Gadhada I
- Gadhadã I 1→Shreeji Mahãrãj asks what the most difficult of all spiritual activities is; when no one can answer satisfactorily, He explains it is continuously engaging the…
- Gadhadã I 2→Mayãrãm Bhatt asks Shreeji Mahãrãj to describe the characteristics of the three levels of vairãgya — uttam, madhyam, and kanishth.
- Gadhadã I 3→Shreeji Mahãrãj says even a person who can constantly see Bhagvãn's murti in his heart should also recall the leelãs Bhagvãn performed in His different avatãrs…
- Gadhadã I 4→Shreeji Mahãrãj says haribhaktas should not hold jealousy toward one another; when Ãnandãnand Swãmi replies that jealousy still remains, Shreeji Mahãrãj explain…
- Gadhadã I 5→Shreeji Mahãrãj instructs that a person should perform dhyãn upon Shree Krishna Bhagvãn together with Rãdhikãji.
- Gadhadã I 6→Shreeji Mahãrãj describes a wise person in satsang as one who increasingly finds avgun within himself while perceiving gun in Bhagvãn and His bhakta.
- Gadhadã I 7→Shreeji Mahãrãj says no one truly understands the philosophical principles of the shãstras and offers to explain them precisely.
- Gadhadã I 8→Swaminarayan teaches that engaging the indriyas in the sevã of Bhagwãn and His bhakta purifies the antah-karans and destroys sins attached to the jeev since ete…
- Gadhadã I 9→Shreeji Mahãrãj describes a person who has developed nishchay in pratyaksha Shree Krishna Bhagvãn, offers bhakti, and has His darshan, but still feels an inner…
- Gadhadã I 10→Swaminarayan recounts a personal story: while traveling long ago, he met a sick sadhu named Sevak-Ram, learned in scripture and carrying valuable gold coins, wh…
- Gadhadã I 11→Brahmãnand Swãmi asks Shreeji Mahãrãj about the nature of vãsnã.
- Gadhadã I 12→Shreeji Mahãrãj says a person is freed from ignorance and bondage by understanding the nature of Purush, Prakruti, Kãl, and the twenty-four tattvas that evolve…
- Gadhadã I 13→Nityanand Swami raises a puzzle: is there one jeev per body or several — since when a branch of a banyan or pipal tree is cut and replanted, an identical tree g…
- Gadhadã I 14→Swãminãrãyan poses a comparison: a tyãgi bhakta with firm nishchay but a lingering trace of worldly desire he suppresses by thought, versus a grahastha bhakta w…
- Gadhadã I 15→A person filled with bhakti wants only to act according to the ãgnã of Bhagvãn and His sant, never saying he will follow only certain ãgnãs and not others.
- Gadhadã I 16→Shreeji Mahãrãj teaches that a wise devotee is one who can distinguish between sat and asat: he recognizes flaws within himself and thoughtfully works to eradic…
- Gadhadã I 17→While the kathã is being read, Shreeji Mahãrãj calls Muktãnand Swãmi, Gopãlãnand Swãmi, and other sãdhus and tells them He wishes to eliminate a small element o…
- Gadhadã I 18→Maharaj states real spiritual attainment comes only from understanding and acting on what He is about to say, not merely from studying scripture, and describes…
- Gadhadã I 19→Swaminarayan teaches that none of the four qualities — self-realization, devotion, renunciation, and one's prescribed dharma — can by itself grant a devotee ult…
- Gadhadã I 20→Asked who is the most ignorant of all people, Swaminarayan answers: the jeev, which observes everything external through the eyes, ears, skin, tongue, and nose…
- Gadhadã I 21→Describes four spiritual practices, collectively called ekantik dharma, that intensely please Bhagwan: unshakeable adherence to the dharma of one's varna and as…
- Gadhadã I 22→While the paramhans are singing kirtans, Shreeji Mahãrãj tells them that singing kirtans without remembering Bhagvãn is as good as not singing at all, and that…
- Gadhadã I 23→Distinguishes two types of devotees: one with full conviction in God who still worships while identifying with his body, and a more advanced one who realizes hi…
- Gadhadã I 24→Swaminarayan explains sthiti attained through gnãn, greater than Prakruti-Purush and known as gnãn-pralay, in which a person sees only pure chaitanya containing…
- Gadhadã I 25→Shreeji Mahãrãj teaches that a devotee following only svadharma does not feel completely fulfilled inwardly - fulfilment comes only through ãtmã-nishthã combine…
- Gadhadã I 26→Defines a "true rasik bhakta" as one attracted, through each of the five senses, only to Bhagwan's svarup; attraction to worldly sounds/music, touch, sights, ta…
- Gadhadã I 27→Swaminarayan teaches that Bhagvan fully resides in the heart of a person who recognizes that all the wonders of the world (the earth's stability, the stars, the…
- Gadhadã I 28→Shreeji Mahãrãj describes the signs of a satsangi about to fall from satsang: vicious desires steadily flourish, he perceives avgun in all other satsangis, and…
- Gadhadã I 29→Gopalanand Swami asks how the force of bhakti coupled with dharma, gnan, and vairagya can be intensified; Swaminarayan identifies four means (pure desh, pleasan…
- Gadhadã I 30→Dinã-Nãth Bhatt asks why some of the thousands of thoughts that arise leave no lasting impression while an occasional irrelevant thought leaves a strong one, an…
- Gadhadã I 31→Yoganand Muni asks which is better: a bhakta who follows nivrutti and never hurts anyone verbally, or one who constantly serves Bhagvãn and His bhaktas but occa…
- Gadhadã I 32→Shreeji Mahãrãj asks how a devotee's engagement with the five vishays differs from an ordinary materialistic person's, answering that for a devotee every sense…
- Gadhadã I 33→Muktãnand Swãmi asks which single spiritual activity is so powerful that it alone earns as much of Bhagvãn's bliss as performing all spiritual activities combin…
- Gadhadã I 34→Answers why the jeev's attention gravitates toward worthless worldly objects rather than God, who is the source of all bliss: God designed the world so that nat…
- Gadhadã I 35→Swaminarayan poses a question: why does a person of modest intelligence who guards his own spiritual welfare succeed, while a highly intelligent person who can…
- Gadhadã I 36→Shreeji Mahãrãj asks how one should view a person who has renounced worldly life and become a tyãgi but still holds affection for useless objects, comparing him…
- Gadhadã I 37→Swaminarayan states that a person lacking understanding cannot abandon affection for his birthplace even after renouncing the world, illustrating this by showin…
- Gadhadã I 38→Advises satsangis to regularly assess how their worldly desires have decreased year by year since joining satsang, comparing it to settling a merchant's account…
- Gadhadã I 39→Challenges a scholar of Vedanta philosophy who claims only Brahm is real and everything else (jeev, God, Maya, world, scriptures) is false, demanding proof draw…
- Gadhadã I 40→Muktãnand Swãmi asks Shreeji Mahãrãj to explain savikalp samãdhi and nirvikalp samãdhi.
- Gadhadã I 41→Nrusinhanand Swami questions the common interpretation by pandits and vedantis of a Vedic shlok ("ekoham bahu shyam prajayeya") as meaning the one Bhagvan prese…
- Gadhadã I 42→Addressing vedãnti brãhmans present, Swãminãrãyan responds to the claim that vidhi (injunctions) and nishedh (prohibitions), Svarg and Narak, disciples, and the…
- Gadhadã I 43→Shreeji Mahãrãj asks why the Shreemad Bhãgvat states that true bhaktas do not desire any of the four types of mukti: residing in Bhagvãn's dhãm, staying near Hi…
- Gadhadã I 44→Swaminarayan asks the characteristic of love toward Bhagvan; when Brahmanand Swami's answer (detachment from body and brahmand) is rejected as describing vairag…
- Gadhadã I 45→Gopalanand Swami asks Swaminarayan to resolve a dispute: some Vedantists claim Bhagwan is formless (nirakar), citing Vedic verses, while devotee-sages like Nara…
- Gadhadã I 46→Maheshvar Bhatt, a vedãnti brãhman, asks how ãkãsh (space) can merge during samãdhi if everything is said to merge.
- Gadhadã I 47→Shreeji Maharaj describes four types of bhaktas based on which of four "nishtha" (strengths) predominates in them: dharma-nishtha, atma-nishtha, vairagya-nishth…
- Gadhadã I 48→Shreeji Mahãrãj expresses His wish that all haribhaktas receive a printed murti of Nar-Nãrãyan Dev on paper for pujã, noting the Shreemad Bhãgvat describes eigh…
- Gadhadã I 49→Brahmãnand Swãmi asks Shreeji Mahãrãj why the vrutti stays on Bhagvãn only with forced effort, while it stays on worldly objects effortlessly.
- Gadhadã I 50→Shreeji Mahãrãj asks the munis whether the intellect of a person skilled in worldly affairs, or of one skilled in interpreting the shãstras and Purãns, can be c…
- Gadhadã I 51→Purnãnand Swãmi asks how nishchay (firm conviction) in Bhagvãn, who is beyond Mãyã, can be developed through mãyik antah-karans and indriyas, or how mãyik eyes…
- Gadhadã I 52→Following a kathã reference to complete enlightenment requiring understanding Bhagvan's svarup through all four sets of shastras (Sankhya, Yog, Vedant, and Panc…
- Gadhadã I 53→Muktãnand Swãmi asks why some people in satsang progress day by day while others seem to fall back despite being in satsang.
- Gadhadã I 54→Muktãnand Swãmi asks how bhãgvat-dharma, as described in the discussion between Janak Rãjã and the nine Yogeshvars in the Shreemad Bhãgvat's eleventh skandh, is…
- Gadhadã I 55→Muktãnand Swãmi asks Shreeji Mahãrãj why a person is unable to remain determined in bhajan, smaran, and the vartmãns.
- Gadhadã I 56→Maharaj asks and answers why the bhakta possessing gnãn (knowledge) is superior among the Geeta's four types of bhaktas: he behaves as brahm-rup and, through fu…
- Gadhadã I 57→Asked by Muktanand Swami for the most extraordinary means of attaining liberation, Swaminarayan answers: knowledge of Bhagwan's true form and knowledge of Bhagw…
- Gadhadã I 58→Muktãnand Swãmi asks how a bhakta troubled by rajo-gun and tamo-gun during bhajan/smaran can overcome them.
- Gadhadã I 59→Muktãnand Swãmi asks how unique love toward Bhagvãn can be developed; Shreeji Mahãrãj answers that a person must firmly believe Bhagvãn to truly be Bhagvãn Hims…
- Gadhadã I 60→Shreeji Mahãrãj states that eradicating worldly desires is the greatest of all spiritual activities.
- Gadhadã I 61→In answer to how a person can remain calm under the influence of lust, anger, greed, and fear, Swaminarayan says that firm atma-nishtha, the belief that one is…
- Gadhadã I 62→Answers how a sãdhu can acquire the many auspicious qualities scripture attributes to God's form: through firm conviction that God is distinct from and beyond t…
- Gadhadã I 63→Nrusinhãnand Swãmi asks about the thinking of someone with deficient nishchay: such a person is overjoyed only when Bhagvãn's powers are visibly displayed, is d…
- Gadhadã I 64→Raises the puzzle of how the soul (ãtmã) and Akshar, though themselves unchanging and beyond Maya, can still be called the "body" of God (Purushottam) the way a…
- Gadhadã I 65→Senior paramhansas quiz each other at Shreeji Mahãrãj's instruction; when Paramãnand Swãmi cannot fully answer how ãkãsh is created and destroyed, Shreeji Mahãr…
- Gadhadã I 66→Addresses confusion caused by scripture describing some divine forms (like Vãsudev) as formless/attributeless (nirgun) and others as having form (sagun).
- Gadhadã I 67→Swaminarayan describes a true sat-purush (God-realized saint) who has no love for worldly pleasure, desires only Bhagwan's abode and form for himself and for an…
- Gadhadã I 68→Swaminarayan recounts his own experience during a famine year of entering samãdhi and perceiving events through the murti of Jagannãthji, observing both devotio…
- Gadhadã I 69→Swaminarayan poses to the munis whether the sin of violence performed as part of a sanctioned ritual is the same as the sin of killing someone who sought refuge…
- Gadhadã I 70→Kãkã-Bhãi asks what within a person resists versus urges toward sense pleasures; Maharaj explains that childhood worldly attachments get imprinted in the mind l…
- Gadhadã I 71→Asked by Somlã Khãchar which single mistake Bhagvãn does not forgive, Shreeji Mahãrãj answers that Bhagvãn forgives all mistakes except insulting a devotee, and…
- Gadhadã I 72→At Muktãnand Swãmi's request, Maharaj repeats a talk from the previous day: a bhakta with nishchay (conviction) in Bhagvãn coupled with real knowledge of His gr…
- Gadhadã I 73→Gopalanand Swami asks about the true nature of lust; Shreeji Maharaj answers that semen alone is its essence -- it forms in the mind through thoughts of women a…
- Gadhadã I 74→Shreeji Mahãrãj states that a person's true vairãgya and understanding can only be measured when he encounters the vishays or hardship — as recently tested by a…
- Gadhadã I 75→Sura Khachar asks how it is that seventy-one generations of a devotee's family are said to attain liberation even though some family members may be hostile to B…
- Gadhadã I 76→Shreeji Mahãrãj names four types of people He does not get along with even if they are bhaktas: a person with krodh, irshyã, kapat, or mãn (abhimãn), noting tha…
- Gadhadã I 77→After a muni mistakenly begins to invalidate dharma on the grounds of his nishchay in Bhagvan, Swaminarayan states that a person who abandons dharma under the e…
- Gadhadã I 78→Shreeji Maharaj asks the assembled sadhus whether a person's past-life karmas determine the effect of the eight influences on the mind: desh (place), kal (time)…