(8/13) At Vaishnavs' Mercy

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Singur (West Bengal), 5 February 2021, part 8
Translated from Bengali

কবে শ্রীচৈতন্য মোরে করিবেন দয়া । কবে আমি পাইব বৈষ্ণব-পদছায়া ॥১॥

kabe sri chaitanya more karibena daya
kabe ami paiba vaisnava-pada-chhaya [1]

‘When will Sri Chaitanya (my chaitya-guru) be merciful to me? When will I come in the shade of Vaishnavs’ feet?’

কবে আমি ছাড়িব এ বিষয়াভিমান । কবে বিষ্ণুজনে আমি করিব সম্মান ॥২॥

kabe ami chhadiba e visayabhimana
kabe visnu-jane ami kariba sammana [2]

‘When will I give up this mundane ego? When will I give honour to the Lord’s devotees?’

গলবস্ত্র কৃতাঞ্জলি বৈষ্ণব নিকটে । দন্তে তৃণ করি’ দাঁড়াইব নিষ্কপটে ॥৩॥

gala-vastra krtanjali vaisnava-nikate
dante trna kari’ dandaiba niskapate [3]

‘I will stand before a Vaishnav sincerely, with a cloth around my neck and joined palms, holding a straw between my teeth.’

কাঁদিয়া কাঁদিয়া জানাইব দুঃখগ্রাম । সংসার অনল হৈতে মাগিব বিশ্রাম ॥৪॥

kandiya kandiya janaiba duhkha-grama
samsara anala haite magiba visrama [4]

‘Weeping, I will tell Vaishnav Thakur about my miserable life and pray to him for respite from the fire of material existence.’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

What does it say here? We must pray to Vaishnavs. If you send a letter to the Lord, you will not get a reply, but if you call or send your letter to a close and dear associate of the Lord, then you will get some news about the Lord. Those who are the near and dear of the Lord will tell you about the Lord – they will give you the news about Him, they will tell you where He stays, what He eats, what He likes, where He sleeps, how He eats – they can answer all your questions. It says here, ‘Kandiya kandiya janaiba duhkha-grama, samsara-anala haite magiba visrama. When will I get respite from this ocean of material existence?’ This is not only a matter of this life. How many lifetimes we have already passed! How many families we have already changed! When will we get relief from all this material life? After death we must go to another life, and before that we have also had so many other lives and changed so many families – we lived in a cow’s family, a goat’s family, a sheep’s family, a cat’s family, and so on.

জলজা নবলক্ষাণি স্থাবরা লক্ষবিংশতি
কৃময়োরুদ্রসঙ্খ্যকাঃ পক্ষিণাং দশলক্ষনম্
ত্রিংশললক্ষাণি পশবঃ চতুরলক্ষাণি মানুষাঃ

jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati
krmayo rudra-sankhyakah paksinam dasa-laksanam
trimsal-laksani pasavah chatur-laksani manusah

‘There are 900,000 aquatic species; 2,000,000 nonmoving living entities (trees, plants, etc.); 1,100,000 species of insects and reptiles; 1,000,000 species of birds; 3,000,000 species of beasts; and 400,000 species of humans.’

(Sri Padma Purana, Sri Vishnu Purana)

We have passed 900,000 aquatic species, we have passed through 2,000,000 immobile species (trees, hills, etc.), we have been born 1,100,000 times as all kinds of insects and bugs! We flew 1,000,000 times in the sky, and we were born 3,000,000 times as cows, goats, sheep, cats, pigs and other animals, and we have gone through 400,000 human species. You know, there are such human species who even eat human meat. There are human species who eat dogs’ meat, goats’ meat, pigs’ meat, who eat snakes and frogs. If you go to China and want to have a pakora, they will give you a cockroach pakora! Just as they eat fish fries here in Bengal, they eat cockroach fries in China (and it is expensive, too!). Somebody also eats earthworms, snakes and other abominable things. There are such places (for example, Nagaland here, in India). There are places where they eat dogs’ meat, cats’ meat.

We have gone through all those human species, but now we have got this clean birth in India – we can come to Vaishnavs and pray for relief from this material life. What will Vaishnav Thakur say then? Vaishnav Thakur will appeal to the Lord on my behalf. If I submit my application directly to the Lord, my appeal will not be granted. We must submit our application to Vaishnavs, then it will be sent upstairs, considered, and if they decide that this person is eligible, they will sign it and issue an order to give us the grant; otherwise, the ‘bill’ will not be passed.

শুনিয়া আমার দুঃখ বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর । আমা’ লাগি’ কৃষ্ণে আবেদিবেন প্রচুর ॥৫॥

suniya amara duhkha vaisnava thakura
ama’ lagi’ krsne avedibena prachura [5]

‘Hearing about my sorrow, worshippable Vaishnav Thakur will ardently pray to Krishna on my behalf.’

বৈষ্ণবের আবেদনে কৃষ্ণ দয়াময় । এ হেন পামর প্রতি হবেন সদয় ॥৬॥

vaisnavera avedane krsna dayamaya
e hena pamara prati habena sadaya [6]

‘Hearing Vaishnav Thakur’s appeal, merciful Lord Krishna will take pity on this wretched sinner.’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We will pray to Vaishnav Thakur, and Vaishnav Thakur will then send our prayer to the Lord. Hearing Vaishnavs’ appeal, Krishna becomes very merciful – taking pity on such fallen lowly souls as we are, He will fulfil our desire. Without Vaishnavs’ appeal on our behalf, the Lord will never fulfil our hearts’ desire.

So, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur prays:

বিনোদের নিবেদন বৈষ্ণব চরণে । কৃপা করি সঙ্গে লহ এই অকিঞ্চনে ॥৭॥

vinodera nivedana vaisnava charane
krpa kari’ sange laha ei akinchane [7]

‘Bhaktivinod prays at the holy feet of Vaishnavs: “Please take this destitute soul with you.”’

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

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Length: 108 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Honouring Hari-Prasad
2) Exclusive Path
3) Lord's Messenger
4) 'Managing' Your Life
5) Internal Purity
6) Pray To Be One-Pointed
7) Mahaprabhu's Gift
8) At Vaishnavs' Mercy
9) Spiritual Deposit
10) Lacking Spirituality
11) About Srila Lochan Das Thakur
12) Leave Separate Interests
13) Muddled Minds