In many other Vachanamruts, the greatness and characteristics of a Sadhu have been described, but here, by serving whom God is served, and by opposing whom God is opposed, meaning Maharaj has placed that Sadhu on the same level as God. Just as God is the center of total surrender for those who desire liberation, this Saint also becomes the center of total surrender. So, what are the characteristics of such a pure Saint who is the center of surrender? Explaining that characteristic, Maharaj says that first, he must be a worshiper of the personal form of God. The essence of worshiping the personal form of God is complete and eternal devotion. God's absolute form is not formless; it has a personal form. It is an absolute form. And His attributes, though eternal, are said to be dependent. How? They are attributed to the form. They are based on the form. Without the basis of the form, the attributes cannot exist. So, based on the form, the form is dependent. If His form exists, then they do. So, the form is not dependent on anything else. Therefore, the original form, which is the main point, is clearly that form of Maharaj. In the Vachanamrut after that, the same point is mentioned. Without worshiping the personal form of God, meditation, chanting, service, etc., do not remain eternal. Without worshiping the personal form of God, complete and eternal devotion cannot be attained. Therefore, it means that the Saint must be a complete devotee of Maharaj. He is a complete worshiper. Worship continues even after death, encompassing it. You define it as: what is to be done after death? By saying that this is his worship, it means that he wishes to serve Him even after death. He certainly wishes to serve Him now, but he also wishes to serve Him even after death; so that means it is his worship. Without worshiping the personal form of God, complete and eternal devotion cannot be attained. Therefore, it means that the Saint must be a complete devotee of Maharaj. Maharaj says that if one does not believe in the personal form of God, his worship cannot be called firm. Meaning, in another Vachanamrut. Is it said like this? Yes, it is said like this. Meaning, in the heart of that Saint, there must be such a firm, eternal conviction that while in this body, I want to serve God, the true Saint, and the satsang satsang 1) True company. The practice of associating with Bhagvãn’s sant, other satsangis, the ãtmã, and the sacred shãstras, and also observing vartmãns and niyams. 2) Also refers to the sampradãy, which is the presence of good company. Tap to open in glossary → Krishna Krishna 1) An avatãr of Bhagvãn. He incarnated in the svarup of a cowherd. This is considered to be a greater avatãr than the others, as Shree Krishna possessed all of the powers of Bhagvãn, whereas other avatãrs possessed less power. Shree Krishna conveyed the message of love and humanity to the world. Also, He recited the epic poem, the Bhagvad Geetã, to Arjun in which He stated: ‘Whenever dharma declines and adharma increases, I shall incarnate myself as a human to save the holy, to destroy the sin of the sinner, and to establish dharma. I come into being from yug to yug’. 2) In the Vachanãmrut, Shreeji Mahãrãj also uses the name “Shree Krishna” to describe Bhagvãn Purushottam Nãrãyan. Tap to open in glossary → He must have such a firm conviction. Until death, I do not want to abandon devotion to God, this devotion to Maharaj, and the service of Maharaj. And even after death, I want to do the same. How does Kothari Swami's life appear to us? He became a Sadhu at the age of 11 and passed away to the divine abode at 92; so until his last breath, keeping faith in Swami, keeping faith in Shastriji Maharaj, he served. When Swami was in the temple, he served in the temple; when Swami started a Gurukul, he served in the Gurukul. But he served Swami. Now subtract 11 from 92. So how many? 81 years of continuous service. Moreover, many of the Sadhus working under him must have changed. And when Swami, Kothari Swami, brought vegetables, the storekeeper would not accept them, saying, "I will bring them." Even when they did such things, his service was continuous. It can be said of him that this is harder than performing samadhi. To die with a continuous feeling, to take the last breath with a continuous thought that I only want to serve God, to do it while alive and also after death, then that is called worship. This service became his worship. In the heart of that Saint, there must be such a firm, eternal conviction that while in this body, I want to serve God, the true Saint, and the satsang satsang 1) True company. The practice of associating with Bhagvãn’s sant, other satsangis, the ãtmã, and the sacred shãstras, and also observing vartmãns and niyams. 2) Also refers to the sampradãy, which is the presence of good company. Tap to open in glossary → Maharaj was talking, and when I fell very ill, Mahant Swami gave his blessings. Mahant Swami chanted many rosaries, saying, "Now Maharaj will keep you alive." But he said, "You must serve." So Kothari Swami said, "I will serve," and he got well. And he kept his promise. And such a conviction to serve even after death, Maharaj calls that worship. And that is not possible without a personal form. If there is no personal form in the divine abode, then whose service would one perform there? So it can be said that the commitment to serve as long as one exists is called worship, and Maharaj says that is possible if there is a personal form, otherwise not. Worship of the personal form and worship of the formless. Those who believe in the formless call it worship of the formless, don't they? So, to memorize in the mind and engrave in the heart that God is formless, formless, they call that worship of the formless. So, what is the difference between worship of the personal form and worship of the formless? In worshiping the personal form, there is joy; in the other, there is no joy. That is our experience of joy; they must be experiencing joy too. Those who believe in the formless. Those who believe in the formless must also think they are experiencing joy, right? It is we who assumed that we find joy in the personal form and not in the other; we should not assume that. The master-servant relationship does not remain. In the other, existence itself does not remain. What does formless mean? Did he assume that the soul is God? Either the soul has no existence or God has no existence, isn't that so? If God has no existence, he is mistaken, and if he has no existence, he is also mistaken. Because when they believe in the formless, they cannot perceive them as distinct. God and His servant are not distinct; they become one. And they cannot even perceive multiple servants as distinct from one another. They cannot perceive that, because they believe in the formless. So that does not remain. So now, there is joy as long as one lives, but after that, there is no such joy; so why strive now to attain something after death? That is called foolishness. That is where the conflict lies; it conflicts with the scriptural principles. Therefore, if devotion is to be kept eternal, one must believe in the personal form. Otherwise, it remains as long as one lives, but not after life. He wants to keep this devotion even after life, which is why it is called worship. In the heart of that Saint, there must be such a firm, eternal conviction that while in this body, I want to serve God, the true Saint, and the satsang satsang 1) True company. The practice of associating with Bhagvãn’s sant, other satsangis, the ãtmã, and the sacred shãstras, and also observing vartmãns and niyams. 2) Also refers to the sampradãy, which is the presence of good company. Tap to open in glossary → 'there, in the form of Brahman, serving Krishna Krishna 1) An avatãr of Bhagvãn. He incarnated in the svarup of a cowherd. This is considered to be a greater avatãr than the others, as Shree Krishna possessed all of the powers of Bhagvãn, whereas other avatãrs possessed less power. Shree Krishna conveyed the message of love and humanity to the world. Also, He recited the epic poem, the Bhagvad Geetã, to Arjun in which He stated: ‘Whenever dharma declines and adharma increases, I shall incarnate myself as a human to save the holy, to destroy the sin of the sinner, and to establish dharma. I come into being from yug to yug’. 2) In the Vachanãmrut, Shreeji Mahãrãj also uses the name “Shree Krishna” to describe Bhagvãn Purushottam Nãrãyan. Tap to open in glossary → Maharaj has said in the Vachanamrut that when one believes in the formless and considers oneself as God, then whose service or chanting remains to be done? When one considers oneself as God, the master-servant relationship disappears, and then worship is destroyed. AI translation of the Gujarati transcript above, produced in the same pass that transcribed the audio, one English segment per Gujarati segment. Devotional and technical terms with no precise English equivalent (kirtan, satsang, vasana, samskara, and similar) are kept as their plain transliteration rather than force-translated. Not human-proofread., AI-translated, unverified · Source details