Gadhadã II 4 · Vachanamrut · Swaminarayan Scriptures

The Loss Of Dharma And Bhakti

In the Samvat year 1878, on Shrãvan sud 5[3rd August 1821], Swãmi Shree Sahajãnandji Mahãrãj was sitting on the veranda outside the west-facing medi in Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. A sabhã of paramhans, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him. Some of the paramhans were singing kirtans in the malãr rãg to the accompaniment of a dukad, sarodã, and satãr.

Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Please stop the singing, and let us now talk about Bhagvãn.”

The paramhans responded, “Very well, Mahãrãj.”

Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj asked, “Suppose a person, who follows dharma as prescribed in the shãstras and also offers bhakti to Bhagvãn, is faced with such unpleasant circumstances that if he tries to maintain bhakti, he is forced to lapse in his observance of dharma, and if he tries to maintain his observance of dharma, then he is forced to abandon bhakti. In such a case, which should he maintain, and which should he abandon?”

Brahmãnand Swãmi replied, “If Bhagvãn is pleased by upholding bhakti, then bhakti should be upheld; and if He is pleased by upholding dharma, then dharma should be upheld.”

Hearing this, Shreeji Mahãrãj countered, “For those who have found pratyaksha Bhagvãn, it is of course appropriate for them to do only that which pleases Bhagvãn. But, what should a person do when Bhagvãn is not pratyaksha?”

Muktãnand Swãmi attempted to answer, but he was unable to do so satisfactorily.

Shreeji Mahãrãj then said, “If a person faces unpleasant circumstances when Bhagvãn is not pratyaksha and there is no one else left to turn to, if he constantly thinks only about Bhagvãn, he will not fall from the path of Bhagvãn.”

Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj asked another question, “A person who thoroughly understands the greatness of Bhagvãn feels, ‘No matter how many sins a person may have committed, if he merely utters the name of Bhagvãn even once, all of his sins will be burnt to ashes’. What understanding should a person with this belief develop, so that he never falters from the observance of dharma?”

Again, Muktãnand Swãmi attempted to answer, but was unable to do so satisfactorily.

So, replying to His own question, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “A person who thoroughly realises Bhagvãn’s greatness can still abide by dharma if he develops the following understanding: ‘I want to constantly think about Bhagvãn and become an ekãntik bhakta. However, if my vrutti is drawn towards vicious natures, such as kãm, krodh, and lobh, then that will be an obstruction in my thoughts of Bhagvãn’. Realising this, he remains extremely cautious of treading the wrong path. As a result, he would never do anything related to adharma. If a person has this understanding, then even though he thoroughly realises the greatness of Bhagvãn, he would never falter in his observance of dharma.

“Indeed, it is not a small deed to be able to think about Bhagvãn constantly; if a person were to leave his body while thinking about Bhagvãn, he would attain Akshardhãm.”

Then, Brahmãnand Swãmi asked, “We do realise this, yet we still cannot constantly think about Bhagvãn. What is the reason for this?”

Shreeji Mahãrãj explained, “First of all, to be able to constantly think about Bhagvãn, a person needs shraddhã. If he does not have such shraddhã, it implies that there is a deficiency in realising Bhagvãn’s greatness. When there is this deficiency, it suggests that there is also a deficiency in his nishchay in the svarup of Bhagvãn. So, if a person realises the greatness of Bhagvãn and also has shraddhã, then he will be able to constantly think about Bhagvãn.

“Furthermore, Bhagvãn’s greatness should be understood as follows: Bhagvãn, who is greater than Prakruti-Purush, is the very same when he enters them; He still retains His divya powers. Even after He enters the entities evolved from Prakruti-Purush, like the brahmãnd, He retains the very same powers; but, in no way do traces of Mãyã affect Bhagvãn’s murti. For example, consider the difference between gold and other metals. When they are buried together in the ground for a long period of time, all the metals other than the gold will decompose into the dirt surrounding them. In comparison, the longer the gold stays in the ground, the more valuable it becomes, as it does not decompose in any way.

“Similarly, Bhagvãn, devs such as Brahmã and others, or other munis are not all the same. This is because when they come into contact with dirt (vishays), then all except Bhagvãn become engrossed in those vishays, regardless of how great they may be. Moreover, although Bhagvãn seems to be like a human, there is no worldly object capable of affecting Him. Regardless of how attractive a vishay may be, He is never tempted by it. This is the alokik power of Bhagvãn. If a person realises this greatness, he will be able to constantly think about Bhagvãn.

“However, as long as a bhakta is attracted to vishays, he has not realised Bhagvãn’s alokik greatness at all. For example, Bhagvãn said to Uddhavji, ‘O Uddhav! You are not even slightly lesser than me’. This was because Uddhavji had realised Bhagvãn’s alokik greatness, and therefore was not attracted by the panch-vishays.

“For a person who realises the greatness of Bhagvãn, to rule a kingdom or to have to beg for food, are both equivalent. He also feels the same towards a young girl, a 16-year-old girl, and an 80-year old woman. In fact, he views all the attractive and repulsive objects in this world as being equal; he does not get tempted by an attractive object as a moth does by a lamp. In fact, he is not tempted by any object except for Bhagvãn; he is only attracted to the murti of Bhagvãn. A bhakta who behaves in this way, never becomes bound by vishays, regardless of how tempting they may be.

“However, if a person has not understood this key principle, then it would be very difficult for him to detach his mind from even a torn waistcloth or a water-pot. Therefore, without realising Bhagvãn’s greatness in this way, even if a person makes an effort in a million other ways, he will still not be able to constantly think about the murti of Bhagvãn. Only a person who realises the greatness of Bhagvãn is able to constantly think about Him.” || End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã II || 4 || 137 ||