(11/12) Greed Is Sin, Sin Is Death

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Hooghly District, preaching programme,
23 February 2019, noon, part 11
Translated from Bengali

There was once a grihi-guru (a householder guru) who would go house to house begging. He had many disciples, so at the end of each year, he would visit every house to collect rice and money (for example, five kg rice and a hundred rupees – everybody donated to him according to their capacity). This is how he managed his household. That guru had only one son, but the boy did not join his father's line. He would say, 'Father, I do not like what you are doing. You go house to house and bring home other people's rice and money. I do not want to be like that.'

By and by, the guru became old. His son came home only to have his meals, and he would spend the rest of the time somewhere else. The father abused him, 'He roams everywhere like a monkey's child!' (Actually, his son did not roam the streets – he went to another ashram to hear about the Lord from a genuine sadhu; but his parents did not know about it.) His parents were very annoyed; they thought, 'He only comes to eat and sleep, he does not do anything!'

So, one day, this guru's wife told her husband (the guru), 'You are struggling so much to run the family, but you have gone old now. Our son will not continue your work. How long more are you going to walk house to house? I have an idea.' Her husband asked, 'What idea?' She explained, 'There is one rich man, a landowner, in the village. If you make him your disciple, he can give us a lot of rice and money, and you will not have to go house to house, village to village anymore. You can tell him to give you five–ten thousand rupees and five–ten maund (about two–four hundred kg) of rice a year. It will last us the whole year.' The guru agreed, 'You are right! Let me go to him and see if I can make him my disciple.'

He went to the zamindar's house. 'O rajamasay, I have come to see you!' He spoke to the zamindar and anyhow by hook or by crook made him his disciple. Five years passed well, but one day, the king (the zamindar) told his gurudev, 'Oh, I have taken initiation from you and have been giving you rice and money every year. What do I get from that? I am a king – I have subjects, I have a queen, I have no lack of wealth and property. But why do I not feel happy at heart?' (This is adhyatmik-jvala – the distress caused by your own mind.) The guru told the king, 'Do you think that you can get everything just by taking initiation? You must make a fire sacrifice!'

'All right, I will make it. What do you need to make a fire sacrifice?'

'Oh, there are many things required.'

'Then, make out a list and give it to me.'

The guru made out a list of all the ingredients, and when the king saw it, he said, 'I have not even heard of such things. I do not know where to get all this. Better you take money and get it yourself. How much do you need?'

Having thought briefly, the guru said, 'Perhaps about ten thousand rupees.'

'So much?'

'Yes...'

'All right, I will give you the money.'

When the king gave his guru the money, the guru thought, 'I wrote that I needed one maund (37.2 kg) of ghee, but I can use only a little ghee and save a lot of money. Very good!'

So, the guru got all the ingredients, did the fire sacrifice anyhow ('Namah! Namah!'), and kept the rest of the money for himself.

Six months passed. Then, one day, king spoke to his guru again.

'What is going on, gurudev? You have made the fire sacrifice, but I still do not feel any happiness.'

The guru came up with an idea. 'Oh, when you gave me that money, did you give it to me with a good mind, or did you have any bad thoughts at that time?'

'I do not know. My wife gave the money.'

'She must have given it with a wrong mood.'

The queen was called and asked. 'I do not remember what I thought when I was giving it,' she replied.

'Then, we must make another fire sacrifice,' the guru concluded.

The guru made another fire sacrifice. Another two months passed. This time, the king was angry, 'Are you cheating me?! You took my money and did the fire sacrifices, but you must have just kept the money for yourself. It does not work! I still do not feel any peace at heart. Listen to me now. I am giving you seven days. If you cannot give me happiness within these seven days, I will cut off your head!'

Like guru, like disciple...

The guru became very scared and sad. He came home crying. 'I am doomed!' The wife asked, 'What has happened?' The guru explained, 'The king says that if I cannot give him happiness in seven days, he will cut off my head! I have listened to you and made that king my disciple. Now I am in big trouble! I have made a great sin – I should not have been so greedy! Greed is a sin, and sin is death...'

[To be continued]

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Eternal Servitude
2) Morning Tells the Day
3) Real Milk – Real Benefit
4) Sins and Animals
5) Remember Your Promises
6) Core of Krishna Consciousness
7) Relief from Miseries
8) Toxic Life
9) Keep Your Charge Up
10) Brahmans' Trade
11) Greed Is Sin, Sin Is Death
12) Seeking Happiness and Peace