Panchãlã 1 · Vachanamrut · Swaminarayan Scriptures

The Happiness Of Akshardhãm

In the Samvat year 1877, on Fãgan sud 4 [3rd March 1821], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting on a decorated bedstead that had been placed on a platform in Jhinã-Bhãi’s darbãr in Panchãlã. He was wearing a white angarkhu and a white khes. He had tied a white feto around His head, with its end hanging on the right side. He had also covered Himself with a thin, white pachhedi. A sabhã of paramhans, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.

Then, after the sandhyã ãrti, Shreeji Mahãrãj sat on a large, cylindrical pillow and said, “I wish to ask a question to all these senior paramhans and senior bhaktas: A person may have love for Bhagvãn, and also the determination to follow dharma. However, if he has not applied a thought process, then the extremely attractive vishays (shabda, sparsh, rup, ras, and gandh) will never be considered equivalent to the extremely repulsive vishays; nor will they be considered inferior to them. So, which thought must be applied so that the extremely attractive vishays seem equivalent to or inferior to the extremely repulsive vishays? I ask this question to all the senior bhaktas. Whoever has, through whichever thought, realised the attractive vishays to be like the repulsive vishays, or has realised them to be far more repulsive than even the repulsive vishays, please reveal your thoughts.”

Then, all the paramhans and all the bhaktas disclosed their thoughts.

Shreeji Mahãrãj then said, “Having heard your thoughts, I shall now tell you about the thought which I have maintained. Consider the following example: If someone sends a letter from a distant land, the intelligence of the writer of that letter can be revealed by reading the letter. Now, the appearance and style of speech of the five Pãndavs, Draupadi, Kuntãji, Rukmani, Satyabhãmã, Jambavati, and other queens of Bhagvãn, of Bhagvãn’s son, Sãmb, and of other bhaktas, are written in the shãstras. By hearing those shãstras, the description of their appearance allows us to visualise them as if having direct darshan. Also, their intelligence can be revealed from the words of the shãstras. In the same way, a person hears from the Purãns, the Mahãbhãrat, and other shãstras that Bhagvãn is the all-doer – is responsible for the creation, sustenance, and destruction of this universe – and that He eternally has a svarup. If He did not have a svarup, He could not be called the all-doer. Furthermore, Akshar- Brahm is the dhãm in which Bhagvãn resides. It is that Bhagvãn who has a divya murti; who is luminous and blissful; and who, at the time of creation, gives a buddhi, indriyas, a man, and prãns to the jeevs that had been merged in Mãyã along with their kãran bodies at the time of destruction. Why does He give these to the jeevs? He does so to enable them to indulge in the uttam, madhyam, and kanishth types of vishays as well as for the purpose of attaining moksh.

“Bhagvãn has created enjoyments and places of enjoyment for the sake of those jeevs; but within that, the creation of the uttam vishays are for the purpose of reducing the miseries of the inferior vishays. For example, a wealthy merchant may have had trees planted on both sides of a road to provide shade; he may have had water-houses constructed; he may have also had charity-houses and guest-homes constructed. He does all of this for the poor. Similarly, before Bhagvãn, Brahmã, Shiv, Indra, and other devs are as poor as those paupers of Samvat 1847 who boiled the fruits of pipal trees and then ate them. It is Bhagvãn who has created those uttam vishays for the happiness of Brahmã and the other devs, and for humans. Also, since the rich merchant builds facilities for the sake of the poor, it is obvious that compared to those, the luxuries in the merchant’s own home must be far greater. Similarly, Bhagvãn has created happiness for Brahmã and others; so it is obvious to an intelligent person that compared to those, the bliss of His own dhãm must be far more superior. An intelligent person can then conclude that there is an extreme amount of bliss in the dhãm of Bhagvãn. As a result, the attractive vishays become repulsive for him.

“Furthermore, all the happiness related to vishays which is apparent in this world, be it for animals, humans, devs, or ghosts, is only due to some relation with Bhagvãn, and when the happiness is coupled with dharma. However, the bliss that is in Bhagvãn Himself cannot be found anywhere else. Consider the following example: The light from this burning torch which falls a short distance away is not as intense as the light in the vicinity of the torch. Very far away, there is not light at all. In the same way, elsewhere there is only a little bliss, but absolute bliss is only available in the vicinity of Bhagvãn. The further a person is distanced from Bhagvãn, the less bliss he experiences. Therefore, a person who is a mumukshu realises, ‘The further away I am from Bhagvãn, the more miseries I will face, and ultimately I will become extremely miserable. On the other hand, even the slightest association with Bhagvãn will provide immense bliss. I shall experience the highest form of bliss’. A person who thinks in this way, keeps a desire for the bliss of Bhagvãn, and employs any means to maintain very close association with Bhagvãn, can be called intelligent.

“Moreover, the happiness of humans exceeds the happiness of animals; and the happiness of a king exceeds that; and the happiness of Indra exceeds that; then Bruhaspati’s happiness, then Brahmã’s, then Vaikunth’s. Beyond that, the happiness of Golok is superior, and finally, the bliss of Bhagvãn’s Akshardhãm is far more superior.

“In this way, realising the intensity of the bliss of Bhagvãn, a person who is intelligent realises all other pleasures related to vishays to be insignificant. Compared to the bliss of Bhagvãn, the pleasures of others are like that of a poor man who begs with a clay pot at the door of a rich grahastha. When I think of the bliss of the dhãm of that Bhagvãn, I become uninterested in all other forms of happiness, and I feel, ‘When will I leave this body to experience that bliss?’ Moreover, when I naturally indulge in the panch-vishays, I think about no particular thought; but, if I were to sense some pleasure in an object, my thoughts would immediately be diverted to the bliss of Bhagvãn, and my mind would become extremely uninterested.

“These thoughts can only be fully realised by a person who is intelligent. In fact, I have love towards a person who is intelligent. This is because I myself am intelligent, as is my thought process. Moreover, a person who is intelligent will also think similarly. In this way, it appears to me that my thought is superior to all of your thoughts; therefore, all of you should firmly remember this thought of mine in your hearts. Without applying this thought, if a person’s vrutti does become attached to appealing vishays, it will only just become detached – and only after much effort. However, for a person who has applied this thought, very little effort is involved in withdrawing his vrutti; he can easily realise how worthless the vishays are.

“This fact can only be understood by a person who has a sharp intelligence, and a craving for higher happiness. For example, a penny is worth more than a cowry-shell, and a rupee is worth more than a penny; a gold coin is more valuable than a rupee, and a chintãmani is more valuable than a gold coin. Similarly, wherever there are pleasures of the panch-vishays, the bliss of Bhagvãn in His dhãm is far more superior in comparison. Therefore, this thought only settles in the heart of a person who is intelligent and who thinks in this way. When this thought does firmly settle in the heart, even if he happens to be in a forest, he would feel, ‘I am surrounded by countless people and the wealth of the kingdom’, and he would not believe himself to be miserable. Conversely, if he were in Indra’s lok, he would feel, ‘I am sitting in a forest’, and he would not be gratified by the pleasures in the lok of Indra. In fact, he would realise those pleasures to be worthless.

“Therefore, keeping this thought in mind, all of you should decide, ‘Now we want to reach only the dhãm of Bhagvãn; we do not want to be tempted by the worthless pleasures of the panch-vishays along the way’. So, please keep this determination in your mind, as what I have told all of you is my principle; please embed it firmly in your lives.” || End of Vachanãmrut Panchãlã || 1|| 127 ||