(9/9) No Shortcuts

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Vyasa Puja Day, Tarakeswar, evening class
29 September 2019, part 9
Translated from Bengali

I have spoken much today. Does anybody have any questions? Who said yesterday that they wanted to take initiation this morning? Has the person already gone? It is not right. You know our temple – we do not cheat people. I have told you that you can find many gurus in this world who will take your obeisances (pranami) and who will take your money (pranami). We do not cheat people. This is not something we do or even know how to do.

If you want to take initiation from this Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, you must follow all rules and regulations. It means that after taking initiation you must practise. There are four things that are prohibited: (1) gambling: playing cards, dice, chess; (2) intoxication: alcohol, tobacco, drugs, tea; (3) illegal mixing: free mixing out of wedlock or excessive attachment to your wife or husband; (4) slaughter: killing other living entities (you must never eat fish, meat, onion, garlic, eggs, lentils). Apart from these rules, you must also fast on ekadasis. If you can follow all these rules, then you can come to take initiation. If you cannot follow these rules and regulations, you will never be able to enter the path of devotion or receive shelter in the kingdom of devotion. So, if you take initiation but do not follow anything, it is useless – you will never get anywhere like that.

We want to establish a connection with our souls. We do not want bodily or mental happiness – what we are after is the peace and happiness of our souls. You must make the first step forward, and once you have made that step, always stay on the path of devotion. Even when you take initiation, if you cannot stay on this path, you will not be able to enter the world of devotion and you will not get another chance to get to Goloka Vrindavan in this life. You will not be able to go there. This is the final word.

'Oh, you cannot give it up all at once, so try little by little, slowly. Eat what you are eating, but try to change yourself slowly' – we cannot say such things to anyone. This is cheating. You come to the temple, have a good time and take initiation. After that, you go back to your home and start eating fish, meat, onion, etc. again. This is as useless as an elephant's bathing. If this is how you practise spiritual life, you will never have devotion, neither will you ever come to the Lord like that. Always remember this, always keep these things in your hearts. You must listen to Hari-katha with your hearts and souls. Always remember and think about these things. Otherwise, you will never be able to enter the domain of devotion. Folding my palms before you, I keep telling you these things again and again...

I told today during the class the story about the man who did not want to come to see Srila Prabhupad, who did not want to go to see the holy abode of the Lord (Yogapith, Mayapur). Such people have no mercy. Those who do not have the fortune to appreciate all these things start making excuses. People say they have two hands (hata, হাত), but there is also a third hand – it is called excuses (ajuhata, অজুহাত)... That is why people stat saying, 'Oh, I will go to see Mayapur when the Ganges dries up.' In the end, neither the Ganges will dry up nor will you ever go to Mayapur. Do not be like this. Serve your guru and Vaishnavs sincerely, with your heart and soul.

On 25 October we are going to Vrindavan. If any of you wants to come with us, come later and have your name added to the list. We are leaving on 25 October from Howrah and coming back on 8 November. Come to the train station a little earlier because we need to give everyone the tickets, etc. before we leave. It takes time. Apart from Vrindavan, Govardhan and Mathura, we will also go to Jaipur, Kuruksetra and Karauli. We will be travelling by A/C buses between the places. If you do not have money to go to all the places, you can stay in our Vrindavan temple and wait for us to come back and return to Kolkata with us.

— : • : —

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

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

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