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Gadhada II

Gadhadã II 1→Muktãnand Swãmi asks about the nature of moh (delusion) and how to eliminate it; Maharaj describes it as a feeling of illusion in the mind that, when intensifie…
Gadhadã II 2→Explains that the jeev, its senses (indriyas), and inner faculties (antah-karans) are distinct from each other, though ignorance makes them seem fused.
Gadhadã II 3→Swaminarayan describes two paths to spiritual greatness — rasik bhakti (devotion in the mood of divine romance) and ãtmã-gnãn — noting both can also lead to dow…
Gadhadã II 4→Swaminarayan poses a dilemma: what should a person do if unpleasant circumstances force a choice between upholding dharma and upholding bhakti? When Brahmãnand…
Gadhadã II 5→While kirtans are being sung, Shreeji Mahãrãj stops the singing and tells the sabhã that a bhakta of Bhagvãn should first maintain pati vratã (fidelity) and sec…
Gadhadã II 6→Swãminãrãyan raises the objection some nãstik-minded people make, that Gangã water and ordinary water, shãligrãm and other stones, a brãhman and a shudra, prasã…
Gadhadã II 7→Muktãnand Swãmi asks Shreeji Mahãrãj why inappropriate svabhãvs still remain in a bhakta even after he has decided he does not want to retain any svabhãv that o…
Gadhadã II 8→Narrates the Puranic story of Ekadashi's origin: born from Bhagwan's eleven indriyas' divine light, she defeats the demon Mur-Danav in battle, and Bhagwan grant…
Gadhadã II 9→Swaminarayan teaches that the path of gnãn must never lead a person to criticize Bhagwãn's svarup — disobeying His ãgnãs can be forgiven through prayer, but the…
Gadhadã II 10→At Lakshmi-Vãdi, Shreeji Mahãrãj argues Bhagvãn must be sãkãr (possessing form), not nirãkãr, because only a sãkãr cause can create sãkãr effects like Brahmã an…
Gadhadã II 11→Shreeji Mahãrãj explains that people who believe the shãstras deal only with dharma, arth, and kãm perform religious karmas like yagnas and vrats only for those…
Gadhadã II 12→Swaminarayan says he will describe a single spiritual activity for kalyan so powerful that it incorporates all others: personal effort
Gadhadã II 13→Shreeji Mahãrãj tells the senior sãdhus he is revealing something from his own direct experience, not out of pride, and describes his own total equanimity towar…
Gadhadã II 14→Muktanand Swami asks whether oneness with Bhagwan's form is attained only through samadhi (meditative trance) or by other means as well.
Gadhadã II 15→Asked what single thought can destroy any negative trait no matter how deep-rooted, Swaminarayan explains the answer through an analogy: just as one holds lasti…
Gadhadã II 16→Muktanand Swami asks how to keep faith in both Bhagwan and dharma without either declining; Shreeji Maharaj answers that faith in Bhagwan's murti naturally brin…
Gadhadã II 17→Asked whether Bhagvãn's form is composed of the twenty-four mãyik tattvas or is purely chaitanya free of them, Shreeji Mahãrãj says holding either extreme view…
Gadhadã II 18→Swãminãrãyan states that the worst kusang (bad association) in the world is with people who lack bhakti and lack faith that Bhagvãn loves His bhaktas, is patit-…
Gadhadã II 19→Swaminarayan arrives visibly distressed, refusing to speak or look at anyone, with tears flowing, and explains that listening to the shastras of shushka-gnan fo…
Gadhadã II 20→Maharaj poses a question to the paramhans: does the mental ability and strength of the body and indriyas of a person who has mastered samadhi and bonded firmly…
Gadhadã II 21→States the essence of all of Vyasji's shastras is that Bhagwan alone creates, maintains, and destroys the universe, and that observing one's varna/ashram dharma…
Gadhadã II 22→Using the image of two armies preparing for battle - brave soldiers unafraid of death and free of greed for plunder, versus cowardly soldiers full of fearful, s…
Gadhadã II 23→Shreeji Mahãrãj describes the mind as not separate from the jeev but a reflection of it, and compares its nature to the heat of summer and the frost of winter,…
Gadhadã II 24→Muktãnand Swãmi asks Shreeji Mahãrãj whether a bhakta who has firm belief in Bhagvãn experiences any obstacles.
Gadhadã II 25→Shreeji Mahãrãj poses a question: what is the fate of a tyãgi who strictly follows outward vartmãn but secretly desires the vishays in his heart, compared to a…
Gadhadã II 26→Instructs that a devotee should never do anything displeasing to God or His devotees, should give up any relative or trait that obstructs his worship, and shoul…
Gadhadã II 27→Swãminãrãyan asks Muktãnand Swãmi what causes his anger, describing His own pattern first: never angry over personal loss of even a large sum of money, but brie…
Gadhadã II 28→Responding to Pragji Dave's praise of the Shreemad Bhagvat, Maharaj states the Vasudev Mahatmya (part of the Skand Puran) is even greater for its emphasis on dh…
Gadhadã II 29→Shreeji Mahãrãj describes the characteristics of a bhakta whose mind has become deeply attached to the svarup of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn: even when exhausted from…
Gadhadã II 30→Shreeji Mahãrãj says the Shreemad Bhãgvat and other shãstras are satya and reality reflects them, citing the Bhãgvat's statement that Kali resides in gold, whic…
Gadhadã II 31→Shreeji Mahãrãj explains that Vãsudev Bhagvãn (Purushottam), through Mahã-Purush (Akshar/Brahm), implants power in Mahã-Mãyã, producing Virãt-Purush as a "son"…
Gadhadã II 32→Swaminarayan contrasts love for family (like a cactus or banyan branch, which regrows if cut) with love for others (like a mango or neem tree, which does not re…
Gadhadã II 33→Shreeji Maharaj first describes his own "strength": complete detachment from anything he notices himself liking, no dislike ever toward a bhakta, and an oath th…
Gadhadã II 34→Shreeji Maharaj asks the assembled sadhus whether the twenty-four tattvas (elements like the senses and mind that arise from Maya and reside in the jeev) are co…
Gadhadã II 35→Waking from sleep, Shreeji Mahãrãj tells the assembled sãdhus and bhaktas he has reached a decision after deep thought and shares it.
Gadhadã II 36→Asked how to keep the mind continuously fixed on Bhagwan, Swaminarayan gives four methods.
Gadhadã II 37→Shreeji Mahãrãj raises the question of how svabhãvs can be eradicated, noting the Geetã's statement that even a person with gnãn behaves according to his svabhã…
Gadhadã II 38→Swaminarayan states that a true devotee of Bhagwan never places faith in charms, spells, witchcraft, or vulgar performances, even to gain wealth or a son; doing…
Gadhadã II 39→Shreeji Mahãrãj asks the paramhansas and bhaktas to name their own natural qualities that remain steady under unpleasant circumstances, and begins by naming fou…
Gadhadã II 40→Noticing that Swaminarayan performed one extra prostration to Krishna beyond his usual daily practice, Shuk Muni asks why.
Gadhadã II 41→Swaminarayan teaches that someone given the opportunity to serve Bhagwan and His devotees should consider it great fortune and serve purely to please Bhagwan an…
Gadhadã II 42→Bhagvadanand Swami asks how countless universes can dwell within each pore of Bhagwan, and where within those universes His avatars occur.
Gadhadã II 43→Shreeji Mahãrãj proposes a question-answer discussion and asks whether a gunãtit bhakta — who behaves only as the ãtmã, above sattva/rajo/tamo-gun, with no thou…
Gadhadã II 44→Shreeji Mahãrãj asks Muktãnand Swãmi whether a person who perceives avgun in a bhakta perceives the same amount as before or more; Muktãnand Swãmi answers that…
Gadhadã II 45→Swaminarayan tells the munis, brahmacharis, grahasthas, parshads, and bhaktas of Ayodhya, whom he calls "mine," that he will not tolerate even the slightest imp…
Gadhadã II 46→After kirtans conclude, Shreeji Mahãrãj says a sat-purush is not pleased or pained by a person's worldly progress or regress, but does grieve when someone's min…
Gadhadã II 47→Swaminarayan teaches that sadhus will stay with someone who looks after them graciously, and that a sadhu eager for moksh should feel joy rather than hurt when…
Gadhadã II 48→After Premãnand Swãmi sings a kirtan about Bhagvãn's svarup, Shreeji Mahãrãj remarks that hearing it made Him wish to rise and perform dhyãn before the singing…
Gadhadã II 49→Shreeji Mahãrãj states there is a great difference between the pratyaksha svarup of Bhagvãn and mãyik svarups, though the ignorant and foolish consider them the…
Gadhadã II 50→Shreeji Mahãrãj tells the assembled sabhã He will reveal His fundamental principle, since He considers them all His own.
Gadhadã II 51→Swaminarayan asks why the jeev sometimes experiences profound peace in deep sleep and sometimes remains restless even there; he answers that restlessness comes…
Gadhadã II 52→Swaminarayan explains that the paths of a renunciate and a householder are fundamentally different, and what suits one is inappropriate for the other — a distin…
Gadhadã II 53→Shreeji Mahãrãj describes the characteristic of moh as stated in the shãstras: when moh pervades a person's heart, he cannot perceive his own avgun — this inabi…
Gadhadã II 54→Shreeji Mahãrãj cites Shree Krishna Bhagvãn's words to Uddhav in the Shreemad Bhãgvat (11th skandh) that He is pleased more by satsang than by ashtãng-yog, sãnk…
Gadhadã II 55→Swãminãrãyan asks the assembled sãdhus to describe their own spiritual "strength," beginning with His own: from childhood He loved mandir darshan, kathãs, sãdhu…
Gadhadã II 56→After hearing kirtans sung in the assembly, Swaminarayan reflects deeply on the greatness of deep love for Bhagwan, recalling Gopalanand Swami and other devotee…
Gadhadã II 57→Swãminãrãyan teaches that to truly love Bhagvãn, a person should love Him while realizing himself to be the pure ãtmã, free from the obstructions of Mãyã that a…
Gadhadã II 58→Shreeji Mahãrãj asks the munis how the sampradãys of great ãchãryas flourish over a long period; Muktãnand Swãmi answers with three factors — the shãstras of th…
Gadhadã II 59→Swaminarayan states the central teaching found throughout the Vedas, Puranas, and historical scriptures: only Bhagwan and His sant can grant liberation, and Bha…
Gadhadã II 60→Muktanand Swami asks what understanding allows a bhakta to remain happy amid life's difficulties; Maharaj shares that he personally remains unobstructed by dist…
Gadhadã II 61→Shreeji Mahãrãj describes three characteristics of a firm satsangi: strictly following the niyams of his ishta-dev even at the cost of his life, holding extreme…
Gadhadã II 62→Ayodhyãprasãdji asks whether brief sincere worship can burn away a day's worth of sins; Maharaj answers that if the senses, inner faculties, and jeev fully unit…
Gadhadã II 63→Explains that when the soul (jeev) is spiritually strong, the mind and senses naturally follow its lead rather than acting independently, preventing even impure…
Gadhadã II 64→Svayamprakãshãnand Swãmi asks whether all of Bhagvãn's avatãrs are equal or if there are distinctions among them.
Gadhadã II 65→Explains that when Bhagwan takes birth on earth as an avatar such as Ram or Krishna, He is not infatuated by anything in this maya-created world and behaves fea…
Gadhadã II 66→Answering why a less intelligent person can recognize his own faults while a highly intelligent one cannot, Shreeji Maharaj says it is because such a person has…
Gadhadã II 67→Shreeji Mahãrãj asks the paramhans: when a bhakta leaves his body, becomes brahm-rup, and attains Bhagvãn's dhãm, becoming independent and free from Kãl, karma,…