(10/10) Living the Dream

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Gurudev's Vyasa Puja, Nrisingha Palli
14 December 2019, evening, part 10
Translated from Bengali

Sometimes, you think that dishonesty or some trickery can help you gain something, but the more you live like this, the more your unhappiness will increase. In fact, the problem is that you cannot understand that you are not this gross, material body. You are not this mind, intelligence or ego – you are soul. You are part of Paramatma, and you are full of eternity, consciousness and bliss – you belong to the spiritual potency of the Lord. But is there any eternity, consciousness or bliss within you now? Or do you think, 'I was born', 'I am ill', 'I have problems', 'I have died', or do you think, 'I live a happy life – I have a wife and children, my life is fine'?

This life is only a dream – you are sleeping and only seeing a dream. No matter how much happiness you may see in a dream, it is still only a dream – once you wake up, you realise that it is not real. We go to sleep at night and see a dream, but when we wake up the next day, does that dream have any value? It does not – it is only a dream. So, all these fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, friends that we have in this world are all like a dream. Everything will be gone one day.

Do you want happiness? Very good! What happiness is that? The happiness of your body? The happiness of your mind? No. You have got this body according to the result of your previous actions (karma), and when you finish enjoying this body, you will have to again get another body according to the actions you commit. If you want to get relief from this cycle of births and deaths, if you want to satisfy your greatest thirst, if you want to attain eternal happiness, then come to take shelter at the holy lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishnachandra, which are an abode where no grief (asoka) or fear (abhaya) exist, which are an abode of nectar (amirta) and all possible auspiciousness (nikhila-mangala).

Remember this. Read these things carefully and remember them.

Think about it. How much pain does this body give you? Day and night, you are busy procuring enjoyment for it. You always think about eating nice things, about sleeping in a nice place, about wearing nice clothes, and so on – your whole life is focused on enjoyment. But does that help? Do you get any relief through that? You do not. Instead, you only end up getting sick. For example, the more you eat, the sicker you become. If you lie on a nice, soft mattress, your back starts paining. If you sleep on a high pillow, you get spondylitis. On top of that, you suffer from all kinds of bodily ailments, you do not feel any happiness in your mind and start squabbling with everyone around you. You bath, eat and sleep enjoying everything, but soon problems come and you become upset – all enjoyment is gone! You spend your life like this, and then one day this body falls down dead. If you have any proper intelligence, then use your body to serve the holy lotus feet of the Lord. This is the proper utility of intelligence. Intelligent souls use their bodies for service to the Lord.

The book where all this is going to be written will come out soon, at next Gaura Purnima. I am trying hard to complete it in time. Now I understand how hard it is – I cannot write even two pages now, my hand starts paining. Before, when I used to do exams, I would write sixty–seventy pages and feel no pain. But now I write two pages, my hands start paining and I have to lie down and rest. I do not like writing anymore. I thought that I had some time, so I would write something – it is necessary to print the book before Gaura Purnima, but it is hard. I consult many sources and compile the book...

The main thing is actually the same – you can see and hear that all sadhus say the same thing. Listen to the glories of the guru, and if you can take shelter at the holy lotus feet of the guru and become a genuine disciple, then you will be able to come to the Lord. Everybody says this.

I am praying to you all: I do not want your money, I do not want your wealth – we have opened many temples, all I want from you is that you come and help with the services. ** said that he wanted to retire at sixty, but he is more than seventy-three now and he is still working at the bank. He was trying to arrange for his son to get a job at the bank, and now he is thinking to arrange for his grandson to work at the bank. That is why he is waiting and not retiring. Another devotee, ** Prabhu, is carrying on giving injections and drips all his life. He does not think about curing his heart disease, but he is busy administering injections and drips to others. What is the use saving all those people's bodies? You save them and they will come to rob you. One time, a thief went to rob a house. The man who lived at that house cut his ear, and when the thief came to a hospital to stitch it back, the thief saw the doctor and realised, 'Oh, I have robbed your house!' Srila Prabhupad told this story. A thief came to rob a house and was caught – when he was running away, he twisted his ankle. He came to a doctor to get it fixed. Srila Prabhupad said, 'What is the use fixing his leg? You will fix it, and after a few days the man will come to rob you.' All is in vain – all these efforts lead nowhere...

To conclude, I want to sing Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's saranagati kirtan. Always remember and sing these kirtans. Always practise sad-anga saranagati (the six limbs of surrender).

দৈন্য, আত্মনিবেদন, গোপ্তৃত্বে বরণ ।
'অবশ্য রক্ষিবে কৃষ্ণ'—বিশ্বাস পালন ॥
ভক্তি-অনুকূল মাত্র কার্য্যের স্বীকার ।
ভক্তি-প্রতিকূল ভব—বর্জ্জনাঙ্গীকার ॥

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana
bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikar

'(1) Humility, (2) self-submission, (3) accepting the Lord as your maintainer, (4) keeping faith that "Krishna will certainly protect me", (5) engaging only in what is favourable to devotion, (6) rejecting what is unfavourable to devotion.'

ষড়ঙ্গ শরণাগতি হইবে যাঁহার ।
তাঁহার প্রার্থনা শুনে শ্রীনন্দকুমার ॥

sad-anga saranagati haibe yahara
tahara prarthana sune sri-nanda-kumara

'Sri Krishna hears the prayers of those who surrender in this six-fold way.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

There are six kinds of surrender, and they all must come to us: (1) humility, (2) self-submission, (3) accepting the Lord as your maintainer, (4) keeping faith that "Krishna will certainly protect me", (5) engaging only in what is favourable to devotion, (6) rejecting what is unfavourable to devotion. Always think about this.

If somebody has a problem with this and you hear that some areas are not favourable, do not go there. What is the problem? It is no use forcing anybody. Sometimes, people see tilaks, neck beads or chanting beads, and they become very angry and only commit offences. People become filled with envy and spite. Do you know where it comes from? Desires give birth to anger, and anger gives birth to greed. Why do you think when people come to take initiation we prohibit them to eat so many things? Because if you gratify your senses, they will never become pacified. The more onion, garlic, fish, meat, etc. you eat, the harder it is to control your senses.

Let us chant kirtan now; after that, I will finish for today. If somebody has to leave earlier, then please keep in touch and be careful – do not go to fight with anybody.

[His Divine Grace chant 'Sarvasva tomara.']

If you always sing this kirtan, gradually humility will come to you. Always chant kirants.

[His Divine Grace chant 'E ghora samsare', 'Hari Haraye Nama Krsna' and the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, concluding the evening class.]

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Size: 41 Mb
Length: 86 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Preaching Life
2) One-Pointed Happy Life
3) Do Not Get Blown Away
4) Temples Are Not Temporal
5) Danger of Deviation
6) Love for Kirtan
7) Soul Consciousness
8) Gist of Religious Life
9) Burning Burden
10) Living the Dream