8.1 In the Samvat year 1878, in the early morning of Shrãvan sud 12 [10th August 1821], Swãmi Shree Sahajãnandji Mahãrãj was sitting on a square cushion in front of the mandir of Shree Vãsudev-Nãrãyan in Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. A sabhã of paramhans, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him. Some of the paramhans were singing kirtans to the accompaniment of a mrudang.
8.2 Then, addressing the sãdhus, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “A person should keep the Ekãdashi vrat because of the following story: Once, Bhagvãn was sleeping with his ten indriyas and the mind (eleventh indriya) drawn inwards. At that time, Mur-Dãnav, the son of Nãdi-Jandh, came to do battle with Bhagvãn. A young woman was then created from the divine light of Bhagvãn’s eleven indriyas. Seeing her, Mur-Dãnav proposed to her, ‘Please marry me’. The young woman replied, ‘I have taken a vow that I will only marry the person who defeats me in a battle’. This resulted in a battle between Mur-Dãnav and the young woman, in which the young woman cut off Mur-Dãnav’s head with a sword. Bhagvãn was pleased with her and said, ‘Ask for a vardãn’. The young woman requested, ‘On my day of vrat, no one should eat grains. Furthermore, as I was born from the divine light of your eleven indriyas, my name is Ekãdashi. As I am a tyãgi, on my day of vrat, no one should indulge in any of the vishays related to the eleven indriyas, which includes the mind’. Hearing Ekãdashi’s wish, Bhagvãn granted her that vardãn. This is the story as it is narrated in the Purãns.
8.3 “The Dharma-Shãstras also state: ‘The Ekãdashi vrat should be kept. On that day, a person should not allow impure thoughts, such as kãm, krodh, and lobh, to arise in the mind; nor should he physically engage in any immoral activities’. This is what the shãstras prescribe. In agreement with those shãstras, I also say that on the day of Ekãdashi, a person should not merely do upvãs, but he should also abandon the ‘food’ of the eleven indriyas. Only then can the Ekãdashi vrat be considered true; without that, it should be known as mere upvãs.
8.4 “Just as the prãns have their diet (food), the ears have a diet of sounds, the eyes have a diet of sights, the tongue has a diet of tastes, the nose has a diet of smells, and the mind has a diet of thoughts and desires. In this way, the eleven indriyas have their diets. To give up all these is called Ekãdashi vrat. However, to allow the eleven indriyas to roam freely along the path of immorality and indulge in their ‘foods’ is not truly Ekãdashi according to the shãstras. Therefore, when keeping an Ekãdashi vrat, the eleven indriyas should not be allowed their ‘foods’. As this vrat arrives once every fifteen days, a person should definitely make a point of keeping it. In return, Bhagvãn will become pleased. Without this, merely doing upvãs does not please Him.
8.5 “The residents of Shvet-Dvip, who are called niranna-muktas, are continuously keeping this vrat, and they never allow it to be broken. That is precisely why they are called niranna muktas. We too should have such aspirations as, ‘I want to become like those niranna-muktas in Shvet-Dvip’. However, a person should not lose courage. Only if he keeps courage and keeps the Ekãdashi vrat in the way I have mentioned, listens to kathãs and kirtans of Bhagvãn, and also stays awake at night, is the vrat considered to have been kept properly. This is the very definition of the Ekãdashi vrat as mentioned in the shãstras.”
8.6 Having said this, Shreeji Mahãrãj became silent. The sãdhus then began to sing kirtans.
8.7 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj again said, “When Brahmã carried out the very first creation, he told all the people, ‘You should all perform yagnas. Through them you will attain all the purushãrths, and the process of creation will also flourish. Therefore, be sure to perform these sacrifices’. Brahmã then demonstrated the many different types of yagnas, along with their rituals, as described in the Veds. To those who had adopted the path of pravrutti, Brahmã demonstrated the rãjasi and tãmasi yagnas. To those who had adopted the path of nivrutti, he demonstrated sãttvik yagnas. These yagnas have also been described by Shree Krishna Bhagvãn in the Bhagvad Geetã. Since we have adopted the path of nivrutti, we should perform sãttvik yagnas, not rãjasi or tãmasi yagnas in which animals are slaughtered.
8.8 “A person can perform a sãttvik yagna by withdrawing the ten indriyas and the mind (the eleventh indriya) from whichever vishays they have become attached to, and then offering them into brahm-agni. This is called a yog-yagna. By continuously making these offerings, Parbrahm Shree Purushottam incarnates Himself with the brahm-svarup self of the person who performs a yoga-yagna, just as Bhagvãn grants darshan to the performer of a yagna. In fact, this is the reward of the yog-yagna.
8.9 “Also, when a bhakta of Bhagvãn engages in antar-drashti, it is called a gnãn-yagna. Someone may ask, ‘What is antar-drashti?’ The answer is: To direct a person’s internal or external vrutti towards the murti of Bhagvãn is itself antar-drashti. Without doing this, even if a person is sitting and seemingly engaged in antar-drashti, it is still bãhya-drashti. Therefore, physical activities related to Bhagvãn, such as having the darshan of Bhagvãn, performing His pujã or engaging in kathã and kirtans of Bhagvãn, are all forms of antar-drashti. All of these are aspects of a gnãn-yagna. In addition, to see that murti of Bhagvãn within the heart, to perform its pujã, and to bow before it, is also antar-drashti, and they are also aspects of a gnãn-yagna. For this reason, all satsangis are continuously performing gnãn-yagna. However, it is by the wish of Bhagvãn that some attain samãdhi and others do not. Sometimes it could also be that the bhakta himself has some sort of deficiency.
8.10 “There are foolish people who say, ‘Do not sing kirtans which describe the gopis; sing only nirgun kirtans’. Those same fools claim that a person who roams around naked is nirgun. But, if a person could become nirgun by merely walking around naked, then even dogs, donkeys, and other animals would be called nirgun. This is the understanding of fools.
8.11 “In comparison, a bhakta possessing gnãn understands that only the svarup Bhagvãn is nirgun, and all those who have some relation to Bhagvãn are followers of the nirgun path. Furthermore, any kathã or kirtan associated with Bhagvãn is also considered nirgun. However, kathã or kirtan which are not associated with Bhagvãn possess mãyik qualities, and should be considered to be sagun. So, if a person has not been graced with the attainment of Bhagvãn, then even if he walks around naked, he cannot be called nirgun; whereas even if a grahastha has been graced with the attainment of Bhagvãn, he can still be called nirgun – as can a tyãgi.’ Therefore, the path to attaining Bhagvãn is itself the nirgun path, and all activities related to Bhagvãn are therefore also nirgun.
8.12 “As for a person who has come into contact with Bhagvãn, there is no limit to his good fortune. However, such a relationship with Bhagvãn is not the result of rewards from one life alone. That is why Shree Krishna Bhagvãn has stated in the Bhagvad Geetã:
8.13 “Shree Krishna Bhagvãn has also said:
8.14 “Without performing such yagnas, there is no way to attain kalyãn. The four Veds, the Sãnkhya shãstras, the Yog shãstras, the Dharma-Shãstras, the eighteen Purãns, the Mahãbhãrat, the Rãmãyan, the Nãrad Panch-Rãtra, and all other shãstras, share the principles that kalyãn cannot be attained without performing yagnas.
8.15 “It is also my ãgnã that all paramhans and all satsangis should continue performing a gnãn-yagna. While performing a gnãn-yagna in this way, a person ultimately has the divine darshan of Parbrahm within his own self, which is brahm. This is the reward of the gnãn-yagna. The highest point of the gnãn-yagna ritual is when a person becomes like a niranna-mukta of Shvet-Dvip. As long as a person has not attained this state, he should realise that the gnãn-yagna is incomplete. In fact, he should have a strong desire to become like a niranna-mukta. In the process, he should not lose faith, and he should not consider himself to be unfulfilled. Since he has been graced with the attainment of Bhagvãn, he should consider himself to be absolutely fulfilled, and he should attentively continue performing the gnãn-yagna.”
End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã II || 8 || 141 ||