Take Responsibility Lecture

[Radha dasi]

Take Responsibility

Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja Giridhari Govardhana Matha
4 September 2005

Radhe Syama spoke very nicely about the qualities of a Vaisnava. I want to see everyone become established in these Vaisnava qualities. Simply speaking about them is not enough. It is very important that we don’t focus on anyone’s faults. Look at their good qualities. We have to absorb these qualities in ourselves. Take the association of Vaisnavas who are superior to us and who have sajatiya bhava, the mood we want. Then we can attain bhakti.

Someone who has no nistha in his Guru and in the Vaisnavas, no attachment for them, no attachment for their service and who doesn’t take any responsibility to do seva—such a person is like an animal. Taking responsibility can even make an animal into a human. Stay in the mathas under the guidance of Guru and Vaisnava. They must be superior to you; you respect them and perform their seva with nistha and asakti. One must take responsibility for seva. Wherever Gurudeva sends one, one should do the seva with a sense of responsibility.

Gurudeva sent me to Mathura and I took on all the responsibilities of the Matha, including fighting in the court, preaching, doing kirtana, going house to house, writing books, publishing Bhagavat Patrika. This was my area of responsibility for Gurudeva.

Have we taken on any responsibility or not? Have we got any attachment or not for that work?

You went to Navadvipa parikrama. From there you went to Assam, then to America—you went all over the world and then came back to the Matha. In doing all this, have you done anything for Matha- and Guru-seva? What responsibility did you take? All of you have to think about this. Taking your life in your hand, perform Guru-seva. Bhakti is not easily attained. Valmiki did tapasya for 60,000 years and received the fruit of Rama. And how he did seva for his Guru Narada and followed his instructions! Narada told him to sit in one place and do harinama. He sat down for 60,000 years and did not get up. He didn’t eat, drink or go to latrine—nothing. The ants covered his whole body. His life airs stayed in his bones. This is Guru-seva.

Have you heard of any ideal Guru-sevaka? Ekalabhya was only an ordinary person who gave his thumb to his Guru—his fault was that he didn’t follow his Gurudeva properly. Even Krsna carried a bundle of wood on His head, standing in the rain the whole night and got completely wet, in the service of His Guru, and He is Svayam Bhagavan! This is Guru-seva.

In the Upanisads we find the story of Upamanyu. His Guru told him to take the cows out grazing. After some time Guru asked Upamanyu, “Why are you so fat and healthy?” He replied, “After the calves take their milk, I drink the milk that they have left.” His Guru said, “Don’t drink the milk,” but he did not tell Upamanyu what he could take. After a few more days, when he saw Upamanyu, again he said, “How is it that you are still so fat and healthy? What are you eating?” He answered, “I take the foam of the milk left in the calves’ mouths.” Again Guru said, “Don’t do that.” Now all the roads were closed. So what did he do? He saw some leaves with milk coming out of them and started taking that milk. He went blind when some of the milk touched his eye and he fell in a well. Guruji came looking for him, shouting, “Where are you?” He called out, “I am in this well.” “What happened?” Gurudeva asked. Upamanyu replied, “I was taking this milk from the leaves and the milk touched my eye and I became blind. Then I fell down in this well.” Gurudeva said, “You will get your eyesight back.” In Upanisads and other Vedas these examples are given.

Yasya deva para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

[Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.]

We should be like them. Bhakti is not easy. Just by saying “bhakti” bhakti will not come. And in the line of Mahaprabhu Vraja-bhakti, gopi-bhakti is very very difficult. You are very fortunate to have come here. Keep your good fortune by developing nistha in Guru, doing seva with commitment and following his instructions nicely even if you have to go to hell. Go to hell with a contract (dedication to complete your Guru-seva no matter what). Take Guru’s instructions to heart. Then you will get bhakti. Otherwise you won’t get it.

(Translated by Braja Sundari devi dasi)