(8) Amend Your Choice

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Evening preaching programme,
13 March 2019, part 8
Translated from Bengali

We all used to be members of Krishna's family, but in the meantime we anyhow chose to flounder in this material world – we chose to jump into the ocean of illusion and live as servants of Maya. But some fortunate souls receive gurus' or sadhus' mercy:

ব্রহ্মাণ্ড ভ্রমিতে কোন ভাগ্যবান্ জীব ।
গুরু-কৃষ্ণ-প্রসাদে পায় ভক্তিলতা-বীজ ॥

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

‘Having travelled throughout the universe, some fortunate souls receive the seed of the devotional creeper by the mercy of Sri Guru, who is non-different from Krishna.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.19.151)

If a fortunate soul can attain the mercy of a guru or a sadhu and become rescued from this material world, then it can enter again the family of the Lord and live a Krishna-centred life.

I pray to you all with folded palms: please do not forget the Lord. You have got everything from Him, so do not forget Him falling into all this material attachment to your wives, children and other material things. You must always remember and think about this. Always live a Krishna-centred life, live for Krishna.

অন্য-অভিলাষ ছাড়ি’, জ্ঞান-কর্মম্ম পরিহরি’,
কায় মনে করিব ভজন ।
সাধুসঙ্গে কৃষ্ণ সেবা, না পূজিব দেবীদেবা,
এই ভক্তি পরম কারণ ॥

anya-abhilasa chhadi', jnana-karma parihari',
kaya mane kariba bhajana
sadhu-sange krsna seva, na pujiba devi-deva,
ei bhakti parama karana

'I will serve the Lord with my body and mind, giving up all other desires and pursuits of material benefit and knowledge. I will serve Lord Krishna in sadhus’ association without worshipping any gods or goddesses – this is the ultimate way to attain devotion.'

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

Even all gods and goddesses want to serve Krishna.

Do you perhaps dream of going to heaven? Even if you get there, once your piety is exhausted, you will have to come back from there. If you sin, you go to hell – the more sins you commit, the longer you will stay there, and the fewer sins you commit, the quicker will get back from there. In the same way, if you earn sufficient piety, you can go to heaven and enjoy a heavenly life, living like a god. But when that piety finishes, you will have to fall down from there even though you will not want it. Your mind will not want to leave heaven, but you will have to. If somebody tells you, 'Oh, you will be born as a dog,' you will naturally get angry. In the same way, you can reach heaven and live as gods, but when your piety finishes, you will have to leave heaven like all other gods.

Come back to your own home! Come to the Lord's home! This is where your real home is. Come back to your own home! Come to the Lord's home! If you want to go there, you must approach it with sadhu-sanga. Sadhu-sanga can take you to Goloka Vrindavan, where the Lord lives. This is your supreme destination. Do not waste time on all kinds of other talks. Do not listen to these things only with your minds – listen to it with all your heart and soul. Until and unless you become eager to serve the Lord, this Hari-katha will not enter your ears. What I am telling you now must enter the depths of your ears.

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