Madhava-tithi (the day of the Lord). Ekadasi is the day of the Lord. Such days are the mother of devotion, and we must observe them with great care and affection. Observing ekadasi is prescribed in the scriptures, it is a rule, and we print a calendar of ekadasi dates every year. If you look in the calendar, you will see that 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, and so on. I wrote it all very beautifully for you. [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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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