Today, we shall remember the glories of His priya parisada, His dear associate Srila Jiva Gosvami. This mahaprasada is bhagavat prasada, and by taking this we can consider our lives successful. Bhagavan’s prasada means His priya bhaktas, His dear devotees. Those who are God’s atyanta priyas, who are very dear to Him and the recipients of His mercy, are Bhagavat-prasada. They appear in this world to benefit the conditioned souls by connecting them to God. To take shelter of these devotees and hear their glories is only possible for those who are extremely fortunate. Bhagavan Himself is yajnesvara-hari—He appears from yajnas to distribute causeless mercy. Those people who received God’s blessings can help the world. One who has not received God’s blessings and is not a dear associate of God cannot give welfare to others. Therefore you should look for somebody who is dear to God, bhagavat-priya. Then you should try to receive his association, blessings, and mercy, and once you understand the welfare they have given to you, you will naturally want to glorify them.
If someone gave you food or a place to live, then you would not forget this person, and you would glorify him. It is hard to forget somebody who has helped one so much. A person who does this is called ungrateful. There is a guru-drohi, one who is ungrateful to his guru, a pitri-drohi, one who is ungrateful to his ancestors, and a bhakta-drohi, one who is ungrateful to the devotees. If you do not glorify the devotees, Vaisnavas, and bhaktas, then Bhagavan says that you are an enemy in this world. No one will be the friend of such a person, and one who favors this person will as well be the enemy of the world, because he has not glorified the Vaisnavas, who are the sevakas and sevikas of Bhagavan. How much do the sevakas and sevikas serve God? If we do not hear and speak their glories, then we are akrtajna – ungrateful, adrohi – an enemy, and aguna – full of bad qualities. We do not forget someone who has helped us with one roti or one paisa. The vaisnavas who eternally help us, who pull us out of this hell of samsara, where we have been for millions of lives, and who bring us to the lotus feet of God, are our greatest benefactors. If we do not glorify them, then we are extremely ungrateful. They give us the food for our soul that helps us transcend this world and go to the spiritual world. A person who does not glorify them is a pasandi, or an atheist. They are asuras, raksasas, or demons. It is very difficult for such people to get benefit in this world. In sastra it is said:
krsna gurudvaya bhakta sakti avatara prakasa
krsna ei chaya rupe karena vilasa
Caitanya-Caritamrta, Adi 1.32
Bhagavan appears in six forms in this world. Kaviraja Gosvami explains this in Caitanya-Caritamrta. Krsna guru dvaya—Krsna appears in this world in the forms of siksa-guru, diksa-guru, and His incarnations, the avataras: manvantara, gunavatara, avesavatara, saktyavesavatara, who are all His prakasa, His manifestations. One who is grateful glorifies them, but one who is ungrateful wastes time and does not glorify the guru-varga and Bhagavan. Whose property is the soul?
This soul is the separated part and parcel of God. It is not the separated part and parcel of any demigod or goddess. No one can say, “The soul is mine.” But Bhagavan says to Arjuna, “The jiva is mine. I created the Earth, and all the people, and the 330 millions of demigods. A person who thinks himself to be independent brings suffering into his own lap, but for a person who surrenders to Me and accepts Me as his life and soul, I will take responsibility, and even still I will give him independence. It is everyone’s own choice whether they want to act correctly or incorrectly.”
Fools are forgiven, but those who are intelligent and still commit offenses are punished. Those who are udanda, the greatest rascals, will receive the biggest punishment. Those who are connected to the devotees of God and do sravana and kirtana of their glories are siddha or suddha.
Today is a supremely auspicious day, because we are present in the dhama, in the vaisnava mandali, and are hearing the guna gana of the Vaisnavas. This life will be completely auspicious if we surrender ourselves to the guru-varga. By doing kirtana and sravana of Bhagavan’s qualities, we immediately become connected to God.