Sri Guru Is All-in-All

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Disappearance day of Srila Govinda Maharaj
Siliguri, evening class, 24 April 2021, part 1
Translated from Bengali

First of all, I am offering my full obeisance at the holy lotus feet of Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, begging him for his causeless mercy, after that I am offering my obeisance to all Guru-varga, to all my God-brothers and sisters, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees, to all devotees, and I am praying to you all for your mercy to this low soul.

Today is the disappearance (tirobhav-tithi) of my Gurupadpadma Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. To observe this day, we have made today a festival here in Siliguri—devotees came, took maha-prasadam. However, I told you this morning that there is no difference between Gurudev's appearance and disappearance. Vaishnavs come to this world on the order of the Lord, they preach the Lord's message in this world. You have heard in one of the kirtans,

বৈষ্ণবের আবেদনে কৃষ্ণ দয়াময় ।
এ হেন পামর প্রতি হবেন সদয় ॥

vaisnavera avedane krsna dayamaya
e hena pamara prati habena sadaya

"Satisfied by the Vaishnav's prayer, Krishna will be merciful to this sinner."

গলবস্ত্র কৃতাঞ্জলি বৈষ্ণব নিকটে ।
দন্তে তৃণ করি দাঁড়াইব নিষ্কপটে ॥

gala-vastra krtanjali vaisnava-nikate
dante trna kari' dandaiba niskapate

"With a cloth around my neck, joined palms, and straw between my teeth, I will sincerely submit myself at the Vaishnav's feet."

So, if you pray to Vaishnavs, Krishna becomes very merciful. If we keep anything (if we submit some appeal about anything related to the Lord) at Gurudev's feet, he will send our prayer to the Lord. We cannot appeal to the Lord directly—if we go to the Lord directly, the Lord will not hear our prayer. If we want to reach the Lord, we have to go through the medium of a Guru.

The scriptures say, "Guru bada diye Gauranga bhaje, sei papi raurave padi maje: the sinner who worships Gauranga without the Guru will fall into a terrible hell." If somebody wants to worship Gauranga eluding the Guru, such a sinner will go to hell. Therefore, if you want to go to Srimati Radharani, you must first get permission from Lalita, Visakha, then they will take you to Srimati Radharani. If you cannot get to Srimati Radharani, you will not be able to get to Krishna. Gurudev is said to be an incarnation of Srimati Radharani. Gurudev is Srimati Radharani Herself—be it in vatsalya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, or any other mood.

Sriman Nityananda Prabhu represents sakhya-rasa, and we also say that Gurudev is non-different from Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. "Nitaiyer karuna habe Vraje Radha Krsna pabe (নিতাইয়ের করুণা হবে ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ পাবে): without Nityananda Prabhu we cannot get mercy of Radha-Krishna." Srila Raghunath Das Goswami had tried to go to Mahaprabhu many times, Sivananda Sen had also tried, but only when they had got Nityananda Prabhu's mercy could they come to Mahaprabhu. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami made the chida-dahi festival in Panihati, he served all the Vaishnavs and got Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's mercy in this way. Nitai gave him service—He told him to feed all the Vaishnavs, to arrange for chida (flat rice), dahi (yoghurt). Before that, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami had tired many times to come to Mahaprabhu, but Mahaprabhu did not allow him to stay—every time Srila Raghunath Das Goswami came to Mahaprabhu, Mahaprabhu told him to go back home. However, when Nityananda Prabhu kept His lotus feet on his head and said, "Now you can go. Now all your material bondage has now been undone, all obstacles are now removed—you are free. Now you can get Mahaprabhu's mercy," then he could come and stay with Mahaprabhu.

In the same way, if we do not hanker for Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's mercy, if we do not obtain Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's mercy, we will not be able to get to the Lord. If we do not get Srimati Radharani's mercy, we will not be able to get to the Lord, and to come to Srimati Radharani, you must first go to Lalita and Visakha, take their permission, then you can come to Srimati Radharani. When we get permission from Radharani, when we get the visa from Radharani, then we can get the darshan of Sri Krishna in Vrindavan. Therefore, we must first approach Vaishnavs.

First, it is necessary to take shelter at the holy lotus feet of Sri Guru (guru-padasraya), then you must take initiation. When you take initiation, it does not end there. You do not pass the exams just by getting admitted into a school—once you are admitted into a school, you must study. In the same way, you have got admitted into this spiritual school, or we can say transcendental university, and if you want to pass the exam, you must study your whole life. This studying is sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam, pada-sevanam, archanam, vandanam, dasyam, sakhyam, atma-nivedanam—hearing, chanting, remembering the Lord, serving the Lord's lotus feet, worshipping the Deity of the Lord, offering obeisance, rendering service as a servitor, as a friend, and self-submission. These devotional practices are called nava-vidha bhakti (nine kinds of devotion). You have heard about these practices in the kirtan "Bhajahu re mana..."

শ্রবণ, কীর্ত্তন, স্মরণ, বন্দন,
পাদসেবন দাস্যরে ।
পূজন, সখীজন, আত্মনিবেদন
গোবিন্দ দাস অভিলাষ রে ॥

sravana, kirtana, smarana, vandana
pada-sevana, dasya re
pujana, sakhi-jana, atma-nivedana
govinda-dasa-abhilasare

Govinda Das desires to engage in the nine practices of devotion: hearing about, glorifying, remembering, praying to, attending to, serving, worshipping, befriending, and surrendering to the Lord.

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