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WORLD April 22, 1999 VNN3673 See Related VNN Stories Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja Visits Melbourne (1) BY SRIDAM SAKHA DASA  AUSTRALIA, Apr 22 (VNN) — Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja Visits Melbourne, Part 1Friday, January 29, 1999 Melbourne first morning We arrived in Melbourne on Thursday January 28th. Our stay there was organized and arranged by Dina bandhu prabhu, one of the earliest disciples of Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja. Dina bandhu prabhu lives about a two hour drive out of the city, in a remote countryside area. Srila Maharaja stayed in his house, while the devotees were accomodated in a camping centre about ten minute's walk distant. Although Dina bandhu prabhu had only expected about thirty guests he was overwhelmed when well over twice that number turned up. Srila Maharaja spoke for the first time the next day. "I am very glad to come again to Australia, especially to this place. I have just come from Fiji, where we have been for three weeks. There, the preaching was so successful, but it was only primary, how we must do this, how we must do that, sanatana dharma, what is religion. But in Murwillimbah, New Vraja, especially in Australia, I am not preaching like that. Here I am explaining how to attain conjugal love, Who Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was, and what was Nityananda prabhu's mission and object in coming to this world. I've only come to give the same thing which Srila Rupa gosvami came to give from Goloka in the guidance of Srila Ramananda Raya, Srila Svarupa Damodara and Srila Sanatana gosvami. First we should know that we are all in the Gaura family not from this section or that section. We want to remove these walls and to realize that we are all in one family, Gaura's family. We are in the line coming from Srila Svarupa Damodara, Srila Ramananda Raya and especially the Rupanuga vaisnava line, and we have brought something from them to distribute here. "What is the object of our devotion? Not only to perform primary functions like distributing books, establishing temples and 1,000 acre farms. So many cows, so many schools, but where are they now? So we should learn what is our life's mission, our goal. For what purpose did Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja come? Not to give these things. For unqualified persons he started these projects to engage their energies and powers because he knew that they could not take anything higher. ("By all means we must preserve our spiritual status, that is the point, not that we are mad after big buildings, many devotees, life-members, this, that--no, these are only ways to engage the devotees so that they may apply the principles of devotional living to some kind of work for practical realisation of these principles. It is not the result of the work we want. If only one person daily, if we sincerely preach to such one person in a day, that is sufficient, never mind big, big programmes." Letter to Tejiyas from Srila Prabhupada: 72-12-19 Bombay) "He knew how to engage their mental and bodily powers so that he could gradually bring them to this point. What is gopi and vraja prema? In the evening class we will discuss Caitanya caritamrta, adi lila, 3rd and 4th chapters with the purports by Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja to show that we're in the same line. Some people are saying: "Oh Narayana Maharaja is in a different line from Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja" but actually it is not Narayana Maharaja who is in a different line, it is those who say he is. That is why 99% of sannyasis are fallen and all the sincere vaisnavas have left. So Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja has sent me to help them. I have nothing to gain from them so why are they so worried? Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja told me in the last days 'You should help my disciples. They are like monkeys, I could not train them so much. So always try to help them.' I said to him: 'Your order is on my head, I will carry it for the rest of my life.' I had served him so much that he was pleased to give this service to me. You know he said: 'You should do my samadhi, with Vedic mantra. I don't want that they should touch my body.' He told me so many things which were recorded on cassette which was destroyed. "I am also so much indebted to Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja. He met me in his last days in Puri. He told me: 'I have wanted to meet you for such a long time but I was so much controlled by these leaders that I could not come.' After this he went to Mayapura, and left this world. But he has given his senior disciples to me, and gradually more and more of them are coming to help me. So I am so much indebted to this maha purusa vaisnava Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja. "So we should try to have no malice in our heart like Yudhisthira Maharaja. He was ajatasatru meaning that his enemy had never taken birth. He saw all as friends. He used to call Duhsasana 'Suhsasana' and Duryodhana 'Suryodhana'. Although they considered him their enemy, he did not consider them his. If anyone approaches Giriraja, even demons or enemies he will give them what they want, he will not send them away. So if someone is opposing us, no harm. Without opposition there is no preaching. I want something from you, that you follow the first sloka of Manah siksa, to really enter the realm of bhakti very strongly: gurau gosthe gosthau gosthalayisu sujane bhusura-gane sva-mantre sri-namni vraja-nava-yuva-dvandva-sarane sva sada dambham hitva kuru ratim apurvam atitara- maye svantar bhratas ca ubhir abhiyace dhrta-padah ("O my dear brother, my foolish mind! Taking hold of your feet, I humbly pray to you with sweet words. Please give up all pride and quickly develop sublime and incessant rati for Sri Gurudeva, Sri Vraja-dhama, the residents of Vraja, the Vaisnavas, the brahmanas, your diksa-mantras, the holy names of the Supreme Lord, and the shelter of Kisora-Kisori, Sri Sri Radha-Krsna, the eternally youthful divine couple of Vraja.") "If you're not doing this, then nothing to say. Give your ears to me. Guru only wants a person's ears, not their wealth. I've not come for that, but to sprinkle the wealth of Vrndavana. Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Maharaja used to say: 'I want your ears, and then I will purify you.' From this I'll purify your hearts. Try to see the dhamas through your ears not your eyes. We try to see the beauty of the Deity by our eyes, and we also want to know the epics and Srimad Bhagavatam through out eyes. But the disciplic line coming from Srila Prabhupada has said you should read Srimad Bhagavatam through your ears and that you must take darsan of a vaisnava in this way also. Don't try to read Srimad Bhagavatam first. The first step is: sraddhanvito 'nusrnuyad (to continually hear in the parampara system with transcendental faith), sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam. If you try to understand sastra by the reading process before you've heard it in the guidance of a rasika bhavuka tattva vid vaisnava then you'll understand wrongly. Nowadays people are reading something, and then they are writing their own books, so many, like making chapattis. In a moment they can write a book. But they are full of imagination and are against siddhanta, so don't try to read or write so much. First hear. There are so many unqualified persons who don't wish to hear, but only want to use their mouths to give instruction to others. I want you to give your ears to me and I'll try to give you all these things gradually. Time is very short. So we should try to remember the first sloka of Manah siksa today. So gurau gosthe gosthau gosthalayisu sujane bhusura-gane sva-mantre sri-namni vraja-nava-yuva-dvandva-sarane sva sada dambham hitva kuru ratim apurvam atitara- maye svantar bhratas catubhir abhiyace dhrta-padah "Why should our minds serve gurudeva? Why? What has he given us? Wealth? Kingdom? So we should know what or who is gurudeva. In Bhakti rasamrta sindhu it said that we should accept diksa from him: adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha bhajana-kriya tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatah "What is sraddha? And what is the bhakti lata bija? It is Krsna seva vasana, the desire to serve Radha-Krsna yugal with love and affection, this is the real seed of bhakti lata, and it arises by hearing from bonafide vaisnavas. The outer symptom of the seed is sraddha, so much strong faith in guru and vaisnavas, epics, vedas, upanisads and the words of Srimad Bhagavatam. You should have sraddha in these things, the words of guru vaisnava and epics. The next symptom of sraddha is that even if the whole world is against me, I cannot give up bhakti. Now you can examine your own heart to see whether you have this kind of sraddha. 'Though I have so many anarthas I'll never give up bhakti.' Guru is giving this seed, and if one does not receive it, then he has no bhakti. So if anyone has very strong sraddha, faith like this then it is it is paramarthika (spiritual) not laukika, worldly. If this sraddha is there in the heart of a pure vaisnava then he'll search from everywhere and everyone to know where to water this seed. He will understand who is guru by hearing, to know who can really help him. Like a madman he will wander from place to place in his search to find a qualified guru, just as Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja did before he met Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja. I was also like this. From the beginning of life I used to chant, Rama's name especially. Then, at the age of 16 I heard Srimad Bhagavatam from a very bonafide guru for one month. Before that I had had no taste in hearing Srimad Bhagavatam, but after this I had so much. During that month I gave up school, and I served that vaisnava continually, going without sleep. I would clear the place where he was speaking, I would carry his book on my head and I brought so many people to come and hear from him. After this, a great thirst had come in my heart. Forgetting all else, I began to search for guru just as Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja had done. Then Krsna quickly arranged for me to come in contact with a preaching party sent out by my gurudeva. For seven days I served them and heard the recitation of Srimad Bhagavatam from them. After that, I left my involvement with this world and went to Navadvipa and, wonderfully, my guru accepted me. You should only surrender, Krsna will arrange everything. Guru is the asraya of Krsna. by diksa he will give your relationship with Krsna in the form of mantra. But if you're not serving guru then there will be no bhakti. The first anga of bhakti is guru-padasraya to take shelter of the lotus feet of a bonafide guru. guru-padasraya, diksa, gurura sevana sad-dharma-siksa, prccha, sadhu-marganugamana First you must serve him like this, and then Krsna and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu will come. gurau gosthe gosthau gosthalayisu sujane bhusura-gane 'Gurau' first. By the direction of vartma pradarsaka guru one comes into the association of a diksa or siksa guru. But don't differentiate between them. One's diksa guru may also be one's siksa guru. Sometimes one's siksa guru will be greater than one's diksa guru. Srila Rupa gosvami, Srila Sanatana gosvami, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Krsna, and, most high class of all Lalita and Visakha are our siksa gurus. gurau gosthe gosthau gosthalayisu sujane bhusura-gane If you do not have love and affection, sraddha in your guru, then your foundantion is very weak. A strong base should be there first. Seva of guru must be performed, by all senses, from one's heart with love and affection, by all means. If your guru nistha very weak then you cannot enter the realm of bhakti. If your guru falls, then your next guru falls, and the one after also falls, and you have ten gurus who have all fallen, then what will be your life? If a 'guru' doesn't give Krsna prema or follow Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu but only takes our money but doesn't give anything, then at once reject him. Bonafide guru doesn't want wealth and reputation. If our guru is weak, always falling down, then find a bonafide guru. Why? Because after being here for lakhs and lakhs of births we are here to give our soul to Radha-Krsna yugal not to some weak, lusty person. All of the tours completed to date are archived at the following site: http://www.igvp.com/tours See Related VNN Stories | Comment on this Story | Contact VNN regarding this Story
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