(7) Message for Rascals

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 5 April 2019, part 7
Translated from Bengali

In Guidance 3, I wrote about what cannot be given up even after you have given up everything. There are two such things: either paramartha (spiritual matters) or anartha (inauspicious habits and elements). One can leave everything, but they cannot leave pratistha (desire for name and fame).

None of us has come here to become a temple manager. I wrote: many of us claim that we have take initiation from Srila Gurudev, but in fact we only pretend to have taken initiation. Because of that we cannot become genuine servitors of our gurudev. This is how some become guru-bhogi (they use their guru) or guru-tyagi (they reject their guru). Almost 100% people in this world hanker after money, women and name and fame (recognition, appreciation). They see the temples established by their guru as objects for their own enjoyment and are not afraid to even cause a bloodshed for that. Is that so or not? Instead of serving the Lord, we turn Him into our servant. We come and say, 'Oh, God, give me this, give me that.' So, God must be your servant. Instead of serving God, you bribe our worshippable Lord to get something in return. Sri Gurudev is an eternal embodiment of shelter (he is an asraya-vigraha of the Supreme Lord) – it is impossible to practise spiritual life without exclusive submission to him, all attempts to practise will be merely offences.

Read these things.

I have seen many people who fight, 'You are just a white-clad householder, and I am a renounced person!' Outside householders say, 'Oh, I am a great householder – if it were not for such householders as us, all these sannyasis and brahmacharis who live in temples would not be able to survive!' And sannyasis and brahmacharis argue, 'They live outside, they are rotten householders! If it were not for us making and running temples, giving them a place to come to, there would not be any way for them to become rescued!' Both views are pointless. There is no difference between renounced people and householder people – those who discriminate between them go to a hell of boiling oil. I wrote about all this here, in Guidance 3.

I also wrote about the Hari-katha that you should speak on Radhastami and Janmastami.

'Those who do not possess single-minded dedication to the service of the Lord always waste time debating who should be called a "householder" (grihi) and who a 'renunciate' (tyagi). "Who is greater, a householder or a renunciate?" – this designation argument possesses the hearts of people who have strayed from the service of the Lord. Whatever group one belongs to, whatever designation, or name, one hides behind, one will think that this group or designation is the 'best' and will want to prove that. Such designation fanaticism is fertile soil for mutual apathy, dissension, envy, hatred and, eventually, many other effects.'

নাহং বিপ্রো ন চ নরপতির্নাপি বৈশ্যো ন শূদ্রো
নাহং বর্ণী ন চ গৃহপতির্নো বনস্থো যতির্বা ।
কিন্তু প্রোদ্যন্নিখিলপরমানন্দপূর্ণামৃতাব্ধে-
র্গোপীভর্ত্তুঃ পদকমলয়োর্দাসদাসানুদাসঃ ॥

naham vipro na cha nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro
naham varni na cha grha-patir no vanastho yatir va
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher
gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah

‘I am not a brahman, not a ksatriya, not a vaisya, not a sudra; neither am I a brahmachari, a householder, a vanaprastha or a sannyasi. I identify Myself as a servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, who is the beloved of gopis, an ocean of nectar, eternally self-effulgent (self-manifest) and filled with the entire scope of all possible highest ecstasy.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.13.80)

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur wrote, 'In Kali-yuga, one should be a grihastha Vaishnav. One must not be afraid to fall down – it is possible to have a complete and flourishing devotion. There are many transcendental gurus among grihastha Vaishnavs.' Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur himself is such a guru, but when we talk about them as householders, we must realise that there is no comparison between their householder lives and ours.

'Hearing all these instructions of Om Vishnupad Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, many materialist householders were ready to get signed up as eternal slaves in the religion's ledger. If one can achieve the acme of perfection while carrying on enjoying, what intelligent person will then want to give up this kind of practice where you can have your bread buttered on both sides?'

I wrote these things specially for all the big rascals out there...

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