Forging Fortune

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance, evening class
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 25 February 2021, part 7
Translated from Bengali

Our Param Guru Maharaj Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, the Founder Acharya of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, was very strict. One time, he turned Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj out from the temple because the latter only went to listen to some melodious sahajiya kirtans. Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj was the one who composed our Sri Gaudiya Gitanjali (the Kirtan Guide); his samadhi is in Vrindavan, if you go to Vrindavan, you can find his samadhi near Pavan Sarovar (Nandagram), where Srila Sridhar Maharaj practised bhajan during some time. When this Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj went to listen to some lila-kirtan that were chanted near the temple and Srila Sridhar Maharaj got to hear about it, Srila Sridhar Maharaj told him to leave. Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj left and was about to cross the Ganges to go to Mayapur when he met a disciple of Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur who asked him, "Maharaj, where are you hurrying off to?" Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj said, "Srila Sridhar Maharaj has turned me out." The devotee said, "Srila Srihdar Maharaj? I heard he never turns anyone out... You must have done something." Srila Babaji Maharaj said, "Yes, I went to listen to lila-kirtan." Then, the disciple of Srila Prabhupad said, "Oh! You are a tin-lakhiya babaji (a great babaji chanting 300,000 Holy Names every day), but you are not getting taste for the Holy Name, so you went to get that taste from a boys' and girls' kirtan?!" Gurudev told this story very nicely.

One time, I told Gurudev, "Gurudev, one devotee has left because of some problem." Gurudev replied, "This is not the cause. Yaowata-i svabhavik, thakata-i asvabhavik (যাওয়াটাই স্বাভাবিক, থাকাটাই অস্বাভাবিক). It is natural one will leave; rather, it is unnatural (uncommon) that one would stay." How many people can stay at the temple? Who can tolerate the austerities and practise Krishna consciousness, do service? Who has such a fortune?

অল্প ভাগ্যে সেবা নাহি হয়
কোটি জন্ম থাকলে ভাগ্য
বিষয় ছেড়ে হয় বৈরাগ্য

alpa-bhagye seva nahi haya
koti janma thakle bhagya
visaya chhede haya vairagya

"Service does not come by just a little fortune. Only after ten million births of good fortune, can you leave this material world behind."

That is why, not everybody gets this kind of fortune.

One time, somebody complained to Gurudev, "Gurudev, I sit and chant kirtan every day at 6 o'clock. I play the mridanga and that fellow comes and plays karatals completely out of tune!" Gurudev replied, "Yata chila nadabune haye gela kirtane ara kaste bhenge gadano kattala (যত ছিল নাড়াবুনে হয়ে গেল কীর্ত্তনে আর কাস্তে ভেঙ্গে গড়ানো কত্তাল). Lit. all the foolish peasants come to do kirtan with broken scythes as kartals (Clodhoppers have turned artists; fools have turned leaders)." Gurudev's words were like that. He said, "I am living in a family with the children whom fathers or mothers have kicked out of the house. So many people come here from all kinds of walks of life—somebody will play in this way, somebody will play in that way. Why are you complaining to me? Everybody is not right here, but slowly they will come right." I still remember Gurudev's words. I always remember his words...

Gurudev told many things. He told me many things about the history of Gaudiya Vaishnavs, I do not say those things so much openly.... My Gurudev spoke in this way—"Sada hasya mista bhasi susila kavitva: you always smile and speak sweet words, and your poetry is perfect." He always chanted the Holy Name laughing and speaking sweetly.

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