Shuk MuniMuniSãdhu.Tap to open in glossary → Is A Great SãdhuSãdhuMale person who has abandoned worldly duties and has chosen a strict life of religious activities under strict vows of poverty, brahm-chãrya, and obedience. A tyãgi.Tap to open in glossary → / A Person Cannot Be Known By His Superficial Nature
In the SamvatSamvatThe calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain following his victory 56 BCE. It is a lunar calendar based on ancient Hindu tradition. The Vikram Samvat calendar is 56.7 years ahead of the solar Gregorian calendar. The calendar most commonly used is the Kãrtiki Samvat, which begins on the first day of Kãrtik. However, the Vachanãmrut is written using the Ashãdhi Samvat, which begins on the first day of Ãshãdh.Tap to open in glossary → year 1877, on the evening of ÃsoÃsoFourth month of the Ãshãdhi Samvat year, normally falling between September and October.Tap to open in glossary → vadvadDark half of a Hindu lunar month in which the moon is in its waning phase. The days falling between the day after Punam up to and including Amãs. Also called krishna paksh.Tap to open in glossary → 7 [14th October, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting facing north on a decorated bedstead on the veranda outside the north-facing rooms of Vastã KhãcharVastã KhãcharA devotee in whose residential darbar in Kariyani Swaminarayan Bhagwan stayed; every discourse in the Vachanamrut's Kariyani section opens by placing Him there, as the text itself repeatedly records ("in Vasta Khachar's darbar in Kariyani").Tap to open in glossary →’s darbãrdarbãrCourt of residence belonging to a king or ruler, traditionally with a central courtyard surrounded by rooms with balconies.Tap to open in glossary → in Kãriyãni. He was wearing a white kheskhesPiece of cloth that can be worn as a shawl to cover the upper body, or worn as a dhoti to cover the lower body.Tap to open in glossary → and had tied a white fetofetoLong piece of cloth that can be twisted and tied around the head, or placed over the shoulder and tied around the waist.Tap to open in glossary → around His head. He had also covered Himself with a white chãdarchãdarA thin blanket. Was used by Shreeji Mahãrãj during the cooler months.Tap to open in glossary →. A sabhãsabhãAssembly. A group of satsangis listening to kathã or singing kirtans.Tap to open in glossary → of paramhansparamhans1) Supreme swan. A male sãdhu of the highest order,Tap to open in glossary →, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “This Shuk MuniMuniSãdhu.Tap to open in glossary → is a very great sãdhusãdhuMale person who has abandoned worldly duties and has chosen a strict life of religious activities under strict vows of poverty, brahm-chãrya, and obedience. A tyãgi.Tap to open in glossary →. From the day he began staying with me, his enthusiasm has been ever increasing; in fact, it has never diminished. Therefore, he is like Muktãnand SwãmiMuktãnand SwãmiOne of the five principal paramhansas -- along with Gopalanand Swami, Nityanand Swami, Brahmanand Swami, and Shukanand Swami -- who recorded Swaminarayan Bhagwan's discourses word for word, compiling them into the Vachanamrut. Originally a shishya of Ramanand Swami; Nilkanth Brahmachari first met him at Lojpur.Tap to open in glossary →.”
Shreeji Mahãrãj then continued, “The affection that people develop for each other is due to gungun1) Good quality or trait. (pronounced goon) 2) Principle quality of Prakruti or Mãyã. There are three in total: sattva-gun (goodness and awareness), rajo- gun (passion and desires), and tamo-gun (darkness, ignorance, and laziness). All beings are affected by the influence of one or a combination of these three gun of Mãyã until they become gunãtit. The gun bring out different types of moods in a person: a person in sattva-gun is calm, and peaceful; a person in rajo-gunTap to open in glossary →, and the hatred they experience for each other is due to avgun. However, those gungun1) Good quality or trait. (pronounced goon) 2) Principle quality of Prakruti or Mãyã. There are three in total: sattva-gun (goodness and awareness), rajo- gun (passion and desires), and tamo-gun (darkness, ignorance, and laziness). All beings are affected by the influence of one or a combination of these three gun of Mãyã until they become gunãtit. The gun bring out different types of moods in a person: a person in sattva-gun is calm, and peaceful; a person in rajo-gunTap to open in glossary → and avgun cannot be established from a person’s external behaviour. A person outwardly may walk like a cat, fixing his eyes on the floor as he walks, but on the inside, he may have intense kãmkãm1) Lust. Passion. Desire. [Gadhadã I – 73] 2) One of the four purushãrths, allowing for the fulfilment of a person's personal and social desires.Tap to open in glossary →. On seeing him behave in this way, a person who is not wise would think, ‘He is a very great sãdhusãdhuMale person who has abandoned worldly duties and has chosen a strict life of religious activities under strict vows of poverty, brahm-chãrya, and obedience. A tyãgi.Tap to open in glossary →’. On the other hand, someone else may walk with wandering eyes. On seeing him, a person who is not wise would think, ‘He is a fake sãdhusãdhuMale person who has abandoned worldly duties and has chosen a strict life of religious activities under strict vows of poverty, brahm-chãrya, and obedience. A tyãgi.Tap to open in glossary →’. However, inwardly he may be extremely free of kãmkãm1) Lust. Passion. Desire. [Gadhadã I – 73] 2) One of the four purushãrths, allowing for the fulfilment of a person's personal and social desires.Tap to open in glossary →. Therefore, a person cannot be judged by his external, physical behaviour. He can only be judged after staying with him. By staying with him, his activities can be observed – the way he talks, the way he walks, the way he eats, the way he drinks, the way he sleeps, the way he awakens, and the way he sits.
“Also, gungun1) Good quality or trait. (pronounced goon) 2) Principle quality of Prakruti or Mãyã. There are three in total: sattva-gun (goodness and awareness), rajo- gun (passion and desires), and tamo-gun (darkness, ignorance, and laziness). All beings are affected by the influence of one or a combination of these three gun of Mãyã until they become gunãtit. The gun bring out different types of moods in a person: a person in sattva-gun is calm, and peaceful; a person in rajo-gunTap to open in glossary → and avgun are more apparent during the period of youth, but they are not so obvious during childhood or during old age. Someone may be spoiled as a child, but as a youth he becomes honourable. Conversely, someone may be good in his childhood, but becomes spoiled during his youth. A person who is determined in that he feels, ‘It is not good that I am having these improper thoughts’, and who makes an effort to eradicate those thoughts, and who remains determined until they have been eradicated, progresses in satsangsatsang1) 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 his youth. On the other hand, a person who is careless instead of being alert, will not progress. So, an honourable person can be recognised from his childhood.”
Having said this, Shreeji Mahãrãj talked at length about His fondness for tyãgtyãgTo abandon.Tap to open in glossary → in His childhood. He then continued, “A person who is honourable does not like the company of immature children from his childhood; he does not have an appetite for tasty food; and he continuously restrains his body. Just look, when I was a child, I had the same thoughts as KãrtikKãrtikFifth month of the Ãshãdhi Samvat year, normally falling between October and November.Tap to open in glossary → Swãmi, and I felt, ‘I want to eliminate all the parts of my mother – her flesh and blood – from my body’. So, after many spiritual activities, I malnourished my body so much that if something pierced my body, water would come out, but never blood. In this way, a person who is honourable can be known from his childhood.”
Then, Bhajanãnand Swãmi asked, “Mahãrãj, is it better to maintain this thought in the mind, or is it better to expose the body to taptapPhysical strictness. Penance. Enduring harsh weather (pronounced tup) conditions.Tap to open in glossary →?”
To that, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “The faults due to the body should be known, and the faults due to the mind should be known. Of these, which are the faults of the body? Well, repeated erections and itching of the genitals, excessive movement, rapid movement of the eyes, smelling many types of fragrances quickly, walking twenty or twenty-five miles quickly, embracing someone with such force that his bones break, ejaculating semen during dreams, and so on – all these are faults of the body, not the mind. Even if these faults of the body are greatly reduced, lustful desires, as well as desires for eating, drinking, walking, touching, smelling, hearing, and tasting, may remain. These should be known as the faults of the mind. So, the faults of the body and mind should be distinguished in this way.
“Then, the faults of the body should be removed by imposing bodily restraints. Then, once the body is weakened, the remaining faults of the mind should be eradicated by thinking, ‘I am the ãtmããtmã1) The pure jeev, which is distinct from the three bodies and three mental states, and distinct from the indriyas, the antah-karans, worldly desires, or any other traces of Mãyã. It is imperishable and eternal, does not undergo births or deaths, and it leaves a physical body after that body dies and assumes another physical body. Infinite in number. 2) That which pervades, inspires, and controls.Tap to open in glossary →, separate from desires. In fact, I am completely blissful’. A person who practices these two methods – bodily restraint and thinking of the ãtmããtmã1) The pure jeev, which is distinct from the three bodies and three mental states, and distinct from the indriyas, the antah-karans, worldly desires, or any other traces of Mãyã. It is imperishable and eternal, does not undergo births or deaths, and it leaves a physical body after that body dies and assumes another physical body. Infinite in number. 2) That which pervades, inspires, and controls.Tap to open in glossary → – is a great sãdhusãdhuMale person who has abandoned worldly duties and has chosen a strict life of religious activities under strict vows of poverty, brahm-chãrya, and obedience. A tyãgi.Tap to open in glossary →. If a person has only bodily restraint, but does not think of the ãtmããtmã1) The pure jeev, which is distinct from the three bodies and three mental states, and distinct from the indriyas, the antah-karans, worldly desires, or any other traces of Mãyã. It is imperishable and eternal, does not undergo births or deaths, and it leaves a physical body after that body dies and assumes another physical body. Infinite in number. 2) That which pervades, inspires, and controls.Tap to open in glossary →, then it is not appropriate. Conversely, if a person only thinks of the ãtmããtmã1) The pure jeev, which is distinct from the three bodies and three mental states, and distinct from the indriyas, the antah-karans, worldly desires, or any other traces of Mãyã. It is imperishable and eternal, does not undergo births or deaths, and it leaves a physical body after that body dies and assumes another physical body. Infinite in number. 2) That which pervades, inspires, and controls.Tap to open in glossary →, but does not restrain his body, then that is also not appropriate. Therefore, a person who has both is the best. Moreover, if these two methods – self-discipline and thinking – are necessary for even grahasthagrahasthaHouseholder. A person who is married. A person who is in the second stage of life, the grahastha ãshram.Tap to open in glossary → satsangis to practice, then a tyãgityãgiA person who has abandoned the world and worldly life.Tap to open in glossary → should definitely practice them.”
Then, Nishkulãnand Swãmi asked, “Mahãrãj, can a person remain like that through thinking or through vairãgyavairãgyaDetachment. A hatred or strong dislike for the world and its mãyik pleasures (the panch-vishays). Remaining detached from the body and the brahmãnd, and from all things that are the products of Prakruti. One of the four attributes of ekãntik dharma.Tap to open in glossary →?”
Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “A person remains like that due to the company of a great sãdhusãdhuMale person who has abandoned worldly duties and has chosen a strict life of religious activities under strict vows of poverty, brahm-chãrya, and obedience. A tyãgi.Tap to open in glossary →. Furthermore, a person who is unable to do so even with the company of a great sãdhusãdhuMale person who has abandoned worldly duties and has chosen a strict life of religious activities under strict vows of poverty, brahm-chãrya, and obedience. A tyãgi.Tap to open in glossary → is a great sinner.”
Saying that, Shreeji Mahãrãj continued, “If a tyãgityãgiA person who has abandoned the world and worldly life.Tap to open in glossary → desires to indulge in the worldly pleasures which are appropriate only for a grahasthagrahasthaHouseholder. A person who is married. A person who is in the second stage of life, the grahastha ãshram.Tap to open in glossary →, then he is as good as an animal eating dry grass. This is because even though he is never going to acquire those objects, he still has a desire for them. It seems that he has not understood that fact properly; and as the saying goes, what is the point in asking the name of a village that a person is not going to visit? If he does have a craving for those objects that he has given up, will it be possible for him to obtain them during this lifetime? He can attain them only if he falls from satsangsatsang1) 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 →, but not while remaining in satsangsatsang1) 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 →. Therefore, a person who maintains a desire for those pleasures, while remaining in satsangsatsang1) 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 →, is a fool. This is because whoever remains in satsangsatsang1) 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 → is required to follow the dharmadharma1) Universal law or principle that 'sustains' or 'upholds' the entire world. Righteousness, morality, religion,Tap to open in glossary → of a satsangisatsangiA person who practises satsang.Tap to open in glossary →. For example, if a woman sets out to become a satisatiA widow who, out of her total dedication and commitment to her husband, voluntary kills herself by throwing herself on her dead husband’s burning funeral pyre.Tap to open in glossary → but turns back upon seeing the fire, would her relatives allow her to turn back? They would force her to burn on her husband’s funeral pyre. Also, if a brãhmanbrãhmanPriest. A religious and educated scholar traditionally assigned duties of worship, performing rites and rituals, and teaching. The highest of the four varnas (castes) of the ancient Indian social system.Tap to open in glossary → lady becomes a widow but continues to dress like a married woman, will her relatives allow it? Certainly they would not. Therefore, a person who maintains indecent svabhãvs while remaining in satsangsatsang1) 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 → has not understood this talk. If he had understood it, such indecent svabhãvs would not remain.”
Saying this, Shreeji Mahãrãj bid “Jay SwãminãrãyanSwãminãrãyan1) The lord of the whole world. Creator and destroyer of everything, 2) The mantra (mahã-mantra) given by Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn to His bhaktas in when Faneni, after He became head of the sampradãy. Eventually people began to identify Shreeji Mahãrãj by this mantra and called Him Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn. The mantra holds power greater than any other mantra. The greatness of the mantra is described in ‘Je Swãminãrãyan Nãm Leshe’ from Shree Hari-Leelãmrut.Tap to open in glossary →” to everyone and departed to go to sleep. || End of VachanãmrutVachanãmrutAmrut in the form of words. A collection of 273 spiritual talks delivered by Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn, that were carefully noted and collated by His senior sãdhus in His presence, and were authenticated by Him. Central philosophical shãstra of the Swãminãrãyan Sampradãy that summarises the essence of all Hindu shãstras.Tap to open in glossary → Kãriyãni || 3 || 99 ||