False Attachments

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance, evening class
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 25 February 2021, part 14
Translated from Bengali

In Sri Bhakti Raksak Harikathamrita, Srila Guru Maharaj wrote about one story. Once, there were two sadhus sitting on the bank of the Ganges in Haridwar. You must have seen how fast the current is in Haridwar—the river is not deep, you can see the stones, but the current is very fast. Suddenly, one sadhu says to the other one, "Look, a blanket is floating!" They thought it would be nice to take it out, dry, and use. One of them jumped into the river to get the blanket, but when he caught it, he realised it was a bear! The bear was going down the current and could not get out—it too wanted to live, so when he saw a man, he grasp onto him. The sadhu and the bear started struggling in the water. The sadhu who stayed on the bank saw the first sadhu struggling in the water and cried to him, "Hey, leave the blanket! Leave it!" The first sadhu replied, "I have left the blanket, but the blanket is not leaving me!"

So, we want to leave the material life, but the material life does not want to leave us. It is not so easy to practise Krishna consciousness. These days, be it a brahmachari or a sannyasi, everybody keeps in touch with their home and thinks about material things, about their material family house. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami was sent 400 rupees (coins) from his house, and he arranged Vaishnav-seva with that money, but Mahaprabhu did not like it. Mahaprabhu said that pratistha was coming to Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu through that, and He did not like it. All the Vaishnavs thought and spoke among each other, "When will Raghunath make Vaishnav-seva? When will I get pranami?" Mahaprabhu said it was not good. When Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu understood it, he sent a message to his house, saying, "Do not send any money! You do not need to send all this."

বিষয়ীর অন্ন খাইলে মলিন হয় মন ।
মলিন মন হৈলে, নহে কৃষ্ণ-নাম গ্রহণ ॥

visayira anna khaile malina haya mana
malina mana haile, nahe krsna-nama grahana

"If you take food that comes from materialistic people, your mind becomes contaminated. When your mind is contaminated, you cannot chant the Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.278)

After that, he did not take money from anyone. Yet these days sannyasis keep in touch with their homes. I had not given any news to my family for fourteen years, and they had even made my sraddha ceremony, offered pindu, etc., thinking I was dead. Very good! So what? I am still alive. In Gurudev's time also, there was someone who did not know much and would say, "Astottara-sata-sri nitya-lila pravistha [who has entered his eternal pastimes]..." When Gurudev heard it, he said jokingly, "I am alive! I am alive! I am not nitya-lila pravistha! I am still alive!" That is why, Gurudev said, "This is my family..." The person had taken sannyas but did not understand the meaning of "nitya-lila pravistha"...

[His Divine Grace chants "Hari Haraye Nama Krsna," recites Jaya Dhavani, and completes the evening class.]

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