22.1 In the Samvat year 1878, on Fãgan vad 10 [19th March 1822], Shreeji Mahãrãj awoke in the middle of the night and sat facing south on a decorated bedstead in front of the mandir of Shree Vãsudev-Nãrãyan in Dãdã Khãchar's darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. He called all the sãdhus and haribhaktas together, and so they gathered before Him in a sabhã.
22.2 Addressing the sãdhus, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “I wish to talk, so please listen. When two armies are prepared for combat and both have implanted their flags opposite each other, in their minds both feel, ‘We will capture their flag and shall raise our own in its place’. However, they never think, ‘Along the way to the enemy’s flag many heads will roll, and rivers of blood will flow’. In this way, they are never afraid. This is because those who are brave are not afraid of dying. However, a coward has thousands of thoughts of fleeing. He also thinks, ‘If our army wins, we shall steal the wealth and weapons of our opponents’. In comparison, the brave soldiers of both kings are not afraid of dying, and nor do they have greedy motives to steal. Instead, they have only one desire – to capture the opponent’s flag and ensure their own victory.
22.3 “Now, in this example, the flag represents the dhãm of Bhagvãn, and the brave soldiers of the kings represent that loyal bhaktas of Bhagvãn. Regardless of whether they encounter honours or insults in this world; regardless of whether they encounter bodily comforts or miseries; regardless of whether their bodies remain healthy or unhealthy; and regardless of whether their bodies survive or die, loyal bhaktas of Bhagvãn never have weak thoughts such as, ‘We will suffer this much pain’, or ‘We will enjoy this much happiness’. Neither of these two types of thoughts arise within their minds. Such bhaktas firmly believe, ‘We want to attain the dhãm of Bhagvãn within this very lifetime; we do not want to become tempt by anything along the way’.
22.4 “On the other hand, a bhakta of Bhagvãn who identifies himself with the body is represented by the coward soldiers. While worshipping Bhagvãn, he has thousands of weak thoughts such as, ‘If the vartmãn become strict, I will not be able to survive; only if they are easy to follow will I be able to survive’. He also thinks, ‘If I employ this method, I shall be happy even in worldly life. Also, if it is possible, I shall survive passively in satsang’. Such a bhakta represents the coward. However, a loyal and brave bhakta of Bhagvãn never has any types of desires related to the body or the world.”
22.5 Having said this, Shreeji Mahãrãj then began to narrate an experience of His own. “When I went to Amdãvãd to install the murti of Shree Nar-Nãrãyan Dev, thousands of people gathered for the festival. Following the completion of the installation of Shree Nar-Nãrãyan Dev, and after thousands of brãhmans from Amdãvãd had been fed, I departed from there and spent the night in Jetalpur. There, I began to think, ‘I want to forget all memories of all of those people and all the activities I saw’. In doing this, I felt intense grief in my heart. As a result, I became ill. From there, I went to Dholkã, where I spent the night. Then, walking from Dholkã with the same thought in mind, I reached the forest of Ganesh Dholkã near the village of Koth and spent the night there. I began to think so much that I forgot all about my body. While thinking, I forgot all the activities, and dispelled all those thoughts in such a way that it was as if I had not even stayed at Lake Kãnkariã, and as if there had been no festival; no thoughts remained at all.
22.6 “After those worldly thoughts had subsided, I began to look within. I began to see alokik powers and also the pleasures of the devs. I began to see countless types of heavenly vehicles, apsãrãs, clothes, and jewellery – just as if I were seeing them here in Mrutyu-Lok. However, in my heart I did not like anything except Bhagvãn. Moreover, just as the panch-vishays here appear to be insignificant to me – with my mind never being tempted – in the same way, my mind was not tempted anywhere from Dev-Lok all the way to Brahm-Lok.
22.7 “Seeing this, all the devs began to praise me, ‘You truly are an ekãntik bhakta of Bhagvãn; after all, your mind did not abandon Bhagvãn and become tempted elsewhere’. On hearing their words, my heart gained a lot of courage. I then told my man, ‘I know your true svarup. So, if you have a thought about any object other than Bhagvãn, I will crush you to pieces’. In the same way, I told my buddhi, ‘If you have any belief other than that of Bhagvãn, then you will be in trouble’. Similarly, I told my chitt, ‘If you think about anything other than Bhagvãn, then I will also crush you to pieces’. In the same way, I told my ahankãr, ‘If you have any form of arrogance except that of servitude towards Bhagvãn, I will destroy you’.
22.8 “Following this, just as I had totally forgotten all the objects of this lok, I also totally forgot all the objects of Dev-lok and Brahm-Lok. When all of those thoughts were dispelled, the illness that had arisen as a result of those thoughts also disappeared. Therefore, a person who is a bhakta of Bhagvãn should behave in this way.” Shreeji Mahãrãj narrated His own experiences for the sake of the kalyãn of His bhaktas, while in reality; He Himself is the pratyaksha svarup of Shree Krishna Purushottam Nãrãyan.
22.9 Shreeji Mahãrãj then said, “The Vãsudev Mahãtmya describes the dharma of an ekãntik bhakta as follows: ‘An ekãntik bhakta does not believe his body to be his own true svarup; he believes himself to be composed of chaitanya. He performs bhakti of Bhagvãn while observing svadharma, gnãn, and vairãgya. Also, he maintains no desire for any object other than Bhagvãn’. When he becomes such a sãdhu by worshipping Bhagvãn in this way, there is no greater status. For example, in a kingdom, the queen’s authority is equal to that of the king. In the same way, that sãdhu possesses as much majesty as Bhagvãn. Therefore, a sãdhu should not wish for the insignificant pleasures of worldly life. This is because when that sãdhu attains the dhãm of Bhagvãn, then just as the lords of countless millions of brahmãnds bring countless types of gifts for Bhagvãn, they also bring them for that sãdhu. Moreover, by the grace of Bhagvãn, that sãdhu acquires alokik powers and strength. Keeping such a great thought in the mind, a person should not desire anything other than Bhagvãn. For example, a person who has obtained a chintãmani should look after it with great care. This is because it will enable him to obtain any object he desires. Similarly, a bhakta of Bhagvãn should hold on to the chintãmani in the form of Bhagvãn’s murti; he should never abandon it. Only then will he attain everything.”
End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã II || 22 || 154 ||