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Prabhu often used to teach his devotees about the ways to perform Bhajans. Once, while talking about the glory of the Lord's Nãma, he said, "The devotee should consider himself lower than a blade of grass; should be more patient than a tree; should never expect respect for oneself, while always give respect for others. Remaining so, he should think about the Lord. Patience is the crest jewel. An impatient being, even if he is a big Tapasvi or a Vidwãn (scholar) or a pundit, can never be the recipient of the Lord's mercy. The tree does not speak ill of any one. It only delivers sweet fruits even if we axe or stone it. It always remains in seclusion. Similarly, a Bhakta should keep himself away from a social life. He should not get anything from anyone, should not expect respect but in turn respect every one, should be patient and always in thought of the Lord."

He continued, "In Kali Yuga, there is no other easy and comfortable way out, other than Hari's Nãma." Listening to this, a heartless person from the crowd exclaimed, " All these are just for argument sake. These have been exaggerated, just to bring out the glory of the Nãma. Nãma alone will not give any benefit. Only in order for the masses to get the taste of Bhagavan Nãma, have all these been said". Immediately Prabhu closed his ears saying "Hari Hari". He continued, "Both, the who talks ill about the Lord's name and the one who hears him talk, acquire sin. Let us all go and bathe ourselves in the Ganges to get rid of this sin." Saying so, he took his Bhaktas to the banks of Ganga.

All of them sincerely followed Prabhu to take bath in the Ganges. Then, Prabhu spoke to them about the importance of Bhakti. "Dear brothers! If some one tries to attain the Lord, who is the only Omnipotent One, whose each hair follicle nurtures countless Universes, through Yoga, can he do it just by controlling his breath or by learning the philosophies? With what knowledge can one attain Him, whom the Vedas proclaim as 'Neti Neti' (not this; not this)? Can He be attained just by japa or renunciation? After all, what can we renounce? Nothing can happen without His mercy. Any good deed like japa, penance, study, pooja, charity, discipline, when done without Bhakti, is a waste. The Lord Himself has told Uddhava about this:

na sãdhayati mãm yogo na sãnkhyam dharma uddhava
na swãdhyãs thapasthyago yathã bhakthir mamorjita (Srimad Bhãgavatam 11-14-20)
Oh Uddhava! Yoga, Sãnkhya, learning, penance, renunciation -- None of these would please me much as Bhakti would.

Thus discoursing on Bhakti, Mahãprabhu gave joy and comfort to the devotees.

To be continued...

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