(1/9) Relentless Pursuit

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Vyasa Puja Day, Tarakeswar, evening class
29 September 2019, part 1
Translated from Bengali

Srila Guru Maharaj told one thing. Please listen attentively. You are present here, and you are practising sravan and kirtan, but you must continue practising after that every day. It is not like you come to the temple, chant some kirtan for one–two days and then go back home to live your own lives. You must practise chanting kirtans every day.

Do you know what is the saddest thing? You took initiation many years ago – you came and took shelter in a guru many years ago – but you cannot even chant five kirtans, you cannot learn them by heart, you cannot sing along with everybody. Even when the arati is going on, you are standing with your mouths closed. This is very unfortunate. It is necessary to practise these things. You cannot chant the Holy Name if you are covered with anarthas (unwanted habits), but if you keep sadhu-sanga, if you associate, associate and associate with pure devotees, then one day you must become pure.

Suppose you are thinking, 'Oh, I need to find a job.' To get a job, you need to go for an interview (to pass an examination), and if you do not pass one interview, you have to go for another interview, and then another, another, another, and so on. If you are not successful, you have to keep on trying. In the same way, we must have this kind of enthusiasm and drive for service. When it comes to chanting the Holy Name, it is also necessary to show ardent desire to chant; there must be eager, relentless enthusiasm. Your intention and mindset should be good, otherwise you cannot achieve anything.

Sravan and kirtan are very important, especially for kanistha-adhikaris (those who have just come or came not so long ago) – they must always chant the Holy Name of Lord Krishna. You heard the kirtans we chant at the temple, and you must chant these kirtans at home every morning and evening. We have kirtan books (Sri Gaudiya Gitanjali) – if you cannot buy the large edition, you can buy the pocket-size edition. All kirtans are there: the moring kirtans, the evening kirtans, the bhoga-arati kirtan, the mangala-arati kirtans, and so on.

There is a saying in English, 'Morning shows the day.' It means that you can understand how the day will go by seeing the situation in the morning. For example, if it is going to rain today, you can usually understand it when you see a cloudy sky in the morning. Or if it is raining in the morning, you can understand that it is going to be cloudy the whole day. In our lives, too, we must start practising spiritual life from the beginning, from an early age (from childhood). Still, even if you are unfortunate and could not come to the Mission at an early age, whenever you may have joined, you must join kirtan and show enthusiasm for service. If you have no service drive (if you do not have enthusiasm to serve), you will have to fall down sooner or later.

It is necessary to engage yourselves in service. This here is your home, it is on you to maintain the place and to keep it neat and tidy. If you only want to take service, this is not right. It does not matter whether you are householder, a saffron-clad brahmachari or a renounced sannyasi, everybody must serve. You must keep the temple neat and tidy. Clean the temple with all your hearts. Mahaprabhu Himself would personally come to clean the temple of Gundicha Devi. Many of you have been to Puri and have seen that temple. Cleaning does not mean you pretend to do some cleaning just by sweeping a bit. No. It is necessary to clean with heart and soul, carefully removing all dust from your hearts. This is what Mahaprabhu taught us.

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Size: 21 Mb
Length: 43 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Relentless Pursuit
2) Master's Ego vs Servant's Ego
3) Servitor's Ambition
4) Do Not Waste Time
5) 'I Am Sold to You'
6) Kirtan: Devotees' Heartbeat
7) Loving Search
8) Esoteric Sacrality of Sannyas
9) No Shortcuts