(10/13) On Astrology

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata-Worldwide, 21 June 2020, part 10

Question: Is it possible to use astrology in bhakti-yoga practice—

No, no. No.

Question: Can we practise demigod worship? Can we visit places where sacrifice to demigods take place?

All demigods serve the Lord.

'শ্রদ্ধা' শব্দে—বিস্বাস কহে সুদৃঢ় নিশ্চয় ।
কৃষ্ণে ভক্তি কৈলে সর্ব্বকর্ম্ম কৃত হয় ॥

'sraddha'-sabde—visvasa kahe sudrdha nischaya
krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya

'Sraddha is a firm, determined faith that by serving Krishna all actions are accomplished.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.62)

We will not worship demigods.

অন্য অভিলাষ ছাড়ি, জ্ঞান কর্ম্ম পরিহরি,
কায়মনে করিব ভজন ।
সাধুসঙ্গে কৃষ্ণসেবা, না পূজিব দেবী-দেবা,
এই ভক্তি পরম কারণ ॥

anya abhilasa chhadi, jnana karma parihari
kaya-mane kariba bhajana
sadhu-sange krsna-seva, na pujiba devi-deva
ei bhakti parama karana

'The topmost process of devotional service is to worship the Lord with body and mind, giving up desires for fruitive activities and mental speculation. One should serve Lord Krsna in the association of devotees without worshipping any demigods.'

(Sri Sri Prema-bhakti-chandrika, Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

We will not worship any goddesses or gods. There are many gods and goddesses – there are 330,000,000 of demigods in this world – but you cannot make all demigods happy. There is Durga, Laksmi, Parvati and many others. Even I cannot tell the names of all 330,000,000 demigods. If you worship Krishna, everything is accomplished. So, it is not necessary to worship demigods.

In India also, there are some places where people worship Ganesh, Durga, Mother Kali, Surya (Sun), Chandra (Moon) and other demigods. They use many things in worship, but we worship Radha-Krishna's combined form, Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu, and Nityananda Prabhu. Our worshippable Deities are Nitai and Gaura, Gurudev, Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govindasundar, Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Gopinath, Radha Gopinath, Radha Madan-mohan. Gurudev gave many very sweet names to Deities. There is also Radha-Ramansundar, Radha Madhavasundar. Radha Gopinath are worshipped by Madhu Pandit, Radha Govinda are worshipped by Srila Rupa Goswami, and Radha Madan-mohan are worshipped by Srila Sanatan Goswami. There are so many Deities worshipped in our line...

Today, the calendar shows that it is a solar eclipse here in India.

Question: They say that when there is a solar eclipse, we cannot eat between certain timings. Do we follow this?

I do not believe in that. We are under the control of Lord Krishna, and solar eclipses are controlled by Lord Krishna, so we take prasadam of the Lord, regardless. People say many things, but Gurudev said that we are not to close our temple on this day (we always keep it open). In some places, people follow many things – they close the temple on this day, they offer bhoga only in the morning and at noon and so on. This is not our line actually. Our line is service line. We always serve the Deities. Many questions can come because many astrological things are going on at this time, and people hear that so many things should not be done during the eclipse time. There are many Hindu people abroad too (for example, in Singapore and Mauritius) who follow these things, but we are not Hindu.

One time, our Gurudev and Sripad Jayapataka Maharaj were travelling by the same plane. Jayapataka Maharaj's servitor brought much prasadam to the plane from home, but Gurudev's servitor did not bring anything because Gurudev was always happy to take aeroplane food. When the servitor gave Jayapataka Maharaj prasadam, Gurudev took a pakora or something like that from his plate. Jayapataka Maharaj was astonished, but Gurudev told him, 'Don't worry, Maharaj. You have no power to demolish (to break) my caste.' [His Divine Grace laughs.]

So, I have seen many solar and moon eclipses, I have heard everything, but we follow what Gurudev told. All the Gaudiya Vaishnavs follow many astrological things; they close temples, they do not cook during the eclipse time, they do not eat during this time, and they say that a pregnant lady cannot cook. I saw a message from them today saying that pregnant ladies will not make chapatis. They make many rules and regulations, but in our line, if you are a surrendered soul, you are always controlled by Gurudev. What for are you even thinking about yourself? Auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, whatever comes, why will we think about ourselves? We must not! No matter what, we timely give the offering to the Deities, and we take prasadam. It is OK. We do not eat food – we take food remnants of the Lord. So, what is the problem? There is no problem if you take remnants of the Lord, and that is sufficient for you. You must remember this. Do not eat, do not do this, that. There are many astrological things, there are many instructions, but an astrologer predicted that Gurudev's lifetime would be fifty-five years, and his guru (Srila Sridhar Maharaj) gave him a lifetime of eighty-two years. Who will you believe, Guru Maharaj or an astrologer? That is the main question. So, those who believe astrological things can believe it. Some Hindu people believe it, but we are mlechhas, we are not Hindu.

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Without Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur Our Line Is Nothing
2) Mandakini Dhara
3) Spiritual Safety
4) Ignore and Avoid Misconception
5) Practise and Keep Faith
6) Family Consciousness
7) Uncover Yourself
8) Opportunity to Serve
9) Live in Seva-Kunja
10) On Astrology
11) Be Sharp
12) Sincere, Keen and Humble
13) Observing Gundicha Marjan