(6/14) Service: Adherence and Attachment

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance, evening class
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 25 February 2021, part 6
Translated from Bengali

Actually, sahajiyas are better than mayavadis because, unlike mayavadis, sahajiyas at least believe in the existence of God. You have seen today at the temple of Bankarai Krishna that somebody was chanting ‘kirtans’, dressed as Krishna. This is what sahajiyas are like. They only dress as Krishna. Lord Siva also once dressed as a gopi, but the difference is that Lord Siva had anugatya (strict adherence and submissive devotion), that is why he was able to take part in Vrindavan pastimes. There can be no Krishna consciousness without anugatya. If you practise Krishna consciousness without anugatya, it is Maya consciousness (serving Maya). You must remember this. If somebody practises Krishna consciousness without strict adherence and devotion to the guru, it is maya (illusion).

One time, I went to collect rice. A man told me, ‘I can give you rice! How much will you take?’ I told him, ‘Give me a quintal (100 kg).’ He said, ‘All right. I’m leaving now, but you can go and take it.’ I said, ‘Wait, give the rice first,’ and then I saw that the sack the man had given was full of rice-husk paddy! I still took it because it is good paddy for cows. Another time, I went to some place, and the man said, ‘I have not got any rice, I only have husk paddy.’ I took it, and everybody laughed at me, ‘Maharaj has brought husk paddy!’

We must always think how we can help our gurudev – whatever our capacity is. There is no question that everybody must give money. I never ask anyone for money. When I come to your house, I say, ‘Give me a sack of potato’, ‘Give me five kg of rice’, and so on. Why do I say this? Because when a sannyasi comes from a temple, everybody knows that you must give him something. In the same way, everybody knows that when you come to a sannyasi or to the Lord, you must bring something, some food items. You can see that whenever I come to a temple, I always give pranami. This is a rule. Whenever I go to Nabadwip, Vrindavan or Puri temples, I never leave the temple without giving some pranami (a small donation). Gurudev taught me this. Even when I go to the Kolkata temple, Gaura-Nitai are there, so if I go out for preaching, even if I come back late, I always bring some bhoga for Them (especially if I know I am passing a shop where good bhoga is available). It can be offered to Them the next day in the morning. You must bring something for the Deities. When I come here, I bring some fruit and vegetables. When I go to Nrisingha Palli, when I go to Tarakeshwar or other places, I always bring something. This is a rule, and I do this wherever I go. This is what Gurudev taught me.

One time, Gurudev told me, ‘Let us go to Hapaniya. My Guru Maharaj told me that Hapaniya was my temple, so I want to go there.’ On the way, Gurudev gave me a hundred rupees and told me to buy some yoghurt and sweets. When I came back, Gurudev told me, ‘Why did it take you so long? Were you bargaining? When you buy something for the Lord, you must never bargain.’ This is what Gurudev taught me.

How should we serve Vaishnavs?

কিরূপে পাইব সেবা মুঞি দুরাচার ।
শ্রীগুরু-বৈষ্ণবে রতি না হৈল আমার ॥

ki-rupe paiba seva muni durachara
sri-guru-vaisnave rati na haila amara

‘I am so vile – how will I ever get service? I have not got any attachment to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs!’

(Prarthana, Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

‘I do not have attachment to the lotus feet of Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! I am wicked, ill-natured…’

We must practise Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness means that we must please the Lord. Therefore, we must please the Lord, we must please our gurudev. You can never please the Lord without pleasing gurudev. Krishna Himself says, ‘Worshipping My devotees is higher than worshipping Me.’ That is why we always say that we are devotees of Gauranga Mahaprabhu, devotees of Nitai. Before you become a devotee of Krishna, you must become a devotee of Srimati Radharani.

রাধা-ভজনে যদি মতি নাহি ভেলা ।
কৃষ্ণ ভজন তব অকারণে গেলা ॥

radha-bhajane yadi mati nahi bhela
krsna-bhajana tava akarana gela

‘If you have not become devoted to the worship of Sri Radha, your worship of Krishna has been in vain.’

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We must worship Srimati Radharani, and Her worship is this:

মাতল হরিজন কীর্ত্তন-রঙ্গে ।
পূজল রাগপথ গৌরব-ভঙ্গে ॥

matala hari-jana kirtana-range
pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange

‘We will worship the path of raga-marga (spontaneous loving service) from afar and live in adherence to the Vedic rules and regulations.’

(Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad)

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Free Yourself From Deceit
2) Be Truthful, Pious, and Sincere
3) Chastity In Preaching
4) Cry, Pray, and Serve
5) Service: Labour of Love
6) Service: Adherence and Attachment
7) Forging Fortune
8) Concentrate Your Mind on Nityananda Prabhu's Service
9) Direct Your Mind to Bhagavatam
10) Keep Yourself On Track
11) Are You Getting Off?
12) Gentle Clean Hearts
13) Do Not Give Up
14) False Attachments