(7/8) Know Best

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nrisingha Palli, 21 March 2021, part 7
Translated from Bengali

We have sung Nityananda Prabhu’s kirtan:

নিতাই পদ-কমল, কোটীচন্দ্র-সুশীতল,
যে ছায়ায় জগত জুড়ায় ।

nitai pada-kamala, koti-chandra-susitala,
ye chhayaya jagata judaya

‘The whole world is soothed in the shade of Nitai’s lotus feet, which are as cooling as ten million moons.’

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

The sun gives light, but when it gives light, it heats (its rays are hot), but the moon never produces heat – it gives light, but its rays are not hot. Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s feet are compared to ten million moons. One moon is cooling, but if you take shelter of Nityananda Prabhu’s lotus feet, or Sri Gurudev’s lotus feet (gurudev is non-different from Nityananda-tattva), you will feel the invigorating, soothing coolness of ten million moons.

…Our programme is as follows. Tomorrow is adhivas. Do not go roaming here and there; our parikrama starts the day after tomorrow. We will go from here to the ghat by buses and take prasad during the parikrama. This year, we are going to a new place, Sri Rudradwip. We have not been going there every year because we did not have enough time, but since we are going by buses, we can go there this year. We will take prasad, and after that we will get on the buses and go there. I went there the other day by car; it is several kilometres from the place where we usually take afternoon prasad [near Lord Jagannath’s temple]. I spoke to the Maharaj who is in charge of the temple, told him that we would come and asked him not to close the temple. The temple is situated on the bank of the Ganges (in the north of Nabadwip, a little to the north-west of Antardwip). So, the day after tomorrow is the parikrama of Sri Antardwip, Sri Simantadwip and Sri Rudradwip, three islands in one day. When you go to Mayapur, you only go to ISKCON, but we do not do that. We go with the parikrama and visit all the places of Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, all the places where Mahaprabhu walked.

গৌর আমার, যে সব স্থানে,
করল ভ্রমণ রঙ্গে ।
সে সব স্থান, হেরিব আমি,
প্রণয়ি-ভকত-সঙ্গে ॥

gaura amara, ye saba sthane,
karala bhramana range
se saba sthana, heriba ami,
pranayi-bhakata-sange

‘In the company of loving devotees, I behold all the places my Gaura visited during His pastimes.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Last year we also went to a new place – Khalovecha Sridhar’s house. Mahaprabhu would often take rest at his house. We had searched that place out and found it in the jungle. We will go there this year, too. Sridhar Prabhu was a very poor brahman. When Mahaprabhu came to him, He drank water from a glass with a hole. You know that Krishna could eat banana skin at Vidura’s house, but He would not eat Duryodhan’s raj-bhoga. Mahaprabhu also did not accept any raj-bhoga, but He would go to Sridhar Prabhu’s house and forcefully take bananas, fruit, banana stems, banana flowers and other things from him.

ভক্তের জিনিষ প্রভু লুটিপুটি খায় ।
অভক্তের জিনিষ প্রভু উলটি নাহি চায় ॥

bhaktera jinisa prabhu lutiputi khaya
abhaktera jinisa prabhu ulti nahi chaya

‘The Lord eats anything and everything when a devotee offers it to Him, but He does not want to take anything from a non-devotee.’

(Based on Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.9.185)

The Lord accepts everything from His devotees, but He does not even look at non-devotees, regardless of what they offer Him. Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavad-gita also, ‘I only know My devotees, and My devotees also do not know anyone except Me – they only know Me.’ You can read Srimad Bhagavad-gita, and you will see it written there. That is why we must try to become servants, slaves of the Lord’s devotees.

I have made all the arrangements for you. I know that you have come to Sri Nabadwip Dham from far, so I have taken care of everything so that you do not have to struggle while here. We are far from the ghat, so we will go there by buses, and when we finish the parikrama, it is also very far from here, so the buses will bring us back. Do not worry about anything. Everybody must try to go for the parikrama.

When we go by buses, not everyone will get a seat, but the ride is not very long – you can stand for 10–20 minutes. You know how people go by buses in villages (when I go somewhere by car, I often see it): many people get on the bus, and everybody is standing on each other’s heads. Even when young people go to school or college, they struggle so much in crowded buses. I see that, too. There are about fifty seats in a bus, and another fifty people go standing. Not everyone can get a seat, but do not be mean to each other – let the elderly, especially elderly ladies, and the children take seats. This is the general etiquette. Give respect to everyone.

সকলে সম্মান, করিতে শকতি,
দেহ নাথ যথাযথ ।

sakale sammana, karite sakati,
deha natha yatha-yatha

‘Master! Give me the strength to give everyone appropriate honour.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We sing this in a kirtan. The proper etiquette is, ’Even if I cannot sit myself, I will let others sit.’ But these days everything has become topsy-turvy. The school master stands on the bus, and all the students sit. The students take after their school masters.

When we were students, as soon as we saw our teacher, everybody would keep a big distance from him. When I used to teach and the students saw me, they would actually flee, crying, ‘Gees, he is coming! Run!’ They were afraid of me because I would catch them bunking off school or college lessons. And now, students are smoking after the lessons, and the teachers are smoking with them; the teachers are looking at photos in their phones, and the students are also looking at photos in their phones. Like teachers, like students. Like guru, like disciple.

You must learn these things.

সকলে সম্মান, করিতে শকতি,
দেহ নাথ যথাযথ ।

sakale sammana, karite sakati,
deha natha yatha-yatha

‘Master! Give me the strength to give everyone appropriate honour.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Give due respect to everyone. Everybody should be given some appropriate respect, and you must give that due respect to everyone. We always sing this in the kirtan, but you must remember this. You must not only sing it with your mouths; you must follow it in your own lives and behaviour. Now we will sing one more kirtan, Mahaprabhu’s kirtan…

[His Divine Grace sings ‘Emona durmati’.]

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