Swaminarayan Hare, Swaminarayan Hare.
On the day of Bhadarva Sudi Poonam of Samvat 1880, Swami Shri Sahajanandji Maharaj was seated on a cot in the veranda of the western-facing room in Dada Khachar's court in Gadhada.
And everyone was wearing white clothes.
And in front of his lotus-like face, a gathering of paramhansas and devotees from various countries was seated.
Then Shriji Maharaj said, "Ask and answer questions."
Then Muktanand Swami asked a question, "What is the means to maintain an unbroken focus on the form of God?"
Then Shriji Maharaj said, "There are four types of means for that."
Firstly, one whose mind has a nature to attach, it attaches wherever it is directed.
Just as it attaches to one's son, wife, and so on, it also attaches to God, so that is one means.
Therefore, that is one means.
And the second means is extreme bravery.
If one has such bravery in their heart, and if any thought other than God arises, then being a brave devotee, an intense thought arises in their heart, and by that thought, they dispel all other thoughts and keep their mind constantly focused on the form of God.
And the third means is fear.
One who has an excessive fear of birth, death, and the 84 hells in their heart, out of that fear, they maintain an unbroken focus on the form of God.
And the fourth means is detachment.
A person who is detached, by the knowledge of Sankhya Shastra, understands their soul to be separate from the body, and knowing all other worldly objects apart from the soul to be false, then meditates constantly on the supreme soul within that soul.
And without these four means, one cannot speak of the one upon whom God bestows His grace.
But without that, even if one performs countless other means, an unbroken focus on God will not remain.
And to maintain an unbroken focus on God is a very difficult task.
One who has accumulated good deeds from many births, their mind remains constantly focused on the form of God.
And for others, it is extremely difficult to maintain an unbroken focus.
Having thus spoken about maintaining an unbroken focus on the form of God, Shriji Maharaj then said.
In this world, what is called Maya, we have seen the form of that Maya.
That affection which remains in places other than God, that itself is Maya.
And for this jiva, regarding its own body, its relatives, and those who nourish the body, there is even greater affection than the excessive affection the jiva has for the five sense objects.
Therefore, the person whose affection for their body, their relatives, and those who nourish their body has broken, that person has overcome God's Maya.
Is this the key to it or not?
In its heading, the four means of unbroken focus.
There's one, and then we have double, double titles, so.
Which one is the key, which one is it?
It's the key, and then this.
And the person whose affection for anything other than God breaks, develops affection for God.
And when affection for God develops, then their mind remains constantly focused on God.
And when an unbroken focus on God remains, then there is nothing else left for them to do.
They have achieved their purpose.
Thus, the 36th Vachanamrut of the Gadhada Madhya Prakaran was completed.
Remember what came.
How does unbroken focus remain?
Therefore, there are four means for that one as well.
Either it has a nature to attach, so it attaches to God.
This is bravery.
This is fear, this is detachment.
And Maya, its form is said to be the affection that exists for anything other than God, that is Maya.
And just as there is affection for the body, its relatives, and those who nourish it, there is no such affection for the five sense objects in this.
So if it breaks from that, then an unbroken focus on God remains.
What difference did Maharaj state between detachment and bravery?
One is a brave person.
Then his senses and inner self tremble.
So the senses cannot go astray.
And he remembers God.
And he has detachment.
He understands everything as false through Sankhya, didn't it? It is.
Detachment.
By the knowledge of Sankhya philosophy, understanding his soul to be separate from the body, and knowing all other worldly objects to be false without that soul, he then meditates on the Supreme Soul within that soul, continuously contemplating it.
That is detachment.
Now there is a difference.
Maharaj has mentioned four limbs.
There is a difference in the four limbs, isn't there?
He is brave.
And he has detachment.
There is a difference in that.
In that, what is kept later is detachment through knowledge.
By knowledge, it makes sense.
And if you want to keep it, if you hold on to it, it will stay, won't it?
Everyone tries to force it, but it doesn't happen, does it?
Huh?
Everyone tries to force it, but it doesn't happen, does it?
So, there is a difference.
If you don't delve into it, how can you grasp the difference?
By these four things, one maintains constant remembrance of God.
So, did you ever wish to keep it?
Huh?
Then you can delve deep somewhere, otherwise if you don't wish, how can you delve deep?
Let's say we wished to remember God while serving.
We should remember God.
So, while serving in the hostel, one should remember God.
While serving in the office, one should remember God.
Or if serving in the store, one should remember God.
Did you ever wish for that, or not?
Huh?
So, in the Sri Bhashya, there was a very beautiful Shruti from the Upanishads.
The soul is to be seen, heard, contemplated, and meditated upon.
Ramanujacharya said it very well.
The soul is to be seen, heard, contemplated, and meditated upon.
Do you see anything in that?
First, there should be doubt about what is to be heard.
Atma means Paramatma.
The soul, indeed.
So the Upanishads are very fond of it.
That all these fools don't do anything anywhere.
The soul, indeed.
To be seen, heard, contemplated, and meditated upon.
That had already come, hadn't it? Were you there that day or not?
Huh?
With Guruji.
Previous.
Huh?
It came in the short short principle, in the short principle.
The soul is to be seen, heard, contemplated, and meditated upon.
Such a Shruti came.
Do you see anything in that?
That's why.
First, what is to be heard.
First, there should not be what is to be seen, but what is to be heard.
He performs some spiritual practice.
Then he has constant remembrance of God. 'Drashtavyo' means constant remembrance, what else should I say?
If one performs some spiritual practice, then constant remembrance occurs, doesn't it?
If one makes a resolve, and if one makes a resolve, then where does constant remembrance occur? It occurs.
So, one makes a resolve that I want to maintain constant remembrance.
Then it happens.
Huh?
It doesn't happen like that.
So.
So first, it is said to be seen, contemplated, seen, heard, contemplated, and meditated upon.
The realization of God happens in that way.
The realization of God happens in that way.
It is said so in Yoga.
In the Yoga Sutras, the first and best yoga mentioned is this one.
He directly connects with God through detachment.
Through detachment, he connects with God.
He has to practice Ashtanga Yoga.
Maharaj says, if someone's mind is directly connected to God.
If a current of 20 kos is flowing, and another current joins it.
Then it gains a strong momentum, a great strength.
Once it gains strength, no one can stand there.
If you let it stand, it will go away.
It gains its strength.
If there is a current of 20 kos, then it.
So, if it joins, it means the current should join first.
What does it mean to join it?
It should gain momentum.
Joined means
It should gain momentum, and if it gains momentum, everything gets swept away.
Other memories get swept away.
Maharaj gave another example, that
If a river like Mahi and Sabarmati comes, elephants, horses, buffaloes, everything gets swept away.
Even big trees get uprooted.
It throws them into the sea.
It doesn't let anything remain.
When a river becomes wild, it becomes like that.
So, what is that momentum called?
Burning desire, desire should happen.
That I want to remember God.
You must have seen something like this in a dream sometime.
Do you dream?
That today I had a very strong memory.
How beautifully it is written in the Upanishads.
So there is no doubt about it.
Shastriji Maharaj used to recite one shloka, and another shloka he recited very beautifully.
Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached. That is a very beautiful shloka.
So, it means that this earth is in front of you.
It will become full of prosperity.
Whose is it?
So it is written so beautifully in it.
That 'Uttishtha' and 'Jagrata'.
So, is it waking up first or getting up first?
Huh?
Does he get up from sleep and then stand up, or
First he stands up and then wakes up.
What does he do first?
Huh?
How do you do it?
He first sits up and then wakes up.
No, no, he says first
What does he do?
Woke up and then started meditating.
Uttishtha
Uttishthata
Jagrata
Jagrata
Prapya varan nibodhata.
First stand up and then wake up.
Is it waking up first or standing up first?
Huh?
Waking up first.
What do you do?
Do you wake up first or stand up first?
Just stand up straight and then
What does Swamiji do?
Do you stand up first or wake up later?
That is correct, the memory is right.
First he stands up, then goes to the tap, and then wakes up.
We had Bal Swami, didn't we?
It's not like that anymore.
That is true.
What the Upanishads have said is absolutely true.
From what does a person have to wake up?
From delusion.
In the Upanishads, it is said, 'Uttishtha' and 'Jagrata'.
So, from what does one have to wake up?
Huh?
From delusion, from sleep.
Uttishtha means a man who is striving.
Striving for what? To wake up, something, something.
It is also written very beautifully in this.
That the Atman is to be seen, heard, contemplated, and meditated upon.
You should constantly remember God.
Constantly remember God.
Then listen to his stories.
And then contemplate.
And then practice daily.
Practice daily.
So does remembrance happen first or practice first?
Huh?
Does remembrance happen first or practice first?
If you practice, do you remember, or if you remember, do you practice?
What do you do?
Huh?
In the Upanishads, it's kept at the end, saying we'll practice later.
When we have free time.
We'll practice when we have free time.
Huh?
Should we practice when we have free time, or should we take free time while practicing?
What to do?
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
Speak.
The mind will be closed.
Just sit still.
You don't do anything.
If you were doing it, you would say it.
If he does it, he'll say it.
Quickly.
So what to do?
Drashtavya means first, one should have proper darshan.
To have proper darshan.
To have darshan, but drashtavya means to maintain constant remembrance, as it is said.
So first, one should make a firm resolve.
His firm resolve.
Shurveer means effort.
What is a brave person called?
Effort.
And that one is discerning.
One with detachment is discerning.
He understands the subtle things, that in this, we get troubled.
If we do this, we get troubled, and if we do that, we become happy.
He understands it on his own.
That in this, there is talk of being troubled.
In this world, there is talk of being troubled.
And that one understands on his own that if we go towards God and do this, we will become happy.
So if one is extremely diligent, their senses tremble.
Who is called a brave person? Who is called a brave person?
Huh?
A diligent person is brave.
It's not that a diligent person is called brave.
The effort is now with God, the brave one.
Brave means, Maharaj gave the example that he goes to the battlefield.
But does he make an effort in the battlefield or hide in a corner?
Huh?
He just runs from home to the battlefield.
Then he runs and finds a corner.
What does he do?
Like we wash.
I am sacrificed to that detachment that has arisen.
Effort.
Maharaj defines a brave person as one who makes effort.
He makes immense effort.
For what?
For remembrance.
How can I remember God?
Not just a resolve.
He makes an effort to remember.
Then, because of that, the senses and inner faculties tremble.
If he makes an effort.
The effort has to be made with him.
You have to fight with him.
And that one is discernment.
If there is discernment, then one doesn't have to control the senses.
They just run away from there on their own.
Discernment.
So that is detachment.
And that one is effort.
Otherwise, why did Maharaj separate the two?
A brave person knows everything.
He doesn't know, but he makes an effort.
By hand, something.
By taking guidance.
He has no discernment.
If discernment has come, then the detached person would say it, Maharaj has mentioned both together, right?
Otherwise, the बात is true, if they were mentioned separately in different places, then we would consider detachment, discernment, and everything as effort.
In the same Vachanamrut, both things are mentioned.
Brave and detached, detached.
Brave and detached.
So this is a diligent person.
He makes extreme effort in remembering.
That we have remembrance.
There is a burden on the mind.
Then the work will be done.
Then you get the fruit of opening the door.
What is the fruit of opening the door?
Some people say that if it is closed, the wind will not hit it.
If the door is hitting a lot, what do you do?
Close it.
Close it or open it?
What beautiful Murtis they are.
They are the Shruti of the Upanishads.
That's how it is.
Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.
The Atma should be seen, heard, contemplated, and meditated upon.
First, one makes a resolution, then listens to it.
Then one contemplates it.
After contemplating, one meditates on it.
So this is the best means.
Which is the best yoga among all yogas?
There are many yogas.
First, he called it Gyan Yoga.
Then Kriya Yoga.
Then Mantra Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga.
Then Mantra Yoga.
And then Aushadhi Yoga.
Take medicine and you will find God.
We used to make such medicine sometimes, but not anymore.
Take medicine and you will find God.
Straightforward.
Take medicine and go to sleep, in the morning God would have been found.
So which is the best yoga among them?
Gyan Yoga, Maharaj.
Maharaj says, Maharaj has said in the Vachanamrut, which one? The 25th, this Vachanamrut of the 20 Kothas is about this.
The flow of the mind spills in all four directions.
If one turns it back with detachment and focuses it on God, then an extremely firm flow is created.
And that firm flow, by means of it, one achieves without Ashtanga Yoga.
Then whether one practices Ashtanga Yoga or not, still.
It is achieved without effort.
So he achieves that first.
So in this Shruti, that came first, the Upanishads, right?
And that cannot be done by him.
Then Kriya Yoga.
Through Kriya Yoga, direct the flow of your consciousness towards God.
And if it doesn't happen with Kriya Yoga, then Ashtanga Yoga.
Then Nishkam Karma Yoga, Nishkam Seva Yoga, all these.
Those are the means of remembrance.
These are the means for remembrance.
But if it's not seen first, how can it happen?
He doesn't even look at it.
First, one should stand up to remember.
Arise.
To stand up.
To stand up means one should make an effort.
To stand up means one should make an effort.
To stand up means one should have a firm resolve.
Yes.
In the mind.
Only then can one make an effort.
As firm as the resolve is.
First, a firm resolve is made in the mind, and then effort is made.
So it is said that he stood up.
Firm resolve.
And then.
What is heard will not come in Purushartha.
It comes in Purushartha.
That is the effort of the path of knowledge.
There is the effort of the path of service, the effort of Ashtanga Yoga.
It is said that all these yogas cannot be achieved without effort.
For Ashtanga Yoga, one first has to lay down the foundation, right?
He learns asanas, he learns that, he makes an effort.
That is an injection of effort.
The Atma should be seen.
He has given the injection of effort, so then he stands up.
So the injection is that one should awaken a strong burning desire in one's mind.
That I want to remember God.
I want to remember God, I want to remember Him constantly.
I want to remember God constantly.
Such a strong burning desire should arise in his mind.
This service, Ashtanga Yoga, detachment, all these are just tools after that.
It's an instrument.
He uses it.
His.
If there is detachment, one uses it.
One does not use detachment for eating rotis.
If there is knowledge, one uses it somewhere.
In what?
One uses it in the remembrance of God.
What needs to be done, everyone has to do it.
Everyone has to perform the actions of the body and the actions of worldly affairs compulsorily.
But by using detachment, one does not let the mind get attached to worldly things and binds it to God.
If one is serving, God said in the Gita that your livelihood is the livelihood of the body, so you will have to do it.
Brother, your stomach will not be filled.
You will have to do this even to fill your stomach.
But to fill the stomach, one performs that action, and the mind also applies it to other things; if there is detachment, the mind applies it that way.
While performing actions, remember God.
While practicing Ashtanga Yoga, remember God.