(9) See Deeper

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Siliguri, 30 April 2019, evening, part 9
Translated from Bengali

Read Upadesh 3, you will learn from there how you gain the right to serve Lord Krishna. There is a chapter with 108 questions and answers – you can find answers to all questions there. People often wonder, 'What is ignorance (ajnana)?' Ignorance means not knowing yourself. You can know everything, but if you do not know yourself, that is ignorance.

We have these bodies, and we always think about them: 'What will I eat?', 'What will I wear?', 'Where will I sleep?' Our parents give us these bodies, but they did not give us that which we are (our souls). When we die, our relatives cry over our bodies, but that which lived inside the body is gone – does anybody think about this? They only think about our bodies. When people write each other letters, they always ask, 'How are you? Did you eat well? Did you sleep well?' Everybody thinks about the benefit of their bodies, but does anybody think about the benefit of their souls? Why do you waste your time? There is no time!

উঠরে উঠরে ভাই, আর ত সময় নাই,
‘কৃষ্ণ ভজ’ বলে উচ্চৈঃস্বরে ॥

uthare uthare bhai, ara ta samaya nai,
‘krsna bhaja’ bale uchchaihsvare

‘Gaudiya Vaishnavs call out loudly: Wake up! Wake up, brother! There is no time left! Worship Lord Krishna!’

(Acharya Vandana)

There is no time! No time at all!

This kind of Hari-katha (discourses about the Lord) will not enter everyone's ears. If, by our great fortune, we become eager to serve the Lord, then it will enter our ears: we will be able to hear and keep it within our hearts. Many people say that there is no God, there is no such thing as devotion to God. What did Param Guru Maharaj say to that? He said that if you have ears, then there is a world of sound for you. You can see that we are using this microphone here and the sound is very loud, but if somebody is deaf and you chant in front of them, they will not appreciate it because they cannot hear anything. This world is full of wonderful, beautiful things, but if somebody is blind, is there any value in all those beautiful things for them? So, if you have ears, there is a world of sound for you; if you have eyes, there is a world of sight; and in the same way, if you have devotion, there is God for you. If you have devotion, then you know that God exists; and if you have no devotion, then there is no God for you. Mahaprabhu also told about it to Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya.

We have a new book, Sri Puru Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala, that came out at the time of Gaura Purnima this year. Some of you have been coming with me to Puri every year, but if you cannot come every year, you can read this book – whatever I tell at every place we visit is written here, and there are also photographs of the parikrama and Ratha-yatra. It is not enough to just read this book – you must keep what is written in it in your hearts. Come with us to Puri this year. We will go on 29 June (2019). Ratha-yatra is on 4 July 2019. We will reach our Puri temple on 30 June, and in the afternoon the same day we will start our parikrama. The parikrama is three days. After the Ratha-yatra festival, those who will go back to Kolkata will leave on 5 July, and we will travel to South India on 6 July.

Question: Where is a holy place?

Answer: Srila Prabhupad told in this regard, 'A holy place is where there is Hari-katha.'

Wherever there are Vaishnavs, they speak Hari-katha – whenever Vaishnavs speak, that is Hari-katha. Therefore, wherever Vaishnavs are, this is where a holy place of pilgrimage is.

Question: What do intimate devotees hanker for?

Answer: Srila Prabhupad said, 'Intimate, or the highest, devotees have no other hankering except for servitude to rupanugas (followers of Sri Rupa).'

The highest aspiration of an intimate devotee of the Lord is to become a servant or a maidservant, of the followers of Srila Rupa Goswami (rupanuga-bhaktas).

Do you know why we look at others' faults? When we cannot control and rectify our own minds, then we start searching for faults in others. Vaishnavs are adosa-darasi – they never look at anyone's faults. Remember this.

You will find all these questions and answers in Upadesh 3, in the chapter '108 Questions and Answers'.

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