(1/17) Self-Realisation

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bolpur, evening, 19 January 2019, part 1
Translated from Bengali

You have been chanting kirtan here for so many years, but, having heard that kirtan, how many people are genuinely practising Krishna consciousness, tell me? I am asking you. You can understand yourself that you spend thousands and thousands of rupees – people come, chant some kirtan, you give them some money, and they take your money and go away, but what benefit is it to you? Mahaprabhu's devotees come to give you genuine benefit.

মহান্ত-স্বভাব এই তারিতে পামর ।
নিজ-কার্য্য নাহি তবু যান তার ঘর ॥

mahanta-svabhava ei tarite pamara
nija karya nahi tabu yana tara ghara

'The innate nature of great souls is to deliver vile, fallen souls: great souls never come to their homes for any personal purpose.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.8.39)

Why do devotees go to other people's homes? Not for their own interest. For example, you have invited devotees and general people for the programmes here, you have arranged for some prasad for everybody and will let everybody listen to some Hari-katha – those who will come will get some sukriti, and those who will actually listen to Hari-katha will get even more sukriti. Those who arrange such programmes also get sukriti because though them people get to hear about the Lord and about the benefit of their souls.

What gives benefit to the soul? Until and unless we realise within our brains that I and my body are not one and the same thing, we will not be able to understand what brings benefit to the soul.

If I take my blood and the blood of the father and mother who gave me birth and compare it, I will see that it is the same blood. So, my father and mother have given me this temporary, perishable body, which I will lose one day, be it tomorrow, in ten years, in thirty years or fifty years. But what am I? You can see that I am speaking, moving my hands and legs now – this body is like a machine, an instrument, but what am I that makes this body move? 'Who am I?' Srila Sanatan Goswami also asked Mahaprabhu this question. First we must know who we are. That which makes this body move is the soul, and it was given to me by the Lord.

The Lord creates different bodies for various souls – for some souls, the Lord has created goat bodies; for other souls, the Lord has created cow, sheep or tree bodies, and so on. These bodies are generated by various species – goats give birth to goats, dogs give birth to dogs, sheep give birth to sheep, pigs give birth to pigs, and humans give birth to humans. So, the body comes from various species of bodies, but where does the soul come from? Who has given us our souls? The Lord. Therefore, I am a soul (atma, or jivatma). Remember this. Every living entity (jiva) has a soul (jivatma). Cows, goats, trees, mosquitos, etc. – every living entity has a soul.

So, it is the benefit of this soul that pervades every living entity that sadhus come to speak about. This is the benefit we must think about. If you just sing some kirtan beautifully, it is no use if you do not think about how you can bring benefit to your soul. This is what sadhus and gurus come for. Now you can see that some devotees have come to this line and worship the Lord. We do not even want liberation – we put our foot on the head of liberation and pass over it to proceed down the path of devotion.

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Self-Realisation
2) Seek Soul's Solace
3) 'Why Am I Suffering?'
4) Relief from Reaction
5) Escaping Life of Sin
6) Highest Attainment
7) Learn to Love Lord
8) From Hell to Heaven and Back
9) Sadhus' Clothes and Sadhus' Hearts
10) Genuine Gurus' Mission
11) Money Does Not Buy Devotion
12) Higher and Highest Devotion
13) Learn the Conception
14) Start Practising Sincerely
15) Make Effort
16) Cure from Material Misery
17) Live for the Lord