(4/9) In Search of Hidden Treasure

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 4
Translated from Bengali

This Nabadwip Dham is an extremely pure land. This land is where many great Vaishnavs, including Srila Prabhupad, stayed, and it was also visited by all the Vaishnavs (Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu and many others). When Mahaprabhu left, all the devotees did Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama together with Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu. When they did this parikrama, Nityananda Prabhu showed everyone where which place was. Who can understand these things?

শ্রীগৌড়মণ্ডলভূমি, যেবা জানে চিন্তামণি,
তার হয় ব্রজভূমে বাস ॥

sri-gauda-mandala-bhumi, yeba jane chintamani,
tara haya vraja-bhume vasa

‘Those who always think about Sri Gauda Mandal reside in Vraja.’

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

Who can understand this Gaura-mandal? Those who were born here cannot understand anything, but thousands and thousands of people from all over the world come here from millions of miles away. Why? What do they want to find here? Srila Sridhar Maharaj said that there is a treasure hidden here. You can see devotees who have come from so far (from America, Russia, London and many other countries) – they come and sit here. Why? Because they come for this hidden treasure of the Sweet Absolute that is kept here in Nabadwip.

We are forever suffering in the bondage of material, illusory suffering.

মায়াজালে বদ্ধ হ’য়ে, আছ মিছে কাজ ল’য়ে ।
এখনও চেতন পেয়ে, রাধামাধব-নাম বল রে ॥

maya-jale baddha ha’ye, achha michhe kaja la’ye
ekhana-o chetana peye, radha-madhava-nama bala re

‘Bound in Maya’s net, you waste your time on useless work. While you are still conscious, chant Radha-Madhav’s Names!’

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Bound in Maya’s net, we are sitting and working here in vain, but you have got some consciousness now! Chant the Lord’s Name at least once! This life will finish one day. We are not as fortunate as Pariksit Maharaj, so we will not we get any notice when we have to die, but death will come one day. We all have to leave this world one day. What have we got this human birth for? Only to eat, sleep, defend ourselves and breed? Only for money, food, a good house and some good clothes? No, not for this. We have come here to worship our Supreme Father, the Lord.

গোরা পহুঁ না ভজিয়া মৈনু ।
প্রম রতন-ধন হেলায় হারাইনু ॥
বিষয়-বিষম-বিষ সতত খাইনু ।
গৌরকীর্ত্তন রসে মগন না হৈনু ॥
কেন বা আছয়ে প্রাণ কি সুখ লাগিয়া ।
নরোত্তমদাস কেন না গেল মরিয়া ॥

gora pahu na bhajiya mainu
prema ratana-dhana helaya harainu
visaya-visama-visa satata khainu
gaura-kirtana rase magana na hainu
kena va achhaye prana ki sukha lagiya
narottama-dasa kena na gela mariya

‘I did not worship Gora’s feet, I did not care for the jewel treasure of divine love! I have lost my chance! I have always been taking the deathly poison of the material life and never felt attached to the ecstasy of Gaura’s kirtan. Why am I still alive? What joy is there in this life? Oh, why did Narottam Das not just die?…’

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

‘Instead of worshipping Gaura, I have been only dying…’ when Mahaprabhu went to Gaya to perform the last rites for His departed father and met His guru there, He said:

সংসার-সমুদ্র হৈতে উদ্ধারহ মোরে ।
এই আমি দেহ সমর্পিলাঙ তোমারে ॥

‘samsara-samudra haite uddharaha more
ei ami deha samarpilana tomare’

‘Please rescue Me from this ocean of material existence! I am surrendering Myself to you.’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.17.54)

How beautiful this is. ‘I have given you everything – My body, mind, heart, everything. Please rescue Me from this material existence.’ We must submit ourselves at the Lord’s lotus feet like this.

This abode of Mahaprabhu is non-different from Vraja Dham, and we can stay here only if we have very much fortune. Such fortune does not come all the time. Although we have to go to so many places for preaching and do so many things, there is no other place in the world that could compare to the purity of this land. Sri Nabadwip Dham is non-different from Sri Vraja Dham. Among the nine islands of Nabadwip, the place where we are sitting now is kirtanakhya-dham – it is an abode of kirtan, so it is necessary to chant kirtan here.

Wake up in the morning, chant kirtans. Try. Practice makes perfect. None of us came out of our mothers’ wombs and immediately learnt to chant kirtans. [To a new devotee] Try to chant, even if you make mistakes, there is nothing to be afraid of – there are no tigers, no bears here, nobody will do anything to you. Practise Krishna consciousness, worship the Lord with a free heart. Stay here peacefully. You do not need to think about food, clothes or anything else; only chant the Holy Name and serve the Lord – this is your duty. There is no other duty. Only serve attentively. This temple and everything in it are yours. Some think that I am the owner, but the owner is the Lord – He is sitting over there at the altar – He is the proprietor of everything. I am only looking after His property.

They kicked me out of our Nabadwip Math, but Gurudev has kept me here, and I am here now. I have done so many things at our old temple, but now they have destroyed everything… Anyhow, now we have a big building here, too. We had to struggle at first, but I never stopped the parikrama – even when the Deities had not been installed yet, we still did the parikrama, and about four hundred devotees came that year. Many slept on the floor, the building was not painted properly, but since then we have made more rooms and more arrangements. I have also started building a prasadam hall and want to make another two–three floors above it for Bengali devotees…

Engage your minds only in the service to your guru and the Lord. Do what your guru tells you to do. Satisfying the whims of your minds is not spiritual life – spiritual life means following your guru and Vaishnavs, serving your guru and Vaishnavs and satisfying them. This is how you must practise Krishna consciousness. We sing every morning:

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)

Take shelter of the Holy Name and worship the Lord. These are very beautiful words. I have also written several books, read them. Guidance 4 has very, very beautiful things written in it. Guidance 3 is also very nice, and there are some important questions and answers at the end of the book.

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Size: 40 Mb
Length: 81 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Have You Forgotten?
2) Morning Shows the Day
3) Genuine Surrender
4) In Search of Hidden Treasure
5) Humility and Dedication
6) Jnana-Sunya Bhakti
7) Taking a Stand Against Maya
8) Be One-Pointed
9) A Word of Warning