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Bhaktachintamani Prakaran 13

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Hasmukh Patadia

Gujarati narration
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The Swami said to Dharma: listen now to the essential teaching; recognizing your pure understanding, I now tell you the exclusive path of dharma.

I shall tell you the proper way of conduct for renunciates and householders, men and women; hold to it and keep it, when you return to your home.

Follow the excellent way, and conduct yourselves accordingly, man and wife; even if impure ways exist in the world, never follow them yourselves.

Now hear the pure way, which I tell you briefly, wise one, by which both renunciate and householder attain the state of liberation.

Listen: one must not commit the killing of animals in shraddha rites or sacrifices; among the three kinds of the eleventh-day observance, never drink liquor at any time.

If honey is found mixed in a pure medicine, do not eat or drink it at any time; even the smallest remnant of meat left from a sacrifice, do not, even by mistake, consume it.

Hear my words, Dharmadev: never commit theft, even for the sake of merit; never keep company with another's wife, nor ever give a woman in gift.

Seeing any adulterous man near any woman at all, do not remain in his company even in times of hardship; and if a man is a renunciate, no woman's body should ever touch him.

Such a renunciate man must certainly avoid women in all eight ways; know this to be the ancient way -- and hear further, giving me your attention.

Never commit self-harm; never listen to the talk of one who has turned away from God; food glorified in the name of being consecrated to Hari, if it is unfit, should not be eaten by anyone.

Never place a false accusation upon anyone's head -- this too is dharma, O steadfast one; never keep company, even for a day, with a person given to sensuality or vice.

And an ascetic who is wrathful, lustful, or given to desire -- such wretched men, who abandon their own dharma to follow another, who claim to be renunciates yet do not release their greed --

a guru who instructs a disciple contrary to scripture, an ignorant one who leads astray, one of false wisdom who denies the Lord's form -- these six kinds of wicked men are to be condemned.

Such six kinds of wicked men must be avoided by any soul who seeks liberation. Gods, holy places, and the Vedas, and Brahmins, saints, and the righteous who are praised --

never speak ill of them with your mouth, and never abandon dharma out of suffering. And any scripture that declares Shri Krishna to be formless, spoken by the ignorant --

never give ear to it, Dharma; understand this secret well within your mind. Never give weapons or poison as a trap by which people would come to harm.

And in our own tradition, great Brahmins do not keep weapons at any time. Apply the vertical tilak, with a dot of kumkum placed at its center.

Whoever partakes of the Radha-Krishna prasad, a married woman should place the dot upon her forehead; a widow should not apply the holy dot -- such is the way of our tradition.

Each should hold fast to their own proper way, and perform devotion to Shri Krishna with true feeling. Perform the Rasa and read the five chapters of the Rasa-panchadhyaya, and repeat the name of Krishna eight times a day.

Wear two garlands at the neck, one of tulsi and one of sandalwood beads. So the guru instructed, and Bhakti and Dharma held it in their hearts.

Then Uddhava, with affection, explained the way of exclusive devotion; he said: you Brahmins are the foremost, for whom Krishna is the sole object of devotion.

Among my disciples you are the greatest; I have known you to have fine qualities. Now go home, man and wife, remembering Radha-Krishna in your hearts.

If any soul seeking liberation comes to you, give them teaching and remove their fear; teach them always to repeat the great mantra.

And teach the two mantras of Shri Krishna to seekers as you see fit. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas, and true Shudras and women too --

give them the first mantra, to help them cross the ocean of worldly existence; by repeating this mantra daily, a person becomes worthy.

Then teach them the second mantra, and give this instruction: if any suffering befalls you, the great mantra shall bring happiness.

If you repeat it, Shri Krishna shall grant your cherished wish at once. Study the scriptures of Ramanuja, all of you.

Among them, the commentary on the Gita and other texts contain the glory of Shri Krishna; tell their story day and night -- such was the teaching given by the guru.

Then Bhakti and Dharma returned home, performing devotion to Krishna in fine manner. Beyond the gross, subtle, and causal bodies, there is the soul, higher than all these --

and that soul pervades all three states; know such a one to be a true servant of Shri Krishna. Shri Krishna alone is supreme above all -- the soul, the ruler, and the prompter of maya.

When Dharma had settled this conviction firmly, the world came to seem illusory to him; by his guru's command, he read daily from the texts of Ramanuja.

Seeing such a pure heart, divine souls spoke thus: this is truly Dharma incarnate; without him such things could not be.

Then those who had abandoned demonic gurus became devoted to the path of Dharma; while those attached to demonic gurus remained demons, together with their lineage.

Those who heeded Dharma's words shone like the gods themselves; then their own disciples worshipped Dharma with fine garments and ornaments.

By this, wealth and prosperity came to them, and their poverty and adversity departed. As the days passed thus, the time came to give their son the sacred thread.

They held a celebration and fed the Brahmins; seeing this, the demons grew envious. Then the demon-men gathered together and made off with the family's wealth.

Grain, wealth, buffalo, and cow -- they left nothing behind at all. These and other sufferings inflicted upon them cannot be fully told.

They became penniless, with no food to eat, no new clothes to wear; they had to fast every other day, and seeing this, the wicked mocked them.

They said: look at this Dharma and Bhakti, what happiness this couple enjoys! Surely they are men of truth -- come, let us become their guests.

They came in this way to display their wickedness, holding deep enmity within; borrowing and taking loans, they had themselves fed with false show of affection.

There was no food for the couple themselves to eat, yet they would not let their guests go hungry. Having endured such suffering for many days, one day Bhakti spoke.

She said: Premavati speaks, listen my husband; we have suffered without limit; you know every remedy -- if you would end it, there need be no delay.

We ourselves have suffered for lack of food and clothing, yet it does not lessen even as guests come to our door; we ourselves live eating only fruit, flowers, and greens, passing our days so.

But how shall our guests eat thus? I say this, but let it be as you wish. Hearing this, Dharma spoke words in reply: listen, blessed one, what I say.

The happiness and sorrow written upon the body cannot be erased -- one must hold patience; see, even the great Rudra himself was made to seek happiness through such means,

yet his suffering was not lessened even a little -- instead his hardship multiplied countless times. So the joy and sorrow written on one's brow cannot be diminished by even a hair's breadth.

Even gods, sages, and kings cannot escape it -- each receives exactly what is written for them. See how Indra's very body was broken, and Shachi too suffered through that affair.

Vasishtha and Arundhati suffered at the hands of enemies; King Nala and Damayanti too suffered greatly.

Even such great ones endured great suffering, yet spoke of it to no one. Hearing this, Premavati began to weep bitterly.

She said: with what shall I serve you? There is nothing of the kind in our house. My own desire remains unfulfilled in my heart -- I have not been able to serve you at all.

There is no food in the house to eat -- what wish can I make in my heart? Then merciful Dharma spoke: Bhakti, suffering does not remain forever.

So remain in dharma with patience, and speak no cowardly words with your mouth. Never abandon devotion, even at the cost of your life -- I say this because you are truthful.

Remain steadfast through joy and sorrow alike, and never step back from your resolve. Hold this vow firmly in your heart, and there is no need to worry at all.

Whatever pleases the Lord of Goloka shall come to pass, naturally and rightly. I shall now find a remedy for this -- remain content in your heart.

Whatever we do shall bring happiness; the days of suffering shall not last much longer. So Dharma gave this counsel -- understand this teaching well.

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter, named 'Meeting Ramanand Swami and Returning Home,' in the Bhaktachintamani composed by the disciple Nishkulanand Muni of Shri Sahajanand Swami, propagator of the path of Ekantik Dharma.

Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Bhuj-Kutch / Vadtal Gadi, AI-translated, unverified · Source details