3.1 In the Samvat year 1877, on the evening of Shrãvan vad 7 [30th August, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting on a decorated bedstead on the veranda outside the rooms of Jeevã Khãchar’s darbãr in Sãrangpur. He was wearing a white khes and had tied a white pãgh around His head. He had also covered Himself with a black-bordered khes. A sabhã of munis, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
3.2 Svayamprakãshãnand Swãmi then asked Shreeji Mahãrãj a question: “Mahãrãj, suppose there is a bhakta who physically performs pujã of pratyaksha Bhagvãn with various types pujã items. Also, suppose there is another bhakta who performs mãnsi pujã of Bhagvãn using various imaginary items. Of the two, which bhakta is better?”
3.3 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “If a person lovingly performs pujã of Bhagvãn, with hair-raising sentiments and an emotion-filled voice, then regardless of whether he performs physical pujã or mãnsi pujã, both are superior. On the other hand, if he performs pujã mechanically – without feeling love or excitement, and without showing emotion in his voice – then regardless of whether he performs physical pujã of Bhagvãn or mãnsi pujã of Bhagvãn, both are inferior.”
3.4 Then, Somlã Khãchar asked, “By what characteristics can a person recognise a bhakta who becomes overwhelmed with love while performing physical pujã or mãnsi pujã of Bhagvãn?”
3.5 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “Such a person has intense shraddhã in performing the pujã of Bhagvãn and serving Him, in listening to kathãs and talks related to Bhagvãn, and in singing kirtans. He also understands the profound greatness of Bhagvãn. With each passing day, both of these two aspects remain renewed, but never diminish. For example, Muktãnand Swãmi’s shraddhã and understanding of Bhagvãn’s greatness are exactly the same today and just as new as they were when I first saw him in Lojpur. They have not diminished in any way whatsoever. In the same way, such a bhakta should be recognised by these two characteristics.
3.6 “All the Yãdavs who stayed with Shree Krishna Bhagvãn, did not have such shraddhã or understanding of Bhagvãn’s greatness. They served Him just like they would serve other kings. Therefore, they did not achieve fame and are not even regarded as bhaktas. On the other hand, Uddhavji served Shree Krishna Bhagvãn with shraddhã and an understanding of His greatness, and therefore he has been described as a great bhakta of Bhagvãn and has been extremely renowned in the shãstras and in the world.”
3.7 Then, Nirvikãrãnand Swãmi asked, “Mahãrãj, what are shravan, manan, nididhyãs, and sãkshãtkãr?”
3.8 Shreeji Mahãrãj explained, “To listen to a talk through the ears, is known as shravan. Then, after hearing the talk, to mentally think over the talk, and to discard parts of the talk which are not needed and to retain the parts of the talk which are useful, is known as manan. Then, after having mentally retained the talk with nishchay, the practice of continuously recalling the talk day and night is known as nididhyãs. Finally, when that talk is recalled exactly as it was, with absolute clarity and sincerity, it is known as sãkshãtkãr.
3.9 “If a person engages in shravan, manan, and nididhyãs about the svarup of the ãtmã, then he will attain sãkshãtkãr of the ãtmã. Furthermore, if a person engages in shravan, manan, and nididhyãs of Bhagvãn, then he will attain sãkshãtkãr of Bhagvãn. Sãkshãtkãr cannot be attained by doing shravan alone, without practicing both manan and nididhyãs.
3.10 “If a person does not practice manan and nididhyãs following the darshan of Bhagvãn’s murti, then even if he performs darshan for thousands of years, he will not attain sãkshãtkãr of that murti. This is because this kind of darshan is like having done only shravan. On the other hand, if a person has had darshan of Bhagvãn’s entire body, and has then done manan and nididhyãs of all the parts of His body, then he will be able to easily recall those parts even today. Conversely, a person who has performed only darshan of Bhagvãn’s body would be unable to recall it, even if he attempted to recall it.
3.11 “Also, there are some bhaktas who say, ‘We sit in meditation and try very hard to recall Mahãrãj’s murti, yet we cannot visualise even a single part. Then, how can we possibly envision the whole murti?’ The reason for this is the same as above – they merely perform darshan of the murti, without doing manan and nididhyãs. So, how can it be visualised? After all, if a person has merely seen even a worldly object with his eyes, or merely listened to it with his ears, and it is not later mentally recalled, it will be forgotten. Then, how can he expect to remember the murti of Bhagvãn, which is divya and not worldly, without doing manan and nididhyãs?
3.12 “Therefore, if a person continuously engages in manan and nididhyãs after performing darshan of Bhagvãn and listening to His talks, then he will attain sãkshãtkãr of them. Otherwise, even if he performs darshan and shravan for the rest of his life, he will still not attain sãkshãtkãr.”
End of Vachanãmrut Sãrangpur || 3 || 81 ||