14.1 In the Samvat year 1884, on Ashãdh vad 11 [19th July 1827], Swãmi Shree Sahajãnandji Mahãrãj was sitting on the veranda outside the east-facing rooms of Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. Tassels of flowers were hanging from the pãgh upon His head, and garlands of flowers were hanging around His neck. A sabhã of paramhans, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him. Some munis were singing kirtans.
14.2 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Please stop the singing and begin a question-answer discussion.”
14.3 Then, Muktãnand Swãmi asked with folded hands “Mahãrãj, there is nothing more essential than Bhagvãn; yet why does an individual not develop deep love for Him? That is the question.”
14.4 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “He has no wisdom. If he did have wisdom, he would think, ‘I have accepted the vow of brahm-chãrya, yet the desire to enjoy the pleasures of women still has not disappeared from my heart. That is very improper as I have invariably enjoyed the pleasures of women when I have taken birth in the 8.4 million life forms – and those pleasures have always been much greater than those experienced in a human birth’. When this jeev was born as a goat, it must have single-handedly indulged in the pleasures of a thousand female goats. When it took birth as a horse, or a bull, or a buffalo, or a king monkey, or indeed any other animal, it must have encountered countless young, beautiful females of its own species. This was not due to prãrabdha, nor was it due to Bhagvãn’s grace – it was only natural. Moreover, if a person does not worship Bhagvãn, he will obtain countless females in whichever life-form he is born in. This would not be due to the sevã or pujã of some dev, or to the chanting of some mantra; as the opportunity of enjoying women and other pleasures is natural.
14.5 This jeev has become a dev several times, where it has enjoyed the pleasures of Dev-Lok; many times it has become an emperor of the world and enjoyed countless pleasures on this earth. Despites this, the jeev’s craving to enjoy women and other objects has still not diminished. Instead, a person feels that the pleasures of women and other objects are extremely rare and, realising their immense pleasure, develops affection for them. That affection is such that it can in no way be eradicated, however much a person tries. It is because of this sin that the jeev is unable to develop deep love for Bhagvãn.
14.5 “I have personally seen with my own eyes how the jeev has such impure, worldly desires. When I was young, I used to go to a mandir of Shiv in Ayodhyã and sleep there. One day, a Kãyasth came to offer pujã to Shiv and ask for the following vardãn: ‘O Mahãrãj! O Shivji! Never grant me a human birth again. In this human birth, I have taken so many aphrodisiacs, yet I have been unable to fully enjoy the pleasures of women to my satisfaction. Therefore, O Shivji! Please grant me the body of a donkey for many lives to come so that I can fully enjoy the pleasures of females without shame or restrictions’. He asked for this vardãn from Shivji daily. So, because of this sin of harbouring worldly desires, the jeev does not develop love for Bhagvãn in any way.”
14.6 Muktãnand Swãmi then asked further, “Mahãrãj, a person who does not have wisdom does not develop love for Bhagvãn. But, what about someone who believes that Bhagvãn is the ocean of all bliss, and that all objects other than Bhagvãn are certainly full of only misery? Despite knowing this, why does he not develop love for Bhagvãn?”
14.7 Shreeji Mahãrãj explained, “In either a past life or in this present life, that person has been influenced by extremely unpleasant desh, kãl, kriyã, and sang. Due to this, he has performed very intense, sinful karmas that have left impressions on his mind. Therefore, despite being able to discriminate between good and bad, he is unable to avoid the bad and develop deep love for Bhagvãn. Moreover, just as the influence of unpleasant desh, kãl, kriyã, and sang causes the impressions of sinful karmas to influence the mind, similarly, the influence of extremely pleasant desh, kãl, kriyã, and sang causes a person to perform very intense, pure karmas. The influence of these pure karmas will destroy the very intense, sinful karmas. Only then does a person develop deep love for Bhagvãn. That is the answer to the question.”
14.8 Then, Ayodhyãprasãdji asked, “Suppose there is a person who is very intelligent, and whose knowledge of the shãstras is also exceptional. On the other hand, there is a person who is not so intelligent and who has a limited understanding of the shãstras. Nevertheless, the person who is very intelligent falls from satsang, whereas a person who is not intelligent remains firm in satsang. What is the reason for this?”
14.9 Shreeji Mahãrãj answered, “There are two types of people in this world: religious and demonic. Of these, those who are demonic will fall from satsang, despite being exceptionally intelligent; whereas those who are religious will never fall from satsang, even though they may not be intelligent. For example, if a person sows a seed of chilli or the seed of a neem tree or the seed of a shingadiyo vachhnãg plant and he waters them daily with sweet water, the chillies will still turn out to be spicy; the neem tree will still be bitter; and the shingadiyo vachhnãg plant will still be poisonous. This is because that is the nature of the seeds themselves. On the other hand, if a person sows sugarcane, the juice of the sugarcane will still be sweet despite treating it with compost from leaves of a neem tree and watering it with bitter water. In the same way, religious people will always stay on the path of Bhagvãn, and demonic people will always turn away from the path of Bhagvãn.”
14.10 Then, Shuk Muni asked, “How can a person distinguish between a religious person and a demonic person?”
14.11 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “In a religious person, vicious natures such as kãm, krodh, and lobh, are due to the influence of unpleasant circumstances. However, they are destroyed within a short time under the influence of pleasant circumstances. On the other hand, in a demonic person, vicious natures such as kãm, krodh, and lobh, are never destroyed. If someone were to speak some harsh words to a demonic person even once, he would not forget them for as long as he lives. Then, if that demonic person were to become a satsangi, he would initially appear to be better than all the other bhaktas. But, he would be like silt that has gathered in the region of Bhãl – where there was previously sea – has made the soil fertile. As long as the silt remains, sweet water can be obtained by digging below; but, if a person were to dig much deeper, then extremely saline water would emerge. In the same way, even if a demonic person has become a bhakta of Bhagvãn, the moment his wishes are not fulfilled and he is even slightly disturbed, then compared to the sevã of the sãdhus he had previously performed, he would insult them thousands of times more. Even then, his mind would not be happy.”
14.12 Muktãnand Swãmi then asked, “Mahãrãj, you said that a demonic person who becomes a bhakta will remain in satsang as long as his wishes are fulfilled; and if they are not fulfilled, he falls from satsang. But, what if he happens to die before falling from satsang? Will he remain demonic, or will he become religious?”
14.13 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “As long as the demonic person is good when he encounters death, and he offers bhakti to Bhagvãn, he will become religious and will attain Akshardhãm.”
14.14 Then, Nrusinhãnand Swãmi asked, “Of the nine types of bhakti, which is the best?”
14.15 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “Of the nine types of bhakti, whichever type helps a person in developing firm attachment to Bhagvãn is the best type of bhakti for that particular person.”
14.16 Then, Gopãlãnand Swãmi asked, “During childhood or during youth, what type of company should a person seek?”
14.17 Shreeji Mahãrãj answered, “Both should lovingly keep the company of a person who is senior in age, is firm in dharma, gnãn, and vairãgya; and has deep love for Bhagvãn.”
14.18 Then Nãjã Jogiyã asked, “Which is the best of the three: a person whose mind is attached to Bhagvãn out of anger, a person whose mind is attached to Bhagvãn out of fear, or a person whose mind is attached to Bhagvãn out of love?”
14.19 Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “A person whose mind is attached to Bhagvãn out of love is the best.”
14.20 Then, Shivãnand Swãmi asked, “How can a bhakta of Bhagvãn who does not possess wisdom of what is good and bad as described by Shreeji Mahãrãj, and who also lacks vairãgya, develop such wisdom, and also develop vairãgya towards all objects other than Bhagvãn?”
14.21 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “If a person develops firm love for Bhagvãn from the initial stages, then due to that love, wisdom and vairãgya will automatically develop. Now, consider the following: When a person is attached to an object, it is called affection or desire. Then, if someone were to obstruct the gaining of any object for which he has affection, he would become angry on that person. This applies not only to humans; even animals express such anger. For example, due to lust, a buffalo that is attached to a female buffalo will kill another buffalo that approaches the female; this behaviour is widely observed in all types of animals. In the same way, a person with deep love for Bhagvãn immediately becomes angry on any object that acts as an obstruction in that love and he immediately abandons that object. Therefore, a person who has deep love for Bhagvãn automatically develops vairãgya as well as wisdom.”
14.22 Again, Shivãnand Swãmi asked, “Suppose there are two types of people, both of whom are intelligent. Of these, one possesses faith and accepts whatever Bhagvãn says; whereas the other accepts only those words of Bhagvãn that he feels are appropriate. Of the two, who is better?”
14.23 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “Only the person who possesses faith is better. Rãmchandraji has said in the Rãmãyan, ‘I protect a person who has firm faith in me – just as a mother protects her child’. Therefore, only the person with faith is better.”
14.24 Then, Ãtmãnand Swãmi asked, “In a person’s mind, he is determined to behave according to the wishes of Bhagvãn for the rest of his life. However, he still feels, ‘What can a person do for Bhagvãn and His sant to earn their trust?’”
14.25 Shreeji Mahãrãj explained, “Firstly, a person earns the trust of Bhagvãn and His sant when he does not have hatred towards anyone and does not feel disheartened, even if he falls severely ill and is not cared for very well during that illness. Secondly, even if he is harshly insulted by Bhagvãn and His sant without any fault of his own, he still does not have hatred towards anyone. Thirdly, if he were to even slightly disobey his observance of the niyams of this satsang, he would feel extremely apologetic and would immediately perform prãyshchit. Also, even if he were to entertain an evil thought in his mind, he would feel just as apologetic and distressed as someone who had happened to physically disobey the observance of the niyams. A person with these characteristics earns the complete trust of Bhagvãn and His sant, and they feel, ‘This person will never fall back from satsang’.”
14.26 Then, Bhagvadãnand Swãmi asked, “How can others recognise a bhakta who continuously understands the greatness of Bhagvãn and His bhaktas in his mind?”
14.27 Shreeji Mahãrãj answered, “A person who continuously understands the greatness of Bhagvãn and His bhaktas in his mind serves them sincerely and lovingly. He physically bows and touches the feet of all the sãdhus. If a sãdhu were to fall ill, he would massage his head and feet and also take care of his dietary needs. If he were to receive some object that he liked, he would first offer it to the sãdhus before using it for himself. A person, who behaves in this way by thought, word, and deed, should be known to have fully understood the greatness of Bhagvãn and His sant within his heart.”
14.28 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj asked the sãdhus a question: “A person may possess intense dharma, gnãn, vairãgya, and bhakti. However sometimes, there may be some relaxation in his observance of dharma; there may be some attachment despite having vairãgya; there may be some reduction in his bhakti; and attachment to his body may still remain despite having gnãn. What can be the reason for this?”
14.29 Gopãlãnand Swãmi and Brahmãnand Swãmi replied, “If there appears to be a flaw in a person who possesses intense dharma, gnãn, vairãgya, and bhakti – a person who can be thought of as being as powerful as Bhagvãn Himself – it remains purely out of compassion; it is not a flaw. In fact, when such a great person behaves with bãhya-drashti, he transforms many jeevs to the ranks of Jadbharat and Shukji. Therefore, such an extremely great person behaves in a worldly way purely out of compassion for the jeevs.”
14.30 Hearing their reply, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “That is precisely the correct answer to the question.”
End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã III || 14 || 248 ||