(1/6) Clear Your Path

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Lord Varahadev's Appearance day, morning class
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 24 February 2021, part 1
Translated from Bengali

মূকং করোতি বাচালং পঙ্গুং লঙ্ঘয়তে গিরিম্ ।
যৎকৃপা তমহং বন্দে শ্রীগুরুং দীনতারণম্ ॥

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

‘The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill – all it takes is mercy from gurudev.’

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First of all, I am offering my full obeisance at the reddish soles of the holy lotus feet of Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, begging him for his causeless mercy. After that, I am offering my obeisance to all guru-varga, to all my godbrothers and godsisters, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees, to all devotees. I am praying to you all for your mercy to this lowly soul.

[Noise in the nat-mandir.]

Who is talking so much? Why are you talking here? Are you sitting in the nat-madir telling stories to each other? Lying in bed and telling stories?? There is Hari-katha taking place here! Is it a place for chatting?

গ্রাম্যকথা না শুনিবে, গ্রাম্যবার্ত্তা না কহিবে ।
ভাল না খাইবে আর ভাল না পরিবে ॥
অমানী মানদ হঞা কৃষ্ণনাম সদা ল'বে ।
ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ সেবা মানসে করিবে ॥

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la’be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

‘Do not listen to village talks, do not speak about village news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour from others, give all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krishna and serve Radha-Krishna in your mind.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.236–237)

দিন যায় মিছা কাজে নিশা নিদ্রাবশে ।
নাহি ভাবি মরণ নিকটে আছে বসে ॥

dina yaya michha kaje nisa nidra-base
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe base

‘My days pass in useless work and nights are wasted on sleep. It never occurs to me that death is there, waiting right next to me.’

(Sri Kalyan-Kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Does it ever occur to you that you can leave this world at this very moment?

হরে কৃষ্ণ নাম জপ অবিরাম
যে কই দিন আছে ত প্রাণ

hare krsna nama japa abhirama
ye kai dina dehe achhe ta prana

‘Incessantly chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra (the Lord’s Names) for as long as you have life in this body.’

It is necessary to always chant the Holy Name, to chant Krishna-kirtan. You are worrying about your money, food, clothes and various gossips at every moment, passing your whole lives like that.

দিনের মধ্যে আবল-তাবল
কত পচাল পাড়িতে পর
তার মধ্যে কিন্তু তুমি একবার
গোবিন্দ বলিতে নারা

dinera madhye abala-tabala
kata pachala padite para
tara madhye tumi ki ekbara
govinda balite nara

‘How much nonsense you can talk every day! How many idle talks you have! Can you not say the Name of Govinda even once?’

You always gossip, always engage in idle, inauspicious talks (). It acts against devotion. There are six obstacles: (1) eating too much, hoarding things (atyahara); (2) engaging in material activities that are not favourable to devotion (prayasa); (3) talking too much or talking nonsense (prajalpa); (4) following inferior practices or neglect activities favourable to devotion (niyamagraha); (5) associating with non-devotees (janasanga); (6) being fickle-minded (laulya). They are thorns obstructing your path to devotion. Atyahara means eating much; prayascha means accumulating much; prajalpa means talking much and talking nonsense; niyamagraha means doing that which opposes devotion; laulancha means material greed; and jana-sangancha means keeping material association. All these things are written at the end of our calendars.

We sing every day also:

ছয় বেগ দমি’, ছয় দোষ শোধি’,
ছয় গুণ দেহ দাসে ।
ছয় সৎসঙ্গ, দেহ হে আমারে,
বসেছি সঙ্গের আশে ॥

chhaya vega dami’, chhaya dosa sodhi’,
chhaya guna deha dase

‘Please subjugate my six urges, rectify my six defects and bestow the six good qualities upon this servant. Please grant me the six kinds of good association4. I am waiting, hoping to attain good association.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

It is necessary to control the six urges. It is necessary to correct the six defects in yourself. And it is necessary to keep good association. It is necessary to have enthusiasm for Hari-katha, for the Lord’s service. All these things are written very beautifully. If you do not read about it, if you do not follow it, you will not get any result. You were just now singing in a kirtan,

ভক্তি-অনুকূল মাত্র কার্য্যের স্বীকার ।
ভক্তি-প্রতিকূল ভাব-বর্জ্জনাঙ্গীকার ॥৪॥

bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava–varjanangikara [4]

‘[Surrender means] engaging only in what is favourable to devotion and rejecting what is unfavourable to devotion.’

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য প্রভু জীবে দয়া করি’ ।
স্বপার্ষদ স্বীয় ধাম সহ অবতরি ॥

sri-krsna-chaitanya prabhu jive daya kari’
svaparsada sviya dhama saha avatari

‘Bestowing mercy on jiva souls, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu descends with His associates and abode.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

It is necessary to reject all that is against devotion – all that is unfavourable to devotion, all thorns obstructing the path of devotion, all deception in the name of devotion. Devotion and anti-devotion cannot go together, just as if you drink both milk and liquor, you will not get any benefit.

I heard that people in Basirhat like to say, ‘We are doing mina-seva [fish service]!’ It made me laugh. Instead of worshipping the Lord, they are eating food themselves. What does the Lord eat? We sang in the ‘Dasavatara Stotram’ just now, ‘Kesava dhrta-mina-sarira jaya jagadisa hare.’ It is the first verse of the stotram. It says that the Lord assumes the form of a fish (mina). And people enjoy eating fish… Here also 50% of people eat fish. They think, ‘I can do anything I want,’ but doing anything you want does not work here. Do you understand? You must accept what is favourable to devotion and you must reject what is unfavourable to devotion.

You think that if you do not eat fish and meat, you will not be able to live. At the place where I come from they say, ‘Oh, I eat fish and eggs, but I have given up meat!’ This is their Krishna consciousness. They wear neckbeads, put tilaks, etc. – they do everything, but they eat fish and eggs. Neither Mahaprabhu, nor the scriptures teach us this. There is no such siddhanta.

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Length: 54 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Clear Your Path
2) Nurture Exclusive Desire
3) Sri Ekachakra Dham: Our Fortune To Be Here
4) Forging Your Destiny
5) Extreme Mercy
6) About Nityananda Prabhu