Guru-Pada-Asraya

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama, Day Four
Evening class, 27 March 2021, part 7
Translated from Bengali

[After chanting kirtans:]

Do you understand the meaning of the kirtan? "Grhe thako, vane thako—sada Hari bole dako. Whether you are in a house or in a forest, always call out to the Lord." "Sukhe duhkhe bhule nako vadane Harinam koro re: in happiness or sadness, never forget it, always chant the Holy Name." When happiness comes, we forget the Lord, and when unhappiness comes, we remember the Lord. This will not do. You must chant the Holy Name and remember the Lord always, eternally, both in happiness and unhappiness. It is said in the scriptures,

আশ্রয় লইয়া ভজে তার কৃষ্ণ নাহি ত্যজে
আর সব মরে অকারণ

asraya la-iya bhaje, tare krsna nahi tyaje
ara saba mare akarana

"Krishna never leaves those who take shelter in Him and serve Him—all others die in vain."

The root, the basis of devotion to the Lord is guru-pada-asraya (taking shelter at the holy lotus feet of bona fide Sri Guru). It is necessary to take shelter at the holy lotus feet of bona fide Sri Guru. You must find a Guru who exists within the current of the guru-parampara, who holds Sri Rupanuga line (Sri Rupanuga-dhara), who holds the authentic conclusions of devotional teaching (bhakti-siddhanta-dhara)—find this kind of Guru and take shelter at his holy lotus feet. One cannot become a Guru on their own—a Guru must be selected. It is necessary to follow Guru-parampara. So, guru-pada-asraya means accepting a guru who is situated within the authentic guru-parampara. What sort of Guru must one take initiation from? For example, although Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur had not left anyone as the next acharya, he ordered Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, through the kirtan 'Sri Rupa-manjari-pada,' to continue preaching the teaching of Sri Sri Rupa Raghunath. Moreover, when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was reading Sri Bhaktivinod-viraha Dasakam composed by Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj and came to the line 'Srigauranumatam svarupaviditam...' he said, "Happy style. Now I can die peacefully. I do not have to stay longer here, I can leave peacefully knowing that there is somebody left in this world who can preach what I have told." This selected personality is Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

Later, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj had initiated many brahmacharis, many sannyasis, but among all his disciples he selected our Gurudev (Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj) and, having seated him on his throne in 1985, he left on 12 August 1988. And as for me, you know my story, I do not want to tell it. Those who were there at that time heard what Gurudev said, and whether somebody follows it or not, I am not saying anything about that. I do not want to dredge up the past—if I start digging in a drain, then only dirt will come out. I do not want to smell that dirt. Therefore, it is not necessary for me to say those things.

So, as I was saying, it is necessary to take initiation from a Guru who is situated within an authentic guru-parampara. When Gurudev selects one of his servitors and says, "Follow him, listen to him and obey him," then it is necessary to follow this. You can look at the foreign devotees—they take initiation and practise Krishna consciousness properly, they always keep connection and do service. Those who do not practise Krishna consciousness properly take initiation like the Bengalis—many of them take initiation and then go away. You do not become a disciple just by taking a mantra from a Guru. If you are to be a disciple, you must change and mould yourself according to your Gurudev's disciplining.

We must always follow Gurudev's word. You cannot follow partially. Gurudev often said, "There are 10% devotees, there are 20% devotees, 50% devotees, 100% devotees." Gurudev would see the percentage of devotion. There are very few 100% devotees, maybe only one, but mostly devotees are 10%, 20%, 50%, etc. It is necessary to be sincere, to be a seeker, and to have chastity. To be sincere means to have nistha—to be fixed and dead on in one's practice and service, to be firmly fixed in following Gurudev's words. To be a seeker means to search for good things—it means you get something good in some place and you do not go wandering everywhere looking for something else. You cannot take initiation from your Guru and then go everywhere looking for other things. It is necessary to be a sincere seeker.

You know, many people from this country go abroad looking for more money—they go abroad in search of dollars; and what did Guru Maharaj, and all our guru-varga (Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj and others) say? They say, "You are coming here abroad looking for dollars, and I have come here to give you the wealth of India."

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