(7/7) Learn to Tolerate

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata—Worldwide, 24 January 2021, part 7

It is necessary to have much tolerance when you are young. I also was a university student, I also thought about different things. I have seen university life, I also had many friends, but Krishna has taken me from there.

My parents did not want me to come to Krishna consciousness and become a sannyasi. I started reading Srimad Bhagavad-gita when I was twelve years old, and my father always hid the book, he did not allow me to read it. From my childhood, I knew a lot about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is famous in the area where I was born, so in my childhood, we staged some pastimes (did some drama) about Nimai, Gaurasundar. I knew and liked Gauranga very much in my childhood.

I used to read Srimad Bhagavad-gita, but I did not understand it so much, but when I came to Gurudev, I heard some very nice explanation of Srimad Bhagavad-gita. Even Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita is a very hard book, but Gurudev explained ‘Sri Ray Ramananda sambad’ (the conversation between Mahaprabhu and Ray Ramananda), explained how Srila Sanatan Goswami and Srila Rupa Goswami left their kingdom and joined Mahaprabhu, and how many problems Srila Raghunath Das Goswami had to face before he finally reached Mahaprabhu. All this gives me very much enthusiasm in my life. The pastimes of Srila Raghunath Das Goswami, Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami give me very much inspiration in my life. Srila Gurudev also told me about his own life. When he left his house, he was giving twenty rupees per month to his mother, and when he came to the temple, his family and his mother came to the temple to take him back. When his mother tried to pull him forcefully by the hand, Gurudev held onto some window bars with his other hand and refused to go. This also gave me a lot of inspiration.

So many problems come – you will have to face so many things – but it is necessary to tolerate everything. It is necessary to have much patience to be able to stay in a temple. If you live alone, you do what you like, but when you live in a temple, you have to follow all the rules and regulations properly, and that should give you more example, more benefit in your spiritual lives. That is why I pray to devotees to come and stay longer. You come for the Gaura Purnima festival from time to time, stay for a few days and immediately get a return ticket, but you should try to stay here for some time. We have opened many temples and branches, you can stay in any of the temples and do some service there for at least one–three months, it will be good for you. If you come only for four–five days at Gaura Purnima and immediately leave, you will not be able to learn to be an example for others.

You can see the example – there is a Colombian boy, Amrita Krishna Prabhu. He has been here for more than a year now, and he is doing very nice cow seva. He sends me photographs from Nrisingha Palli every day. His wife, Dharitri Didi, also cooks very nicely. Even I can give you the example of Sudevi Didi. When I first went to Venezuela, I did not have a good cook with me, and I could not tolerate some food there, but now Sudevi cooks so well that no Indian lady could compete with her. She could defeat anybody, any best cook in India. She made fried rice and chilli paneer on Gurudev’s appearance day – I can say that no one can cook it in such a way. Perhaps, some professional cooks at a hotel or a restaurant can cook like this; otherwise, nobody can compete with her. Even when Krishna Sundari Didi cooked sweet rice, it was incredible sweet rice, and it has become very famous now. So many sannyasis came from various Gaudiya Maths, and they said that they had never tasted such sweet rice before. They have many temples – they all came from various temples – but they kept asking me, ‘Who has cooked this? We know Nimai cannot cook like this!’ I did not tell them Krishna Sundari Didi’s name or Sudevi Didi’s name – I had to say that I had cooked it because if I had told them the truth, they would squirm thinking they are mlechhas, and they may not have taken it also. They have this mentality – they can say, ‘Oh, they come from the West, they are mlechhas, so we will not take anything from their hands!’ When Srila Swami Maharaj Prabhupad opened the temple in Mayapur, many foreign devotees had come at that time, but Gaudiya Maths did not join the inauguration…

I would like to finish here. I am paying my full obeisance to you all. I was very happy to see you all. Please forgive my offence – I am chastising you today a lot about householder life…

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur said:

জীবন অনিত্য জানহ সার,
তাহে নানাবিধ বিপদ ভার
নামাশ্রয় করি’ যতনে তুমি,
থাকহ আপন কাজে ॥

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara
namasraya kari’ yatane tumi,
thakaha apana kaje

‘You must know the main truth that this life is not eternal and full of various dangers. Carry on your life but try your best to take shelter in the Holy Name.’

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Life is very short and life is very uncertain – so many problems will come, but we will not bow our heads down at the lotus feet of Maya Devi. We must do our service properly.

Thank you very much. Jay Srila Gurudev.

Oh, I have not seen ** for a long time. Where has he gone? Send him a message, say that I am searching for him, OK? We need everybody – we do not want to lose anyone. Sometimes, it is necessary to chastise, and sometimes, it is also necessary to harmonise with everyone…

Devotee: I do not think he is angry. He just lives far from the temple…

No, he is not angry, but he is a little sad. We must learn to tolerate and to have patience. There are some things that we can neither digest nor vomit; it happens like that sometimes. What can we do? It is necessary to tolerate… Anyway, my dandavat to you all. Thank you so much.

— : • : —

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Increasing Preaching Scope
2) Distribute Krishna Consciousness!
3) Offering Bhog on Ekadasi
4) Sri Jagadish Pandit
5) Be Strong and Straight
6) Mission's Sustenance
7) Learn to Tolerate