(1/6) Srila Prabhupad's Exclusivity

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's disappearance
Nrisingha Palli, morning, 3 January 2021, part 1
Translated from Bengali

শ্রীপাট খেতরি-ধাম, ঠাকুর শ্রীনরোত্তম,
তোমাতে তাঁহার গুণ দেখি ।

sripat khetari-dham, thakura sri-narottama,
tomare tanhara guna dekhi

‘I see in you the qualities that Sri Narottam Thakur from Sripat Khetari Dham had.’

(Acharya Vandana)

Sripat Khetari Dham means the place where Srila Narottam Das Thakur appeared. It says here that we can see the qualities of Srila Narottam Das Thakur within Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.

শাস্ত্রের সিদ্ধান্ত-সার, শুনি’ লাগে চমৎকার,
কুতার্কিক দিতে নারে ফাঁকি ॥

sastrera siddhanta-sara, suni lage chamatkara,
kutarkika dite nare phanki

‘We are astonished to hear from you about the essence of scriptural conclusions – in their light, all logical wrangling and debates lose their power of deception.’

(Acharya Vandana)

Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur expressed the gist of all scriptures in a very beautiful way, so much so that nobody can twist it with their arguments after that. There are so many religions in this world – there is a religion of mothers, religion of fathers, religion of wives, religion of sons – all these religions become insignificant against the conception taught by Srila Prabhupad. Sriman Mahaprabhu said:

চারি বর্ণাশ্রমী যদি কৃষ্ণ নাহি ভজে ।
স্বকর্ম্ম করিলেও সে রৌরবে পড়ি মজে ॥

chari varnasrami yadi krsna nahi bhaje
svakarma karileo se raurave padi maje

‘Whatever varna (a priest, fighter, manager or worker) or ashram (a celibate, householder, renouncer of the household life or monk) you belong to, if you do not worship Krishna but engage in your prescribed duties, you will have to fall into a terrible hell.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.26)

There are four varnas (brahman, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra) and four ashrams (brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha, sannyas) – no matter what your position is within this varnashrama system, if you do not serve and worship Krishna, you will go to hell.

One time, Srila Prabhupad went for preaching to Kasim Bazar, where people arranged a 56-prahar kirtan – they hired a band and had them chant the Holy Name during seven days. The king invited Prabhupad to give class, but when Prabhupad came there, he saw that the entire audience was composed of sahajiyas – aul, baul, kartabhaja, nera, darvesh, saki, sahajiya, sakhibheki, smarta, jata-gosani, atibari, chudadhari, gauranga-nagari. Prabhupad told openly that nobody should associate with such people. As the result, they had some policemen come and make Prabhupad go away, saying, ‘Do not listen to him!’ Prabhupad went to his room and stayed there for three days without eating anything. After three days, Prabhupad told the king that he wanted to leave, and the king was surprised, ‘But why? The festival is not over yet.’ Srila Prabhupad replied, ‘I have not come here to waste your rice.’ The king did not understand what Prabhupad meant, so he asked him, ‘What has happened? I ordered to give you a nice room on the top floor and have your meals brought to you!’ The fact was that all these days Srila Prabhupad had not touched anything – he only took the Tulasi leave from the plate; he did not even touch their water. Such was Srila Prabhupad. I went to Kasim Bazar, too, and I saw the situation there… Anyway, these things do not last forever.

শুদ্ধভক্তি-মত যত, উপধর্ম্ম-কবলিত,
হেরিয়া লোকের মনে ত্রাস ।
হানি’ সুসিদ্ধান্ত-বাণ, উপধর্ম্ম খান খান,
সজ্জনের বাড়ালে উল্লাস ॥

suddha-bhakti-mata yata, upadharma-kavalita,
heriya lokera mane trasa
hani’ susiddhanta-vani, upadharma khana khana,
sajjanera barale ullasa

‘Your conception of pure devotion swallows all unscriptural religious practices – seeing this, common people’s minds become struck with fear. Shooting arrows of the highest conception, you have slashed all unscriptural practices to shreds and increased the joy of pious souls.’

স্মার্ত্তমত জলধর, শুদ্ধভক্তি রবি-কর,
আচ্ছাদিল ভাবিয়া অন্তরে ।

smarta-mata jaladhara, suddha-bhakti ravi-kara,
achchhadila bhaviya antare

‘The rain clouds of smarta-brahmans (staunch followers of formal laws and rules) were covering the sunshine of pure devotion, although it still remained there at the core.’

(Acharya Vandana)

Do you understand what smarta-vad is? These are people who always argue and ask challenging, duplicitous questions, always trying to know, ‘What happens if this?’, ‘What happens if that?’ Always duplicitous, always envious of the guru, always exhibiting ego. These are the smarta people. They ask, ‘Oh, what happens if you eat sago on ekadasi?’ Why ask this? Gurudev told to take it, so we take it. So, when the clouds of these smarta brahmans covered the sun of pure devotion, concealing it within in, Srila Prabhupad came to clear the sky.

শাস্ত্রসিন্ধু মন্থনেতে, সুসিদ্ধান্ত ঝঞ্ঝাবাতে,
উড়াইলা দিগ্­ দিগন্তরে ॥

sastra-sindhu manthanete, susiddhanta jhanjnavate,
udaila dig-digantare

‘Churning the ocean of scriptures and creating a storm of the highest conception, you have cleared and delivered all directions.’

(Acharya Vandana)

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Srila Prabhupad's Exclusivity
2) Listen and Learn
3) Live Exemplary Life
4) Srila Prabhupad: Divine Benefactor
5) Life's Purpose
6) Strings Stronger Than Steel