11.1 In the Samvat year 1882, on Posh sud Punam [23rd January 1826], Swãmi Shree Sahajãnandji Mahãrãj was sitting on a mattress with a cylindrical pillow that had been placed on a wooden bedstead under the neem tree outside the mandir of Shree Lakshmi-Nãrãyan in Vadtãl. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. He was also wearing garlands of white flowers around His neck. In addition to this, bunches of flowers were placed above His ears, and tassels of flowers were also hanging from His pãgh. A sabhã of all the munis, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
11.2 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “My nature is such that I feel extremely afraid of harming any of the following: Bhagvãn, a bhakta of Bhagvãn, a brãhman, and a person who is humble. Other than these four, I am afraid of no one. This is because even if a person were to harm anyone else, his body would be destroyed; the jeev would not be destroyed. However, if a person harms one of these four, then his jeev is also destroyed.”
11.3 Hearing his, Muktãnand Swãmi questioned, “Mahãrãj, the jeev is said to be indestructible. Then, what should one understand by its ‘destruction’?”
11.4 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “A jeev that attains a jad svarup, such as the body of a mountain, will never attain kalyãn. This should be understood as the ‘destruction’ of that jeev. Therefore, anyone who seeks kalyãn should never harm Bhagvãn, a bhakta of Bhagvãn, a brãhman, and a person who is humble.
11.5 “Also, a person should never keep mãn of any sort before Bhagvãn or His bhakta. This is because mãn is the cause of krodh, matsar, irshyã, and slander. In fact, even the bhakti of a person with mãn is said to be demonic. Moreover, if a person oppresses a bhakta of Bhagvãn, then even if he himself is a bhakta, he should be known to be a demon. My nature is such that I hate even the sight of a person who harms a brãhman, a humble person, or a bhakta of Bhagvãn. Such a person will never attain my company, either in this lok or in other loks.”
11.6 Having spoken in this way, Shreeji Mahãrãj asked for two kirtans to be sung. The first was ‘Mãrã Harjishu Het Na Dise Re, Tene Gher Shid Jaiye...’ – why should a person even visit the home of a person who has no love for my lord? The second was ‘Mãrã Vahãljishu Vãlap Dise Re, Teno Sang Kem Tajiye...’ – why should a person abandon the company of a person who has love for my lord? Shreeji Mahãrãj then gave an ãgnã that all satsangis should learn these two kirtans, and added, “A person should constantly sing these two kirtans and remember their message.”
11.7 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj got up and sat on a platform in front of the mandir of Shree Lakshmi-Nãrãyan.
11.8 Gopãlãnand Swãmi then asked, “Why is it that despite reading the six-shãstras, the Purãns, and other shãstras, the pandits of the world still do not understand the greatness of Bhagvãn and His sant as it really is?”
11.9 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “Though such a person reads the shãstras the Purãns, he does not have the refuge of Bhagvãn. Therefore, his jeev has been overpowered by inner enemies, such as kãm, krodh, lobh, irshyã, and matsar. These inner enemies never allow him to even raise his head. As a result, the pandits perceive Bhagvãn and His sant to be just like themselves. They think, ‘Just as the inner enemies of within us are never eradicated, similarly, the same enemies are probably not eradicated from them either’. In this way, they perceive faults in Bhagvãn and His sant. So, even though they read the shãstras and Purãns, they fail to realise the greatness of Bhagvãn and His sant as it really is.”
11.10 Next, Shreeji Mahãrãj posed a question to Dinã-Nãth Bhatt and all the munis: “The sat-purush, who is brahm-svarup, behaves above the three bodies and the three mental states. Also, he does not believe any of the actions of the fourteen indriyas to affect him. However, an ignorant person cannot realise this. Only when he attains a sthiti similar to that of the sat-purush does he behave like the sat-purush, and only then does he understand the great sant’s behaviour. So, as long as a person has not realised the greatness of the sat-purush, he does not attain the sthiti of being brahm-svarup. However, without ãtmã-nishthã, a person cannot realise the greatness of the sat-purush. Therefore, there seems to be a paradox. Now, please example how this paradox can be resolved?”
11.11 Everyone attempted to answer to the best of their ability, but no one was able to give a solution to the question.
11.12 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Here, allow me to answer. The answer is that when a person develops intense love for a sant who has realised the avatãr of Bhagvãn on this earth, he then never perceives any kind of avgun in the sat-purush. For example, when someone has strong love for someone, he will never see that person’s avgun, and he will always believe the person’s words. This is natural on the worldly path and it is also natural on the path of kalyãn. Therefore, intense love for the sat-purush is the only means to realising a person’s ãtmã; it is the only means to realising the greatness of the sat-purush; and it is also the only means to having the direct darshan of Bhagvãn.”
End of Vachanãmrut Vadtãl || 11 || 211 ||