Sadhguru Shri Gopalanand Swami's discourses, chapter one, discourse number 160. Swaminarayan Hare Swaminarayan Hare. Swami has spoken, and devotee Mavo has asked, "When Ramchandra Bhagwan went to Lanka to bring back Sita, there Ravana bound Ramchandraji with a serpent-noose. Then, when Garudji arrived, all the serpents abandoned Ramchandraji and fled. Seeing that, why did Garudji have a doubt?" Then Swami said, "That Garudji is a personal attendant of Bhagwan, yet he had not firmly resolved and understood the divine nature and human nature of Shreeji Maharaj, therefore he had a doubt." Then that devotee said, "How to firmly resolve those two natures?" Then Swami said, "We all see the human nature, one should understand the divine nature in it, as some perceive light in this human-form Murti Murti 1) Sacred idol of Bhagvãn used to offer worship. There are eight types of murtis that can be worshipped: stone, wood, metal, earth, engraved or drawn, sand, gems, and mental. 2) The form of Bhagvãn. Tap to open in glossary → and to some it appears that Maharaj, along with Kathi riders, comes to take the devotee, and has made them divine. And in some devotees, He absorbs the 24 avatars, and if some devotee wishes to know what those 24 avatars are like, He immediately grants them their 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 → And those who are avatars, they also sometimes grant 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 → And those who are avatars, they also sometimes grant 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 → And the source of all avatars, Shreeji Maharaj, He repeatedly grants 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 → and at the end of their lives, He comes to take His devotees. And furthermore, He also grants 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 → and those deities speak to their respective followers, saying, 'The Supreme Lord is this Swaminarayan, and we are all His servants.' In this way, by speaking in many ways, He inspires faith in Shreeji Maharaj and leads them to 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 → In this way, seeing many kinds of extraordinary and divine powers in 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 → [blank] When Ramchandraji Bhagwan went to Lanka, Ravana bound Him with a serpent-noose there, and Garudji came and all the serpents left, so Garudji had a doubt. So why did he have a doubt? Because he had not firmly resolved and understood the human nature and divine nature, therefore he had a doubt. This is what I remembered from this. When Ravana bound Ram Bhagwan with a serpent-noose, why did Garudji have a doubt? That was the question. Because he had not resolved the human nature and divine nature, therefore he had a doubt. So what should we do? What should we do in this? And what should we understand? What, brother? What do you say? Bhagwan has a divine nature; the human nature is visible to everyone, but one should also understand the divine nature, that some see light from Bhagwan's Murti Murti 1) Sacred idol of Bhagvãn used to offer worship. There are eight types of murtis that can be worshipped: stone, wood, metal, earth, engraved or drawn, sand, gems, and mental. 2) The form of Bhagvãn. Tap to open in glossary → Murti Murti 1) Sacred idol of Bhagvãn used to offer worship. There are eight types of murtis that can be worshipped: stone, wood, metal, earth, engraved or drawn, sand, gems, and mental. 2) The form of Bhagvãn. 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 → But what to do if we do not see it? Huh? What, brother? What should we understand in this? Seeing Maharaj's glory, and Maharaj's divine nature and human nature... Even if it is there, He does not show it, one should resolve this within oneself. That is called proactive. That highly... what is it? Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Highly effective successful... effective people. Highly Effective People. It has seven habits. What is the first habit in it? Proactive. Proactive. What does proactive mean? Relate it to 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 → What does proactive mean? To start doing now what needs to be done in the future. To make advance... advance preparation. That is called proactive. We have not had such a doubt yet. Even then, one makes advance preparation first. Assume. What if I face a difficulty like that? If this happened to him, and if it happened to me, what would I do? So if one asks oneself the question, one gives a true answer. If someone else asks us a question, we moderate it a bit. That we give one that sounds good. But when one questions oneself, then the voice from within gives the true answer. That, 'Brother, you do only this, do nothing else.' So then, preparing from now for what has not come, preparing even for circumstances that have not arrived, then one will not have a doubt. If one is proactive, what is the meaning of proactive? What is the meaning of proactive, brother Swamiji? To become active in advance. Of what? We are already doing activities in advance. Are we sitting without any activity? So? What in advance? The coming... coming challenges that are to... challenges that are to come in advance, to be active for them... When a coming challenge is to arrive, or coming problems are to arrive, how do we know whether they are going to come or not? What if we want to believe they are not going to come at all? What, brother, how do we know? Make assumptions beforehand. From the history of others. By observing others. He faced such a problem, so he did this. He faced such an event, so he did this, what would I do? And what should I do? Seeing such a character of Maharaj, Amba Sheth had such a thought. If that happened to us, what would we do? And what should we do? If one prepares for that, then one is called proactive, and thus highly effective. So are you highly effective or lower effective? If one wants to be highly effective, one has to do this. That one should make advance preparation. Swami said in this that, Garudji is Bhagwan's... eternal attendant. eternal attendant. He has never come to this world, and the world has not touched him at all. Even though the world has not touched him, he had such a question about Bhagwan. Why is that? And someone from here might not have that. Brahmaji, even he had a doubt. Is anyone more knowledgeable than Brahma? He had a doubt. Uddhavji is also said to be an eternal attendant of Bhagwan. But Uddhavji did not have it. Bhagwan stayed the night at Kubja's house, and told Uddhavji, 'You stay at the door as a watchman, do not let anyone enter.' Yet Uddhavji did not have such a thought in his mind, 'If He is Bhagwan, why does He do this?' No such thought occurred to him. So what is the reason for that? Huh? He had resolved it. Proactive. Proactive. He must have made some preparation in advance. That even if Bhagwan does this, we should not have a doubt. Once Bhagwan is accepted, then one should not have a doubt. Where we have believed our liberation lies, there one must learn to digest at least a little. One must learn to digest. In this world also, if there is a need, one digests. Shastriji Maharaj used to tell a very nice story, Swami, near Una, probably building the temple of Una or somewhere like that, or it was Timbi, one of the two. While they were building that temple, Swami said, there were all those craftsmen. Since there were all those craftsmen, they were staying there and coming for labor, so Swami once fed them dates and ghee ghee This is clarified butter or pure butter that is formed by heating it until the impurities in it settle to the bottom. Tap to open in glossary → Among them, one day, a very good craftsman was absent. So Swami came and asked, 'Where has that one gone?' So none of them answered, but they started laughing. So Swami wondered in his mind, 'Why are they laughing? Why, brother, where has that one gone?' So they said, 'Swami, that cut-nosed woman has come, so he has stayed there.' Then someone explained it to him. She was his wife; all this is common among ordinary people. She must have shown affection to someone else, so he got angry, so one day he cut off her nose. So that her appearance would be ruined and no one would look at her. So he cut off her nose. And then that woman ran away. She went to someone else's house, then to someone else's house. Then again some trouble must have arisen there, so then she came here. When she came here, then he stayed back to welcome her, he had no objection. So Swami used to say at that time, 'In this, is that woman cut-nosed or is this man man Mind. One of the four antah-karans, with the function of (pronounced mun) generating thoughts and desires, and governing all of the indriyas. Tap to open in glossary → Who is cut-nosed? But still he tolerates her, that is called maintaining the worldly relation. What is it called? It is called maintaining the relation. How do we maintain our relation with Maharaj? What if things do not go according to our mind's wish? How do we maintain our relation with the sadhu? What if things do not go according to our mind's wish? If things do not go according to your mind's wish, what do you do? Do you get depressed and go to sleep? Or the door... There are two or three ways. Maharaj has shown so many ways to dispel depression. In Sarangpur 18, how many ways are there to dispel depression? How many ways of nature protection? Huh? He sleeps. He sleeps. He cries. He sleeps, when does he sleep? At night? Then he sleeps during the day. When it is time to work. Then he stays awake at night. When it is time for responsibility, he sleeps, then, he cries. If nothing works. If it works? Then he glares. If it does not work, he cries, otherwise if it works, he glares. If something has worked, then he squeezes their nose, glares, makes them yield, does all that, but then if it does not work, what does he do? He cries. Then? He fasts. He fasts. He fights. He runs away. He gives up. We have added those recently. They are not in the Vachanamrut. But we felt that these are worth adding, Maharaj forgot. Many make corrections even in Maharaj's work, so let us also do it. So he runs away and gives up, and finally, he dies. All these are remedies to do when things do not go as wished, these are called remedies to get one's way. If things do not go as wished, they do all this, if things go as wished... So that is also called proactive. But if this has happened, what should we do? Then that is called proactive. So we have established our relation with Bhagwan; he who has faith is said to have established a relation. We are said to have established our relation with Swaminarayan Bhagwan. That Swaminarayan Bhagwan is my chosen deity and I am His servant. We have established this relation, just as there are father and son, brothers, brother-in-law and co-brother-in-law, and all that. To maintain all those relations, how much people do. This husband and wife relation is also like that. So all are the same, even if it is like the example we gave earlier, they still maintain it. Only with Bhagwan, with the sadhu, and with Bhagwan's devotee they do not maintain it. If something goes slightly wrong there, they immediately break it. Since when has Garudji been a relative of Bhagwan? Huh? He is said to be a relative of Bhagwan from eternity. He is called eternally liberated. And yet, seeing such a slight flaw in Bhagwan, he felt in his mind, 'Oh, if He is Bhagwan, why would He do this?' Huh? 'If He is Bhagwan, why would He do this?' Uddhavji had no faith... he faced no such problem. Uddhavji is an eternal attendant and Garudji is also an eternal attendant. Both are said to be eternal. Uddhav and Tanurishi and others are attendants of Narnarayan Bhagwan. And otherwise, Uddhavji is called an eternal attendant of Bhagwan. So he had no doubt. And this one had. Hanumanji is also called an attendant of Bhagwan. But Hanumanji is also called an attendant of Ram Bhagwan, yet he had no doubt. Ahiravan and Mahiravan had taken Ramchandraji Bhagwan to the netherworld. And going there, he wanted to sacrifice both Ramchandraji Bhagwan and Lakshman. He was a devotee of the Goddess. So he had made Ramchandraji Bhagwan unconscious, taken Him there, and wanted to sacrifice Him. When Hanumanji found out, he reached all the way to the netherworld, breaking the fortress. So what is written in that verse you recite? Ahiravan ki... Ahiravan ki bhuja ukhadi pethi gayo math mahi. Yes. Jo bhaiya Hanumant nahi hote to mohe... Yes, yes, that. Jo bhaiya Hanumant nahi hote to ko lato jag mahi. 'Then who would bring us back here? We both would have been sacrificed to Kali Mata.' Ramchandraji, Ramchandraji Bhagwan said so. So Hanumanji did everything, everything that was needed to be done, freed Ramchandra, Ram and Lakshman, and brought them back here to the camp. Yet he had no doubt again, 'Oh, how will this one win?' 'How will He defeat Ravana?' Those two, Ahiravan and Mahiravan, were Ravana's sons. So, 'He did not defeat his sons, then how will He defeat him?' So he had no such doubt. He brought them, everything, and was so humble. Otherwise, would he not say, 'Now you sit quietly, you cannot do anything, I will go and do it.' If it were us, what would we do? 'You cannot do it, you sit quietly. Stay in the room and do not come out. Then come out when I tell you.' 'Your work is not needed in this.' Is it not? If I come to temper the vegetables, what do you say? That, 'Your work is not needed in this. No one will eat it if you temper it.' We say so. But Hanumanji would not say so. Why would he not say so? He knows that even so, it is fine. So what is the reason for that? It is not that if one is eternal, it happens, and if one is beginning-bound, it does not happen. He who exercises gets it, and he who does not exercise does not get it. Even if one is not eternal and is an ordinary soul, and if, as told in this scripture and as Swami said, one does such exercise of divine nature and human nature, in that, it is not necessary that Bhagwan must be present, it happens even if He is not present. And even if He is present, it might not happen. Even if one is an ordinary soul and has recently become a devotee, it happens. And Garudji is an eternal attendant, yet it did not happen to him. He who is very knowledgeable might not get it, and he who is completely half-knowledgeable might get it, there is nothing like that either. Who can be called more knowledgeable than Brahmaji? Yet Brahmaji had a doubt. 'This cowherd cannot be the Supreme Lord.' 'Who would call this one Bhagwan?' He had no doubt. That one had a doubt. Shukdevji did not have it. The Gopis also did not have it. None of them had any. So that must be resolved in the mind, one must become proactive. Before problems come to us, what is our preparation for them? 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