All Glory to Sri Sri Guru Gauranga

GUIDANCE

Issue #30

A compilation of holy discourses emanating

from the holy lotus mouth of

His Divine Grace

Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru

Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj

published from Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

at SCSMathInternational.com during January-March 2022

CONTENT

Have You Forgotten?

Morning Shows the Day

Genuine Surrender

In Search of Hidden Treasure

Humility and Dedication

Jnana-Sunya Bhakti

Taking a Stand Against Maya

Be One-Pointed

A Word of Warning

Main Festivals

Serve with Faith

Service Duty (1)

Service Duty (2)

Heed My Word

Perverted Tastes and Habits

Snowball of Offences

Path to Indigestion

Memorable Pastimes

Kali Yuga Brahmans

Service Quality

Deeply Anxious to Serve

Spiritual Trade-Off

Greatest Wealth

Never Too Early, Never Too Late

Capturing Lord's Heart

Life of Loving Service

Our Dearmost

Worshipful Mood

Eternal Life Membership

Spiritual Diligence

Perfect Chastity

Follow Mahaprabhu's Teachings

Lord Varahadev's Appearance

Embracing Hardships

Service: Labour of Love

Parikrama Plans

Service Plans

Spend Your Time Wisely

Chasing Away Ghosts and Nonsense

Devotion Is Not Cheap

Hens, Bats, and Bananas

Nityananda Prabhu's Arrangements

Importance of Hearing and Listening

Importance of Hearing and Listening

Eagerness and Enthusiasm

Clean Hearts

Material Perils

Learn to Rely on the Lord

Digesting Mercy

Our Primary Need

Vaishnav Rites

Disciple's Life

Sincere Spiritual Life

Eternal Servants

The Answer Is One

"Give Me These Alms"

Remembering Haridas Thakur

Poverty of Mind

"Come, Dear Mind, Come"

In Search of Hidden Treasure

Know Your Own Identity First

Sambandha Jnana: Launching Pad

Utter Desperation

Path to Qualification

Sincere Devotion

Highest and Rarest

Rivet Yourself to Sadhu-Sanga

Genuine Benefit

Greatest Gift

Enter the Land of Faith

Unchaste Faith

A Test of Faith

Futile Efforts

Immerse Yourself In Kirtan

Serve with Care

Travel Light

My Nearest and Dearest

Thrive Spiritually

Greatest Hindrances

No Place for Whimsies

Staunch Stance

Be Firm

Clean Your Mind

Mahaprabhu's Line

Preaching Current

Take Care of This Line

Practise Devotion

Land of Religions?

Have You Forgotten?

Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 1
Translated from Bengali

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

"The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill—all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First of all, I am offering my full obeisance at the holy lotus feet of Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, begging him for his causeless mercy, after that I am offering my obeisance to all Guru-varga, to all my God-brothers and sisters, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees, to all devotees, and I am praying to you all for your mercy to this low soul.

We have spent here (at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nrisingha Palli) two-three days in a very good way. "Vaisnava sangete mana anandita anuksana: In the association of Vaishnavs, my mind is always joyful." We must always stay in the association of Vaishnavs, in the association of sadhus, and within Krishna-kirtan. We must engage our heart, our mind and entire being in service. It is necessary to serve the Lord, your Guru, and Vaishnavs with your heart. This is the main thing. How many people can serve their Guru, can serve their Lord in this way? We mostly end up doing karma instead of service. You should not do that which does not please your Guru (which your Guru does not like).

Service and karma look the same. When a cat is carrying a mouse in its mouth and when a cat is carrying its kitten in its mouth, it looks the same, but one is karma (done for one's own pleasure), and the other one is service (done for others' benefit and pleasure). If you do service, you will get Krishna-prema (transcendental love for Krishna), Krishna-bhakti (devotion to Krishna). If you do service, you will get not only devotion: you will actually get transcendental love for the Lord.

"Bhaktis tu bhagavad-bhakta-sangena parijayate (Brhan-naradiya Purana)—you can get devotion through the association of devotees." It is necessary to always associate with devotees.

I always sing one very beautiful kirtan:

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"O Vaishnav Thakur! Please be merciful! Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

It is necessary to know what sambandha (relationship) is. Unless you know the relationship, your ego will not go away. What does sambandha mean? We know each other as human beings, but it is said that every jiva soul is an eternal servant of Lord Krishna. Therefore, I am an eternal servant of Krishna, and everyone is my master. This is how we must see ourselves. Everybody is my master, and I am a servant. It is necessary to think in this way. Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur also said to his disciples, "Daso 'smi, I am your servant."

'krsna-nitya-dasa'—jiva taha bhuli' gela
ei dose maya tara galaya bandhila

"When the jiva soul makes the mistake of forgetting that it is an eternal servant of Krishna, Maya captures the soul by its neck."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.24)

We forget that we are eternal servants of Krishna...

* * *

Morning Shows the Day

Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 2
Translated from Bengali

We are very fortunate to be here, in Sri Nabadwip Dham, in Godrumdwip. This is a very beautiful place—Devapalli. All 330,000,000 demigods are always staying here. Lord Nrisinghadev appeared in South India, but He came here and took some rest. Even the gopis say, "Prahlad Maharaj has so much devotion—we do not have that kind of devotion, we have not got there." Prahlad Maharaj is a very great devotee of shanta-rasa. He tolerated so much torture from his demoniac father, Hiranyakasipu, starting from being fed snake poison when he was five years old... He was thrown into fire, he was thrown into water, he was tied to an elephant's leg, etc. Prahlad Maharaj tolerated everything silently—he only remembered the Lord. It is necessary to always remember the Lord.

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha bhajana-kriya
tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha ruchis tatah
athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudanchati
sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah

"In the beginning there is faith, then good association, then practising life. After that, the offences gradually go away, faith becomes stronger, taste comes, then attachment, then there arises affection and love. This is how love to God comes to those who practise Krsna consciousness."

(Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhuh, 1.4.15-16)

Attachment to service must come gradually in this way. The feeling must come, "If I do not do service, I do not feel well." Such attachment must come. When will it come? When the diseases that we have inside us go away, then attachment will come. What are these diseases? We were just singing in the kirtan: pancha-roga hata, we are ruined by five diseases. The five disease are avidya, asmita, raga, dvesa, abhinivesa. Avidya means ignorance, identifying yourself with this gross material body. When you think that you are this body that is made of five material elements (pancha-bhautik: earth, water, fire, air, ether), that is called ignorance. Basically, it is attachment to the material world. It is a disease, and until and unless this disease is removed, we will not become detached. First, it is necessary to have nistha, sincerity—"I will do this service, and I will do it every day." I will wake up early in the morning, come to the mangal-arati, chant kirtan. I will start well from the very morning. I remember there was a poem we learnt in childhood:

sakale uthiya ami mane mane bali
sara dina ami yena bhalo haye chali

"When I wake up in the morning, I tell myself that I must behave well the whole day ..."

(From a children's poem about good behaviour)

All these things are written in common literature, but our life is also like that. When we wake up, we stand before the Lord, we think about the Lord. We must always think about the Lord, we must always do service, always take the Name of the Lord. This is what I do. We sing,

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"O Vaishnav Thakur! Please be merciful! Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

'ami ta vaisnava' e buddhi haile
amani na ha'ba ami
pratisthasa asi' hrdaya dusibe
haiba nirayagami

"If I think, 'I am a Vaishnav,' then I will never stop expecting honour from others (I will never become void of the desire for honour)—my heart will become polluted by the desire for fame and I will end up in hell."

If I think I have become a Vaishnav, then I will not be able to give honour to others. This is a very beautiful kirtan. If you try to explain it gradually, line by line, you will see how beautiful it is. It is necessary to sing kirtans nicely (in the proper mood).

visaye ye priti ebe achhaye amara
sei-mata priti hauk charane tomara

"May I have the same affection and attraction to your feet that I now have for material things."

(Gitavali, 4.5, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

We must use everything for the Lord. Every single thing must be used for the Lord's service. This is how you can very beautifully take part in the service of the Lord.

* * *

Genuine Surrender

Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 3
Translated from Bengali

First, it is necessary to become surrendered. We sing in the kirtan,

sad-anga saranagati ha-ibe yahara
tahara prarthana sune sri-nanda-kumara

"Sri Krishna hears the prayers of those who surrender in the six-fold way."

(Saranagati, 1.5, by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

Among the six limbs of surrender, first is humility (always be very, very humble; when you ask questions, you must be humble).

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.239)

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi ahankara

"Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean."

We must be lower than a blade of grass, and we must leave all ego.

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

Practise tolerance like a tree. Stop ill-treating others, instead nurture them.

Somebody can be envious of me, somebody can ill-treat me, but I will not do that towards anyone.

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

Do not trouble others for your own upkeep, and forget your own happiness in the course of helping others.

I will not give any austerity, any pain to other jiva souls for my own benefit. We must throw away our happiness for the happiness of others. Do not think about your own happiness—whichever way the Lord keeps you, you must accept it and respect that. Whatever situation the Lord keeps me, I must practise Krishna consciousness (worship the Lord) in that situation. So, we are our own friends, and we are our own enemies. Enemies are not outside—we have six enemies within us: kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (illusion), matsarya (envy). We have six urges: vakya-veg, mana-veg, krodha-veg, jihva-veg, udar-vega, upastha-veg (urge of speech, mental urge, urge of anger, tongue, stomach, genitals). We sing in the kirtan,

thakura vaisnava-gana kari ei nivedana
mo bada adhama durachara

"O worshippable Vaisnavas, I offer you this prayer. I am very fallen and wicked."

kama-krodha-adi chaya batapare deya bhaya
avasana haila asi bela

I am attacked by the six highway robbers lead by kama and krodha, and my life is coming to its end...

("Anadi karama-phale" by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

These six enemies (lust, anger, greed, etc.) pull us in different directions and remove us from spiritual life. They always work for Maya Devi. Maya Devi gets her power from the Lord and uses it to remove us from the service of the Lord, keeping us submerged in the ocean of material life.

That is why, we wake up in the morning and sing Gurvvastakam composed by Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur,

samsara-davanala-lidha-loka
tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam
praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

"I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, the ocean of goodness who assumes the form of a cloud of mercy to deliver the souls burning in the blazing fire of material existence."

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, 1)

We always live amidst blazing fire, and that is why we always chant kirtan and pray to Vaishnavs.

emana durmati samsara bhitare
padiya achhinu ami
tava nija-jana kona mahajane
pathaiya dile tumi

O Lord! I am very wicked-minded and have fallen into this material world, but You have sent a great soul, Your associate (to rescue me).

(ek bar) daya kari' more patita dekhiya
kahila amare giya
ohe dina-jana suna bhala katha
ullasita ha'be hiya

Seeing me so fallen and being merciful, he came to me and said, “O humble soul, listen to this wonderful message and your heart will rejoice.

tomare tarite sri-krsna-chaitanya
navadvipe avatara
toma hena kata dina-hina jane
karilena bhava-para

"Sri Krishna Chaitanya has appeared in Nabadwip to deliver you. He has brought many humble souls just like you to the shore of the ocean of material existence."

(‘Emona Durmati' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

* * *

In Search of Hidden Treasure

Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 4
Translated from Bengali

This Nabadwip Dham is an extremely pure land. So many great Vaishnavs, starting from Srila Prabhupad, stayed here. All the Vaishnavs—Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, many others. Even when Mahaprabhu left, all the devotees did Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama together with Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu. When they did this parikrama, Nityananda Prabhu showed where which place was. Who can understand this?

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

"Those who always think about Sri Nabadwip Dham, reside in Sri Vrindavan."

Who can understand this Gaura Mandal? Those who were born here cannot understand anything... Thousands and thousands of people from all over the world come here from millions of miles away. Why? What do they want here? Srila Sridhar Maharaj said that there is a "hidden treasure" here. People come from so far—from America, Russia, London—they come and sit here. Why? They come for the hidden treasure (the hidden treasure of the Sweet Absolute) that is kept here. We are forever suffering in the bondage of material suffering, illusory suffering.

maya-jale baddha ha'ye
achha michhe kaja la'ye
ekhan-o chetana peye
radha-madhav-nam bala re

Bound in Maya's net, you work in vain. Now, while you are still conscious, chant 'Radha-Madhava'.

Bound in Maya's net, we are sitting here, working in vain, but you have got some consciousness now! Chant the Lord's Name at least once! This life will finish, and we are not as fortunate as Pariksit Maharaj. Will we get notified when we have to die? Death will come one day—we all have to leave this world one day, but what for did I get this human birth? Only to eat, sleep, defend, and enjoy? For money, food, good house and good clothes? No, not for this. We have come here to worship our Supreme Father, the Lord.

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

"I did not worship Gora, I did not care for the jewel treasure of the divine love and have lost the chance. I always took the deathly poison of the material world and have never been attracted to the kirtan of Gaura. Why am I still alive? What joy is there? Oh why didn't Narottam das just die?..."

"Instead of worshipping Gaura, I have only being dying..." Mahaprabhu Himself went to Gaya to perform the last rites for his departed father, and when He met His guru there, He said,

"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-bhagavat, Adi-khanda, 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 to the Lord's lotus feet.

This abode of Mahaprabhu is non-different from Vraja Dham, and we can stay here only by a very big fortune. Such fortunate does not come all the time. We have to go to so many places, do so many things; we have to go out to preach, but there is no other place that could compare to the purity of this land. This place is non-different from Sri Vraja Dham. Among the nine islands of Nabadwip, the place where we are at present is kirtanakhya-dham—this 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 have come out of our mother's womb and immediately learnt to chant kirtans. [To a new devotee:] Try to chant, even if you make a mistake, 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 here. Stay here peacefully. You do not need to think about food, clothes, etc. here—only chant the Holy Name and serve the Lord, this is your duty, there is no other duty. Only do service attentively. All this is your property—some think 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.

I have left Nabadwip Math because they have kicked me out, but I am here now, Gurudev has kept me here. I did much over there, but now they have destroyed everything... Now, here too we have a big building. We had to struggle at first, but I never stopped the parikrama—even when the Deities were not installed yet, we still did the parikrama that year, and about 400 people came. Many slept on the floor, the building was not painted properly, but since then we have made more rooms, etc. I have also started the prasadam hall and want to make two-three floors above it for Bengali devotees...

Engage your mind only in service, in the service to your Guru and the Lord. Do what your Guru tells you to do. Otherwise, satisfying the whims of your mind is not bhajan; following the Guru, the Vaishnavs and serving the Guru, the Vaishnavs and satisfying them is what is called bhajan. This is how you must practise Krishna consciousness. We sing every morning,

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara
namasraya kari' yatane tumi
thakaha apana kaje

"Know that the main thing is that life is temporary and filled with all sorts of danger. Carefully take shelter of the Name and do your work."

(Gitavali, Arunadaya kirtan, 1.3, by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

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

* * *

Humility and Dedication

Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 5
Translated from Bengali

If you send your letter to the Lord, you will not get a reply from Him just as you do not become a disciple just by taking the mantra. To become a disciple you must follow what your Guru says and you must be able to tolerate his chastisement. Also, you must take initiation from a Guru that belongs to a proper guru-parampara.

I feel I myself have not been able to become a disciple yet, and it is my aspiration to always be one: "Sisya tava thakiya sarvada. I will always remain your disciple." These words are there in one of the kirtans (Krpa kara Vaisnava Thakura). We must feel that everyone in this world is my master, and we must always behave like disciples. Even when somebody comes to take initiation from me, I feel this person is coming to give their mercy to me. This is how initiation must be given. Gurudev must never think, "I will make somebody my disciple." No. He must always think, "This person is coming to give me their mercy." Such humility must be there.

Mercy is followed by service—if you have mercy, you will have service, and if you have no mercy, then you will have no service. It is necessary to remember and practise this.

You must follow ekadasi. Next Monday is ekadasi...

suddha-bhakata-charana-renu
bhajana-anukula
bhakata-seva parama-siddhi
prema-latikara mula

"The dust of pure devotees' feet is favourable to devotion. Serving the devotees is the supreme fulfilment and the root of the creeper of divine love."

('Suddha-bhakata-charana-renu' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

We must serve pure devotees. Unless you serve pure devotees, you will not get anywhere, you will not get anything.

ye dina grhe bhajana dekhi
grhete goloka bhaya

On the days when I see devotional service taking place in my home, I feel that Goloka has manifested there.

('Suddha-bhakata-charana-renu' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

...When you do service, you have to exert yourself. When I was doing Govinda Kunda, I lost seven kg weight. After I left Nabadwip, I put on weight again... At that time, two-three hundred cars would come every day to take out soil, fifteen tractors were working. So much soil was taken out.

tomara sevaya, duhkha haya yata,
seo ta' parama sukha

"All the distress I encounter in Your service is also my greatest happiness."

(Saranagati 16.4)

Whatever unhappiness comes when I serve you, that is my happiness. When you serve the Lord, you have to struggle, you have to exert yourself.

Muri is Bengalis' favourite food—if there is no muri, many will get hungry in the afternoon but they will not say anything. I have seen in Nabadwip that all devotees kept muri in their rooms—they eat muri in the afternoon. Anyway, what is the problem? There is no lack of food. We must always keep some muri in the temple. You can keep some in the storeroom, devotees can take some to their rooms. People are used to eating muri in the afternoon, this is their habit. I also sometimes eat muri in the afternoon. Just yesterday, I took some muri with mustard oil and green chilli. I do not eat outside food—all the chanachur, etc. I do not like that.

Something like that...

suddha-bhakata-charana-renu
bhajana-anukula
bhakata-seva parama-siddhi
prema-latikara mula

"The dust of pure devotees' feet is favourable to devotion. Serving the devotees is the supreme fulfilment and the root of the creeper of divine love."

('Suddha-bhakata-charana-renu' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

* * *

Jnana-Sunya Bhakti

Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 6
Translated from Bengali

As I was saying, you do not become a disciple just by taking the mantra. Initiation means getting enrolled into a school, but after getting enrolled you must practise.

First, it is necessary to have faith (adau sraddha).

'sraddha'-sabde—visvasa kahe sudrdha nischaya
krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya

"Sraddha is firm, determined faith that by service to Krishna all actions are accomplished."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.62)

It is necessary to have faith; there are different kinds of faith: kamala-sraddha, taranga-sraddha, drdha-sraddha, sudrdha-sraddha (soft lotus-like faith, wave-like faith, strong faith and the strongest faith). "Sraddha-anusari bhakti-adhikari: the quality of devotion depends upon the quality of one's faith." (Cc, 2.22.64) Everyone's devotion is not the same. Why? Because everybody's faith is not the same. Some have karma-misra bhakti (devotion mixed with pursuit of material gain), some have jnana-misra bhakti (devotion mixed with pursuit of knowledge), and some have jnana-sunya bhakti (general devotion free from any desire for knowledge). Karma-misra bhakti means you serve the Lord, thinking, "I will get something in return." Even if you think, "If I serve the Lord, I will go to Goloka," that is also a desire. It is not good to be like that. Gurudev told to chant the Holy Name with faith, that is sufficient—what I will get or not get, he will take care of that. Such mood is jnana-sunya bhakti. This is the rule. What I will get or not get, what result I will get, that is not my business. This is jnana-sunya bhakti. Gurudev told me to chant the Holy Name and do service, and that is what I am doing, and what will happened to me—whether I will go to Goloka, heaven, or hell—Gurudev knows it. I will do what Gurudev told. Remember this.

Karma-misra bhakti also means:

krsna kahe,—ama bhaje, mage visaya-sukha
amrta chhadi' visa mage,—ei bada murkha
ami—vijna, ei murkhe 'visaya' kene diba?
sva-charanamrta diya 'visaya' bhulaiba

"Krishna says, 'They worship Me, desiring material happiness—leaving aside nectar, they ask for poison. They are great fools. I am very intelligent though. Why will I give these fools material things? Instead, I will give them the nectar of My lotus feet and make them forget the material world."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.38-39)

The Lord says, "They worship Me praying for some material happiness. They want something from Me." Such people turn the Lord into a bribe-taker or a menial servant. "God, give me this," "God, make so that my daughter marries well," "God, make so that my son gets a good job," "God, make so that I get a good harvest," "God make so that my business runs well." There are so many people who want such things. This is karma-misra-bhakti. Krishna says, "I am not a fool. I know better than them. Why will I give them material happiness? I will give them My feet and they will forget all about the material world." At the same time, in another place, in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Krishna says,

krsna yadi chhute bhakte bhukti mukti diya
kabhu bhakti na dena rakhena lukaiya

"If devotees want enjoyment, liberation, etc., Krishna grants them retirement by hiding the existence of pure devotion (suddha-bhakti-tattva) and giving them enjoyment, liberation, etc."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 8.18)

"When someone comes to Me and wants enjoyment, liberation, etc. (some want money, some want a car, a house) instead of devotion, I give them all that and take devotion away from them. I will not give them devotion."

Mahaprabhu's teaching (Siksastakam) is also like that. If you read it, you can understand it. We chant those kirtans during the month of Kartik. It is said there,

na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi

"I do not want wealth, I do not want followers, I do not want beautiful women, I do not want to be a poet. I only want causeless devotion to Your lotus feet. Give me that kind of devotion to Your lotus feet so that I could do Your service life after life."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 20.29)

Outside people say, "Give me wealth, give me knowledge, make me beautiful, give me a good wife, make me a poet, etc." And Mahaprabhu says, "I do not want wealth, I do not want followers, I do not want a beautiful wife, I do not want to be a poet. I only want causeless devotion to Your lotus feet. Give me that kind of devotion to Your lotus feet so that I could do Your service life after life." I do not want followers/companions, I do not want any wealth. I only want to have devotion to Your holy lotus feet.

nahi magi deha-sukha, vidya, dhana, jana
nahi magi svarga ara moksa nahi magi
na kari prarthana kona vibhutira lagi

"I do not pray for bodily pleasure, learning, wealth, or followers. I do not pray for heaven, I do not pray for liberation, and I do not pray for any supernatural powers."

(Sri Siksastakam, 4.1-2, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

I do not pray for any supernatural perfections...

* * *

Taking a Stand Against Maya

Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 7
Translated from Bengali

We have a disciple of Gurudev in Begumpur. He received two bighas of land (1.2 acres)—he plants vegetables there himself and runs his family with that. They also have two sons, they study at school... He is working so hard to maintain his family. Their family had six bighas of land, and there are five brothers and their father. The father got initiation and stayed with this devotee, so the devotee ended up getting two bighas of land. I know how hard it is to do agriculture. I used to cultivate the land too. I planted rice twice, one time mustard, and every year also some wheat around the perimeter (the yield was 14-15 maund, or 560-600 kg). It also gave straw for the cows at the temple. Here, it is difficult with the cows. One man told me, "I will come in Paush month (January-February)," but then his wife came, then his sons came for him...

It is not so easy to practise Krishna consciousness. You must know your interest (you must be selfish in this sense). My own parents cried so much for me—they shed tears, but I ran away. That man told me, "I will never run away, I will come in January/February," and I told him, "You will not be able to come..." and this is what happened. His wife beat him, and he wanted to come here, but now that he came, his wife showed some affection to him and he went back. Such is the pull of material life... His son also cried for him. So, it is not so easy—you must have fortune to practise Krishna consciousness. First, there must be sukriti. If you do not have sukriti, you cannot practise Krishna consciousness. Yes, they will cry, let them. Mother, father, brother, sister, relatives, sons, daughters—let them cry. You must be hard with them, "No, I will practise Krishna consciousness. By hook or by crook, but I will practise Krishna consciousness. I will not surrender to Maya and run behind any desires." You must always try to be like that; otherwise, you cannot practise Krishna consciousness...

Later this will bring you result. You must have patience. That is why it is said, "Chitta sthira habe, sakala sahiba, ekante bhajiba hari. My heart will become steadfast, I will tolerate everything, and I will serve the Lord sincerely." You must tolerate everything—tolerate all unhappiness, all struggles, all austerity. Practise Krishna consciousness exclusively, be one-pointed.

Those who used to stay at the temple and then went to their homes, got much austerity later. For example, there is ***. Her father was a brahmachari, Srila Sridhar Maharaj's disciple, but then his parents forcefully took him away and got him married. He then had three daughters. He had managed to only get his younger daughter married, and then he had a stroke. Later, his daughters took initiation from me, at least this is good—his daughters are practising Krishna consciousness, but their father's life finished... Such situation comes in your life that you get retirement from spiritual life—you become cheated and deprived of your Guru's service. We must be always very careful. You must know what you want in life (you must know your interest).

* * *

Be One-Pointed

Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 8
Translated from Bengali

You must practise Krishna consciousness in this way. Stay always within service and always engage in sravan (hearing) and kirtan (practising, chanting). This is our life every day. Do your service and you must engage in sravan and kirtan. Those who practise sravan and kirtan, gradually become firm and fixed in their spiritual life and service, they get the taste. There is no need to worry about it. Practising sravan and kirtan (listening to Hari-katha and chanting the Holy Name, practising what is preached) removes all unwanted elements. This is the main result. When unwanted elements leave, you will feel peace. As long as you have unwanted, inauspicious elements within you, you will not know peace...

Vraja gopis gave very much respect to Prahlad Maharaj. Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur himself also spoke about Prahlad Maharaj when he was at Radha Kunda. Prahlad Maharaj's devotion is extremely exclusive, one-pointed. He did not know anything except the Lord, he did not understand anything except the Lord. Such mood must be there: "I do not know anyone except the Lord." The Lord says in Gita too, "I only know My devotees, and My devotees also do not know anyone except Me." Krishna Himself said that. That is why we always recite verse 18.66 from Gita,

sarva-dharman parityajya, mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo, moksayisyami ma suchah

"Give up all kinds of religion and surrender to Me alone. I will liberate you from all sins, do not despair."

Leave all religions—father's religion, mother's religion, friend's religion, demigods' religion, rishis' religion, sannyasis' religion, brahmachari's religion, householders' religion, ksatriyas' religion, vaisyas' religion, sudras' religion. Leave all kinds of religion and only practise Krishna consciousness one-pointedly. Leave all religions and surrender to Me; I will look after you. Always remember this. "I will take care of you."

* * *

A Word of Warning

Nrisingha Palli, 3 February 2021, part 9
Translated from Bengali

[His Divine Grace reads some parts from Guidance 4:]

It is written here about bhakti-pratikul. Do you know what is bhakti-pratikul, unfavourable to devotion? It is the six urges and gossiping about others, criticising others.

kahare na kare ninda, 'krsna krsna' bale
ajeya chaitanya sei jinibeka hele

"Those who do not offend anyone and always chant the Holy Name of Lord Krishna conquer unconquerable Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.10.312)

Never criticise anyone.

"Those who do not practise even one of the devotional practices (hearing, chanting, remembering, Deity worship), are non-devotees; you should keep away from them."

"You cannot get sadhu-sanga without giving up asat-sanga (you cannot get proper good association without giving up inauspicious bad association)." Always leave bad association.

"There is less possibility to have bad association at the temple, but if somebody gossips, talks too much, criticises others, discusses others, then their association is bad and must definitely be given up. They are greatly unfortunate—they sin and commit offences, that is why they do not feel enthusiasm to practise devotional life, they only suffer from depression, melancholy, danger and trouble."

"If there is no feeling of any relationship with one’s Gurudev, there is no spiritual benefit—there is only devilry and wickedness. It is impossible to practise spiritual life or serve the Lord without becoming a proper disciple, neither can you get the Lord if you do not become a disciple. When you start practising and developing the relationship with your Gurudev, you will attain spiritual benefit and progress on the path to the transcendental world."

We must give advice to ourselves, not to others. If you keep listening about these things, if you keep saying these things, then you will start thinking about your own qualification.

What is the use living a very long life? Tell me. Do you know what Gurudev said? Even if you live ten years, live and practise Krishna consciousness, and if you live a long life but do not practise Krishna consciousness, there is no use living a hundred years.

Moreover, you can see how *** practises Krishna consciousness—what sort of taste does he get? He goes to those people to eat nice food, but those people are not initiated. It is said in the scriptures,

visayira anna khaile malina haya mana
malina mana haile, nahe krsna-nama grahana

"If you take food that comes from materialistic people, your mind becomes contaminated. When your mind is contaminated, you cannot chant the Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.278)

He goes to that house, but they cook meat, fish there. I have been to that house, but I never eat there, I do not even take their water. I come with my own bottle of water. This is the prescription of the scriptures. If you go everywhere and eat randomly, then the scriptures say that your mind will become contaminated and you will forget Krishna consciousness. What for does one go there? Because tongue is greedy, but it only increases their desires.

jihvara lalase yei iti-uti dhaya
sisnodara-parayana se krsna nahi paya

"One who is subservient to the tongue and who thus goes here and there, devoted to the genitals and the belly, cannot attain Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.227)

If you follow the urge of your tongue and stomach, your mind will be always fickle. You will always want to eat more.

"If you run down the path of devotion at a very high speed, you can meet an accident and all your ten-year’s practice will be destroyed. A car can be going at a very high speed, but if it meets an accident on the road, it will be crushed to pieces. Similarly, it is very difficult to progress on the path of devotion—it is very easy to go down the hill, but it is difficult to go uphill. It takes so much time to go up, but you can go down within a moment."

Time gets wasted. It is said in the scriptures,

chari varnasrami yadi krsna nahi bhaje
svakarma karileo raurave padi maje

Whatever varna (a priest, fighter, manager, or worker) or ashram (a celibate, householder, withdrawn from the household life, or monk) you may belong to, if you do not worship Krishna but engage in your prescribed duties, you will have to fall into a terrible hell.

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.26)

But people here are attached to fish, meat. They only know how to eat. There are so many wonderful vegetarian dishes, but we do not like to eat that.

"Srila Prabhupad used to say, 'You have been given a ticket to Delhi, but before reaching Delhi you get off in Bardhaman. This is your loss. People want to practise Krishna consciousness, but when they do not get the result, they get injured. You leave your home and come here, but if you cannot get love and devotion, if you cannot serve properly, then your life passes in vain.'"

"Gurudev can save his disciple from fire. It is difficult to understand how and when one does service, but if a disciple comes across some thorns, this is very distressing. Vaisnava-aparadha is a great hindrance on the path of devotion. Do I recognise who is a Vaisnav and who is not? Therefore, if you behave inappropriately with Vaisnavs, you will face thorns on the path of devotion. What is there left if you commit an offence at the feet of Gurudev? Your devotional life will burn to ashes."

Always remember this.

ekale isvara krsna, ara saba bhrtya
yare yaiche nachaya, se taichhe kare nrtya

"Lord Krishna alone is the supreme controller, and all others are His servants. They dance as He makes them do so."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 5.142)

"Sri Krishna is everyone’s object of service—He is the only worshippable Person, everybody is striving to serve Him. Some pick flowers, some strings flower garlands, some worship the Deity, some cook, some chant kirtan, some go on collection, some sweep, some wash the dishes, some distribute prasad—everyone contributes to His happiness. Everyone does different kinds of service according to their individual qualification and taste. All jiva souls are His servants and maidservants, and everyone engages in different services of the Lord, that is why there is no conflict among servitors."

"There is no quarrel, rivalry, envy and jealousy towards each other. Vrajendra-nandan Sri Krsna is the Lord of all Lords and all are His servants. If everyone has such a vision, then there will be no rivalry, envy, fighting and quarrelling. 'All are the Lord’s servants.' Therefore, do not criticise or offend anyone, do not be jealous of anyone, do not hate, envy or spite anyone. Those who have become firmly fixed in servitude to Krsna, do not have any kind of separate vision. Vaisnavs think that everyone is a creature of the Lord. King of heaven Indra, God of Moon Chandra, God of Sun Surya, God of Wind Varuna, et.al. all serve the Lord. 'Prabhura arati kare chandra o tapana. Moon and Sun do the arati of the Lord.' There are so many demigods and demigoddesses, but their purpose is one. However, everybody’s function is not the same. Demigods, demigoddesses, Brahma, Siva, governors of different planets, et.al.—they all do their appointed service.

Many forget this. They think somebody makes cow dung patties, somebody washes the dishes and laugh, but this is wrong. They are also servitors. If you remember this, then you will not be able to criticise anyone, and you should never criticise anyone.

Sri Radharani does the puja of Krishna pretending that She is doing the puja of Surya. She does not show disrespect to Surya (the God of Sun)—She prays to him for Krishna-prema. Vraja-basis and Vaisnavs do not dismiss Lord Siva—they pray to him, 'O Sambhu! You always chant the Holy Name of Krishna with your five mouths. You have so much devotion and love for Krishna, please give us such love too.'"

Vaishnavs worship Siva too.

Read this book. Did you not like what you have heard? Is what is written here not true?

[His Divine Grace then chants 'Sarvasva tomara' and 'Hari Haraya Nama Krsna' and recites Jaya Dhvani, concluding thus the evening class.]

* * *

Main Festivals

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 1

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

"The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill—all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First of all, I am offering my full obeisance at the holy lotus feet of Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, begging him for his causeless mercy, after that I am offering my obeisance to all Guru-varga, to all my God-brothers and sisters, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees, to all devotees, and I am praying to you all for your mercy to this low soul.

By the mercy of Sri Gurupadpadma, by the mercy of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu, today is the final day of our festival. We have observed the festival of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's appearance during four days. We have come on the dasami day (tenth lunar day), and today is chaturdasi (fourteenth lunar day). We make this festival of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu in Sri Ekachakra Dham every year, from ekadasi to chaturdasi. Our two biggest festivals are here in Ekachakra (appearance day of Nityananda Prabhu) and also in Nabadwip (appearance day of Gauranga Mahaprabhu).

It is very good that you all keep connection. Without Nityananda Prabhu's mercy, we cannot enter the kingdom of spiritual life. It is first necessary to have Nityananda Prabhu's mercy, and Nityananda means Gurupadpadma. They are asraya-vigraha (worshippable embodiment of shelter). Without asraya-vigraha, we cannot get the mercy of visaya-vigraha (embodiment of the object of worship). So, if you want to practise Krishna consciousness or serve the Lord without strict adherence to Gurudev, it is means foolishly bypass the right channel (goda dingiye ghas kayoya; lit. jump over the goda [raised platform for cows to stand while eating grass] to eat grass). You cannot worship Gauranga bypassing the Guru.

We always want to be close to the mercy of our Guru, Vaishnavs, and Nityananda Prabhu.

* * *

Serve with Faith

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 2

Initiation is taken to serve one's Guru. Initiation means service to the Guru. Service can be different—one can serve close to Guru, and one can serve from far too. I myself did not stay with Gurudev so much. I listened to what Gurudev said, and I followed whatever he ordered me to do. Gurudev kept me in Nabadwip and wanted to go abroad. During six-seven years, I did not spent even one night anywhere outside the temple in Nabadwip. After that, when Guru Maharaj told me to preach, then I started going out to preach. Otherwise, before that, even if I went to Kolkata to meet with Gurudev, I would come back the same day.

"Guru-mukha-padma-vakya, chittete kariya aikya ara na kariha mane asa—make the teachings from Sri Guru's lotus mouth one with your heart, and do not desire anything else within your heart." We sing this in the kirtan, and by singing, singing, and singing we must bring ourselves to this path. We must make the teaching from Sri Guru's lotus mouth one with our hearts and not desire anything else, but we have many desires and hopes... That is why, we must always be surrendered to Krishna and do service. Suppose you go to school or college—if you cheat or bunk off school, then you will not pass the exam. The same is true here—you cannot cheat or bunk off your service to the Lord. Worshipping the Lord, practising Krishna consciousness means service, so if you cheat or bunk off your service, there is no use practising Krishna consciousness.

You must surrender yourself completely. We sing this kirtan every morning:

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana
bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara

"Humility, self-submission, embracing the Lord's guardianship, maintaining the faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me', engaging only in activities that are favourable to devotion, rejecting everything unfavourable to devotion."

(Saranagati, 1)

We must have this faith: Krishna is my protector, Krishna is my maintainer. As soon as you lose this faith, Maya will catch you.

krsna bhuli' sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsaradi-duhkha

Having forgotten Krishna, the soul wanders throughout the universe. Being thus covered by illusion, the soul goes through all kinds of material suffering.

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 20.117)

samsare para hai' bhaktira sagare
ye dubibe, se bhajuka nitaichandere

May those who desire to cross over samsara and dive in the ocean of devotion serve Sri Nitaichand.

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat, Adi-khanda, 1.77)

We are working so hard for Him, for Nityananda Prabhu—we arrange such a big festival. All the devotees are helping. You can see the Bokaro devotees. They live in their homes and work—some have families, some do not have. They work, but they come here and every time distribute prasadam. They are here and I know I do not need to worry about devotees getting prasadam. They always help during every festival, every parikrama. I have seen also that ladies were distributing prasadam too, many devotees helped. Thousands of people took prasadam during these four days, and arranging prasadam for them does not happen just by saying it (it is not lip-deep). It can only be possible by Nityananda Prabhu's. Today also, the festival finished and there is no bhoga left—three quintal (300 kg) rice was finished.

Many could not wait and have already left. I do not want anyone to go back. I want everyone to take prasadam. Everybody in this world are Nityananda Prabhu's family, and if I give some rice to one person, what loss is that for me?

* * *

Service Duty (1)

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 3

Many devotees are helping—the cooks' department, the storeroom department, etc. Devotees cleaned everything, Sripad Niriha Maharaj went to the market, helped to bring some things. His father was sick, but he still took care of everything. It is necessary to take responsibility for service.

visaye ye priti ebe achhaye amara
sei-mata priti hauk charane tomara

"May I have the same affection and attraction to your feet that I now have for material things."

(Gitavali, 4.5, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

We love our wife, sons, brothers, sisters, we have a relationship with them, but that kind of love must be there for our Guru, the temple, and the Lord. This is the Lord's house—this is what must be our consciousness like. We must prepare (mould) ourselves.

'samsara' 'samsara' kari' michhe gela kala
labha na ha-ila kichhu, ghatila janjala

"Time has passed as I have been busy in my material life, and I have got nothing—only became burdened."

We do not understand the meaning of janjal (trash, unwanted burden). It is the burden that material life places on your. So many people say, "If it was not for the family, I would have come." Is it not so? Maya, illusion, always stops them. You come every year, but this time you cannot come—this is Maya Devi's play.

We must become full-timers. How many of you can do that? If we can serve the Lord twenty-four hours a day, we will get the highest benefit. You can learn from Guru Maharaj—he left everything and came to the temple. You leave everything and stay at the temple, but you must not only think about your enjoyment and pleasure, this is not right. You are staying here, at the holy land of Nitai—you must keep everything clean, you must think, "How is it possible to serve Nitai?" This is what you must always be alert about. People come to serve, but next moment they give up and run away. The Holy Name of Krishna does not come to the mouths of offenders—in the same way, service goes away from those who make offences to service and Guru. If I make offences, I will be set free—service will go away.

It is necessary to be steady in your service. This is what I learnt from Gurudev.

Jive daya, Name ruchi, Vaishnava seva: be kind to other souls, relish chanting the Holy Name, and serve the Vaishnavs. So many devotees came today to Nityananda Prabhu's holy land. Not only outside materialists came—so many devotees came also. I have been going house to house, I keep connection with them, and they come. I keep in touch with everyone—even during the lockdown, even in the pandemic situation. I have a relationship with all the devotees, and I keep that relationship. I may not visit all houses, and you think I died, but I always keep connection with everyone here, at festivals.

Some ISKCON devotees came to see me. They said they had seen me and were looking for me. I spoke to them for an hour—I told them about the relationship between our temple and ISKCON, what relationship there was and what relationship there is now, I have explained everything to them nicely. They were very pleased. They wanted to hear about the glories of Nityananda Prabhu, they asked some questions, and I answered that. They came from different countries—Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc. I gave them some time in the afternoon.

Therefore, whoever you see, tell them to chant the Name of Krishna (yare dekho tare kaho koro Krishna Nam)! "Prana achhe yara, sei hetu prachara: you have life, you are alive, then you must preach." For as long as you have life in your body, you must continue preaching—for as long as you are alive, you must go door to door and tell people about the Lord. I am trying to do that—no matter what sadness, pain, difficulty comes, I am trying to deliver Hari-katha to people's houses.

* * *

Service Duty (2)

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 4

I am trying to go door to door and get people to hear about Gurudev, Guru Maharaj, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu. This is the duty that Gurudev or the Lord has given me, and I am trying to carry out this duty.

I am coming back to Kolkata tomorrow (Friday), after that, there is a programme on Sunday in Basirhat, Monday another programme in another place, then there is a programme in Tarakeshwar on Wednesday, then Thursday again... There is not even one day break. The festival has finished today, and I will leave tomorrow. I do not waste time. Those who are staying at the temple, have a duty—we are enjoying with Nityananda Prabhu's property and cannot serve with heart and soul. It is necessary to serve Nityananda Prabhu with heart and soul. Those who serve in the goshala, who wash the dishes, who cook—everyone must do their service nicely. Everybody has service, everybody has their duty.

You are spending your life thinking all the time about material things, but one day you will have to give an answer. One day will come when you will be asked, "You have been at My place for so many days, what have you been doing there? What did you do at My house? How did you take care of it?" It is necessary to live at the temple so that the preaching about the Lord, the property of the Lord do not get destroyed. Everything must be used for service. You offer bhoga to Gurudev, and Gurudev uses that in service—He offers it to the Lord, and arranges for us to take that prasadam.

When I first came here, I spent a night under a tree, after that during one year we stayed in a rented house and worshipped a photograph of the Deities. From time to time, I came here, supervised the works, brought materials all the way from Nabadwip. It was a big struggle to build everything, and you must try to take care of everything well. This is your service. If you do not do it, I will have no loss—I can pay a hundred rupees to a worker and get everything cleaned. The problem will be yours—you are staying at the temple and if you do not increase your sukriti, then when your sukriti is burnt, then what are you doing here? How much service do you do here? You will have to go through this exam, you will be asked that. If you think, "This is my service," "That is his service," then you will never pass the test. All service is Nityananda Prabhu's service—there is no question of "your" service and "his service." Nothing is yours, everything is Nityananda Prabhu's property.

I cannot come here all the time, I do not sit in one place—I told you, I am leaving tomorrow for Kolkata, spend there one night and then go to different programmes.

* * *

Heed My Word

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 5

...I have recently spent four days in Tarakeshwar, in those four days I collected four hundred sacks of potato. There is Gaura Purnima coming soon, and this potato will also last the whole year for all the temples...

I do not want money from anyone. I am happy with whatever you give. This big festival has just happened here—can anyone say that I took money from them? I have taken some pranami—I took from those who were giving some donation themselves. I do not want anything from anyone, and I do not worry about anything—if somebody does not do the service to Nityananda Prabhu, if somebody bunks it, then somebody else will come and do it. When I was coming here, somebody left thinking they would evade me? Who are they cheating? They are cheating only themselves. You come here, spend a few days and then go away, but who are you trying to cheat? You are trying to cheat Nityananda Prabhu.

Gurudev also said, "Nobody can make me poor." I also left the main temple empty-handed—I only took my clothes and went away from there. However, I never lacked anything. When I was in South India, they attacked the building in Dum Dum Park and took everything—they took even my soap(!); but this did not harm me in any way. The Lord protects me. We have faith in Nityananda Prabhu, we have faith in Gurudev, so we have no fear. Gurudev told me, "Danger will come, but later everything will be resolved." And I see that. I am not afraid of dangers. I was born one day and I have to die one day.

I will have to die, but if I can leave this world knowing that I have done something good—that I have done some service to the Lord—then I will be very grateful. I am telling it to you all too—learn from my example. I always keep telling everyone: if you try to cheat and avoid the Lord's service using various pretexts, it is not good. It is wrong. This refers to everyone—it does not matter what service you do, you must remember this.

You can see [Sripad Bhakti Ujjval Sajjan Maharaj] here. He is a disciple of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj (later, took initiation from Gurudev and sannyas from me). He only keeps roaming around distributing books—he does not even sit down. You can see him over there (at the book stall). He cannot even speak English well, he does not know Bengali, but he distributes books and takes some donation in exchange, saying anyhow: "Take this book for ten rupees; if you read it, you will get benefit." In these four days, he has sold books for 20-25,000 rupees(!)—he has given that money to me.

I went out to the market to get some potato, some dal, but I saw that the market was empty. Whatever I brought—lau, oil, etc.—everything is finished. However, there is no problem. All the potato I collect is for spending—Nityananda Prabhu has sent His property, and Nityananda Prabhu's devotees came, took this prasadam, and left. There is no problem. There is no lack, there is no want of anything. Those who think this is some want, who think there is some lack (who run behind money) are the ones who lack a lot.

I never run behind money. I only run behind the Lord, behind devotees, that is why the Lord sends me money—by hook or by crook, but He sends money somehow. Money comes to me through the Lord's medium. However, those who run behind money always feel they lack—they always do not have enough and their lack will never be fulfilled. Srimad Bhagavad-gita also says, "You are enjoying with My property! Use My property in My service, then you will not want anything."

You must learn also from Srivas Pandit's example. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami left all his wealth, left his wife, who was beautiful as an angel, and went to Mahaprabhu. Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Sanatan Goswami left their big posts in the government and came to Mahaprabhu. Moreover, Mahaprabhu Himself left Nabadwip and stayed in Puri. All devotees are like that [they make sacrifice]. Our Param Guru Maharaj, our Gurudev also left their families and came to practise Krishna consciousness. Prabhupad also came—he was the son of a great magistrate, but he left everything. Therefore, I am praying to you all as well—always practise Krishna consciousness, always think about the Lord.

The Lord Himself says, "Think about Me, and I will think about you." If you think about yourself, if you worry about yourself and your interests, then the Lord will never think about you. If you rely and depend on the Lord, then the Lord will surely arrange everything for you. If we lose faith, we will become cheated out of devotion—devotion will be removed from us. So, you must always try your best to make sure your devotion does not go away from you.

* * *

Perverted Tastes and Habits

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 6

You are living here, in this holy abode; it is a very beautiful place. Even I have not got such great fortune, but you have—you are here, in the holy abode of Nitai. This is Ekachakra Dham where all the dust is Nitai's feetdust. Never want to leave this holy feetdust and go anywhere else. We do not want to leave, but we have no way out—we have to go to different temples, we have to go for preaching. I do not stay in one place... Just as Gauri Das Pandit tried to keep Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu at his home. He said, "I will not let You go! You must stay here!" Because Gauri Das Pandit was Their devotee, so Nityananda Prabhu and Mahaprabhu became Deities and stayed at his house. The temple and those Deities are still there in a very beautiful place in Kalna.

However, if our fortune becomes bad—if we make Vaishnav aparadh, then service will go away from us. It is not necessary to blame anyone for this—always look for faults in yourself. We will not look for holes in others. Gurudev said, "I am not a drain inspector." What is there in the drain? You go to the bathroom, pass stool, and it all goes down into a drain. So, if you dig in that drain, you will only get stench. If you always go about saying bad things, then those faults that you speak about will come to you. That is why Gurudev said that we must not look for anyone's faults.

Somebody may have some faults, but there is also something good in them. Suppose you have seen somebody steal prasadam—they did what they did, it is their offence, but if you go about telling others about it, then you are making even more offence. You can talk to the person who stole prasadam and try to explain to them that it is wrong to do that, "Brother, it is not right to do this. Do not steal the Lord's things." You can try to explain and correct them politely.

Listen to what I am saying. If you do not learn to be like that, you will never be able to practise Krishna consciousness. You only look for faults in others, you look for holes in others, but Vaishnavs are adosa-darasi—they never see others' faults. We must look for my own faults, "What faults do I have?" "Gurudev kicked me out, Gurudev is bad"—no! We will only see that we are guilty, that we have faults, and we will not see faults in anyone else.

What did Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur say?

vaisnava-charitra sarvada pavitra
yei ninde himsa kari'
bhaktivinoda na sambhase tan're
thake sada mauna dhari'

"The character of Vaishnavs is always pure. Bhaktivinod keeps quiet and does not associate with those who are envious of Vaishnavs and who criticise Vaishnavs."

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru)

If anyone criticised Vaishnavs in front of Bhaktivinod Thakur, he would always keep quiet. He would become grave and said nothing—he did not like to hear such things.

Even in Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur's time, there were some brahmacharis who would fight and complain to Prabhupad, "He did this!", "He did that!"—they blamed each other and never saw their own faults. Such people have ego and they are offenders of Vaishnavs, that is why they can never see their own fault. They only roam around looking for faults in others, criticising others and gossiping about others.

You do not like to hear all this, but I am telling it to you straight.

If you eat rice, your stomach will be full—if you eat chanachur (a common Indian snack), it tastes very tasty, but will chanachur fill your stomach? So, criticising others, talking bad about others may taste delicious to you, but it carries no spiritual benefit. This is the example that Srila Prabhupad gave. You can eat chanachur, bhujia, etc., it tastes very good, does it not? But it will not fill your stomach. So, never search faults in others. You must always say, "I am the offender. I will never look for faults in others."

Those who make offences against Vaishnavs can never get any good result—they cannot even chant the Holy Name no matter how much they count the beads. We are told to chant the Holy Name giving up the ten offences, and the first offence is sadhu-ninda—criticising devotees. Always remember this. I always tell you this. Mahaprabhu also told,

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

"Do not listen to the mundane talks, do not listen to the mundane news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krsna, and in your mind serve Radha-Krsna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.236-237)

Gramya-katha, gramya-katha means prajalpa (idle, useless talks)—gossiping about others, criticising others. For as long as you do this, you will neither ever attain any spiritual benefit nor ever chant the Holy Name. You will be making offences and gradually everything will finish for you. You will be left with nothing. Therefore,

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

"Do not listen to the mundane talks, do not listen to the mundane news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krsna, and in your mind serve Radha-Krsna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.236-237)

Never speak and never listen to all these so-called pleasant-sounding talks (what somebody's daughter or daughter-in-law did, what this person did, what that person did, etc.). Enjoying such talks is only cheating yourself. You may like to hear such things, but it will damage your spiritual life.

* * *

Snowball of Offences

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 7

When we go to Puri, we hear the story about Ramachandra Puri. Ramachandra Puri and Ishwar Puri were godbrothers—they had one guru, Srila Madhavendra Puripad. However, everybody knows Ishwar Puri on the account of his being Mahaprabhu's guru, and everybody knows Ramachandra Puri on the account of his being a big offender. Ramachandra Puri has no other fame—all he is known for is his big offences and criticising others. This is what finished him—there is not any mention of him in the guru-parampara, whereas we always mention Sri Ishwar Puri's name when we chant the guru-parampara song:

madhavendra puri-vara, sisya-vara sri-isvara,
nityananda, sri-advaita vibhu
isvara-purike dhanya, karilena sri-chaitanya,
jagad-guru gaura mahaprabhu

“The best disciples of the great Madhavendra Puri were Isvar Puri, Lord Nityananda, and Lord Sri Advaita. Jagad-guru Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu blessed Isvar Puri (by accepting him as His Guru).”

And when we ever mention Sri Ramachandra Puri, all we have to say about him is that he made offences against Vaishnavs. He was driven out of Puri and was later nowhere to be found. He kept making offences and he ended up criticising Mahaprabhu's eating. Devotees invited Mahaprabhu and gave Him prasadam—everybody invited Him. We are also often invited to people's houses, and they make various offerings to us—I barely touch it just to try it. (I do not eat and enjoy that food—I just touch it to try it.) So, when Mahaprabhu was invited to take prasadam, Ramachandra Puri came there and secretly watched what Mahaprabhu was eating. He thought, "Oh my! This sadhu sannyasi is eating such nice things!" Then, he came out and said, "How come you do not invite me?" When Mahaprabhu heard what he had to say, He declared, "Do not invite Me any more, and if you invite Me, then make only one-two preparations—I will not take more than that!" Then, devotees came to Jagannath and prayed, "O Lord Jagannath, please remove this Ramachandra Puri from Puri Dham! Otherwise, we will not be able to invite Mahaprabhu any more!"

Another time, Ramachandra Puri came to Mahaprabhu's room in Gambhira to see what He eats and what He does, and when he was there, he noticed there were many ants in Mahaprabhu's room. He said to Mahaprabhu, "Oh, why are there ants in your room? You, new sannyasi, must be eating lots of sweets, are You not?" Mahaprabhu said, "Yes, My tongue is very greedy and I follow My tongue, I like to enjoy, that is why I eat sweets!" What will Mahaprabhu do or say? It is all the same. Ants come on their own—if there are no sweets, does it mean no ants will come?

This is how if one keeps making offences, these offences reach the Guru. Do you understand what I am saying? If you keep making and making offences, then these offences will go up to the Guru. You can never get any benefit like this. Such people become alienated from others—nobody likes them, nobody...

* * *

Path to Indigestion

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 8

You have been listening from me for so many days, does anyone have any questions?

[A devotee asks about Mahaprabhu's instruction to Srila Raghunath Das Goswami.]

Gramya-varta means prajalpa (idle talks)—it means you must not talk about anything except about Krishna. Have you not seen what happens in the afternoon?

Devotee: They sit and tell stories to each other.

When they finish cooking, all the young wives sit and talk, "What did your mother-in-law did?", "What did your father-in-law did?" This is all like chanachur—it neither fills your stomach nor brings any benefit to your health, but it tastes good.

[A devotee asks a question.]

This is very high things. Hladini- and sandini-sakti is a very high topic. Everyone must act and live according to their qualification. Do not venture so far. Do you understand? People sing about all this in lila-kirtans. No, it is all right if you ask this, why keep quiet? I will explain it to you.

Do you think that the love of Radha and Krishna is the same as the love between the boys and girls in this world? Is the love of Radha and Krishna the same as all the photos that boys and girls look at in their mobile phones? You tell me. If they go into all the hladini, etc., they will go for a walk and become pregnant. It must not be discussed. I read to you yesterday:

matala hari-jana kirtana-range
pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange

"From afar we shall worship the raga-patha, the path of spontaneous affectionate service, while we ourselves shall live within the Vedic guideline."

Sivji Maharaj can take snake poison, he can digest it. It is said in the scriptures,

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

"Having travelled throughout the universe and got the mercy of Guru, Krishna, a fortunate soul receives a seed of the devotional creeper."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 19.151)

When a seed sprouts, you need to water it. Is it not so? If you water it too much, what will happen? It will rot. So, those who sing all these lila-kirtans, etc. are rotten—their devotion(?) is destroyed.

Here (in Ekachakra) we talk about vatsalya-rasa (parental love). There is santa-rasa (neutrality), dasya-rasa (servitude), sakhya-rasa (friendship), vatsalya-rasa (parenthood), and madhura-rasa (consorthood). Madhura-rasa is spoken about only in Vrindavan, nowhere else. Do you understand it? We do not speak about it anywhere else except Vrindavan.

[His Divine Grace is distracted by something and tells one of the devotees:] Do you now apply any medicine in the Tulasi garden? The trees are not growing well. You must spray some medicine. Worship and service to Tulasi (Tulasi-bhajan) is not just watering. You must take care of her and spray when necessary. There are Tulasis growing so beautiful in other places. Service to Tulasi is also service, and it is not only about watering Tulasi—you must *serve* Tulasi. "Tulasi dekhi' judaya prana madhava-tosani jani': seeing Tulasi Devi soothes my soul, for I know she pleases Madhava." Seeing Tulasi should fill your very heart with joy.

You are old now, are you not? Can you eat the same amount as a young person? You cannot. Therefore, a young person has more qualification and right to eat than you. If you speak about things that are beyond your right, you will have indigestion—your devotion will be destroyed.

matala hari-jana kirtana-range
pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange

"From afar we shall worship the raga-patha, the path of spontaneous affectionate service, while we ourselves shall live within the Vedic guideline."

Therefore, we keep raga-path (spontaneous loving devotion) in our heart. Our heart's aspiration is Radha-Krishna's lotus feet, this is what we will meditate on. Inside. Do not show anything to others. Do not show off in front of others saying, "I will not leave Radharani!" Keep this inside. Externally, chant, "Hari bol!", "Nitai Gaura!", and internally meditate on Radha-Krishna.

You must have heard kirtans when "Radhe Radhe Radhe" is chanted, many chant, "Radhe Govinda, Radhe Govinda"—do you see us do that? We only chant this in Vrindavan when go for parikrama, nowhere else. Srila Sridhar Maharaj, Srila Guru Maharaj (Srila Govinda Maharaj), Srila Prabhupad did not like at all when anyone chants this freely. This is our line.

You may have heard people sing on the train, "O my Golden Gora, I will keep You in my heart and never leave You..." They say, "My Gora," but if you go to their homes you will see they sing kirtans for money and there is no service to Gora whatsoever. They use Gora to fill their stomaches. Such people use Gauranga. This is a great office!

You can often see—for example there are many such shops in in Nabadwip, Mayapur—they hang Gurudev's or Prabhupad's photo in their shop. When people come, they become impressed, "Oh, our Guru Maharaj's photo is here, I will buy the things here." These people use Gurudev's photos for their business. They use the Lord for their own pleasure.

So, do not use your Guru, do not use the Lord. You must serve your Guru, not use him.

* * *

Memorable Pastimes

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 9

I have remembered one story that Srila Gurudev told me. The name of Srila Prabhupad's guru was Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj (his photograph is next to Srila Prabhupad's photograph).

When Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj came to Nabadwip from Vrindavan, people thought he was like a madman—nobody could recognise who he was. When people threw stones at him, he would say, "Do not be naughty with me, Gopal! I will tell Mother Yasoda!" Where did this Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj sleep? In a public toilet. Somebody asked him, "Babaji Maharaj, how can you stay here? Are you not getting the stench?" Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj replied, "This smell can be tolerated, but it is very difficult to tolerate the stench of materialists (who live by enjoying the material world)."

When Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj was alive, nobody would come and ask how he was, nobody cared—only Prabhupad would come to visit him. Srila Prabhupad also persuaded him to stay at Svananda Sukhada Kunja. However, when Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj eventually left his body, all the babajis started crying, "This is my Gurudev!", "This is my Gurudev!" They wanted to take his body, make his samadhi and earn money through that. Then, Srila Prabhupad got the news and came there with Sri Kunja Babu (later he became Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj). Srila Prabhupad declared, "None of them are disciples of Babaji Maharaj! It is all lies! They all mix with women." Thre was a policemen at the place, and he asked Prabhupad, "How do you know that they mix with women?" Prabhupad explained, "I am a strict brahmachari, and nobody can tell a lie in front of me." Then, Prabhupad told the assembled babajis, "Tell me who of you have not mixed with women for six months?", then, "Who of you have not mixed with women for three months?", then, "Who of you have not mixed with women for one month?", then, "Who of you have not mixed with women for three days?" and finally, "Who of you have not mixed with women since the last night?" (Even if you think about a woman, it is also considered mixing with a woman.) One by one, everyone dispersed. So, Srila Prabhupad took Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj's body and brought it to Mayapur...

* * *

Kali Yuga Brahmans

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class, 25 February 2021
Translated from Bengali, part 10

[A devotee asks a question.]

Not only in our age. Even before, those who killed cows and brahmans in previous ages—in Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapar-yuga—are born as brahmans in Kali-yuga. However, if a brahman becomes a Vaishnav, then there is no question about that. Who is great, a brahman or a Vaishnav? If you have 100,000 rupees, it automatically means you have 1,000 rupees as well. So, 1,000 rupees is brahman, and 100,000 rupees is Vaishnav—it means that those who have the qualities of a Vaishnav automatically have all qualities of a brahman. Gurudev said that if a Kali-yuga brahman becomes a Vaishnav, they become exalted. Other than that, Kali-yuga brahmans live in sin—they associate with widows, they eat wrong things, etc. These things about who brahmans were before are written in the scriptures, in Gaudiya Kantha-hara, in Sri Padma Purana. However, as I have already said, if a brahman becomes a Vaishnav, then there is no such question. All our guru-varga were brahmans—our Gurudev, Param Gurudev were brahmans, but they left everything and came to this line.

[A devotee asks a question about Brahma-jnana.]

Today, brahmans do not even recite the gayatri-mantra. In previous ages, when brahmans spoke, fire would come—fire would come from their mouth! But now nothing good comes from their mouth. When they hear us speak like this, they start talking about rules and regulations. For example, if somebody dies at home, they say you must not water Tulasi Devi, you cannot come into a temple. They only take people away from the service of the Lord. If somebody dies at your home, you cannot come to a temple for one year. What did Mahaprabhu say?

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

Whether you are sleeping, eating, or resting, always chant the Name of Krishna.

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat, Madhya-khanda, 28.28)

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

"By doing this, you will attain success in all respects. There is no other rule but to chant it at every moment."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda, 23.78)

If somebody dies, everybody continues eating at the house, but the service to the Lord is stopped—you cannot water Tulasi Devi, you cannot worship Deities. They cook for themselves, but they cannot serve the Lord. If you see such brahmans, bring them to me—I will shave their heads and pour whey on their heads [fig., a way of public denouncement]. But they will not come—they are too proud of their brahman caste! What did Mahaprabhu say? "Ye jana Krsna bhaje sei bada chatur: those who worship Krishna are very clever."

kiba vipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya
yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei 'guru' haya

"Whether one is a brahman, a sannyasi, or a sudra, regardless of what one is, one can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 8.128)

yei bhaje sei bada, abhakta—hina, chhara
krsna-bhajane nahi jati-kuladi-vichara

"Only a nondevotee can be considered as worthless and abominable: anyone who takes to devotional service is great—there is no consideration of class, caste or any other status for those who have taken up service to Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 4.67)

Whether one is Muslim, a cow-eater or whoever, it does not matter. Even those who stay with me or go to different places with me used to eat beef. I do not eat anything, not even water, from the hands of brahmans, but I eat from their hands. Today's brahmans drink alcohol and eat meat! [Devotee: then they are the chandals (lowly meat-eaters).] This is said in the scriptures.

All right, it is nine o'clock already. I am finishing here.

[His Divine Grace sings 'Sarvasva tomara' and 'Hari Haraye Nama Krsna' and recites the Jaya Dhvani, concluding the final class at the festival in Sri Ekachakra Dham.]

* * *

 Service Quality

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 1
Translated from Bengali

[His Divine Grace recited Jaya Dhvani, Vandana, and starts the programme with chanting the Guru Parampara kirtan.]

By the mercy of Gurupadpadma, we have again, one year later, united all together here, at this very beautiful place, enchanting environment. Sri Nityananda Prabhu appeared in this land to bestow His mercy upon such fallen, lowly, vile souls as ourselves, who live in this world, who have no qualification to practise Krishna consciousness, who do not know anything, who do not understand anything. He appeared on this earth in a place that is called Ekachakra Dham—later, it was renamed and is now known as Virachandrapur in honour of Virachandra Prabhu, Nityananda Prabhu's son, who managed everything here. Sri Nityananda Prabhu Himself left this village at a very young age, when He was only twelve years old—He left with a sannyasi to visit various holy places of India. After that, He met with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, with whom He performed all the pastimes, in Sri Dham Mayapur. Their meeting took place at the temple of Gaura Nityananda—the house of Nandan Acharya. We visit this place every year during the parikrama of Sri Nabadwip Dham.

[A devotee notices ants in the garland of His Divine Grace and takes the garland to shake them off.] Oh God! They do not check the garlands, they do not know what an offence to service (seva-aparadh) this is... Guru Maharaj said, "What a torture it is to be an acharya! They give you a garland, and even that garland bites you." Do you understand? It is necessary to always be alert and make sure there is no defects in your service. When you are giving something to your Guru, you must always see if that thing is clean and neat or not.

You know, I have reprinted Param Guru Maharaj's (Srila Sridhar Maharaj) book Archan Kan, the guidelines for doing Deities' archan. Before we start doing archan, we always check if the chamar (the yuck-tail whisk) is clean or not, if our clothes are clean or not, if the pancha-pradip (the lamp) is clean or not, if the garland is clean or not, if the flowers are clean or not. We make sure everything is clean, but last we should see whether our mind is clean or not. Is your mind clean? To clean our minds, Param Gurudev wrote one very beautiful sloka in Archan Kan. You have put on twelve tilaks, you have made a garland, you have cleaned the asan, you have cleaned everything, but last Param Guru Maharaj wrote the Buddhi-suddhi mantra to clean your mind. I do not know if you read Archan Kan or not, but I saw there that the last sloka is the buddhi-suddhi sloka—after giving all slokas for purifying all paraphernalia, all items, Srila Guru Maharaj wrote a sloka to purify your mind:

divyam sri-hari-mandiradhya-tilakam kantham sumalanvitam
vaksah sri-hari-nama-varna-subhagam sri-khanda-liptam punah
putam suksma-navambaram vimalatam nityam vahantim tanum
dhyayech chhri-guru-pada-padma-nikate sevotsukas cha atmanah

"Meditate that the Lord's Temple (your body) is decorated with shining tilak, your neck bears a beautiful tulasi-mala, your chest is adorned with the Names of Sri Hari and sandalwood paste, you are wearing fine, new, clean cloth, and in your pure, eternal form, you are at the lotus feet of Sri Guru, eager for service."

"O Lord, I have submitted my mind, heart and everything I have at Your holy feet. From there, You please give me the right, the qualification to perform archan." When I saw this sloka, I thought it was very beautiful. We should pray, "Please give me the right to do Your archan."

* * *

Deeply Anxious to Serve

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 2
Translated from Bengali

Our Param Gurudev chanted the glory of Nityananda Prabhu very beautifully. In his final days, he did not even take his mala—he did not chant the Holy Name on his beads. Without his beads, he only kept saying, "Doyal Nitai, Doyal Nitai." His last two years, he only chanted "Doyal Nitai." He only chanted Doyal Nitai and cried, praying to Him...

It our great fortune to be present here, in Sri Ekachakra Dham, which is non-different from Sri Vrindavan Dham. We have come to this holy abode of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. There is Jamuna here. There is Radha Kunda, Shyama Kunda here—it is a little far from here, both ponds have become full, nobody is making any construction. All pastimes are happening here. Vyasadev is also here, he is the great composer of Mahabharata, Srimad Bhagavatam and other scriptures.

[His Divine Grace is distracted by the noise upstairs, in the nat mandir.] Do not talk. This is not a place for idle talks, this is Sri Sri Bhakti-siddhanta Sravan Sadhan, a place where we must talk about devotional teachings (bhakti-siddhanta). I have seen today that many were sitting down during the arati. It is necessary to stand up, it is necessary to do the parikrama of the temple. Yet, some sit here the whole day and talk idle talks. Prajalpa is a big offence. If you practise Krishna consciousness, worship the Lord and at the same time gossip, criticise others, talk about material things, then it is the same as when you keep some water in a pot with holes—no matter how much water you pour, if there are holes, all water will come out. So, no matter how much we practise Krishna consciousness, we will not get any result if we continue doing what is unfavourable to devotion. We will be singing today,

suddha-bhakata-charana-renu
bhajana-anukula
bhakata-seva parama-siddhi
prema-latikara mula

"The dust of pure devotees' feet is favourable to devotion. Serving the devotees is the supreme fulfilment and the root of the creeper of divine love."

prasada-seva karite haya,
sakala prapancha-jaya

"By honouring the Lord's prasad I conquer all worldly illusions."

(By Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

Many of you are householder devotees, living in your homes—you also offer bhog to the Lord every day and take prasad, but can you say that your material illusion (prapancha) has gone away? Why is it not going away? No matter how much we chant the Holy Name, why does no happiness come from chanting? Why do we become tired when we chant the Holy Name? When transcendental love for the Lord comes, there is no question of being unhappy or tired.

If you like rasagullas or some other sweet, you can tell it yourself—if you like sweets very much, you can eat one sweet, two sweets, five, ten, twenty sweets, but after you eat twenty sweets, you will not like it any more, you will not want to eat any more sweets. This is how this material world is, this is how material things are. However, when transcendental love comes, when service mood awakens within you, then our service drive will grow more and more, you will be even more eager and anxious to do service. We must always remember this. We will be anxious to serve more and more and will not like it any more when we have no service. There should be service mood (seva-pravritti). I saw during the arati that the chamar has gone very dirty. You wash your clothes, and you can also wash the chamar—dunk it into water and clean. Nobody calls me and says that the peacock fan has become bad. When they call, they only talk about themselves. I ask them, "How are you?" And they only talk about their own happiness.

How does one become expert in spiritual life? You do not pay attention to the Lord, you do not see what is lacking for the Lord, do not notice that the chamar or the peacock fan has become soiled—it is all right, you cannot provide new things yourself, but you can let your Guru know about it, "If it is possible to bring a peacock fan, it would be good." There are not many places where you can actually get it. There is one shop in Nabadwip where they bring them directly from Vrindavan. It is necessary to go to Nabadwip or Kolkata to get them. There is also a shop at the New Market in Kolkata: they sell chamars by kilo there and then specially set the fan into a silver handle...

Therefore, we must think where Nityananda Prabhu has any inconvenience. When you do service, it must be flawless, perfect. If you do it anyhow—your leg touches the plate, bhoga was not offered, etc.—this is not service. We do pay attention to these things, but you must serve Deities with faith! If you see the Lord as just some wooden deity, clay deity, brass deity, then you will not get the real darshan of the Lord—you will not only be shown a wooden deity. You think, "I will go to see the Lord," you cannot get the darshan of Nitai Gaura with this mentality. You must come to Nitai Gaura with service mood. Yet, here in this world we do not understand anything.

The people of this world understand their own interests very well, but they do not understand the connection of everything with the worship of the Lord (they do not understand that everything in this world is meant for worshipping the Lord). We do not understand what is our relationship with the Lord.

* * *

Spiritual Trade-Off

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 3
Translated from Bengali

When it comes to the knowledge of the relationship, this is not coming to us. A one- or two-year-old child does not understand anything—it can eat soil; the child's mother will then come and take that soil out of the child's mouth—she will not even say anything, she will just take open the child's mouth and take the soil out. However, if you give a sweet to the child after that, then the child will understand, "Oh, I like this much more than what I ate before!" We are also like that. Like small children, we tell the Lord, "I want a car, I want a house." We have no intelligence—we are foolish. This is the same as eating soil—you want a car, you want a house, you want money. I told Maharaj yesterday what is written in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita (I always say it to you all also):

krsna yadi chhute bhakte bhukti mukti diya
kabhu prema-bhakti na dena rakhena lukaiya

"If devotees want enjoyment, liberation, etc., Krishna will set them free by hiding the existence of pure devotion (suddha-bhakti-tattva) and giving them enjoyment, liberation, etc."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 8.18)

Actually, there are two things written. On the one hand, if I want money, a car, a house, etc. from Krishna, the Lord will give this to me and He will make me forget devotion—He will not give me devotion ("All right, you keep crying, You are begging Me so much for some money, a car, a house, etc. So be it. I am giving you this, be happy now"). On the other hand, it is also written:

krsna kahe,—ama bhaje, mage visaya-sukha
amrta chhadi' visa mage,—ei bada murkha
ami—vijna, ei murkhe 'visaya' kene diba?
sva-charanamrta diya 'visaya' bhulaiba

"Krishna says, 'They worship Me, desiring material happiness—leaving aside nectar, they ask for poison. They are great fools. I am very intelligent though. Why will I give these fools material things? Instead, I will give them the nectar of My lotus feet and make them forget the material world."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.38-39)

The Lord says here, "I will give them My lotus feet, and I will make them forget all about the material world." However, before that, the Lord says, "I will not give you devotion, I will not give you My lotus feet!" Both points are there in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, and both point are correct even though there is an apparent contradiction.

This reminds me of Dhruva Maharaj. Dhruva Maharaj went to the forest and spent there five years sitting in one place, unswervingly meditating on Krishna. He did not think about anything else—he was a great king, but he tolerated all kinds of austerity, and Krishna saw that. What did Dhruva Maharaj practise this meditation for? He did not meditate on the Lord to get the Lord—he actually meditated on the Lord to get the throne of his father's kingdom! Still, seeing Dhruva Maharaj's one-pointed determination and meditation, Krishna became pleased. What did Krishna do? Krishna did not come Himself—He first sent to Dhruva Maharaj Narad Goswami in the form of a guru. Sometimes, Krishna comes Himself, and sometimes, He sends His close associates to us. You know this—Krishna Himself comes in the form of a guru or sends one of His associates in the form of a guru to bestow mercy on some fortunate souls. In this way, our Gurudev (the Lord's close associate) came to this world to bestow his mercy on us. So, when Narad Muni came to Dhruva Maharaj, Dhruva Maharaj received spiritual instruction and initiation from him. After that, he stopped his severe meditation and started practising Krishna consciousness according to Narad Muni's instruction. Krishna was again pleased with his service, and then He Himself came to him. Krishna told Dhruva Maharaj, "Here! Take! Take your kingdom! You wanted this throne, then go and take it!" Dhruva Maharaj became shy. He said, "My Lord, please do not embarrass me any further. I was a fool, I was ignorant. I made a mistake by asking You for the throne. Now that I have got You, I do not need any throne any more." He went to the Lord to get the throne, but when He got the Lord, he felt he did not need anything else—he forgot all about the material world. That is why it is said,

krsna kahe,—ama bhaje, mage visaya-sukha
amrta chhadi' visa mage,—ei bada murkha
ami—vijna, ei murkhe 'visaya' kene diba?
sva-charanamrta diya 'visaya' bhulaiba

"Krishna says, 'They worship Me, desiring material happiness—leaving aside nectar, they ask for poison. They are great fools. I am very intelligent though. Why will I give these fools material things? Instead, I will give them the nectar of My lotus feet and make them forget the material world."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.38-39)

The Lord gave Dhruva Maharaj His own lotus feet and he forgot all about his material desires, all his desires for the throne—having got the Lord, he felt he did not need anything else.

We must remember all this. The Lord is truly merciful.

* * *

Greatest Wealth

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 4
Translated from Bengali

We must always watch out for that which is unfavourable to devotion. We always say,

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana
bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara

"Humility, self-submission, embracing the Lord's guardianship, maintaining the faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me', engaging only in activities that are favourable to devotion, rejecting everything unfavourable to devotion."

(Saranagati, 1)

We say all these big, big things, we give lectures, but to what extent are we able to practise it? Just think about it—how hard it is to practise atma-nivedanam, how hard it is to give everything to the lotus feet of the Lord. It means giving absolutely everything to the Lord—shame, fear, honour, all moral obligations, etc. However, we cannot give this up. Can we give up our ego? Tell me. We are proud of money, we are proud of knowledge, we are proud of our friends and family, we are proud of our beauty. Can we give up everything? We cannot.

Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur wrote one very beautiful thing in his commentary. Your have put a fifty kg sack on your head, and you feel pressure, "I have so much burden on my head!" Even if you come to live in an A/C room, will you feel happy in it? You will not. You have a huge weight on your head, then how will you feel at peace? If you take this load off your head, then you will automatically feel peaceful and happy—you will not need an A/C room then. This sack is the burden of your ego. How can you remove this burden? When you offer a full obeisance—when you fall at your Gurudev's feet—then that sack has to be taken down. You are so proud, thinking, "I have a good job," "I run a business," "I am a great landowner," "I am a millionaire," etc. but:

mayare kariya jaya chhadana na yaya
sadhu-gurur krpa vina na dekhi upaya

"It is not possible to conquer maya by engaging in maya. I see no other way to get relief except for the mercy of sadhus."

('Ki rupe paibe seva', Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

If sadhus and Guru bestow their mercy on us, if we can put our heads down at Vaishnavs' lotus feet, then we can overcome this illusory environment. You can remember how Srila Raghunath Das Goswami got liberated from material desires. What did Mahaprabhu tell him? "Go home, do not become crazy!"

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana

"Do not show your false renunciation to people. Serve accepting material things, but without attachment."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 16.238)

"Do not show monkey renunciation by wearing tilaks and a kanthi-mala! Go to Puri and only offer obeisance to all sadhus." This is what he did—even if he saw the same person five times a day, he would offer obeisance to them five times! All his material desires went away. He had a wife, beautiful as an angel, his father was a very big zamindar, but he left everything.

Jivan Chakravarti asked Srila Sanatan Goswami for wealth, and Srila Sanatan Goswami said, "Yes, I had wealth once. When I was Patasaha Hussain Sah's minister, I had wealth, but I am not a minister any more—you can see I live under a tree now, where will I get wealth for you?" When Jivan Chakravarti went away, then he remembered, "Wait! I remember I have found a touchstone the other day, but I threw it away into the sand. Go there and see if you can find it." Jivan Chakravarti was about to go and look for it, but he was fortunate—"Darsane pavitra kara ei tomara guna: souls become purified just by seeing Vaishnavs, such is their power." Jivan Chakravarti got to meet Srila Sanatan Goswami, and he felt another desire in his heart—he thought, "This sadhu must have something greater than this touchstone!" When he asked Srila Sanatan Goswami for that higher wealth, Srila Sanatan Goswami said, "Yes, this wealth is the Holy Name. Chant the Holy Name—this is your real wealth. The richest person is the person who has Krishna."

It is necessary to understand what is the main and the real thing in our lives.

* * *

Never Too Early, Never Too Late

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 5
Translated from Bengali

The people in our country worship Krishna for three reasons. You know, when you have small children (you all had small children, now most of them have grown up and got married, but you can remember what it was like when they were small)—when you were bringing your children up, when you took them on your lap, when you taught them everything—did you do all this hoping to get something in return? No. You brought them up with love. You always carry your baby around and keep your baby on your lap until one-two years old—out of love. You know, when a cow has a calf, you can make the cow go anywhere you want by putting the calf in front of it—the cow will follow the calf wherever you take it; otherwise, you can even beat the cow, but it will not budge. In the same way, if we serve the Lord's devotees—if you run behind the Lord's devotees—then the Lord Himself will run behind you to serve you! You will not have to run behind the Lord, the Lord Himself will run behind you to catch you—if you can serve devotees properly. However, you cannot serve devotees without being a devotee yourself. First become a devotee, then serve devotees. Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, "Among a thousand Vaishnavs, there is only one devotee of Krishna." Wearing tilaks and chanting the Holy Name does not make one a Vaishnav...

[His Divine Grace is distracted and notes:] Why do you suddenly have a headache? Are you not feeling well? This is what happens when you grow old. Everyone will get old, and everyone will have problems. "Vardhakye ekhana upaya-vihina ta'te dina akinchana: now aged, devoid of any means of deliverance, I am poor and worthless." We say, "How can I practise Krishna consciousness now? I will practise when I am old." Those who say or think in this way are cheating the Lord. You think you will practise when you are old, but by the end of your life, all the results of your past actions will be always on your mind—you will always think about what you have done before. To go from one place to another or just to get up from the floor, you will need another person's help—somebody will have to pull you. And you think you will practise spiritual life when you are old?? Your legs will be weak, your head will pain, your back will pain, etc.. When you are sick and have no health, will you like listening to Hari-katha? You will not like practising Krishna consciousness, you will not like listening to anything. Your memory and other powers will also decline. I once asked somebody, "Can you not chant the Holy Name?" The man said, "I cannot—when I chant on the beads, my hand is paining." I told him, "Then chant with your mouth." Then, he said, "My mouth pains too." If you cannot sit on the floor, you can sit on a chair and chant. But you sit and think of your bygone days, "I used to be so strong, I used to work with a hammer, but now I cannot even lift a hammer!" When you become old, you will be thinking in this way...

vrddha-kala aola, saba sukha bhagala,
pida-vase ha-inu katara

"Then old age came, and all happiness fled. Subjugated by disease, I became distressed."

(Saranagati, 6.3)

At the same time, you can get the Lord even when you are old—if you can truly submit yourself to the Lord, with heart and soul. Deceit, duplicity are very bad things. You must not be duplicitous or deceitful. I told you before—if you pour water into a pot with holes, all water will come out. If we cannot control our faults (prajalpa, etc.), then no matter how much we practise, everything will go out.

* * *

Capturing Lord's Heart

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 6
Translated from Bengali

Krishna is so merciful. You cannot understand it...

Krishna loves gopis so much. When He was just three-seven days old, Putana came to kill Krishna, and He knew that—He knew perfectly well that she had come to kill Him, and this is not just a murder—it is a murder of a baby, which is even a greater crime. Uddhav Maharaj said that Krishna had suddenly become overwhelmed. Why? Because He saw Putana coming dressed as a gopi(!)—even though she was fake, she came wearing gopis' clothes, she came behaving like a gopi. So, even though Krishna knew she was fake, even though He knew she was coming to kill Him, when He saw her dressed as a gopi, He became so captivated that He let the demoness Putana take the place of His mother—He let her sit on His mother's holy seat and drank her breast milk!

As Krishna drank her milk, Putana left her body. Krishna grasped her so tight that Putana started screaming, "Leave me! Let me go! Enough! Stop it!" But Krishna thought to Himself, "I do not grab hold of anyone so easily, but when I do catch someone, I do not let them go!" In other words, Krishna is saying, "I do not give My mercy to anyone so easily, but when I do give My mercy to someone, I do not leave them."

When Krishna grabbed hold of Putana, He did not want to massacre the house, so He took Putana a little far from the house—there, Putana left her body, and her real form of a demoness came out.

Now, someone can ask, "What is the proof that Krishna bestowed His mercy on her?" Because her demoness body was enormous and it was impossible to cremate it, Vraja-basis chopped her body into small pieces and burnt it in several pyres. When Putana's body was burning, the whole Goloka, Mahavan, the entire Vrindavan Dham became filled with the auspicious smell of camphor and sandalwood. Then you can understand it from that. Do our bodies smell of sandalwood when they are being burnt? They are not, but Putana's body became holy:

diksa-kale bhakta kare atma-samarpana
sei kale krsna tare kare atma-sama
sei deha kare tara chid-anandamaya
aprakrta-dehe tanra charana bhajaya

"At the time of initiation, when devotees submit themselves to the Lord, Krishna accepts them as His very own and transforms their bodies into transcendental bodies, with which they then serve the lotus feet of the Lord."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta, Antya-lila, 4.192-193)

Krishna is very merciful. If you can do just some small service to Him with heart and soul, you can capture the Lord...

* * *

 Life of Loving Service

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 7
Translated from Bengali

So, I was saying, there are three kinds of people who worship the Lord. It is expressed in Sri Yamunacharya's sloka, you can find it in Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamritam (3.18):

sakrt tvad akara vilokanasaya
trni-krtan-uttama-bhukti-muktibhih
mahatmabhir mam avalokyatam naya
ksane 'pi te yad viraho 'ti duhsahah

"O my Lord, please lead me into the glance of those great devotees who, in their heart's aspiration to only once behold Your divine form, consider sense enjoyment and liberation to be like straw, and whose separation is unbearable for even You."

"I aspire for the association of such devotees, and I cannot tolerate separation from them!"

This desire is love, divine love for the Lord and His devotees. However, those who worship the Lord in our country do it for three reasons. (1) Somebody worships the Lord out of fear, thinking, "God is the master of the entire creation, and if I do not worship Him, He will make me suffer." (2) Other people worship the Lord hoping to get some result, "I will serve Krishna, and He will give me something in return." (3) And the third type of worshippers are those who worship the Lord out of sense of duty, "We are jivatma, jiva souls, and Krishna, the Supreme Lord, is the master of the universe, Paramatma, so I must serve Him."

You must remember one thing. There is no relationship between our bodies and the Lord. It is our soul, what we call 'I', that has a relationship with the Lord, and the soul (atma) knows perfectly well what Paramatma wants, what Paramatma needs. The body does not and cannot know this. Therefore, we must do that which is beneficial for the soul—to please the soul.

That is why we must never identify ourselves with our bodies. If you identify yourself with the body (if you think you are this body), then you will not get the Lord. We always think in terms of body, we always identify ourselves with the body. We must forget this.

Many people in this world worship the Lord out of sense of duty, but this is not so for Gaudiya Vaishnavs, for our guru-varga, our acharyas of Sri Rupanuga sampradaya—they worship and serve the Lord out of love. "I will very happily, with much enthusiasm cook for the Lord, I will eagerly make garlands for the Lord, I will eagerly clean His house." Before you clean your room, you must clean the room of the Lordships.

I will live in the house and always clean the Lord's room—I always think about the Lord, I will not worry about myself. I will love the Lord, I will adore the Lord. When there is a small child in our house, we always think, "When will the child eat? What will the child eat?" Just as you look after your child with much love and affection, you must look after the Lord with that kind of love and affection. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur said,

visaye ye priti ebe achhaye amara
sei-mata priti hauk charane tomara

"May I have the same affection and attraction to your feet that I now have for material things."

(Gitavali, 4.5, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Devotee: At the same time, if we do not take care of our body, how will we serve the Lord?

[His Divine Grace chuckles.] Take care of the body...? We will not even think of it—the Lord will take care of my body. What will I think about my body for? The Lord will take care of my body. If the Lord diverts some danger in your life, then it does not matter what you do or do not do—He will divert it. The Lord will protect me. If you worry about your body, you can remember Vasudev Vipra. He actually would pick up worms falling from his sores and put them back into the sores. If he worried about his body, he would never do that.

Devotee: No, I mean taking medicine, etc.

No, you are taking medicine, etc. by the wish of the Lord—you do everything as the Lord wants. If I go crazy, it will not bring me any benefit. It is necessary to use your brain. You must not behave crazy. The Lord has given you intelligence, and you must use it to judge what should be done and what should not be done.

If we do not run our lives in this way, we will not get the supreme result.

* * *

Our Dearmost

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 8
Translated from Bengali

Sri Nityananda Prabhu left Padmavati Devi and Hadai Pandit and roamed door to door to deliver this world. In Nabadwip, Srivas Pandit's wife Sri Malini Devi had very much affection for Nityananda Prabhu. She was not a young woman, but Nityananda Prabhu treated her as His mother—so much so that milk would flow from Malini Devi's breasts, amd Nityananda Prabhu drank it. Do you understand what kind of vatsalya-prema this is? Malini Devi has so much divine parental love for Nityananda Prabhu that milk would flow from her breasts.

You know, one day, a crow came and carried away a pot that Malini Devi was using for worship. Malini Devi began to cry, "Srivas Pandit will get to know about it, and he will scold me for not taking care of the Lord's things. How did this crow take it?" Then, Nityananda Prabhu came home and saw his Matri Devi (holy mother) crying. He asked,

"Mother, what has happened? Why are you crying?"

Malini Devi said, "Just look at it. If Prabhu comes and finds out about it, he will scold me. A crow has come and flown away with a pot!"

Then, Nityananda Prabhu said, "Mother, do not worry," and He cried out to the crow, "Hey, crow! My mother is crying! Give the pot back!"

Suddenly, the crow came back, kept the pot in its place, and flew away. Seeing this, Malini Devi thought, "Gosh, He is not an ordinary man!" and started singing the glories of Nityananda Prabhu.

There are so many pastimes of Nityananda Prabhu like that. Here too, at the appearance place of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, dacoits came to burglar the house, but Nityananda Prabhu rescued those dacoits. They tried to burglar the house on the first day, second day, third day, and finally, on the last day, the ring leader of those dacoits became blind! He came to Nityananda Prabhu and prayed, "Prabhu, I want to serve You." Nityananda Prabhu agreed, "All right, you do not need to serve right here, but you can go and tell all your dacoit friends about the Name of Gaura! Spread the Name of Gaura among all your dacoits."

The day after tomorrow is the holy appearance day of this Nityananda Prabhu. Who is there in this world who is truly close and dear to you except for Nityananda Prabhu? Who else can you call your dear and near? If you can get the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, you will get the mercy of Gauranga. Nityananda Prabhu is Guru-tattva. You cannot get anything without the mercy of Gurudev... We want the mercy of this Nityananda Prabhu.

[Sounds of kirtan coming from another temple nearby.] Can you hear the kirtan they are singing? This is the sankirtan of apasampradaya (misconception movements). This is such a big offence of the Holy Name. In this world, people mostly make offences against the Holy Name...

* * *

Worshipful Mood

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 9
Translated from Bengali

Param Guru Maharaj wrote one very beautiful thing. You all know that Gauranga Mahaprabhu is the combined form of Sri Radha-Krishna. Gauranga Mahaprabhu took two things from Radharani—Her heart (mood) and halo (colour). If you take the heart and halo from someone, does that mean the person has nothing left? So, where did the rest of Sri Radha go? Krishna took Radha's heart and halo, and the remainder is Gadadhar. Therefore, Radharani's incarnation is Gadadhar. Generally, we hear that Svarup Damodar and Ray Ramananda were the closest associate of Mahaprabhu, but there is a more intimate associate—Gadadhar Pandit. Gadadhar Pandit's guru is Pundarik Vidyanidhi. A few days ago it was the vasanta-panchami day (Saraswati-puja)...

Somebody asked me about Saraswati-puja. I told that it is OK to worship Saraswati, but there are two Saraswatis—one is Suddha Saraswati, and the other one is Vidya Saraswati. In this world, people become big engineers, big scientists, big asses—this is all Vidya Saraswati. It is said in the scriptures that the real knowledge is the knowledge owing to which you become attached to the lotus feet of Krishna. This is the true result of knowledge. Mahaprabhu told this to Digvijayi Pandit.

jada-vidya yata, mayara vaibhava,
tomara bhajane badha
moha janamiya, anitya samsare,
jivake karaye gadha

"All mundane learning is an exhibition of maya and an obstacle to Your service. It brings about infatuation for the temporary world and makes an ass of the soul."

(Saranagati, 3.3)

Material knowledge (apara vidya) is Vidya Saraswati, but we worship Suddha Saraswati, who represents transcendental knowledge (para vidya). We never worship anyone for the sake of material knowledge. People gain such knowledge and become dacoits, murderers, bad people, etc. I have a friend who works as a superintendent at the jail in Dum Dum—he told me, "Maharaj, what sin have I committed to get this job?" He told me about some pickpockets. If you put a flower or a fruit in some water, it floats, and those pickpockets thrust a knife into it in such a way that it cuts the fruit but not even a wave appears. The superintended said, "All right, I have kept an expensive pen in my pocket, if you can steal it, then you are a real pickpocket." The next day, he realised that the pen was not in his pocket any more. He had no idea how the pen got stolen—he did not even feel anything. This is how intelligent pickpockets are. You keep money in a bank, and somebody can be in another country, but they can hack the bank and steal that money. How much knowledge one can have. This is all mundane knowledge (apara vidya).

So, we worship Suddha Saraswati, it is necessary if you want to get the result. Unless we get the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, we will not have any brain. We must have the mercy of Nitaichand. When will we attain His mercy?

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

"When will Sri Chaitanya be merciful to me? When will I reach the shade of the Vaishnavs' feet?"

kabe ami chhadiba e visaya-abhimana
kabe visnu-jane ami kariba sammana

"When will I give up this mundane ego? When will I honour the Lord's devotees?"

gala-vastra krtanjali vaisnava-nikate
dante trna kari' dandaiba niskapate

"With a cloth around my neck, joined palms, and straw between my teeth, I will sincerely submit myself at the Vaishnav's feet."

We must not have any duplicity—we must speak openly. You must tell everything to your Gurudev openly. Just as when the patient does not tell everything openly to the doctor, the doctor cannot administer medication; in the same way, if you hide something from your Guru, you will not get the medicine—you will not be able to understand everything properly. Therefore, we pray, "When will my mind become pure and I will be able to have the darshan of the Lord? When will I be able to love the Lord? When will this pull towards the Lord come to me? When will I be able to love the Lord like His devotees do? When will I be able to serve the Lord the way the Vraja-gopis do?" We must think in this way...

* * *

Eternal Life Membership

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
5 February 2020, part 10
Translated from Bengali

We will chant kirtans now, it is going to be the time to offer bhoga soon. I will speak again tomorrow. Tomorrow is Varaha Dvadasi. Break the ekadasi fast tomorrow in the morning. I have already told that it is necessary to do the archan of the Deities first, then offer special sweet rice in the morning. The paran time is given in the calendar.

Everybody who does not already have the book Nityananda-mahimamrita should buy it. It is a very beautiful book, and it is not expensive at all. You can read it at home. There is another recently published book, Sri Puri Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala. At Gaura Purnima time also another book will come out, Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala. It is written in simple language, and I am doing correction and proofreading now--I will have it printed by Gaura Purnima. If you do not have these books, you can buy them at the book stall.

Some books cost fifteen rupees—you cannot buy anything with this money. If you eat one meal, one hundred rupees will be gone—and if you want to eat something nice, then it is necessary to spend two-three hundred rupees. We do not ask so much from any one. The only request to you all is that you come to this line, and if you buy holy books and study them at home, then Nityananda Prabhu will be pleased. What makes the Lord happy? Where does the Lord mostly stay? He is there where devotees speak about Him. When such discussions take place here in Sri Ekachakra Dham, Nityananda Prabhu becomes very happy, and Hadai Pandit, Padmavati Devi become even happier—devotees comes and talk about their son, glorify their son. If you listen to such talks with heart and soul, very attentively, Nityananda Prabhu truly becomes happy and pleased with you—if you can listen truly with your heart. It is necessary to have service mood and eagerness to listen. Whatever you try to do, it is necessary to have enthusiasm and work hard. If you want to become a doctor, you have to be very hard-working, otherwise you can never become a doctor. If I thought, "Oh, I have come to this line, and I will serve somehow, anyhow," it will not do. It is necessary to work and to make the effort...

We must use everything for the service of the Lord. The other day I laughed—(old) Ashok Prabhu told me about one rice mill. I had got a bill from them that they would give us fifty kg of rice, but when Ashok Prabhu went to the mill, the people tried to give him less. They think, "I have given them less, I have cheated Maharaj very nicely!" But I laughed when I heard this—they do not cheat me, they only cheat themselves. You think, "I have given Maharaj two or ten kg less," but do you think you will become very rich with those ten kg of rice and that I will become very poor? What profit is it to you if you give me less rice? This is how we do collection. We go mill to mill and collect from them. Gurudev told me, "If I have become the acharya, does it mean I will not go for collection? No, I will still go house to house..." When we went to one place recently, I was outside in the car, and somebody started shouting, "Go away! Go away!" And I told Ashok Prabhu, "I will go to this mill!" I told him to remember the place. When we went there, the owner met us with obeisances and folded palms. I told the mill owner to give a quintal (100 kg) of rice, and if not possible, then fifty kg. The man said, "Well, I did not give you anything last time, so take one hundred kg this time." I said, "OK," and he gave us one hundred kg rice! In this way, the Lord does not keep us lacking anything.

Before this Nityananda Trayodasi festival, I was thinking whether I will be able to finish the rooms in time. I hurried the workers so much, and they managed to finish everything—only the painting behind is still not complete. I did not get time to supervise the works here—I went to Ganga Sagar, then I went to Basirhat, Hooghly, South India, etc. for preaching. I have to go to so many places for preaching. Apart from that, I have gone twice for rice collection—still one-two more days are left. I have no time at all. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have forty-eight hours a day. Now I also stay up till 1-1:30 a.m., writing. After that, I wake up in the morning and have to go out to different places. The whole day passes in this way. I am trying, trying to please the Lord, to please Gurudev. My only desire is to make Gurudev happy. If devotees are happy and everything is good for devotees, I like it very much. When devotees do not get prasad, if devotees struggle and do not get a proper place to sleep, I feel much pain. If I do not get a proper place to stay, I struggle, and I know that devotees also struggle in the same way.

We cannot see everyone as equal, to feel for others like for ourselves. Not everybody has this kind of fortune. So many people wander around much but they have not been able to become members of this family. I went to one mill the other day, and the man told me, "I am a life member at ISKCON!" I told him, "And we are recruiting for future life's membership." It is the truth. You become a member in this life and serve the Lord, but what will become of you in your next birth? This is what you must think about. We do want any particular result, but we must be careful that we do not become insects, dogs, cats, etc. in our future births. So, we are recruiting you for your future life membership. This is die to live, as Srila Sridhar Maharaj told. The man said he was a life member, and he will be this member as long as he is alive in this world, but this is not the point—we want be members life after life. We want to be members after death also, eternally. We accept the eternal membership to stay within the service to the lotus feet of Krishna eternally, birth after birth. There is such a vast difference between our missions. It is necessary to understand what the difference is.

All right, it is late now. We must finish by 9 p.m.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay

[His Divine Grace chants kirtans and completes the evening class.]

[Between kirtans, His Divine Grace says:]

When you chant kirtans, you must not only chant them—you must understand the meaning. The other day, I was in Uluberia, one devotee asked me about one word from the bhoga arati:

yasomati-ajnapeye dhanistha anita
sri-krsna-prasada radha bhunje haye prita

"Being requested by Yasoda, Dhanistha brings Sri Krishna's remnants to Radha, who eats them joyfully."

He asked me, "What is 'dhanistha'?" [He understood it as something called 'dhanistha' is brought to Krishna on the order of Mother Yasoda.] I told him, "You have been singing it for so many years and you do not know what it means? Dhanistha is the name of one gopi. On the order of Mother Yasoda, Dhanistha bring prasadam for Krishna."

* * *

Spiritual Diligence

Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 1
Translated from Bengali

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

"The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill—all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First of all, I am offering my full obeisance at the holy lotus feet of Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, begging him for his causeless mercy, after that I am offering my obeisance to all Guru-varga, to all my God-brothers and sisters, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees, to all devotees, and I am praying to you all for your mercy to this low soul.

Today is the adhivas of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's holy appearance day, and today is also Varaha Dvadasi—the appearance day of Lord Varahadev. You have heard the kirtan Dasavatara Stotram; there are ten incarnations of the Lord. Krishna assumed the form of Varahadev, a boar. The Supreme Lord can take different forms. The Lord manifests first as four-armed Narayan, then Vasudev, Mul-Sankarshan, then Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Sankarshan. From there, the Lord manifests Himself also as Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, and Karanodakasayi Vishnu. There are all these various incarnations of the Lord. On today's day, we perform Varahadev's archan. Lord Varahadev likes very nice sweet rice, so we make and offer special sweet rice today after the archan. After that, we all break the fast.

You have come here as a result of a very great fortune. You have come here after so many births. Even having got a human birth—we have been born as humans many times before finally getting this birth here in Bharata Bhumi (India)—if we cannot serve the Lord, if we cannot worship the Lord, which is possible only in a human birth, if we cannot live this human birth properly, then we do not know where we will be demoted to next lifetime.

When you study at school or university, you must study the whole year—if you study only at the time of the exam, you will not pass; it is necessary to study regularly, little by little during the whole year. If you study regularly, every day, then you will definitely pass the exam. Our life is also like that. We serve every day, eternally. If you come for the festival, dance, chant kirtans—if you come once a year, chant, "Nitai! Nitai!"—but then you go back to your home and to your material life and forget everything, it will not work. Students study a little by little every day and at the end of the year they take an exam, when it is understood whether or not they have been studying diligently or not. In our spiritual life also, we must study and learn little by little every day.

Many of you cannot sing kirtans. Why? The Lord Himself says that it means you do not practise properly at home...

* * *

Perfect Chastity

Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 2
Translated from Bengali

You are always so busy with your work—you are always so busy only with the happiness of your body, with money, food, clothes. People do not remember the Lord, do not chant the Lord's Name, do not chant the Lord's kirtan, do not think how to please the Lord. You think you wake up, only ring the bell and offer some incense and flowers, and the Lord is happy with you—you think you ring the bell, offer some flower and incense, this is how the Lord is worshipped. I know that this is what you do every day, but this is not the worship of the Lord. When you worship the Lord, you must sit in front of the Lord, you must chant the Lord's kirtan (glorify the Lord, chant the Lord's glories). You must chant the Lord's Name—play karatals or just clap your hands and sing the glory of the Lord. You must chant the Lord's Names.

Chant guru-vandana, Vaishnav-vandana, Nityananda's vandana, Gaura Hari's vandana, the Lord's vandana. Buy the kirtan guide books, it is only twenty rupees—it is written there what kirtans you should sing in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Most kirtans are chanted in the morning and in the evening, not so much in the afternoon (at noon). At noon, you just offer the bhog and chant the bhoga arati. If you can chant kirtans in the morning and in the evening, it is good. Wake up in the morning and practise. It is necessary to develop this habit. We sing in the morning,

udila aruna purava-bhage
dvija-mani gora amani jage
bhakata-samuha la-iya sathe
gela nagara-vraje

“The sun arises in the east, and the jewel of the brahmans, Sri Gorachand, awakes. Taking His devotees with Him, He goes out about the town.”

You must wake up when the sun arises—wake up 1 hour 34 minutes before the sunrise. Remember this. This is what "aruna udaya" means. You must get out of your bed 1 hour 34 minutes before the sunrise.

udila aruna purava-bhage
dvija-mani gora amani jage
bhakata-samuha la-iya sathe
gela nagara-vraje

“The sun arises in the east, and the jewel of the brahmans, Sri Gorachand, awakes. Taking His devotees with Him, He goes out about the town.”

We must do parikrama together with devotees. If you cannot do that, you can come during the Kartik parikrama for one month and the rest of the time practise at home—do Tulasi parikrama at home. If you can, make a Tulasi temple and do the parikrama around it four times. Do Tulasi parikrama every morning and evening.

You must follow this. If a doctor gives you prescription but you do not follow it, your disease will not be cured.

We are wasting our time. I sometimes see when I go out in a car that so many people come to the market in the evening that even a car cannot go there. In the evening, people come in crowds to the market. They gather every evening for one hour—they drink tea, meet with friends, relatives, etc. But these are not your friends and relatives—they are disguised dacoits! They look like your friends, but they behave like dacoits. They will suck your blood to the last drop. A husband works the whole life, and when he dies, his wife continues taking half of his pension even after his death. You have to serve your wife even after your death! Just look at this. You do not like to hear this, but you must understand what I am saying. People are so attached to their wives! If only they had this kind of attachment to the Lord! If only people thought, "I will keep aside some money so that it can be used for the Lord even after my death." How many people think like this? Guru, Vaishnavs, and devotees think like this. When Gurudev disappeared, he left much money, and that money was used to make this temple here in Ekachakra. Gurudev saw only the beginning of the construction here, he did not see the final temple. Those who always submit themselves to the Lord, surrender themselves to the Lord, use everything in the service of the Lord. They have so much love and affection for the Lord!

I have seen Gurudev's example. When I was the manager at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math (Nabadwip), Gurudev would come about four times a year to the temple, and he would want to see the records. He told me to keep record of all expenses—I had a ledger where I wrote down all expenses and incoming donations. Gurudev also told me, "Even if you get one rupee donation, you have no right to spend it on yourself. If you get one rupee, you must come and give it with me. Later, if you need ten rupees, you can come, ask me, and I will give it to you." This is what Gurudev taught me. I gave everything to Gurudev, and when I needed money, I could come and ask him even for one lakh rupees (for construction, etc.). I never spent a single rupee on myself.

One time Gurudev's younger brother took two hundred rupees from me, and I wrote in the ledger that I had given two hundred rupees to Dhananjaya. Gurudev asked me later, "Why did Dhananjaya take two hundred rupees?" I replied, "He did not tell me." Then, Gurudev called Dhananjaya (he was staying at the temple—because he was Gurudev's younger brother, Srila Sridhar Maharaj gave him shelter at the temple, and he was looking after the store room) and asked him, "Dhananjay, why did you take two hundred rupees from Vinod?" Dhananjaya said, "To buy keo-karpin oil for mother." I cannot repeat the word that Gurudev used that day—I cannot use such words in front of you. Gurudev said, "Your mother used to survive eating muri, and now she has come here and lives like a zamindari, taking nice prasad. They bring her prasad to the room before the offering is made to the Deities. She used to have no mustard oil, she used to have no proper clothes, and now that she has come to the temple she is buying keo-karpin oil?!" Gurudev spoke like this about his own mother; he never even called her "mother"—he always referred to her as "Dhananjay's mother."

Gurudev also told me one thing. His mother used to think, "Oh, Vinod had become the manager, now he is so proud that he does not come to my room any more!" I visited her before, but maybe just a few times, and I knew why I did not go to her house any more. Gurudev told me, "You can go to all rooms in the temple, but you must never go to that woman's room." She was an old lady (over eighty years old), but Gurudev prohibited me to go into her room. I heard why later, and I understood it. After Gurudev told me not to enter her room, I never once went to her. By the Lord's wish, she left her body when I was out of the temple, doing collection. I got the news through someone, and I told them to take care of everything. I had service (I was doing collection), and Gurudev did not tell me to go back, "Oh, Dhananjay's mother passed away, come back to the temple," so I did not come. I was actually relieved because the problem was solved.

In this way, I followed Gurudev's every word. This is why Gurudev loved me so much—I have never got this kind of love from anyone. Gurudev chastised me very much, but he also loved me very much.

* * *

Follow Mahaprabhu's Teachings

Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 3
Translated from Bengali

When I first came to the Math, I remember I had been at the temple for one year at that time, and there were others who had been at the temple for twenty years. We would all sit together to take prasad. I would come, distribute prasadam for everyone, and then sit to take prasad myself. Actually, I remember I would read Chaitanya-charitamrita at the class, then come to distribute prasadam, and then I would sit and the storekeeper would give me prasad. One day, when I sat down, the storekeeper (Yadu Gopal Prabhu was in charge of the store room at that time) gave milk to everyone, but when he came to me, he put curd on my plate. Everybody asked, "What is going on? He is a new boy, how come he is getting curd?! He has not been at the temple for even a year, how come there is curd on his plate?" The storekeeper said, "No use telling this to me. This is an order from the 'head office'." This is how Gurudev looked after me from the beginning—he noticed everything. He had heard that I did not drink milk, so he arranged for curd to be given to me. I did not particularly like curd—I actually do not eat it on ekadasi or other days. You know, Mahaprabhu said, "Give me laphra (a very simple dish of mixed vegetables), and give milk and cakes to all the devotees." I do not have attachment to food—I did not have it even before too. When I went to the field in the morning, I would take some fried chilli with some rice and go. Even if I did not get anything, I never complained about it, "Oh I have not got prasad."

Yesterday, I was sitting in a mill and got a phone call from a devotee from here, Ekachakra. He is foolish—he said, "Maharaj, we have not got prasad! They are cooking less, and we are taking prasad very late!" How foolish this is—they are so attached to food. If you do not get prasad at your own home, what do you do? You cook and then you can take something. Do you have to call Gurudev and tell him about it?! I have to tolerate these things... You are in your own home here, but do you think this is your own home? You call me saying you have not got prasad, but we were at the mill that time we had not taken prasad ourselves. Because I was with foreign devotees, and I know they get hungry, I went to the market and got them some sweets (I do not eat rasagullas myself, but I got some for them). I knew that if we were to drive back to the temple, it would take a long time, and then we would not have been able to visit all mills. We had a goal to collect a certain amount of rice (one ton), and I thought that by hook or by crook we had to make it to this goal. So, we too did not get prasadam that day, but who will we complain to? They blame Sripad Niriha Maharaj that he had told them to cook less, and I told him, "Why are you making Vaishnav aparadh? If your house is on fire, will you let it burn? If you criticise somebody behind their back, this is a Vaishnav aparadh."

I had told them before that they could cook more in the afternoon, but not so much in the evening because if you cook too much in the evening, then you will have to feed cold rice to cows, etc. and even if you want to, it is not possible to eat much of old cold rice. People always say about me that I waste so much food, and I always scold devotees at the time of Gaura Purnima: is there any lack? Why cook less? After that people say, "Oh, Acharya Maharaj is wasting so much, every day he throws so much rice away!" Does that harm me in any way? What loss is that for me? I think it is your house that becomes poor, not mine. Can anyone make the Lord poor? The Lord is the master of the entire universe—can anyone or anything make Him poor? Therefore, do not gossip behind others' backs about what others are doing or not doing. This is not Krishna consciousness. Do not criticise or blame anyone. Gurudev always said: always talk about the good qualities of others. If somebody has ten bad qualities, they must also have one-two good qualities, so you must accept their good qualities and overlook the rest. It is necessary to understand this, but they do not understand it. These things happened before too, even in Mahaprabhu's time.

When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was praising Srila Sanatan Goswami, somebody else's face became sour. Mahaprabhu did it on purpose—he wanted to see how others would react when another person was being praised in front of them. So, Mahaprabhu praised Srila Sanatan Goswami and watched others' faces—He saw devotees thought, "Oh, we are staying together with Mahaprabhu in Puri, but Mahaprabhu does not praise us! Sanatan Goswami is from Vrindavan, how come his name comes up?" This is what others said or thought, but Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhu and Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu did such a great service—others did not think about that... Moreover, one time, Srila Jagadananda Pandit told Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhu, "Go back to Vrindavan! Go back to Vrindavan! You have been here for so long, why are you still in Puri?" He had come from Vrindavan after a very long time to stay with Mahaprabhu—did Mahaprabhu tell him to leave? He did not, but Jagadananda Pandit told him, "Your work is done here—Ratha Yatra is over, the chariots have already returned to the temple, so why are you still here?" When Mahaprabhu got to hear about this, He chastised Jagadananda Pandit very much, "Who are you to say this? You were born yesterday, and Sanatan is My guru! He teaches even Me, but you are telling him to go away!"

There are people in the world who did not get devotion so easily. For example, Pradyumna Misra was sent to see Ramananda Ray, and he did not like it when he saw Ramananda Ray training girls to dance. It is not so easy to understand devotion. It took Pradyumna Misra time to understand everything gradually. It is not easy to understand how much devotion who has. That is why, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu always taught others, and it is necessary to discuss what Mahaprabhu taught us. We must always try to understand it and follow it.

* * *

Lord Varahadev's Appearance

Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 4
Translated from Bengali

Today is the appearance day of Lord Varahadev.

There were two gatekeepers, Jay and Vijay, in Vaikuntha. They guarded the door of Lord Narayan's room and made sure no disturbance came to Lord Narayan and Laksmi Devi. One time, the four sons of Brahma (Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanat-kumara and Sanatana) came to the gate naked to see the Lord. Jay and Vijay did not let them in, so the four sons of Brahma cursed them. Then, Narayan heard the noise outside and came out. The two brothers, Jay and Vijay, cried to the Lord, "They wanted to enter Your room. We did not want to disturb Your rest, so we did not let them in."

Srila Prabhupad also told this: sometimes, some devotees come to see Gurudev, and servitors say that Gurudev is not well. This is a wrong conception. Gurudev is never unwell. If you think, "Gurudev is not well," it means that you see Gurudev as a common mortal man. Many say, "Oh, Gurudev's health is not good, I cannot go now." This is a wrong idea, you see Gurudev as a mortal man. Therefore, it is necessary to always think what you are saying or doing.

So, Jay and Vijay told Lord Narayan, "They have cursed us to be born on earth." Then, Narayan said, "So be it." Jay and Vijay cried, "But why, Prabhu?" "I am sitting here and getting too fat, but I need some exercise for My arms and legs. I want to have some fight, but who will I fight with? I will fight with My own men. So, since Brahma's sons said, you have to be born on earth. If you want to be born as My devotees and live meditating on Me and worshipping Me, it will take you seven birth to come back, and if you choose to become My enemies and agree to fight with Me, it will take you three births." Jay and Vijay said, "Prabhu, we want to come back soon, so we choose three births."

This is how Jay and Vijay were born three times. In Satya-yuga, they were Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa. In Treta-yuga, they were born as Ravan and Kumbakarna, and in Dvapar-yuga as Dantavakra and Sisupal. So, when one of them became Hiranyaksa and harassed the demigods from heaven, the Lord assumed the form of a boar (Lord Varahadev) and slew the demon. Lord Varahadev is also the master of Koladwip.

Today is Sri Varaha Dvadasi. There are ten incarnations of the Lord, and the incarnation of Lord Varahadev is one of them. Assuming the form of a boar, the Lord slew Hiranyaksa...

* * *

Embracing Hardships

Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 5
Translated from Bengali

Today is a very important for us day—it is the adhivas (eve) of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's appearance day.

[Clamour in the audience.] Do not talk. No prajalpa. Never talk gramya-katha (village talks), never talk gramya-varta (mundane news). You always talk as it is, but the less you talk, the better it is for you. You must always talk about the Lord, about Lord Krishna. The problem is that we do not have patience. The most important thing is to have patience. We do not have the power of patience, the power of tolerance. We do not want to accept any austerity, but we must think, "Dear Lord, give me more austerity, give me more and more austerity." Those who go to Haridwar or jungle to avoid any difficulty or austerity are mukti-kami—they want liberation, they do not like any disturbance or problems. Who lives in this world without any troubles, tell me?

When you go to cook for the Lord, your eyes will burn, you will cry, but Srimati Radharani also cooked sweet rice with so much struggle and fed it to Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu. She took so much trouble—now you cook using gas or wood, but in those days, you would have to walk along the streets and gather dry branches and leaves! Sachi Mata also took so much trouble cooking for Nimai—smoke, heat, burning eyes, etc.. She struggled so much. And you want to cook at leisure with all comfort—no, your eyes will burn, smoke will come. If you want to get the Lord, you have to struggle. When you serve the Lord, you have to struggle. When you suffer and struggle, that is the mercy of the Lord. When you suffer, your service mood will increase. You will try to serve the Lord, and obstacles will come, you will suffer, you will struggle—this is your mercy. Do not think that this is sadness or pain—you must think this is your happiness.

tomara sevaya, duhkha haya yata,
seo ta' parama sukha

"All the distress I encounter in Your service is also my greatest happiness."

(Saranagati 16.4)

Troubles, problems, disturbances—so many things will come. If you run away, then you must know that you could not do any service. If you can overcome all obstacles and troubles, then you will be a gainer.

Therefore, we must understand and pray, "Dear Lord, please give me more austerity. Give me more and more austerity. I am serving You, my Lord—give me more austerity!" You do not understand the agony of the gopis, their separation...

Krishna left them and went away—who can understand this pain? When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was later in Gambhira, what agony did He experience? Overcome by the mood of Srimati Radhika, in a frenzy, He was madly looking for Krishna. His agony of separation was such that He was as if in a burning room.

"Where has Kanu gone? Where will I find Krishna? Where am I to go? What am I to do?" He would beat His head against the wall, and blood would flow from His nose and mouth because of that pain. This pain, this mood of separation is the highest mood. "Where am I to go to see Krishna again?!" This is the pain we must always feel.

You can never get the Lord without any struggle or pain. Can you say who has got the Lord without any effort? Everybody struggled. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami, Srila Sanatan Goswami, Srila Rupa Goswami, and even the Lord Himself. You can also see the example of Sri Nityananda Prabhu Himself—His family had an enormous land (their land stretched from here all the way to Rampurhat; and people are now enjoying with this land), they were very wealthy, but He left everything. He would roam the streets as if mad, chanting,

bhaja gauranga, kaha gauranga, laha gaurangera nama re
ye jana gauranga bhaje, sei amara prana re

"Worship Gauranga! Say Gauranga! Take Gauranga's Name! Those who worship Gauranga are My heart and soul!"

Mahaprabhu was also like that. He is the Supreme Lord Himself, but Nimai was born in the house of a simple brahman, you know it. When He was Krishna and lived in Dvaraka, He lived in kingly palace, slept on a royal bed, but in Nabadwip, after taking sannyas, He slept on a bed of dry leaves, on the ground! He was always absorbed in thoughts about Krishna. If the Supreme Lord can teach us this, then, if we want to become His devotees, if we want to become His followers, then we must live like Him—we must always go door to door and preach...

* * *

Service: Labour of Love

Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 6
Translated from Bengali

You must go out, door to door. You are happy to be staying in a big temple, in a big building, sleeping in a big house. This is not Krishna consciousness. You stay at the temple, do some odd services here and there, and live the rest of the time at leisure...

nidralasya hata sukarye virata
akarye udyogi ami

"I am subdued by laziness and sleep, averse to performing good deeds, and eager to perform sinful deeds."

If you spend your days in laziness and sleep, this is not Krishna consciousness. You must always think about this. Yet, we understand things in a wrong way—we do not want to live amidst austerity. Those who are truly Gaudiya Vaishnavs, they want austerity. "O Lord, whatever austerity You give me amidst Your service, give it! Whatever misery You give me, give it! I will bear all sadness happily. I do not mind any unhappiness as long as You are happy." This is the conception and meditation of Gaudiya Vaishnavs. They never want to live at leisure, with comfort, in some hotel room, etc. No, they think, "Whatever pain comes, let it come—I will accept it and carry it happily on my head!" We must always think about it. You must also learn to be like this. The more austerity you get, the more mercy you get. Whatever pain you are getting, that is your mercy.

I remember now something that Guru Maharaj said. There was one lady devotee, a disciple of Gurudev, who would do collections. She stayed in Kolkata and would go out to big houses of Marwaris. One Marwari gave her 25-30 kg dal for Gaura Purnima festival. After some time, that man sent his dal in a ship to sell it abroad, but his ship sank. He did service to the Lord, but his ship sank. The man told that girl next time he saw her, "Never come here again. After I gave you donation, my ship sank!" At that time, Gurudev said, "That man does not understand that he has got mercy." When he became helpless, he remembered the Lord: when that man was very proud of his money, he could not remember the Lord, but when he was made helpless—when all his business's money was gone—then he called out to the Lord.

This is what Gurudev always told, and you must always remember this. You must not do anything thinking, "Oh, if I do this, I will get the Lord, I will get something in return." On the contrary, you must think, "My Lord, give me as much austerity and pain as You can." You will be tested to see how much you can tolerate. This earth, Prithivi Devi, is a place of examination for devotees. If you can pass the test, then nobody will be able to stop you. You are here in this world, and this is a test. If you pass the test, you will get the lotus feet of the Lord—you will get the lotus feet of Sri Guru, Vaishnavs, and the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda Prabhu.

I have told you many times: when I came here to Ekachakra to buy the land, I took prasadam at the ISKCON temple on the first day and then went to Tarapith, bought some tripal (tarpaulin, plastic). I slept that night under a bakul tree right there outside the temple. I had got some things, I had told the workers to come, and the land had been registered that day (one part was purchased from the beginning, and the other half was purchased later). So, I could not come back from here. I came here (with just a few devotees) on 1 January, in winter, and you can imagine how cold it was. I bought some bamboo and made a tent with the tarpaulin and the bamboo and spent the night in the tent. It was so cold that I could not sleep the whole night—sometimes, I went to the car, sometimes I returned to the tent. This is how I spent the night. Mosquitos disturbed also... This was Nityananda Prabhu's mercy.

After that, I had a tin shed constructed for the workers. I brought workers from Mayapur, Nabadwip—they built the four-storey guesthouse here... After that first night, I rented two-three rooms in the village for fifty rupees a day. I cleaned the room and then brought rice, dal, soya, potato from Tarapith. We had Deities' photograph with us, and I told devotees, "We will not eat outside today." You know, in the evening, it began to rain—this is dangerous, a rain in winter! So, we went into the room, kept the Deities' photograph on an altar—we did the arati, cooked some rice and soya chunks with potato, offered the bhog, and took prasadam. Pauresh Prabhu from Hapaniya (now he has taken sannyas, his name is Sripad Bhakti Purna Srauti Maharaj) was with me at that time; we took prasadam together. I do not like to take any prasad or food outside—when your own family cooks and offers it to the Lord, then it gives much joy, and the food tastes also very good. In this way, we stayed in that house for a year. I myself did not stay here—I went back to Nabadwip and was mostly in Nabadwip. When I came to supervise the construction works, then I would stay there. I would come for one-two days, see the construction progress, give money and instruction to the workers, bring or buy some materials (sand, cement, etc.), and then I would leave. In this way, this big temple appeared by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. This is the first Gaudiya Math branch of Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur here in Ekachakra Dham. So many Vaishnavs, so many devotees come here, and it is my joy that sadhus come and stay here the whole year.

I told you last year that because so many devotees come and cannot get a room to stay in, I was going to make more rooms upstairs, above the nat mandir. This year, we are already giving rooms there. If a party of 20-25 people come, they can stay in two-three or four rooms easily. I have also made the outbuilding kitchen. There was no outbuilding kitchen before, and we used to make a pandal, but over the past year I have made a proper kitchen here and in Nrisingha Palli. I know that devotees come by bus from far away—when you come to do Gaura Mandal parikrama, you must come to Ekachakra; the buses do not come right to the temple (the road is very narrow), so they have to walk all the way from the bus stop. With all this in mind, I have made arrangements for everyone to stay comfortably and cook comfortably here...

* * *

Parikrama Plans

Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 7
Translated from Bengali

One year, I want to make a parikrama of Gauda Mandal. I will see if I get an opportunity this year, after Gaura Purnima. We have not made this parikrama for a very long time. We will start from Kanai Natshala and go until one place in Mednipore. What is the name of that place?

Devotee: Ramakeli?

No, Ramakeli is in Malda. We can go there too. I mean a place in Mednipore—Gadadhar Pandit went until that place with Mahaprabhu, and then Mahaprabhu left the boat. I have forgotten the name.

Devotee: Pichalda?

Yes, Pichalda! There is a branch of Devananda Gaudiya Math there. In the South of Gauda Mandal, there is Kalna. There is the house of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Guru in Halisahar. It is necessary to go there. And if we go to Bangladesh, there is Pundarik Vidyanidhi's house in Chattogram. Mahaprabhu's father, Sri Jagannath Misra, came from Sylhet—there is a place there too, a Deity of Jagannath Misra is served there. That Deity came once to Nabadwip and then went back to Bangladesh by boat. These places are still there in Bangladesh. There is also Narottam Das's previous home in Sripat Kheturi Dham, in the district of Rajshahi. There are previous homes of many Gaudiya guru-varga in Bangladesh. For example, Srila Keshav Maharaj's (the acharya of Devananda Gaudiya Math) previous family home is also there. Even our Gurudev's father came from Rampur (near Dinajpur, Bangladesh). Gurudev told me that.

Anyhow, I will try and see—I want to make once this parikrama of all Gauda Mandal. It will not be very expensive—we can go by bus.

Have you heard the name of Laksman Sen? Laksman Sen made a Ballal Dirghik in Nabadwip, and that pond is still there. I have told you before that I will extend the parikrama by one day, and then we will be able to take darsan of all those places. Ballal Dirghik is in the direction of Simantadwip.

A four-hundred-page book is going to be printed soon about Sri Nabadwip Dham. You will find all the Hari-katha that we speak in those places in this book. Not everyone can understand the language of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya, that is why this book is coming out in simple and sweet Bengali language. I have gone through two hundred pages so far, and when I finish the remaining two hundred, I will send it quickly for printing. I do not get time to proofread—I need to sleep too because when I proofread, eyes become sleepy and can overlook some mistakes. When I was reading yesterday, I felt my eyes could not see any more, so I stopped...

* * *

Service Plans

Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 8
Translated from Bengali

Anyhow, much has been said—I will speak again in the evening, and it is now paran time. The archan is now finished, the bhoga has been offered, so do not delay—break the fast. Today is the eve of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's appearance day.

[To one of the devotees:] Prabhu, there are two banana trees and there is a coconut palm. Do not buy dub (green coconut)—take it from the tree, there is a very nice tree. You know, I feel very happy when I see trees. We brought fifty or a hundred coconut trees, I do not remember exactly. Some have survived, and they look so beautiful. They are very small now.

Now all works are finished here, and I had one more thought last night when you were taking prasad. During the festival, you have to sit in the cold. I am looking now for a place where I can make a place for a prasadam hall. If I get a place, I can arrange for everyone to take prasadam on the ground floor, then there will be no struggle. I know you are getting austerity taking prasadam outside on the bare ground. The festival is in the afternoon and it is OK, but you are staying here for four days and taking prasadam in the evening when it is very cold. I will try to arrange something—by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, everything will happen. There will be no problem.

Next year also, we are doing Nabadwip parikrama during five days. It is written in the calendars already. We should start from navami or dasami. Next year, there will be Purusottam Month again, and Kartik Month is before it, so it is necessary to observe the niyom-seva month and those who observe Purusottam Month will have to observe it too (in the same way as the niyom-seva month). If somebody cannot do it, then what can you do? It is not a problem. However, those who follow it must follow it during two months. I was proofreading the calendar and saw there that there is Purusottam Month again in the coming year.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay

* * *

Spend Your Time Wisely

Sri Ekachakra Dham, morning class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 9
Translated from Bengali

When your eyes close (when you die), you will have to leave everything behind. There are three holy abodes—Gauda Mandal, Ksetra Mandal, and Vraja Mandal. Gauda Mandal parikrama is cherished by those who want to make primary progress in this line; it is necessary to do this parikrama. The parikrama of Sri Ksetra Mandal, or Purusottam Ksetra (Puri), is for those who have made some progress. The annual parikrama of Sri Vraja Mandal is for those who are eager to progress even more. We do these three parikramas every year—Gauda Mandal, Ksetra Mandal, and Vraja Mandal. It does not take much time. Nabadwip Dham parikrama is four-five days; Ksetra Mandal takes one week; and Vraja Mandal parikrama is eleven days. This year, I am arranging one more parikrama. I have already told it that after the aksaya-tritiya, I will take you to the parikrama of four holy places—Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri. We have been to Dvaraka recently, and you go to Puri every year, so this time I will take you to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri.

It will not cost much, I will arrange it so that it does not cost much—you know that I do not do business, I do not get any profit. Yesterday, somebody told me that when we were in Jaipur somebody had given me money, but I do not even remember it. I never keep such things in my mind—I have no attraction to or interest in material things, but if something is necessary for devotees, I do that. You can understand yourself also—it was cold yesterday, but everyone had to sit outside and take prasadam on the cold ground—this is hard. So, please give me your blessing that I may be able to arrange a place for taking prasadam somewhere where the kitchen is.

So, please take care of yourself, do not go here and there so much. Tomorrow is Nityananda Trayodasi. I will give a class in the morning and after that we will go out for a parikrama. Do not forget that it is fast tomorrow morning. It is Nityananda Trayodasi—if you can fast until twelve o'clock (noon), it will be very good. Many fast the whole day, but I am not telling you to do that. Fast till twelve in the afternoon, then take prasad. We will chant kirtans, have a class, and then go out for a parikrama. After the parikrama, we will come back here, speak a little more, and then we will take prasad. Try to chant the Holy Name in your room today, and those of you who have service—many cut vegetables, some sweep—should do their service. You must all try to do some service. Even if you just sweep the dust of this holy abode, it is good. Nobody knows what kind of sukriti you get when you clean the temple of the Lord.

I have seen Param Gurudev's (Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's) article (in Sri Gaudiya Darsan magazine). You have all heard the name of Prahlad Maharaj. He is the one for whom Lord Nrisinghadev appeared in this world—Lord Nrisinghadev killed Hiranyakasipu, that is bestowed His mercy on him in this way (Hiranyakasipu was Prahlad Maharaj's father). Who was Prahlad Maharaj in his previous birth? You will be surprised to hear it. In his previous birth, Prahlad Maharaj's name was Vasudev. He was born in some village in South India. I do not remember the name of that village—it is not easy to remember the names of places in South India. Anyhow, Vasudev was born there and grew up. You can see how surprising the pastimes of the Lord are.

You know, Valmiki wrote about the pastimes of Lord Rama—composed Ramayana—six thousand years before the pastimes of Lord Rama took place! So, even before Lord Nrisinghadev's appearance, there was a temple of Lord Nrisinghadev in South India.

Nobody was worshipping the Deity in that temple—the domes were broken and the temple was neglected, although the Deity was still there. Nobody cleaned the temple, and it eventually turned into a jungle. Some old lady went there a few times a week and would offer some fruit to the Deity. This is what the Deity ate, living in this way. Once, that man Vasudev fell in love with a girl. One day, as he was talking with the girl, he felt lusty towards her and wanted to take her to some secluded place. They remembered about the abandoned temple where nobody went and nobody would see them. (This happens today too—boys and girls talk, talk, talk, get lusty and then go to the forest.) So, Vasudev went with that girl to that temple in the jungle. When they came in, they saw that the temple was very dirty and was full of trees, etc. The girl did not want to do anything there, but Vasudev said, "Do not worry, I will clean it!" He went there with bad thoughts, but because he cleaned the temple after so many days, Lord Nrisinghadev became very pleased. As a result of pleasing Lord Nrisinghadev, Vasudev became Prahlad Maharaj in his next birth. This is the history. Also, that day when they went there was Nrisingha Chaturdasi (the appearance day of Lord Nrisinghadev).

So, you can see that if you do any service to the Lord, in whichever way—with good intention or bad intention or any intention—you must still get sukriti. Even if you say Hare Krishna by mistake—even if somebody teases you and says Hare Krishna when they see beads on your neck and tilaks. Because Hare Krishna comes to their mouth, they get some sukriti through you. So, if somebody teases you and you think you will erase your tilak, this is not right. There was one person at the temple—he would always wipe off his tilak when he went outside. I told him, "Why are you slighting tilak? Because you worry that people will tease you? Do these people feed you? You stay at the temple, you take prasad at the temple, but you feel ashamed of wearing tilaks? That means that your ego has not gone away yet. Do you give importance to what this person says or that person says, or do you give importance to the Lord?"

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay

[His Divine Grace chants Hari Haraye Nama Krsna and recited Jaya Dhvani, concluding thus the morning class.]

Come here at four o'clock in the afternoon, there will be kirtan here. Do not go to listen to any lila-kirtan, pala-kirtan or kirtans of any big poets—if you hear it, you will be making an offence. Sit here, and the rest of the time do service, chant the Holy Name, or take rest, it will be good too. So, come here at four o'clock, do not go anywhere outside. Go and take prasad now.

* * *

Chasing Away Ghosts and Nonsense

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 1
Translated from Bengali

Repeat after me:

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

You know, sometimes you become possessed by a ghost—this is when you start thinking about your house or you think about other things. What is the remedy for this?

enechhi ausadhi mayanasibara lagi'
hari-nama maha-mantra lao tumi magi'

"I have brought the medicine to dispel Maya. Pray for this Hari-nam maha-mantra and take it."

The remedy to make the ghosts and witches leave is the Harinam maha-mantra. You must chant Hare Krishna. Chant the Holy Name when your mind becomes unsteady (fickle). Somebody asked Srila Prabhupad, "When I chant the Holy Name, many different thoughts come to my mind. What am I to do?" Srila Prabhupad said that it is necessary to chant the Holy Name louder. Chanting the Holy Name mindlessly is not good—it is finger exercise. You count the beads and chant, "Natiputi, Natiputi, Natiputi—grandson and granddaughter, grandson and granddaughter, grandson and granddaughter." Do not practise finger exercise—chant loudly and forcefully, "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna," etc.

When you call your children, you call them by their names, so when you call out to the Lord, you must chant His Name, "Doyal Nitai (Merciful Nitai)! Doyal Nitai! Doyal Nitai!" That is why, you must also call your children and grandchildren with the Lord's Name, devotional names, not some material names because when you call them, you will be pronouncing the Lord's Name and you can get liberation through shadow chanting of the Holy Name (Namabhase mukti paibe). When you call your children by their names, they turn to you and answer to your call. In some places, people always make hulahuli—if you call your son by hulahuli, will he come to you? He will not. You see others do hulahuli, and start doing it too. I know a man who became a Muslim. Why did he do it? He said, "I heard about Muslims and decided to become one." They do not understand any difference, they do not know anything, but if they have a good heart, then it is good anyway.

You must call the Lord by the Lord's Name—call the Lord by chanting Hare Krishna. As you start doing anything, chant always Hare Krishna first. Before you start doing anything, call out, "Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!" Chant Gaura Nitai's Names, then everything will be all right.

It is necessary to have sincerity and chastity. I have told you this many times.

[Noise in the audience.] Who is talking? Hey, bring leukoplast—we will seal the mouths of those who are talking. You are sitting here in front of the Lord and talking gramya-katha—not hearing about the Lord, you are talking about other things, about your house and village. What is this?! There are no lila-kirtans, no pala-kirtans here—there is no dancing here. There is kirtan going on, and you must grasp it within your heart. We are not hired kirtan singers. I have not come to chant kirtan—I have come here to make you chant kirtan.

You are arranging asta-prahar kirtans or twenty-four-hour kirtans, spending so much money, but even if you do such kirtans your whole life or life after life, you can never reach the Lord in this way. I can guarantee you that. If you can bring the Holy Name of Krishna to your mouth, then you will get benefit, and the Lord will rescue you. Those people (lila-kirtan singers, etc.) make offences and you go to listen to it...

You worship Kali, Durga—you offer some anjali, but they eat meat, they sit on chairs with their shoes on, crossed-legged, swinging their leg in the air. There was Saraswati Puja recently—I saw people sitting on chairs cross-legged with shoes on, swinging their leg in the air—do you think Devi will be very happy with that? Is this how you worship? For example, we never go upstairs atop the nat mandir because we have faith for the Lord, and we show respect to the Lord. It is necessary to always have faith and treat the Lord with reverence.

* * *

Devotion Is Not Cheap

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 2
Translated from Bengali

Anyhow, I will speak tonight about Nityananda Prabhu, there is much to be said. Many of you do not know the history of Nityananda Prabhu's holy dham—many of us do not know the glory of Nityananda Prabhu.

samsare para hai' bhaktira sagare
ye dubibe, se bhajuka nitaichandere

May those who desire to cross over samsara and dive in the ocean of devotion serve Sri Nitaichand.

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat, Adi-khanda, 1.77)

Nityananda Prabhu's mercy is such that He rescues whoever simply falls before Him—He does not consider who is higher, who is lower:

uttama, adhama, kichhu na kare vichara
ye age padaye, tare kraye nistara

"Nityananda Prabhu does not consider who is good and who is bad, He saves anyone who falls before Him."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 5.208-209)

Everybody considers whether the person is very qualified or not qualified at all, but Nityananda Prabhu's mercy is such that He does not consider this. However, the problem here is that it is necessary to call Nityananda Prabhu—if you fall at His feet but think about other things in your mind, then what result will you get?

We have come to this holy abode of Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Ekachakra Dham, the land of His pastimes. You can see the old trees growing near our temple—Nityananda Prabhu played here in this very place. Padmavati Devi's umbilical cord was buried there—when Nityananda was born, the umbilical cord was cut off and buried there. This is how the place got its name, Naripota. Nityananda Prabhu's heart and soul is here—this is the land of His pastimes. All land and property that you see here belongs to Nityananda Prabhu. It is our fortune—in some birth, we have got some sukriti somehow—Gurudev bestowed his mercy on us, and we have got a temple in this kind of place now. When I first came here, there were rice fields and some mustard fields—we made a pandal and did the festival right in the field. It was 2008. There was a festival in 2009, 2010—Gurudev was present in this world at that time. After Gurudev left, the temple was finally inaugurated in 2011, you know it. The mercy is Sri Gurupadpadma is extremely unlimited...

You often listen to melodious kirtans, lila-kirtans, but singing for 10-25 rupees is not a real kirtan. Reading Bhagavatam for 25 rupees is not proper reading. I know that you can pay 1,000-5,000 rupees and listen to Bhagavatam or kirtan, but this reading or this kirtan will not bring you any benefit. Do not go to odd places, do not to listen from odd, random places. You can see—we sing in one of the kirtans from Saranagati,

sarvasva tomara, charane sapiya,
padechhi tomara ghare
tumi ta' thakura, tomara kukura,
baliya janaha more

"I have offered everything at Your feet and taken shelter in Your home. You are my Master; please consider me Your dog."

bandhiya nikate amare palibe
rahiba tomara dvara
pratipa-janere asite na diba
rakhiba gadera pare

"Tie me up nearby and maintain me. I will remain at Your doorstep. I will not allow anyone who is against You to enter, I will keep them outside."

I will not let those who are against devotion come close. Some people say "Nitai, Nitai" with their mouths, but what is next? There was one devotee of Nitai in Bangladesh: some Muslim dacoits came to this house at noon, crying, "Jay Nitai! Jay Nitai! Open the door please." The man thought that devotees had come, but when he opened the door, he saw the men holding a gun—they took his gold and other things and went away. So, there are many people who will say "Jay Nitai" and will come to rob you. When you go to Vrindavan, so many go about saying, "Radhe Radhe! Jay Radhe!" showing off what big devotees of Radharani they are, but do they know how much Radharani cried for Krishna when Krishna left? They only say "Radhe Radhe" to fill your stomach: they go house to house, begging people for food and saying "Radhe Radhe"—they do this to gratify their senses. There is a marketplace where sometimes on Sundays or other days a party comes and chants Hare Krishna, collecting money in this way. The main thing is begging, but they are chanting the Holy Name(?) to impress people, to show off. They only come to chant to collect money and make a show in front of people. Doing such kirtans and surrendering your heart, mind, and soul to the Lord is not the same thing.

* * *

Hens, Bats, and Bananas

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 3
Translated from Bengali

We are going to chant some kirtans in glorification of Nityananda Prabhu, and I told you yesterday also that you should buy this holy book, Sri Nityananda Mahimamrita. I told you that you can read this book and chant the kirtans from there. Advaita Prabhu sung in praise of Nityananda Prabhu, you can find his stuti (glorification) in this book and also in the Antya-khanda of Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata.

I was telling you yesterday about the parikrama of Sri Gauda Mandal and I forgot to mention one more place, Jhamatpur Baharan, it is near Katwa. There were two brothers living in this town, Govinda Das and Krishna Das. They stayed in one house but lived separately, and one day Govinda Das arranged an asta-prahar kirtan at the house. You must have seen how people make clay Deities for such kirtans. Govinda Das did not make Gaura Nitai, he only made the Deity of Gauranga; one brahman named Gunarnava Misra was the one who told him to do like that. When this Gunarnava Misra was offering worship to the Deity, a servant of Nityananda Prabhu, Rama Das Minaketan, came there, and Gunarnava Misra did not even give him a mat to sit on—he did not show him any respect. Why? Because Gunarnava Misra did not like Nityananda Prabhu.

Do you think anyone is capable of judging Nityananda Prabhu's behaviour and practices? Can we criticise Him? Mahaprabhu Himself said,

madira yavani yadi nityananda dhare
tathapi brahmara vandya kahila tomare

"Even if Nityananda Prabhu takes a drunk lady by Her hand, He is always worshippable even for Lord Brahma."

"If Nityananda Prabhu catches and brings a drunk Muslim girl, even then Brahma will pay obeisance to Him!" Some brahman said bad things about Nityananda Prabhu to Mahaprabhu, and Mahaprabhu told him this, adding, "I have taught you the truth. You have said this once, but never say it again. Have you understood it? Now go and teach this to everyone else." Nobody has the power to understand Nityananda Prabhu—sometimes, He wears colourful clothes; sometimes He wears a sari; sometimes, He wears earrings, bangles and anklebells; He dances, He sings, He laughs. He goes to a random house and says, "Mother, give Me something to eat!" and eats there. He does not have any discrimination—He did not follow any rules. That is why He is known as avadhut.

So, what did Rama Das Minaketan do? He went to the room of Krishna Das and told him, "What kind of kirtan has your brother brought to your house? And through what sort of brahman does he worship the Lord? Hearing what he says and see what he does, I am thinking he is an atheist!" He told Krishna Das everything openly. Krishna Das chastised his brother, Govinda, "You have made an offence at the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu! Do you not know that Rama Das Minaketan is the main servitor of Nityananda Prabhu? How could you disrespect him? You will not have any escape now with your half-hen logic."

"Half-hen" logic means you worship Gaura and do not worship Nitai, or you worship Nitai and do not worship Gaura—if you respect one and do not respect the other, this is the same as being an atheist. Why did he call it "half-hen" logic? Because you take only the half of the hen where eggs fall from and you throw away the upper half of the hen because no eggs fall from its mouth. Will you have a hen if you do that? You will get neither eggs nor anything else then. I did not understand at first what this half-hen logic (ardha-kukkuti-nyaya) was, so I asked Gurudev, and Gurudev explained it to me.

After that, Nityananda Prabhu came to Krishna Das in a dream, saying, "Listen, Krishna Das! Do not stay any longer in Jhamatpur! Come to Vrindavan!" After that night, he woke up and left home. He went to Vrindavan and it was there that he composed Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita.

He stayed at Radha Kunda and also in the house that we purchased (opposite our temple in Vrindavan)—his puspa-samadhi is there, you can see it. Many of you have been to Vrindavan and have seen Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami's samadhi.

Therefore, if anyone makes an offence at the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu, they become hopeless. If you make an offence at the lotus feet of Sri Guru, you are hopeless—you will have never have any relief, never. You must think about this.

Param Guru Maharaj said: "If you think that you will make much noise and that is chanting the Holy Name, then why do you think bats are abused for their annoying noise?" You think your loud chanting is Harinam, but bats also make much noise—is that also Harinam? If it is, then why do you call them bad names when they make noise? They are doing the same thing. Making noise is not Harinam. Harinam is:

eka-bara krishna-name yata papa hare
patakira sadhya nahi tata papa kare

"A sinner cannot commit more sin than once chanting Krishna's Name can remove."

At the same time:

koti janma yadi kare sravana kirtana
tabu na paya vrajendranandan

"If you practise hearing and chanting for millions of lives, you may still not get the Son of Nanda who dwells in Vraja."

Even if you listen Hari-katha and practise millions of lives, you will not get the Lord. Why? Because there are offences. You must chant the Holy Name without offences.

asadhu-sange bhai krsna-nama nahi haya
namaksara bahiraya bate tabu nama kabhu naya

"Brother, the Name of Krishna never appears in bad association: the letters of the Name may appear, but the Name never does."

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 7.1)

It is necessary to chant the Holy Name in sadhu-sanga. People sing fancy melodies, play the harmonium, tabla, ektara. They sing for the tune. People even enter competitions to show their singing skills. However, the Lord does not want any tune, melody or anything like that. If you just call the Lord by chanting His Name ("Krishna! Krishna!"), that is sufficient. He does not want any tune. The Lord wants to know if your heart, mind, soul and everything else is at His feet or not. Do you understand it? Srila Narottam Das Thakur sang: "Vrndavane chabutara tahe mora mano-ghera—my entire mind dwells within the courtyard of Vrindavan." If we sing this song, we sing "my mind dwells within the courtyard of Vrindavan," but we know it very well where our minds really are. You think of your garden, you think of a banana grove, you think, "Has he bought bananas or not? What shall I buy at the market?" [To one of the devotees:] Why are you ducking? I did not mean you! [His Divine Grace and devotees laugh.] So, we know very well in which courtyard our minds dwell...

So, these are some of Nityananda Prabhu's divine qualities and glories. He appeared in this holy abode. This place is non-different from Vrindavan Dham. If we can take the dust of this place on our heads—if we can serve this holy place—then we will get super benefit. If you cannot serve the holy dham, then only inauspicious things wait for you. Anyhow, I will chant now a few kirtans, only about Nityananda Prabhu. First, I will chant Guru-vandana (kirtan in glorification of Sri Guru)...

* * *

Nityananda Prabhu's Arrangements

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 4
Translated from Bengali

When Mahaprabhu took sannyas in Katwa, Nityananda Prabhu was with Him. After taking sannyas, Mahaprabhu became extremely agitated and anxious to go to Vrindavan, and Nityananda Prabhu confused Him and took Him from Katwa to Shantipur.

Another time, when Sivananda Sen, together with Nityananda Prabhu, was taking all the devotees to Puri, they were passing a village called Denur. Nityananda Prabhu kept his servant, Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur, in that place. He used some clever pretext to do that. He said to Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur, "Your material desires have not gone away yet. You have given Me this hartaki [a fruit eaten as a mouth freshener]—I remember I ate it yesterday, where did you get it today?"

Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur explained, "I have kept some for You because I know You will ask for it."

In reply to that, Nityananda Prabhu said, "Your tendency to accumulate and hoard things has not gone away. You have no qualification to be a brahmachari or become a sannyasi. Stay as a householder."

In this way, Sri Nityananda Prabhu kept Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur in Denur. This place is situated near Bamunpara, the appearance place of Gurudev. Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur installed the Deities of Nityananda Prabhu and Gaura Hari at the house of Ramahari Chakravarti in Denur and served there. In that place, he sat and composed Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata. You know that there is a temple of Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur in Mamgachi, Nabadwip: Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur is the son of Narayani, Srivas Pandit's niece. So, he was born in Mamgachi, Nabadwip, but lived most of his life in Denur. He composed one kirtan in glorification of Nityananda Prabhu there:

are bhai! nitai amara dayara avadhi!
jivere karuna kari' dese dese phiri' phiri'
prema-dhana yache niravadhi [1]

Brother! My Nitai's mercy is unlimited! Bestowing His mercy upon jiva souls, He wanders from place to place, incessantly and without any restriction offering everyone the treasure of transcendental love.

advaitera sange ranga, dharane na yaya anga,
gora-preme gada tanu-khani
dhuliya dhuliya chale, bahu tuli' hari bole,
du-nayane bahe nitaiyera pani [2]

Revelling in the association of Advaita Acharya, He cannot control His body — He rolls on the ground, overwhelmed by divine love for Gaura. Swaying in ecstasy, He chants the Lord's Name with His arms upraised and tears stream from His two lotus eyes.

kapale tilaka sobhe, kutila-kuntala-lole
gunjara antuni chuda taya
kesari jiniya kati, kati-tate nila-dhati
bajana nupura ranga paya [3]

His forehead is adorned with tilak; His curling locks swaying to and fro; He wears a crown of small guñja conchshells. His waist defeats a lion's waist, and He wears a blue dhoti around it. There are ankle bells tinkling on His reddish feet.

ke kahu nitaira guna jive dekhi sakaruna
hariname jagata tarila
madana madete andha visaye rahala dhandha
hena nitai bhakita na paila [4]

Who will I tell about Nitai's qualities? Seeing jiva souls and taking pity on them, Nitai delivered this world through the Holy Name. He blinds and drives Cupid crazy and causes a turmoil in the material world. You have not got devotion to this Nitai!?

bhuvana-mohana vesa! majaila saba desa!
rasavese atta atta hasa!
prabhu mora nityananda kevala ananda-kanda
guna gaya vrndavana dasa [5]

His beauty enchants the whole universe! He inundated the entire land! Overcome with ecstatic love, He roars with laughter! Lord Nityananda is my Master. He is the only source of spiritual joy. I, Vrndavan Das, sing His glories.

* * *

Importance of Hearing and Listening

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 5
Translated from Bengali

You can see in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita (3.20.8),

harse prabhu kahena,—"suna svarupa-rama-raya
nama-sankirtana—kalau parama upaya"

"In great jubilation, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, 'My dear Svarup Damodar and Ramananda Ray, know from Me that chanting the Holy Names is the most feasible means of salvation in this age of Kali."

Chant the Holy Name, then you can be rescued from this kind of material world—you can go to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna and get service from the Lord.

The souls in this world always rely on other living entities. You know, we fast on Ekadasi, but when we wake up in the morning, we think, "When will I eat rice?" Last night, I was also thinking I would have some rice and go out at this hour. That is why it is said that in this world, we always rely on other living entities. Our hearts are sinful and dirty—we cannot keep any vows or practice any penance. Knowing this, Sri Gaura Hari, who is very merciful to the fallen souls, had revealed the means for all jiva souls to cleanse themselves and attain the Lord—these means are Nama sankirtan. If you practise this sankirtan, you can receive the treasure of divine love; if you attain this sankirtan, you can become rescued from this Kali-yuga and all its sins. We keep coming and going to this world, suffering from the three-fold miseries—if we want to save yourself from here, the only way to accomplish this is Harinam sankirtan.

Sincere devotees who practise kirtan always, at every step live under the control of their Gurupadpadma. This is how strong faith is born, followed by strong adherence (the person becomes very regulated in their spiritual life). Such devotees listen to what their Gurupadpadma says and taste the nectar of the Lord's Name, the nectar of the Lord's pastimes. When one reaches the embodiment of the main shelter, Sri Gurupadpadma, and practises hearing and chanting about the Lord, their heart becomes cleansed very soon and they grow attached to the strictly regulated service of the Lord. In other words, those who hear about the Lord from their Gurudev with heart and soul, very quickly become fixed in their spiritual life and develop attachment to the Lord and their service. Those who do not listen will not get this result.

How many people have taken shelter at the lotus feet of Gurudev? But did they listen to Gurudev? They did not, that is why their state is like this today. It is necessary to hear what Gurudev says; otherwise even if you are staying at Gurudev's feet, this is of no use. Gurudev said, "Many stay at my feet, but when somebody comes and gives some donation, they always watch how much money the person has given." I have seen this too. They watch, "How many dollars has Gurudev got today?" There are many who are staying just to see that...

* * *

Importance of Hearing and Listening

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 6
Translated from Bengali

There is no consideration of appropriate or inappropriate time for chanting the Holy Name. I have told many of you before—when your husband dies, does it mean you cannot take the Holy Name for six months? You know, when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was in Kolkata, he told everyone that they must follow ekadasi. Why? There are five-six types of grains or pulses (rice, wheat, barley, pulses, mustard/sesame oil), and ekadasi is followed because all sins are staying in grains on that day. (Puffed rice and flat rice are made of rice, and we do not take it on ekadasi too.) So, when Prabhupad declared to everyone that it is necessary to fast on ekadasi because all sins are in the grains on this day, then antithesis came—wherever there is a thesis, there also comes an antithesis. There is true religion and there is also reverse religion. What do the people who follow such reverse religion do? They say: if a woman has a husband and she fasts on ekadasi (if she does not eat meat on this day), then the life of her husband will decrease. Does any wife want her husband's life to decrease? So, they say, "No, no, I do not need any ekadasi!" So, not only do they not stop eating meat on this day, they actually eat even more meat, thinking that if they do not eat meat on this day, their husband's life will decrease! I read this in one of Srila Prabhupad's books. So, people end up eating even more meat on ekadasi. They say that only widows can fast on ekadasi, but married women must not do it because it will decrease their husband's life. The in-laws can actually prohibit their son's wife to fast for fear of their son's life becoming shorter. So, when a girl is used to following ekadasi and gets married, the in-laws can even kick her out, "Go back to your parents' home! My son's life will decrease if you fast on ekadasi!" So, sometimes they ask me, "My husband has died, and I must observe the rites for six months, does it mean I cannot take Harinam?" When you husband dies, you must chant the Holy Name even at that time. You take dead bodies chanting, "Bolo Hari [chant the Holy Name of the Lord]"—is that not chanting the Holy Name? Then who prohibits chanting the Holy Name at this time? Are you going to stop all your Deity service? When people die, their small children cry, and if nobody cooks at their home, neighbours cook something and give it to the child. So, the Lord is there in His room, and even if somebody dies, you must still cook for the Lord.

Do you remember how once we were at the temple of Gaura Gadadhar in Champahatti, there was one disciple of Pujyapad Srila Bhakti Kumud Shanta Maharaj. We were taking prasadam at that temple, and that man was a little crazy—he took the microphone and announced, "I will die today! Please know that I will die today!" I quickly told devotees to turn of the microphone and take it away from him. When we left the temple and continued the parikrama after prasadam, the manager of the temple in Champahatti ran after us—he cried to me, "Maharaj! One person from your Math has hung himself on a tree!" I told him (this is the Lord's arrangement), "No! This person is not from our temple! Go and see if he has the badge of our Math. Let us continue the kirtan! Go, go!" When we returned to the temple, I heard that Srila Ashram Maharaj was still sitting there in Champahatti. I told him, "Maharaj, what are you doing there? Come back from there! He died, but it is adhivas today and tomorrow is the appearance day of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Must we stop it now?" So, if somebody dies, does it mean we have to stop sankirtan? Srila Ashram Maharaj later told, "You are very cunning," but I had no choice—police would come and I would have to go to the police station and so much problem would come, then all the happiness and joy of the festival will be spoilt for everyone. What benefit is it to everyone? That man was crazy... Another time, when somebody died during the parikrama time, I did not even let any one know—they arranged for the body to be taken away at midnight and sent it to their home (somewhere in South 24 Parganas). I did not want to spoil everyone's happiness.

When Srivas Pandit's son died, did he tell Mahaprabhu about it? Then? We must learn from it. He did not tell Mahaprabhu anything, He did not disturb Mahaprabhu's kirtan. Therefore, you must never stop kirtan.

The Holy Name of the Lord can be chanted at any time. It means that there is no certain time when you can chant the Holy Name and there is no certain time when you cannot chant the Holy Name (even if somebody dies at home, you must not stop chanting the Holy Name of the Lord). You know, when there is a solar eclipse, it is considered an inauspicious time and people always lock the Deities' room. This is a prejudice.

You know, they call me from Vrindavan and complain, "Maharaj, all temples are closed, only your temple is open!" I said, "Yes, this is my order." He said, "People are scared of corona!" I said, "Those who are afraid will understand it and act accordingly, but what are you so worried about?" They complain that we cook and take prasad during the corona, but I told him, "What is your problem? Do you have nothing to do at home? An idle mind is the devil's workshop. It is not like somebody will come, there will some problem, and you will be sad—if people die, you only get happy. So, why are you so worried about them? You think if they die, it will be good for you, so why are you so worried about them?" Then he kept quiet and did not say anything. He knows he cannot talk to me like that.

So, there is no consideration of time, qualification or clean/unclean state—you must chant the Holy Name of the Lord even at the time of death, you will get perfection. If you can chant the Holy Name at the time of death, you will reach perfection. That is if the Holy Name comes to your mind at that time. Many people do not understand how merciful Guru and Vaishnavs are—they go house to house, begging people to chant the Holy Name. They are bestowing so much mercy on the jiva souls of this world.

mahanta-svabhava ei tarite pamara
nija karya nahi tabu yana tara ghara

"It is the general practice of all saintly people to deliver the fallen. Therefore they go to people's houses, although they have no personal business there."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 8.39)

They have no want of money, clothes, food or anything else. They only come to people's houses and chant kirtan. Those who can understand it give their genuine love and affection.

Anyway, one thing is that you can teach a parrot to chant Hare Krishna and it will chant easily, but our situation is such that we cannot do that. And another thing is that when a parrot chants, this chanting does not last. If a cat catches the parrot by the throat, it will make bird noises. Guru Maharaj told this. He said, "Oh, he is chanting so much, but if you punch him in the stomach, he will only cry, 'O mummy! O daddy!'—he will not chant Hare Krishna at that time any more." Guru Maharaj told this jokingly.

* * *

Eagerness and Enthusiasm

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 7
Translated from Bengali

When, becoming captured by the vision of the land of service, where the Lord is the master and jiva souls are His servants, jiva souls engage in Nama-sankirtan as instructed by Sri Gaura and their hearts become cleansed and filled with pure goodness. The Lord is my master, and I am His servant—we must always remember this. We are His eternal servants. You must not forget it. We are not masters, we are not controllers—He is the controller. He is always controlling everything and doing everything.

If those who have no offences and are close followers of Gauranga Mahaprabhu chant the Holy Name following the rules and regulations set by Gurudev, they can very quickly become spiritually successful and receive the mercy of and divine love for Lord Sri Krishna. If you can establish yourself in the land of service, you will receive the right to chant the Holy Name and chant the glories of the Lord. You must have eagerness for service. Eagerness and enthusiasm are the main qualities.

It is those who have eagerness and enthusiasm that have come. You cannot get Nityananda Prabhu's mercy by sitting at home and doing nothing—it is necessary to step forward. You must come forward. If you only think about material things—about your wife, sons, friends, relatives—if you waste your time on this at every moment, then your days will pass in vain, what will you do? If you only think about body (deha) and home (geha), where will that take you? We follow and live in subservience to that which is related to this body—if we always run behind the body that dogs and jackals will feast on, then we will not be able to understand anything. My heart and soul will not go to Krishna, my soul will not be able to become attracted and pulled to Krishna.

If you practise and practise—if you keep listening Hari-katha—memory of Krishna will arise within you. If you listen to Hari-katha from the holy mouth of sadhus and the Guru, then it will arise. Therefore, you must all come for Gaura Dham parikrama. You know, Srila Guru Maharaj told me, "You have made such a big nat mandir, but where are your people to fill it?" I can see today that the whole nat mandir is full of black-haired heads—there is no place even for a mustard seed to fall (the place is crammed). Now the nat mandir is full, and you all are very fortunate: you have come here by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. You have enthusiasm, you have eagerness. You do not get all this with money or any wealth. All this does not come by any money or wealth...

* * *

Clean Hearts

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 8
Translated from Bengali

Many have money, houses, cars—people enjoy with many things, people live amidst enjoyment; there are many prime ministers, chief ministers in this world, but they do not have this mercy—they do not have the wealth that you all have. You are fortunate that you have been able to come to the holy abode of Nityananda Prabhu today. They do not have this kind of fortune. People can have money, people can have wealth, people can have power, people can be very proud—proud of their knowledge, money, etc. But Gaura Hari said,

dinere adhika daya kare bhagavan
kulina, pandita, dhanira bada abhimana

"Those who have a high birth, knowledge and wealth are so proud of themselves, but the Lord is very merciful to those who are poor and needy."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 4.68)

Those who have nobody have the Lord. If I say, "I have no one to protect me," then enemies will come and attack me from all four sides. Kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya (lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness, envy)—these enemies will come and start pulling me in four directions. Yet, when I see, "My Guru and Vaishnavs are with me, my Lord is with me," then nobody will be able to defeat me—nobody will be able to make me their servants.

It is necessary to teach yourself.: How long have I been a servant of lust? How long have I been following lust's orders? I have been listening to lust and dutifully following all its orders, but even then this lust, etc. did not take any pity on me. But now I have understood—I have come to the association of my Guru and Vaishnavs, and they have taught me well. Now, I will stay in the association of my Guru and Vaishnavs and practise Krishna consciousness—I have got an opportunity to practise kirtan now. Therefore, we pray to you all: please come and spend this festival happily every year.

Not everybody has money, a car, a house, etc., not everybody can also help financially, but my desire is that you can come and can join the festival, spend the time happily, and when you come back to your home, you will leave bad practices and make your heart pure.

Go to your homes and explain to everyone that those who eat meat, fish, etc. are eating their own flesh. If you eat something in this world, it will eat you in your future births. If you kill a goat in this world, this goat will kill you in a future birth. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Because of such trifle things (because we cannot give up meat, fish, etc.), we are not able to take shelter of a genuine guru. If I tell you today, "Eat meat, fish, everything," you will see five hundred people will come and take initiation tomorrow. But because we cannot give up these small things, we will not be able to get Nitai—we will not get Gauranga.

Until and unless your heart becomes pure, how can Bhakti Devi come to your heart? You must have place for her to come—she wants to come to a clean place. When you take all these things (meat, fish, etc.), your heart will become polluted—your heart will be full of dirt. If you are to have a clean heart, you must give all these things up—meat, fish, eating cows, goats, etc. This is damaging your health. Such food creates diseases within a body. You have heard about the disease in China—so many people are dying now, and this disease has now come to Kolkata too. I have told you: you have a pharmacy near every house, there are big doctors in every village, there are so many doctors in hospitals, but even if scientists create a thousand medicines a year, Lord Yamaraj says, "I will create a million diseases a year! Let us see who wins."

* * *

Material Perils

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 9
Translated from Bengali

You can see now coronavirus coming from China—they have closed several provinces in China and do not let people come out of their houses. There are some people here in Bardhaman already with this virus—somebody went to work in China and when returning here, the whole plane he was returning on was placed in a hospital to make sure the virus did not spread! This is the state of the world... Even doctors do not know anything about this disease, and they say that this disease is transmitted from animals—from pigs, snakes, cockroaches.

You know, we all eat fried pakoras, and in China they eat fried cockroaches in the same way as we eat pakoras. They eat spiders also. In our country also, there is an area called Nagaland—they take dogs by the tail and start swinging them until the dog vomits, and people eat that vomit. [Devotees make noise being grossed out.] Yes, we also were like that. We too were born there. But now we have got this human birth as a result of a great fortune, and none of us want to be demoted again. Not to fail the test and not to get demoted, you must chant the Holy Name of Nitai Gauranga, the Holy Name of Hari, Guru, and Vaishnavs.

Explain it to your husbands, wives, and children, and if you cannot explain it to them, then grab them and bring them to me. Tell them that they are going down a very dangerous path! In this Kali-yuga, people take marijuana, heroin, betel, but we prohibit even bidi and cigarettes. Do you know many boys who do not smoke and drink tea now? Sometimes, people ask me, "Maharaj, please can you find a husband for my daughter? She does not like boys who smoke, so please find somebody who does not smoke." I tell them, "Where will I get such a boy for you? It is very hard!" Even teachers at school—what do they teach students when they themselves drink alcohol? They earn money teaching at school and buy liquor with that money, they associate with bad people. So, what will money give you? Will money give you happiness?

People have money, but they have no happiness. Yet, you can see some poor people—they eat spinach with salt, but they have happiness in their homes. Those who eat spinach and salt (the simplest meals possible) know happiness. So, it is not necessary to have money—money will make us forget about the Lord. We do not need to have an ego, we do not need to have a big land that will make us forget the Lord. We do not need houses, cars, money that will make us forget the Lord, it will take all our time and we will have no time to practise Krishna consciousness. People only know to worry about money, money, money. People do not sleep at night, thinking, "Where did I keep the money? Let me get up and see if it is still there." They go to the bathroom and check if the money they kept hidden somewhere on top is there or not. [Devotees burst out laughing.] Yet, my grandfather was like that. When he died he became a boa constrictor. When our ancient house was broken, they saw there was a boa constrictor guarding a clay pot full of silver coins. He had buried it before under the house, and when the house was broken, they found those coins and a boa constrictor next to it, guarding it.

This is how desires are. Desires for enjoyment, liberation, supernatural powers, etc. It is said in Chaitanya-charitamrita that if you dig in the west, you will get one thing, if you dig in the south, you will get another thing; if you dig in the north, you get something else; but if you dig in the east, you will get the true wealth—you will get devotion. Bhukti, mukti, siddhi-kami (desire for enjoyment, liberation, and perfections) will be all around you, but the real treasure—devotion—is only in one direction.

krsna-bhakta—niskama, ataeva 'santa'
bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kami—sakali 'asanta'

"A devotee of Krishna has no desires and is always peaceful. Those who have material desires, desire for liberation or desire for some perfection are always lusty and never know any peace."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 19.149)

People only want money, money, money, and they do not know anything else except for money—they cannot do anything else in their lives. They live engrossed in material life and the life passes, but they have not been able to worship the Lord even a little. Childhood, youth, adulthood have passed and now at your final age, in your old age you think will do something...

vardhakye ekhana upaya-vihina
ta'te dina akinchana

"Now aged, I am devoid of any means of deliverance and thus destitute and distressed."

(Saranagati, 5.6)

* * *

Learn to Rely on the Lord

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 10
Translated from Bengali

Everybody says, "I will chant Harinam when I grow old," but when you are old, your back will pain, this will pain, that will pain, you will not be able to sit on the ground (your legs will pain). I am also thinking now: now I also understand what it is like. When I came thirty years ago, I had so much zeal, but now my mind is still zealous, but I see that the body becomes tired...

Your health will go away one day. This body is not eternal, and we will have to leave it one day—when you close your eyes, all these great buildings, cars, etc. will stay behind. We keep worrying and lamenting about the body ("What will I eat?", "Where will I sleep?", "I want something nice to eat", "I want something nice to wear"), but this body is every day going towards the cremation ghat!

Yesterday, somebody called me—if you hear what they said, you will be taken aback. The person called me and said, "Maharaj, I will go this time for Gaura Purnima, but I am diabetic... What will I eat in the morning on ekadasi at th temple?" I told them, "Look, that ekadasi is in one month, and you are thinking one month ahead that this day you will have a stomach problem. Have you ever thought that you may not even live to that day? Has it never crossed your mind that you can die any day before that?" Just see the state of the people in this world! They think, "I want to go for the parikrama, but what will happen if I do not get anything to eat in the morning on the ekadasi day? How will I do the parikrama then?" They think about what they will eat in one month, but do they ever think whether they will be actually alive in one month or not? Try to understand what I am saying. What a bad position the jiva souls of this world are in!

They cannot rely and depend on the Lord. They do not understand that the Lord is the protector. I have just told you—as soon as you think, "I have no guardian, no protector," then enemies will attack you from all sides. All the desires for enjoyment, liberation, perfections, all the lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness, envy, etc. will attack you and enter your heart. For as long as you think, "I have my Nitai, I have my Gaura Hari, I have my Gurudev," we will have nothing to worry about. You will see—surrender everything to their lotus feet—say just once, "Krishna, I am Yours, and You are mine"; pray to the Lord, "Dear Lord, please become mine, and make it so that I become Yours." And it is not enough to only say this with your mouth, it is necessary to say this from your heart.

* * *

Digesting Mercy

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 11
Translated from Bengali

If somebody accepts a guru but does not accept the guru's chastisement and guidance, then you can understand that this is not a disciple. What is there in chastisement? Spiritual benefit. There is a seed of spiritual benefit planted within chastisement and guidance. A mother also chastises and guides her son—she takes soil out of his mouth. She does it because she thinks about the child's benefit. In the same way, the guru always thinks about the spiritual benefit of his disciple. When the guru chastises and instructs his disciple, it means he is doing it desiring the disciple's benefit. If we cannot tolerate this chastisement—if we become upset or hurt (we become upset or contrite, thinking, "Oh, he told me this," "He told me that"), then we are very unfortunate. I would get actually happy, "Gurudev has chastised me! He does not chastise others, but he can chastise me." Gurudev did not chastise others, but he chastised me, and I would feel very happy, "Gurudev has chastised me!"

When Mahaprabhu was chastising Jagadananda Pandit, Sanatan Goswami cried. He thought, "The Lord has never given me sweets, He has always given me bitter things." Sivananda Sen was a very great personality, everybody knew him and everybody gave him honour. This Sivananda Sen was taking devotees from very far and everybody was full of honour towards him, but Nityananda Prabhu kicked him! What will you think of this? Who will understand the meaning of this? If somebody kicks you like this, you will get offended, "What is this! I do not need this kind of guru!" What to speak of kicking anyone, if the guru just chastises somebody, they say, "I do not need such a guru!" and flee! Yet, Nityananda Prabhu did not just chastise—He kicked! Not only that, He also cursed Sivananda Sen's sons to die! Sivananda Sen's wife did not understand it and began to cry, and Sivananda Sen said, "You do not understand it! Nityananda's curse is mercy, it is His blessing! If your sons die because Nityananda says, then they are very fortunate—they will go to a spiritual place." Who is able to understand this? Sivananda Sen said, "I have been serving Prabhu for so long, but it is only today that I have got His mercy!" Sivananda Sen's nephew Srikantha went to Gaura Hari to complain about Nityananda Prabhu ("My uncle is a big person, how can he be insulted like this?"), but Gaura Hari understood what had happened and He saw that Srikantha came and sat there quietly without saying anything—when he came to Mahaprabhu, he could not say anything.

Such is Nityananda Prabhu's mercy. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami also—he had made a grand festival, but when he came to Nityananda Prabhu and surrendered to Him,

"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-bhagavat, Adi-khanda, 17.54)

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami fell at Nityananda Prabhu's feet in a prostrate obeisance, but Nityananda Prabhu put His feet on his head! On his head, can you believe it! That is why He is called avadhut (beyond any rules or restrictions). Nityananda Prabhu put His feet on Srila Raghunath Das Goswami's head and said, "Go, My child, your material bondage is gone now." Mahaprabhu had told him before,

se chhala se-kale krsna sphurabe tomare
krsna-krpa yanre, tare ke rakhite pare

"Krishna will reveal to you how you can come. Who can stop the one who has got mercy of Krishna?"

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 16.241)

This is how Srila Raghunath Das Goswami could finally run away and come to Mahaprabhu. This happened in Panihati, at the chida-dahi mahotsav.

Once, somebody asked Srila Guru Maharaj, "Is there no way for me? If you give me your mercy, then my mother, my wife can leave me." Srila Guru Maharaj said humbly, "Do I have the power to give mercy? They will leave you, but you will not be able to leave them. That is the profound truth." "I have left the blanket, but the blanket is not leaving me." So, your wife, your son have left you, but can you leave them? You cannot!

Everyone should serve according to their right or qualification. Many come to the temple, thinking, "I will live in the temple, I will chant kirtan," but gradually they become lazy and begin to slacken—they cannot sit during kirtans, they cannot sit during the class, they do not come to the class... Such people do not get a chance to practise Krishna consciousness.

"Ambarish Maharaj always engaged his mind at the lotus feet of Krishna, his words in describing the spiritual world and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his hands in cleansing and washing the Lord's temple, his ears in hearing topics about the Supreme Lord, his eyes in seeing the Deity of Lord Krishna in the temple, his body in embracing Vaishnavs or touching their lotus feet, his nostrils in smelling the aroma of the Tulasi leaves offered to Krishna's lotus feet, his tongue in tasting food offered to Krishna, his legs in going to places of pilgrimage like Vrindavan and Mathura or to the Lord's temple, his head in touching the lotus feet of the Lord and offering Him obeisances, and his desires in serving the Lord faithfully. In this way Maharaj Ambarish engaged his senses in the transcendental loving service of the Lord." Everyone must do the service that they are given. In a devotee's life, service is the vow, service is the life force, service is the duty, Always remember this.

Anyhow, much has been said, you have heard many things. Does anyone have any questions or doubts? Is there anything you could not understand? How can the tongue of such a low soul as myself speak about the glories of Sri Nityananda Prabhu? I have only told you the little bit that I have heard from Sri Gurupadpadma. Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur described Nityananda Prabhu very beautifully. You can find this description in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, some of it is also printed in Sri Nityananda Mahimamrta.

You know, Param Guru Maharaj (Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj) came here, to the birthplace of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, before he started giving initiation. He paid his obeisance here and prayed for His mercy, "Prabhu, please give me Your mercy." Then, Nityananda Prabhu ordered him, "First distribute to this world the mercy that you have got from Prabhupad, then come to ask Me for mercy." After that, Srila Sridhar Maharaj started taking disciples.

* * *

Our Primary Need

Sri Ekachakra Dham, evening class
Sri Varaha Dvadasi, 6 February 2020, part 12
Translated from Bengali

Sri Nityananda Prabhu, the jewel of the twice-born, appeared in the month of Magh, on the supremely pure day of sukla-trayodasi that is liberation personified (Mukti Devi). [His Divine Grace answers an interjected question: Nityananda Prabhu liked jackfruit, date juice and begun-pora (fried eggplant)...]

Nityananda Prabhu is asraya-vigraha.

asraya laiya bhaje tare krsna nahi tyaje
ara saba mare akarane

"Krishna never leaves those who have taken shelter in Him. All others simply die in vain."

(By Srila Narottam Das Thakur, Prarthana, 17)

Always remember this.

I have just remembered that I wrote something. Sriman Mahaprabhu told Sriman Nityananda Prabhu to preach Krishna Katha in Gauda Mandal, but Sriman Nityananda Prabhu said,

bhaja gauranga, kaha gauranga, laha gaurangera nama re
ye jana gauranga bhaje, sei amara prana re

"Worship Gauranga! Say Gauranga! Take Gauranga's Name! Those who worship Gauranga are My heart and soul!"

Many say that Sriman Nityananda Prabhu did not follow Sri Gaura Hari's order, that He ignored it. This is not true. Sri Krishna Tattva and Sri Gaura Tattva is one. What is Gauranga Mahaprabhu? He is a combined form of Sri Radha and Krishna, that is why Vasudev Ghosh sang,

yadi gaura na ha'ta tabe ki ha-ita
kemane dharitam de
radhara mahima, prema-rasa-sima
jagate janata ke?

"If Gaura had not come, then what would have happened? How would we have maintained our lives? Who would have revealed to the world Radha's glory and the extremes of Her ecstatic divine love?"

(Srila Vasudev Ghosh Thakur)

If Sri Gauranga had not come, we would not have been able to know anything about Sri Radha's glory. Many do not like Nityananda Prabhu's behaviour, clothes, etc.—such people should know that Sriman Nityananda Prabhu is avadhut. He did not follow any rules and regulations of this world. When Mahaprabhu gives someone a certificate, it is not necessary for them to get a certificate from anywhere else. Sriman Mahaprabhu also warned everyone not to ever criticise Sriman Nityananda Prabhu, not even by mistake—those who criticise Him will fall into a terrible hell. You all know that Madhai hit Nityananda Prabhu with a piece of clay pot. Mahaprabhu became very angry about it and called His Sudarsan Chakra, but Sriman Nityananda Prabhu begged Mahaprabhu for Madhai—Madhai fell at Nityananda Prabhu's feet, and Sriman Mahaprabhu did bestow His mercy on Madhai. I wrote this here (in the introduction to Sri Nityananda Mahimarta, Second Bengali Edition). [His Divine Grace continues reading:]

preme matta nityananda krpa-avatara
uttama, adhama, kichhu na kare vichara
ye age padaye, tare karaye nistara
ataeva nistarila mo-hena durachara

"Because He is intoxicated by ecstatic love and is an incarnation of mercy, He does not distinguish between the good and the bad. Nityananda Prabhu does not consider who is good and who is bad, He saves anyone who falls before Him. Therefore He has delivered such a sinful and fallen person as me."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 5.208-209)

Some preach that it is necessary to first become a devotee of Krishna, but Krishna Himself said, "Those who say they are My devotees are not My devotees. Those who are devotees of My devotees, are My devotees." How can you become a devotee of Krishna if you cannot first serve Srila Gurudev, who is Krishna's own associate? Some say, "I have got the treasure of divine love (Krsna-prema-dhana painu)", but Sriman Mahaprabhu said He had not got any Krishna-prema. Vraja gopis said, "We have no devotion whatsoever to Krishna! We could not serve Krishna. We do not have the devotion that Prahlad had." It is necessary to first worship Nitai—when you get Nityananda's mercy, then you will get Gauranga's mercy, and when you get Gauranga's mercy, you will get the right and qualification to serve Sri Radha Govinda in Goloka Vrindavan. "Nitaiyer karuna habe Vraje Radha Krsna pabe—when Nitai bestows His mercy you will reach Radha-Krishna in Vraja."

Many sahajiyas imitate Nityananda Prabhu and they say, "Gaudiya Math's sadhus do not worship Sriman Nityananda Prabhu." They should know that genuine Gaudiya Vaishnavs do worship Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. They do not say "Jay Nitai! Jay Gaura!" like sahajiyas and come to rob people's houses. Real devotees do not see Nityananda Prabhu as an object of enjoyment ("I will show people Nitai and get some money from them").

At first, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami had tried many times but he could not get free from material bondage—Sriman Mahaprabhu told him, "Go back to your home, do not become crazy."

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana

"Do not show your false renunciation to people. Serve accepting material things, but without attachment."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 16.238)

However, Sriman Nityananda Prabhu bestowed His mercy on him in Panihati—He did Vaishnav-seva through him, the festival that became known as danda-mahotsav ("punishment festival"). Sriman Nityananda Prabhu bestowed such mercy on him that He kept His feet in Raghunath Das Goswami's head and, blessing him, sent him to Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu then engaged him in the service to Svarup Damodar, calling him 'Svarup's Raghu'.

Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami pleased Nityananda Prabhu's dear devotee Ramdas Minaketan and attained Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's mercy. Becoming pleased with Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami, Sriman Nityananda Prabhu came to him in a dream. After that, Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami described the appearance of Nityananda Prabhu in a very beautiful way.

When Mahaprabhu went to Puri, Nityananda Prabhu broke His danda into three parts and threw into the Bhargi River. The meaning of this is that if you are to take up a danda, you have to make a vow of tridandi-sannyas, promising to serve with your actions, thoughts, and speech. In this way, inspired by the behaviour of Nityananda Prabhu, Bhagavan Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad established tridandi-sannyas in his sampradaya, giving tridandi-sannyas to his disciples. My Sri Gurupadpadma gave an even more beautiful vision on tridandi-sannyas: he said that being a tridandi-sannyasi means to be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, and treating others with respect.

Therefore, we all must know that it is necessary to take shelter at the holy lotus feet of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. It means first of all to take shelter of a bona fide guru—surrendering to those who are always busy preaching Mahaprabhu's teachings, always busy serving Mahaprabhu, it is necessary to follow their instructions without any duplicity or insincerity. Service to Hari and the Guru is our covetable objective. You cannot chant the Holy Name if you make offences—you can only chant the letters of the Name or offences to the Holy Name; but if you chant the Names of Gaura Nityananda, there can be no offence in that. Our Param Gurudev Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksar Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj did not chant so much on his mala in his last years—he would only always chant loudly, "Nitai Gaura Hari bol, Nitai Gaura Hari bol." Then, we must understand how necessary Sriman Nityananda Prabhu is for our spiritual life. Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's glory is unlimited. It is not possible at all for such a low soul as myself to speak about them, so I am finishing here and I am again begging you all—please engage yourself in the service of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. This is my prayer to you all.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

I am finishing here.

vanchha-kalpatarubhyas cha krpa-sindhubhya eva cha
patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah

"Again and again I offer my obeisance unto the Supreme Lord's devotees, who are saviours of the fallen, oceans of mercy, and wish-fulfilling trees."

[His Divine Grace then chants 'Hari Haraye Nama Krsna', recited the Jaya Dhavani and concludes the evening class.]

[As His Divine Grace pronounces, "Hadai Pandit, Padmavati Devi ki jay," His Divine Grace notes:] When Nityananda was taken away, Hadai Pandit did not eat many days, grieving about his son. Somebody says Madhavendra Puri took Him, but this is not so—the name is not mentioned anywhere. When Nityananda Prabhu was doing the parikrama of Vrindavan, He met with Madhavendra Puri, this is sure.

* * *

Vaishnav Rites

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 1

vande 'ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaisnavams cha
sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana raghunath-anvitam tam sa-jivam
sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam krsna-chaitanya-devam
sri-radha-krsna-padan saha-gana-lalita sri-visakhanvitams cha

I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of my Guru, the predecessor Gurus, the Lord's devotees, Sri Rupa, Sri Sanatan, Sri Raghunath, Sri Jiva, Sri Rupa's followers, Sri Krishna Chaitanyadev, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Prabhu, Sri Chaitanyadev's associates, Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, Sri Lalita Devi, Sri Visakha Devi, and all of Their associates.

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
chaksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

I offer my obeisance unto Sri Gurudev, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the salve of divine knowledge.

gurvvabhista-supurakam guru-ganair asisa-sambhusitam
chintyachintya-samasta-veda-nipunam sri-rupa-panthanugam
govindabhidham ujjvalam vara-tanum bhakty anvitam-sundaram
vande visva-gurun cha divya-bhagavat-premno hi bija-pradam

I offer my obeisance unto he who perfectly fulfils his Gurudev's most cherished desires; who is fully adorned with the blessings of his Gurudev's associates; who is expert in all aspects of Vedic knowledge, both conceivable and inconceivable; who is the pre-eminent follower of Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu's line; who is known as 'Govinda'—Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj; whose beautiful, effulgent, exalted form is infused with pure devotion; who is the Guru of the entire universe; and who is the giver of the seed of divine love for the Supreme Lord.

devam divya-tanum suchanda-vadanam balarka-chelanchitam
sandrananda-puram sad-eka-varanam vairagya-vidyambudhim
sri-siddhanta-nidhim subhakti-lasitam sarasvatanam varam
vande tam subhadam mad-eka-saranam nyasisvaram sridharam

I offer my obeisance unto my lord, Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, whose speech is most pleasing; whose divine form is adorned with garments the colour of the newly-risen sun; who is an abode of intense, ecstatic devotion; who is the sadhus' sole choice; who is an ocean of renunciation and knowledge; who is a treasure-house of perfect conclusions; who is resplendent with pure devotion; who is the best of Srila Saraswati Thakur's followers; who is the giver of all good; who is the leading general of the tridandi-sannyasis; and who is my sole shelter.

vanchha-kalpatarubhyas cha krpa-sindhubhya eva cha
patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah

Again and again I offer my obeisance unto the Supreme Lord's devotees, who are saviours of the fallen, oceans of mercy, and wish-fulfilling trees.

vrndayai tulasi-devyai priyayai kesavasya cha
krsna-bhakti-prade devi satyavatyai namo namah

Again and again I offer my obeisance unto Vrnda Devi, who is known as Tulasi Devi and Satyavati, who is most dear to Krishna, and who bestows devotion to Krishna upon us.

atha natva mantra-gurun gurun bhagavatarthadan
vyasan jagad-gurun natva tato jayam udirayet

Having offered obeisance to one's initiating Guru, to the Gurus who have taught one the meaning of the Bhagavat, and to all the authors of Vedic literature, who are the Gurus of the entire world, proclaim "Jay!"

jayah sa-parikara sri-sri-guru-gauranga-gandharva-govindasundar-padapadmanam jayastu!

All glory to the lotus feet of Sri Guru, Sri Gaurasundar, Sri Sri Gandharva-Govindasundar, and all of Their associates!

vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Goswamis, namely Sri Rupa Goswami, Sri Sanatan Goswami, Sri Raghunath Bhatta Goswami, Sri Raghunath Das Goswami, Sri Jiva Goswami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Goswami.

sri-krsna-chaitanya prabhu nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura-bhakta-vrnda

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Today, by the mercy of Vaishnavs and by the mercy of Gurudev, we are present here at this function in honour of the departure of Sripad Manoranjan Das Adhikari Prabhu's mother. You all Vaishnavs are present here today on this occasion. I see that many familiar devotees, my dear family, have come today. Supreme Lord Sri Krishna said, "I do not know anyone except My devotees, and devotees do not know anyone except Me."

We come to the association of Vaishnavs as a result of a very great fortune:

vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana
suniyachhi sadhu-guru-mukhe

"Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru."

('Jayare jayare jaya paramahamsa mahasaya')

Because Sripad Manoranjan Prabhu has come to this line, his mother's departure rites (paralaukik kriya) are observed according to the Vaishnav tradition. There is one beautiful letter written by Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Once, one of this disciples's father died, and on this occasion, he wrote a letter to Srila Prabhupad, saying, "My father has died. What will be now? What should I do?" Srila Prabhupad replied:

"When I received your letter, I had understood everything. I knew your father had passed away. One of the sons who is initiated should give maha-prasad as pindu after ten days (on the eleventh day), and they must serve pure devotee brahmans, brahmans, and Vaishnavs with prasadam. When somebody chants the Holy Name, the scriptures do not say that they should think of their parents as being possessed by ghosts or perform common funeral rites. [His Divine Grace—Hoping the dead person goes to heaven, people perform various rites: they apply fire to the mouth of the dead during the cremation because they are afraid a ghost can possess the body, etc.] Smartavadis arrange all the rites according to their own qualification. [His Divine Grace—Everybody lives and follows rules according to their qualification and right.] Particularly, if one performs the sraddha rites for their mother or father according to the smarta rules, then the father, the mother, as well as the person who does this sraddha for them, will have to again be born in the womb of a mother. [His Divine Grace—Do you understand this? This is why we do not make all this. Gurudev said that even if you cannot make a fire sacrifice, you must give prasad to Vaishnav brahmans. This is what we do. We make a fire sacrifice ('hom yajna'), etc.] The devotees of the Lord do not accept the rules and teachings of the smarta brahmans. Your eternal well-wisher, Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati."

I have printed a book that can be followed to make sraddha ceremonies, and this letter is written there. Anyhow, this had to be said, and I have told you. Many create a lot of problem out of this—they say that this is necessary, that is necessary, etc. Do you know why they do this? I wrote this small book, but there are many big, big books: those who do sraddha ceremonies for money take 10-20,000 or 25,000 rupees for the ceremony and ask you to buy so many things—clothes, pillows, etc. We do not do all this. What will those who cannot afford it do? Brahmans say, "If you chant the Holy Name, then the fire sacrifice will be pure." It must be done, but they do not do it. However, when we come, we do parikrama, chant kirtan, Harinama maha-mantra. This is the rule. Not all fire sacrifices are pure, but if you chant the Holy Name, then the sacrifice will be pure, but it is necessary to chant the Holy Name; otherwise, if you only chant "Om Svaha" it will not work.

Have you not heard about the yajna-patnis? When Krishna was herding the cows, the brahmans were doing a big fire sacrifice with fruit, etc., but these brahmans who were doing the sacrifice, chased Krishna away, "Hey, where are You going, a cowherd boy! So what You are hungry? We have not finished the fire sacrifice, and You think we must give you something to eat?" He for whom they are doing this sacrifice—Lord Narayan Himself—came there, asking, "Please give Me some fruit, give Me some prasad," but they chased Him away and could not recognise Him.

Anyway, I will chant some kirtans now, after that I will start the class...

* * *

Disciple's Life

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 2

[Following kirtans, His Divine Grace resumes the class:]

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

"The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill—all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First, I am offering my full obeisance at the lotus feet of my Divine Master Om Vishnupad Jagad-guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj begging him for his causeless mercy, aspiring for his service; after that, I am offering my full obeisance to all assembled guru-varga, godbrothers, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees, and all the devotees. I am offering my obeisance at your holy feet and praying for your mercy to this low soul.

Today is the day of the last rites for Sripad Manoranjan Prabhu's mother... [Clamour in the audience.] "Sevon mukhe kaha Krsna Nam. Do service with your hands and chant 'Krishna, Krishna' with your mouth." "Dinera madhye abala-tabala kata pachala parite para, tara madhye ki eka-bara govinda bolate nara!—How many idle talks we have during the day, how much we talk during the day! We talk all sorts of nonsense and cannot even one time take the Name of Govinda!" We talk so much! We only think about money and food... We do not think about the service to the Lord—we only always think about our own happiness. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur said:

nija sukha lagi' pape nahi dari
daya-hina svartha-para
para-sukhe duhkhi sada mithya-bhasi
para-duhkha sukha-kara

I am never afraid to engage in sinful activities for the sake of my own happiness. I am unkind and selfish. I always tell lies. I am unhappy when others are happy and happy when others are unhappy.

asesa kamana hrdi majhe mora
krodhi, dambha-parayana
mada-matta sada visaye mohita
himsa-garva vibhusana

"There are unlimited sinful desires within the core of my heart. I am angry and arrogant, always maddened with vanity, infatuated with mundanity, and malice and pride are my ornaments."

We do not have the mood or inclination to engage in service the whole day. "Now aged, we have become afflicted by the five-fold diseases." How will we practise Krishna consciousness? If we all think we have become Vaishnavs, how will we serve Vaishnavs then?

"ami ta' vaisnava," e-buddhi ha-ile,
amani na ha'ba ami

"If I think, 'I am a Vaishnav,' then I will never stop expecting honour from others (I will never become void of the desire for honour)."

(Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

If I have become a Vaishnav—if this thought comes to me—I will not be able to give honour to others. Who has the right to chant the Holy Name? Who can chant the Holy Name? Mahaprabhu said:

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.239)

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi' ahankara
vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji' anye karabi palana

Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean. Practise tolerance like a tree. Give up vengeance and nurture others.

(Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

We must be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree.

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe
dainya, daya anye mana, pratistha-varjana
chari gune guni hai karaha kirtana

"Live without causing anxiety to others; do good unto others without considering your own happiness. Humility, compassion, honouring others, and giving up prestige—become qualified with these four qualities and chant the Name."

(Gitavali, Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

You must be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree—then you can earn the right and qualification to chant the Holy Name. We must learn to be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, and we must learn to give honour to others. We pray to Gurudev:

sakale sammana karite sakati,
deha natha! yatha yatha
tabe ta' gaiba hari-nama sukhe,
aparadha habe hata

"O master! Give me the ability to befittingly honour everyone. Then I will sing the Lord's Name happily, and all my offences will be eradicated."

As you practise and practise Krishna consciousness, as you serve more and more, your ego will be going far away.

There are some sampradayas that say you must first become a devotees of Krishna: they give mala to someone and say, "You have come a Krishna-bhakta (devotee of Krishna)," but Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, "If there are a thousand Vaishnavs, there may be one devotee of Krishna among them." And some say that we must first become a devotee of Gauranga. If you first become a devotee of Krishna, then what will happen?

radha-bhajane yadi mati nahi bhela
krsna-bhajana tava akarana gela

"If you do not worship Srimati Radharani, your worship of Krishna is nothing."

It is necessary to first worship Gauranga. Moreover, "Nitaiyer karuna habe Vraje Radha Krsna pabe—when Nitai bestows His mercy you will reach Radha-Krishna in Vraja." What can you get without the mercy of Nitai, of Sri Gurupadpadma?

Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said: if you send a letter to the Lord, will you get a reply? Do you know the mobile number of the Lord? How many digit is His number? You know many phone numbers, but do you know Krishna's phone number? We have no right, no qualification to know it—we know our Gurupadpadma, our Gurudev. If you send a letter to Gurudev, you can get news about Krishna. What will you say to that? If you send a letter to Gurudev, you can get news about Krishna—you can hear back from Krishna. Unless you send your letter to Gurudev, you cannot get any news from Krishna. We must first send our letter to the Guru. We must keep in touch with Gurudev—if you do not keep in touch with your Guru, what is the use then? Many of us have taken initiation and think that when you take initiation, this is it, but it is not so. In his last days, Gurudev told me: "Maharaj, going village to village, you have brought so many people to me, so many have taken initiation from me, but can you say how many have become disciples?" One does not become a disciple just by taking the mantra. I wrote about this in Guidance 4, you can read about it there. One does not become a disciple just by taking the mantra...

* * *

Sincere Spiritual Life

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 3

If I get admitted to a school, does it mean I have passed the final exam? No. When you get enrolled in a school, you must study. The spiritual life is the same. What does it mean to study? It means to engage in sravanam (listen to the holy talks of sadhus) and kirtanam (to chant the Holy Name and the glories of the Lord). Many people go to Nabadwip—they take a bus, go to see Mayapur, and return. What did Srila Sridhar Maharaj call it? Eye-exercise. When people say, "I have been to Nabadwip," they mostly mean Mayapur, but Mayapur is just one island, Antardwip. There are nine islands, with Antardwip in the middle. We have a book, Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-Mukta-Mala, it is written very beautifully and there are pictures also in it. [His Divine Grace shows the cover of the book, featuring the lotus of the nine islands of Nabadwip] You can see here there are eight islands all around, and there is Antardwip in the middle. Our Chaitanya Saraswat Math ('jal mandir') temple is in Koladwip, in the aparadha-bhanjanera pat (the place where offences are forgiven), and the our temple in Nrisingha Palli is in Godrumdwip. There is also Simantadwip above Mayapur, Rudradwip, there is Madhyadwip near Godrumdwip (they both form one area), and, finally, there is Rtudwip, Jahnudwip, and Modadrumdwip. These are the nine islands. When you ask someone if they have been to Nabadwip, they say, "Yes, I have been to Mayapur many times." That is why it is said:

kaya bara eli kaya bara geli
tabu tattva na sikhili
nijer matha nije khaili
e-dosa dibe kare bhai?

"Coming and going, coming and going, and never learnt anything. You have been eating your own brain, who will you blame now, brother?"

How many times have you been coming?

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

"There are 900,000 species living in the water. There are also 2,000,000 nonmoving living entities, such as trees and plants. There are also 1,100,000 species of insects and reptiles, and there are 1,000,000 species of birds. As far as quadrupeds are concerned, there are 3,000,000 varieties, and there are 400,000 human species."

(Padma Purana, Vishnu Purana)

You all know this sloka, it is written in Vishnu Purana. We have been born 900,000 times in water; we have been born 2,000,000 times as various trees, plants, hills, etc.; we have been born 1,100,000 times as various spiders, insects, worm, etc.; we have been flying as birds 1,000,000 times; we have been born 3,000,000 times as cows, goats, sheep, cats, pigs, etc.; and we have been born 400,000 times as humans. Having wandered through all these 8,400,000 species, we have finally got this human birth here in Bharata-bhumi (India):

bharata-bhumite haila manusya janma yara
janma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara

"One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India should take advantage of his birth and bring benefit to all other people."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 9.41)

That is why, the Vaishnava residents of the temple incessantly spread the nectar of the glories of the Lord (Vaishnavs mathera vaisnava-gana kare sada vitarana hari-guna-kathamrta bhave). What do they distribute? They distribute that getting which all our desires can be removed. We have so many desires—money, women, fame the tigress (kanaka-kamini, pratistha-baghini, etc. Yet, Vaishnavs only distribute Hari-katha, Bhagavat-katha. This is what service to the jiva souls is.

What is bhajan? What is Krishna consciousness? You know a few kirtans, you know some Hari-katha, you have learn two slokas by heart, and you think you have become a Vaishnav and tell others, "Come, take my prasad." Vaishnavs never give their prasad to others.

You have heard that Srila Jagannath Das Babaji had actually eaten a banana lead plate(!)—have you not heard about it? Somebody invited him to Dhatrigram (a village near Kalna) to give him prasadam. On the way to that place, some man saw Srila Jagannath Das Babaji and saw that his uttariya was torn, he had no shoes, etc. The man gave Srila Jagannath Das Babaji some money. Srila Jagannath Das Babaji took the money, but having walked for three kilometres, he suddenly said to his servant Bihari Das, "Let us go back. Come, let us go to the house of that man." Bihari Das asked, "But why?" Srila Jagannath Das Babaji only said, "Come, come!" When the man saw Srila Jagannath Das Babaji coming, he thought, "Oh, I gave him some money; he must be coming to take some more." However, Srila Jagannath Das Babaji returned that money to the man, saying, "Please, take this money back. I cannot tolerate the burden of this money! I cannot chant the Holy Name! This burden is too much!" He gave that money back and left. He started walking again and finally reached that house in Dhatrigram. The lady who lived at that house said, "You are late—I have already finished cooking. Please offer the bhog." Then, the bhog was offered, and she served prasadam to Srila Jagannath Das Babaji. Srila Jagannath Das Babaji finished taking prasadam (he ate everything), but the woman thought, "It was so hard to invite Babaji Maharaj, but he has not left any prasad for me..." So, she started pushing Babaji Maharaj, "Please take a little more, take a little more." Babaji Maharaj kept refusing, but she again said, "Please take a little more." Then, Babaji Maharaj understood why she was forcing him to eat, so he took some rice, dal again, and he again ate everything—this time, he not only ate everything, but he also ate the banana leaf plate! Bihari Das thought then, "I will never accept such invitations again, I have made an offence. I have given so much trouble to Babaji Maharaj—because of me, he had to eat the plate! This is a Vaishnav aparadh!"

* * *

Eternal Servants

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 4

There is a kirtan where it is written very beautifully, "Sisya thakibo sarvada—I always want to be a disciple." The other day, I got a call from abroad,

"Maharaj," the person said, "I have good news today!"

"What news?" I asked.

"I have given initiation to one person today!" he said.

"Oh?" I said, "You have given initiation, Maharaj? Then, will you give initiation to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I am always a disciple and I always want to be a disciple," I replied.

I have no desire to be a guru.

sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

When it comes to Vaishnav seva, we must remember that "Chhadiya vaisnava-seva nistara payechhe keba: Without service to the Vaishnav, you cannot get any relief." If you cannot serve devotees, if you have not been able to serve Vaishnavs and your Guru, then your life has passed in vain. Srila Guru Maharaj told: how many become disciples? Being a disciple means being able to tolerate and accept Gurudev's chastisement and mould yourself according to that. Yet we do not have such qualities. People come to the temple and complain that they are not given nice food, they are not given nice clothes or something. It is said that even if somebody steals and eats prasadam, they do it and commit a sin, but if you see it and go tell about it to others, this is an offence. These are Srila Prabhupad's words. If you see somebody steal prasad and eat it, you must not tell others about it—if you tell about it to other people, this is a greater offence than stealing. That is why, we are told:

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

"Do not listen to the mundane talks, do not listen to the mundane news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krsna, and in your mind serve Radha-Krsna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.236-237)

Do not talk about mundane things, do not discuss mundane news. There is no need for any fancy food, there is no need for any fancy arrangement for bathing, etc. We are always busy with eating, sleeping, fearing, and mating. "I will eat well, I will wear nice clothes, and I will take very good care of my health"—we always worry about this and waste our time.

dina yaya michha kaje nisa nidra-base
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe base

“My days are passed in useless work and nights are wasted on sleeping. It never occurs to me that there is death sitting next to me.”

('Durlabha manava janma labhiya' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

Our days and time go away as we are endlessly busy with work and sleeping, but we never know when we will leave this world. We have not got any understanding of who we are—we think that this body and "I" are the same thing, we do not know who we are. When asked, we say, "I am this and this Ray," "I am this and this Biswas," "I am this and this Sarkar," "I am this and this Das." We think that this is who we are, but when will our heart and mind become clean? When will we think that "I am an eternal servant of Lord Krishna"?

'krsna-nitya-dasa'—jiva taha bhuli' gela
ei dose maya tara galaya bandhila

"When the jiva soul makes the mistake of forgetting that it is an eternal servant of Krishna, Maya captures the soul by its neck."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.24)

We forget that we are eternal servants of Krishna—we only remember it for a few moments. One man took initiation from Gurudev and lived for ten-twelve years in Vrindavan; after that, he said, "I will not stay at the temple, please take this service from me." I told him, "Prabhu, when you took initiation from Gurudev, you took the beads saying you are an eternal servant of Lord Krishna, but were you a servant of Lord Krishna for ten years only?" You have taken the beads—are you a servant of Lord Krishna or are you an eternal servant of Krishna? Which?

We are eternal servants of Lord Krishna—this is what we forget, and as soon as we forget it, Maya attacks us. What is Maya? Maya is that which is not eternal, not true (asat). That is which is eternal, pure and true is not Maya. The problem is that we take false things (asat) for the truth (sat). Where does Maya get her power? From the Lord. Her duty is to take us away from the service to the Lord and engage us in her own service—make us her servants. When you put a piece of iron into fire, the iron becomes hot and if you keep it longer in the fire, it becomes red—if you touch that hot iron to someone's body, it will burn. Before, the iron did not burn, so why does it burn now? Because there is fire inside it. Where does the fire come from? The iron gets its power (fire) from the original fire. In the same way, Maya also gets her power from the Lord and then removes us from the Lord's service. This is how we end up always thinking, "My house," "My room," "My son," "My family"—we always flounder amidst all this and live in the prison of Maya. Yet, there is a way out...

* * *

The Answer Is One

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 5

There is a way to escape. "There is only one question, and there is only one answer." Who said this? Sukadev Goswami. I will tell about it very briefly.

When Parasara Muni, Vedavyas and many other great sages gathered at the assembly of Pariksit Maharaj, Sukadev Goswami came to that assembly stark naked. (We have printed this story in a small book. There are two small books, one is about the knowledge of the self (atma-jnana)—it is a lecture that Srila Gurudev gave in Mexico. There were some policemen present at that lecture, and after they heard it, they took initiation from Gurudev! Gurudev spoke in English, and I have written it in Bengali. The other book is about the history of Srimad Bhagavatam's appearance.) So, what did Sukadev Goswami say? He asked Pariksit Maharaj, "What is your question? What do you want?" Pariksit Maharaj answered, "How can I get real benefit?" Hearing it, Sukadev said, "What you have said is right, Pariksit! There is only one question (the question you have just asked), and there is only one answer." Then, as he spoke about the answer to that question, he spoke the whole of great Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sri Sukadev Goswami spoke for seven days, and Suta Goswami heard it too at that assembly and later told it to the sixty thousand sages who were doing a fire sacrifice in Naimisaranya. After that, Srimad Bhagavatam was written down as a book. It was not originally written by anyone. People often ask who wrote Bhagavatam, but nobody wrote it.

When Vyasadev felt disturbed in his mind, Narad Goswami, his guru, came to him in Badarikashram, and Vyasadev told him, "Gurudev, I do not feel peace at heart." Narad Goswami said then, "How will you get peace? You have produced so many scriptures. Gita, Puranas, Vedas, etc.—this is all kitchuri (hodgepodge)!" You know, they are cooking here so many things—rice, dal, subji (vegetables), shukta (bitter preparation), chutney, sweet rice—and if you mix it all together, will you get the taste? So, for example, you read Gita: yes, it is the primary scripture, but there is karma-yoga, sankya-yoga, jnana-yoga, and then bhakti-yoga. There are many teachings inside it. So, Narad Goswami said, "Think of such a scripture where there would be only bhakti-yoga and by reading which people can get the Lord." You cannot get the Lord through any karma, jnana, etc.—you can get the Lord only through bhakti, devotion. And that scripture was Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sukadev Goswami spent twelve years in the womb of his mother—he did not come out. When requested, he said, "I will not come out because if I do, illusion will attack me." Then, some sages came and suggested Vyasadev, "You have the power to stop Maya (illusion), so why do you not stop illusion for five minutes to let him come out?" Vyasadev asked, "Will five minutes do it?" Then, they asked Sukadev, "Will you be able to come out within five minutes?" Sukadev agreed ("Yes, five minutes is enough") and came out—as soon as he came out, he ran to the forest. He did not see anyone. He was as if blind—he had eyes, but he did not see anything in this world, he only saw the Lord. So, he just went wherever his glance fell. Even the girls who bathed naked in the river in the Himalayas, but they felt nothing when Sukadev was passing by—yet, when they saw Vyasadev, they quickly threw some clothes on to cover themselves.

Moreover, Sivji Maharaj said, "Aham vetti, Suka vetti, Vyasa vetti na vetti va. I know it, Sukadev Goswami, the son of Vyasadev, knows it, but Vyasadev may or may not know it." So, Vyasadev gave such a great power to Sukadev that Sukadev could give everything to this world—that is Bhagavatam Katha. If we follow this Bhagavatam—if we have this kind of high thinking, if we think about that highest attainment, then we will realise that we are all children of nectar. We all have one father—the Lord.

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 other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes."

(Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.1)

This is who we must think about, and if we can leave this world thinking about the Lord, then we will leave the bondage of illusion, and after that:

mayare kariya jaya chhadana na yaya,
sadhur-gurur krpa vina na dekhi upaya

“It is not possible to conquer maya by illusory environment (by engaging in maya); it is only possible to get relief by the mercy of Guru, Vaishnav.”

We must become surrendered.

tad viddhi pranipatena, pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam, jnaninas tattva-darsinah

"You will be able to attain knowledge by satisfying the divine master with submission, relevant inquiry, and sincere service. The enlightened souls who are learned in scriptural knowledge and endowed with direct realisation of the Supreme Absolute Truth will impart divine knowledge to you."

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 4.34)

We must have a complete, full surrender. We sing every morning:

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana
bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara
sad-anga saranagati ha-ibe yanhara
tanhara prarthana sune sri-nanda-kumara

"Humility, self-submission, embracing the Lord's guardianship, maintaining the faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me', engaging only in activities that are favourable to devotion, rejecting everything unfavourable to devotion. These are the six types of saranagati, and if you can surrender in all the six ways, Krishna will hear you."

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

You think that if you wear beads on your neck, you are a devotee, but some wear neck beads and do both what is favourable to devotion and what is not favourable to devotion. It is the same as thinking, "I will drink alcohol, and I will drink milk"—if you do this, then you will not get any benefit from drinking milk. We must accept that which is healthy and wholesome, and we must reject that which is unwholesome and harmful. Yet, people will say, "Oh, I can give up everything, but I cannot give up fish. They cry, "There is such nice fish in the pond, how can I resist it?" Gambling, intoxication, illegal sex, and meat-eating are unfavourable to devotion; these must be given up. We were doing a fire sacrifice just now—if you put one spoon ghee into the fire and then one spoon of water, then you can tell me if you can do a fire sacrifice like this or not. So, you must only offer ghee—if you put only ghee, then you can do a fire sacrifice. And people think, "I will eat meat, fish, everything, and chant the Holy Name." That is why it is said,

asadhu-sange bhai krsna-nama nahi haya
namaksara bahiraya bate tabu nama kabhu naya

"Brother, the Name of Krishna never appears in bad association: the letters of the Name may appear, but the Name never does."

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 7.1)

It may sound like the Holy Name, just as karma and service look the same. When a cat is carrying a mouse in its mouth and when it is carrying its kitten in its mouth, it looks the same, but when the cat is carrying its kitten, it is taking it to some warm place, for example, but when it is carrying a mouse, is it carrying it out of affection? Of course not. So, it may look the same, but these two are completely different things. You should always remember this.

* * *

"Give Me These Alms"

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 6

Practise Krishna consciousness properly. I have only one prayer to you all. I am a beggar—I come to you all to beg alms. This is what I am begging from you:

You are all Vaishnav Thakurs—please always give me your mercy, please cry to the Lord for me.

vaisnavera avedane krsna dayamaya
e hena pamara prati habena sadaya

"Satisfied by the Vaishnav's prayer, Krishna will be merciful to this sinner."

Please give me your mercy so that I can serve Vaishnavs birth after birth. This is my prayer, and this is what I am begging you all for. I am a beggar, and beggars always beg for alms. I am begging you all for such alms that I may have devotion to the Lord and serve Vaishnavs in this world.

There is one more thing I will beg you for. "Krsna bolo, sange chala, ei matra bhiksa chai. I am begging you for one thing only: come with us and chant 'Krishna'!" Chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

So, I am asking you all to please not leave Krishna consciousness, no matter what dangers or obstacles come. Guru Maharaj often said: when were elephants, how many trees we ate! Then, why do we run after material things now? Gurudev gave one more example: you can see this mobile phone here; it works through the medium of ether, and you can even talk to somebody in America with it. Somebody called me today from America—it was morning here, and it was evening for them. How great the distance is—it is thousands and thousands of miles! America is on the other end of the globe! Yet, through the medium of sound, we can talk with somebody on the other end of the globe. So, in the same way, when we chant kirtan and utter the sound of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, why cannot we reach the Lord through this medium (provided we chant it without offences)? Why cannot we? Tell me.

Once, somebody asked me, "You said yesterday that when Sukadev Goswami came out of his mother's womb, he ran away, but our children cannot even walk until two years old. How can that be then?" I told him, "You can see calves—when they are born, they start running after one hour. How can that be?" What is the point answering such questions? Somebody else asked me, "Maharaj, what should I say when people ask me why I wear tilaks?" I answered, "When somebody asks you, 'Why do you wear tilaks?' you should answer, 'Why are you not wearing tilaks?' That is the question. If they do not understand anything, if they cannot understand the glory of the Lord, then you can just tell them, 'Why are you not wearing tilaks?'"

* * *

Remembering Haridas Thakur

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 7

Today is a disappearance, so on this occasion I will tell something from Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita about the disappearance of Srila Haridas Thakur. I will tell it to you briefly. You all know that Haridas Thakur's disappearance is on the day of ananda-chaturdasi.

You know that Mahaprabhu was staying in Gambhira (a room, or a chamber, within a room) at the house of Kashi Misra. Do you know who Kashi Misra was before? Kubja. She wanted Krishna to stay at her house, and Krishna promised her to fulfil her desire in Kali-yuga. So, Mahaprabhu stayed there during many years and performed His intimate, internal pastimes (antaranga-lila) at Kashi Misra's house. At the same time, Mahaprabhu told Haridas Thakur, "When I come to stay in Nilachal (Sri Puri Dham), you must come with Me." So, when Mahaprabhu came to Puri, He told Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya to arrange for a room, and that room was in Siddha Bakul. So, Srila Haridas Thakur came there and stayed at Siddha Bakul and worshipped the Lord from there. He would always loudly chant the Holy Name. What prasad did he take? When Jagannath prasad came and Mahaprabhu took it, the remnants of that prasad was sent to Haridas Thakur (Govinda, Mahaprabhu's servant, would bring it to him every day). Haridas Thakur himself never entered Jagannath Temple.

Haridas Thakur chanted three lakhs Holy Names (300,000 Holy Names) every day, and when he rescued Laksmihira, he chanted even more than that—he vowed to chant ten million Holy Names that month. He told her, "I have not completed chanting the Holy Name."

Anyhow, one day, Haridas Thakur showed the pastime of illness. He was lying down, and when Govinda brought prasadam for him, he said, "Aji langhimu. Today I will break the rule..." We break the rules so often, but he said, "Today, I will break the rule..." Why did he say it? Because he had not finished chanting the Holy Names. He said, "How can I send prasadam back and how can I take it without completing my chanting of the Holy Names?" Thinking in this way, he finally said, "All right, Prabhu has sent prasad, I cannot ignore it. I have to take it." He took a little from that prasad and told Govinda to go.

Govinda came back to Mahaprabhu and told Him the news. He said, "Haridas is not well. He is chanting the Holy Name softly." Mahaprabhu immediately came to Haridas.

"Haridas, what has happened to you? What is wrong with your health? What is your disease?" asked Mahaprabhu.

"Prabhu, my body is not sick; my mind is sick," answered Haridas.

How beautiful these words are. Our minds are sick. If we think, "I will lie down today," then we lie down; if we think, "I will sit up," we sit up; if our mind tells us, "I will go to hear kirtan today," then we will go and listen to kirtan. We are always servants of our minds. Yet, satisfying the whims of your mind is not Krishna consciousness. Many say, "Eat whatever pleases your soul." The soul's duty is to serve Paramatma. The soul lives on the internal plane, and the mind lives on the external plane. This is the difference between the mind and the soul. The tongue and other senses will want whatever the mind tells them, that is why we end up thinking, "I want to eat nice things, I want to wear nice things," etc. These are all desires of our naughty mind. Therefore, Haridas Thakur said, "My body is not sick; my mind is sick."

"You have become old now, Haridas," said Mahaprabhu. "You are Namacharya! You do not have to chant so many Holy Names now."

"Prabhu, please take a seat," said Haridas softly. "You have shown me many pastimes. You have shown me Your birth pastime; You have shown me Your childhood and adolescent pastimes; You have shown me Your householder pastimes; You have shown me Your sannyas pastime. I know that You will not stay in this world much longer now. It is my desire that You do not show this pastime to me. I will not be able to tolerate this pastime. I want to ask You for something, Prabhu..."

"What is it?"

"Let me leave this body before You."

In this world, people want to live as long as possible, but Gurudev said: even if you live only for ten years, it is good if you chant the Holy Name during this time, but if you live for one hundred years and not chant the Holy Name, there is no use carrying around this body for one hundred years. People are proud, "My father has lived 120 years!" But there is no use—it is better if you live just ten years but chant the Holy Name.

"What are you saying, Prabhu?" replied Mahaprabhu. "I have done everything together with you. What will I do without you?"

"Prabhu, please do not worry. I wish to see Your lotus face with these eyes, I will hold Your holy feet on my chest, and I will chant Your Name with this mouth..."

"All right... The Lord fulfils the desires of His devotees, so He will certainly fulfil your desire."

The next day, Mahaprabhu came to Haridas Thakur together with all the devotees.

"Haridas, what are the news?" asked Mahaprabhu as He came into Haridas Thakur's room.

"As you wish," replied Haridas Thakur.

Then, Mahaprabhu told the devotees to start chanting and circumambulating Haridas Thakur (start the parikrama). Haridas Thakur caught Mahaprabhu's hand and made Him sit beside him. He held Mahaprabhu's feet on his chest, and, looking at the holy lotus face of Mahaprabhu, he chanted, "Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Sri Krishna Chaitanya." As he chanted it, his soul left the body.

This is how Srila Haridas Thakur left his body. I have told you about this pastime briefly.

* * *

Poverty of Mind

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 8

There is one more thing I want to say. I did not see so many people in the morning, but now everyone is starting to crowd. Do you know why? I will read you what Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur says. In this country, people have the cult of feeding 'Nara-Narayan' (feed people, thinking they are personification of Lord Narayan), but can a human (nara) ever become Narayan (the Supreme Personality of Godhead)? We call feeding people "service to poor Narayan," but you tell me—can Narayan, who is the original master of Laksmi Devi (goddess of wealth and prosperity), be poor? He is the master of the whole world, He is the owner of all wealth in this world, and they call Him "poor Narayan"! This is an offence to say this. Never utter such things.

One time, when Srila Prabhupad finished Nabadwip Dham parikrama from Chaitanya Math, there was a big festival—all the sadhus, devotees, brahmacharis, and sannyasis had come from all temples. At this time, one man came to the temple and asked, "When will they give food for the poor?" All of us would feel pain to hear this. "Tell me, dear mind, are you a beggar for food (bhojan) or a beggar for spiritual life (bhajan)?" We sing Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's song "Sarvasva tomara, charane sapiya":

taba nija-jana prasada seviya
uchchhistha rakhibe yaha
amara bhojana parama-anande
pratidina habe taha

"Whatever remnants your devotees leave behind after honouring Your prasad, I will eat that every day with a great joy."

Yet, when prasadam is distributed, they take paneer out and keep it separately, giving mostly juice to others. What is this? I asked once, "What is all this paneer here doing?" They said, "Oh, we have kept some in case nothing is left for us after prasad distribution." Yet, you sing in the kirtan, "Whatever remnants your devotees leave behind after honouring Your prasad, I will eat that every day in great joy"...

You can remember the example of Kalidas. He never even sat together with Gaudiya Vaishnavs. He would hide in the forest at that time, and when Vaishnavs finished taking prasad and threw their plates away, he would come and lick those plates.

Later, Mahaprabhu gave him a certificate. It was generally prohibited for anyone to touch Mahaprabhu's feet. We also tell everyone, "Do not touch the feet." Why do we say this? Because why will such highest Vaishnavs as you touch the feet of such a lowly soul as myself with your pure hands? That is the rule. On the other hand, what do devotees think? "Gurudev, I am a lowly soul, how can I touch your feet?" You must remember this. So, what happened that time with Kalidas? You know that when you enter Jagannath Temple through the Lion Gate, there is a place where water is coming and where you can come and wash your feet. One time, Mahaprabhu was washing His feet there, and one devotee (Kalidas) came and, touching Mahaprabhu feet, drank that water from His feet. Everybody rushed at him, "Do not touch Prabhu's feet! Do not touch the feet!" However, Mahaprabhu said, "Do not prohibit him." Why? Mahaprabhu said, "Because he has become a 'jhanu vaishnav' ('a seasoned, or crafty, Vaishnav'). He ate all the Vaishnavs' remnants and have become a veteran Vaishnav." How? Because Kalidas never sat in one line together with Vaishnavs to take prasad, but he took everyone's remnants. How much humility he has! We must learn from his example.

* * *

"Come, Dear Mind, Come"

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 9

This was written by Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur:

One time, there started an annual festival at Sri Gaudiya Math. Many preachers of exclusive genuine religion, exemplary sannyasis and brahmacharis came to the temple from all over India. Many invited respectable gentlemen and ladies also came to the festival, yearning to hear about the nectarean devotion to the Lord. Endlessly jubilant and endowed with sincere service mood, all selfless, pious servitors were ready to enrich everyone—the invited, the uninvited, devotees, non-devotees, materialists, and strict renunciates who are averse to service—through Hari-kirtan (glorification of the Lord). There was Krishna-katha heard everywhere, and everyone's hearts rejoiced and soared to hear narrations about Krishna, to hear the songs extolling Krishna's qualities resounding all around them. Even surprised passers-by, attracted by the festival, became stunned and forgot where they were going.

At this time, somebody had the guts to come and ask me, "Oh, listen here! When are they going to give food for beggars here?" What must I reply! Ah, hearing this question, I as if lost myself. I looked within my own heart, and started to reason with it.

Oh, listen here, foolish mind! Let's see the truth: What kind of a beggar are you? What do you lack? What do you want? Alas! You seem to only wish to gratify your material senses; you feel you lack the capricious pleasures and happiness that your senses have a wayward, mischievous hunger for; and, not being able to attain that sufficiently, you consider yourself a beggar! Is that not the truth? "When will they give food for beggars; when will I be able to enjoy with various auspicious paraphernalia and first-class ingredients?" This is all you are looking for! You have come to a very ripe and beautiful juicy fruit, but you end up searching for a ripe amla [Indian gooseberry, very sour]! You know it; your tongue is cheated by amla's sweetness. You thought that your hankering would be satisfied by that—you thought the appetite you had lost because of sickness would go away and as you ate amla, you would slowly recover, but you are wrong! This is a great mistake! Do you not think that this unhealthy bitter juice of amla will only erode your teeth, and you will become even sicker—you will not be able to get the taste of any other foods, you will die! If, overcome by the desire to enjoy, you see maha-prasad as just some food meant to bring you enjoyment or happiness, then you will only get the result of eating! Foolish mind, your search for the end of your poverty is futile here! What you beg for is available even on the street—even animals enjoy that; why do you need to come to the temple for that? Yes! Do the great servitors surrendered to Krishna call you to this temple, a great place of pilgrimage, invite you to this temple, to satisfy your material senses with material flavours? To feed her child the medicine that will cure the disease, a clever loving mother will entice the child with a laddu (sweet ball), but is it about the laddu? It is not, it is really not! The main substance is hidden within it! Here too, that which permeates the maha-prasad food (bhojan)—the nectar from the holy mouth of Sri Gaura—that is found here, in this holy abode of the Supreme Lord, this greatest place of pilgrimage, is the spiritual life in service (bhajan) to Mahaprabhu! This is the main thing for the entire world, the main necessity! So, I am telling you: come, dear mind, come—if you want to get benefit, come—come not as a beggar for food (bhojan), but come as a beggar for spiritual life in service to the Lord (bhajan), and roll at the holy feet of the supremely merciful devotees of the Lord, taking on your head their feet dust, the water that has washed their feet, and the remnants of their food:

bhakta-pada-dhuli ara bhakta-pada-jala
bhakta-bhukta-sesa—ei tina sadhanera bala

"The dust of the devotees' feet, the water that has washed the devotees' feet, and the remnants of devotees' food—these three are the sole strength of one's spiritual life."

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

I have to take your leave now because I have to go back to the temple now. I have to reach by four o'clock. I will chant one kirtan and finish the programme.

[His Divine Grace chants 'Manasa Deha Geha' and Hare Krishna maha-mantra and recites Sri Jaya Dhvani, concluding the preaching programme.]

* * *

In Search of Hidden Treasure

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 1

vande 'ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaisnavams cha
sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana raghunath-anvitam tam sa-jivam
sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam krsna-chaitanya-devam
sri-radha-krsna-padan saha-gana-lalita sri-visakhanvitams cha

I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of my Guru, the predecessor Gurus, the Lord's devotees, Sri Rupa, Sri Sanatan, Sri Raghunath, Sri Jiva, Sri Rupa's followers, Sri Krishna Chaitanyadev, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Prabhu, Sri Chaitanyadev's associates, Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, Sri Lalita Devi, Sri Visakha Devi, and all of Their associates.

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
chaksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

I offer my obeisance unto Sri Gurudev, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the salve of divine knowledge.

gurvvabhista-supurakam guru-ganair asisa-sambhusitam
chintyachintya-samasta-veda-nipunam sri-rupa-panthanugam
govindabhidham ujjvalam vara-tanum bhakty anvitam-sundaram
vande visva-gurun cha divya-bhagavat-premno hi bija-pradam

I offer my obeisance unto he who perfectly fulfils his Gurudev's most cherished desires; who is fully adorned with the blessings of his Gurudev's associates; who is expert in all aspects of Vedic knowledge, both conceivable and inconceivable; who is the pre-eminent follower of Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu's line; who is known as 'Govinda'—Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj; whose beautiful, effulgent, exalted form is infused with pure devotion; who is the Guru of the entire universe; and who is the giver of the seed of divine love for the Supreme Lord.

devam divya-tanum suchanda-vadanam balarka-chelanchitam
sandrananda-puram sad-eka-varanam vairagya-vidyambudhim
sri-siddhanta-nidhim subhakti-lasitam sarasvatanam varam
vande tam subhadam mad-eka-saranam nyasisvaram sridharam

I offer my obeisance unto my lord, Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, whose speech is most pleasing; whose divine form is adorned with garments the colour of the newly-risen sun; who is an abode of intense, ecstatic devotion; who is the sadhus' sole choice; who is an ocean of renunciation and knowledge; who is a treasure-house of perfect conclusions; who is resplendent with pure devotion; who is the best of Srila Saraswati Thakur's followers; who is the giver of all good; who is the leading general of the tridandi-sannyasis; and who is my sole shelter.

vanchha-kalpatarubhyas cha krpa-sindhubhya eva cha
patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah

Again and again I offer my obeisance unto the Supreme Lord's devotees, who are saviours of the fallen, oceans of mercy, and wish-fulfilling trees.

vrndayai tulasi-devyai priyayai kesavasya cha
krsna-bhakti-prade devi satyavatyai namo namah

Again and again I offer my obeisance unto Vrnda Devi, who is known as Tulasi Devi and Satyavati, who is most dear to Krishna, and who bestows devotion to Krishna upon us.

atha natva mantra-gurun gurun bhagavatarthadan
vyasan jagad-gurun natva tato jayam udirayet

Having offered obeisance to one's initiating Guru, to the Gurus who have taught one the meaning of the Bhagavat, and to all the authors of Vedic literature, who are the Gurus of the entire world, proclaim "Jay!"

jayah sa-parikara sri-sri-guru-gauranga-gandharva-govindasundar-padapadmanam jayastu!

All glory to the lotus feet of Sri Guru, Sri Gaurasundar, Sri Sri Gandharva-Govindasundar, and all of Their associates!

vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Goswamis, namely Sri Rupa Goswami, Sri Sanatan Goswami, Sri Raghunath Bhatta Goswami, Sri Raghunath Das Goswami, Sri Jiva Goswami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Goswami.

sri-krsna-chaitanya prabhu nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura-bhakta-vrnda

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Today, by the mercy of Sri Gurupadpadma, we are here. It is a very auspicious day, a day of Vaishnav seva. Today is also the appearance day of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu and the disappearance day of Srila Ramachandra Kaviraj. There are six goswamis, and Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami is one of them. Therefore, today, on the invitation of Sri Malini Devi Dasi, we have all gathered here in this village to speak about some Bhagavad-katha.

By our great fortune, sadhus, our Guru, and Vaishnavs come here. Without a great fortune you cannot come and meet with these sadhus, Gurus, and Vaishnavs. You can hear all kinds of things in this world—there are so many talks, so many discussions, so much criticism going on in this world, but there is a dire scarcity of Bhagavad-katha (narrations about the Lord). There is a dire scarcity of devotees who would speak and hear this Bhagavad-katha.

mahanta-svabhava ei tarite pamara
nija karya nahi tabu yana tara ghara

"It is the general practice of all saintly people to deliver the fallen. Therefore they go to people's houses, although they have no personal business there."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 8.39)

These great souls—devotees of Lord Krishna, devotees of the Supreme Lord, devotees of Sri Guru—come to people's houses to help us, to bring us some benefit.

karitechchha upakara yate para upakara
labhe jiva sri-krsna-sevaya

"You are giving great benefit by helping other souls get service of Lord Krishna."

Devotees render such help to others that as a result of that help, the conditioned jiva souls who are situated within the bondage of illusory environment can take part in the service of Lord Krishna.

Many people help in many ways—they give others money, they give others blankets, etc. However, what is the food and the necessity of the soul? Many can give you food for your body—dal, rice, vegetables, etc. Yesterday, they gave five kg rice, people are happy; if they do not give anything, people will chastise; if they give too much rice, it will rot and be wasted, and if they give less, people will abuse them, and so on. Yet, the gift that devotees, the gift that Mahaprabhu gave to this world, the gift that our guru-varga has given is an extremely hidden treasure! Hearing the news of this hidden treasure, people from all over the world (you can see that there are Mexican, Venezuelan, Colombian, American devotees in front of me here) come to this land of India to find it.

The people of this country always want to go abroad in search for dollars, euros, and wealth—they wander around looking for dollars; but people from all those covetable countries come to this country to search for the wealth that is kept within India. As it is said, there is always some darkness underneath a candlelight. In the same way, we live in India, but we dismiss and throw away that very wealth that is right here in our own country. We do not search for that priceless wealth. We only live in fear, thinking always about eating, sleeping, and enjoying. In this way, we spend our entire lives. We have got this human birth, but we are dismissing its value. We never think about the meaning of this birth—we do not seek what this life is for, how to fulfil its meaning, etc. We only worry about the same things that even animals eat, about the things that even animals look for—eating, sleeping, etc. If people live in the same way as animals, then there is no difference between humans and animals.

ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam cha
samanyam etat pasubhir naranam
dharmo hi tesam adhiko viseso
dharmena hinah pasubhih samanah

"Eating, sleeping, sex, and defence—these four principles are common to both human beings and animals. The distinction between human life and animal life is that a man can search after God but an animal cannot. Therefore a man without that urge for searching after God is no better than an animal."

It is said in the scriptures that people who live without any religious principles (without any dharma) are equal to animals. This is how we have become like animals—we always live worrying about eating, sleeping, fearing, and how to procreate, but we do not look for that which is real.

* * *

Know Your Own Identity First

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 2

There is a small book called In Search of the Original Source. I have translated it into Bengali from English. You can buy this book from Sripad Sajjan Maharaj from Venezuela, he is over there. Where should one look for the original source? We do not even know who we are. We are stricken with the disease of ignorance. Ignorance means material knowledge—it means we have no knowledge of the self. It means we see this body with mundane perception. This is what ignorance is. We cannot understand that I and this body is not the same thing. If I ask you, "Who are you?" You say, "I am such-and-such Sarkar," "I am such-and-such Biswas," "I am his mother," "I am her father," "I am their aunt," etc. This is what we always say, but this is wrong. We do not know our own identity. It is ignorance, and it is a disease. If we do not remove this ignorance—if you do not learn the true knowledge, but instead call ignorance knowledge, then what is the use? All the knowledge that this world gives is ignorance.

jada-vidya yata, mayara vaibhava,
tomara bhajane badha
moha janamiya, anitya samsare,
jivake karaye gadha

"All mundane learning is an exhibition of maya and an obstacle to Your service. It brings about infatuation for the temporary world and makes an ass of the soul."

(Saranagati, 3.3)

These are Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's words. We have become asses (donkeys) because we do not know our own identity. While I am within this body, everybody will call this body, "Such-and-such Maharaj." Yet, when I leave this body, nobody will call it Maharaj anymore. Therefore, this body is temporary. Yet, we must first know who we are—we must first understand our own identity. That which is "I" is not this body. Identifying yourself with the body is ignorance. You must forget it. That is why we sing in one of the kirtans:

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"O Vaishnav Thakur! Please be merciful! Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

Many of us think, "Oh, I am a disciple of Srila Sridhar Maharaj," "I am a disciple of Srila Govinda Maharaj," "I am senior, you are junior," but those who say this do not understand this. It is necessary to know the knowledge of the relationship. Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said that even if it is a five-year-old boy or a five-year-old girl—if they practise Krishna consciousness, you must pay obeisance to them. You took initiation sixty years ago, but you cannot think that you are senior to them and they are junior to you. If you think like that, it means you have not got the knowledge of the relationship. What did Srila Prabhupad say? He said, "All you who are sitting here are my gurus. Everyone is my disciples, and I am your servant."

'krsna-nitya-dasa'—jiva taha bhuli' gela
ei dose maya tara galaya bandhila

"When the jiva soul makes the mistake of forgetting that it is an eternal servant of Krishna, Maya captures the soul by its neck."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.24)

What is our mistake? Our mistake is that we have forgotten that we are eternal servants of Krishna. We thinking, "I am this person's husband," or, "I am this person's wife," or, "I am this person's son/daughter," but we have forgotten that we are actually all eternal servants of Krishna. As a result of this forgetfulness, Maya (illusion) attacked us and pulled us into her family; this is how we end up floundering in this material world—Maya Devi engages us in her own service. That is why it is said, "Krsna-bahirmukha jivera nahi Krsna smrti-jnana—souls that are averse to Krishna have no knowledge or remembrance of Krishna." Such souls forget Krishna. That is why we pray, "Krpa kara Vaisnava Thakura. O Vaishnav Thakur! Please be merciful!"

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"O Vaishnav Thakur! Please be merciful! Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

You must serve the Lord know about the relationship. It is necessary to know what the nature of the relationship is. You think, "Oh, he is my father," but if you have this knowledge of the relationship, then even a father will pay obeisance to his child.

* * *

Sambandha Jnana: Launching Pad

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 3

The Lord is there within everyone. I am speaking now, moving my hands, moving my legs, but when I leave, this body will fall off, then I will know, "I have left this body"—that which is inside this body leaves. When the soul leaves the body, everyone says, "This is a dead body," and they will throw it into the Ganges. A dead body has no value. Yet, now we speak, we move our hands, we move our legs, we do so many things.

It is necessary to know this relationship. Avidya and asmita are two main diseases. We sing on ekadasi days:

prasada-seva karite haya,
sakala prapancha-jaya

"By honouring the Lord's prasad I conquer all worldly illusions."

(Saranagati, 31.5, by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)

Prapancha means pancha-rog, the five diseases. Among these five diseases, the first disease is avidya, ignorance—thinking that you are the body. As for asmita, it means attachment to the gross body. People are very deeply attached to their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends—they are attached to this perishable body. This is what asmita is. If we can leave these two diseases (ignorance and material attachment), we will get some result. It is necessary to eradicate these two diseases from ourselves.

Even Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, the seventh goswami, said, "I am now old and ruined by the five-fold diseaes. How shall I serve You? (bardhakye ekhana, pancha-roge hata, kemane bhajiba bala')" How can I practise Krishna consciousness now that I have gone so old? I have become a victim of five diseases!

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

“In my childhood and youth, I always indulged in material happiness and I have become habituated to bad things. Because of my own sins, this body has become an impediment to spiritual practice.”

Since our young days, we have developed bad habits—you like to sleep on a nice bed, in a nice room, you get your wife to massage your feet, fan you, etc. These are all bad habits! What happens as a result? We enjoy this material world and have got all these bad habits, and these habits now prevent us from practising Krishna consciousness. For example, we cannot wake up early in the morning. You know, I am going to give a class in zoom today (I give it every Sunday evening)—many wake up at 2 a.m. for this class. Yet, you can see that the scriptures prescribe to wake up at four, but many cannot wake up, they sleep and how will they if they do not have this habit? Those who worship the Lord at four in the morning, they get up at three—they wake up, go to the bathroom, take a shower, then they enter the temple or the prayer/altar room. And when your habits are bad, then you will wonder, "How will I worship You, O Lord?" This is how our habits prevent us, obstruct us from practising Krishna consciousness—because we have got into bad habits since childhood, when we enjoyed material happiness.

Remember these things. You must learn it by heart: "I am a soul, and my identity is that I am an eternal servant of Krishna." We have forgotten that we are eternal servants of the Lord.

'krsna-nitya-dasa'—jiva taha bhuli' gela
ei dose maya tara galaya bandhila

"When the jiva soul makes the mistake of forgetting that it is an eternal servant of Krishna, Maya captures the soul by its neck."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.24)

I am a soul, and every living entity has a jiva soul. There is a soul within me, within a Tulasi tree, within a mango tree, within a mosquito, a fly or any other creature. All living entities have the same soul as we all have. This is what "I" is, and we must know this. The function of the soul is that it always wants to serve the Supersoul (Paramatma). The soul also needs nourishment. You know, when it comes to ekadasi, people eat a lot before and gain 1 kg weight, then they fast, losing 1 kg weight, and after that they eat rice full stomach again on dvadasi and put on another 1 kg weight. So, all the vegetables, etc. are the food of the body, but it is also necessary to procure food for your soul as well. The food of the soul is Hari-katha (narratives about the Lord). The soul always wants to hear about Krishna. We sing in one of the kirtans:

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

"When will Sri Chaitanya be merciful to me? When will I reach the shade of the Vaishnavs' feet?"

When will I get the mercy of Sri Chaitanya and come to the shade of the holy lotus feet of Vaishnavs? When will Sri Chaitanya bestow his mercy on me? There is chaitya-guru in your heart, and he takes you to your mahanta-guru. Without the mercy of this chaitya-guru, you cannot be taken to the mahanta-guru. That is why, we hanker for the mercy of Sri Chaitanya. We want the mercy of the guru within our hearts.

kabe ami chhadiba e visayabhimana
kabe visnu-jane ami kariba sammana

"When will I give up this mundane ego? When will I honour the Lord's devotees?"

When, when will I give up this material ego? Everybody has ego. Ego always destroys everything. What is this ego? We are proud of our wealth, knowledge, beauty, friends and family, money, etc. But:

kabe ami chhadiba e visayabhimana
kabe visnu-jane ami kariba sammana

"When will I give up this mundane ego? When will I honour the Lord's devotees?"

We sing this in the kirtan. You must sing five kirtans in the morning and give kirtans in the evening. I will now chant some kirtans, then I will again speak some Hari-katha. At the end, we will offer arati for the Lord, we will do Tulasi parikrama, then the bhog will be offered, and everyone can take prasad.

* * *

Utter Desperation

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 4

[Chanting 'Gurudev bada krpa kare', followed by 'Kabe Sri Krsna Chaitanya more', His Divine Grace remarks:]

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

"When will Sri Chaitanya be merciful to me? When will I reach the shade of the Vaishnavs' feet?"

kabe ami chhadiba e visayabhimana
kabe visnu-jane ami kariba sammana

"When will I give up this mundane ego? When will I honour the Lord's devotees?"

gala-vastra krtanjali vaisnava-nikate
dante trna kari' dandaiba niskapate

"With a cloth around my neck, joined palms, and straw between my teeth, I will sincerely submit myself at the Vaishnav's feet."

kandiya kandiya janaiba duhkha-grama
samsara-anala haite magiba visrama

Weeping, I will convey my sorrows to the Vaishnav and pray for shelter from the fire of material existence.

What must we say? We must cry and tell Vaishnav Thakur about our unhappiness, about our austerities. What are the austerities? It is not some bodily austerities—it is not about a lack of affection or love—all this does not make you a beggar. What beggar are you? Do not come as beggars for food, but come as beggars for spiritual life. Money, food, clothes, etc.—you can get this everywhere on the street; but come as a beggar for Hari-katha, come begging to hear about the Lord and sadhu, Guru, Vaishnavs. May your mind become a beggar for that. Yet, we say so many things, so much nonsense in our mind.

dinera madhye abala-tabala
kata pachala parite para
tara madhye kintu tumi ekbara
govinda bale, ara katha baliba na

"All day you talk all kinds of nonsense, how much idle talk you engage in! But find time amidst all that to chant the Name of Govinda, do not talk about other things!"

We talk so much nonsense! But who should we submit our application? To Vaishnav Thakur. What does the Lord say in Srimad Bhagavad-gita? "I do not know anyone except for My devotees, and devotees also do not know anyone except for Me." Therefore, we must tell devotees about our unhappiness, "Prabhu, when will I be relieved from the fire of this material life? I keep burning and coming to this material world, how can I become rescued from it all?" We pray to Vaishnav Thakur about this. When will we get some respite from the fire of this material life? Many say, "Oh, Maharaj, I will retire from my job, and then I will come to live at the temple." I always say, "When you retire, you will forget everything—your grandchildren will grow up. Then, you will want to get your grandchildren married first, and after that you will kick the bucket. You will not get the time."

That is why Gurudev says: there is no use living for one hundred years in this world; even if you live for ten years, if you can practise Krishna consciousness during this time, you can attain success; yet, if you live for one hundred years but spend this time on material life, then there is no use. What will you get by living for one hundred years if you do not practise Krishna consciousness? Always remember this. These are Gurudev's words.

When will we get some respite from this material life? We keep coming and going to this material life, but when will I be saved from this agony? When will I return to my own home? Once you return to your own home, you will never have to return here. This is a rented house. You can understand it easily. If you stay in a rented house and there is some problem, you will have to move to another place; you more to another place, there is some problem again, and you again have to move to another place. One day, you will think that if you buy even some small plot of land and make a thatched hut, it is better than living house to house all the time. Therefore, when you can reach your own house, you will get such peace and happiness that you can never find here no matter how much you seek it.

We must give up material desires for this world. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami gave up everything like stool and urine. When you eat, you enjoy and fill your stomach, relishing the food, but once that food is digested and you pass stool, you do not even want to look at it—you hold your nose not to get the stench. So, this material world, all the pleasures of this world are stool. We must give it all up like stool and urine.

'asakti-rahita,' 'sambandha-sahita,'
visaya-samuha sakali 'madhava'

"When you are free from material attachment and establish relationship with the Lord, then you will see that everything around you is Lord Madhav Himself."

('Vaishnav ke?' verse 12)

We must know the relationship and see that everything here is meant for the Lord. It is necessary to remember this.

kandiya kandiya janaiba duhkha-grama
samsara-anala haite magiba visrama

“Weeping, I will convey my sorrows to the Vaishnav and pray for shelter from the fire of material existence.”

So, when you pray to Vaishnav Thakur in this way. What will Vaishnav Thakur do then? Vaishnav Thakur will pray for me to the Lord. If you go directly to the Lord, your application will not be granted. It is necessary to go through Vaishnvs...

suniya amara duhkha vaisnava thakura
ama' lagi' krsne avedibena prachura

“Hearing of my sorrow, the worshippable Vaishnav will thoroughly pray to Krishna on my behalf.”

vaisnavera avedane krsna dayamaya
e hena pamara prati habena sadaya

"Satisfied by the Vaishnav's prayer, Krishna will be merciful to this sinner."

Vaishnav will appeal to Krishna on my behalf, then Krishna will take pity on me. He will give me shelter at His feet and engage me in His service. When we appeal to Vaishnavs, they come asking, "Have you called me?" "Yes, Gurudev. Please engage me in the service of the Lord." Gurudev then teaches how to serve the Lord and Vaishnavs, how to practise, how to live, etc. Mahaprabhu Himself taught by His own example. That is why Krishna told Uddhav Maharaj, "Acharyam mam vijaniyan. Know the Guru (acharya) as being non-different from Me."

Does all this enter anyone's mind? If you truly hear this, if all these things enter your mind and heart, then nobody will be able to keep you in the bondage of this world any more. A wife, beautiful like an angel, all the enormous wealth—Srila Raghunath Das Goswami gave it all up like stool and urine. His father gave him a wife of angelic beauty, made him the owner of thousands of acres of land, but could that stop him and keep him there?

Mahaprabhu first told him, "Go back home, do not become crazy."

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana

"Do not show your false renunciation to people. Serve accepting material things, but without attachment."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 16.238)

"Go and live with your family."

se chhala se-kale krsna sphurabe tomare
krsna-krpa yanre, tanre ke rakhite pare

"Krishna will reveal to you how you can come. Who can stop the one who has got mercy of Krishna?"

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 16.241)

When Krishna bestows His mercy on someone, nobody can stop them...

vinodera nivedana vaisnava-charane
krpa kari' sange laha ei akinchane

"Bhakti Vinod prays at the feet of the Vaisnavas: "Mercifully take this lowly soul with you."

* * *

Path to Qualification

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 5

[His Divine Grace continues chanting kirtans:]

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"O Vaishnav Thakur! Please be merciful! Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

'ami ta vaisnava' e buddhi haile
amani na ha'ba ami
pratisthasa asi' hrdaya dusibe
haiba nirayagami

"If I think, 'I am a Vaishnav,' then I will never stop expecting honour from others (I will never become void of the desire for honour)—my heart will become polluted by the desire for fame and I will end up in hell."

Both is not right—if you do not become a Vaishnav is a problem, and if you think you have become a Vaishnav is also a problem. You must become a servant of Vaishnavs, a servant of your Guru. The road to hell is open—if you think you have become a Vaishnav, you will go to hell. When you plant something, you have to take care of the seed and protect it from both heat and cold. When it is hot, you must water the seed twice a day sometimes, but at the same time, if you pour too much water, it will rot then. Sahajiyas are those who get 'rotten' in this way—they have eaten too much and end up in trouble. That is why we are told, "Never associate with any of the thirteen sampradayas—aul, baul, kartabhaja, neda, daravesa, saki, sahajiya, sakhibheki, smarta, jata-gosani, ativadi, chudadhari, gauranga-nagari."

So, if you think, "I have become a Vaishnav," pratistha will come to you. You will think, "I am a Vaishnav, so why must I offer obeisances to others?" Such people have the path to hell open for them—the road to hell is cleared for them (they themselves clear it).

tomara kinkara apane janiba
'guru'-abhimana tyaji'

"I will consider myself Your servant and give up the ego of a guru."

The ego of a guru must be given up. Do not take worship from anyone. Everyone says, "I am the acharya, so you must offer me arati, you must wash my feet, you must worship me every day." This is the ego of a guru—as a result, they become very heavy and sink (just as when you load a boat too much, it sinks). Many think, "Oh, Gurudev has given me sannyas, so I have become a guru!" It is not so easy! It is said here that "I will consider myself your servant and leave all ego of being a guru. I will always live on your remnants."

tomara uchchhista pada-jala-renu
sada niskapate bhaji

"I will always earnestly take Your remnants, Your foot dust, the water that has washed Your feet."

nije srestha jani' uchchhistadi dane
habe abhimana-bhara
tai sisya tava thakiya sarvada
na laiba puja ka'ra

"If I, loving myself more than anyone else, bestow my remnants, etc. on others, then I will become filled with ego. Therefore, I will always remain Your disciple, I will not take worship from anyone."

We will always remain disciples. It is not necessary to become a guru. Remember this. It is not necessary to become a guru—you must become a servant of your Guru. If you become a guru without becoming first a disciple, it is very difficult. It is a great danger. Such people have the road to hell cleared. That is why it is said, "I will always remain your disciple." I will not become a guru—I will become a disciple. We must give honour to everyone and not desire honour for ourselves, then the Lord will give us the right to chant kirtan. When does one get the right to chant the Holy Name of the Lord?

sri-krsna-kirtane yadi manasa tohara
parama yatane tanhi labha adhikara

"If you are intent on chanting the Name of Krishna, then, with great care, become qualified to do so."

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi ahankara

"Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean."

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

"Practise tolerance like a tree. Give up vengeance and nurture others."

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

"Do not trouble others for your own upkeep, and forget your own happiness in the course of helping others."

If you are determined to chant the Name of Krishna, then try your utmost to become qualified to do so. We must give honour to others and leave our own honour. When you pay obeisance, you say "jay", and the more you pay obeisances, the more you will chant the Lord's Name. When Srila Raghunath Das Goswami was in Vrindavan, he would pray obeisances to Vaishnavs every time he saw them—if he met someone five times during the day, he would offer him obeisance five times.

Many people want to practise yoga or yoga-asans, but if you just go down on the floor, offering obeisances—if you do it ten times a day, you get all the exercise. Our yoga-asan is pranam and sastanga-pranam.

So, it is said in this kirtan: "I will always remain your disciples and never take worship from anyone. When will you give me the right and qualification to chant the Holy Name? When I learn to give honour to everyone."

amani manada haile kirtane
adhikara dibe tumi
tomara charane niskapate ami
kandiya lutiba bhumi

"When I become free from the desire for honour and be able to give honour to others, you will give me the right to chant Your kirtan. I will earnestly roll on the ground and cry at Your holy feet."

* * *

Sincere Devotion

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 6

It is necessary to become a sadhu, not just dress as one. You know, when people pay obeisances in Mednipore, they tweak your feet—one time, they tweaked my feet so hard that blood started coming! Can you imagine how they 'practise' spiritual life like that? It is necessary to practise sincerely, without any duplicity. You fall flat on the ground in a sastanga-dandavat, but when Gurudev tells you to bring something, you say, "I cannot, I have no time." This is their 'sincerity'. This is what insincerity is. Some people grab and squeeze your feet so hard one day, but if you come there another day, they do not even pay obeisance. What kind of rules they do have? Yet, when you have a programme at their house, they grab your feet and cry. It is a show. Have you heard of 'crocodile tears'? Crocodiles always live in water, so sometimes you can see some water glitter in their eyes and you think it is crying, but it is not tears—it is just water. Have you ever seen crocodiles? So, some people shed gallons of tears, but this is not real. It is deceit. Such devotion is deceitful (kapata-bhakti). I have written about it in Upadesh 4 (Guidance, Volume 4).

suddha bhakta-palana suska-jnana-tadana,
chhala-bhakti-dusana-rama

[Gauranga Mahaprabhu] is the maintainer of the pure devotees and the dispeller of dry knowledge. He is the eradicator of pseudo-devotion and the reservoir of all pleasure.

We sing this in the morning. Do you remember this song? What does "dry knowledge" (suska-jnana) mean? Those who are mayavadis have dry knowledge. Their knowledge has dried up. They want to become one with Brahman—they want to become Gods. They think everything comes from Brahman and they consider themselves Brahman. You may have seen this—when sahajiyas pay obeisance, they say, "Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwara (Guru is Brahma the Creator, Guru is Vishnu the Maintainer, Guru is Maheswar the Destroyer)." Do we ever say this? We do not. We say:

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
chaksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

"I offer my obeisance unto Sri Gurudev, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the salve of divine knowledge."

This a very beautiful prayer. Guru applies the salve of divine knowledge to remove the darkness of ignorance from my eyes. If somebody understands the meaning of this sloka, their mind can never go in any other direction. We must always think in this direction. It is said in the scriptures that those who have sincerity, who have chaste and firm devotion to Sri Gurupadpadma, they have the power to rescue the entire universe. It is necessary to have sincere devotion to Sri Gurupadpadma.

Srila Lochan Das Thakur composed a very beautiful kirtan about Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. We mostly sing Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur's and Srila Narottam Das Thakur's kirtans (Nitai-pada-kamala, Akrodha-paramananda, Parama-karuna pahu dui jana Nitai Gaurachandra, etc.), there are also beautiful kirtans composed by Srila Lochan Das Thakur: Nitai-guna-mani amara, Nitai-guna-mani, etc..

[His Divine Grace then continues to chant kirtans: 'Nitai mora jivana dhana', 'Yadi Gaura na haita'.]

* * *

Highest and Rarest

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 7

We have heard so many scriptures: Srimad Bhagavad-gita, Garuda Purana, Agni Purana, Vishnu Purana, Padma Purana, there is also a Purana about Sivji Maharaj—we have seen so many scriptures, we have heard so many scriptures, and we have read so many scriptures, but somebody can ask, "You say that Bhagavatam is the highest scripture, why is there no mention of Srimati Radharani's glories? Why is Her Name not even mention in it?" Do you know that there is no mention of Srimati Radharani's Name anywhere in Bhagavatam? Her devotion is so high that when Sukadev Goswami was speaking Bhagavatam, he became reserved and did not mention Her Name: it is not good to have this kind of topic written or spoken in public. That is why Sukadev did not mention Her Name. However, he did speak about the great devotion of Prahlad Maharaj.

madhura vrnda-vipina madhuri
pravesa chaturi sara
varaja-yuvati bhavera bhakati
sakati ha-ita kara?

Who would have the great expertise needed to enter into the sweetness of sweet Vrindavan? Who would have any qualification for the Vraja-gopis' ecstatic devotion?

The devotion of the Vraja gopis is incomparable—it is impossible to even utter anything about it. If Gauranga had not come, who would have known about it? If we were not worshipping Gauranga, then we would have known nothing about the devotion of the Vraja gopis, we would have not understood anything about the madhurya lila of Krishna (the pastimes and glories of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna). That is why it is said: Who has the power to tell about all this? He who has taken Radharani's heart and halo has this power, nobody else. Gauranga Mahaprabhu came to this world having taken Sri Radha's heart and halo, and He is the one who revealed the glory of Radharani in this world. Except for Him, nobody else has ever done it or could have done it.

Among the Vraja gopis, there are first gopis, then sakhis, and finally manjaris. The devotion of manjaris (Rupa Manjari, Lavanga Manjari, and others) is exceptional—they are young girls, younger than nine years old, and their love for Krishna is absolutely exclusive. However, they never cross Radharani. That is why it is said:

madhura vrnda- vipina madhuri
pravesa chaturi sara
varaja-yuvati bhavera bhakati
sakati ha-ita kara?

Who would have the great expertise needed to enter into the sweetness of sweet Vrindavan? Who would have any qualification for the Vraja-gopis' ecstatic devotion?

Who has the power to speak about the devotion of the Vraja gopis? Vasu Gosh Thakur wrote it very nicely in this song. The devotion of the Vraja gopis is extremely highest. They do not know or even want their own happiness. "Nija sukha bhuli, sudina-hrdaya: forget our own happiness and have a very humble heart." They have forgotten their own happiness...

[Clamour coming from the kitchen.] They are cooking and talking, and their spit is falling on what they are cooking. So, all Vaishnavs will take their remnants. Very good... You must keep quiet. You can only chant "Krishna, Krishna" quietly. The problem is that you cannot concentrate your mind on anything. There is a saying in English: too many cooks spoil the broth (ati sannyasite gajana nasta)...

* * *

Rivet Yourself to Sadhu-Sanga

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 8

Devotee: Maharaj, we were singing this in 'Nitai mora jivana dhana, Nitai mora jati'. What does it mean?

ye dese nitai nai, se dese na yabo
nitai-vimukha janava mukha na heriba

"I will never go to a place where Nitai has not been to. I will not look at the face of people averse to Nitai!"

Yes, it is true: we will not go to the place where Nitai is not worshipped. It means you will not associate with those who do not worship Nitai. If you think, "Oh, I will not go to the place where there is no Nitai," then you will say, "I will not go for preaching abroad—there is no Nitai there!" Yet, we come abroad to spread Nitai's mercy. Gurudev is supremely merciful, he is Vaishnav Thakur—he comes to all the countries to rescue such fallen souls as ourselves.

[His Divine Grace resumes kirtans, chanting, 'Yasoda Nandana Krsna' and the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and then continues the class.]

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

"The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill—all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

First, I am offering my full obeisance at the lotus feet of my Divine Master Om Vishnupad Jagad-guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj begging him for his causeless mercy, aspiring to serve him; after that, I am offering my full obeisance to all assembled guru-varga, godbrothers, to all the listeners, to all the motherly lady devotees, and all the devotees. I am offering my obeisance at your holy feet and praying for your mercy to this low soul.

So, today is a very auspicious day. A day without Hari-katha is a bad day. It is not a cloudy day that is a bad day; a bad day is the day without any Hari-katha. We have got this opportunity to sing kirtan, which we have been doing until now, and now we can speak some Bhagavad-katha. We start by offering our obeisances and prayers to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs. There is no other way for us except for praying to them—we can only pray, "Please, Prabhu, forgive my offences." I have been an offender for many lifetimes, and I pray that my Guru and Vaishnavs may forgive me.

sakti-buddhi-hina ami ati dina
kara more atma-satha

"I am devoid of ability and intelligence, and greatly distressed. Please accept me."

"Please hijack me, take me from this illusory world and throw me at the lotus feet of the Lord, so that I can spend this life serving my Guru and Vaishnavs." This is the only prayer to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs, this is our only desire. We are averse to Krishna souls—we have forgotten the Lord:

krsna bhuli' sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsaradi-duhkha

"Having forgotten Krishna, the soul wanders throughout the universe. Being thus covered by illusion, the soul goes through all kinds of material suffering."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 20.117)

We have forgotten the Lord; as a result, we are now suffering from the burning agony of three-fold miseries. If you want to escape this world, the only way to do it is to take shelter at the holy lotus feet of the Lord. That is why, we must serve pure devotees; we must surrender at the lotus feet of Sri Guru and Vaishnavs.

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana

"Humility, self-submission, embracing the Lord’s guidance, maintaining the faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me'."

bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara

"Engaging only in activities that are favourable to devotion, rejecting everything unfavourable to devotion."

Be humble, surrender yourself, and always aspire for the association of pure devotees.

'sadhu-sanga', 'sadhu-sanga'—sarva sastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu sange sarva siddhi haya

"Good association", "good association," all the scriptures keep saying. Only by good association can you get all perfection.

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.54)

You can never get any result or any perfection without saintly association (sadhu-sanga). Good, saintly association is our only path, our only way.

* * *

Genuine Benefit

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 9

mayare kariya jaya chhadana na yaya
sadhu-guru krpa vina na dekhi upaya

"It is not possible to conquer maya by engaging in maya. I see no other way to get relief except for the mercy of sadhus."

('Ki rupe paibe seva', Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

Maya, the illusory environment, is very strong. We fell into the bondage of this illusory environment and forgot Krishna—we have forgotten our Supreme Father. We are all sons of nectar. You, I, all of us sitting here—we are all one family. Somebody may be from America, somebody may be from Bengal, somebody may be from Uluberia, somebody comes from Kolkata, somebody comes from this area. This all is not our true identity. We are all sons of nectar—we come from the Lord, and we must go back to the Lord.

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

"There are 900,000 species living in the water. There are also 2,000,000 nonmoving living entities, such as trees and plants. There are also 1,100,000 species of insects and reptiles, and there are 1,000,000 species of birds. As far as quadrupeds are concerned, there are 3,000,000 varieties, and there are 400,000 human species."

(Padma Purana)

We have been born in water 900,000 times (as fish, crocodile, shark, etc.); we have been born as trees, plants, mountains, etc. 2,000,000 times; we have been born as worms, insects, spiders, etc. 1,100,000 times; we have been born as birds, flying in the sky, 1,000,000 times; we have been born as animals (cows, goats, sheep, cats) 3,000,000 time; and we have been born as humans 400,000 times. But:

bharata-bhumite haila manusya janma yara
janma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara

"One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India should take advantage of his birth and bring benefit to all other people."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 9.41)

'Benefit to others' means giving Krishna consciousness (the consciousness of Krishna) to the souls who forgot Krishna. This is why when Nimai came to the ashram of Keshav Bharati and took sannyas, His name became Sri Krishna Chaitanya. In the time of Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami, there were four more goswamis:

jaya rupa sanatana bhatta raghunatha
sri-jiva gopala-bhatta dasa raghunatha

"All glory to Sri Rupa, Sanatan, Raghunath Bhatta, Sri Jiva, Gopal Bhatta, and Raghunath Das!"

Today is actually Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami's appearance day. He composed a book called Sat Kriya Sara Dipika (for the sraddha ceremonies) and other important scriptures. He was a great scholar. He wrote how Vaishnavs must be worshipped. The appearance and disappearance days of Vaishnavs are one and the same. In this world, people either live or die, but for Vaishnavs, there is no difference between appearance and disappearance. Appearance (avirbhav) and disappearance (tirobhav) is one and the same. When pastimes are completed in this world, then we say it is tirobhav, and when pastimes begin in this world, then we say it is avirbhav; however, both days are the same—we must worship Vaishanvs on both their appearance day and their disappearance day.

Since time immemorial we have been averse to the Lord Krishna, and as the result of forgetting the Lord, we are not burning in the agony of three-fold miseries (adhibhautik, adhidaivik, adhyatmik: miseries caused by one's body, by the nature, and other souls). There are three types of suffering in this world. You think you have no money and you suffer, but those who have money suffer even more! There is no happiness, there is no peace! People are enjoying miseries. If they surrender to the Lord, they will not like anything in this external world any more. Yet, we are unfortunate:

durlabha manava janma labhiya samsare
krsna na bhajinu duhkha kahiba kahare?

"I have got a very rare human life in this world, but I have not worshipped Lord Krishna. Whom can I tell of my misery?"

'samsara' 'samsara' kari' michhe gela kala
labha na ha-ila kichhu, ghatila janjala

"Time has passed as I have been busy in my material life, and I have got nothing—only became burdened."

kisera samsara ei chhayabaji praya
ihate mamata kari vrtha dina yaya

"What sort of world is this? It is like a trick, a show. While I affectionately take it as my own, days pass by in vain."

dina yaya michha kaje, nisa nidra-vase
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe vase

"My days are passed in useless work and nights are wasted on sleeping. It never occurs to me that there is death sitting next to me."

Pariksit Maharaj was very fortunate—he got a seven-day's notice that he would leave his body in seven days. Many sages, many great scholars came to him and started giving various advice, but nothing touched him—the dirt in his heart did not go away by hearing all that. However, when Sukadev Goswami told him about the path of genuine benefit, and Pariksit Maharaj listened to it all at one go—he did not even think about his food, clothes, sleeping, etc.; he left everything behind. In this way, Pariksit Maharaj listened to Srimad Bhagavatam from Sukadev Goswami for seven days. There was no such book as Srimad Bhagavatam at that time—what Sukadev Goswami spoke later was written down and became known as Srimad Bhagavatam. Sukadev Goswami spoke about the genuine benefit, which is exclusive devotion. We hear about this kind of devotion in Srimad Bhagavatam.

* * *

Greatest Gift

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 10

Guru Maharaj spoke a very beautiful lecture about the wealth that is found in the land of greatest happiness.

Narad himself was also there; Vyasadev himself was there; Vyasadev's father, Parasara, the authority in scriptures was there. All the assembled personalities were actually authorities in their own scriptural school. Atri Risi, Vasistha Risi, Chyavan Risi, Saradvan Risi, Aristanemi, Bhrigu Risi, Angira Risi, Gavastinemi, et. al. Everybody was sitting at the assembly, and Sukadev, a young boy of sixteen, walked in naked without having any sense in his eyes (he could not see anything in the material world). Pariksit Maharaj asked him, "Please, tell me what is good for me. I have only seven days to live, I must die any time within seven days from now, but I do not know what is good for my life. Everybody respects you, please advise me about the supreme goal of life. I am king, but I do not want all this happiness, please guide me, tell me how I can reach the highest attainment."

This guidance was described then during seven days. What guidance was it? First, it is necessary to know what or who you are, why you are suffering, and how you can get relief. Those who have not seen themselves—those who do not know themselves—have thousands of questions. Those who know who they are do not have questions—their only question is how their soul can attain benefit. There is only one question.

Those who have not seen themselves ask thousands of questions—many questions can arise in such people' minds, but "How can I get from this mundane world to my real home as quickly as possible?"—this is the only question for those who can understand their own real form of soul. There is a beautiful verse in Srimad Bhagavatam:

srimad-bhagavatam puranam amalam yad vaisnavanam priyam
yasmin paramahamsyam ekam amalam jnanam param giyate
tatra jnana-viraga-bhakti-sahitam naiskarmyam aviskrtam
tach chhrnvan su-pathan vicharana-paro bhaktya vimuchyen narah

“Srimad Bhagavatam is the spotless Purana. It is most dear to the Vaishnavas because it describes the pure and supreme knowledge of the paramahamsas. This Bhagavatam reveals the means for becoming free from all material work, together with the processes of transcendental knowledge, renunciation and devotion. Anyone who seriously tries to understand Srimad Bhagavatam, who properly hears and chants it with devotion, becomes completely liberated.”

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 12.13.18)

nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam
suka-mukhad amrta-drava-samyutam
pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam
muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah

"O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Goswami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.1.3)

Nobody wrote this holy scripture of Srimad Bhagavatam with a pen. Srimad Bhagavatam is what came out of Sukadev Goswami's mouth. The highest liberated souls reject heaven as something temporary and undesirable and desire only to always, eternally serve the Lord—eternally, for the whole eternity.

"O sons of nectar, sons of nectarean ocean! Please listen to this matter of subjective evolution which is the divine devotion to the Divine Master, Lord Sri Krishna, that has come down from the Goloka Dham to Narad Goswami, from Narad Goswami to me, and has appeared in this mundane world for you all through Sukadev Goswami. When it is Sukadev Goswami himself who is distributing it, it becomes sweeter and sweeter. Take it, be happy, be joyful, get love for Krishna—get the wealth of your transcendental life." Vedavyas describes Srimad Bhagavatam in this way. Also, at the end of Srimad Bhagavatam, he described the identity of Srimad Bhagavatam in this way, "When liberated souls (who have no attachment to this mundane world) practise this, they will get supreme happiness, joy, ecstasy, and attachment and service to Krishna. This is the actual fruit of practitioners' life." This is the description Vedavyas gives on the last page of Srimad Bhagavatam.

srimad-bhagavatam puranam amalam yad vaisnavanam priyam
yasmin paramahamsyam ekam amalam jnanam param giyate
tatra jnana-viraga-bhakti-sahitam naiskarmyam aviskrtam
tach chhrnvan su-pathan vicharana-paro bhaktya vimuchyen narah

"Srimad Bhagavatam is the spotless Purana. It is most dear to the Vaishnavas because it describes the pure and supreme knowledge of the paramahamsas. This Bhagavatam reveals the means for becoming free from all material work, together with the processes of transcendental knowledge, renunciation and devotion. Anyone who seriously tries to understand Srimad Bhagavatam, who properly hears and chants it with devotion, becomes completely liberated."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 12.13.18)

"After you hear it, read it, and realise it, you will get supreme happiness of the transcendental world." This is an expression of Vedavyas—"supreme happiness." This is how the knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam has come down to this world, and this knowledge is the main goal of life for everybody, not only liberated souls,

atmaramas cha munayo
nirgrantha apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukam bhaktim
ittham-bhuta-guno harih

"All different varieties of atmaramas [those who take pleasure in atma, or spirit self], especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. This means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.7.10)

The Lord attracts even those who are liberated souls! Therefore, we must study Bhagavatam...

I have written two very beautiful books, Upadesh, volumes 3 and 4. The whole gist is there. Read these books at home, study the scriptures. This highest wealth is Krishna—if you serve Him, you do not have to serve anyone else; if you see Him, you do not have to see anything or anyone else; if you hear about Him, you will not want to hear anything else. To distribute this Krishna-katha, Krishna Himself comes in this Kali-yuga as Gauranga Mahaprabhu. There is no other religion except for the gift of transcendental love, and there is no one else except Sri Gauranga who ever gave anything like that in this world!

sri-krsna-chaitanya-daya karaha vichara
vichara karile chitte pabe chamatkara

"If you consider the mercy of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, you will be wonder-struck to realise it."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 8.15)

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given such a great gift to this world that if anyone accepts this gift, they will know no want—everything will become fulfilled for them.

* * *

Enter the Land of Faith

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 11

[His Divine Grace chuckles.] How much people talk. When the Lord takes your mouth away, what will happen then? People talk so much. They asked, "How are you?", "How are you keeping?", but when you die one day, nobody will ask you any more. It is all material talks, about this material world... I am a virakta-sannyasi: when I hear such talks, I become annoyed (virakta). Mahaprabhu was a virakta-sannyasi (a strict sannyasi who gets annoyed at anything that is related to the material world), and I am a virakta-sannyasi too: I do not like all such talks. "Do not talk village talks, do not hear village news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Worship Radha-Krishna in your heart."

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

"Do not listen to the mundane talks, do not listen to the mundane news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krsna, and in your mind serve Radha-Krsna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.236-237)

Criticising others, discussing others, talking about material news... All this is not good:

parama karuna pahu dui jana
nitai gaurachandra
saba avatara-sara siromani
kevala ananda-kanda

Nitai and Gaurachandra are the two most merciful Lords. They are the best, the crest-jewels, of all Avatars and the only source of joy.

"Visaya-katha parihari, mukhe bolo gaura hari: Give up taking nonsense, give up material talks, and only say 'Gaura Hari!'" Leave material talks.

Srimad Bhagavad-gita says (15.6), "Yad gatva na nivartante, tad dhama paramam mama. If you enter that place, you will not have to ever come back from there. You will be very pleased to be there." Once you enter there, you will not have to come back, but the main thing is how do you enter there? Guru Maharaj about the people of this world: we dilute rice powder in water and drink it, thinking it is milk. Do you think you can get the benefit of milk in this way? "Srnvantu visve amrtasya putra. You are all sons of nectar!"

Those who are not satisfied with this world become renounced and try to attain liberation. We have many things in this world, but there is no happiness, is there? We try to practise sadhu-sanga, and when, in this good association, we develop a proper mood, we will have to enter the land of faith: when you practise, you must have faith. Just as when students study, they must have faith; if they have no faith in their teacher, they will not be able to learn anything. It is necessary to have faith, "What my teacher is saying is correct." If you doubt, "Is it true or not?" you will not be able to learn like this. Therefore, faith is the main thing for us.

* * *

Unchaste Faith

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 12

There is faith in Christianity. What does Christianity say? They say, "Sin the whole week, and come to church once a week—all your sins will be removed." This means that they turn God into our menial servant. Those who worship demigods also do this. What do they say? "Dhanam dehi, vidyam dehi, rupam dehi, bharyam dehi: make me rich, make me clever, make me beautiful, give me a good wife." I want wealth, I want knowledge, I want beauty, I want money, I want my son to have a good job, I want my daughter to have good in-laws. People come to the Lord with all these requests and turn Him into their menial servants. "God, give me all this." Devotee of Lord Krishna never want any of this. They know that it is not necessary to want all this. This is called jnana-sunya-bhakti (devotion that is free from any pursuit of knowledge). Krishna says: "People come to worship Me desiring material happiness (have their children married, to have a house, to have a car, to have money, to have work, etc.), but I am not a fool—why will I give them material things? I will give them My feet instead and make them forget about all material things." On the other hand, it is also said that the Lord does not give Himself so easily—He gives material things instead:

krsna yadi chhute bhakte bhukti mukti diya
kabhu prema-bhakti na dena rakhena lukaiya

"If you ask Krishna for anything except devotion, He can give you those things—bhukti, mukti, liberation, and so on—but He will hide devotion from you. You will not get devotion."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 8.18)

If you come and ask Krishna for something all the time, He will say, "Here, take it!" He will give cars, houses, money and gradually remove devotion (He will hide devotion).

You know, there is one disciple of Srila Sridhar Maharaj, he once sent a letter and a large sum of money to the Math, saying that he was running a restaurant by a slaughterhouse (serving beef). Srila Sridhar Maharaj said, "It is very difficult to digest his money." Can you imagine that? A restaurant by a slaughterhouse! What did he learn from his Guru? Does your guru ever tell you to have anything to do with cow's meat? That is why people think they can sin and just chant the Holy Name in the evening (or go to the church once a week), and all sins will go away. What do the scriptures say?

chari varnasrami yadi krsna nahi bhaje
svakarma karileo raurave padi maje

“Whatever varna (a priest, fighter, manager, or worker) or ashram (a celibate, householder, withdrawn from the household life, or monk) you may belong to, if you do not worship Krishna but engage in your prescribed duties, you will have to fall into a terrible hell.”

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.26)

People have no chastity. I have seen some sannyasis from Rama Krishna Mission—they worship Durga, they worship Kali, they worship Dhatri, Annapurna, and Bharat Mata. They chant the Holy Name and say "Bharat Mata ki jay!" They have no chastity. This earth will be demolished one day, but He who was, is, and will be is the Supreme Lord:

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 other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes."

(Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.1)

You make the Supreme Lord your menial servant and a bribe-taker. Sometimes, people bribe some officials to get a job. However, both those who give bribes and who take bribes are criminals. Then, what do people do? They come to worship Durga Devi, giving some fruit or some rice and saying, "Here, Devi, take this, please send me money in return." They turn Durga Devi into a bribe-taker. Remember this. Instead of serving the Lord, we turn the Lord into our menial servant. "Dhanam dehi, vidyam dehi, rupam dehi, bharyam dehi, yasam dehi: make me rich, make me clever, make me beautiful, give me a good wife, make me famous." Yet, what did Mahaprabhu say?

na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi

"I do not want wealth, I do not want followers, I do not want beautiful women, I do not want to be a poet. I only want causeless devotion to Your lotus feet. Give me that kind of devotion to Your lotus feet so that I could do Your service life after life."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 20.29)

"I do not want any wealth, I do not want any followers, I do not want a beautiful wife. I only want to have causeless devotion to Your lotus feet birth after birth."

prabhu tava pada-yuge mora nivedana
nahi magi deha-sukha, vidya, dhana, jana
nahi magi svarga ara moksa nahi magi
na kari prarthana kona vibhutira lagi

"O Lord, I am appealing at Your holy lotus feet—I do not pray for bodily pleasure, learning, wealth, or followers. I do not pray for heaven, I do not pray for liberation, and I do not pray for any supernatural powers."

(Sri Siksastakam, 4, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

These are Mahaprabhu's teachings. It is necessary to study His Siksastakam. "I want to have causeless devotion to You, Lord, birth after birth. Even if I am born as a insect, may I be Your devotee. I do not want to become Brahma, I do not want to be the king of heaven, Indra. I do not mind being some insect, bug, or a dog as long as I am a dog at Your devotee's house." Remember this.

"Bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi" means we only want causeless devotion to the Lord; we do not want any knowledge, wealth or followers.

* * *

A Test of Faith

Vaishnav Seva Programme, Bangaon,
31 January 2021, part 13

People pray to Saraswati:

om sarasvati mahabhage vidye kamalalochane
visvarupe visalaksi vidyam dehi namostute

"O great Goddess Saraswati, the personified knowledge possessing large lotus eyes! I offer obeisance to you, please give me knowledge."

They pray to Saraswati, " Give me knowledge." They pray to Laksmi, "Give me money." What for? They say, "We serve 'poor' Narayan." Can Narayan ever be poor? Narayan can never be poor; neither can a poor man ever be Narayan. Both sayings are offensive. All this is jihva-lalasa, the greed of the tongue. People say, "Jiva-seva-i Siva-seva. Serving to people is service to Siva." People make up verses and poems.

Devotee: They also say "Jive prema kare yei jana sei jana sevichhe isvara" ("God serves those who love others"). They call this love for the souls!

Yes, there is also a popular writing, "The man is above all, there is nothing above him (sabara upare manusa satya, tahara upare nai)." But we say, "The Lord is above all, there is nothing above Him." This is what we must say. "God serves those who love others (Jive prema kare yei jana sei jana sevichhe isvara)." What does "love others" mean? It means showing compassion for others; love God by showing compassion to others. Krishna serves those who are compassionate to others. The Lord says, "If you look after My devotees, I will look after you. Do not worry about yourself. If you are self-sufficient and take care of yourself, then I will not look after you." You think you are your own protector, but what did Draupadi get by thinking like this? When she was being disrobed, she was holding the cloth with one hand and calling the Lord with the other hand, but the cloth was still being taken; only when she realised that she could not do anything, she started calling the Lord with both hands upraised, and then she saw that her cloth was extended (Krishna Himself appeared within her cloth). When Radharani went to bring water in a pot with a hundred holes, She went to the river chanting Krishna's Name, and Krishna closed the holes in the pot with one hundred fingers. Could anyone see it? Those who have eyes could see it.

Therefore, it is necessary to leave everything to Krishna. This is what faith is, that is what surrender is. If you say, "Who can bring it? How will I bring it?" You do not do anything! Many say, "Oh, Gurudev has given this service, how will I be able to do it?" You do not do anything, Gurudev does everything! He will do it through you. Gurudev has given you some service, and whether you have the qualification to do it or not, Gurudev understands it; whether you can or cannot do it, Gurudev understands it. This is faith. Faith is the main thing.

There are many kinds of faith—kamala-sraddha (soft, fragile faith), taranga-sraddha (flickering faith), drdha-sraddha (strong faith), sudrdha-sraddha (the strongest faith). You can see many do not put tilaks, do not wear neck beads because they are shy...

You say, "I cannot do it," but Gurudev thought you were fit to do it, then he told you to do it, then you do the service, try your best. Gurudev will do everything. "Gurudev, if you do not do it, service will not be done." Gurudev serves with ten bodies. Even if you do not do some service, it will still be done. Baladev serves Krishna with ten bodies. Baladev is Gurudev. Service will not be spoilt—if you do not do it, it will still be done through somebody else, by hook or by crook.

Anyhow, much has been said...

[His Divine Grace concludes the programme with chanting kirtans ('E-ghora samsare', 'Ke yabi ke yabi re bhai', Hare Krishna maha-mantra), the evening Gaura Arati, and Jaya Dhvani.]

* * *

Futile Efforts

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 1
Translated from Bengali

If you chant the Holy Name with a bargaining mentality, this is not the Holy Name. Bargaining mentality means treating chanting as a business transaction. "Become a devotee of Krishna! Chant japa!" Do as you like and chant the Holy Name. If you do like this, what will you get from that? You cultivate a land for the whole year but no crops will grow—only grass will grow.

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

"Having travelled throughout the universe and got the mercy of Guru, Krishna, a fortunate soul receives a seed of the devotional creeper."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 19.151)

Wandering throughout this universe, some fortunate jiva souls receive the seed of devotional creeper by the mercy of Sri Guru and Krishna. It is necessary to take the seed from a bona fide guru. There are many bogus gurus roaming around this world; on the other hand, all the relatives and family who look like your friends you have are all dacoits disguised as your well-wishers. They are called well-wishers, but they behave like dacoits with you.

The whole life long, we have been slaves of lust—we have been following the orders of various desires, but they have had no pity on us. Therefore, we have no other way except to take shelter in Sri Guru and Vaishnavs. If we can always worship the holy lotus feet of Sri Guru and Vaishnavs, if we can always remember Sri Guru and Vaishnavs, and if we can always, eternally know the teachings of Sri Guru and Vaishnavs, then we will get supreme benefit. Yet, those who do not worship Gauranga without worshipping Sri Guru will fall into a terrible hell—such 'worship' is nothing but sin ("Guru bade Gauranga bhaje, sei papi raurave pade majhe"). Moreover, if you worship your Guru hoping to gain some money—if you live in Mathura or Vrindavan hoping to gain some material profit—this is pretence, it is not living in Mathura or Vrindavan, it is not service to your Guru. You must have service mood:

tad viddhi pranipatena, pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam, jnaninas tattva-darsinah

“You will be able to attain knowledge by satisfying the divine master with submission, relevant inquiry, and sincere service. The enlightened souls who are learned in scriptural knowledge and endowed with direct realisation of the Supreme Absolute Truth will impart divine knowledge to you.”

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 4.34)

You must surrender fully, you must make honest enquiry. Who am I? It is necessary to know your own identity (the identity of your soul). We cannot even know our own selves—we always live and perceive everything with temporary, material intelligence: my house, my room, my son, my mother, my daughter—in this way we spend this whole life. If you chant the Holy Name but this material mentality does not go away, then it means you are not chanting the Holy Name. You are proud you have made a temple, you are proud you have done so much, but you cannot take anything with you—no money, no wealth, no property will go with you. You will have to leave everything and go away. Why can you not understand this? Why do sadhus come and explain this to you again and again, but you cannot understand it?

* * *

Immerse Yourself In Kirtan

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 2
Translated from Bengali

kaya bara eli kaya bara geli
tabu tattva na sikhili
nijer matha nije khaili
e-dosa dibe kare bhai?

"Coming and going, coming and going, and never learnt anything. You have been eating your own brain, who will you blame now, brother?"

Whose fault is it? If the child does not cry, how will the mother know when it is time to give milk? So, if I do not make a step forward—if I do not call the Lord, if I do not remember the Lord's words—then the Lord will not come forward to us. If you make one step towards the Lord, the Lord will make ten steps towards you. Therefore, it is necessary to have a strong desire.

When Mother Yasoda was going to bind Krishna, she tried very hard—and every time Krishna showed that it is not possible to bind Him with an ordinary rope. No matter how much rope Mother Yasoda brought, she could not bind Gopal. Finally, Gopal took pity—He saw, "My mother is taking so much trouble for Me," and He allowed her to bind Him. Vraja gopis' mood was also like that (they possess intense desire to serve Krishna). Prahlad Maharaj has so much devotion, but even he said, "I do not have that kind of devotion and love that gopis have." It is necessary to serve with love, and it is necessary to always pay close attention to what Vraja gopis like to eat, what Gurudev likes, what Gurudev wants, etc. You must note what you can do to please Gurudev (what Gurudev likes), to please the Lord, and try to do that.

I have told you before also—you will not get a letter from the Lord. If you send a letter to the Lord, you will not get a reply, but if we tell about our unhappiness and happiness to Gurudev, he will convey to us the news from the Lord. If a patient sees a doctor but does not tell everything honestly, the doctor will not be able to prescribe medication—the medication will be wrong then. In the same way, we must tell everything to our Gurudev openly, with an open heart and soul—we must tell what difficulty we have, what obstacles we have in our practising life. We must ask about it openly, honestly, then we will be able to progress on the path of spiritual life.

If you practise spiritual life and become tired, start slacking, "I cannot do any more!", it means your mind is sick. Many say, "I am not feeling well," "My health is not right," but it is not your body that is sick, it is your mind that is sick. Our mind is always swayed in different directions—it always goes in different directions. However, if you want to keep your mind steady and peaceful and direct it towards the Lord, you must loudly chant the Holy Name.

We have kirtan books—chant five kirtans in the morning and five kirtans in the evening. Chant clapping your hands, or if you can, buy kartals and chant with kartals. It takes only fifteen-twenty minutes; sit and chant kirtans. Chant Guru vandana, Vaishnav vandana, Pancha-tattva vandana, Nityananda vandana, and Mahaprabhu vandana, Radha-Krishna vandana, then maha-mantra. Chant in this way every day. If you chant the Lord's Name and pray to the Lord, the Lord will be very pleased. You must chant kirtan with your heart....

* * *

 Serve with Care

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 3
Translated from Bengali

You must chant kirtan with your heart. There are many groups—aul, baul, karttabhaja, neda, daravesa, sani, sakhibheki, jata-goswami. What is the point? If you want to go everywhere, to every place and hear from every place, what is the use? I must stay busy with my own practising life—what others are doing, what others are practising or not practising, etc. I must not give my ear in this direction.

vaisnava-charitra sarvada pavitra
yei ninde himsa kari'
bhaktivinoda na sambhase tan're
thake sada mauna dhari'

"The character of Vaishnavs is always pure. Bhaktivinod keeps quiet and does not associate with those who are envious of Vaishnavs and who criticise Vaishnavs."

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru)

Always keep quiet in such cases. It is not good to hear all kinds of things from all kinds of places. It is unfavourable to spiritual life. Maya Devi sends illusion to the soul to tell the soul bad things, and if you rummage in such filthy, stinking things, then it is nothing but Vaishnav aparadh. You know it:

hari-sthane aparadhe tare harinama
toma-sthane aparadhe nahiko edana

“If one commits an offence at the feet of Lord Hari, he can be forgiven if he chants the Holy Name. But if one offends you, there is no salvation for him.”

If you make some offence at the lotus feet of the Lord, there is a way to rescue yourself and get peace; but if you make an offence at the holy lotus feet of a Vaishnav, there is no rescue from this.

Therefore, it is necessary to watch out for seva-aparadha; it is necessary to watch out when you cook for the Lord. You must think, "What will I cook for the Lord? What nice things can I make for the Lord? What can I do for the Lord?" I must always think about this and do whatever is in my capacity. The Lord does not want anything that is beyond your capacity. You know that when Krishna went to Vidura's house, He ate banana skin, but He did not accept raja-bhoga at the house of Duryodhana. You can give an offering on a golden plate, but you have not put salt in the preparations or you put too much salt or spices and spoilt the dish. The Lord will not like it—you must cook with care. You must always be careful and watch out that you do not touch the plate of the Lord with your feet. Serve the Deities with faith.

You come to the temple, you come to take initiation, you come to offer obeisance to the Lord, and the Lord knows everything very well—He knows what you have on your mind and with what purpose you do all that. He can see everything. The Lord may or may not take your obeisance—He may or may not take your service; but our duty must be to serve Him, to worship Him, to glorify Him, to chant His Holy Name. This is what we must always pay attention to. You must never forget this.

We always forget. We forget even who we ourselves are! We do not know ourselves. You have got this human birth as a result of a very great fortune. You have to struggle, you have to suffer. Such is the fate of the souls ruined by Kali. They are suffering so much, floundering in the illusion. Still, they do not even try to escape this material illusory world.

* * *

Travel Light

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 4
Translated from Bengali

Maya Devi gives them some trifle things that keep them forgetful. As a result, we do not even know what is the real wealth. We only know to run behind money, wealth, houses, cars. When Gurudev gave you initiation, he gave you a ticket to Vrindavan; but if you get on the train and get off somewhere in the middle, then you will not get to Vrindavan. On the other hand, if you drive a car very fast, you can get into an accident in the middle of the way, then all your journey will be over. You rush forward but if you leave your service to the Lord in the middle of the way—if you become cheated out of service—then it is not the Lord's fault. The fault is yours. Because of your faults—as a result of offences to service, offences to Vaishnavs, offences to the Holy Name, offences to the holy abode—you are becoming deprived of service. You think that it will not continue without you, but the Lord has many ways of getting His service done. If you tell Gurudev, "I am doing this, and nothing will be done without me," but Gurudev is Baladev, he serves Gaura Hari with ten hands. Baladev serves Lord Krishna with ten bodies. Therefore, nobody can stop service to Vaishnavs and the Lord. Yet, we are overcome with ego—we are overcome with misconception, that is why we think, "It will not be done without me." Many think like this, but it is very bad.

Remember one thing. It is necessary to have patience, it is necessary to always have tolerance. "O Lord, give me suffering. I want to suffer! I want troubles! The more austerity You give me, the more my power of tolerance will be." And we must pray to Gurudev, "Please give me the strength, the power to tolerate."

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi ahankara

“Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean.”

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

“Practise tolerance like a tree. Stop ill-treating others, instead nurture them.”

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

“Do not trouble others for your own upkeep, and forget your own happiness in the course of helping others.”

You must always remember this. For your own happiness, for the pleasure of your own senses, do not harass others, do not give others any trouble or pain. At the same time, for the service of the Lord, you must be ready to accept as much pain and austerity as possible. No matter what pain, what austerity, hardship, what danger comes, no matter what difficulty comes, no matter what obstacles come, I will take everything on my head—I will never recoil. It is necessary to surrender to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs with this kind of mood. Gurudev, I am yours, please say just once that I am yours. You must just once say, "I am yours, and you are mine. I have come to your holy feet." It is necessary to submit everything—your mind, heart, soul, intelligence, body—at the holy feet of your Guru and Vaishnavs. Have no fear, no shyness, no shame, no ego—nothing. Submit everything to Gurudev, to the lotus feet of the Lord. This is how you must submit yourself (atma-samarpan).

* * *

My Nearest and Dearest

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 5
Translated from Bengali

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana

[Limbs of surrender:] "Humility, self-submission, embracing the Lord’s guardianship, maintaining the faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me.'"

My parents gave me this body, but they did not give that which I am. Therefore, Krishna is my father, and Krishna is my mother—the Lord has created that which I am. My parents gave me only this temporary, perishable biological body, that is why they are called my biological parents, but the truth is that I am a soul, a particle of the Lord, and this soul is given by the Lord. If my parents were my creators, if they were my own, then why will they leave me and go away? They come to this world only for a few days to live in this material world, and I am also sent to this world for a few days. The Lord has sent me to this world—He has created my soul, I am His part and particle. It is necessary to know this, it is necessary to understand who you are. What is our identity? This is the first thing what we must know. If we do not know it and just always say "Krishna Krishna," "Hari, Hari," we will not be able to understand anything. We chant kirtans, but it is necessary to realise the mood of hearts. Only singing words will not do.

Therefore, I am telling to you all humbly, with folded palms: please chant the Holy Name of Lord Krishna, take shelter of a bona fide Guru. The problem is in some trifle small things—the problem is in tongue-pleasures: you cannot give up eating meat, fish, onion, garlic, masoor dal, you cannot follow Ekadasi. Because of all these things you cannot take initiation. This is the truth, there is nothing else to it. This is the state of Kali-yuga. People can give up gambling, they can even give up smoking, taking drugs, drinking tea, but when they think of the singi mach (a kind of fish) that is cultivated and the time of harvest comes, they cannot resist it. They think, "How can I give up fish? No, I will not take initiation." If you want to get great things, you must give up small things.

You know, tigers' and lions' nature is such that if they do not eat five kg of chicken or goat meat, they go crazy, they cannot live without it. However, humans are intelligent—they understand, "There is no benefit if I eat this. If I eat this, I will be committing a sin, I will be doing wrong. This is a soul created by God, and if I kill it, I will be eating my own flesh." Do you know what scientists say? They say, "I am this body." I say to them, "Everybody says that when you eat something, it is dissolved in the body, so if you say you are this body, it means that when you eat potato you become a potato!" We are souls! It is only this body that is composed of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. They do not understand this atma-jnan (knowledge of the self). Scientists say they will create robots and then be able to create humans. Our answer to that is this: can they create even one wheat plant? Can they give life one wheat seed? They create bombs, atom bombs, so many bigs things, but can they create a simple wheat seed? One mosquito can infect everyone with dengue and finish everyone off, but you cannot even create one mosquito! You brag about atom bombs, about this thing, that thing, and you say you will create humans in one thousand years! One thousand years later, they will again say "in one thousand years." What is not to be will never be. However, the Lord can do everything: "kartavya na akartavya anya ta kartama"—He can cancel that which is to happen, and if He can do even that which is not to happen. This is the Lord:

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 other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes.”

(Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.1)

He is the cause of all causes—by His wish, the sun gives heat; by His wish, the moon cools; everything happens by His wish, and it is by His wish that nothing can happen. Nothing happens without His wish.

Therefore, whatever happens happens by the wish of the Lord. Whatever happens is for the better, and what is gone is gone. You should not worry or think about it, and there is no time to think about all this. Do not waste your time. We must always live amidst spiritual life, amidst worship of the Lord, amidst chanting the glory of the Lord and our Gurudev.

How long will you live? How many days will you be here in this world?...

* * *

 Thrive Spiritually

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 6
Translated from Bengali

How many days will you be here in this world? One day you will leave. I see that over past few years, so many people have left! I get news from so many people—this Prabhu has left, that Prabhu has left; this person is nowhere to be seen, I ask where he is, and they say he has left his body. Every day, thousands and millions of jiva souls give up their bodies every day. Does everyone get to the Lord? Tell me. You have got this human body now, but there is some doubt whether you will get a human body again or not after that. As you sow, so you reap. You can see the example of Bharat Maharaj—he was a great king, but because he was thinking about a deer, he was born as a deer in his next life. So, you have got this body now, but if you live worrying about material things, worrying about food, then what will become of you?

Cats also have a material family, dogs have a material family, cows also have a material family, goats also have a material family—they all live material lives—and you too live this life engrossed in material family matters. I am not saying that you must leave your family and come to live in a jungle. If you can come to stay at the temple, it is good, but if you cannot, then you can live in your house with your family. I have told you: "Grhe thako, vane thako, sada 'Hari' bole dako, whether you stay in a house or in a forest, always call out the Holy Name. Krsnera samsara kara chhadi' anachara. Abandon sinful behaviour and dedicate your family life to Krishna."

It is necessary to leave anachar—anachar means all that which is not favourable to Krishna. It is necessary to leave everything that is opposed to the Lord. You can even do some low job as long as you come out of that which is opposed to Krishna, come out of talks and things that are not favourable to the Lord. We must accept that which is favourable to devotion, and we must reject that which is opposed to devotion, then we will get the highest benefit.

If you think you will do what is favourable and at the same time also do that which is unfavourable, it will not do. You think you will drink and at the same time drink also alcohol, then all the benefit of drinking milk will be taken by alcohol—it will not bring any benefit to your health. You will not get any result in this way. So, when you serve the Lord, you must follow that which is healthy. When a doctor prescribes some medicine to a patient, the doctor tells to take the medicine and to also follow a diet, giving up that which is unhealthy. In the same way, a bona fide guru also tells: do not take all those things that cannot be used in the service of the Lord (all the vile food—fish, meat, onion, garlic, etc.) and chant the Holy Name.

It is necessary to give up small things. So many people live in this world eating only vegetarian food. Doctors often say, "If you do not eat meat, your health will not be good, you will lack this, you will lack that. You must eat eggs, you must eat chicken." They will advise you all sorts of things, they will tell you what science is saying, but all this is actually ignorance, unscientific. We must follow what scriptures say—we must take shelter of a bona fide Guru, and we must follow what the Guru tells us, take initiation, live following his order—in this way, we must practise Krishna consciousness, chanting the glory of the Lord and Sri Guru—then we will get supreme benefit.

We can talk about this the whole day and night, but the main thing is that it is necessary to take shelter of a bona fide Guru and practise Krishna consciousness without any slacking, without any reluctance—always chant the Holy Name tirelessly, always serve the Lord tirelessly.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

vanchha-kalpatarubhyas cha krpa-sindhubhya eva cha
patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah

"Again and again I offer my obeisance unto the Supreme Lord's devotees, who are saviours of the fallen, oceans of mercy, and wish-fulfilling trees."

* * *

Greatest Hindrances

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 7
Translated from Bengali

We must always remember one thing—there is one very beautiful thing written in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata:

kahare na kare ninda, 'krsna krsna' bale
ajeya chaitanya sei jinibeka hele

"Those who do not offend anyone and always chant the Holy Name of Lord Krishna conquer unconquerable Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.10.312)

On our path of spiritual life, the biggest obstacle in achieving perfection is para-ninda (criticising others) and para-charcha (gossiping about others, discussing others), para-dosa darsan (seeing others' faults). This all is the biggest offence. If you stop making this offence, you will get perfection very quickly. We must take others' good qualities. Guru Maharaj also said: if you always talk about others' faults, what will happen? A sin does not obstruct spiritual life, but an offence does. Those who mix with ladies commit a sin, but if you see somebody mixing with a lady and tell others about it, you are making an offence. Those who commit a sin will have a problem, but those who see them do wrong and talk about it will be removed from spiritual life. This is a very beautiful conception. Always remember this.

At the temple, many do service, but at the same time they gossip about others and look at others' holes. All result of whatever service they do will go out through these holes. If you keep milk in a pot with holes, you will see that the milk will keep coming out and flowing out—you cannot keep milk in a pot with holes. In the same way, no matter how much service I do, no matter how much I chant the Holy Name, if I at the same time commit offences to the Holy Name, then all result of that service will be distorted. You must always remember this.

Spiritual life is similar to school or university. When exams come, students study till very late at night, they spend all day and night studying; however, if somebody studies regularly, every day, then they will not have to study like this for the exam. Spiritual life is also like that. If we chant kirtan every day, if we speak Hari-katha every day, if we speak about spiritual life every day, then our spiritual life will gradually and steadily progress. Always remember this, always think about this. How can I practise Krishna consciousness?

We have got this beautiful body and we are enjoying with the Lord's air and light. For every single jiva soul to survive, it is necessary to kill thousands of other jiva souls. We live by killing thousands of jiva souls—what is the way out from this sinful life? The solution is to make our life Krishna-centred, to become members of Krishna's family. That is why, Gurudev comes and tells us, "Come, become a member of my family. I have so many jobs in my family." It is necessary to seek that kind of job—it is not necessary to know anything about other jobs of the outside world. Gurudev's family requires many employees—come and engage yourself in the service there. Accept service there and you will be supremely benefitted.

You seek dollars and cents, wealth, houses, cars, but once your eyes close, everything will stay here. Why then all the attachment? We will have to leave everything here and go away. Yet, you have got this human birth—what is the meaning of a human birth? To practise spiritual life properly, to worship the Lord properly. Yet, we cannot do that! Gurudev has given you a ticket, but if you get off the train in Bardhaman in the middle of the way, then you will not get to Vrindavan. What is the hindrance in spiritual life? If you feel you lack food, you lack clothes, you lack money—if you leave spiritual life for all these external things, then this is not Krishna consciousness. You can never get great things without giving up small things. We must always remember this.

* * *

No Place for Whimsies

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 8
Translated from Bengali

Because we cannot give up trifle matters we always fall behind the great things (we never quite reach it). Why did you take initiation? What made you take it? To get something? If a guru gives initiation to a disciple hoping to get something from them, such a guru can never be a guru. Such a guru does not deserve to be called a guru—if a guru cannot rescue you from the jaws of death, such a guru can never be a guru. You must go to the person whom a bona fide Guru has selected and who has thus become a Guru on the order of his Guru. You must accept such a Guru as your very own, as your dearest person, and you must submit everything at his holy lotus feet—whatever you have or not have.

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana
bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara
sad-anga saranagati ha-ibe yanhara
tanhara prarthana sune sri-nanda-kumara

"Humility, self-submission, embracing the Lord's guardianship, maintaining the faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me', engaging only in activities that are favourable to devotion, rejecting everything unfavourable to devotion. These are the six types of saranagati, and if you can surrender in all the six ways, Krishna will hear you."

Always be humble, submissive, always embrace the Lord's care, have faith that the Lord will protect you, do only what is favourable to devotion, and reject all that is unfavourable to devotion. Lord Krishna hears the prayers of those who surrender in these six ways. The Lord hears the prayers of those who are surrendered, who have faith:

'sraddha'-sabde—visvasa kahe sudrdha nischaya
krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya

"Sraddha is firm, determined faith that by service to Krishna all actions are accomplished."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.62)

If your faith goes away, if you lose faith in your Guru, then your life will be futile—your life will be ruined. You think, "I offer some flower to Guru's feet," "I will offer some incense to Gurudev's photo," but I do not really care what Gurudev says. So, should we be offering flowers to Gurudev's photo or should we be following what Gurudev says? You must understand which is necessary. If we forget about this, we will fall into darkness. That is why we must always think about this.

You must become determined in your life and serve the Lord unswervingly, in one way or another: I have to serve the Lord, and I must cross the ocean of material existence. A very good boat has come to me to take me across, and I have also got the ticket for the boat, and I must take this ship! If I can stay in this ship, then I will get to the destination of that ship (that ship will take me to the place where it is going). If you can stay on the same train that Gurudev has boarded—if you can stay in the train or ship that Gurudev is driving, you will reach the destination of that train or ship. However, if we get off in the middle of the way, nothing good will happen—we will face inauspiciousness.

In this way, you must always give guidance to yourself. You must give advice to your own self.

* * *

 Staunch Stance

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 9
Translated from Bengali

You must give advice to your own self. It is very easy to say these things:

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.239)

You learn this and other things by heart, but it is not so easy to follow this in your life. You must first establish this in your own life. First learn to be like this yourself, then you can give advice to others. You must practise first yourself:

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hana krsna-nama sada la'be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

"Do not listen to the mundane talks, do not listen to the mundane news. Do not eat fancy food, do not wear fancy clothes. Do not expect honour to yourself, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Krsna, and in your mind serve Radha-Krsna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.236-237)

You always run behind eating, sleeping, defending, and procreating—you eat, sleep and enjoy the whole day:

dina yaya michha kaje, nisa nidra-vase
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe vase

"My days are passed in useless work and nights are wasted on sleeping. It never occurs to me that there is death sitting next to me."

Do we ever think that we have to leave this body, that we will have to leave this house, that we will have to leave all these bricks and buildings? One day, we have to leave. Do you understand it? One day, we will have to leave this place. It never crosses our mind, but Krishna is very merciful—He is waiting to bestow His mercy on us.

There are many hardships and struggles in life, and I want hardships! We do not pray to the Lord that everything may become happy and peaceful. No. It is impossible to live happily here. You can live happily in your house, but if you try to put up a boundary wall, your neighbours will start fighting; if you try to build a place for yourself, there will be problems too; you will go to a shop and fight with the shopkeeper. So, whatever you try to do in this world, you will always face problems. When you try to do something for yourself, you tolerate many things, but if you try to do something for the service of the Lord and some problem comes, why will you back out? You must never even think of doing it! "O Lord, give me more troubles! Give me power to tolerate more and more! For Your service, I will take more and more troubles on my head!"

tomara sevaya, duhkha haya yata,
seo ta' parama sukha

"All the distress I encounter in Your service is also my greatest happiness."

(Saranagati 16.4)

No matter what unhappiness or pain comes to us in the course of our service to the Lord, that is our greatest happiness—we must accept it.

"raghunathera niyama,—yena pasanera rekha"

"Raghunath Das Goswami's strict regulative principles were like lines on a stone (he never wavered in observance of regulative principles)."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.309)

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami followed all prescribed regulations (recited mantras, paid obeisances, worshipped his Deity, followed the word of the scriptures, circumambulated Sri Radha-kunda) every day—his practices were as unwavering as lines on a stone; and he did everything out of deep love. Sincere practitioners do not have many unwanted elements within them.

* * *

 Be Firm

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 10
Translated from Bengali

Anarthas (unwanted elements) decrease by the mercy of Gurudev and, as a result of his association, one is able to engage in devotional practises following the prescribed rules. Just as materialists go to the office every day, or students go to school every day, in the same way it is necessary to be steady, regular in your practising life. Just as materialists run their businesses, they trade—in the same way, those who practise Krishna consciousness also have many things to do: they must regularly and strictly worship the Deities, offer arati, archan, follow all the practising procedures, chant kirtan. I have told you earlier: what pleases the Lord most? Hari-katha. The Lord loves hearing about Himself. He always wants to hear about Himself. So, when somebody speaks about Him (who sings about His and His devotees' glories and pastimes), Krishna becomes very happy with that person.

We have brought many books with us. Take these books and read them. Many new holy books have been printed from our temple. You spend so much money in tea shops and on other things, but you must buy and read these books. These books are the words of Gurudev, Guru Maharaj, Srila Prabhupad. They are written very beautifully. Read them, you will get supreme benefit.

Chant kirtans every morning and evening: Guru vandana, Pancha-tattva vandan, Vaishnav vandana, Nityananda vandana, Gaura vandana. Chant them strictly every day, you will get supreme benefit. If your heart becomes perverted, the words of Sri Rupa Raghunath will not enter your ears. We are attached to the material world, we are covered by the illusory environment; that is why all these talks do not and will not enter our ears. We have fallen into material bondage. All the bad things, dirty things enter our ears, but the narratives about the Lord do not enter our ears. We cannot learn or know about the Lord and we cannot follow any rules. Many say, "I cannot chant the Holy Name, so I will not chant it." They tell so many excuses (ajuhat, অজুহাত). You know what people say: people have two hands (hat, হাত), but there is one more hand, which is excuses (ajuhat). They say, "I cannot do it because of this," "I cannot chant the Holy Name because of that," "Oh, I cannot take initiation because of this and that." You know, I asked once somebody, "You are sitting here doing nothing, why are you not chanting the Holy Name?" The person said, "I cannot because when I chant, my hand is paining." I said, "If you cannot do mala, then always chant loudly Hare Krishna with your mouth; chant your rounds in this way. Can you not do that?" The person kept quiet and said nothing. When it comes to gramya-katha and gossips, everyone can talk about it.

* * *

Clean Your Mind

Basirhat, 27 January 2020, part 11
Translated from Bengali

Atyahara, prayascha, prajalpa, niyamagraha, laulancha, janasangancha (eating too much, hoarding, talking nonsense, superficial attachment to rules and regulations, greed, associating with nondevotees) are thorns or obstacles on the path of devotion. These things obstruct spiritual life. Atyahara means eating too much: vakya-veg, jihva-veg, mano-veg, krodha-veg, udar-veg, upastha-veg (urges of speech, tongue, mind, anger, stomach, and genitals). "Chhaya vega dami' chhaya dosa sodhi' chhaya guna deha' dase. O Vaishnav Thakur! Please subjugate my six urges, rectify my six defects, and bestow the six good qualities upon this servant." You must always control yourself and not allow yourself indulge in these things. We must always think what we can do not to be swayed from this path of spiritual life, that our spiritual life may never become spoilt.

How many days will we be here? We always live here, controlled by ego and overcome by misconception. All your dollars, cents, houses, rooms, cars, etc. will not go with you. People are proud of their money, proud of their mind, proud of their knowledge, proud of their beauty, proud of their qualities, and they are taking people down a wrong path, down a bad path with their wrong ideas. Therefore, you must always practise Krishna consciousness. I am here for you all. Gurudev has kept me here, and I did not leave you—I am here with you.

Soon is Nityananda Trayodasi. It is going to be a very beautiful festival. There are now twenty more rooms constructed. When Indian devotees come, they do not get a place to stay, so they have to stay on the verandas and in the nat mandir in the cold. Now the rooms are not a problem. Please come, the festival will start on the next ekadasi. Come, observe Nityananda Trayodasi. "Nitaiyer karuna habe Vraje Radha Krsna pabe: when Nitai bestows His mercy, you will reach Radha-Krsna in Vraja."

ara kabe nitaichand karuna karibe
samsara-vasana mora kabe tuchha ha'be

"When will Nitaichand give mercy to me? When will all my material desires become insignificant?"

(‘Prarthana' by Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

kabe nityananda more kari' daya
chhadaibe mora visayera maya

"When will Nityananda be compassionate to me and relieve me from the mundane illusion?"

("Kabe habe bolo se dina amar" by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

visaya chhadiya kabe suddha habe mana,
kabe hama heraba sri-vrindavan

"When will my mind, leaving the material world, become clean? When will I see Sri Vrindavan?"

When will we leave all material things and when will our minds become clean? Our mind is naughty. Our mind takes us to different places—we live following the whims of our minds. We do not understand what the mind is for—we do not understand who and what we must associate with. We always keep listening to nonsense talks, we always keep talking nonsense. I am telling you: both those who listen wrong things and those who do wrong things are offenders. Those who do wrong commit a sin, and those who tolerate it are also making an offence. Therefore, always keep away from those who are offenders of Vaishnavs (who criticise and blaspheme Vaishnavs).

vaisnava-charitra sarvada pavitra
yei ninde himsa kari'
bhaktivinoda na sambhase tan're
thake sada mauna dhari'

"The character of Vaishnavs is always pure. Bhaktivinod keeps quiet and does not associate with those who are envious of Vaishnavs and who criticise Vaishnavs."

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru)

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says that when somebody criticises Vaishnavs, he always keeps quiet, he does not say anything—he does not like it. He did not want to hear such things. Who does what, who does not do what—we do not criticise even other demigods and demigoddesses. We do not blaspheme Saraswati, Laksmi, Durga, Kali. We do not worship them, but neither do we criticise or blaspheme them. We do not tell anyone, "Stop your worship of Kali", "Stop your worship of Laksmi", "Stop your worship of Saraswati", "Stop your worship of Durga." Sadhus never criticise or offend others. Always look for your own faults. Vaishnavs are adosa-darasi—Vaishnavs do not see others' faults. Vaishnavs are not those who put tilaks:

"gorara ami, gorara ami" mukhe balile nahi chale
gorara achara, gorara vichara la-ile phala phale

Just saying, "I am Gora's! I am Gora's!" does not do. Only when you follow Gora's practices and Gora's conception will you get the proper result.

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.6)

loka dekhana gora bhaja tilaka matra dhari'
gopanete atyachara gora dhare churi

You show the world you serve Gora simply by wearing tilak but secretly you misbehave. Gora will catch you, you thief!

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 8.7)

You come to pay obeisance to the Lord, and the Lord can understand very well why you come. You come to take initiation from Gurudev, and Gurudev can see with what intention you come—a genuine Guru can understand everything well. He may not say anything outwardly, but even if he does not say anything, he understands everything. It is not that he will always tell you about it—he will give you some hint. When we come to the Deities, do we have eyes to see Deities?

andhibhuta chaksu yara visaya dhulite
ki rupe se paibe para-tattva dekhite

"Our eyes have become blind by the dust of visaya, the material world—how can we see the transcendental world?"

Our eyes have become blind with the dust of materialism, then how will we be able to see the Lord? The Lord can understand very well why you come to Him, with what intention you come to Him. You cannot cheat Him. You can cheat everyone, but you can never cheat Guru, Vaishnavs, and the Lord. All your tricks, cheating, lying, etc. will be exposed.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

* * *

Mahaprabhu's Line

24 October 2018, Kolkata, part 1

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 saparikara Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda Sundarjiu ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Bhakti Siddhanta 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 Purusottam Ksetra ki jay
Baladev Subhadra Jagannathjiu ki jay
Akar Math-raj Sri Chaitanya Math ki jay
Mayapur Yogapith ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Tandiya sakha Math samuha ki jay
Sri Mather sevak vrinda, bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Ananta-koti Vaishnav vrinda ki jay
All the assembled devotees ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
All the Acharya-vrinda ki jay
Samasta sannyasi-vrinda, bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhakti-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Sri Sada-Siva Gangadhar jiu ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Nityananda Prabhu ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Mahaprabhu ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

I am very unqualified, you can say disqualified, but I am present today here in front of you, so I want to say something.

We have come to Krishna consciousness line:

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

"Having travelled throughout the universe and got the mercy of Guru, Krishna, a fortunate soul receives a seed of the devotional creeper."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 19.151)

Those who are fortunate souls have got, by the mercy of Gurudev and the Lord, the devotional seed. Gurudev has put in our hearts, but we must properly protect it. We must properly understand this. If your land is fertile, you can put a seed in it. By sadhu-sanga, saintly association, your heart will become clean, and then Gurudev puts the seed of the creeper of devotion (bhakti-lata bij) in your heart; after that, we must water and protect this seed by practising sravanam (hear about the Lord) and kirtanam (glorify the Lord, chant the Lord's Name):

mali hana kare sei bija aropana
sravana-kirtana-jale karaye sechana

"As a gardener, they must plant that seed and water it with practising: hearing and chanting."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 19.152)

Sravan and kirtan are the water. Practise properly by practising sravan and kirtan. Listen to Bhagavatam, listen about the Lord, chant kirtan. You all know that we have a kirtan guide, our Gaudiya Gitanjali book. Practise properly every day.

At the same time, many obstacles will come in our spiritual life, you know it. It is not easy to reach the proper place, to reach your goal in life. It is not so easy. Even the Lord Himself also suffered—Sriman Mahaprabhu (Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) also suffered in His time. Mahaprabhu appeared many hundreds of years ago, more than 550 years ago—Krishna Himself came to this world as a Guru, as a teacher, or practitioner, and He showed us what is spiritual practice. He is the example for us: the example of how we will practise spiritual life. Seeing His life and His teaching, we must understand clearly how we must practise spiritual life. Many obstacle will come: Maya is always ready to create obstacle and problems on our way towards spiritual life. You can see that in Sriman Mahaprabhu's time also, the Lord got some pain.

When Mahaprabhu declared:

yei bhaje sei bada, abhakta—hina, chhara
krsna-bhajane nahi jati-kuladi-vichara

"Only a nondevotee can be considered as worthless and abominable: anyone who takes to devotional service is great—there is no consideration of class, caste or any other status for those who have taken up service to Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 4.67)

He said that there is no discrimination: a person from any caste, any religion, any country can come to this line. Our identification is not that we are Indian, American, British, or Spanish. We are all jiva souls, you know that. This is our identification, but because of our karma we are now born in many different places, and we have got so many different bodies: a cow's body, a dog's body, a cat's body, a fish body, a buffalo's body, a pig's body, etc. Yet, we can understand that even if you live in America, it is not a problem—you can stay in America, you can stay in London, you can stay in Singapore or Mauritius, it is not a question; the main thing is that you must understand what for you have got this human body and it must be used. Which caste you have come from, what religion you practised before—this is not a question. We have finally come to surrender to the Lord, we have finally come to surrender to our Guru. Then, Mahaprabhu also told:

kiba vipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya
yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei 'guru' haya

"Whether one is a brahman, a sannyasi, or a sudra, regardless of what one is, one can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 8.128)

Why will only brahmans be a guru? Why will only a sannyasi be a guru? Why cannot a sudra (a civil caste) be a guru? No, a person from any caste can be a guru. When Mahaprabhu declared this, the brahman samaj in Nabadwip (the society of priests) could not tolerate it, and they came to Mahaprabhu to kick Him out. They were ready to fight and debate with Mahaprabhu. This is why Mahaprabhu thought that Nabadwip was not a proper place for Him and He decided to take sannyas.

Even taking sannyas was not so easy for Him. When He went to Bangladesh, Laksmi Priya felt much separation from Him and in her extreme sadness she left her body. After that, Mother Sachi became very sad, and when Mahaprabhu returned from Bangladesh, He gave much nourishment to her. He showed His pastimes of taking care of His mother, and He accepted Sanatan Misra's daughter Vishnupriya as His other sakti. After that, how much Vishnupriya sacrificed in her life! If Vishnupriya had not made this sacrifice in her life, how would we have got Mahaprabhu? How would Mahaprabhu have left to take sannyas and stay in Puri?

After sannyas, Mahaprabhu visited many places, and then He finally came to stay in Puri. While He was staying in Puri, He showed His vipralamba-lila (pastimes of separation). Just as Krishna spent much time with Lalita and Visakha, Mahaprabhu also spent much time with their incarnations, Svarup Damodar and Raya Ramananda. They always stayed with Mahaprabhu. So many obstacles came in Mahaprabhu's life. This is an example for us all.

We can also understand it if we see the example of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. When Mahaprabhu told Him to preach Krishna's Name, Nityananda Prabhu thought that it was very difficult to preach about Krishna, so He decided that if He preached about Mahaprabhu, it would be much easier. So, He started preaching first with Haridas Thakur in Nabadwip. You have heard about Jagai and Madhai—Nityananda Prabhu was even beaten by Madhai (His forehead was wounded, and blood fell), but still, He did not stop His preaching:

bhaja gauranga, kaha gauranga, laha gaurangera nama re
ye jana gauranga bhaje, sei amara prana re

"Worship Gauranga! Say Gauranga! Take Gauranga's Name! Those who worship Gauranga are My heart and soul!"

He went door to door. Mahaprabhu also went door to door. Nityananda Prabhu said, "You can buy Me if you worship Gauranga! (Amara kiniya bhaja Gauranga Mahaprabhu!)" Mahaprabhu also preached:

yadi ama'-prati sneha thake sabakara
tabe krsna-vyatirikta na gaibe ara

"If you have any love and affection for Me, then only say 'Krishna'—do not say anything except 'Krishna.'"

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda, 28.27)

Before Mahaprabhu left Nabadwip, He told all His well-wishers who had come to see Srivas Pandit's house, "If you have some love and affection for Me, then you must always chant Krishna's Name, chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Always speak about Krishna, always think about Krishna. When you are eating, sleeping, or sitting, always chant the Holy Name." Mahaprabhu gave His order, but we always think we are followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu—there are many sampradayas who say, "We are followers of Chaitanya mahaprabhu," but how many sampradayas are actually following Mahaprabhu's order, following Mahaprabhu's request?

* * *

Preaching Current

24 October 2018, Kolkata, part 2

Go to every house, go door to door and tell them, beg them: "Come with me! Say 'Krishna'! (Krsna bolo, sange chala, ei matra bhiksa chai!)" We beg you to say 'Krishna', come with us. This is what we are begging for, going door to door.

You know that when Srila Sanatan Goswami and Srila Rupa Goswami lived in Ramakeli under emperor Hussein Shah, Mahaprabhu walked there all the way from Nabadwip (perhaps, 250-300 km; a very long way) to rescue them. Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami met Him very humbly; they eventually left their jobs and everything else and came to Mahaprabhu. After that meeting, so many problems came. Emperor Hussein Shah even put Srila Sanatan Goswami into jail, but Srila Sanatan Goswami anyhow bribed the guard and ran away. He met with Mahaprabhu in Kasi, Benares, where Mahaprabhu was staying in Chandrasekhara Acharya's house. Then, Srila Sanatan Goswami finally reunited with Srila Rupa Goswami. On the way, he faced so much bondage—many dacoits attacked him, and even his servitor Isan had taken some gold coins with him, and it was the main obstacle in coming to meet with Mahaprabhu, so Srila Sanatan Goswami left his servitor's company and association and went to Mahaprabhu alone.

You can see these examples and understand that there are always some problems. You can see our guru-varga also. When Bhagavan Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur starting to preach the highest conception of Mahaprabhu, or when Bhaktivinod Thakur discovered Mahaprabhu's birthplace, so many problems came. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur went to the court and fought against some sahajiya babajis who were against Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur and tried to protest against his conception. However, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur discovered Mahaprabhu's birthplace in Yogapith, Mayapur, with the help of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj, Vaishnav Thakur. So many obstacles followed, but he finally gave us Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur from his heart.

At some point, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur had vowed to fulfil a sata-koti Nama yajna—he was always chanting the Holy Names. During this time, Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Giridhari came in front of him, and Srimati Radharani ordered him to preach Mahaprabhu's conception properly. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur wanted to do that, but he said, "How will I preach? I am alone..." Srimati Radharani assured him, "Do not worry, I will send My associates to you." After that so many exalted disciples came to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and many others.

When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur wanted to leave his body in Bagh Bazar Gaudiya Math, he indicated through the singing of the song 'Sri Rupa manjari pada' that he had selected the one who could preach the proper conception of Sri Rupa-Sanatan, Srila Jiva Goswami, Sri Rupa-Raghunath after him, and this personality was Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

After that, there were some problems at Chaitanya Math, you know about it. Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj could not stay in Chaitanya Math and he decided to go to Vrindavan and spend the rest of his life chanting the Holy Name. He went to Vrindavan and stayed in Pavan Sarovar, Nandagram; sometimes he would also go to Kadam Kandi, Ter Kadamba. A few months later, he received a message from the sky—his Gurudev, Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srimati Radharani, told him, "I have given you the responsibility to preach the proper conception of Sriman Mahaprabhu, Sri Rupa-Raghunath, but why have you come here? You are being selfish. You have come here and want to enjoy yourself, but you must give something to others." Following that, he came to Kolerganj, to the bank of the Ganges, and build a small kutir, a thatched house. Many of his godbrothers always came to him and encouraged him. Then, in 1947, our Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, came to him as a 17-18-year-old boy. Srila Sridhar Maharaj gave him the name Gaurendu Brahmachari. When Gurudev came, Srila Sridhar Maharaj got some strength and wanted to preach properly. In this way, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math was established.

By the inspiration of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad, many foreign devotees started coming to the temple. Srila Swami Maharaj told his followers, "After me, you can go to India. My siksa-guru is there, he is staying at Gupta Govardhan in Kolerganj, Nabadwip, and you will get association and good nourishment for your spiritual life. His name is Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj." So, many foreign devotees came and took shelter at his lotus feet. After Gurudev joined, there were also so many obstacles. However, due to Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's health condition, he could not go to preach in the West in the foreign countries, but following the inspiration of his Gurudev (Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj), our Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj went abroad several times—not only one or two times, he travelled 25 times all over the world from 1992 until 2007 or 2008. He preached constantly—he gave his association, gave his life, gave everything to foreign devotees.

* * *

Take Care of This Line

24 October 2018, Kolkata, part 3

When I joined the temple, Gurudev told me, "I am going abroad for Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. You are a capable person—knowing that you are here, I can preach abroad properly. You can take care of the Indian devotees by the time." I followed Gurudev's order. I did whatever his desire was—I build many quarters for devotees, guesthouses, goshala, and so many other things. Some time later, Gurudev told me one day, "You only go to cultivate the land and do construction, but you should sometimes read books also." He told me to start reading Gaudiya Kantha-hara, and I started reading it. Then, he ordered me to also give class and read Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita in the evening. After that, Gurudev sent me for preaching house to house to Bengali devotees. When it was Gurudev's appearance day, he would always come to Nabadwip—maybe only one-two times Gurudev celebrated it with foreign devotees abroad (in Australia and maybe some other places); other than that, most of the year, he was present in Nabadwip, and we clebrated his appearance day in a very gorgeous way. Then, Gurudev sent some brahmacharis to preach in Bardhaman District in Bengal, and Gurudev told me, "You must go to the places where I used to go for preaching and collecting rice and potato." In this way, Gurudev gave me the responsibility to collect potato and rice, to chant the Holy Name and invite everyone for Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama. Finally, many devotees started to join Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama, and Gurudev was very happy with that.

During all these years, so many obstacles came in Gurudev's time also. When Gurudev had just come to the temple in 1947, seven days later, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj observed him and thought, "This boy will be my successor." Because of this, many of Gurudev's godbrothers were jealous and created problems. Gurudev told me their names, but I do not want to mention it. After that, in 1985, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj gave Gurudev sannyas and the full responsibility for the temple as the Successor Acharya of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math all over the world. When Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj left his body in 1988, Gurudev could not go abroad because of the problems at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math until 1992. When I joined the temple in 1992, Gurudev gave me this responsibility to take care of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math as the manager, and I tried to fulfil his desire. These is the main history. This is how Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math is now giving the proper conception all over the world on the order of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and our beloved Gurudev Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

So, I have told you some of the history of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. I am very unqualified, but Gurudev told me to take care of you all and to give what he has told me. Therefore, I am telling you all now what I have got from him. Actually, everything I have—any position, sannyas, etc.—everything is coming from him. I always think that I want to become your servant. I am always at your service, this is always my hope. I am again paying my humble obeisance to all the devotees and requesting you to please take care of what Gurudev has told, take care of his words. This is my hope and my everything.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Jay saparikara Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda Sundarjiu ki jay
Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Bhagavan Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhakti-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Nityananda Prabhu ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Mahaprabhu ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
All the servitors, all the devotees of Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

* * *

Practise Devotion

Kolkata (Jatragachhi), 8 February 2021, part 1

Today is dvadasi-tithi, and we are observing ekadasi today. Have you all been fasting? Do you know that it is necessary to sing a special kirtan on ekadasis? In the morning, we sing, "Sri Hari vasare Hari kirtana vidhana," and in the evening:

suddha-bhakata-charana-renu
bhajana-anukula
bhakata-seva parama-siddhi
prema-latikara mula

"The dust of pure devotees' feet is favourable to devotion. Serving the devotees is the supreme fulfilment and the root of the creeper of divine love."

It is necessary to chant these kirtans. So, today is ekadasi tithi, so we must sing these kirtans. In the morning, we sing:

sri hari-vasare hari-kirtana-vidhana
nrtya arambhila prabhu jagatera prana [1]

On the holy day of Sri Hari (Ekadasi), Sriman Mahaprabhu, the life and soul of the universe, began dancing.

punyavanta srivasa-angane subharambha
uthila kirtana-dhvani gopala govinda [2]

With the auspicious beginning of the kirtan in the courtyard of the fortunate Srivas, the sound of the chanting, ‘Gopal!’ ‘Govinda!’ arose.

mrdanga mandira baje sankha karatala
sankirtana sange saba ha-ila misala [3]

The sounds of the mrdangas, cymbals, conchshells, and clapping hands all combined together in the sankirtan.

brahmande uthila dhvani puriya akasa
chaudikera amangala yaya saba nasa [4]

The sound of the sankirtan arose and filled the sky, destroying inauspiciousness in all directions.

chatur-dike sri hari-mangala sankirtana
madhye nache jagannatha misrera nandana [5]

Mahaprabhu Visvambhar, the son of Jagannath Misra, danced, surrounded by the auspicious Hari-nam-sankirtan on all sides.

sabara angete sobhe sri chandana-mala
anande nachaye sabe ha-iye vibhola [6]

Everyone was decorated with sandalwood paste and flower garlands, and danced, overwhelmed with joy.

nijanande nache mahaprabhu visvambhara
charanera tali suni ati manohara [7]

Mahaprabhu Visvambhar danced in the ecstasy of Himself. Hearing the rhythm of His feet was heart capturing.

bhavavese mala nahi rahaye galaya
chhindiya padaye giya bhakatera gaya [8]

While He was rapt in ecstasy, His flower garland could not remain around His neck. It tore and fell as the devotees sang.

yanra namanande siva vasana na jane
yanra rase nache siva se nache apane [9]

In the ecstasy of whose Name Siva forgets His clothing, in the ecstasy of whom Siva always dances, that Supreme Lord now dances personally.

yanra name valmiki ha-ila tapodhana
yanra name ajamila paila mochana [10]
yanra name sravane samsara-bandha ghuche
hena prabhu avatari kali-yuge nache [11]

By whose Name Valmiki became a powerful sage, by whose Name Ajamil attained liberation, by hearing whose Name the bondage of material existence is destroyed, that very Lord descends in the Age of Kali and dances.

yanra nama la-i suka narada bedaya
sahasra-vadana-prabhu yara guna gaya [12]
sarva-maha-prayaschita ye prabhura nama
se prabhu nachaye dekhe yata bhagyavan [13]

He whose Name Sukadev and Narad take as they wander about, whose glories the thousand-mouthed Anantadev sings, whose Name is the supreme form of atonement, that Lord now dances and glances upon the fortunate souls.

sri krsna-chaitanya nityananda-chanda jana
vrndavana dasa tachhu pada-yuge gana [14]

Embracing Sri Krsna Chaitanya and Nityanandachand as his life and soul, Vrndavan Das sings the glories of Their lotus feet.

This song was written by Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur, and Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur wrote the other beautiful kirtan, which we sing in the evenings. We must always practise kirtan. Do you know what my Gurudev said when he was leaving this world in the end? He said, "Acharya Maharaj, you are going to Mednipore, Bardhaman, and many other places, you have brought so many people to me, and they took initiation, but how many disciples are there?" Gurudev asked me, "How many disciples are there?" You do not become a disciple just by taking initiation.

diksa-kale bhakta kare atma-samarpana
sei-kale krsna tare kare atma-sama

"At the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders unto the service of the Lord, Krishna accepts them as His very own."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 4.192)

If your child is admitted to a school, does it mean the child has passed the final exam? Initiation means you have been admitted to a spiritual school. You are admitted to primary school, you must finish it and then go to high school; pass the exams, then progress to college and then to university. So, if you are just enrolled to a school, does it mean you have passed the exams? You must study to pass! What does 'studying' mean for us? There are nine kinds of devotion: sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam, pada-sevanam, archanam, vandanam, dasyam, sakhyam, atma-nivedanam—hearing, chanting, remembering the Lord, serving the Lord's lotus feet, worshipping the Deity of the Lord, offering obeisance, rendering service as a servitor, as a friend, and self-submission. These nine kinds of devotional practices reside on the nine islands of Sri Nabadwip. When we do the parikrama, we go to each island and speak about each kinds of devotion residing there. In the middle, there is Antardwip, Mayapur. The Nrisingha Palli temple that we have now is situated in Godrumdwip, and where our temple was before in Kolerganga (Kolerganj) is Koladwip. The area of Vidyanagar is Jahnudwip. Champahati is Rtudwip, and Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur's birthplace, where we go last, in Mamgachi is Modadrumdwip. Madhyadwip is Gadigacha-gram. Above Mayapur, there is Simantadwip (where the temple of Lord Jagannath is) and Rudradwip, it is near the Ganges. These are the nine islands. Devotion resides on these nine islands.

If we do not practise these kinds of devotion, then we will not get any result. We eat every day, we go to the bathroom every day, and you must serve the Lord in the same way—you must offer bhog every day, you must chant kirtans, worship the Lord, etc. You must practise in your own life. You will not get any result if you do not practise. There is a saying in English: practice makes perfect. We do not learn to chant kirtans from the womb of my mother—we come to the temple and practise how to chant kirtans, how to play the kartals (some learn to play the mridanga), learn how to worship the Lord, etc. You can see foreign devotees come and they play the mridanga, play the kartans, they chant kirtans.

They come from so far—from thousands of miles away. The earth is like a ball, and you have India in one place, and their countries are on the other side of the globe—when it is evening here, it is only morning for them. There are also countries where there is no night for four months (the whole day and night, the sun is in the sky), and when I went there during the chaturmasya time, they had no sun—there is only night the whole day! Have you seen a country like that? There is no night there! Here, we have day and we have night, maybe the night is a little longer in winter, but there they have no night at all, and at another time they have no day—the sun does not rise! It only rises for five minutes and then against sets, and it becomes night. There are such places, and those places are now flooded with the Holy Name—people are chanting the Holy Name there!

Therefore, it is necessary to practise. You have been born here in the land of India and think you know everything, but even Brahma himself says, "Those who say they know, they can say that, but I know that I do not know anything." These are the words of Brahma who took initiation from Krishna Himself...

* * *

Land of Religions?

Kolkata (Jatragachhi), 8 February 2021, part 2

One can ask, "Why is there so much devotion to God in your country? In our country, there is only christianity, but when I was in West Bengal, I saw that some people worship Kali, some people worship Durga, some people worship Ganesh, some people worship Loknath, some people worship Harichand Thakur. Why is it so?" Why are there so many religions? The reason is this. Everybody hears things in their own way. All disciples are not the same. Brahma took initiation from Krishna, and he did not listen to the guidance Lord Krishna spoke—Brahma heard it in his own way and created this whole world based on what he heard and how he heard it. This is how somebody ends up worshipping Kali, somebody ends up worshipping Durga, Ganesh, etc. People worship in many ways. If you go to Bombay, you will see that people worship Ganesh there; if you go to Bihar, you will see that people worship Suryadev (Sun God) there; if you go to Tamil Nadu, they worship somebody else there. There are so many kinds of worship here in Bengal itself. Somebody worships Kali, somebody Durga, Ganesh, Laksmi, Saraswati, Jagannath, Nitai-Gaura, and so on. However, the scriptures do not tell to do this. What does Bhagavatam say?

prthivite yaha kichu dharma name chale
bhagavata kahe taha paripurna chhale

"Bhagavatam says that what is happening in this world in the name of religion, is complete cheating."

Bhagavatam says that all these 'religions' are cheating, illusion. All this is created by Maya.

Brahma creates the world—you know that Vishnu is the maintainer, Brahma is the creator, and Siva is the destroyer. So, when Brahma received the order from Lord Krishna, he created this universe—he did it according to how he heard. Guru gives the same guidance to everyone, "Do this," but does everyone do it? Guru tells you, "Live in this way," but somebody will think, "Oh, I know much, I have become a Vaishnav." You think you put a tilak, wear kanthi-mala, and this is it—you have become a sadhu: you go to Vrindavan, wear an uttaria, and start saying, "Radhe Radhe" and if you go to Ekachakra Dham, you start saying, "Jay Nitai, Jay Nitai." Have you not heard what happened the other year? Some man felt very happy when he heard "Jay Nitai, Jay Nitai," and one day some Muslim dacoits came to his door and knocked at his door, saying, "Jay Nitai! Jay Nitai!" Hearing "Jay Nitai" the man thought, "Oh, devotees have come!" He opened the door, and the dacoits got into his house and robbed him. So, saying, "Jay Nitai" and coming to steal is bad. In Vrindavan, they always say, "Radhe Radhe," but they say it to get food for themselves.

There are many kinds of devotion: karma-misra bhakti (devotion mixed with material desires), jnana-misra bhakti (devotion mixed with desire to know something), jnana-sunya suddha-bhakti (pure devotion devoid of any pursuit of knowledge). Somebody worships the Lord and turns the Lord into a bribe-taker. They come to the Lord and say, "O God [O Kali / O Durga / etc.], I have given you this rice, bananas—please give me a son [or: give my son work, give my daughter a good husband]." They want all these things from the Lord. You must have heard that in some places you can get a job if you give money to some official. In this way, you become a bribers and the person who takes the money is a bribe-taker. Both are criminals. Those who do wrong and those who overlook it are both offenders. We turn the Lord into our menial servant. "Lord, give me this"—the Lord is my servant. Our devotion is not like that. This is not what the devotion of the residents of Vraja is. The highest worship is present in the devotion of Vraja gopis. They never think about their own happiness. They gave the dust from their feet just to serve Krishna when Krishna showed He was ill. Will you not think, "Oh, if I do this, it will be a sin." Laskmi thought so. Siva thought so. Narad thought so. Brahma thought so. Everybody thought it was a sin, but Vraja gopis did not think about it. "Will we commit a sin? Will we go to hell because of it? Whatever! Even if our legs burn or become afflicted with leprosy, whatever! As long as our Krishna is happy, we do not care about anything." This is what devotion must be like. "What can I do for the Lord to make Him happy? How can I serve the devotees of the Lord?" We must always be alert and take care so that no difficulty, no austerity comes to the devotees of the Lord.

* * *

Web: scsmathinternational.com

Email: info@scsmathinternational.com