Maharaj says here that being pleased to see such equal devotion is one aspect of complete devotion towards God. Being pleased is far off, but mostly even good devotees, in such situations, cannot maintain good behavior or even a good relationship with such devotees for the sake of God. Therefore, if we look neutrally within our hearts and remove that flaw, we can become complete devotees of God. Showing the third characteristic, Maharaj... One has to develop that. It is not that someone is born as a servant of servants, as you say. He has to take it upon himself, set a goal and a target that 'I want to become like this.' Then all the paths are shown in this. And especially, if one keeps friendship with someone who has such a disposition, then it can be achieved quickly. If one does sadhana on one's own, it takes some time. Like, many have it, in many it is seen that it is natural to them. What is natural is what was done a little in the past, that is called samskara. It is not that it is already present in some jiva from the beginning. But if we have done a little before, then it remains. But to him, those samskaras in this birth... ...they are a little like this... ...internally, they inspire from within. It is visible indeed. And many have awkward samskaras, so now they have to work very hard. Maharaj says that for one who faces opposition and obstacles, he has to fight a longer battle. But if he runs away seeing the opposition and obstacles, then nothing will be achieved. First of all, one should assess one's own samskaras to see where, in which category we fit. And then, to upgrade it, one should try. And Maharaj has indeed told the remedies to try to upgrade in this Vachanamrut. Showing the third characteristic, Maharaj says that If he wants to remain among the devotees of God, no nature of his should come in the way. And he should abandon that nature, This is physical, that is mental. Being pleased to see others is said to be just a mental characteristic. Earlier, it was said, what kind of conduct of the body does he have, and what kind of mental... What kind of opinion of the mind does he have. What kind of opinion of the mind does he have. So the previous characteristic mentioned was the mental opinion, this is now physical. If he wants to remain among the devotees of God, no nature of his should come in the way. And he should abandon that nature, but he should not abandon the association of the devotees of God. And if a Sadhu exposes his nature, he should not take offense at the Sadhu. His own... But again, one should also know that 'this is my nature.' 'I desire respect,' 'I feel jealous,' 'I feel like this,' one should know that oneself, and then if it is exposed, there is no problem. If one starts exposing randomly and this person does not know, then he will oppose, taking a spade. That 'I will expose him.' 'If you expose our secrets, we will expose you.' So... ...to him... ...so first of all, one should assess oneself, and that too, assess one's own flaws. One should analyze. That how many flaws are there in oneself, and how to remove them. Maharaj said the same in that 30th Vachanamrut, didn't He? To keep attention on the flaws. Maharaj says, 'I have done this much and this much is left to be done.' He constantly keeps that in mind. So in that too, what is the focus on? On what is left. On what is left. This much is our flaw, one has to focus on that. If he wants to remain among the devotees of God, no nature of his should come in the way. Even if one keeps analyzing all one's life, one's complete assessment cannot be done. It is like God. Just as God is endless, so is one's own analysis endless. That is why Maharaj said to keep distrust, keep lack of faith. Because one's own flaws are not fully found by oneself. That is very difficult. Maharaj placed it one step ahead of having darshan darshan Seeing. To see with admiration and devotion. To see Bhagvãn, a sat-purush, and murtis, with inner or outer vision, with the intention of receiving their grace and blessings. By doing darshan properly a bhakta develops affection for Bhagvãn, and Bhagvãn develops affection for that bhakta. [Sãrangpur – 2]. Tap to open in glossary → Darshan Darshan Seeing. To see with admiration and devotion. To see Bhagvãn, a sat-purush, and murtis, with inner or outer vision, with the intention of receiving their grace and blessings. By doing darshan properly a bhakta develops affection for Bhagvãn, and Bhagvãn develops affection for that bhakta. [Sãrangpur – 2]. Tap to open in glossary → One's own flaws. So what should one consider oneself? Three-fourth. Three-fourth. So consider oneself three-fourth. Not five-fourth. One should assume that what God has said, calculating that, 'this much should be deducted, like 25%.' So our three-fourth is correct. Then if it comes into our hands, make it two-fourth. If he wants to remain among the devotees of God, no nature of his should come in the way. And he should abandon that nature, but he should not abandon the association of the devotees of God. And if a Sadhu exposes his nature, he should not take offense at the Sadhu. His own... ...he should take the fault of his own nature. But he should never even form a thought in his mind of staying away from the group of devotees out of annoyance, such should he be. In that way... ...one who finds it difficult to remain in the group, what does that mean? That there is an excess of nature. The same was said in that, wasn't it? That what is said in the last line? ...out of annoyance... ...he should take the fault of his own nature, but he should never even form a thought in his mind of staying away from the group of devotees out of annoyance, such should he be. Making such a decision is also said to be a preparation to abandon one's nature. Making such a decision that 'whatever happens, we, from the group of devotees of God...' '...do not want to move away.' 'Remaining there, whatever service can be done, we want to do.' In that way, Maharaj says that for the sake of a devotee, he abandons his nature, but nature... ...the mood of independence, is the mood of increasing one's nature. Rather, one should have such a desire that 'it would be good if there is someone ruling over me.' 'I need someone to tell me, don't I?' Such a desire, is a sign of taking refuge in God. That 'we do not want anyone above us,' then that is the mood of increasing one's nature. And 'it would be good if there is someone ruling over us,' then that is the mood of abandoning one's nature. In that way, Maharaj says that for the sake of a devotee, he abandons his nature. It comes in Maharaj's Vachanamrut, in the Vachanamrut of Loya, in the questions and answers, doesn't it? To tell others, 'If I have any flaw in my nature, please tell me.' And every five, ten, or fifteen days, one must have met, it comes in Swami's talks, to tell him. But now that era is completely gone. In that way, Maharaj says that for the sake of a devotee, he abandons his nature, but he does not abandon the devotee to maintain his nature. That is considered sacrificing one's nature. That is dedication, isn't it? It is surrender. In becoming a Sadhu, there is surrender, so this is the surrender of nature. Surrendering one's nature is very difficult. Compared to that, surrendering wealth is easier for a householder. Giving away a son is easier. But surrendering one's nature is very difficult. How do we know that surrendering one's nature is difficult? They have come here surrendering everything, but they keep their nature. They do not abandon their nature, so it means that all that is easy and this is difficult. Abusing is easy. Gunatitanand Swami said that nature, that world can be abandoned, nature cannot be abandoned. The world is abandoned, nature is not abandoned. Wealth, woman, they abandon all of them, but they do not abandon their nature. In that way, Maharaj says that for the sake of a devotee, he abandons his nature, but he does not abandon the devotee to maintain his nature. That is considered sacrificing one's nature. For a human, surrendering one's nature is considered the ultimate surrender. And when that happens for the sake of a devotee, in Maharaj's view, that Saint comes to a level equal to God. A householder abandons his nature for the sake of his son, daughter, family. They beat him well, still no problem. And whatever nature he has, he abandons it. If the family members do not like it, can the master of the house keep his nature? Huh? If the family members do not like it, the master of the house does not keep any nature. So he abandons his nature, we Sadhus do not abandon it. Because we do not have any such need, he has the need of his family members, fully. He has to go there to eat. So his nature does not work there. And this person has no need of anyone, so he does not abandon his nature. If one creates this need, of Maharaj or of the devotee of God, and makes a mentality that 'I have the need,' then he can abandon it. Why should I care, do you care about anyone? So... ...it is like a stray bull, a stray bull. You must have seen a stray bull, haven't you? Does anyone turn it back? Does anyone turn it back? It can go wherever it wants to go. No one turns it back, rather others are afraid of it. If they are watering the fields there, they run away. Otherwise, it goes into their field and hits them with horns. That is what is called a stray bull. So we Saints are called the bull of Ram. For a human, surrendering one's nature is considered the ultimate surrender. And when that happens for the sake of a devotee, in Maharaj's view, that Saint comes to a level equal to God. Then if one worships him, it is the worship of God. And if one betrays him, it is the betrayal of God, so it is said. Right. Let us read a little. Showing the fourth characteristic, Maharaj says that good clothes, good food, and whatever object considered good for one's own mind, if obtained by oneself, the mind thinks that, 'if I give this object to the devotee of God, it would be good.' And he is such that he gives that object to him and feels pleased. That is... ...it is a mentality. But what is the meaning of that mentality? The importance of the devotee of God is more than oneself. Priority of the devotee of God over one's own personality. If some benefit is being received somewhere, and we are two devotees, two Sadhus, we are equal. If benefit is being received somewhere, then what do we think? If benefit regarding God is being received, then what do we think? 'First I should get it.' 'I should get it.' If we think that 'no, no, no, first he should get it, and after he is satisfied, then I should get it,' then Maharaj says it is called saintliness. It is called saintliness. And one who has such a state is said to have complete refuge. Both go parallel, Maharaj, refuge and saintliness, both. That it is called saintliness. That he understands the priority of another devotee of God over his own personality. He himself has decided his priority in his mind that 'he is first, before me.' In benefit. If there is wear and tear? 'I am first.' Then 'I am first.' If there is wear and tear, 'I am first.' If there is benefit, priority is his. If there is wear and tear, priority is ours. Then Maharaj says his saintliness comes to completion. And he is said to have complete refuge. That is the meaning of that characteristic. Thus Maharaj says, if one gets something of one's liking, then he desires, 'I should be pleased by giving it to the devotee of God.' And he gives, and if he uses it, this person feels happy in his heart. Moreover, he feels happy by that. So all that is worth seeing. This, Maharaj has said to the extent that, a Sadhu who is like God, God, if one worships him, it becomes 100% worship of God. And if one betrays him, it becomes 100% betrayal of God. Maharaj describes the characteristics of such a Sadhu. 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