(3) Unconditional Service of Conditioned Souls

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Siliguri, evening, 6 September 2019, part 3
Translated from Bengali

When we discuss sadhya-sadhan-tattva (the highest attainment of life), we read from Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita about Mahaprabhu's teachings to Srila Sanatan Goswami. What is our necessity (prayojana)? What we need, our goal, is Krishna-prema: divine love for Lord Sri Krishna. We need love for the Lord, we need kind of irresistible pull and attraction to the Lord and His devotees. Always remember this.

জগতে প্রকট ভাই, তাহা বিনা গতি নাই,
যদি চাও আপন কুশল

jagate prakata bhai, taha bina gati nai,
yadi chao apana kusala

'If you want your own happiness, except for this method there is no other way revealed in this world, brother.'

If we want our own good (if we care about our own well-being), then there is no other way to secure it except by cultivating devotion for Lord Krishna. For a soul that comes from the marginal potency of the Lord, there is no other way to attain complete fulfilment. Those who turn away from the Lord and live in the world of material illusion have no consciousness about this and have no need for any of this. By the influence of the Supersoul, the soul can be either removed from the Lord's service or established in eternal service to the Lord in the shelter of Sri Guru's holy feet.

Such mercy of the Lord and devotion to the Lord does not awaken in conditioned souls; therefore, for them it is absolutely necessary to be in the shelter of a bona fide guru. Without the shelter of Sri Gurupadpadma's holy feet, it is impossible for a conditioned soul to develop devotion or become attracted to serving the Lord. It is necessary to take shelter of a guru. Only taking initiation from a guru or chanting on the beads is not what taking shelter is. It is necessary to always remember, glorify and follow what the guru tells you. Otherwise, you take the seed of the devotional creeper from your guru, but you do not take proper care of it – if you do not practise sravan (listening about the Lord) and kirtan (chanting the Lord's glories), the seed will die. This is the meaning of practising Krishna consciousness (Krsna-anusilana). If you do not practise Krishna consciousness – if you do not practise devotion – devotion will slowly, gradually leave you, and you will always be thinking about material things, about illusory things, you will feel envy and want to criticise others. If you always think about bad things, then you will be always living busy with bad things.

Devotion comes from two things: association of devotees and the mercy of Lord Krishna. If you want to attain devotion (divine love for the Lord), what should you do? Always live in the association of your guru, constantly listen about the Lord and try to serve your guru. There is no other way to attain devotion except by worshipping and serving your guru. Worshipping, or serving, means thinking, 'How can I make my guru happy? How can I please him?' If you only sit next to him and massage his feet, it is nothing – mosquitos are also near the guru but they bite him. It is possible to serve from afar, and it is possible to also listen to your guru's Hari-katha from afar. Nowadays, it is the age of science, so everybody has mobile phones. There are lectures published every day – if you can listen to them, that is your guru's association. Take advantage of it.

Gurudev is the one who always gives us the right to do service. Nobody else can give us this right. Remember these things.

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }