Description of the religious conclave in the precincts of the Lakshmi-Narayan temple.
Description of the religious conclave in the precincts of the Lakshmi-Narayan temple.
Suvrat said:-
Then in the afternoon there was a big religious conclave in the precincts of the Lakshmi-Narayan temple similar to the conclave ‘Svadharma’ in the abode of the gods. 1.
In it all, the devotees and the women took their seats as per their status and the Lord was seated on a great throne. 2.
The Elder brother Ramapratap, his son Ayodhyaprasadji and younger brother Ichcharam, and the latter son Raguvirji arrived there and took their seats in front of him. 3.
A religious student by name Mukundanand, another by name Jayanand and other celibates with Vasudevanand as their chief (sat in the assembly). 4.
Muktanand and Brahmanand, the best among the holy men, and Gopalanand with Nityanand (also took their seats). 5.
Holy men and Brahmins, Shivaram, Mayaram, Dinanath and other scholars (sat there). 6.
Great kings Vastakhachar, Surakhachar, Uttamraja, Punjaji, Kakabhai, and kings Somalakhachar, Hemant Sinh and other great kshatriyas took their seats in that assembly. 7.
Bhruguji, Ratnaji, Veraji, Alaiyakhachar and other great warriors as well as chief Vishya devotees like Govind, Ranachod, Nathaji and Kashidas (sat there). 8.
The women Jaya, Rama, Lalita, Punjika, Amari, Ganga Reva, Mogha and also formed a part of the assembly 9.
When all of them had taken their seats, the Lord Shri Hariaddressed his two brothers with the desire to perpetuate the responsibility of continuing holy serve in the clan of Dharma. 10.
Bhagawan Shri Hariestablishes Ayodhyaprasadji and Raghuvirji as Acharya.
The Lord expresses his desire to retire.
O brothers, please listen to my words, which are for the wellbeing of the people; this is lodged firmly in (my) mind; what I say is indeed true. 11.
The authority that I have here as the preceptor of the people was conferred on me almost by force by the venerable swami (my guru). 12.
I bore the responsibility (of propagating) dharma very consciously because one has to obey the order of (his) guru. Lending strength to devotion and righteousness, I have up to this time (discharged my duty). 13.
Now, as a result of listening to the fifth part (of the Bhagavata) again and again, I am keen on renunciation; as it formerly happened in the case of Jadabharat (so do I desire). 14.
After renouncing the activities related to Pravrtti dharma, and reading and listening to the tenth part of the Bhagavata daily, I desire to practice devotion to Krishna and nothing else. 15.
Therefore, it is my desire to install that responsibility on the next generation. With that end in view, I solicit you to spare two sons of yours desired by me (for this cause). 16.
Suvrat said:-
On hearing these words Hari’s elder brother spoke first. “I have three sons; you may take any one whom you consider eligible. 17.
Then the younger one said, “I have five sons; from among them you may take any today that you wish to take. 18.
On hearing these words of them, Shri Hariwas delighted and said, “O elder brother, please give me this son of yours named Ayodhyaprasad. 19.
And you, Ichcharam, give me your son by name Raghuvir. When addressed thus by him, they made their sons stand up to offer them to the Lord. 20.
Thereafter Shri Hariperformed the adoption ceremony through the Vedic scholars as per the injunctions of the scriptures. In the midst of auspicious tunes of musical instrument and songs, he accepted those (boys) loved by all. 21.
Then he made them occupy his own seat and caused them to be felicitated by all his followed and devotees with costly garments and ornaments. After that, with great pleasure, he worshipped them. 22.
Then the Lord said, “Hearken to my words, ‘O sons; our desired god of worship is Shri Krishna Himself.” 23.
I have caused many temples of Him to be built on the earth; their management and upkeep have also been arranged for, ‘O sons. 24.
Among them, two are of prime importance. One is here in Shrinagar (Ahmedabad); it is that of Nar-Narayan; the other is of Lakshmi-Narayan (in Kolkata). 25.
By making these the central (points), I have divided this continent called Bharat into two parts and each is known by its special name. 26.
It is the southern part that is called (the part) of Lakshmi- Narayan; whatever people donate in charity in the form of money, food-grains, clothes etc. belongs to the southern part of Laksmi- Narayan. 27.
In the same way I have arranged that whatever people give in charity in the northern part belongs to Nar-Narayan. 28
Desh-Vibhag Lekh.
I confer upon you the preceptor ship of each of these parts separately. You are the Guru of my followers and you have to safeguard their Dharma. 29.
After having said this, he directed the holy man Shukanand to write down two documents elaborating in detail the arrangement made by him. 30.
Taking those two documents in his own hands, the great one said, “Of these two, take one document each, both of you. 31.
Then the two separately accepted one document each and with equanimity, they saw (on it) the name of Krishna. 32.
Raghuvir had taken the document pertaining to LaksmiNarayan while that pertaining to Nar-Narayan was in the hands of Ayodhyaprasad. 33.
On seeing that, Shri Harisaid to all those followers of his, “From today onwards I have made these two your Gurus. 34.
Please understand this – those followers of mine who reside in the region of Nar-Narayan will indeed be the disciplines of Ayodhyaprasad. 35.
All those who reside in the region of Laksmi-Narayan will be the disciplines of Raghuvir; let my followers understand this well. 36.
And I have laid down this rule that the wives of these two will be the Gurus of the women living in these two regions. This, I think, is in fitness of things. 37.
You should revere and serve these two descendents of Dharmadev as you would do to Dharmadev himself. You should do this as per your capacity by (offering) food, clothes, ornaments and money etc. (to them). 38.
Lord Krishna will lead those to his own abode after their death who resort to these two Gurus and their successors. 39.
After saying this much to them, the Lord again addressed his (adopted) sons thus - “You should make disciples from the residents of your own region and never form the other region. 40
Only the food, clothing etc. given by them should be accepted; that given by the others should not be accepted. The Sadhus, Brahmacarins and itinerant holy men shall be as reverential as you both. 41.
They shall render service unto you both impartially; those who are partial shall fall from Dharma and go down to an inferior existence. 42
For settling the disputes concerning the wealth donated by the followers, you shall appoint two house-holders well-versed in Dharma (law) for each party; you shall never involve (these) [that is, above mentioned holy men] for this purpose. 43.
For settling the disputes regarding the wealth received by your wives from their female disciples, you shall appoint two married women for each party; you shall never appoint widows for this purpose. 44.
Success is assured when house-holders (and not ascetics and widows) are responsible for settling practical matters. Work is spoiled otherwise. 45.
And you should carry on and shall encourage your disciples to carry on your work as per the injunctions of the eight basic texts as explained by me and in consonance of our sect. 46.
And all this that I have bestowed on you two is earned by me through my own efforts. It is not the property of my father nor the property of my two brothers. 47.
And know me to be similar to the ascetic sage Badaripati who has come here out of his own will from his abode and who will indeed return to it. 48.
I have bequeathed all my own wealth to him out of my full right to do so. It is my unchallengeable wish; in it no other person has any share whatsoever. 49.
In case many sons are born to you, only one virtuous son should be installed on the seat of Guru and it is not necessary that he should be the eldest. 50.
Characteristics worthy for Acharya.
He who has people’s affection, who is capable of safeguarding the righteousness (Gharma) of his disciples, who is steadfast in the religious practice of his sect, shall be Guru. 51.
If one’s own son is not gifted with these qualities, then someone born in the family of Dharma should be adopted as per the rites (of adoption) and be installed as Guru, as I have done. 52.
This order of mine shall be obeyed completely by all my disciples. Whosoever acts contrary to this stands expelled from my disciples. 53.
Suvrat said:-
On hearing these words, all bowed to him and with gladness and accepted his directive. Those two, selected to be gurus, offered obeisance to the Lord and said to him 54.
You indeed are God himself; your greatness has been manifest; by your own will you are like a human being; you are fit to be worshipped by people as Narayan Rusi; we are firm in our mind on this. May there never be loss of righteousness in the world while we two stand bound by your directives. Let there never be ego in us; may there be ample affection in us for your (disciples) and faith in you. 55.
On hearing these words of them, he greeted them with good blessings. He passed that night staying awake (for long), with his devotees praising the virtues of God. 56.
On the twelfth day, he observed the breaking of fast (Parana) by satisfying hordes of Brahmins and holy men with a variety of food-items; he also fed all others who had come to dine. With his brothers and other relatives, he honored all of them. 57.
In the next two days, he procured all the necessary materials and on the full moon day and celebrated the great festival of the goddess Bhakti. On hearing this report even great kings were surprised and praised him with reverence. 58.
Thus ends the fortieth chapter entitled ‘Description of religious conclave in the precints of the Laksmi Narayan temple’ in the fourth Prakaran of Satsangijivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 40
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