(1/8) Subdue Your Tongue

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching programme, Basirhat, evening,
14 December 2020, part 1

It is our great fortune to be present here today. We do not have a drive to hear or speak Hari-katha (this drive does not awaken within us). We are always wasting time on various other nonsense things and nonsense talks. Therefore, it is necessary to have a suitable environment to hear and speak about the Lord. Where will you find such discussions? Where will you find this opportunity to hear about the Lord seated at the holy lotus feet of sadhus and Vaishnavs? I will chant some kirtans now, and after that I will speak Hari-katha.

[His Divine Grace chants kirtans.]

দুর্ল্লভ মানব জন্ম লভিয়া সংসারে ।
কৃষ্ণ না ভজিনু দুঃখ কহিব কাহারে ॥

durlabha manava-janma labhiya samsare
krsna na bhajinu—duhkha kahiba kahare?

'I have got a very rare human life in this world, but I have not worshipped Lord Krishna. Whom will I tell about my misery?'

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Do we feel this pain? Do we feel sad that we cannot practise Krishna consciousness? We do not. We are actually suffering because we have got a rare human birth, but we have not been able to practise Krishna consciousness.

[Clamour] Hey! Only 'Krishna', 'Krishna'! When you are cooking, you must chant, 'Krishna, Krishna' When Radharani and Vraja-gopis cook, they always call out to Krishna, 'Krishna! Krishna!' They were calling for the Lord to come and eat. There must be not other talks. Only chant, 'Krishna! Krishna!' It is necessary to subdue the urge of your tongue. How much we talk! The Lord has given you a tongue to speak and to eat, and that is what you are all doing – only speaking and eating, speaking and eating the whole day. You only keep filling and then emptying your stomaches... Is that not so?

When we were born as pigs, we ate so much stool. If you tell a pig, 'Here, we have some paneer rasa, rasagullas and yoghurt!' will a pig eat it? A pig will say, 'I do not like all this! Bring a bucket of stool, and I will eat it happily!' When we were born as elephants, how many banana trees we ate; when we were born as cows, how much grass we ate (we only ate all day and night at that time). But we have not got our mouths for this! We have got this mouth to speak. To speak about whom? About the Lord. Unless you speak about the Lord, you must speak very little. It is not possible to live without speaking – you ask your parents for food, you go to the market, and so on. Speak only when it is necessary. Other than that, do not speak about any nonsense things – no gossiping, no village talks. I know that ladies like gathering together in the evenings and discuss whose daughters-in-law did what, whose mothers-in-law did what, who got beaten or chastised, who quarrelled with whom, and so on. This is prajalpa (nonsense, idle talk).

গ্রাম্যকথা না শুনিবে, গ্রাম্যবার্ত্তা না কহিবে ।
ভাল না খাইবে আর ভাল না পরিবে ॥
অমানী মানদ হঞা কৃষ্ণনাম সদা ল'বে ।
ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ সেবা মানসে করিবে ॥

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

'Do not listen to village talks, do not speak about village news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself and give all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krishna and serve Radha-Krishna in your mind.'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.236-237)

'In your mind' means in your heart – with your heart and soul. You must serve Radha-Krishna with all your heart, with love. Do not do anything just to impress others.

লোক দেখান গোরা ভজা তিলক মাত্র ধরি ।

গোপনেতে অত্যাচার গোরা ধরে চুরি ॥

loka dekhana gora bhaja tilaka matra dhari'
gopanete atyachara gora dhare churi

'You put on tilaks and show the whole world that you serve Gora, but secretly you do outrageous things. Gora will catch you, thief (hypocrite)!'

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6–7)

You put tilaks on, wear neckbeads, you proudly say, 'I fast on ekadasi without taking any water or food!' but when you go to bathe in the pond, you take a dip and drink some water. Some people say they do nirjala ekadasi, and what they mean is that they eat everything except water (nir-jala: lit. 'without water'); or even if they fast, the next day they eat fish and meat. What is the use fasting on ekadasi like that? An elephant can bathe nicely, but then it immediately throws dust on its body. This is what is called 'elephant bathing', a useless activity...

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Subdue Your Tongue
2) Surrender or Suffer!
3) Eternal Benefit
4) Family Matters
5) Search Beyond Maya
6) Mining Innermost Humility
7) What Is Your Substance?
8) Live and Learn