(2/10) Serve with Faith

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 26 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 2

One takes initiation to serve the guru. The very meaning of initiation is service to the guru. Service can be different. One can serve close to the guru, and one can serve from far, too. Personally, I did not stay with Gurudev so much. I listened to what Gurudev said and did whatever he ordered me to do. Gurudev kept me in Nabadwip and wanted to go abroad. At first, during six or seven years, I did not spent even one night anywhere outside our Nabadwip temple. After that, Guru Maharaj told me to preach, so I started going out to preach. Otherwise, before that, even if I went to Kolkata to meet with Gurudev, I would come back to Nabadwip the same day.

‘Guru-mukha-padma-vakya chittete kariya aikya, ara na kariha mane asa (গুরুমুখ-পদ্মবাক্য চিত্তেতে করিয়া ঐক্য, আর না করিহ মনে আশা). Make the teachings from Sri Guru’s lotus mouth one with your heart and do not desire anything else.’ We sing this in the kirtan, and by singing, singing and singing it, we must bring ourselves to this path. We must make the teachings from Sri Guru’s lotus mouth one with our hearts and not desire anything else. The problem is that we have many desires and hopes…

We must always be surrendered to Krishna and do service. Suppose you go to school or college. If you cheat or bunk off school, you will not pass the exam. The same is true here. You cannot cheat or bunk off your service to the Lord. Worshipping the Lord, practising Krishna consciousness means service, so if you cheat or bunk off your service, there is no use practising Krishna consciousness. You must surrender yourselves completely. We sing this kirtan every morning:

দৈন্য, আত্মনিবেদন, গোপ্তৃত্বে বরণ ।
‘অবশ্য রক্ষিবে কৃষ্ণ’—বিশ্বাস পালন ॥
ভক্তি-অনুকূল মাত্র কার্য্যের স্বীকার ।
ভক্তি-প্রতিকূল ভাব-বর্জ্জনাঙ্গীকার ॥

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
‘avasya raksibe krsna’—visvasa palana
bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara

‘(1) Humility, (2) self-submission, (3) accepting that the Lord is your maintainer, (4) keeping faith that “Krishna will certainly protect”, (5) engaging only in what is favourable to devotion, (6) rejecting what is unfavourable to devotion.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We must have faith that Krishna is our protector, that Krishna is our maintainer. As soon as we lose this faith, Maya will catch us.

কৃষ্ণ ভুলি’ সেই জীব অনাদি-বহির্ম্মুখ ।
অতএব মায়া তারে দেয় সংসারাদি-দুঃখ ॥

krsna bhuli’ sei jiva—anadi bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsaradi-duhkha

‘Forgetting Krishna, the soul turned towards the external illusory world in primeval times. As the result, illusion (Maya) gives such a soul various material miseries.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.20.117)

সংসারের পার হই' ভক্তির সাগরে ।
যে ডুবিবে, সে ভজুক নিতাইচাঁদেরে ॥

samsarera para hai’ bhaktira sagare
ye dubibe, se bhajuka nitai-chandere

‘If you desire to cross the ocean of material existence and dive into the ocean of devotion, may you serve Sri Nitaichand!’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.1.77)

We are working so hard for Him, for Nityananda Prabhu. We arrange a big festival, and all devotees come to help us. You can see the Bokaro devotees: they live in their homes and work, some of them have families, some do not, but although they work, they come here and distribute prasad every time. They are here, and I know that I do not need to worry about devotees getting prasad. They always help during every festival and every parikrama. I have seen also that the ladies were distributing prasad, too. Many devotees helped. Thousands of people took prasad during these four days, and arranging prasad for them does not happen just by saying it – it can only be possible by Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy. Today also, the festival has finished, and there is no bhoga left – three quintal (300 kg) of rice has been finished.

Many could not wait and have left. I do not want anyone to go back. I want everyone to take prasad. Everybody in this world is Nityananda Prabhu’s family, and if I give some rice to one person, what loss is there for me?

— : • : —

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Size: 39 Mb
Length: 80 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Main Festivals
2) Serve with Faith
3) Service Duty (1)
4) Service Duty (2)
5) Heed My Word
6) Perverted Tastes and Habits
7) Snowball of Offences
8) Path to Indigestion
9) Memorable Pastimes
10) Kali Yuga Brahmans