* Veneration by Shatanand Muni of Lord Narayan. * First meeting of Shatanand Muni with Shree Hari.
Praise to Lord Badri Narayan by Shatanand
Shatanand said:-
You are Shri Vaasudev, the sage-God; you are treasure-trove of compassion,forever engaged in intense austerities, for the welfare of people seeking liberation. I praise you, such a great sage Narayan, the lord of the sacred place of Badri. 1.
Your feet are worshipped by the group of sages like Narad and others. You are expounding the essence of the Vedas sitting under the large Badri tree (Vishal), thickly covered with leaves and having no nests. I praise you such a great sage Narayan, the lord of the sacred place of Badri. 2.
You have at once conquered Kama (-cupid), who was accompanied by the damsels of heaven, the fragrant winds of spring season, and the host of singers who tempted the king of Gods. I praise you such a great sage Narayan, the lord of the sacred place of Badri. 3.
The anger which conquered the austere people could not ever touch your heart and the other inner enemies like greed, infatuation dare not enter. I praise you such a great sage Narayan, the lord of the sacred place of Badri. 4.
You are the prime-conceiver of the creation. You have engaged yourself in your own religious duties regarding Gods and ancestors, performing regularly at proper times to instruct the confirmed celibates. I praise you O great sage, Narayan, the lord of the sacred place of Badri. 5.
You are the great celibate, from whom emerges the host of all the Holy Scriptures with purpose of bestowing the highest happiness in this world. Such work is impossible even for the bands of divinities. I praise you O great sage Narayan, the lord of the sacred place Badri. 6.
All those here who take to renunciation due to the force of dispassion (Vairagya) afraid of the worldly affairs, are happy in your shelter. I praise you, the great sage Narayan, the lord of the sacred place Badri. 7.
Even a penniless person does not want all the pleasures of this world after having tasted even once the honey like devotion of your lotus feet which is an ocean of bliss. I praise you, the great sage Narayan, the lord of the sacred place Badri. 8.
My cherished dream has come true after a long time and become fruitful today by your kind gesture. Be gracious to me as I am a devotee of your lotus feet which are drenched by the flow of compassion. 9.
Shatanand meets Shri Hari and stays with Him
Suvrat said:-
Narayan the wish-yielding tree for the surrendered ones said to the praising devotee ‘O celibate, I am pleased with you; ask for the desired boon from me for the fulfilment of all your wishes.’ 10.
Having thus told by the Lord, that celibate saluting Him again with joy, and with eagerness to serve Him said: 11.
If you are pleased, O Lord, then bestow a boon upon me. Keep me with you always and let me be in your service. 12.
I wish to sing here your glories following with you, by which my words will be fruitful and I will have purity of inner self. 13.
I do not want anything such as powers, wealth etc., from you O Lord; I am certainly fed up with the false pleasures of world. 14.
When he said thus, the Lord replied to the highly brilliant one: ‘O Brahmin, you have done the right thing in the urge for liberation.’ 15.
But I am born here in this world presently to Bhakti and Dharma in the region of north Kausala, and known by name Shri Hari. 16.
Right now I stay in Durgapur in western Panchal. In that form I shall certainly keep you along with me there. 17.
You have passionate desire in your heart to sing my glories. You will be therefore, the composer of the book on my life and deeds in that form. 18.
In that form, I shall fulfil your wish. Therefore you should go and find Him (me in that form).Having said thus the Lord disappeared. 19.
Then he was over joyous, having been fulfilled of his wishes by the Lord’s kind gesture he started for Panchalas after performing rites in the morning. 20.
The Brahmin, filled with joy having Narayan’s Darshan, reached the famous city of Shrinagara (Ahmedabad of today) in Gurjaradesha (Gujarat) after two months. 21.
There he heard that Shri Hari Sahajanand the best of the ascetic has come to the city of Darbhavati (Dabhan) from Panchala and is performing sacrifices. 22.
He heard Brahmins speaking - ‘we shall pay visit to that incarnation of Narayan; have delicious food and earn money.’ 23.
After two days he reached that city going along with the groups of Brahmins who were going to see the celebration of great sacrifice. 24.
He saw the Lord in that city, full of people coming from different places, eager to see Him with gifts in their hands. 25.
He was seated on a high throne; having dark complexion, like shiny moon, delighting the hearts and eyes of devotees. He was wearing garments of a celibate. 26.
He was being worshiped by the stream of devotees with flowers, ornaments of gold and jewels, various kinds of clothes and fragrant sandalwood. 27.
Holding a staff in his hand he accepted thousands of garlands of flowers that were being offered by the groups of people coming from different places. 28.
With smiling face and affection, he was distributing among Brahmins, the coins of gold and silver, ornaments and garments. 29.
At the sight of Him he prostrated on the ground and saluted Him with folded hands, he said: ‘Glory to you, O Narayan, Shri Hari’. 30.
Devotee - loving Shri Hari was pleased and honoured him with wel-coming words, making His own boon fruitful. 31.
The lord, affording protection to all those surrendered unto Him and the ocean of mercy as He is, gave initiation to the Brahmin and made it so that he can stay in his company. 32.
Gaining the fruit of his dreams, he happily stayed with the Lord serving him regularly with eagerness to narrate His glory. 33.
Bestower of divine knowledge to Shatanand
Pure in mind he achieved Samadhi through the grace of Shri Hari in a short period, without practicing the eight-fold path of Yoga. 34.
In meditation, he saw in his heart, the lord of sacred Badri as seen earlier and the Lord disappeared the next moment like a thunderbolt in the sky. 35.
Again he saw Krishna residing in Akshardham which was in the form of light, possessing all the glories and magnificence, with His followers and entourage. 36.
With the grace of Shri Hari he got a vision of the whole of heavenly Goloka, Vaikuntha, Shvetadvip, etc., with their magnificence. 37.
Shatanand also got divine knowledge where he got to know how Shri Hari was incarnated, his parents Dharma and Bhakti and sages with their earlier forms and the present one. 38.
Shri Hari made him known to his devotees, both men and women, on the earth in their previous and present forms. 39.
The Lord gave him knowledge of their lives and deeds and of all the glory of his own and the knowledge of past, present and future. 40.
Then the brilliant Shatanand also became familiar with his previous births. He knew all as it was and how he himself was once Rishi Maitreya. 41.
Shatanand composes Satsangi Jivan at Durgapur
Then that ascetic was happy and asked Shri Hari to make fruitful his own knowledge and arts by narrating His glories. 42.
Shatanand said :-
O Lord, give me permission to make my knowledge fruitful by com- posing your glories in various texts as I am very eager to do it. 43.
Thus sincerely asked, Shri Hari said to him: ‘O, Brahmin, this dream of yours will be fruitful. 44.
Come along with me to the sacred place of Durgapattana. There I shall construct a temple of Radha-Krishna. 45.
Staying there in the holy place compose the discourse regarding me, with steady mind and according to your own experiences.’ 46.
Delighted, having been permitted thus, he did accordingly. Coming to Durgapur he stayed with the Lord for a very long time. 47.
There in the temple of Gopinatha he composed this religious text called ‘Satsangi Jivan’ in which are narrated the life and deeds of Shri Hari. 48.
Having scrutinised the text he instructed that to several learned Brah-min devotees like me, and then Shri Hari disappeared. 49.
O King, the life and acts of my Guru, Shatanand had been narrated. Now I shall explain the sacred discourse called ‘Satsangi Jivan’ com-posed by him. 50.
Listen to this with respect, a wonderful text full of religious instructions, along with the life and deeds of Shri Hari, satisfying the minds of connoisseurs in this world and removing blemishes of Kali such as the influence of the inner enemies. 51.
Thus ends the third chapter entitled ‘Fulfilment of Shatanand’s desire to write Satsangi Jivan’ in the first Prakarana of Satsangi Jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 3