(1) Before It Is Too Late

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Tarakeshwar, evening, 13 April 2019, part 1
Translated from Bengali

Hari bol. Hare Krishna! Say together with me:

হরে কৃষ্ণ হরে কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ হরে হরে ।
হরে রাম হরে রাম রাম রাম হরে হরে ॥

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Mahaprabhu said:

পৃথিবীতে আছে যত নগরাদি গ্রাম
সর্ব্বত্র প্রচার হইবে মোর নাম

prthivite achhe yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra prachara haibe mora nama

‘My Name will spread to every village and town on this earth.’

(Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu)

You can see now – where is Ecuador, who I have been talking to just now, and where am I, sitting here? It is thousands and thousands of miles away from here. It takes twenty-four hours or even thirty hours to get there by plane. A plane travels a thousand kilometres an hour, so you can imagine how far it is if it takes thirty hours to get to a place. And there are no direct flights to Ecuador from here. You have to change planes two–three times. People from such remote countries chant the Holy Name now and preach. Mahaprabhu said that in this Age of Kali the lowest people (of lowest caste and women) will come to the Lord first. You can see that they do not know the Lord, they do not know Mahaprabhu, they do not any culture, they do not know anything, but they come and chant Mahaprabhu's Name, Lord Krishna's Name. They come to take shelter in a guru, they want to get the right to serve the Lord. But in our country, people do not want to take initiation just because of food.

People are attached to their food, but how long have they been eating all that? When you are born as a pig, you will have to eat stool again. Does anybody ever think about it? When a cow dies somewhere on the street, you can see dog flocking and fighting over its body. We were such souls, too. We are born as humans now, but if we do not understand our relationship with God, we will have to again be born as all such dogs, cows, and so on. That is why I am telling you – you have time now, so think about these things before it is too late.

‘Vrddha-kala aola, saba sukha bhagala, pida-base hainu katara (বৃদ্ধকাল আওল, সব সুখ ভাগল, পীড়াবশে হইনু কাতর). Old age came, and all happiness finished. Subjugated by disease, I became distressed’ (Saranagati). When you grow old, your health will go down – even if you try to chant the Holy Name, you will not be able to. You will not be able to chant Lord Krishna's Name. You can see **'s father who stays here. Where is he now? Is he in his room?

Devotees: Yes, he cannot sit.

What can he do then? Lie down? Do you see? ‘Vrddha-kala aola, saba sukha bhagala, pida-base hainu katara (বৃদ্ধকাল আওল, সব সুখ ভাগল, পীড়াবশে হইনু কাতর). Old age came, and all happiness finished. Subjugated by disease, I became distressed’ (Saranagati).

বার্দ্ধক্যে এখন, উপায়-বিহীন,
তা’তে দীন অকিঞ্চন ।
ভকতিবিনোদ, প্রভুর চরণে,
করে দুঃখ নিবেদন ॥

vardhakye ekhana, upaya-vihina,
ta’te dina akinchana
bhakativinoda, prabhura charane,
kare duhkha nivedana

‘Now I am old and helpless. Having thus become poor and materially destitute, Bhaktivinod humbly submits his sorrow at the holy feet of the Lord.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Strike the iron while it's hot. You did not chant the Holy Name when it was time to do it.

দিন যায় মিছা কাজে নিশা নিদ্রাবশে ।
নাহি ভাবি মরণ নিকটে আছে বসে ॥

dina yaya michha kaje nisa nidra-base
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe base

‘My days pass in useless work and nights are wasted on sleep. It never occurs to me that death is there, waiting right next to me.’

(Sri Kalyan-Kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We never think that we will leave this world or when this time will come to us.

জীবন অনিত্য জানহ সার,
তাহে নানাবিধ বিপদ ভার
নামাশ্রয় করি’ যতনে তুমি,
থাকহ আপন কাজে ॥

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara
namasraya kari’ yatane tumi,
thakaha apana kaje

‘You must know the main truth that this life is not eternal and full of various dangers. Carry on your life but try your best to take shelter in the Holy Name.’

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

This life will go away, but:

জিহ্বার লালসে যেই ইতি-উতি ধায় ।
শিশ্নোদরপরায়ণ সে কৃষ্ণ নাহি পায় ॥

jihvara lalase yei iti-uti dhaya
sisnodara-parayana se krsna nahi paya

‘Those who, subservient to their tongues, run here and there and are devoted to satisfying their genitals and bellies cannot attain Krishna.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.227)

If we go here and there only following our tongues, we will not be able to come to God. That is why you should think about it before it becomes too late. You can see that many young people took initiation today – they are are in their early twenties; does anybody of this age come to this line in this country? Very few. Many one out of two thousand people. But they come and want to serve. They do not understand anything – they cannot do anything, they cannot serve the Lord, but they want to...

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