(4/8) Cause of All Causes

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata—Worldwide, 7 February 2021, part 4

Our problem is that we suffer from avidya (ignorance) and asmita (false identification) – we always identify ourselves with our material bodies. We always think, ‘Oh, I am doing this’, ‘If it were not for me, it would not have been done!’, and so on. When you say things like that, it is also one kind of false ego. Everything that exists in this world and everything that is happening in this world is under the control of the Supreme Lord. You all know this sloka:

ঈশ্বরঃ পরমঃ কৃষ্ণঃ সচ্চিদানন্দবিগ্রহঃ ।
অনাদিরাদির্গোবিন্দঃ সর্ব্বকারণকারণম্ ॥

isvarah paramah krsnah sach-chid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam

‘Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes.’

(Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.1)

Sarva-karana-karanam. He is the cause of all causes. The Lord does everything (He is the doer), and He sees everything. Everything is written in His diary. He can see and say anything He likes.

You can ask yourselves, ‘Is my devotion increasing?’ There is karma-misra bhakti (devotion mixed with the pursuit of material gain), jnana-misra bhakti (devotion mixed with the pursuit of knowledge) and jnana-sunya bhakti (devotion free from any desire for knowledge). We always seek our own benefit…

We understand the relationship with our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, daughters, husbands, wives and others very well, but we cannot understand our gurudev – we are not even trying to understand him. How much our gurudev has given to everybody! He has given his very life for everybody – for your spiritual benefit. He threw himself away, he sacrificed himself for your spiritual benefit.

You must keep some place for the Lord, for gurudev in your hearts. Our hearts are always dirty with kanak, kamini, pratistha (desire for money, women and fame), kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya (lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and envy), rupa, rasa, gandha, sabda, sparsa (desire for eye-pleasure, tongue-pleasure, nose-pleasure, ear-pleasure and skin-pleasure). For example, if you invite gurudev to your house, you must first free some space to keep him. In the same way, you must vacate your heart to be able to keep gurudev there. It is important to understand this. It is the main thing in our spiritual lives.

We show so much devotion externally, but how much love do we have for our gurudev internally? How much attachment do we have for our gurudev internally? How much time do we give to him every day? Every day we work the whole day running behind some kanak, kamini, pratistha (money, women and fame), behind some establishment, but how much time do you have in this world? Do you have any time to spare for the Lord, for your gurudev?

I was saying today that the main thing is sraddha, visvasa (faith). First there must strongest faith (sraddha). We must develop our faith because if faith is gone, then everything is gone. When you are going to construct a building, you must first have a foundation; in devotion, too, you must first establish the foundation – that foundation is sraddha (faith). If the foundation of your devotion is weak, then the devotion in your hearts will gradually be demolished. That is why our first and foremost necessity is to establish faith. After that, it is necessary to keep good association and practise nava-vidha bhakti. I have already told you about it. These are the most important things in our spiritual lives.

Sometimes, we feel tired and cannot do so much, but in this case read books. Read Sri Prapanna-jivanamritam, read Gurudev’s books, Guru Maharaj’s books. Read Srimad Bhagavatam, the main devotional scripture in our line. You cannot reach your real home without devotion – you cannot reach it through any material activities, mystic practices or knowledge. Only devotion can grant you entrance there. How can you improve your devotion? Through good association. ‘Bhaktis tu bhagavad-bhakta-sangena parijayate (ভক্তিস্তু ভগবদ্ভক্তসঙ্গেন পরিজায়তে). Devotion comes through the association of devotees’ (Brihan-naradiya Purana).

I have also told you before that you cannot join a zoom programme every day or at all times, but you must still always keep good association. There are nine kinds of devotional practice: sravanam (listening about the Lord), kirtanam (chanting the Lord’s Name and glories), smaranam (thinking about the Lord), pada-sevanam (serving the Lord’s lotus feet), archanam (worshipping the Lord’s Deity), vandanam (offering obeisances and prayers to the Lord), dasyam (serving the Lord as a servant), sakhyam (serving the Lord as a friend), atma-nivedanam (submitting yourself to the Lord). You must practise minimum one of these practices every single day.

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) "Guru-mukha-padma-vakya chitete kariya aikya"
2) Internal and Eternal
3) Clearing the Path
4) Cause of All Causes
5) Do Not Be Disheartened
6) Forthcoming Festivals
7) On Importance of Chastity
8) Study and Learn