The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Birmingham, England on July 15, 2002 (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology Volume 89)

 

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja:

rādhā-kṛṣṇa prāṇa mora ĵugala-kiśora
jīvane-maraṇe gati āra nāhi mora

Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Prāṇa Mora (1)

The youthful Divine Couple, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, are my life and soul. In life and in death, I have no shelter other than Them.

kālindīra kūle keli kadambera vana
ratana-vedīra upar bôsā’bô du’jana

Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Prāṇa Mora (2)

On the banks of the Kālindi (Yamunā River), in a kadamba grove meant for amorous sporting, I will seat Them both upon a jewelled throne.

śyāma-gaurī-aṅge dibô (cuwā) candanera gandha
cāmara ḍhulābô kabe heribô mukha-candra

Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Prāṇa Mora (3)

I will anoint Their dark and golden limbs with sandal paste scented with cuwā and then fan Them with a cāmara. Oh, when will I behold Their moon-like faces?

gā̃thiyā mālatīra mālā dibô dõhār gale
adhare tuliyā dibô karpūra tāmbule

Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Prāṇa Mora (4)

After stringing together garlands of mālati flowers, I will place them around both Their necks. I will then place tāmbūla (betel) flavoured with camphor in Their lotus mouths.

lalitā viśākhā ādi ĵatô sakhī-vṛnda
ājñāya kôribô sevā caraṇāravinda

Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Prāṇa Mora (5)

On the order of Lalitā, Viśākhā, and the other sakhīs, I will serve Their lotus feet.

śrī kṛṣṇa-caitanya-prabhur dāser anudāsa
sevā abhilāṣa kare narottama dāsa

Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Prāṇa Mora (6)

Narottama dāsa, servant of the servant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, yearns for service to the Divine Couple.

Without desire, no human being can exist. This is the nature of cid-vastu (spiritual substance). We will have to desire, whether right or wrong. A pure devotee (bhakta) has desires that are like this: They have so many endless desires to serve Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and to please Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. And what is our desire? Oh, so many, so many material desires. We have endless material desires. We desire, “How can I make money? How can I have a very lovely wife, a very beautiful girlfriend? She will come and massage me. She will come, love me, and cook for me. And when I am angry, she calms me down. And if I see any defect in her, then I can marry another beautiful wife. No harm if she kicks me like a donkey, no harm. I will tolerate, I will tolerate, but I want this. I want money. I want a beautiful home equipped with all the nice facilities. I want this.”

He always remembers these desires, desires, desires, but they are never fulfilled. Then he dies and becomes a donkey, a monkey, or something else. But a devotee is desiring, like what is said in this song by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. Practising like that, he will attain this love; he will serve Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. In this stage of sādhana, while practising bhakti, all kinds of worldly desires will go away. All kinds of suffering will go away. He will have no material desires. This is the nature of bhakti.

A devotee thinks, “I am chanting and remembering; I am a devotee.” But if he is praying, “O Kṛṣṇa, I am suffering so much, very much. I cannot tolerate this. Please come and help me so that I can be happy.” What is this? This ruins bhakti; it is not bhakti. Then you will have to suffer for this. Kṛṣṇa will not save you. But when you neglect all these things and always pray, “O Kṛṣṇa, when will I serve You? When will I serve You? I may suffer, no harm.” I will not pray to Kṛṣṇa, “You should save me, protect me from this suffering.”

“I want to tolerate this, for You. But You should mercifully give me a chance to serve You so that I may please You. I want to please You only with a desire to please You, nothing else.”

If a devotee prays like this, then in a moment, all sufferings, difficulties, sorrows, and everything will go away. But if you do like Dhruva, then your bhakti will be spoiled; it will be ruined. Don’t do it like that. Worldly desires are a waste of time. Since the beginning of creation, we have been engaged in sense gratification, yet we remain unsatisfied. We are not satisfied. And we know that there is nothing good in these material things.

But we still see that even a devotee thinks, “Oh, I want to see a very beautiful grandson.” Then, when his grandson comes, he thinks, “Oh, I want to see his wife also and a great-grandson as well.” Thus, he is never satisfied.

So, try to chant and remember, for only what reason? To please Kṛṣṇa. Here, pleasing Kṛṣṇa means who? To please all His associates, beginning with your guru, śikṣā-guru, and Vaiṣṇavas. Someone can say, “O Mahārāja, I have heard your classes in America. I am hearing your classes in Birmingham. I am hearing so many of your classes here in England. But I want to hear something special.”

What special thing? I am giving everything, everything. Though you don’t understand, I am giving everything. What thing do you want that is more special? What else do you want? Don’t be like this. Try to understand the instructions I have given and follow them. If a gurudeva gave you a seed and told you to plant it, and you have planted it, but you are thinking, “O Gurudeva, I want the fruit right now. You should give me something special,” what is this? He has given you something special. What he says, try to follow. Then the fruit, juice, and everything will come.

Try to understand all these things and follow. Don’t be weak. Don’t be attached to this world. Only try to maintain your life; don’t do more than that. This life is only for realising the soul and Supersoul, only this, not for being like dogs, hogs, and pigs. I have told so many things. I have nothing more to say. In particular, you should try to follow the instructions of Rūpa Gosvāmī and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, namely Manaḥ-śikṣā and Upadeśāmṛta. First, you should do so, follow bhakti, and be happy. Otherwise, you will always be weak. Don’t be weak.

(Break in audio)

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You want to see the sun in the middle of the night. Is it possible? You can bring so many lights to try to see the sun at night, but the sun will never be seen. But in the morning, at about seven or eight, the sun will automatically come. Then you can see the sun and others. So, kṛṣṇa-bhakti is like the sun. Everything will be seen by bhakti. All suffering will go away. So, try to chant, remember, and be happy.

(Break in audio)

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Even if one is not doing bhakti, and he is not opposed to bhakti, if he is not against bhakti and he does not practice bhakti-yoga, but if the son is doing first-class bhakti, then automatically the father, the grandfather, and so many of the forefathers will be liberated. Whether you are doing bhajana or not, I have accepted your son Jīva, and he is serving me. Therefore, his father, his grandfather, and the father of his grandfather’s father will all be liberated very easily. His mother also, especially his mother (devotees laugh).

Even his worldly father and mother will also be liberated as Kṛṣṇa’s attention will be directed towards them. Their hearts will be transformed, and in their next birth, they will associate with bhaktas. Thus, gradually, a chance will come that Kṛṣṇa will be merciful to them. This is the process. Otherwise, there is no other process. Nṛsiṁha Bhagavān has Himself told these things.

Your father and mother are here, so I am begging her to give her child to me. I will take the son of a very affectionate mother. Now he is preaching, okay, like so many. I also want to make Jīva like him. I also begged the father and mother of Śyāmānanda, and they gave him to me. I want their lives to be successful and their fathers’, mothers’, and all relatives’ lives to be successful.

For girls too, if they are like the gopīs, following Kṛṣṇa and serving and meditating like Gaṅgāmātā Ṭhākurāṇī, then their father, mother, and all forefathers will be like that. But sometimes, lady devotees can turn impure, very soon. Their hearts are melting, so anyone can easily take advantage of them. You should try to be very strong in kṛṣṇa-bhajana, so that no one can cheat you. All the instructions apply to both ladies and men.

What Kṛṣṇa has said in the Bhagavad-gītā, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, what instructions are there, there is no difference for ladies and males. To maintain one’s life, something is different, but the soul is the same. There is no difference — all are the same. You should go on doing bhajana. These are my last instructions here. Try to be happy. If you are weak, then it is your fault.

You may be in worldly life, family life, but don’t be attached to your husband. And the husband should not be so attached to the wife. Maintain your lives and be together, as if you are under an umbrella. This is also like a kind of brahmacārī-āśrama. But don’t forget your devotion to Kṛṣṇa and to the guru. Thus, in this life, you should realise something and collect some wealth of sukṛti or bhakti so that in your next birth, you can develop.

If you want salvation or liberation, you can have it, but we don’t want it. We depend on Kṛṣṇa. We want lakhs and lakhs of births, but where, and for what? To associate with high-class Vaiṣṇavas. We want to be a dog, but of a devotee. We want to be anything related to a Vaiṣṇava, so that we can have his two kinds of ucchiṣṭa (remnants): food remnants and hari-kathā. We do not need to become Brahmā, no need. We would like to be the dog of a devotee, no harm, like the dog of Śivānanda Sena.

Source(s): Purebhakti.com, Serve Love – Bhakta Bandhav (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology transcribed and edited by the Bhakta Bandhav Team)

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org.in, Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo and / or Bhaktiart.net

Unless indicated otherwise, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)