(3/6) Aversion to Service

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Jaipur, evening class,
4 November 2019, part 3
Translated from Bengali

We must understand and think about these things. How long are we going to be alive in this world? All your money, cars, houses, wealth, property will stay behind – you cannot take anything with you. For example, there are five people staying in one room, and if two more people come to stay there, you get angry, 'You are not from our group!' What kind of mood is this?! You have all come together to do this parikrama. We are all members of one family: we are all members of the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math family. We have come together, and we should try to help each other, we should try to take care and nurture each other! What do you learn from sadhus? 'This is my room! There are five of us staying together, so you two cannot stay here!' I could never expect this kind of mood from you...

I was staying upstairs today, watching. Everybody got rooms and were settling in when somebody came to me and asked, 'Gurudev, where is my room? Where will I stay?' I became angry. What kind of question is this? I have come here together with you all, this is not my house. You must think, too. Where am I going to stay? Where are you going to stay? Make arrangements anyhow – make the burden weighing down my shoulders lighter! Taking burden from another person and making their life easier is what is called service.

During the niyom-seva month, we chant in one of the kirtans:

জীবন-নির্ব্বাহে আনে উদ্বেগ না দিবে ।
পর-উপকারে নিজ-সুখ পাসরিবে ॥

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

'You must live without causing anxiety to others and do good unto others forsaking your own happiness.'

(Sri Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Do you understand the meaning of these words? 'I will not disturb or trouble anybody for my own happiness, for my own food and lodging.' This is the promise we make. 'Where will I stay? What will I eat? What will I wear?' – do not create a headache for others because of all these things. Instead, you must sacrifice and throw your own happiness away to help others. This is the kirtan we sing.

You know, actually I could not walk today because my legs pained too much. I have to take ten–twelve pills in the evening and then go to bed, but I did not take this medication last night, so I could not sleep and today, as the result, I could not walk because my legs pained so much. During the day, I could not walk, so I had to take a toto. When we came to Lord Gopinath's temple, I could sit and chant some kirtan there. After that, when we left the temple, Vishnu Prabhu (a local devotee from Jaipur), Kamalendu Prabhu and I went to three different banks because I had to send money for the construction works that are going on now at Nrisingha Palli, Ekachakra and Mayapur. I also went to see Deities for our new temple that is being built now; I want to bring Deities from here. So, in the end, I took prasad very late today, and I had heartburn because I could not eat anything at lunch time. You saw that I took prasad with you all at six or seven in the morning yesterday and after that I fasted the whole day yesterday. I have diabetes, so you can understand what this is like. I could not eat anything on the way, so I ended up fasting the whole day and night. Somebody gave me some potato chips, but when I had it, I had bloating...

Tomorrow we are leaving early in the morning, at five o'clock, so I am thinking about what we can cook and what we can take with us to feed everybody. Be ready early tomorrow. I have already arranged with the cooks tomorrow's cooking and tonight's as well. I am thinking about everybody, and I am asking you to please think a little about the Lord, too. Try to serve your guru, Vaishnavs and the Lord. You are getting old day by day, you can lose service at any time, so try to serve – try to join and help service. You can do so many things now, but because you are proud, you do not want to do anything. You are proud of your money, so you think, 'I have given money, why must I do anything?' This is not very good. For those who want to follow the path of devotion, this mood is very bad. If this kind of mood comes to anybody, it is very bad. Do you understand it? Remember what I have told you.

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Length: 39 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Slaves of Lust
2) Consuming Callousness
3) Aversion to Service
4) Known and Knowable
5) Mahaprabhu's Exclusive Gift
6) Preach for the Math