(4/5) Message to Take Away

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

You came for Sri Vrindavan Dham parikrama, toured many places, rolled in the dust, and now you are going back to your homes. You have been staying here for the past few days and have been eating prasad (strict vegetarian food), so you have not been able to eat your favourite fish, meat, onion and garlic. It has been hard for you, has it not? You are thinking, 'When will I get back home and have some onion?', 'When will I have my favourite prawns from Basirhat?' If this is what is on your minds, then it is all pointless. It is the same as an elephant's bathing – as soon as an elephant takes a bath, it rolls in dust again. Remember this and do not forget about this. Practise everything properly when you go back to your homes. Chant the Holy Name and serve the Lord sincerely.

Who went to Kuruksetra with us this time? Raise your hands. You know, when Bhisma, the great general of the Kaurava's army, was wounded and was about to die, Yudhisthir, who was going to be the next king, came to Bhisma to hear his advice. At that time, Bhisma gave him much guidance. Do you remember one particular piece of advice that he gave him? I told you about it. Does nobody remember it?

Devotee: How to rule the kingdom?

No, not that.

An elderly devotee: Mahaprasade govinde...

Yes!

মহাপ্রসাদে গোবিন্দে নাম-ব্রহ্মণি বৈষ্ণবে ।
স্বল্পপুণ্যবতাং রাজন্ বিশ্বাসো নৈব জায়তে ॥

mahaprasade govinde nama-brahmani vaisnave
svalpa-punya-vatam rajan visvaso naiva jayate

‘O King, one whose fortune is meagre never develops strong faith in mahaprasad, Govinda, the Holy Name or Vaisnavs.’

This is what Bhisma told King Yudhisthir. We always recite this verse before taking prasadam. By honouring prasad, we can gradually free ourselves from all desires and faults (lust, anger, greed, and so on).

Next to our temple here is the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Damodar. Has everybody been there? Do you remember who served the Deities there? [Somebody prompts, 'Srila Raghunath Das Goswami.'] No. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami served Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari. Mahaprabhu gave him a Govardhan-sila and gunja-mala. Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu served Sri Sri Radha-Damodar.

On the one hand, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu was Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami's nephew; on the other hand, he was Srila Rupa Goswami's disciple. One time, Srila Jiva Goswami made only one small mistake, but Srila Rupa Goswami kicked Srila Jiva Goswami out of Vrindavan, saying, 'You have no qualification to stay in Vrindavan!'

Once, after taking a bath in the Yamuna, Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami came to Srila Rupa Goswami (some say it was Vallabha Acharya, some say it was Gopal Bhatta Goswami). Just think about it – Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu stayed with Srila Rupa Goswami at the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Damodar and he would do all the cooking, Deity worship, cleaning. He did everything himself, alone. He would also bring water from the Yamuna for Srila Rupa Goswami's bathing, he would massage his body with oil. He did everything, and, on top of that, he also studied Sanskrit and various scriptures.

So, that day, when Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami came to Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu, Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu showed him a verse that he had written. Reading the verse, Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami remarked, 'Prabhu, this is not quite right. You have a mistake.' Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu agreed and corrected the verse. But Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu heard it and thought, 'But why has he corrected this verse? My Prabhu's verse was written correctly, but what Gopal Bhatta Goswami said is not correct.' He was scared to say anything at the time, so he kept quiet.

The next day, when he went to the Yamuna to bring some water, he met Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami, who was going to have a bath. 'Prabhu,' Srila Jiva Goswami said to him, 'I did not say anything yesterday, but the verse that my Lord has composed was correct, there was no need to correct it.' He explained the verse to Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami, and Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami understood, 'He is right!' Then, he went back to Srila Rupa Goswami and asked him about Srila Jiva Goswami,

'Who is this boy?'

'He is Anupam's son. Anupam is my younger brother, but he is no more now,' Srila Rupa Goswami explained.

'Oh, you should take good care of him.'

'Why? What has happened?'

'He will become a great devotee and preacher in the future!'

'How did you understand it?'

'I corrected your verse yesterday, but in fact I was wrong – what you wrote is correct. He explained it to me!'

Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu suddenly became grave. When Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami left, he came to Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu and said, 'You have no right to stay in Vrindavan. Please leave.'

Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu left. He stayed nearby and began to fast. At that time, he also remembered that he had been asked to compose the play Gopal Champu, so he started writing it. After a few days, he passed out of hunger and exhaustion. In the meantime, Srila Sanatan Goswami got the news about his situation and came to Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu from his Madan-mohan's temple. He scolded Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu, 'You are always talking about being kind to others (jiva daya), but here is Jiva who is dying of hunger!'

Then, Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhu came to Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu and, picking him up in his arms, brought him back to Rupa Goswami. When he recovered, Srila Rupa Goswami explained to him, 'You may have been right, but he is your guru-varga. You must never teach your guru-varga, even if they are wrong and you are right. That is why I told you that you could not stay in Vrindavan. Why was it necessary for you to say anything?'

From this pastime, you can realise what Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu taught and how high his teachings are.

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Size: 32 Mb
Length: 67 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Concluding Parikrama
2) Service: Daily Accountability
3) Kirtan Is Not Show
4) Message to Take Away
5) Take Care of Yourselves