Earn Qualification

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Tarakeshwar, 10 February 2021, part 5

গুরুদেব!
বড় কৃপা করি’, গৌড়বন-মাঝে
গোদ্রুমে দিয়াছ স্থান ।
আজ্ঞা দিল মোরে, এই ব্রজে বসি’,
হরিনাম কর গান ॥১॥

gurudeva!
bada krpa kari', gauda-vana-majhe
godrume diyachha sthana
ajna dila more, ei vraje vasi',
harinama kara gana

Gurudev! Bestowing a great mercy on me, you have given me a place in Sri Godrumdwip amidst the forests of Gauda. You ordered me: "Reside in this abode which is non-different from Vraja and chant the Lord's Name."

কিন্তু কবে প্রভো, যোগ্যতা অর্পিবে,
এ দাসেরে দয়া করি’ ।
চিত্ত স্থির হবে, সকল সহিব,
একান্তে ভজিব হরি ॥২॥

kintu kabe prabho, yogyata arpibe,
e dasere daya kari'
chitta sthira habe, sakala sahiba,
ekante bhajiba hari [2]

But when, O master, will you mercifully grant this servant the qualification to do this? When will my heart become steadfast? When will I tolerate everything and serve the Lord exclusively?

It is said here: When will I earn the qualification? We are told to chant the Holy Name, but Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says, "O Lord, You have been so merciful to me—You have told me to chant the Holy Name, but I have no qualification, I am not fit. How will I chant then? When will You take pity on this servant and allow him to earn this qualification?" What is the qualification to chant Krishna-kirtan? To be able to sing well? To know the tune? No.

তৃণাধিক হীন দীন অকিঞ্চন ছার ।
আপনে মানবি সদা ছাড়ি অহঙ্কার ॥

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi' ahankara

"Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean."

বৃক্ষসম ক্ষমাগুণ করবি সাধন ।
প্রতিহিংসা ত্যজি অন্যে করবি পালন ॥

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

Practise tolerance like a tree. Stop ill-treating others, instead nurture them.

জীবন-নির্ব্বাহে আনে উদ্বেগ না দিবে ।
পর-উপকারে নিজ-সুখ পাসরিবে ॥

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

Do not trouble others for your own upkeep, and forget your own happiness in the course of helping others.

(Sri Siksastakam Giti)

It is necessary to be able to forgive others. If somebody has done wrong, what can you do? But it does not refer to Gurudev. Somebody can think, "If Gurudev does wrong, you must forgive him," but this is wrong. [Gurudev can never be or behave wrong.] It is said that if somebody is jealous of you, if somebody swears you, but you will not swear anyone back.

So, when will I earn the qualification to chant the Holy Name? When will I become humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree and when will I learn to give honour to everyone? Just as when you cut a tree, the tree does not say anything, nor does it stop giving shade—we must have the same kind of tolerance. Our mind, our heart is always fickle—our mind cannot sit still in one place. That is why Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says, "When will my heart become fixed? When will I be able to tolerate everything and exclusively serve the Lord?"

শৈশব-যৌবনে, জড়সুখ-সঙ্গে,
অভ্যাস হইল মন্দ ।
নিজকর্ম্ম-দোষে, এ দেহ হইল,
ভজনের প্রতিবন্ধ ॥৩॥

saisava-yauvane, jada-sukha-sange,
abhyasa ha-ila manda
nija-karma-dose, e deha ha-ila,
bhajanera pratibandha [3]

In my childhood and youth, I always indulged in material happiness and I have become habituated to bad things. Because of my own sins, this body has become an impediment to spiritual practice.

When you were young, you did not come to this line, that is why your habits have become bad. Do you think you will be able to chant the Holy Name in your old age? If you could not chant from a young age, then you will not be able to wake up early in the morning. If you sleep in the afternoon, you cannot wake up the Lordships in the afternoon. You can sit in your room or visit friends and family, drink tea and chat with others in the evening. This is how habits become bad. As a result of our own actions, this body becomes an obstacle to practising Krishna consciousness. You cannot practise properly, you cannot take prasadam, and if you overeat, your stomach becomes upset. You will not be able to see in your old age—you spend your life looking at all sorts of things and in your old age you will not be able to read anything or see anything. Such is the state we end up in. So, it is necessary to practise from your young days. People say, "Why practise Krishna consciousness now? I will practise when I grow old." "Vrddha-kala aola, saba sukha bhagala, pida-vase ha-inu katara (বৃদ্ধকাল আওল, সব সুখ ভাগল, পীড়াবশে হইনু কাতর): now old age has come and all happiness has fled—distressed by diseases, I have become miserable" (Saranagati). When old age comes, all happiness will go away, then we will lament and feel miserable amidst all the diseases. There will be no energy to practise Krishna consciousness. If your health is not good, then will you feel happy practising Krishna consciousness?

বার্দ্ধক্যে এখন, পঞ্চরোগে হত,
কেমনে ভজিব বল’ ।
কাঁদিয়া কাঁদিয়া, তোমার চরণে
পড়িয়াছি সুবিহ্বল ॥৪॥

vardhakye ekhana, pancha-roge hata,
kemane bhajiba bala'
kandiya kandiya, tomara charane
padiyachhi suvihvala [4]

Now aged, I am afflicted by five-fold diseases. Tell me, how shall I serve? Crying incessantly, I have fallen at your feet, utterly bewildered.

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