Highest Life

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Speaking online to the devotees in Singapore,
1 May 2021, part 6

Question: Is there any service I can do?

Prabhu, if you come here every day, if you join the programmes and help the devotees, that is seva (service). This time now is a very good time to join Krishna consciousness full time as a brahmachari. If you can do that, that will be better, this is the highest service. However, you cannot come right now because you have so much responsibility—your mother died, and your father is still working, your sister is very young, etc. You are only sixteen years old now, but if think that you want to practise Krishna consciousness full time and live a brahmachari life, that is the highest service. If you can do that, it will be good. If you do not have a desire to do that, then you can study, find a job and you can also do much service, but along with that you will have so much responsibility—you will spend much time and energy taking care of your family, which is necessary to do in your life when you become a householder or live outside the temple.

Our Gurudev and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur both joined at a very early age, from the beginning of their life. Gurudev was about your age when he joined Krishna consciousness (seventeen years old), and he later studied Sanskrit, Harinam-amrita-vyakaran, so many other things. So, this is the highest time, the best time to join Krishna consciousness. If somebody wants to be a proper preacher, a proper brahmachari or sannyasi, I am giving much enthusiasm, support and instruction to such devotees.

You joined Krishna consciousness at sixteen, and this is your great fortune. There are many children here who were born in the family of devotees, and they are also very fortunate. You know, I myself was not born in a devotees' family, but by the mercy of Gurudev, Krishna sent me to the lotus feet of Gurudev and I have never left his lotus feet in my life—I always keep myself very tightly tied to his lotus feet.

So, if somebody wants to live a brahmachari life, it is the highest life because when you start a family life, so much burden and so many problems come—you have to work, you have to earn money to maintain your family and do so many other things. A householder cannot give their full time to Krishna consciousness. For instance, you make programmes every Saturday, but brahmacharis stay at the temple every day, they join the programmes every day, they serve every day, think about the Lord every day, etc. Do you understand what I am saying? So, if somebody wants to live such a life of a brahmachari, if somebody is thinking about these things in their heart and life, that is very nice.

I am also telling to everybody who is thinking of becoming a brahmachari or a sannyasi: the scriptures say that if a son in some family becomes a sannyasi, then through that boy his twenty-one generations of forefathers (like, his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc.) become rescued from all material bondage. Whatever position they may be in, whatever planet they may live on, they are suffering so much, but owing to that son who becomes a sannyasi they all go to Goloka Vrindavan.

So, this is my advice for everyone who is thinking of joining full time and also for those family members who are worried about the young age of their son joining Krishna consciousness full time. When I joined, all my family, all my relatives said I had become crazy because I had left everything, including my big job, and became a brahmachari surrendering at my Gurudev's lotus feet. They worried who will take care of their mother, who will take care of their father, etc. but my mother died in a very good way, she had no problem, but the parents of those who criticised me suffered very much in their lives—they did not have any money, they could not even get medicine. There was so much problem. And my mother died suddenly and without a problem. Now my brother and everybody else are very happy because they understand now that what I did is good for them also. Before they used to think, "Oh, my son has left, my brother has left, who will take care of this family?" I was the eldest son in the family, so all responsibility was expected to be on me. But now they understand it. I think about Krishna, I think about my Gurudev, and Krishna takes care of my family and everybody else...

It is very important to understand all these things.

— : • : —

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