(9/13) Purity Comes From Practice

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bandipur, 15 November 2019, evening, part 9
Translated from Bengali

[After kirtans, His Divine Grace resumes the class.]

[Clamour]

কবে হবে বল, সে দিন আমার ।
অপরাধ ঘুচি’, শুদ্ধ নামে রুচি,
কৃপা-বলে হবে হৃদয়ে সঞ্চার ॥

kabe habe bala, se dina amara
aparadha ghuchi’, suddha name ruchi,
krpa-bale habe hrdaye sanchara

‘Tell me, when will that day be mine? When, by mercy, will my offences go away? When will I get taste for the pure Holy Name?’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'When, when will gurudev find place for Lord Krishna's Holy Name in my heart?'

গৌরাঙ্গের সঙ্গিগণে, নিত্যসিদ্ধ করি মানে,
সে যায় ব্রজেন্দ্রসুত-পাশ ।

gaurangera sangi-gane, nitya-siddha kari mane,
se yaya vrajendra-suta-pasa

'Those who consider Gauranga’s associates to be eternally liberated perfected souls reach Krishna, the Son of the King of Vraja.'

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

If you associate with Gaura's devotees, Krishna will reveal Himself in your hearts and you will reside in His holy abode. At present, we live in the illusory world, in the prison house of illusion (Maya). When people stay in prison, they have to suffer in many ways; in Maya's prison house, we also suffer living as Maya's slaves, getting always thrashed by her. We live following so many bad orders Maya gives us, but even though we do everything she tells us to do, she has never shown any pity or mercy to us.

তব নিজ-জন, কোন মহাজনে,
পাঠাইয়া দিলে তুমি ॥

tava nija-jana, kona mahajane,
pathaiya dile tumi

‘You have sent a great soul, Your associate, to me.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'O Lord, You have sent to me Your associate as a guru. He came and told me, "Hear to me, o poor soul! You will be very happy to hear it. Sri Krishna Chaitanya has come to Nabadwip to save you. He has already saved so many other poor and destitute souls like you."

ওহে দীন জন, শুন ভাল কথা,
উল্লসিত হ’বে হিয়া ॥
তোমারে তারিতে, শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য,
নবদ্বীপে অবতার ।
তোমা হেন কত, দীন হীন জনে,
করিলেন ভব-পার ॥

ohe dina jana, suna bhala katha,
ullasita ha’be hiya
tomare tarite, sri-krsna-chaitanya,
navadvipe avatara
toma hena kata, dina hina jane,
karilena bhava-para

'Poor soul, listen to this good news, it will make your heart rejoice. Sri Krishna Chaitanya has appeared in Nabadwip to deliver you! He has already taken many poor souls like you to the shore of the ocean of material existence.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

There are many faults in the Age of Kali – it is an ocean of faults – but there is one great advantage in this age: in this age, you can come to the Lord just by chanting the His Holy Names, just by serving your guru and Vaishnavs sincerely, without duplicity. You cannot come to the Lord through any material activities. Coming to the Lord, doing some service and hoping to get something in return – you cannot make trade with the Lord like this. Service must be sincere, selfless.

বিষয় ছাড়িয়া কবে শুদ্ধ হ'বে মন ।
কবে হাম হেরব শ্রীবৃন্দাবন ॥

visaya chhadiya kabe suddha ha’be mana
kabe hama heriba sri-vrndavana

'When will my mind reject this material world and everything in it and become pure? When will I behold Sri Vrindavan?'

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

'When will I leave this material world and my mind become pure? When will my mind always want to chant the Holy Name of Krishna? I will want millions of ears to hear the Name of Krishna, I want millions of mouths to speak about Krishna...' But our situation is such that we cannot control ourselves. We cannot control our speech, anger, tongues, minds, stomaches and genitals. We suffer from these six urges. You have heard about these urges in one of the kirtans that we sing:

ছয় বেগ দমি’, ছয় দোষ শোধি’,
ছয় গুণ দেহ দাসে ।

chhaya vega dami’, chhaya dosa sodhi’,
chhaya guna deha dase

‘Please subjugate my six urges, rectify my six defects and bestow the six good qualities upon this servant.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

There are also six defects: avidya (ignorance), asmita (false identification), raga (misdirected love), dvesa (aversion to anything that is against my enjoyment) and abhinivesa (being unable to give up unfavourable habits).

If you want to subjugate all these things and get rid of all these things, you must practise Krishna consciousness. You must remember the Lord, you must always glorify the Lord's Names, beauty, qualities and pastimes. You must think about the Lord – you must listen and talk about the Lord. 'Yatha vaisnava tatha tirtha (যথা বৈষ্ণব, তথা তীর্থ). A holy place of pilgrimage is the place where there is a Vaishnav.' If there is no Vaishnav in some place, then this place cannot be a holy place. Vrindavan is wherever there is Hari-katha going on – this is a holy place, and this is where the Lord stays. When sadhus, gurus and Vaishnavs come to speak about the Lord to some place, that place becomes a place of pilgrimage. In such places we can get the association of the Lord Himself – wherever His devotees speak about Him, this is where we can find the Lord's association.

It is pointless to travel to so many places, to go here, there, everywhere. Our time is very short. There is very little time in our hands. We can leave this world at any time. Our souls can leave these bodies at any moment, and when that happens, we will not be able to speak anymore, we will not be able to eat anything. Life will be gone. This life is not eternal and not certain.

জীবন অনিত্য জানহ সার,
তাহে নানাবিধ বিপদ ভার

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara

‘You must know the main truth that this life is not eternal and full of various dangers.’

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

This life is not only very short, it is also full of all kinds of dangers and trouble. 'Sukhe duhkhe bhule nako vadane Harinam koro re (সুখে দুঃখে ভুলো নাক, বদনে হরিনাম কর রে ). In happiness or sadness, never forget it, always chant the Holy Name.' You must chant the Holy Name when you are happy and when you are sad – not only when you feel sad. Even when you are happy, you must call out to the Lord. Always remember this.

জীবন হইল শেষ, না ভজিলে হৃষীকেশ ।
ভক্তিবিনোদ-উপদেশ, একবার নামরসে মাত রে

jivana haila sesa, na bhajile hrsikesa
bhaktivinod-upadesa, ekabara nama-rase mata re

'Your life is finished, but you have not served Lord Hrishikesh (the Lord of the senses). Bhaktivinod instructs: Become mad with the Name's nectar just once.'

(Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Your lives are finishing, but you have not been serving the Lord. Where will all your wives, sons, friends, relatives go? You will have to leave everything one day. You have been worrying about this body so much. You have been living only worrying about maintaining your material family – thinking about what you will eat, what you will do, where you will sleep, where you will live. This is how you have spent your whole lives, but one day you have to leave. You have got this human birth, but what have you made of it? Chitragupta is there keeping your account. 'What have you been doing in this human birth?' He records everything...

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Length: 76 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Appreciate Your Fortune
2) Fossil Hearts
3) God Is Great
4) Getting in Touch With God
5) God's Message
6) Higher Purpose in Life
7) Service Is Not Abstract
8) Choose the Right Path
9) Purity Comes From Practice
10) Embrace Eternal Life
11) Search for the Eternal
12) Service Comes from Heart
13) Educate Yourself