14.1 In the Samvat year 1877, on Mãgshar vad 11 [31st December, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting on a decorated bedstead in Surã Khãchar’s darbãr in Loyã. He was wearing a white khes, and had tied a white feto around His head. He had covered Himself with a white chãdar. A sabhã of paramhans, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
14.2 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said to the paramhans, “All the ãchãryas of the past have had differing beliefs. Of them, Shankar Swãmi seems to have leaned predominately towards the Advait principle. Rãmanuj’s principle is that jeevs, Mãyã, and Purushottam are eternal; Purushottam is the controller of the jeevs and Mãyã; He is the ultimate cause of all; He forever dwells in His Akshardhãm in a divya svarup; all avatãrs originate from Him; and it is this Purushottam Nãrãyan that should be worshiped. This seems to be the understanding of Rãmanuj. Vallabh-Ãchãrya seems to have intense faith only in bhakti. All these ãchãryas have occasionally referred to other principles in their own shãstras, but ultimately, in one way or another, they have leaned towards their own personal preference. Their views can be accurately understood from the statements in their shãstras.
14.3 “In the same way, having listened to my talks, what have all of you realised my personal preference to be? Just as a thread passes through the eye of a needle, or a thread runs through each and every bead of a mãlã, which principle is consistently interwoven in all of my talks? Please state your beliefs.”
14.4 All the senior paramhans spoke according to their understanding.
14.5 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Here, allow me to reveal my own principles and preferences.
14.6 “First of all, I like the fact that although Rushabh-Dev Bhagvãn had attained oneness with Vãsudev, and despite being Bhagvãn Himself, when siddhi appeared before Him, He did not accept them because He wished to set an example for all tyãgis. Also, the Shreemad Bhãgvat states: ‘Even an accomplished yogi should never trust his mind – even though he may appear to have conquered it’.
14.7 “There are also these shloks:
“In this way, I like a tyãgi who does not trust his mind.
14.8 “Also, in my mind I do not like other loks as much as I like Shvet-Dvip and Badrikãshram. In fact, I feel that it would be very good to go there to perform tap without any food. I would prefer not to indulge in the various types of pleasures of the other loks.
14.9 “Furthermore, I realise that the many avatãrs are all ultimately of Bhagvãn; yet, among these avatãrs, I like Rushabh-Dev greatly. I also like Kapil-Dev and Dattãtrey equally, but to a lesser extent than Rushabh-Dev. But, more than these three, I have a million-fold more love for the avatãr of Shree Krishna. I feel, ‘This avatãr is greater and more powerful than all the others. Also, in him, a person cannot make the distinction of the avatãr and the source of the avatãr’. On the other hand, I do not have a great liking for the other avatãrs of Bhagvãn, such as Matsya and Kurma.
14.10 “In addition to this, my understanding is as follows: There is a great mass of divine light, which cannot be measured from above, below, or in any of the four directions; it is endless. Amidst this mass of light lies a large sinhãsan, upon which presides the divya murti of Shree Nãrãyan Purushottam Bhagvãn. Countless millions of muktas are seated around that sinhãsan, enjoying the darshan of Bhagvãn. I constantly see Him accompanied by the muktas. Moreover, that Bhagvãn is extremely luminous. At times, when I cannot see Bhagvãn with the sabhã of muktas due to this luminosity, I feel deeply hurt. Despite being able to constantly see this mass of divine light, I am not fascinated by it; I experience profound bliss only from the darshan of Bhagvãn’s murti. This is my upãsanã.
14.11 “Moreover, I like the bhakti that the gopis had towards Bhagvãn. For this reason, I continuously observe people, and having seen the love a lustful woman has for a man, or a lustful man has for a woman, I feel, ‘It would be good to have such love for Bhagvãn’. Also, whenever I see someone having great love for their son, or their money, I again feel, ‘It would be good to have such love for Bhagvãn’. That is why whenever I hear someone singing, I would either send someone to that person, or I would personally go there, and I would feel, ‘What he is doing, is very good’.
14.12 “Also, I only get along with a person who has no svabhãvs, such as kãm, krodh, lobh, mãn, irshyã, kapat, svãd, sneh, dambh; a person who follows dharma as prescribed in the Dharma-Shãstras; and a person who has bhakti towards Bhagvãn. I enjoy the company of only such a person. If a person is not like that, then I do not get along with him, even if he is staying close to me. In fact, I feel a dislike towards them.
14.13 “Initially, I had a strong dislike for anyone with kãm. However, now I have a strong dislike for those who have krodh, mãn, or irshyã. The reason is that a person with kãm passes his days in satsang by being humble – like a grahastha bhakta; but as for those who have krodh, mãn, or irshyã, they can be seen to definitely regress in satsang. For this reason, I am deeply saddened by these types of people.
14.14 “What is mãn like? Well, a person with mãn remains arrogant even before those who are superior to him; he cannot become humble and serve them.
14.15 “Now, allow me to summarise my preferences in brief. I do not agree with Shankar Swãmi’s belief of Advait principle. Rãmãnuj Swãmi describes Purushottam Bhagvãn as greater than the perishable and the imperishable; I worship that Purushottam Bhagvãn. My bhakti towards that Purushottam Bhagvãn is like that of the gopis, and the qualities of vairãgya and ãtmã-nishthã within me are like Shukji’s and Jadbharat’s. These are my principles and preferences. Intelligent bhaktas can realise this if they analyse my talks as well as the shãstras of our sampradãy which have been accepted by me as trustworthy.”
14.16 Therefore, Shreeji Mahãrãj spoke for the sake of His bhaktas, while He Himself is Purushottam Nãrãyan.
End of Vachanãmrut Loyã || 14 || 122 ||