(4/9) Do Not Waste Time

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Vyasa Puja Day, Tarakeswar, evening class
29 September 2019, part 4
Translated from Bengali

If you have bad, unwanted habits (anarthas), it is impossible to serve the Lord or the guru in a pure way. It is necessary to always secure some help in order to render pure service. Therefore, kanistha-adhikaris must always practise sravan and kirtan: they must always listen to Hari-katha and practise what is being told in their lives. For example, if you are told to chant a kirtan, you can easily do that. You must chant kirtans nicely, learn them by heart. Wake up early in the morning and chant mangal-arati and kirtans. Chant the bhoga-arati at noon. Do not waste your time, do not be lazy. Always remember what Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur said:

নিদ্রালস্য-হত, সুকার্য্যে বিরত,
অকার্য্যে উদ্যোগী আমি ।
প্রতিষ্ঠা লাগিয়া, শাঠ্য আচরণ,
লোভহত সদা কামী ॥

nidralasya hata, sukarye virata,
akarye udyogi ami
pratistha lagiya, sathya-acharana,
lobha-hata sada kami

'Ruined by laziness and sleep, I am averse to doing anything good and eager to do wrong things. I behave crooked desiring prestige. I am ruined by greed and always want something.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'For the sake of prestige, I behave in a bad way dreaming of becoming great.'

Therefore, to be able to serve purely, we must keep sending our prayerful appeals for help and mercy. For example, if you want to get a job, you must send your application. If you get a job, you can earn some money; but if you get a 'job' from the Lord, you can at once reach Goloka Vrindavan, the holy abode of the Supreme Lord. This is the job we must seek.

We must never be lazy or apathetic. If you can do your service with chaste submission (anugatya) to your guru, you can progress in your spiritual life fast.

You have heard that Srila Prahlad Maharaj spoke about nava-vidha bhakti, nine kinds of devotion: sravanam (listening about the Lord), kirtanam (chanting the Lord’s Name and glories), smaranam (remembering the Lord), pada-sevanam (serving the Lord’s lotus feet), archanam (worshipping the Lord’s Deities), vandanam (offering obeisances and prayers to the Lord), dasyam (serving the Lord as a servant), sakhyam (serving the Lord as a friend), atma-nivedanam (submitting yourself to the Lord). How did Sri Pariksit Maharaj come to the Lord? Which limb of devotion did he practise? How did he serve? By listening (sravanam). He listened about the Supreme Lord (Srimad Bhagavatam) from Sri Sukadev Goswami, and as the result of his listening he attained the holy abode of the Lord. On the other hand, how did Sri Sukadev Goswami himself attain the Lord? By kirtan: by chanting the glories of Srimad Bhagavatam. So, on the one hand, Pariksit Maharaj attained his highest goal by listening to Bhagavatam; on the other hand, Sukadev Goswami attained his highest goal by speaking Bhagavatam.

How did Prahlad Maharaj himself come to the Lord? By remembering the Lord (smaranam). No matter what they did to him (beat him, cut him, anything!), he kept quiet and only remembered the Lord. How did Laksmi Devi come to the Lord? By serving His holy lotus feet (pada-sevanam). How did Prithu Maharaj come to the Lord? By worshipping the Lord (archanam). How did Akrura come to the Lord? By singing the praises of the Lord (vandanam). How did Kapipati Hanuman come to the Lord? By serving the Lord as His servant (dasyam). How did Arjuna, Sridam, Sudam, Vasudam, Balaram serve the Lord? They served as His friends (sakhyam). How did Bali Maharaj attain the Lord? By giving everything to the Lord (atma-nivedanam). And how did Ambarish Maharaj serve the Lord? He practised all limbs of devotion.

What do devotees do? They clean the holy temple of the Lord with their own hands. Why did the Lord give us hands? To serve Him. Therefore, we must clean the holy temple of the Lord, the holy dishes of the Lord; it is necessary to sweep, to wipe, to clean. Why did the Lord give us ears? To listen about Him. Why did the Lord give us eyes? To have the darshan of Lord Sri Krishna's Deities. Why did the Lord give us arms? Only so that we could touch His servants (embrace them prayerfully, touch their feet, etc.). Why did the Lord give us noses? So that we could smell the lotus flowers offered at the holy feet of Lord Krishna. What did the Lord give us tongues for? So that we could taste Tulasi offered to the Lord. We can taste Tulasi, we can meditate on Tulasi. Why did the Lord give us legs? To circumambulate His holy abode. Why did the Lord give us heads? To keep them at the holy lotus feet of the guru and the Lord – so that we can pay our obeisances to them.

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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