(10) Know What to Know

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Deities' Manifestation Anniversary festival, Siliguri, 1 May 2019, morning, part 10
Translated from Bengali

Who can give you the right to serve the Lord? I told you yesterday about it. Who is the Lord? Who is Krishna? Krishna is Radharani's property. And who is Radharani? She is gurudev: in other words, gurudev is Srimati Radharani Herself. We chant this kirtan written by Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur:

সংসার-দাবানল-লীঢ়-লোক-
ত্রাণায় কারুণ্য-ঘনাঘনত্বম্ ।
প্রাপ্তস্য কল্যাণ-গুণার্ণবস্য
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

samsara-davanala-lidha-loka-
tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam
praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

‘I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is an ocean of good qualities and auspiciousness and who, as a thick rain cloud of mercy, brings relief to this world devoured by the forest fire of material existence.’

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur)

It is written in this kirtan:

সাক্ষাদ্ধরিত্বেন সমস্ত-শাস্ত্রৈ-
রুক্তস্তথা ভাব্যত এব সদ্ভিঃ ।
কিন্তু প্রভোর্যঃ প্রিয় এব তস্য
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

saksadd-haritvena samasta-sastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

‘I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is said by all scriptures to be no doubt the Supreme Lord Himself, and considered to be such by pious souls, but who is also no doubt the Lord’s dear associate.’

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur)

Gurudev is the Lord Himself, but he is also the dearmost of the Lord. Who is the dearmost of the Lord? Srimati Radharani. So, gurudev is non-different from Srimati Radharani. You can often hear it being said that gurudev is Lord Nityananda Prabhu, so why are we saying now that gurudev is Srimati Radharani? Because one's perception of the guru depends on the devotional mood. In madhura-rasa, gurudev is perceived as Radharani, and in sakhya-rasa, gurudev is perceived as Nityananda Prabhu. We must be always conscious of this.

Does anybody have any questions?

Question: What is the name of Sukadev's mother?

Which Sukadev?

Devotee: The son of Vyasadev.

It is not necessary to know all this.

Question: You were telling the story about how Lord Jagannath appeared, but I do not understand why they always change the Deities.

They do it every fifty years. That is their tradition...

If you are thirsty, it takes just one glass of water to satiate your thirst. It is not necessary to think about a whole ocean of water. What did Sukadev Goswami say? What did Vyasadev say? If you can know that, that is good. It is not necessary to know this mother's name, that father's name, and so on. It is no use knowing such things. Do you understand what I am saying? What is the name of Sukadev's mother? What is the name of Vyasadev's mother? Lord Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You think that He was born from Devaki's womb in Kamsa's prison. Everybody knows this. Then how does He become Yasoda's son? You will say that He is Yasoda's adopted son. Those who think like this and speak like this are offenders. Krishna is Yasoda's son, but for sake of His pastime, He appeared from Vasudev and Devaki.

We should not worry our heads about all these thoughts about who is the mother, father, brother, sister, etc. of the guru, Vaishnavs or the Lord. What we need is service to the Lord and service to devotees. We do not need to think about their parents and other family members. Those who worry about such things acquire knowledge to discriminate. They talk about the difference between Gaura and Krishna, saying that They are different personalities, and so on. It is not necessary to know all these things! Somebody says that Mahaprabhu disappeared because some pandas had hit Him on the back, somebody says that Mahaprabhu disappeared after He entered the temple of Lord Jagannath and never came out. People say so many things. All we need to know is that the Lord comes on His own and leaves on His own. Otherwise, most of you have been to Ekachakra – have you ever seen the graves of Nityananda Prabhu's parents? Have you ever heard of His own samadhi? Have you ever heard of Acharya Srinivas's samadhi? You will not find them anywhere. They are all the Lord Himself – there are no samadhis of the Lord. For example, you can see Srila Haridas Thakur's samadhi – he is an incarnation of Lord Brahma. But you will not find Advaita Acharya's samadhi. Always remember this.

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