38.1 In the Samvat year 1876, on the evening of Mahã sud 1 [16th January, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting on a small mattress which had been placed on the veranda outside the stables in Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was wearing a white khes and had tied a white, red-bordered feto around His head. He was also wearing a richly embroidered angarkhu and had covered Himself with a white chofãl. A sabhã of sãdhus, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
38.2 After glancing at all the haribhaktas, Shreeji Mahãrãj thought for some time and then said, “Please listen, as I have something to say.”
38.3 He then continued, “From the time a satsangi enters the satsang, he should examine his mind by thinking ‘In the first year, my mind was like this, then it was like this. Previously, I had this much desire for Bhagvãn and this much desire for the world’. In this way, he should repeatedly reflect on his yearly total of desires and always attempt to gradually, yet constantly eradicate all worldly desires that remain in the mind. However, if he does not assess himself constantly, and allows those desires to accumulate, then they will never be overcome. Consider the analogy of opening an account with a merchant: If a person settles the debts regularly on a monthly basis, then it will not be difficult to repay the debt. But, if he waits until the end of the year to repay the debt, it will be extremely difficult to settle the account. Likewise, a person should assess himself constantly.
38.4 “In reality, the mind is saturated with desires for the world. In the way that sesame seeds are permeated with scent by padding them between alternating layers of flowers, the mind should be saturated with flowers in the form of the constant remembrance of Bhagvãn’s charitra, together with an understanding of His greatness. These charitras and thoughts of Bhagvãn should be entangled within the mind. As one thought subsides, another should be visualised. In this way, the mind should not be left idle.” Saying this, Shreeji Mahãrãj narrated a story of a ghost.”
38.5 He then continued, “Even if a person begins to recall the charitras, talks, and darshan of Bhagvãn of just one day, there would be no end to them. If that is so, then there would certainly be no end to them for someone who has passed ten to fifteen years in satsang.
38.6 “These charitras should be recalled in the following way: ‘In this way, Mahãrãj and the paramhans held sabhã in this village; in this way, pujã was offered to Mahãrãj; in this way, talks were done’. Those charitras of Bhagvãn should be recalled over and over again. Moreover, for a person who does not have much understanding, this is certainly the best method for them. In fact, there is no other method like it.
38.7 “Then, you may say, ‘We wish to take very little food and wish to keep many fasts’. But, I do not emphasise those methods. A person should abide by those methods as best as he can in accordance with his given niyams. But, what I have just described to you is what should truly be done.”
38.8 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “I believe that the mind should be free of worldly desires. No matter how much pravrutti a person may do physically, if his mind is pure, then he cannot be seriously harmed – even though outwardly, in society, a person engaged in pravrutti appears to be dishonourable. On the other hand, if a person’s mind is full of worldly desires and he superficially behaves as if he is practicing nivrutti, then he may appear respectable in society, but his jeev will suffer severely. This is because at the time of death, it is those thoughts that are in a person’s mind that spring forth, just like the child of a deer sprang forth in Bharatji’s mind during his last moments. As a result, he became a deer in his next life, even though he had originally given up a kingdom and Rushabh-Dev Bhagvãn was his father. Therefore, to remain mentally free of worldly desires is my belief. By keeping fasts, the mind does become weak along with the body; but, when the body becomes strong again, the mind also becomes strong. Therefore, mental tyãg is required along with physical tyãg. In fact, a person whose mind holds thoughts of Bhagvãn but not thoughts relating to the world should be considered important in our satsang. Conversely, those who do not do this are inferior.
38.9 “Furthermore, a grahastha should engage in worldly activities physically, but mentally he should also remain free of worldly desires, just like the tyãgi, and should think of Bhagvãn. Also, he should engage in social activities according to the ãgnã of Bhagvãn. Moreover, if mental tyãg is not genuine, then what about Janak Rãjã, whose mind was like that of a great yogi master, despite ruling a kingdom? Therefore, only tyãg which is developed mentally, is appropriate.”
38.10 Shreeji Mahãrãj then explained, “If impure thoughts arise in a person’s mind, he should reveal them. But, as the saying goes, ‘Only a dog will lick a dog’s face’, or ‘When a snake is a guest to another snake, the host-snake will have nothing to offer, so the guest-snake lick’s the host-snake’s face’, or when a married woman goes to a widow, the widow says, ‘Come, lady. May you also become like me’. Similarly, to reveal impure thoughts to someone who also experiences impure thoughts is like the examples mentioned.
38.11 “Then, to whom should a person reveal his impure thoughts? Well, he should reveal them to a person who is so strong-willed, that no impure thoughts relating to the world arise in his mind. However, there may be many who do not experience such thoughts. So, out of those, a person should reveal his impure thoughts to a person who criticises those thoughts after listening to them and who continues to criticise them in all of his activities – while eating, drinking, sitting, standing – until they are eradicated from his mind. Moreover, that person should have the same determination to eradicate others’ impure thoughts as he has to remove his own. A person should reveal his impure thoughts to such a person. But, if the person to whom he reveals his impure thoughts does not give advice in this way and is himself careless, then what can someone gain from him? Therefore, after revealing impure thoughts in this way and eradicating them, a person should continuously hold thoughts only of Bhagvãn and become free from all desires for the pleasures of the world.”
38.12 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “What are the characteristics of keeping a fast on a day of Ekãdashi? Well, the ten indriyas and the mind, the eleventh, should be withdrawn from their respective vishays and attached to Bhagvãn. That is considered as having kept an Ekãdashi fast. In fact, bhaktas of Bhagvãn should engage in this continuously. In comparison, if a person whose mind is not free from worldly desires in this way physically engages in vrat and tap, he does not benefit very much. Therefore, following his own dharma and understanding Bhagvãn’s greatness, a bhakta of Bhagvãn should maintain a constant effort to free his mind of worldly desires.”
38.13 Shreeji Mahãrãj then explained, “A true tyãgi is a person whose mind never thinks about a desire for objects that he has already given up. Just as a person has no desire for faeces once they have been excreted, in the same way, no desire arises for rejected objects. Nãradji narrated to Shukji:
tyaja dharmama-dharma cha
The essence of the shlok is: ‘A person should abandon all objects except the ãtmã; he should behave only as the ãtmã and worship Bhagvãn’. Such a person can be called a perfect tyãgi. Furthermore, grahastha haribhaktas should behave like Janak Rãjã, who said, ‘Although my city of Mithilã is burning, nothing of mine is burning’, as stated in the following shlok:
mithilãyãm pradeep-tãyam na me dahyati kinchana
A grahastha haribhakta with this type of understanding, even though he may possess a house, is a true haribhakta. A person who is not such a tyãgi or grahastha is called a false bhakta, whereas a person who behaves as described above should be known as an ekãntik bhakta.”
38.14 Then, Motã Ãtmãnand Swãmi asked Shreeji Mahãrãj, “What are the characteristics of the jeevãtmã, which is distinct from the body, the indriyas, the antah-karans, and their presiding devs?”
38.15 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “I shall answer that question in brief. The jeev is the speaker that explains the nature of the body and the indriyas, and explains their natures separately to the listener. That speaker is the knower of everything, and is distinct from all the above – that is called the jeev. Also, the listener, which understands the forms of the body and the indriyas as being distinct, which knows them, and which is distinct from them all, is also known as the jeev itself. This is the method of understanding the nature of the jeev.” Shreeji Mahãrãj spoke in this way.
End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã I || 38 || 38 ||