(2/7) What Are You Doing With Your Life?

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Begampur–Worldwide, 7 March 2021, part 2

পরম করুণ, পহুঁ দুই জন,
নিতাই গৌরচন্দ্র ।
সব অবতার- সার শিরোমণি,
কেবল আনন্দ কন্দ ॥১॥

parama karuna, pahu dui jana,
nitai gaura-chandra
saba avatara- sara siromani,
kevala ananda kanda [1]

‘Nitai and Gaurachandra are two most merciful Lords. They are the best crest-jewels of all incarnations and the root of pure happiness.’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

So many incarnations of the Lord have come to this world, but in this Age of Kali, Krishna takes Srimati Radharani’s heart and halo and becomes Gauranga, a combined form of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna.

মহাপ্রভু শ্রীচৈতন্য, রাধাকৃষ্ণ নহে অন্য,
রূপানুগ জনের জীবন ।

mahaprabhu sri-chaitanya, radha-krsna nahe anya,
rupanuga janera jivana

‘Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than Sri Sri Radha-Krishna and is the very life of Rupanuga followers.’

(Sri Guru-Parampara kirtan)

Who is Sri Krishna Chaitanya? He is Mahaprabhu, none other than Radha-Krishna, and He is the crest-jewel of all avatars (incarnations of the Lord).

ভজ ভজ ভাই, চৈতন্য-নিতাই,
সুদৃঢ় বিশ্বাস করি’ ।
বিষয় ছাড়িয়া, সে রসে মজিয়া,
মুখে বল হরি হরি ॥২॥

bhaja bhaja bhai, chaitanya-nitai,
sudrdha visvasa kari’
visaya chhadiya, se rase majiya,
mukhe bala hari hari [2]

‘Brother, serve, serve Chaitanya and Nitai with the strongest faith! Leave aside all material things and, immersing yourself into this nectar, chant out loud, “Hari! Hari!”’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

We must leave the material world, material ego,

কবে শ্রীচৈতন্য মোরে করিবেন দয়া ।
কবে আমি পাইব বৈষ্ণব-পদছায়া ॥

kabe sri chaitanya more karibena daya
kabe ami paiba vaisnava-pada-chhaya

‘When will Sri Chaitanya (my chaitya-guru) be merciful to me? When will I come in the shade of Vaishnavs’ feet?’

কবে আমি ছাড়িব এ বিষয়াভিমান ।
কবে বিষ্ণুজনে আমি করিব সম্মান ॥

kabe ami chhadiba e visayabhimana
kabe visnu-jane ami kariba sammana

‘When will I give up this mundane ego? When will I give honour to the Lord’s devotees?’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Those who are rich have ego, those who are beautiful have ego, those who are powerful have ego. But how to leave this ego? When will we be able to give respect to Vaishnavs?…

It is a very good song. We always sing it, but we may not always understand its meaning.

It says in this kirtan, ‘Bhaja bhaja bhai Chaitanya-Nitai sudrdha visvasa kari’. Brother, serve, serve Sri Sri Chaitanya-Nitai with the strongest faith!’ It is necessary to have the strongest faith. Faith is the main foundation in devotional life. When I am born, my mother tells me, ‘This is your father,’ and we believe it. So, when sastra and grantha (so many scriptures), all the rishis, all the munis tell us something, we must believe it. It is necessary to have the strongest faith. There are four types of faith – kamala-sraddha (tender faith), taranga-sraddha (fickle faith), drdha-sraddha (strong faith) and sudrdha-sraddha (strongest faith). If you have little faith, you can leave this line very quickly. It is necessary to have the strongest faith. ‘Sudrdha visvasa kari’. Always keep the strongest faith.’

Mahaprabhu told about Nityananda Prabhu,

মদিরা যবনী যাদি নিত্যানন্দ ধরে ।
তথাপি ব্রহ্মার বন্দ্য কহিল তোমারে ॥

madira yavani yadi nityananda dhare
tathapi brahmara vandya kahila tomare

‘Even if Nityananda Prabhu comes drunk, with a Muslim lady by His side, He is always worshippable for Lord Brahma.’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 3.6.123)

‘Even if Nityananda comes drunk, even if He brings a Muslim lady, He will be still worshippable, even for Lord Brahma.’ That is why it is necessary to have the strongest faith in your guru – Nityananda Prabhu is guru-tattva. Keep the strongest faith in your guru.

বিষয় ছাড়িয়া, সে রসে মজিয়া,
মুখে বল হরি হরি ॥২॥

visaya chhadiya, se rase majiya,
mukhe bala hari hari [2]

‘Leave aside all material things and, immersing yourself into this nectar, chant out loud, “Hari! Hari!”’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

Giving up all visaya means,

আসক্তিরহিত, সম্বন্ধসহিত,
বিষয়সমূহ সকলি মাধব ॥

asakti-rahita, sambandha-sahita,
visaya-samuha sakali madhava

‘When you are free from material attachment and establish relationship with the Lord, then you will see that everything around you is Lord Madhav Himself.’

(‘Vaishnav ke?’ Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur)

We must be detached. It is not necessary to be materially attached to anything. One time, somebody asked Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj when he was staying in a public toilet, ‘Babaji Maharaj, why are you staying here? Are you not getting the bad smell?’ Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj replied, ‘Yes, I am getting the bad smell, but this smell of stool and urine can be tolerated; what I cannot tolerate is the smell of gross materialists – their smell is very dangerous!’

বিষয় ছাড়িয়া, সে রসে মজিয়া,
মুখে বল হরি হরি ॥২॥

visaya chhadiya, se rase majiya,
mukhe bala hari hari [2]

‘Leave aside all material things and, immersing yourself into this nectar, chant out loud, “Hari! Hari!”’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

We speak so much, but how much time do we spend on chanting the Holy Name? How much time do we spend on practising properly? And how many hours do we spend on our own selves, on our bodies?

ভাল মন্দ খাই, হেরি, পরি, চিন্তাহীন ।
নাহি ভাবি এ দেহ ছাড়িব কোনদিন ॥

bhala manda khai, heri, pari, chinta-hina
nahi bhavi e deha chhadiba kona-dina

‘I eat, see and wear whatever I fancy without a worry in the world. I never think that I will ever leave this body.’

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We think, ‘I will never leave this body! I will eat fancy food and wear fancy clothes!’ This is what we are doing. But Sriman Mahaprabhu told Srila Raghunath Das Goswami:

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)

Therefore:

বিষয় ছাড়িয়া, সে রসে মজিয়া,
মুখে বল হরি হরি ॥২॥

visaya chhadiya, se rase majiya,
mukhe bala hari hari [2]

‘Leave aside all material things and, immersing yourself into this nectar, chant out loud, “Hari! Hari!”’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

We must always think about the Lord! It is not necessary to think about anything or anyone else. We must go back to our home! We are all relatives because we are all sons and daughters of nectar (amritasya-putra), and we must go back to that nectar. We have lost our own address, we have lost our home…

দেখ ওরে ভাই, ত্রিভুবনে নাই,
এমন দয়াল দাতা ।

dekha ore bhai, tribhuvane nai,
emana dayala data [3]

‘Look, brother, in all the three worlds there is no other benefactor as merciful as They are.’

(এমন দয়াল কেবা আছে)
(নিতায়ের গৌরের মত
এমন দয়াল কেবা আছে)
(মার' খেয়েও নাম প্রেম যাচে)
(এমন দয়াল কেবা আছে)

(eman’ dayala keba achhe)
(nitaiyera gaurera mata
eman’ dayala keba achhe)
(mar’ kheyeo nama prema yache)
(eman’ dayala keba achhe)

‘Is there anyone else as merciful? Is there anyone as merciful as Nitai and Gaura? Even when They are beaten, They bestow divine love. Is there anyone as merciful?’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

They are very kind! We are fallen souls, and Nityananda Prabhu is perfect for fallen souls – only He can rescue us from this situation. We are constantly attacked by the illusory environment (we have fallen into the net of illusion), and He is our only hope. Madhai beat Him, but Nityananda told him, ‘You can beat Me, I do not mind it, but please chant the Holy Name!’ Even Mahaprabhu was very angry with Madhai, but Nityananda begged Mahaprabhu for Madhai, ‘Give him to Me! Please give him to Me as alms!’ How merciful Nityananda Prabhu is!

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য-দয়া করহ বিচার ।
বিচার করিলে চিত্তে পাবে চমৎকার ॥

sri-krsna-chaitanya-daya karaha vichara
vichara karile chitte pabe chamatkara

‘Just consider Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy! If you do, you will feel astonished in your heart.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.8.15)

How much mercy of Chaitanya-chandra and Nityananda Prabhu bestowed all over the world! Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj and Srila Gurudev also distributed Lord Chaitanya’s mercy and Srila Prabhupad’s mercy everywhere, all over the world.

পশুপাখী ঝুরে, পাষাণ বিদরে,
শুনি’ যার গুণ-গাথা ॥৩॥

pasu-pakhi jhure, pasana vidare,
suni’ yara guna-gatha [3]

‘Even birds and animals begin to shed tears and stones melt just by hearing about Their glories.’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

Hearing the glorification of Nityananda and Gauranga, even birds begin to cry! When Mahaprabhu went to Jharkhand, all the tigers and deer sat together and chanted, ‘Hari bol! Hari bol!’ When Mahaprabhu was walking down the street, even birds would cry, but our hearts are as hard as rock! Our hearts never melt. Even though we hear about Nitai-Gaura, even though we hear glorification of Nityananda Prabhu, our hearts and minds remain very hard, as hard as rock! Even birds and beasts start crying, but our hearts do not melt!

সংসারে মজিয়া, রহিলি পড়িয়া,
সে পদে নহিল আশ ।

samsare majiya, rahili padiya,
se pade nahila asa [4]

‘Drowning in material life, I have been living as a fallen wretch never aspiring to come to Their feet.’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

We are too much attached to family life. We always think about kanak (money) and kamini (women), but we do not think about Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy, we do not think about gurudev’s mercy. We are so engrossed in material life that we have no time, no energy to think about Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy, about Gauranga’s mercy. We have no time for anything! But,

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)

Day by day our lives are passing, and each day our age is not increasing – our age is decreasing! Day by day, our lifetime is becoming shorter. We are suffering from the results of our actions that we did in our previous lives and in this life also.

This ‘Parama Karuna’ song was composed by Srila Lochan Das Thakur. It is a very nice song.

সংসারে মজিয়া, রহিলি পড়িয়া,
সে পদে নহিল আশ ।
আপন করম, ভুঞ্জায় শমন,
কহয়ে লোচন দাস ॥৪॥

samsare majiya, rahili padiya,
se pade nahila asa
apana karama, bhunjaya samana,
kahaye lochana dasa [4]

‘Lochan Das says, “Drowning in material life, I have been living as a fallen wretch never aspiring to come to Their feet. Now I am being punished for my own actions.”’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

ভজ ভজ নিতাই ভজ
নিতাই ভজলে গৌর পাবে ভজ ভজ নিতাই ভজ
নিতাই ভজলে গৌর পাবে ভজ ভজ নিতাই ভজ
দয়াল নিতাই দয়াল নিতাই দয়াল নিতাই দয়াল নিতাই

bhaja bhaja nitai bhaja
nitai bhajle gaura pabe bhaja bhaja nitai bhaja
nitai bhajle gaura pabe bhaja bhaja nitai bhaja
doyal nitai doyal nitai doyal nitai doyal nitai

‘Worship, worship Nitai! If you worship Nitai, you will get Gaura. Worship, worship Nitai! O Merciful Nitai!’

— : • : —

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Perfect Mood
2) What Are You Doing With Your Life?
3) Sell Your Heart
4) Tottering Intelligence
5) Escaping Maya
6) Two Important Questions
7) Embracing the Fortune