Live In Sadhu-Sanga

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Evening class, Sri Nrisingha Palli
4 March 2020, part 1, translated from Bengali

[Noise in the audience.]

Please stop talking.

দিনের মধ্যে আবল-তাবল
কত পচাল পাড়িতে পর
তার মধ্যে কিন্তু তুমি একবার
গোবিন্দ বলে আর কথা বলিব না

dinera madhye abala-tabala
kata pachala parite para
tara madhye kintu tumi ekbara
govinda bale, ara katha baliba na

"All day you talk all kinds of nonsense, how much idle talk you engage in! But find time amidst all that to chant the Name of Govinda, do not talk about other things!"

Guru Maharaj told one thing—if you spend your energy on other (material) things or on speaking nonsense, you will not get energy for spiritual life. You can see here too that when everybody is standing and chanting kirtan during the arati, many are sitting at the back—they cannot even circumambulate the temple (do the parikrama of the temple) four times, they remain seated. You have walked so much in your life. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur writes (in Kalyan-kalpataru):

তীর্থফল সাধুসঙ্গ, সাধুসঙ্গে অন্তরঙ্গ,
শ্রীকৃষ্ণভজন মনোহর ।
যথা সাধু, তথা তীর্থ, থির করি' নিজ-চিত্ত,
সাধুসঙ্গ কর নিরন্তর ॥

tirtha-phala sadhu-sanga, sadhu-sange antaranga,
sri-krsna-bhajana manohara
yatha sadhu, tatha tirtha, sthira kari' nija-chitta,
sadhu-sanga kara nirantara

"The result of visiting a place of pilgrimage is sadhu-sanga (pure devotees' association) and being drawn to the exclusive service of Sri Krishna. A place of pilgrimage is where a sadhu (pure devotee) is. Always keep the association of pure devotees and firmly fix your mind by such association."

মন, তুমি তীর্থে সদা রত ।
অযোধ্যা, মথুরা, মায়া, কাশী, কাঞ্চী, অবন্তীয়া,
দ্বারাবতী আর আছে যত ॥

mana, tumi tirthe sada rata
ayodhya, mathura, maya, kasi, kanchi, avantiya,
dvaravati ara achhe yata

O mind! You are always attached to places of pilgrimage—Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kasi (Varanasi), Kanchipuram, Avantiya, Dvaraka, and so many other places.

Did I not tell you yesterday? We can also go walking around Kolkata. So many political parties walk the streets—one time, a party did "a long march" from Bardhaman all the way to Kolkata. They too walk, but what do you walk for? Those who do parikrama of a holy place (it is one of the devotional practices) get spiritual benefit. You have been walking so long in your life that you are tired now—you have wasted your energy, and you end up being unable to do dham parikrama... Many have Tulasi at home, but many do not even have the habit of circumambulating Tulasi four times a day—they only give some water and incense. Most people do not do Tulasi parikrama. Not everyone can go to Vrindavan every year, but if you do Tulasi parikrama four times in the morning and four times in the evening, you can get the result of Vrindavan Dham parikrama. If you do not remember the Tulasi parikrama kirtan by heart, we have kirtan books here, you can buy one and take it home. It is necessary to sing the glories of Tulasi,

নমো নমঃ তুলসী মহারাণি, বৃন্দে মহারাণি নমো নমঃ
নমোরে নমোরে মাঁইয়া নমো নারায়ণী ।

namo namah tulasi maharani vrnde maharani namo namah
namo-re namo-re maiya namo narayani

O Tulasi Maharani, O Vrnda Devi, I offer my obeisance unto you again and again. O Narayani, I offer my obeisance unto you again and again.

যাঁকো দরশে পরশে অঘনাশ হোই
মহিমা বেদ পুরাণে বাখানি ॥

yako darase parase agha-nasa hoi
mahima veda purane vakhani

By seeing or touching you, all sins are destroyed. Your glories are sung in the Vedas and Puranas.

Seeing Tulasi or touching Tulasi destroys all sins.

ধূপ, দীপ, নৈবেদ্য, আরতি,
ফুলনা কিয়ে বরখা বরখানি ।

dhupa, dipa, naivedya, arati,
phulana kiye varakha varakhani

You shower mercy upon one who offers you incense, lamps, foods, worship, and flowers.

ছাপ্পান্ন ভোগ, ছত্রিশ ব্যঞ্জন,
বিনা তুলসী প্রভু এক নাহি মানি ॥

chhappanna bhoga, chhatrisa vyanjana,
vina tulasi prabhu eka nahi mani

The Lord does not accept even one of fifty-six grain offerings or thirty-six vegetable offerings without tulasi leaves.

You offer bhoga with Tulasi only once a year when your gurus come to your house—when they come, they you give them some pranami (donation) and offer some bhoga. I go village to village and I hear people say things like, "We have bhoga at home today." But it is necessary to offer bhoga every day! Why only today? Do you eat only today? Why do you give bhoga to the Lord only today? It is necessary to offer bhog eternally, every day. You must not eat unoffered things.

বিষয়ীর অন্ন খাইলে মলিন হয় মন ।
মলিন মন হৈলে, নহে কৃষ্ণ-নাম গ্রহণ ॥

visayira anna khaile malina haya mana
malina mana haile, nahe krsna-nama grahana

"If you take food that comes from materialistic people, your mind becomes contaminated. When your mind is contaminated, you cannot chant the Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.278)

Have I not told you just now about Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj? When he was staying at a toilet, somebody asked him, "Maharaj, you are staying in a toilet, are you not getting the stench?" Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj replied, "Yes, I am, but this stench can be tolerated—it is much more difficult to tolerate the stench of materialists (who are proud of money, wealth, knowledge, their body)." Such smell is very bad, that is why it is necessary to keep good association (to live in sadhu-sanga).

If you put a fifty kg sack on your head, your head will be splitting—if you go to an A/C room with that fifty kg sack, will you get any peace? You will not... This fifty kg sack is not a sack of rice or flour—it is the burden of ego. For as long as you have this burden of ego, you will never get any peace. When people pay full sastanga dandavat, many do not touch their head to the ground, many offer obeisance with their hands only and keep their head away not to touch the ground. But Uddhav Maharaj aspired for the feet dust of Vraja gopis! We hanker for the feet dust of Vaishnavs. Have you heard the kirtan?

কবে শ্রীচৈতন্য মোরে করিবেন দয়া ।
কবে আমি পাইব বৈষ্ণব-পদছায়া ॥

kabe sri chaitanya more karibena daya
kabe ami paiba vaisnava-pada-chhaya

When will Sri Chaitanya be merciful to me? When will I reach the shade of the Vaishnavs' feet?

কবে আমি ছাড়িব এ বিষয়াভিমান ।
কবে বিষ্ণুজনে আমি করিব সম্মান ॥

kabe ami chhadiba e visayabhimana
kabe visnu-jane ami kariba sammana

When will I give up this mundane ego? When will I honour the Lord's devotees?

গলবস্ত্র কৃতাঞ্জলি বৈষ্ণব নিকটে ।
দন্তে তৃণ করি দাঁড়াইব নিষ্কপটে ॥

gala-vastra krtanjali vaisnava-nikate
dante trna kari' dandaiba niskapate

With a cloth around my neck, joined palms, and straw between my teeth, I will sincerely submit myself at the Vaishnav's feet.

Srimad Bhagavatam also says that when you step on some grass, the grass stays down—Uddhav Maharaj also said that he aspired to become some grass in Vrindavan. When Vaishnavs do dham parikrama, we take their feet dust on our heads.

কাঁদিয়া কাঁদিয়া জানাইব দুঃখগ্রাম ।
সংসার অনল হৈতে মাগিব বিশ্রাম ॥

kandiya kandiya janaiba duhkha-grama
samsara-anala haite magiba visrama

Weeping, I will convey my sorrows to the Vaishnav and pray for shelter from the fire of material existence.

কাঁদিয়া কাঁদিয়া জানাইব দুঃখগ্রাম ।
সংসার অনল হৈতে মাগিব বিশ্রাম ॥

suniya amara duhkha vaisnava thakura
ama' lagi' krsne avedibena prachura

Hearing of my sorrow, the worshippable Vaishnav will thoroughly pray to Krishna on my behalf.

Vaishnav Thakur will hear about my misery and tell it then to Lord Krishna...

It is necessary to always keep these kirtans of surrender in your heart. Do not just sing them—you must understand their meaning, you must understand their mood. We do not sing songs; we chant the glories of the Lord, we do kirtan.

You have all come here, so do not gossip, do not discuss 'village talks,' 'village news'—only glorify Lord Krishna, only glorify the Supreme Lord, then you will get supreme benefit.

— : • : —

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