Kãriyãni 8 · Vachanamrut · Swaminarayan Scriptures

Sagun And Nirgun

In the Samvat year 1877, on Kãrtik sud 4 [9th November, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting on a decorated bedstead on the veranda outside the north-facing rooms of Vastã Khãchar’s darbãr in Kãriyãni. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. A sabhã of munis, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.

Then, Muktãnand Swãmi asked a question: “Mahãrãj, the Veds, the shãstras, the Purãns, and the historical shãstras, have described the sagun svarup of Bhagvãn and have also described His nirgun svarup. So, how should a person understand the nirgun svarup, and how should he understand the sagun svarup of Shree Purushottam? Also, how much does a bhakta of Bhagvãn benefit by understanding the nirgun svarup of that Bhagvãn, and how much does he benefit by understanding the sagun svarup of that Bhagvãn?”

Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “The nirgun svarup of Bhagvãn is much subtler than that which is subtle. It is the ãtmã of all the tattvas, such as pruthvi and jal; it is the ãtmã of Pradhãn-Purush, which are higher than those tattvas; and it is the ãtmã of pure Purush and Prakruti which are themselves higher than Pradhãn-Purush; it is the ãtmã of even Akshar who is higher than them. All these make up the sharir of Bhagvãn. Just as the jeev is subtler, purer, and of greater luminosity than the body, in the same way, compared to all the other entities, Bhagvãn is much more subtle, pure, unaffected, and luminous. For example, ãkãsh pervades the four bhuts (pruthvi, jal, tej vãyu). Moreover, it remains unaffected by those four bhuts, and the influences of those four bhuts do not affect ãkãsh. In fact, despite dwelling in those four bhuts, ãkãsh remains absolutely unaffected. In the same way, Purushottam Bhagvãn dwells in all as their ãtmã. Despite this, He is absolutely unchanged and untainted, and He maintains His own unique characteristics; no one is capable of becoming like Him.

“For example, even though ãkãsh dwells within the four bhuts, the four bhuts are incapable of becoming unaffected and untainted like ãkãsh. Similarly, Purushottam Bhagvãn is the ãtmã of all, yet no one up to and including Akshar is capable of becoming as powerful as Purushottam Bhagvãn. In this way, being extremely subtle, extremely unaffected, extremely pure, extremely untainted, extremely luminous, and possessing tremendous, divine powers is the nirgun aspect of the murti of that Bhagvãn. In another example, if Mount Girnãr were to be placed next to Mount Lokã-Lok it would appear extremely small. In the same way, before the vastness of Purushottam Bhagvãn, countless millions of brahmãnds, which are encircled by the eight barriers (jad prakruti), appear extremely small, like mere atoms. Those brahmãnds do not become smaller, but before the vastness of Bhagvãn they appear smaller. In this way, the extreme vastness of the murti of Bhagvãn is the sagun aspect of Bhagvãn.

“Then, someone may doubt, ‘In His nirgun svarup, Bhagvãn is subtler than the extremely subtle, and in His sagun svarup, He is more vast than the extremely vast. Then, what is the nature of the original svarup of Bhagvãn, who assumes both of these svarups?’

“Then, answer to that is that the pratyaksha svarup of Bhagvãn visible in a human svarup is the eternal and original svarup of Bhagvãn. His nirgun and sagun aspects are the special, divine powers of that svarup. For example, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn and Arjun sat in a chariot and went to retrieve the son of the brãhman. After crossing Mount Lokã-Lok, they reached the darkness of Mãyã. Shree Krishna pierced that Mãyã using his sudarshan chakra. Then, reaching the light of Brahm, which is beyond that Mãyã, he retrieved the son of the brãhman from Bhumã-Purush who resides there. In that situation, the chariot and horses were mãyik and physical, but through contact with Shree Krishna Bhagvãn, they became extremely subtle and chaitanya; so, they reached the nirgun Akshardhãm of Bhagvãn. In this way, to impart subtlety to physical objects is the nirgun aspect of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn’s murti.

“Furthermore, that same Shree Krishna Bhagvãn showed the whole brahmãnd, including the eight barriers (jad prakruti) which encircle it, in his own mouth to his mother, Yashodãji. To Arjun, he also revealed the Vishvarup form in his own svarup. At the time, with the exception of Arjun, everyone saw the svarup of Bhagvãn as being five- and-a-half feet in height. Also, when Bhagvãn assumed the avatãr of Vãman, he initially gave darshan in the form of a dwarf. However, after he had made Bali give up as much land as could be covered in three footsteps, he increased the size of his own svarup to such an extent that one footstep alone covered the seven Pãtãls, with his own body covering the entire sky. With his second footstep, he covered the seven Svargs and pierced the outer shell of the brahmãnd. Bali Rãjã saw this vast svarup of Bhagvãn, but others only saw the dwarf svarup of Bhagvãn.

“In this way, Bhagvãn’s vastness, which is even more vast than the extremely vast, is the sagun aspect of Bhagvãn’s murti. For example, the sky is cloudless during the winter and summer, but when monsoon arrives, it becomes overcast with innumerable clusters of clouds. With time, these clouds form in the sky and later disperse again. In the same way, by His own will, Bhagvãn reveals His divine powers from Himself in their nirgun and sagun aspects, and also withdraws them back within Himself. That Bhagvãn appears to be like a human, but no one is able to understand the limits of His greatness. If a bhakta realises the nirgun and sagun aspects in Bhagvãn’s svarup in this way, then Kãl, karma, and Mãyã would be incapable of binding him, and throughout the day he would continuously experience wonder in his heart.” || End of Vachanãmrut Kãriyãni || 8 || 104 ||