(9/13) Surrender and Practise

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Tarakeshwar, 10 February 2021, part 9

ব্রহ্মাণ্ড ভ্রমিতে কোন ভাগ্যবান্ জীব ।
গুরু-কৃষ্ণ-প্রসাদে পায় ভক্তিলতা-বীজ ॥

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

‘Having travelled throughout the universe, some fortunate souls receive the seed of the devotional creeper by the mercy of Sri Guru, who is non-different from Krishna.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.19.151)

When, by some fortune, gurudev bestows his mercy, the fortunate soul receives the seed of the devotional creeper and must then practise sravan and kirtan.

মালী হঞা করে সেই বীজ আরোপণ ।
শ্রবণ-কীর্ত্তন-জলে করয়ে সেচন ॥

mali hana kare sei bija aropana
sravana-kirtana-jale karaye sechana

‘As caring gardeners, they plant this seed and water it with sravan (hearing) and kirtan (chanting, practising).’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.19.152)

It is necessary to water the seed of devotion with the water of listening and chanting. Listening and chanting are the root of spiritual life. ‘Kirtana prabhave smarana haibe (কীর্ত্তন-প্রভাবে স্মরণ হইবে). Chanting (kirtan) arouses remembrance (smaran)’ ('Vaisnava Ke?'). We will be able to remember (practise smaran) through kirtan.

জীবন অনিত্য জানহ সার,
তাহে নানাবিধ বিপদ ভার
নামাশ্রয় করি’ যতনে তুমি,
থাকহ আপন কাজে ॥

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara
namasraya kari’ yatane tumi,
thakaha apana kaje

‘You must know the main truth that this life is not eternal and full of various dangers. Carry on your life but try your best to take shelter in the Holy Name.’

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We have been averse to Lord Krishna from time immemorial, and this life is not eternal. We can leave at any time, and nobody is going to give us an advance notice. You have got time now, so serve the Lord, do service and practise Krishna consciousness. Remember that this life is not eternal – we can leave at any moment.

Many say, ‘I will leave everything and come to stay at the temple,’ but they cannot.

মায়ারে করিয়া জয় ছাড়ান না যায় ।
সাধুকৃপা বিনা আর না দেখি উপায় ॥

mayare kariya jaya chhadana na yaya
sadhu-krpa bina ara na dekhi upaya

‘It is impossible to conquer illusory environment and break free from it. I see no other way to get relief except by sadhus’ mercy.’

(Prarthana, Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

If you want to conquer the illusory environment, you need the mercy of sadhus and Sri Guru. You must first surrender to a sadhu, guru and Vaishnav and beg them for mercy. After that, Maya Devi will bestow her mercy on you.

Many want to come to the temple after they retire, but I see that when people retire, they cannot do any service at the temple anymore. They cannot utilise their time properly, cannot give full time to the service of the Lord. We say:

কাঁদিয়া কাঁদিয়া জানাইব দুঃখগ্রাম ।
সংসার অনল হৈতে মাগিব বিশ্রাম ॥

kandiya kandiya janaiba duhkha-grama samsara anala haite magiba visrama

‘Weeping, I will tell Vaishnav Thakur about my miserable life and pray to him for respite from the fire of material existence.’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

When will we get respite from the raging fire of material existence?

Many say, ‘Oh, I stay at home and practise on my own,’ but there are many services that you cannot do at home. You have an opportunity to stay at the temple and serve full time, but you will not get this kind of opportunity at home. When you stay at home, you have to worry about your family, you have to earn money, you have to do so many things. When I lived in the shelter of gurudev, I did not have to worry about anything. Even now too, I do not worry because I know that the Lord will arrange everything as He wishes. I do not have any problems.

ষড়ঙ্গ শরণাগতি হইবে যাঁহার ।
তাঁহার প্রার্থনা শুনে শ্রীনন্দকুমার ॥

sad-anga saranagati haibe yanhara
tanhara prarthana sune sri-nanda-kumara

‘Lord Krishna hears the prayers of those who surrender to Him in these six ways.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

If you surrender in all six ways, Nanda Kumar (Lord Krishna) will hear your prayer. As for service, you must do properly the service that gurudev has given you. You must listen to what gurudev says and realise, ‘I want to do the service that gurudev has given me, I will do it.’ If you do something out of your own accord – if you follow what your mind says – it will be karma. For example, gurudev tells you to fry potato, but you fry eggplant instead. If you are like this, then even if you stay at the temple, your attempts to serve will be karma, and as the result of such activities you will become bound by it. If gurudev tells you, ‘Do puja,’ you must do that. What else is there to know or think about? If you can do puja as you were told to, and on top of that give class or do some other services, it is good, but if you do something else instead of doing puja, then it is not good. You may think, ‘I like giving class’, ‘I like going for collection’, ‘I like preaching’, but it is not a matter of what you like or do not like – you must do what your guru tells you to do. It is necessary to understand this.

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Length: 92 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Always Practise Devotion
2) Pure Devotional Life (1)
3) Pure Devotional Life (2)
4) Detach and Immerse Yourself
5) Earn Qualification
6) Humble Heartfelt Plea
7) Quality and Qualification
8) Devotional Depth
9) Surrender and Practise
10) Cut Off Material Attachment
11) Bogus Kirtan – Bogus Devotion
12) Embracing Controlled Life
13) Start From Tongue