18.1 In the Samvat year 1882, after the sandhyã ãrti on Mahã sud 1 [7th February 1826], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting on a mattress with a cylindrical pillow that had been placed under the dome of the mandir of Shree Lakshmi-Nãrãyan in Vadtãl. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. A sabhã of the paramhans, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered on all four sides around Him.
18.2 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Seeing that you are all senior paramhans, I shall ask you a question: Which facts are essential for a satsangi to understand? If someone were to ask him, or if he were to experience a doubt in his own mind, then without knowing these facts, how would he be able to find the solution?”
18.3 Having asked the question, Mahãrãj Himself continued, “I shall answer the question myself. Firstly, a person should realise that our sampradãy is the Uddhav Sampradãy, and therefore, a person should know its customs.
18.4 “Secondly, a person should know the line of succession of our gurus. He should know that Rãmãnand Swãmi was the avatãr of Uddhav himself; and in a dream, that same Rãmãnand Swãmi was initiated into the Vaishnav sect by Rãmãnuj-Ãchãrya in Shreerang-Kshetra. So, Rãmãnand Swãmi’s guru was Rãmãnuj-Ãchãrya, and I am Rãmãnand Swãmi’s shishya. A person should understand the succession of gurus in this way. In addition, he should understand the tradition of the Dharma-Kul that I have established.
18.5 “Thirdly, a person should know the authoritative shãstras of our sampradãy, the names of which are: Ved, Vyãs Sutra, Shreemad Bhãgvat Purãn, Vishnu-Sahasranãm from the Mahãbhãrat, Bhagvad Geetã, Vidur-Niti, Vãsudev Mahãtmya from the Vishnu-Khand of the Skand Purãn, and Yãgnavalkya Smruti. A person should know these eight shãstras.
18.6 “Fourthly, a person should know all the niyams which are prescribed for all satsangis.
18.7 “Fifthly, a person should understand Shree Krishna Bhagvãn, our ishta-dev, and also the variety of the svarup of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn due to varying locations, followers, and actions.
18.8 “In addition, the pratyaksha and the non-pratyaksha svarups of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn should be understood. He is non-pratyaksha in the sense that Shree Krishna Bhagvãn resides in Akshardhãm in the midst of Golok, which is beyond the darkness of Mãyã. He has two arms and is as luminous as millions and millions of suns, while He has a dark complexion. Rãdhikãji and Lakshmiji are beside Him, and He is served by pãrshads, such as Nand, Sunand, and Shreedãmã. He is the cause of creation, sustenance, and destruction of countless millions of brahmãnds. He reigns as the supreme ruler of everything. This Bhagvãn sometimes assumes a svarup with four arms; sometimes, He assumes a svarup with eight arms; and He may even assume a svarup with a thousand arms. He also assumes all the svarups of the four avatãrs (Vãsudev, Sankarshan, Aniruddha, and Pradyumna); as well as the twenty-four avatãrs. He also takes birth through avatãrs such as Varãh, Nrusinh, Vãman, Kapil-Dev, and Hayagriv, while He actually always possesses two arms. It is this same svarup that has been described in the Upanishads, the Sãnkhya shãstras, the Yog shãstras, and the Panch-Rãtra. This is how Bhagvãn’s svarup is described as being non-pratyaksha.
18.9 “Furthermore, of all the ãchãryas that have lived, Vyãsji is the greatest. Even Shankar-Ãchãrya cannot be said to be like Vyãsji. In fact, nor can Rãmãnuj-Ãchãrya, nor can Mãdhvã-Ãchãrya, nor can Nimbãrk, nor can Vishnu Swãmi, and nor can Vallabh-Ãchãrya. This is because those ãchãryas will only be accepted as respected in the world if they accept the greatness of Vyãsji’s words; but not otherwise. However, Vyãsji does not need to rely upon anyone else to be respected. This is because Vyãsji is the ãchãrya of the Veds and is Himself an avatãr of Bhagvãn. Therefore, we should abide by Vyãsji’s teachings only.
18.10 “That same Vyãsji, for the kalyãn of the jeevs, separated the Veds into four parts, wrote the seventeen Purãns, and the Mahãbhãrat. Still, he felt in his mind, ‘I have not been able to carefully explain the methods for the kalyãn of the jeevs’. As a result, he did not feel satisfied in his mind. So, he wrote the Shreemad Bhãgvat Purãn, which is the essence of all the Veds, the Purãns, the historical shãstras, the Panch-Rãtra, the Yog shãstras, and the Sãnkhya shãstras. In that Shreemad Bhãgvat, He has described Shree Krishna Bhagvãn as greater than all the other avatãrs, and that all the avatãrs originate from that same Shree Krishna Bhagvãn.
18.11 “In the Gun-Vibhãg chapter of the Shreemad Bhãgvat, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn says to Uddhav, ‘I am nirgun, and whoever comes into my contact also becomes nirgun’. That is why all those who came into my contact with Shree Krishna Bhagvãn – with whichever feeling – also became nirgun, regardless of whether it was a feeling of lust, hatred, fear, friendship, or love. Therefore, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn Himself is nirgun. This is how Vyãsji has described Shree Krishna Bhagvãn. Also, Vyãsji has established the following principle: ‘Shree Krishna Bhagvãn Himself is the Bhagvãn who assumes all the avatãrs, and all other avatãrs are also Him’. If Shree Krishna Bhagvãn is described as being merely the embodiment of pure sattva-gun instead of being described as nirgun, then a person has not grasped the context of the Shreemad Bhãgvat and it results in a major misunderstanding. After all, the gopis did not realise Shree Krishna Bhagvãn to be Bhagvãn; their feeling of lust for Shree Krishna Bhagvãn was their method of worship of Him. However, they still became nirgun. Then, how can Shree Krishna Bhagvãn be described as being merely the embodiment of pure sattva-gun? Therefore, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn is definitely nirgun. In addition, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn Himself has said to Arjun:
janma karma cha me divyam-evam yo vetti tattvataha
tyaktvã deham punar-janma naiti mãm-eti sorjuna
He who thoroughly realises my birth and actions to be divya will not take another birth when he leaves his body. Instead, he will attain me.
18.12 “At the time of His birth, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn showed Vãsudev and Devki His svarup with four arms so that they would realise Him to be Bhagvãn. He also showed Brahmã many svarups with four arms; He showed Akrur the svarup of Shesh-Shãyi Nãrãyan; and He showed Himself in the Vishvarup form to Arjun. In this way, it is acceptable to make distinctions in the types of worship of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn due to differences in His svarups. However, this true svarup is different.
18.13 “In Vraj, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn was known as Bãl-Mukund; He was also called Murli-Manohar, and Rãdhã-Krishna; He used to take the cows and calves for grazing; He lifted Mount Govardhan; He played rãs with the gopis; He went to Mathurã and killed Kans; He pleased the Yãdavs; He studied at the home of the brãhman named Sãndipani; He associated with Kubjã; He stayed in Dvãrkã, where He married eight queens, such as Rukmani; He also wedded sixteen thousand women; while staying in Hastinãpur, He protected the Pãndavs from all the calamities which fell upon them; He saved Draupadi from humiliation; and He became Arjun’s charioteer. In this way, there were many leelãs of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn due to differences in locations. However, from this, a person should not make distinctions in the types of worship of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn’s two-armed svarup. A person who does, should be known as a blasphemer of the guru and the guru’s word.
18.14 “In fact, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn has behaved in many different ways. He has eaten the leftovers of the cow-herds and has even played rãs with the gopis. However, the bhaktas of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn should not imitate His behaviour. Instead, they should behave according to the characteristics of a sãdhu and abide by the dharma of their varna and ãshram. They should offer bhakti to Him as prescribed by Shree Krishna Bhagvãn in the eleventh skandh of the Shreemad Bhãgvat, the Bhagvad Geetã, and the Vãsudev Mahãtmya. However, they should behave as Shree Krishna Bhagvãn behaved. A person who does behave as Shree Krishna Bhagvãn behaved is a vimukh, and is not my satsangi.
18.15 “Just as a person should not imitate the behaviour of our ishta-dev Shree Krishna Bhagvãn, similarly, as I am your ãchãrya, your guru, and your adviser, you should not imitate my physical behaviour. Instead, all of you should behave according to my ãgnãs that I have prescribed for those in my sampradãy; but no one should imitate my behaviour.
18.16 “All paramhans and all satsangis should learn these facts which I have told you. After understanding them, all should behave accordingly. Also, when speaking with others, you should tell them to behave similarly.”
18.17 Having said this, Shreeji Mahãrãj left for dinner. Upon hearing this talk, all the sãdhus and satsangis understood that the non-pratyaksha svarup of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn whom Shreeji Mahãrãj spoke of is none other than this Shreeji Mahãrãj, son of Bhakti and Dharma, and that no one is greater than Him. It is only He who is our ishta-dev, and it is only He who is our guru.
End of Vachanãmrut Vadtãl || 18 || 218 ||