(5/5) Drops of Nectar

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Narottam Das Thakur's Disappearance
18 October 2019, Nrisingha Palli, part 5

What is called good association?

Devotee: Sadhu-sanga.

What does sadhu-sanga mean?

Devotee: Vaishnav-sanga.

How do you know who is a Vaishnav?

Devotee: One who serves gurudev.

I gave the answer to this question (What is called good association?) here, in Guidance 3. If you associate with a non-devotee (asadhu), with a fake devotee (there are so many fake devotees in this world), or if you make a show of coming to a bona fide devotee but protect your own independence, then it is not sadhu-sanga.

How can one live in Mathura? Sometimes, people think, 'Oh, I want to live in Mathura! This Kolkata is a very naughty place, but Mathura, Vrindavan or Govardhan is a good place to stay at.' So, how does one live in Mathura? Srila Prabhupad said, 'If you want to enjoy and imitate living in Mathura, this is not living in Mathura.' Do you understand it? If you have some service in Mathura, Vrindavan or anywhere like that, you can stay there – for service. But if you want to enjoy and imitate, then it is not worth it. For example, one sannyasi once said, 'Oh, Raghunath Das Goswami went to Puri on foot. Mahaprabhu also went from Puri to Vrindavan on foot!' So, he also started going there on foot. He ended up breaking his leg and getting so sick that he had to get somebody to serve him... This is called a show, or imitation. If one does that, I have no problem, but this is not what residing in a holy place is about.

What is the highest religion of the jiva soul? What is the highest conception that we preach?

Devotee: Jaiva-dharma.

Jaiva-dharma is OK, but what is the highest religion? The highest religion is madhura-rasa. There is santa-, dasya-, sakhya-, vatsalya- and madhura-rasa. Srila Prabhupad says, 'Our highest religion is to serve the Vraja-basis afflicted with the pain of separation from Krishna when He left for Mathura.' It is called mathura-viraha. When Krishna left for Mathura, all the Vraja-basis felt very deep separation – we should serve that kind of mood, that is the highest religion. You should serve those who always think about Krishna, who always think about gurudev.

What do intimate devotees hanker for? Intimate, or the highest, devotees have no other hankering except for servitude to Rupanuga. You must seek out a Rupanuga Vaishnav and always serve them because they have no other hankering except servitude to Rupanuga.

Who can protect us? Our protector is Hari-katha from the mouths of real devotees. Only that can protect us.

One time, Srila Narottam Das Thakur came to Mayapur. Mahaprabhu had already left by then. When Srila Narottam Das Thakur saw the Ganges, he kept paying obeisances all the time, and then one brahman noticed him. He saw that Srila Narottam Das Thakur is very beautiful, and he felt very happy to see him. The brahman asked him, 'Oh, I feel very happy because today I have seen tilaks and a kanthi-mala! Prabhu, where are you from?' Narottam Das Thakur said that he came from so-and-so family and that he came to see Mahaprabhu's birthplace. The brahman then said, 'Oh, yes, I can still remember the sight when Nimai, seated among His students, was giving a class. It was a very beautiful sight. We do not know anything about where Nimai has gone, or where His birthplace is, but we know a tree under which Nimai...' [The recoding breaks...]

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Length: 35 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Remembering Srila Narottam Das Thakur
2) Intertwined Glory of Guru and Disciple
3) Aural Darshan
4) Helpless and Blind
5) Drops of Nectar