* Dharmadev accepts Ramanand Swami as Guru and receives initiation. * Bhagwat Dharma as preached by Ramanand Swami. * Ramanand Swami authorises Dharmadev to initiate devotees.
Dharma initiated and instructed in Vaishnavismby Ramanand, returns home.
Suvrat said:-
One night, while gently rubbing his (Ramanand Swami’s) feet, he saw in his dream, lord Krishna in a halo of brilliance. 1.
Looking at that great wonder as the grace of the sage, he resolved in his mind that he is the only preceptor (Guru – spiritual teacher) for him. O king, surrendering wholeheartedly to him, he got initiated along with his wife into Bhagavata cult. 2-3.
The sage initiated that aspirant of salvation whilst chanting the eight syllables Krishna chant twice, and gave two garlands of Tulsi wood to him. 4.
In the first chant which is said to qualify one as the devotee of Vishnu, has the syllables Shri Krishna tvam’ initially and ‘Gatirmama’ at the end. 5.
The other chant, which is said to bestow desired fruits, has the syllables ‘Brahmaham’ initially, followed by ‘Krishna’ and “Dasosmi” (at the end). 6.
The first one here is common (for all) and known as the chant of devotion, while, the other one is distinguished as the ‘Great chant’. 7.
Bhagwat Dharma as preached by Ramanand Swami.
Then he spoke of good practices of religion to be followed by the seekers of liberation, which makes one glorious here and in the other world. 8.
Now listen as I tell you the rules to be observed by the men and women belonging to our path. 9.
Those who are initiated into Krishna-cult should totally abstain from cruelty acted on living beings in the name of oblations paid to manes and gods. 10.
Even under extreme situations eleven types of wine or three types of intoxicating drinks should not be taken, nor any medicine mixed with it. 11.
O great, Brahmin, meat should never be eaten even as remains of sacrificial offerings. One should never steal anything, even for the sake of religious purpose. 12.
A man should not make union with other’s wife nor should he offer his wife to others in any situation. Likewise, a woman should never unite with an adulterer even in great distress. 13.
Those who are in other than the Asrama (stage) of a householder should not commit any of the eight kinds of union with a woman. This is the restriction to be followed forever. 14.
A man should never touch a widow intentionally nor should she do the same with a man. A married woman should not touch an ascetic. 15.
Killing one self in holy-fords is not to be carried out and, the story of Krishna portrayed in the interest of other paths, should not to be heard. 16.
One should not act in such a way which deprives him of his own caste, due to accepting food (from the prohibited ones) even distributed as Krishna’s Prasada which is regarded very high. 17.
One should not lodge a false charge on others even for the sake of one’s own gain. One should not enjoy company of sinister people or people of bad habits. 18.
One should keep away from the company of these six types of persons namely -
1. Who is austere but furious,
2. A devotee of Krishna but who is lustful,
3. Having religiosity without devotion,
4. An ascetic having greed,
5. The master who does not make his disciple follow the path of religion,
6. Being himself a learned one, who tarnishes Vishnu’s supremacy as the Lord with arguments.
Any relation with these will destroy the right way of thinking. Therefore those who are desirous of salvation should avoid contact with such persons for their own welfare. 19-.21.
One should not condemn gods, sacred places, Vedas, cows, Brahmins, saints and religious ones. 22.
Any doctrine opposing the dignity of Krishna’s personal form should not be learnt or heard at all costs. 23.
One should not present anybody with arms, poison, or snares that catch birds, fishes and others, as these articles are harmful. 24.
A Brahmin being in Asrama (stage of life), should never hold a weapon or any such thing anywhere that will be harmful to another beings. 25.
After morning bath, on a daily basis one should have a vertical mark of sandalwood paste offered to Shri Krishna or Gopicandana on the fore- head. 26.
A round spot should be made within that mark by the same substance used for the mark of Pundra or with saffron that remains after worship of Radha-Krishna. 27.
On a daily basis a married woman should make a mark on her bosom with fragrant sandal paste that remains after worship of Krishna. 28.
Every day she should have a moon like round mark of saffron remains, of Radha-Krishna worship in the middle of her forehead. 29.
A widow should make a small moon like mark on her throat with the mixture of saffron and sandal paste that remains after worship of Radha Krishna. 30.
Having performed daily rites like Sandhyavandana etc., according to one’s own practice, all should worship Radha-Krishna in the prescribed manner. 31.
After daily worship of Radha-Krishna, one should recite five chapters from Shrimad Bhagavata (Purana) pertaining to (divine) sport of Rasa (namely Rasalila). 32.
If unable to recite the whole (of five chapters), one should recite the one that is the last chapter of it; by reciting the same one gets the fruit (of reciting all the chapters). 33.
One should daily repeat His chant, day or night, regularly and with devotion according to capacity. 34.
All those initiated in to this path should remember and repeat the three syllabled chant ‘Shri Krishna’ always. 35.
Two beautiful garland of Tulasi wood, having small beads, should be worn around the neck all the time like sacred thread (yajnopavita). 36.
In the unavailability of Tulasi the Brahmins could wear two strings of sandal wood; Shudras should always wear the necklace made of sandal wood. 37.
Men and women should always wear the garland (mala) rosaries around their neck after keeping it at the feet of Shri Krishna. 38.
Shri Krishna should always be worshipped by the men and women following this code of belief with nine components (types) of devotion. 39.
Ramanand Swami authorises Dharmadev to initiate devotees.
Suvrat said -
Thus after instructing all these practices of non-violence and so on to him and his wife, he told them about the practice of Puraucaran-(repeti- tion of the name of a deity accompanied with burnt offerings). 40.
Preaching to them about the ways of devotion of Shri Krishna knowledge, and also one’s own religion said thus: 41.
You are indeed blessed, O best of the Brahmins, because you strive for liberation. You are full of virtues that are rare among human beings. 42.
You are distinguished as the best of my disciples, O man of good intentions, because gaining a higher rank depends on virtues in our path. 43.
When you reach home, along with your wife, you should repeat the great chant and may teach other dependents the two chants according to their eligibility. 44.
Teach the first chant, O the pure one, properly and according to prescriptions, to the men belonging to three Varnas (castes) and the good ones among the Shudras. 45.
You should deliver the second chant as per the instructions to the best of eligible who are already repeating the first chant. 46.
In adversities one should perform Puracharan according to scriptures because, Krishna is the lord who grants the desired fruits to the person. 47.
To know the nature of individual soul, Maya and of the Supreme God, you should respectfully read the works of Sri Ramanujacharya. 48.
This is because I am of the opinion that others are not having that much dexterity in conclusion over the subjects related to supreme - knowledge, as Sri Ramanujacharya. 49.
After that he narrated the whole secret of the sectarian tradition truly as it is, in depth, to his loving disciples. 50.
After permitting Dharma to return home, Uddhava himself went back to Dwarka. 51.
O king, extremely happy with the meeting of the Guru, he returned to his place along with his wife and son and continued to stay there with devotion to Shri Krishna. 52.
He maintained that he is the servant of Krishna in the form of undifferentiated- self which is extended as consciousness beyond the three bodies such as gross body and others. 53.
He realized that the world is brief and got convinced that Krishna is the controller (master) of the soul, the gods, time and Maya, as well as of Purusa. 54.
He, by the order of his guru, studied the works of Sri Ramanujacharya such as Gitabhashya and others, and also taught them earnestly to others. 55.
By his qualities such as faith in religion and his devotion to Shri Krishna, the people of divine nature recognised him as the incarnation of religion- Dharma. 56.
Then they came under his shelter for their own emancipation bereaving own gurus of evil nature who lacked the characteristics of a preceptor (i.e. an Acharya). 57.
Though having taken shelter in Dharma leaving their previous preceptors, they were not free from these preceptors’ influence as their inclination towards religious hypocrisy (trickery) of previous mentors was still in them. 58.
Thus ends the sixteenth chapter entitled ‘Dharma takes refuge in Ramanand Swami’ in the first Prakarana of Satsangi Jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 16