(13/13) Clean Mood

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 23 February 2021, part 13
Translated from Bengali

You know that it is Bhaimi Ekadasi today. Tomorrow is Lord Varahadev’s appearance. I have told before: you must all take sweet rice tomorrow.

Lord Varahadev removes all opposing elements from our lives. You must do archan in the morning, after that offer special sweet-rice bhoga to Varahadev, then everyone can make paran (break the fast) with the prasad. This must be completed before 9:57 a.m. Paran is between 6:09 and 9:57 a.m. tomorrow. All cooking must be finished before 8 a.m. After that, do the archan and offer the bhoga. Where is the pujari?

[Devotee calls out: ‘Bhaja Da!’]

Do not call him ‘Bhaja Da’ [‘Brother Bhaja’]. You must say ‘Prabhu’.

[Devotee: ‘Dada Prabhu!’]

No ‘dada’ [‘elder brother’], no ‘ma’ [‘mummy’]. [Devotees laugh.]

[Devotee: Bhajahari Prabhu!]

You must talk respectfully to each other. Do not behave like aul, baul, karttabhaja, neda, daravesa, sani, sakhibheki, jata-goswami. ‘Sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite abhimana hau dura (সম্বন্ধ জানিয়া ভজিতে ভজিতে অভিমান হউ দূর). If we practise Krishna consciousness with proper decorum (understanding the relationship), then our ego will go away.’ You must call [male] devotees ‘Prabhu’. Even a father must call his son ‘Prabhu’. Have you seen Sripad Niriha Maharaj’s father? His son is a sannyasi, and he pays full obeisance to his son and respectfully addresses him ‘Maharaj’. You must learn from him. Do not see his faults, you must look at his good qualities.

Somebody complained that he did not give prasad to some outside people, but it is ekadasi today – if outside people come and take prasad, then our devotees arriving from a long train journey will have to stay hungry. He did right. Do not look at others’ faults. Always see good qualities in others. [A devotee tries to explain it.] I know everything, I have heard it. Everything comes to my ears. You think that I am staying upstairs and do not see anything. I see everything. I hear everything. Who does what, who does not do what – I know everything.

The day after tomorrow is Nityananda Prabhu’s appearance day. You must fast on this day in the morning. Nityananda Prabhu is Baladev’s incarnation. If you fast on this day, it will bring you spiritual benefit. Fast in the morning and take prasad at midday.

Another thing I want to tell you is that this year we are starting Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama from dasami (one day earlier). Everyone must come. This year, the parikrama will be five days.

I have cancelled the trip to Ganga Sagar this year because foreign devotees cannot come and I also need to finish the construction of the rooms in Nrisingha Palli, Nabadwip. Devotees will come, and they need accommodation. I made the third floor here in Ekachakra, and so many devotees can now stay here. Otherwise, where would you all stay? It would have been necessary to make pandals and make many arrangements. It is very much austerity for you. In the same way, we also need to take care of the accommodation in Nrisingha Palli. We left the main Nabadwip temple, so we must make enough rooms in Nrisingha Palli now. The floors are already marbled, and the bathrooms are completed, too…

So, take paran timely tomorrow, after the worship of Lord Varahadev. You know that Varahadev is one of the ten incarnations of the Lord. I will tell about His pastimes tomorrow. The Lord appeared as Varahadev, assuming the form of a boar. The Lord assumed the form of Nrisinghadev (half-man, half-lion) to slay Hiranyakasipu, and Lord Varahadev killed Hiranyakasipu’s elder brother, Hiranyaksa.

I have heard that there are many people who want to take initiation. They can come after the paran. You can give prasad at 8:30 a.m. Offer the bhoga at 8 a.m. and give prasad at 8:30 a.m. You have been all fasting today, it is ekadasi, so everybody will be hungry. That is why Srila Prabhupad made the rule that we must fast on ekadasi for only one day. Bengali people love rice so much that they cannot live without it. So, to decrease your austerity, Srila Prabhupad made the fasting obligatory only for one day. It is also good for health to fast on ekadasi. Every day we eat all kinds of food, and every now and then it is good to take a break for a day and take simple food (some potato and fruit, without rice, chilli and all the other spices).

Devotee: Can those who are taking initiation tomorrow take prasad?

Yes, they can, it is not a problem. Initiations will start from 9 a.m. I will be telling them about the Holy Name, and if they come hungry, they will only think about food. Instead of the Holy Name, they will only think, ‘When will I eat?’ [Devotees laugh.] Better if they eat and then come to me. I am telling it to you straight. It is the truth. Those who are surrendered souls have no offence: if someone is genuinely surrendered, there is no offence for them if they eat and then come to take initiation.

কি শয়নে, কি ভোজনে, কিবা জাগরণে ।
অহর্নিশ চিন্ত কৃষ্ণ, বলহ বদনে ॥

ki sayane, ki bhojane, kiba jagarane
aharnisa chinta krsna, balaha vadane

‘Whether you are sleeping, eating or waking up, incessantly think about Krishna and chant the Name of Krishna with your mouth.’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.28.28)

Always chant the Holy Name – when you are eating, when you are sleeping. Always keep your heart and mood clean.

But those who are taking the second initiation must fast because they must sit at the fire sacrifice. I will not be able to make a yajna tomorrow, so ladies can take the second initiation tomorrow, and male devotees can come to Nabadwip to receive their brahman threads.

কি শয়নে, কি ভোজনে, কিবা জাগরণে ।
অহর্নিশ চিন্ত কৃষ্ণ, বলহ বদনে ॥

ki sayane, ki bhojane, kiba jagarane
aharnisa chinta krsna, balaha vadane

‘Whether you are sleeping, eating or waking up, incessantly think about Krishna and chant the Name of Krishna with your mouth.’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.28.28)

There are no rules and regulations (viddhi).

প্রভু কহে,—"কহিলাঙ এই মহামন্ত্র ।
ইহা জপ’ গিয়া সবে করিয়া নির্ব্বন্ধ" ॥

prabhu kahe—“kahilan ei maha-mantra
iha japa’ giya sabe kariya nirbandha”

‘The Lord says: I have told You this maha-mantra – everybody must regularly chant it without any reservation.’

“ইহা হৈতে সর্ব্ব-সিদ্ধি হইবে সবার ।
সর্ব্বক্ষণ বল’ ইথে বিধি নাহি আর” ॥

“iha haite sarva-siddhi haibe sabara
sarva-ksana bala’ ithe vidhi nahi ara”

‘By chanting this Holy Name, everyone can attain all perfections. There are no other rules except to chant the Holy Name at every moment.’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.23.77–78)

These are Mahaprabhu’s words. There are no rules or regulations regarding the chanting of the Holy Name. There is no question of ‘you cannot take the Holy Name if you have eaten.’ Srila Haridas Thakur followed many rules and regulations and chanted 300,000 Names daily. One day, when Mahaprabhu’s prasad came, he said, ‘Today I have to break the rule.’ He ate without having completed 300,000 Names that day. When Srila Haridas Thakur rescued Laksmihira, he told her, ‘I have vowed to chant ten million Holy Names this month, so you will have to wait.’ He chanted the Holy Name the whole day, and he chanted loudly.

If you chant silently, in your mind, many thoughts will come to your mind – you will be moving the beads and thinking about other things. The same thing happens when people go out for a walk with the beads in their hand. Gurudev called this ‘finger exercise’. People walk and talk to each other and count their mala. Can you be saying Hare Krishna and other things at the same time? This is how you get ‘Pare Besto Pare Besto’ instead of ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna’… Do not chant to impress others. Always do it privately. ‘Apana bhajana-katha na kahibe yatha tatha (আপন ভজন-কথা, না কহিবে যথা তথা). Do not tell anyone and everyone about your service and spiritual life (bhajan).’ We must not tell anyone about our spiritual practice. It is not necessary to tell anything to impress others. I have also seen people walk with chanting beads around their necks… What can you say? It is said in the scriptures, ‘There is only one Krishna-bhakta among a thousand of Vaishnavs.’ Some say that they are Krishna-bhaktas. We are not. We are devotees of Gauranga. First become a devotee of Lord Nityananda Prabhu, then a devotee of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu, and then only can you become a devotee of Lord Krishna. But there are missions that say that you must first become a devotee of Krishna. This is not how spiritual life is practised.

I heard the other day that one temple installed Pancha-tattva Deities. You can see here in Ekachakra also that there are asta-sakhis installed together with Nitai and Gauranga in one of the temples. I have never been there, but I have heard about it. There is vatsalya-rasa and sakhya-rasa between Nitai and Gauranga. How does madhura-rasa come here? And in Vrindavan, the place of madhura-rasa, they have Baladev’s Temple. When somebody asked Srila Sridhar Maharaj about it, he answered that it depends on one’s qualification – somebody is a santa-rasa bhakta, somebody is a dasya-rasa bhakta, somebody is a sakhya-rasa bhakta, somebody is a vatsalya-rasa bhakta, and somebody is a madhura-rasa bhakta. Madhura-rasa is extremely high. Our Param Guru Maharaj installed Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda-sundar, and Srila Prabhupad installed Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Giridhari. There are three Deities that have ‘hijacked’ Gaudiya Vaishnavs: Govinda, Gopinath and Madan-mohan. Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu served Govinda, Srila Sanatan Goswami served Madan-Mohan, and Sri Madhu Pandit served Gopinath.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay.
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.
Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay.
Jay Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay.
Om Vishnupad Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj ki jay.
Sachchidananda Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur ki jay.
Sarvabhauma Sri Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj ki jay.
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay.
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay.
Vrinda Devi, Tulasi Devi, Sri Bhakti Devi ki jay.
Sri Shyama Kunda, Radha Kunda, Sri Giri Govardhan ki jay.
Sri Mayapur Dham, Sri Nabadwip Dham, Sri Vrindavan, Mathura ki jay.
Sri Ekachakra Dham ki jay.
Sri Hadai Pandit, Sri Padmavati Mayi ki jay.
Jay Sri Ganga, Yamuna ki jay.

Do you know that there is Yamuna Devi here? There is also Jahnu Kunda, also known as Hantugada. There is also Kadam Khandi. Sivji Maharaj is also here (his name is Chakleshwar here). There is also Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra here. We will go to pay obeisance to Them the day after tomorrow during the parikrama. Everybody must come. You will hear about the glory of each place.

There will be a class tomorrow in the morning. It is Lord Varahadev’s appearance, so everybody must wake up early in the morning and come to the class. I know that you are used to sleeping till late. I have told you before:

শৈশব-যৌবনে, জড়সুখ-সঙ্গে,
অভ্যাস হইল মন্দ ।
নিজকর্ম্ম-দোষে, এ দেহ হইল,
ভজনের প্রতিবন্ধ ॥

saisava-yauvane, jada-sukha-sange,
abhyasa haila manda
nija-karma-dose, e deha haila,
bhajanera pratibandha

‘Having enjoyed in my childhood and youth, I have developed bad habits. Because of my previous actions, this body has now become an obstacle to practising spiritual life.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Our habits are bad, and we cannot wake up early in the morning. People watch TV the whole night and wake up late. This is how we end up like this:

বার্দ্ধক্যে এখন, পঞ্চরোগে হত,
কেমনে ভজিব বল’ ।
কাঁদিয়া কাঁদিয়া, তোমার চরণে,
পড়িয়াছি সুবিহ্বল ॥

vardhakye ekhana, pancha-roge hata,
kemane bhajiba bala’
kandiya kandiya, tomara charane,
padiyachhi suvihvala

‘I am now old and afflicted by five-fold material diseases. Tell me, how shall I serve? Crying incessantly, I have fallen at your feet, utterly bewildered.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Now you think, ‘How can I practise?’ We did not develop good habits in childhood… You must get into good habits.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.
Sri Hadai Pandit, Sri Padmavati Mayi ki jay.
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay.
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol.

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Language: English

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) This Is Not a Playground
2) Wrong Worries
3) Pure Identity
4) Worshipful Devotion
5) Meaning of Discipleship
6) Free Mercy, Exclusive Rights
7) Path of Devotion
8) Krishna Conscious Life
9) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (1)
10) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (2)
11) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (3)
12) Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (4)
13) Clean Mood