58.1 In the Samvat year 1876, at the time of the sandhyã ãrti on Fãgan sud 5 [18th February, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting in the residential hall of the paramhans in Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. A sabhã of munis, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
58.2 Shreeji Mahãrãj then said, “Please ask a question.”
58.3 Then, Muktãnand Swãmi asked, “Mahãrãj, when a bhakta of Bhagvãn engages in bhajan and smaran of Bhagvãn, he is disturbed by the forces of rajo-gun and tamo-gun in his heart. As a result, he is unable to experience the bliss of bhajan and smaran. So, how can a person overcome the force of rajo-gun and tamo-gun?”
58.4 Shreeji Mahãrãj explained, “The influence of the gun is due to three factors – the body, kusang, and past sanskãrs. Of these, the gun that arise due to the body are overcome by reflecting upon the ãtmã and the non-ãtmã. Gun that have arisen due to kusang are eradicated by keeping the company of a sãdhu. Should these two methods fail to eradicate the force of rajo-gun and tamo-gun, then the problem lies in the influence of some unpleasant sanskãrs of the past; they are very difficult to eradicate.”
58.5 Ãnandãnand Swãmi then asked, “How can such unpleasant sanskãrs of the past be eradicated?”
58.6 Shreeji Mahãrãj answered, “If an extremely great sant becomes pleased upon a person, then regardless of how unpleasant the person’s sanskãrs may be, they are all destroyed. Moreover, if a great sant is pleased, a beggar can become a king. No matter how unpleasant a person’s prãrabdha may be, it becomes pleasant. Also, he avoids any terrible hardships that lie ahead.”
58.7 Ãnandãnand Swãmi asked further, “How can a person please such a great sant?”
58.8 Shreeji Mahãrãj explained, “First of all, he must be honest with a great sant. He must also abandon kãm, krodh, lobh, moh, mad, matsar, ãshã, trushnã, ahankãr, and irshyã. Moreover, he should behave as a dãs of a sant, and maintain a constant effort to eradicate pride from his heart. While doing so internally, he should physically continue to bow to everyone as well. As a result, the great sant will become pleased with him.”
58.9 Mahãnubhavãnand Swãmi then asked, “Mahãrãj, while staying in satsang, how can a person eradicate all of his faults? Also, how can a person’s bhakti towards Bhagvãn continue to flourish day by day?”
58.10 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “The more a person continues to perceive the gun of the great sant, the more his bhakti begins to flourish. If he realises the truly great sant to be completely nishkãmi, then even if he has as much kãm as a dog, he will also become nishkãmi. Conversely, if he perceives the avgun of kãm in the great sant, then no matter how nishkãm he may be, he becomes full of intense kãm. In the same way, if a person views the great sant to be full of krodh or lobh, then he will also become full of krodh and lobh. Therefore, if a person understands the great sant to be absolutely free of kãm, lobh, svãd, mãn, and sneh, he will also become free of all of those evil natures and become a faithful bhakta.
58.11 “What are the characteristics of such a faithful bhakta? Well, just as he has a natural dislike for objects that cause misery, similarly he has a natural dislike for the attractive five vishays (shabda, sparsh, rup, ras, and gandh). Moreover, he has firm nishchay in Bhagvãn alone. Such a person should be known as a faithful haribhakta.
58.12 “The only way of becoming such a faithful bhakta, is by behaving as a dãs of the dãs of Bhagvãn, and by realising, ‘All these bhaktas are great, and I am inferior compared to them all’. Realising this, he behaves as a dãs of the bhaktas of Bhagvãn. All the evil natures of a person who behaves in this way are destroyed; and day by day, glorious qualities, such as gnãn, vairãgya, and bhakti, continue to flourish within him.”
End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã I || 58 || 58 ||