(13/14) First Steps Towards God

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kadigachha, Lord Siva's Temple inauguration,
5 March 2019, morning, part 13
Translated from Bengali

Call out to the Lord. Call the Lord with all your hearts. When you are at home, do not waste time, chant the Lord's Names, 'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.' As for those of you who have not taken initiation yet, you should try to slowly start following spiritual rules and regulations. Try. Nobody is asking much of you. I am not telling you to do anything extraordinary. Everybody can follow it, every single family.

There are four things prohibited: gambling, intoxication, illicit sex and slaughter. Gambling means betting, playing card and dice games. If a husband works, earns money and with that money buys lottery tickets every day, what will become of such a family? He will end up selling the whole house and his wife's jewellery and cooking pots. People turn into beggars because of their addiction to lottery.

What is intoxication? A husband goes out to work, but every day he comes back home drunk and beats his wife. Is that good? Intoxication means drinking alcohol, taking drugs, paan, smoking bidi, cigarettes, even drinking tea. You must eventually stop drinking tea. If you crave tea, keep a chocolate at hand and suck on some chocolate, then your addiction to tea will slowly go away.

You know what illicit sex means; in this country most people do not do this. It is common among foreigners, not so much here. Some do it secretly, of course. It means mixing with women out of wedlock. For example, a husband has a wife, but he mixes with another woman. Sometimes, husbands leave their wives at home and go away to work abroad, and in the meantime their wives mix with other men. This is inauspicious for any family.

Finally, slaughter means killing living entities (jivas). You must not kill any living entities. We do not eat fish, meat, eggs, onions, garlic and masoori dal. Why is it said that we must not eat onion, garlic and masoori dal? Many people wonder, 'It is vegetarian, so why cannot we eat it?' If you eat onion and garlic, it always makes your head hot – it increases anger and violent excitement. Do not eat things that increase anger and lust. You can take any other kind of dal except for masoori dal [red/brown/green lentils]. It is said in the scriptures that if you eat masoori dal, it is the same as eating cow's meat. If you take rice on ekadasi, it is also the same as eating cow's meat. Moreover, it is said in the scriptures that if you eat meat, it means that you are eating your own flesh.

মাংসভক্ষয়িতামুত্র যস্য মাংসমিহাদ্ম্যহম্ ।
এতন্মাংসস্য মাংসত্বং প্রবদন্তি মনীষিণঃ ॥

mam sa bhaksayitamutra yasya mamsam ihadmy aham
etan mamsasya mamsatvam pravadanti manisinah

'That creature whose flesh I am eating here and now will consume me in the next life.' Thus meat is called mamsa [mam – me, sa – he, I am eating him, he will eat me], as described by learned authorities.'

(Manu-samhita, 5.55)

How is it so? When I die, my body will rot and decay, getting mixed with soil. All bodies end up like this – if a dog or a cow dies on the street, the bodies also lie there until they decay and get mixed with the soil (sometimes people skin cows and then dump the carcasses somewhere to decay). When human bodies are burnt, the ash is also mixed with the soil. From that soil, another body will be created. All bodies consist of five material elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether; pancha-bhautik deha). So, if you are attached to eating fish, when you die, some fish can be created from your body, and your soul can get a body of a cat. Cats eat raw fish, so you will end up eating your own flesh like that. This is how the world of action and reaction works.

You must leave these four things. If you can do it, then your husbands will also follow your example. You can see stories shown on TV. There is some businessman in Kolkata who has no sense of discrimination – he runs a hotel where they cook dogs, cats, goat, etc. and feed that to people. They make a business of six hundred million rupees(!) without virtually spending a cent. People throw away cows in some places, and they go there, pick up the bodies, cook them and serve that to people. If you go to Kolkata and stay in a hotel, you can see that they often serve dead chickens, cats, dogs or goats that they find discarded on the street. They collect whatever dead bodies they can find on the street and cook that for people. Instead of eating such things, cook vegetarian food for the Lord, fast on ekadasi. You are going to take prasad today – you can see what food you can take. What is the problem? Do you think your health will go down if you eat vegetarian food? It will not.

— : • : —

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Serenity and Sham
2) Please God, Not Yourselves
3) Mahadev Meets Mohini
4) Gopeswar Mahadev's Glory
5) Lord Siva's Temples
6) What Are You Waiting For?
7) Pathological Forgetfulness
8) Krishna-Centred Existence
9) Live as Servants
10) Come Out of Darkness
11) Atrocious Customs
12) Worship Comes From Heart, Not Pocket
13) First Steps Towards God
14) Thrive Spiritually