9.1 In the Samvat year 1883, on Ãso sud 11 [11th October 1826], Swãmi Shree Sahajãnandji Mahãrãj was sitting on the veranda outside the west-facing rooms of Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes, and was wearing garlands around His neck, and gajarã of flowers were tied around His arms. Also, tassels of flowers were hanging from His pãgh. A sabhã of munis, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
9.2 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said to all the bhaktas, “I shall now describe to all of you male and female bhaktas the sthiti and understanding of my senior paramhans as it truly is. After listening to this talk, I request all of you to narrate how you behave and to reveal your sthiti.”
9.3 Saying this, Shreeji Mahãrãj began, “The senior sãdhus in my muni-mandal behave in such a way that the awareness within their hearts is the gateway to the dhãm of Bhagvãn. It is at this gateway where all the sãdhus remain standing. Consider the following analogy: A king’s guards, while standing at the entrance of the king’s palace, do not allow any thieves or robbers to come near the king. They courageously believe, ‘If anyone comes near the king to cause problems, we will cut them to pieces, but in no way will we let them reach the king’. With such courage, they wait, armed with shields and swords. Similarly, all these sãdhus are standing at the gateway of the dhãm of Bhagvãn in the form of awareness.
9.4 “Inside that gateway of awareness (Akshardhãm) dwells Bhagvãn, of whom they do darshan. They do not allow wealth, women, or any other worldly objects to enter that murti of Bhagvãn in their heart. If any worldly object does forcefully attempt to enter the heart, they destroy that object, but in no way do they allow it to enter the location in their heart where they have secured Bhagvãn. In this way, they constantly remain alert like a brave warrior. However, they do not move from their position, regardless of whether they encounter progress or regress, happiness or misery, praises or insults, or countless other types of difficulties.
9.5 “However, someone may doubt, ‘If they do not move from their position, then how do they perform their bodily activities, such as eating and drinking?’ I shall explain this using the following example: Consider a woman who goes to a well to draw water. She places her feet on the edge of the well. On the one hand, she remains cautious of this, for fear that she will fall into the well. However, her vrutti is also fixed upon drawing water from the well. In another example, a man who has mounted a horse is aware of his feet in the horse’s stirrups and is also aware of the reins in his hands. While riding, he is also aware of the trees, ditches, and stones that come along the path. In the same way, all these sãdhus, while keeping antar-drashti, remain in the sevã of Bhagvãn and also perform their bodily activities; but they are not deflected from their sthiti.”
9.6 Shreeji Mahãrãj therefore revealed the sthiti of the senior sãdhus and then said, “All of you should keep antar-drashti and constantly remain in the sevã of Bhagvãn. Moreover, you should not allow objects other than Bhagvãn to become dearer to you than Him. All should be extremely cautious of this.
9.7 “After all, if a king’s guard is careless while guarding the king, thieves and robbers would reach the king, and the guard’s service would be rendered meaningless. Similarly, if a bhakta develops love for the objects other than Bhagvãn, then money, women, and other objects also enter his heart, in which lies the awareness of Bhagvãn. Due to this, his bhakti is rendered meaningless.
9.8 “Therefore, a person who wishes to keep his bhakti free from obstacles and to attain the holy feet of Bhagvãn, should remain constantly vigilant at the gateway of the dhãm of Bhagvãn in the form of awareness, and should not allow any objects except Bhagvãn to enter his heart.”
9.9 In this way, Shreeji Mahãrãj spoke words of wisdom for all of His bhaktas.
End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã III || 9 || 243 ||