Sãrangpur 17 · Vachanamrut · Swaminarayan Scriptures

Differences Among Muktas

In the Samvat year 1877, on the evening of Bhãdarvã sud 6 [13th September, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting facing north on a decorated bedstead on the veranda outside the rooms of Jeevã Khãchar’s darbãr in Sãrangpur. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. A sabhã of munis, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.

Then Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “As the vision of a person who worships Bhagvãn becomes increasingly weak, he realises the unlimited nature of Bhagvãn, and he increasingly realises the greatness of Bhagvãn. When that bhakta identifies himself with the body, he sees Bhagvãn as the witness of his jãgrat, svapna, and sushupti states. Later, when he realises himself as beyond the jãgrat, svapna, and sushupti states, he realises Bhagvãn as beyond them too. Then, as his vision becomes increasingly weak, he realises Bhagvãn as being far beyond himself and understands the greatness of Bhagvãn even more. Then, as his vrutti attaches itself more and more to Bhagvãn with love, his upãsanã of Bhagvãn becomes even more firmly established.

“For example, ants, birds, men, cattle, horses, elephants, large crocodiles, and fish, all drink water from the ocean and become healthy, but the ocean’s level is not even slightly reduced. Therefore, the greater the capacity of the creature, the more it understands the vastness of the ocean.

“Here is another example: A mosquito, a sparrow, a kite, a hawk, an analpakshi, and Garud all fly in the sky, yet to all of them the sky is limitless. However, the greater the strength of their wings, the more they understand the vastness of the sky and their own inferiority.

“Similarly, a bhakta whose upãsanã is like that of Marichi and other prajãpatis, can be compared to the mosquito. A bhakta, whose upãsanã is higher, like that of devs such as Brahmã, can be compared to the sparrow. A bhakta, whose upãsanã is higher still, like that of devs such as Virãt-Purush, can be compared to a kite. A bhakta, whose upãsanã is higher still, like that of Pradhãn-Purush, can be compared to a hawk. A bhakta, whose upãsanã is still higher, like that of pure Prakruti and Purush, can be compared to an analpakshi. A bhakta, whose upãsanã is even higher, like that of an Akshar mukta in Akshardhãm, is like Garud. As the powers of these bhaktas increase, they recognise the greatness of Bhagvãn more and more. Moreover, as their own powers increase, their master-servant relationship with Bhagvãn is also strengthened.

“Also, when the person engaged in worship and identified himself with the jeev, the jeev possessed the luminosity of a firefly. As he continued worshipping Bhagvãn, the eight barriers (jad prakruti) were gradually overcome, and he became increasingly luminous – first like an oil lamp, then like a torch, then like the flames of a fire, then like the flames of a forest fire, then like lightning, then like the moon, then like the sun, then like the fire of destruction, and finally, he became as radiant as the light of Akshar-Brahm.

“In this way, the luminosity, powers, and bliss of such a bhakta constantly increase. In the example, the sequence from firefly to Akshar-Brahm refers to the difference among the level of muktas. As a person reaches a higher spiritual state, Bhagvãn’s greatness is realised to a greater extent, and he attains a higher mukta level.”

Shreeji Mahãrãj then bid “Jay Sachidãnand” to everyone and stood up. Then, holding a branch of the tamarind tree, He stood facing east and said, “From here, the full moon appears like a small plate. But, as a person approaches it, it appears to get increasingly large. Then, when he comes extremely close to it, it becomes so vast that he is unable to see its limits. Similarly, as obstacles (mãyã) are overcome and a person increasingly attains the proximity of Bhagvãn, he realises the unlimited greatness of Bhagvãn. As a result, his sense of servitude towards Bhagvãn is increasingly strengthened.” ||End of Vachanãmrut Sãrangpur || 17 || 95 ||