Then Muktanand Swami asked another question, Are the five sensory pleasures conquered through vairagya, or is there some other way? Then Shriji Maharaj said, "Whether there is vairagya or not, but if one remains vigilant in the rules prescribed by God, then the five sensory pleasures are conquered. And if one withdraws the mind from sound through vairagya, even with much effort, the sound is still heard. But if one closes the ears, then sound is easily not heard. Similarly, if one does not touch improper objects with the skin, then touch is easily conquered. Similarly, if one does not look at improper things with the eyes, then sight is easily conquered. Similarly, if one mixes tasty food with water before eating and eats in moderation, then the tongue is easily conquered. Similarly, if there is an improper smell and one closes the nose, then smell is easily conquered. In this way, through rules, the five sensory pleasures are conquered. And if one does not abide by the rules, no matter how much vairagya or knowledge one has, one will not remain stable. Therefore, the cause of conquering sensory pleasures is indeed the rules established by God. Even among them, for those with weak vairagya, abiding by the rules is the only way to be saved. Just as a sick person becomes healthy only if they observe dietary restrictions and take medicine. Then Akhandanand Swami asked, "For a sick person, there is a rule of dietary restriction, that it must be observed for only so many days. Similarly, is there any rule for the means of liberation, or is there not?" Then Shriji Maharaj said, "For one whose faith is weak, the completion of the means occurs after many births. It is said in the Bhagavad Gita, 'anekajanma-samsiddhas tato yati yati A person who firmly follows brahm-chãrya and has conquered all of his indriyas should be known as a yati. [Jetalpur – 2]. Tap to open in glossary → yogi yogi 1) A person who has mastered the art of yog. 2) A person who has attained siddh-dashã and other extraordinary powers. Tap to open in glossary → And that is the side of those with weak faith, that is the side of those with weak faith. And one who has strong faith becomes perfected immediately. That is also said in the Gita, 'shraddhaval labhate jnanam tat-parah samyatendriyah, jnanam labdhva param shantim acirenadhigacchati.' The meaning of that verse is that the person whose senses are under control and who has faith attains knowledge, and having attained knowledge, immediately attains the supreme state. Therefore, for one who is extremely faithful, the completion of the means occurs quickly; and for one who has weak faith, the completion of the means occurs after many births. Just as if a person is going to Kashi and walks only two steps in a whole day, for him What is the completion of the means? What is the completion of the means? That is, who is called perfected? Nishtha, Maharaj. Between two statements, that he must find a connection. Maharaj, the completion of the means is nishtha. Once complete nishtha in Maharaj is established, then for him, the completion of the means is finished. Then no means remain for him to perform. So, as we discussed, how does nishtha happen? In that, Maharaj mentioned faith. Yes. Ruchi, faith, nishtha, and allegiance. So, how does faith increase? If there is faith, there is nishtha; and if there is nishtha, there is faith. If nishtha has become firm, then he gets faith. That is, nishtha also helps him in conquering the five sensory pleasures indirectly. Indirectly. To observe the rules, now if there is no nishtha in Maharaj, how would one obey Maharaj's commands? Should there not be joy in obeying Maharaj's commands? In obeying Maharaj's commands, whatever commands Maharaj has given, let me fulfill them in this life, such a desire must awaken from within him. We talk about Gopinathji Purani Swami, who fulfilled all the vows that were in the Satsangijivan. Is there a need to fulfill all of them? Is there a need to fulfill all of them? There is no need. Then why did he fulfill them? Because Maharaj has said so, meaning he has joy from within. There is nishtha; that power is of nishtha. The power of nishtha has come, so faith has increased. Faith would never decrease, it would never fall short for him. If Maharaj said it, we will do it and please Maharaj; such a feeling awakens from within, but if there is no nishtha, that power does not come at all. He would never get the power to please God like that. Therefore, nishtha and faith, those two are connected with each other. And if there is faith, Maharaj says, the five sensory pleasures are automatically conquered. Where is faith? The faith that makes one build forts and towers is also of many kinds. What does that mean? What does it mean to build forts and towers? Huh? What does it mean to build forts and towers? You must be reading about forts and towers. We call it the tower's flame here, right? Only if there is faith can one sow, otherwise how can one sow? What does it mean to build forts and towers? In construction, there are towers, right? In olden times, they used to build towers. They built forts. They built forts, right? There would be a fort, and at its corner, there would be a tower. That round one is a tower. Maharaj in Gadhada, is it in Gadhada or Vadtal? There was a tower. There was a tower around the dharamshala, one tower. So, building forts and towers is also called faith. But he gets faith in God. If God has said so, what is faith? Ruchi arises. Readiness. Readiness. There is ruchi, ruchi, and then in faith, when that ruchi matures, it converts into faith. That is, readiness arises. Before He even speaks, let me do it; before He even speaks, let me do it. Not letting God's word fall to the ground. So, that is called faith. Readiness arises, right? So, this readiness. Purani Swami had the readiness that since Maharaj said it, I must perform all those vows. All of them. Hariprasad Swami had performed so many vows. Huh? It is relative. When a friend says something, don't we do it instantly? And if there is any confusion, we go to ask, 'What should I do about this now?' So, he guides us, gives us guidance, and we complete it. We have to perform the ritual, but the guidance is his. Similarly, God's guidance and we have to perform the ritual. Then we have faith in God, just as we had faith in that friend. If there is faith, the five sensory pleasures are conquered. If there is faith, rules are observed; and if there are rules, the five sensory pleasures are conquered. The five sensory pleasures cannot be conquered without rules. Even if there is no faith, and no faith in God, but somehow he automatically gets nishtha in the rules, then the five sensory pleasures are conquered. So, through faith also, the five sensory pleasures are conquered. But through extreme nishtha in God also, the five sensory pleasures are conquered, but they are completely conquered through nishtha. There is no guarantee of those rules. Many times, there are many religious people who have a good life in rules, keeping themselves within rules. But if there are rules without nishtha in God, they do not last. The meaning of that verse is that the person whose senses are under control and who has faith attains knowledge, and having attained knowledge, immediately attains the supreme state. Therefore, for one who is extremely faithful, the completion of the means occurs quickly; and for one who has weak faith, the completion of the means occurs after many births. Just as if a person is going to Kashi and walks only two steps in a whole day, but how can that be? If he walks only two steps in a whole day, how will he reach Kashi? Huh? 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