Floating on the Surface

Nirmal Bhakti The Path of Pure Devotion

Śrī Chaitanya Śaraswat Matè Philippines U.P. Campus, Diliman, Quezon City

Floating On the Surface His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj 30 June 2013 A holy place is not for enjoyment; a holy place is for service.

Ramananda Ray and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were talking Krishnakatha, and I am thinking also: who can understand Srila Sridhar DevGoswami Maharaj, who can understand Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur? If you take the leaves of a sugar cane, what kind of taste will you get? But if you take the stem, as you condense it more and more you can taste juice, sugar, khanda ( , candy)— everything will come slowly, slowly.

We just come and stay in Srila Sridhar Maharaj's temple, Gurudev's temple and do not know any conception, but what did Srila Sridhar Maharaj make the temple for? You should know the conception. We float on the surface, following the desires that enter our mind—we do not go deep; but we must understand what Srila Sridhar Maharaj made this temple for. It is necessary. It is the main things.

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We do not want to be workers, we have not come here to be carpenters—Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said that.

We can do what is necessary for maintenance, but not more than that.

When I started the charitable dispensary here, I spent so much time there. I went there every afternoon and was managing the doctors, the patients, and so on, but Gurudev said to me, "You did not come here to be a hospital manager." And I stopped—the next day I gave charge to somebody else.

Gurudev said, "It is not your job, you can give it somebody else." Money will come, everything will come, everything will be. You can see in one of his poems Srila Gurudev writes, "If Indra comes to give me heaven, to give me his post, I will not accept that; I will not agree if even Brahma offers me to take his place. No, I will not accept that."

You must understand our conception. We do not want to be very big or gorgeous, we do not want be imitators, we want to have the real thing.

That is why you must understand our conception. You must read Srila Sridhar Maharaj's books, Gurudev's books, then you will get some idea. I have told it many times: read when you get time. Read the books, try to understand the conception.

If you think you know everything, you will never know anything. If you think you know everything, that is a big problem: that is ego, and the ego eats everything, takes everything away—ultimately, it takes you to hell.

Ego is the only problem. Somebody is so proud they have been a disciple for so many years, but they cannot understand anything. That is why we must be careful: "pride comes before a fall."

You must sacrifice for others—that is our life. Devotional life means sacrifice; and sacrifice does not mean you must be renounced.

Renunciation is not necessary—only surrender.

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