18.1 In the Samvat year 1877, on the night of Posh sud 1 [5th January, 1821], Swãmi Shree Sahajãnandji Mahãrãj was sitting on a decorated bedstead in Surã Khãchar’s darbãr in Loyã. He was wearing a white khes and a warm, red dagli. In addition to this, He had covered Himself with a chofãl and a rajãi. He had tied a white feto around His head, and had tied a bokãni with another white feto. A sabhã of paramhans, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
18.2 Then, after the paramhans had finished the sandhyã ãrti and prayers, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Please sing a kirtan.” Then, Muktãnand Swãmi and some other paramhans sang kirtans while playing musical instruments.
18.3 Shreeji Mahãrãj then said, “Please conclude the singing as I wish to talk. If any doubts arise in what I say, please ask.”
18.4 So saying, He began, “To develop nishchay in Bhagvãn is more difficult than anything else. Also, as this topic of nishchay is extremely complex, I am afraid of discussing it. I feel, ‘Upon discussing this topic, what if someone was to misunderstand it? What if, due to this discussion, any characteristic that a person may have firmly developed were to be destroyed or uprooted?’ However, there is no alternative but to reveal this fact. If a person does not interpret it correctly, many problems can arise. But, until a person has not understood this fact, a great deficiency will remain in his understanding. That is why I wish to deliver this talk.
18.5 “When Bhagvãn assumed the svarup of Varãh, His svarup as a boar was very ugly. During the avatãr of Matsya, His svarup was exactly like that of a fish. During the Kurma avatãr, His svarup was exactly like that of other turtles. In the Nrusinh avatãr, His svarup was as frightening as a lion. During the Vãman avatãr, His svarup was like a dwarf, with short hands and legs, a board waist and a plump body. During the Vyãs avatãr, He appeared black, with lots of body hair and a foul body odour.
18.6 “All those who attained Bhagvãn in whichever svarup He had taken, performed dhyãn on that particular svarup. As a result of that meditation, they attained a svarup similar to that svarup of Bhagvãn. Now, did those who attained Varãh, see Bhagvãn exactly like a boar in His dhãm? Did those who attained Matsya, see Bhagvãn exactly like a fish in His dhãm? Did those who attained Kurma, see Bhagvãn exactly like a turtle in His dhãm? Did those who attained Nrusinh see Bhagvãn exactly like a lion in His dhãm? Did those who attained Hayagriv see Bhagvãn exactly as a horse in His dhãm? Did those who worshipped Varãh as if He were their husband become a female boar? Did those who worshipped Him with the love of a friend become a boar? Did those who worshipped Matsya as if He were their husband become a female fish? Did those who worshipped Him with the love of a friend become a fish? Did those who worshipped Kurma as if He were their husband become a female turtle? Did those who worshipped Him with the love of a friend become a turtle? Did those who worshipped Nrusinh as if He were their husband become a lioness? Did those who worshipped Him with the love of a friend become a lion? Did those who worshipped Hayagriv as if He were their husband become a female horse? Did those who worshipped Him with the love of a friend become a horse? If the original svarup of Bhagvãn was exactly like that of the avatãr, then by meditating on them, the bhaktas of each avatãr should attain that same svarup, and all that I have just mentioned should happen. However, this is not the case.
18.7 “Then, you may ask, ‘What is the svarup of that Bhagvãn like?’ Well, the answer is that Bhagvãn is sachidãnand, and possesses a murti full of divine light. In every single pore of His body, there is light equivalent to millions and millions of suns. Moreover, that Bhagvãn is so handsome that He puts even millions of Kãm-Devs to shame. He is the lord of countless millions of brahmãnds, the king of kings, the controller of all, the antaryãmi of all, and extremely blissful. In comparison to His bliss, the pleasure of seeing countless beautiful women fades into insignificance. In fact, before the bliss of the murti of the Bhagvãn, the pleasures of the vishays of this lok and the higher loks fade into insignificance. Such is the svarup of Bhagvãn. That svarup always has two arms, but by His wish, He may appear to have four arms, or sometimes may appear to have eight arms, or He may even be seen as having a thousand arms.
18.8 “Furthermore, it is that very Bhagvãn who assumes the svarup such as Matsya, Kurma, Varãh, and the svarup of Rãm and Krishna, for the purpose of fulfilling some task. However, he does not abandon His original svarup to assume the svarup of these avatãrs. That Bhagvãn Himself assumes the svarups like Matsya and Kurma, possessing countless divine powers and great strength. Then, once the task for which He assumed a body is completed, He abandons that body. For this reason, it is said in the Shreemad Bhãgvat:
18.9 “Also, Bhagvãn assumed the svarup of Nrusinh for the purpose of killing a demon. After completing that task, He decided to abandon that particular body. But, who could kill a lion? So, by Bhagvãn’s own will, Shiv (in the form of Kãl), came assuming the svarup of a sharabh. Nrusinh then fought the sharabh. As a result, both left their physical bodies. That is how Shiv came to be known as Sharbheshvar Mahãdev, and the location where Nrusinhji left his body became Nãrsinhi Shilã.
18.10 “Moreover, wherever paintings of Matsya, Kurma, and other avatãrs of Bhagvãn are portrayed, the lower portions of the paintings depict the svarup as the avatãr, like a fish or a turtle. However, the upper portions of the paintings depict the murti of Bhagvãn with a shankh, a chakra, a gadã, a padma, a vaijayanti garland, silk garments, a crown, and the shrivatsa mark, as well as other symbols. Therefore, the murti of Bhagvãn is eternally like this.
18.11 “Initially, at the time of His birth, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn gave darshan in a four-armed svarup to Vasudev and Devki. He also gave darshan to Akrur in water in a four-armed svarup. When Rukmani fainted, He again gave darshan in a four-armed svarup. Arjun has also said:
tenaiva rupena chatur-bhujen sahasra-bãho bhava vishvamurte
O one whose form is the svarup! O thousand-armed!
Please return to your original four-armed svarup!
“So, Arjun also saw Him as having a four-armed svarup. When Shree Krishna Bhagvãn was seated under a pipal tree after the Yadavs had slaughtered themselves, Uddhavji and Maitreya Rushi saw the svarup of Bhagvãn having four-arms, along with a shankh, a chakra, a gadã, a padma, and silk garments. Moreover, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn was dark in complexion, yet His beauty is described as being capable of putting millions of Kãm-Devs to shame.
18.12 “Therefore, although Bhagvãn appears to be like a human, the previously mentioned luminosity and bliss are all inherent within Him. A person who has the strengths of dhyãn, dhãrnã, and samãdhi, sees that very svarup of having the light of millions and millions of suns; such a person does not need to resort to using a torch or an oil lamp. Moreover, even though Bhagvãn is so luminous, the fact that this divine light cannot be seen is due to Bhagvãn’s wish. If Bhagvãn wished, ‘May the bhaktas see me full of divine light’, then that same svarup would be seen as luminous. So, a person who has the nishchay in Bhagvãn realises, ‘The divya powers, riches, and pãrshads of the dhãms of Golok, Vaikunth, Shvet-Dvip, and Brahmpur, all accompany Bhagvãn. Also, the bhaktas who serve Him include Rãdhikã and Lakshmi’. He sees Bhagvãn in such a glorious way. However, those who are fools see Him as a human. Shree Krishna Bhagvãn has also mentioned in the Geetã:
“Therefore, those who are fools fail to realise such greatness of Bhagvãn; instead, they perceive human traits in Bhagvãn, seeing Him as a human like themselves.
18.13 “What is meant by perceiving human characteristics? Well, it is when all the feelings of the antah-karans, like kãm, krodh, lobh, moh, mad, matsar, ãshã, trushnã; and all the characteristics of the physical body, like bones, skin, faeces, and urine; as well as birth, childhood, youth, old age, and death; and all other human characteristics may appear to have a nishchay in Bhagvãn, but his nishchay is flawed. As a result, he will surely fall from satsang.
18.14 “That Bhagvãn’s svarup is supremely divya – there is not even the slightest trace of human characteristics in Bhagvãn, and a person should instead not perceive human traits in Bhagvãn, and he should instead initially view Him as a dev; then he should view Him as Brahmã; then as Pradhãn-Purush; then as Prakruti-Purush; then as Akshar; and finally as Purushottam. For example, upon seeing the incredible charitras of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn, the cow-herds of Vraj initially viewed Him as a dev. Then, after listening to the words of Garg-Ãchãrya, they viewed Him as Bhagvãn. Then, they said, ‘You are Bhagvãn. So, show us your dhãm’. They were then shown Akshardhãm. A person who believes Bhagvãn to be divya in this way should be known to have to complete nishchay.
18.15 “Sometimes people say, ‘Initially, this person did not have the nishchay in Bhagvãn, but now he does’. Does that mean that he did not see Bhagvãn initially? Well, he certainly did see Him, but he perceived human characteristics in Him. Later, after he develops nishchay, he does darshan believing Bhagvãn to be completely divya; that is known as having developed the nishchay in Bhagvãn. Moreover, if a person does not believe Bhagvãn to be completely divya, then he repeatedly becomes upset and constantly perceives gun and avgun. He thinks, ‘Bhagvãn is favouring that person, but not me’, or ‘He often calls that person, but not me’, or ‘He has more love for that person, and less for me’. In this way, he continues perceiving gun and avgun. As a result, his heart becomes more and more miserable day by day, and ultimately he falls from satsang. Therefore, a person should certainly not perceive human characteristics in Bhagvãn.
18.16 “A person should not perceive avgun even in the bhaktas of Bhagvãn. This is because physically a bhakta may be blind, disabled, deaf, old, unattractive, or he may have leukoderma; but when he dies, does he still remain blind or disabled in the dhãm of Bhagvãn? Certainly not. Those are all features of humans. After leaving these features behind, he assumes a divya svarup and becomes brahm-rup. Therefore, if a person should not perceive avgun in the bhaktas of Bhagvãn, then how can he possibly perceive them in Bhagvãn?
18.17 “Regardless of whether you understand this fact today or you understand it after a hundred years, it must be understood. In actual fact, there is no alternative but to understand it and remember it firmly. Therefore, all bhaktas should remember this principle of mine and discuss it amongst each other. Furthermore, whenever someone suffers a setback due to some misunderstanding, he should be alerted by mentioning this. A person should discuss this principle of mine regularly, at least once a day – this is my ãgnã. So, please do not forget it; please, please, do not forget it!”
18.18 Saying this, Shreeji Mahãrãj bid “Jay Swãminarayan” to all the bhaktas and returned to His residence smiling. After listening to Shreeji Mahãrãj’s talk, all the sãdhus and bhaktas realised Shreeji Mahãrãj is the cause of all avatãrs, the ‘avatãri’, and greatly strengthened their nishchay in Him as being completely divya.
End of Vachanãmrut Loyã || 18 || 126 ||