(1/18) Disciple's Dependence

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Vyasa-Puja Adhivas, Tarakeswar,
Evening, 28 September 2019, part 1
Translated from Bengali

মূকং করোতি বাচালং পঙ্গুং লঙ্ঘয়তে গিরিম্ ।
যৎকৃপা তমহং বন্দে শ্রীগুরুং দীনতারণম্ ॥

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

'The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill – all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First, I am offering my full obeisance at the reddish soles of my Divine Master Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj’s holy feet, begging him for his causeless mercy and aspiring to serve him; after that, I am offering my full obeisance to all guru-varga, all my godbrothers, all the listeners, all the motherly lady devotees and all the devotees. I am offering my obeisance at your holy feet and praying for your mercy to this lowly soul.

We spoke a lot yesterday about guru-tattva, about how disciples should behave, and about how one becomes a disciple. One does not become a disciple just by taking the mantra. If there is no relationship between you and your guru, you can never become a disciple like that.

Sri Guru is the disciple's prana-kendra: the very centre (kendra) of the disciple's heart, soul and inner being (prana). Sri Guru is the disciple's only shelter. Those who become disciples live only in exclusive submission to their guru.

If one retains independence, they cannot be called a ‘disciple’. They can take the mantra, they can take initiation, but if they do not accept guidance or disciplining of Sri Gurudev, they cannot be called a real disciple.

Gurudev has vast wealth, but does it mean that whoever is born into his lineage gets the right for his wealth? Just as those who are born into a king’s family automatically become princes, those who are born into gurudev’s family, or lineage, cans become his disciples, or children, but gurudev’s wealth is not temples, buildings, houses, money – his wealth is faith, devotion and love. When you truly become your guru's disciple, you get the right for all this priceless spiritual wealth. But if you want to keep away from gurudev's service, it means your fortune is very bad.

If you feel any lack of faith towards gurudev, then the door to the domain of devotion closes for you because if gurudev is unhappy with you, there is no way Sri Sri Gaurasundar will forgive or spare you. When Jagai and Madhai hit Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Sri Gaurasundar called His Sudarsan-chakra, but Srila Nityananda Prabhu forgave them and pacified Sri Gaurasundar, making sure the two sinful brothers get His mercy.

It is not so easy to understand gurudev. You can understand small things, but it is difficult to understand gurudev because he is great. It is impossible to understand the guru without his mercy. Gurudev and a Vaishnav are not one and the same, just as a father and an uncle are not one and the same. If something happens to the son (for example, if he dies), the father becomes devastated, he feels much pain, but it is not the kind of pain that an uncle or a neighbour may feel.

If you run down the path of devotion at a very high speed, you can meet an accident and all your ten-year’s practice will be destroyed. A car can be going at a very high speed, but if it meets an accident on the road, it will be crushed to pieces. It is very difficult to progress on the path of devotion, but it is very easy to go down, just as it is very easy to go down the hill, but it is difficult to go uphill. It takes so much time to go up, but you can go down within a moment.

Srila Prabhupad used to say, 'I have given you a ticket to Vrindavan and you have got on the train at Howrah, but why did you suddenly get off in Bardhaman?' People come to practise Krishna consciousness, but when they do not get the result, they lose out. You leave your home and come here, but if you cannot develop love and devotion, if you cannot serve properly, then your life passes in vain.

Gurudev can save his disciple from fire. It is difficult to understand how and when to do service, but if a disciple comes across some thorns, this is very distressing. Vaishnav-aparadh is a great hindrance on the path of devotion. Not capable of recognising who is a Vaishnav and who is not, if we behave inappropriately with Vaishnavs (if we make any offence to them), we will have to face thorns on the path of devotion. What will there be left for us if we commit offences at the feet of Vaishnavs and gurudev? Our devotional life will burn to ashes.

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Length: 83 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Disciple's Dependence
2) How Does Devotion Come?
3) Indispensability of Guru's Mercy
4) Stop Threshing the Husk
5) Disciples' Hypocrisy
6) Strong Desires, Wrong Desires
7) Identifying Yourself with Kirtan
8) Patience Is a Virtue
9) Internal Hypocrisy
10) Unhappy Mind
11) Kirtan Is Not a Show
12) Cook to Perfection
13) Install Gurudev in Your Heart
14) Submission without Resistance
15) Service Is Not a Rite
16) Vaishnavs' Ornaments vs Demons' Ornaments
17) Vaikuntha Vani
18) Absolute Self-Submission