(6/7) Real Family Life

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata—Worldwide, 28 February 2021, part 6

Does anyone have any questions?

Question: I do not really like reading, but I understand that it is necessary to read. Should I force myself to read?

Of course. You must force yourself. Do not follow your mind. Your mind tells you not to read, but you must read – I am telling you that you must read. Do not follow your mind. You must read. You must practise kirtan and everything else. Do everything properly. Wake up early in the morning, do mangal-arati, cook bhoga, do the offering, and so on. You must live a real family life without attachment (asakti bihina samsara). ‘Yatha-yogya visaya bhunja’ anasakta hana. Serve accepting material things, but without attachment’ (Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.238).

We say all this, but in reality:

সংসার ভজিলি, শ্রীগৌরাঙ্গ ভুলিলি,
না শুনিলি সাধুর কথা ।
ইহ-পরকাল, দুকাল খোয়ালি (মন),
খাইলি আপন মাথা ॥

samsara bhajili, sri-gauranga bhulili,
na sunili sadhura katha
iha-parakala, dukala khoyali (mana),
khaili apana matha

‘Worshipping your material life, you forgot Sri Gauranga and never listened to sadhus’ words. (O mind,) you have wasted both this and next life – you have been simply ‘eating’ your own head (ruining your own life).’

(Srila Lochan Das Thakur)

We forget Gauranga! Instead, we worship and become deeply attached to our material family life. Ask yourselves: do you worship Krishna or do you worship your material lives? People are always thinking about what they will eat tomorrow, what they will cook tomorrow and other mundane things.

দেহ গেহ কলত্রাদি চিন্তা অবিরত ।
জাগিছে হৃদয়ে মোর বুদ্ধি করি’ হত ॥

deha geha kalatradi chinta avirata
jagichhe hrdaye mora buddhi kari’ hata

‘Constant thoughts about my body, home, wife and other things stir my heart, wrecking my brain.’

হায় হায় নাহি ভাবি’ অনিত্য এ সব ।
জীবন বিগতে কোথা রহিবে বৈভব ॥

haya haya nahi bhavi’ anitya e saba
jivana vigate kotha rahibe vaibhava

‘Alas! It has never occurred to me that all this is temporary. When life is gone, where will all this wealth be?’

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

People always think about how they can get more property, more wealth, more things, but what will happen to all these things after they die? We must think about gurudev’s service… The other day I spoke to one of my disciples. I told the lady, ‘Your husband has died, your two daughters have already got married and live in their own houses. What for do you live alone? You only cook, offer the bhoga and take prasad on your own. Better come and stay at the temple. One Didi has a problem with her finger at the Tarakeshwar temple. You can come and serve there.’ She did not agree. She said, ‘I do some labour work…’ What labour work?! I told her, ‘You get two hundred rupees per day. What will you do with your money? You are alone now. Come and stay at the temple. You can do some service there. You will get prasad and anything else you need.’ She did not come. She made some excuse saying that she was working from time to time (not even every day!) and could not leave that work… Then, on the Nityananda-trayodasi day, as Gurudev used to say, ‘she went to collect patal’ (’kicked the bucket’). She was in her room – she went to the bathroom and suddenly left her body there. She was relatively young, only fifty years old. I told her to do service, but she did not listen. People are too attached to their houses… That lady lived in a small house. It was not even a thatched house – she lived in a mud house. Even if people live in a not very good house, they still cannot leave it because they are very much attached to their life and things. Such is their misfortune…

[Addressing one of the devotees] I have got your message today. Do not worry, everything will be good. We are praying for your son's soul. You know, one day Srivas Pandit’s only son died. Srivas Pandit did not inform Mahaprabhu about it, but when Mahaprabhu came and was chanting kirtan at Srivas Pandit’s house that day, He asked Srivas Pandit, ‘What has happened? Why is the kirtan not going well today? Something must have happened.’ When Mahaprabhu heard that Srivas Pandit’s son had died, He spoke to the dead boy. Mahaprabhu asked him why he had left, and the dead boy replied, ‘I have been here for as long as You have kept me here, but now You are calling me to some other place, so I am going there.’ This is what happened at Srivas Pandit’s house. Mahaprabhu was very pleased with Srivas Pandit. At first, He chastised him, but inside, in His heart, He was very pleased because He understood that Srivas Pandit had not told anything not to disturb the Lord’s kirtan. This is how much attachment Srivas Pandit has towards kirtan and Mahaprabhu…

Are there any other questions?

Question: We hear that Sriman Nityananda Prabhu is very merciful and that His son Virachandra Prabhu is even more merciful. How can we even begin to understand the meaning of that?

You can understand it from Srila Raghunath Das Goswami’s example. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Svarup Damodar Prabhu left, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami was very sad and wanted to commit suicide, but when he met Srila Sanatan Goswami and Srila Rupa Goswami, they saved his life and gave him very much nourishment. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami said in the end, ‘What I have got from Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami is so much more than what I got even from my guru-varga (Mahaprabhu and Svarup Damodar).’

There are many people who claim to be disciples of Srila Sridhar Maharaj and who proudly say with their mouths, ‘I am a direct disciple of Srila Sridhar Maharaj!’ but actually it was Gurudev who protected them. Srila Sridhar Maharaj could not handle foreign devotees, so he gave everything to our Gurudev’s hands. That is why devotees have got so much more mercy from Gurudev – they have got from him the mercy that they had never got from Srila Sridhar Maharaj. They must admit and understand that. In the same way, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur gave so much mercy to Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, and we have got from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur so much more than from Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur himself. That is why Sivji Maharaj also says, ‘Aham vedmi, Suka vetti, Vyasa vetti na vetti va.’ Vyasadev composed Srimad Bhagavatam, but who did we actually get Srimad Bhagavatam from? From Srila Sukadev Goswami. It was his mercy. So, Sivji Maharaj says, ‘I know the meaning of Bhagavatam, Sukadev knows it, but Vyasadev may or may not know it.’ In short, sometimes so much more mercy can be bestowed and distributed through the successor rather than through the guru…

— : • : —

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Length: 46 min
Language: English

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Overflowing and Grand Festival
2) Mission in Sri Ekachakra Dham
3) Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's Line
4) Sriman Nityananda Prabhu: Ocean of Mercy
5) Sri Ekachakra Festival: Beyond Imagination
6) Real Family Life
7) "My Life Is for My Gurudev"