70.1 In the Samvat year 1876, on Chaitra sud 15 [29th March, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting on a decorated bedstead on the veranda outside the east-facing rooms of Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He had tied a white cloth with a border of silken thread around His head. He was wearing a white khes and had covered Himself with a white chãdar. With His hand, He was turning a mãlã of tulsi beads. A sabhã of paramhans, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
70.2 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Senior paramhans, please ask questions amongst yourselves. If a grahastha has a question, he may ask the paramhans.”
70.3 Kãkã-Bhãi, a bhakta from the village of Rojkã, then asked Nityãnand Swãmi, “Deep within a person’s heart, something signals him to indulge in the vishays, while something else says ‘no’ and discourages him from indulging in them. What is it that says ‘no’, and what is it that says ‘yes’?”
70.4 Nityãnand Swãmi replied, “It is the jeev that says ‘no’, and it is the mind that says ‘yes’.”
70.5 Shreeji Mahãrãj then said, “Allow me to answer that question. From the very day we began to understand and realise who our parents were, they taught us: ‘This is your mother and this is your father; this is your kãkã and this is your brother; this is your mãmã and this is your sister; this is your mãmi and this is your kãki; this is your mãsi and this is your buffalo; this is your cow and this is your horse; these are your clothes and this is your house; this is your mansion, this is your farm, and this is your jewellery’. These words of kusangis have been imprinted in the mind. How are they imprinted? Well, it is like the small pieces of glass that women attach into works of embroidery, where the mind represents the embroidery, and the jeev represents the piece of glass. In this way, the words and the sights of those kusangis, along with the other types of vishays, have become imprinted in the mind.
70.6 “Then, after the person enters satsang, the sant talks about the glory of Bhagvãn, how to reject the vishays, and also explains that the world is perishable. In this way, the words and the sight of the sant dwell in the person’s mind.
70.7 “Take the example of two armies facing each other. In the battlefield of Kurukshetra, the armies of the Kauravs and the Pãndavs stood facing each other and fought with arrows, spears, and various other types of weapons. Some fought with swords, some fought with maces, and some fought with their bare hands. In the process, some lost their heads, others injured their thighs, and many were slaughtered. Similarly, in the person’s antah-karans, there are forms of the kusangis standing armed with their weapons (five vishays). Opposite them, are also forms of the sant standing armed with weapons in the form of words such as, ‘Bhagvãn is satya, the world is perishable, and the vishays are false’. Therefore, a mutual conflict exists between these two sets of words. When the force of the kusangis prevails, a desire to indulge in the vishays arises. When the force of the sant prevails, the desire to indulge in the vishays disappears. In this way, there is a conflict within the antah-karans. There is a shlok:
“The meaning of this shlok is: Only where there is Yogeshvar, Shree Krishna Bhagvãn, and where there is the great archer Arjun, there is Lakshmi, victory, divine powers, and resolute morality exist’. Therefore, a person should have the firm belief that victory belongs to the person on whose side these sãdhus happen to be.”
70.8 Kãkã-Bhãi then asked further, “Mahãrãj, by what means can the force of a sant increase and the force of the kusangis decrease?”
70.9 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “The kusangis that reside internally and externally, are both one. Also, the sant residing within and the sant residing externally, are both one. The force of the internal kusangis increases with the encouragement of the external kusangis. In the same way, the force of the sant within increases with the encouragement of the sant residing externally. Therefore, by avoiding the company of external kusangis, and by keeping the company of only the sant residing externally, the force of the kusangis decreases and the force of the sant increases.” That is how Shreeji Mahãrãj answered that question.
70.10 Again, Kãkã-Bhãi asked, “Mahãrãj, there is a person who has overcome the fight against kusangis, and for whom only the force of the sant is the strongest. There is another person whose conflict is still on-going. Of the two, when the first person dies, there is no doubt that he will attain the dhãm of Bhagvãn. But, please tell us what will be the fate of the second person, whose conflict is still on-going, when he dies?”
70.11 Shreeji Mahãrãj explained, “In a battle, one person may face Vãniyãs or someone from a weak social-caste. As a result, he may easily win. Another person is confronted by an army of Arabs, Rãjputs, Kãthis, and Kolis, who are very difficult to conquer, and are certainly not as easy to defeat as the Vãniyãs. Therefore, his fight continues. In the process of such fighting, if he wins, then all is well and good. But, if while fighting he does not give in to his opponents, despite their attempts, and if he were to die at that time, would his master not be aware of his courageous efforts? Would He not appreciate that, compared to the person who faced the easy opposition of the Vãniyãs, this person faced frightening opposition that was difficult to overcome? The master would indeed be well aware of both situations. In the same way, Bhagvãn is sure to help such a person as you have described. He will believe, ‘This person is faced with the overwhelming force of fluctuating thoughts, yet he is still putting up a brave fight. Therefore, he deserves to be congratulated’. Realising this, Bhagvãn does help him. For this reason, a person should remain carefree and not worry in the least. He should continue to worship Bhagvãn in the same way, keep the sant the most important, and stay away from kusangis.” Shreeji Mahãrãj replied joyfully in this way.
70.12 Jeevã-Bhãi, from the village Jaskã, then asked Nityãnand Swãmi, “How can we develop unfaltering nishchay in Bhagvãn?”
70.13 Nityãnand Swãmi replied, “If a person avoids the company of kusangis and constantly keeps the company of sãdhus, then listening to the talks of those sãdhus will lead to the development of unfaltering nishchay in Bhagvãn. However, if he keeps the company of kusangis, unfaltering nishchay will not develop.”
70.14 Again Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Allow me to answer that question. A person should develop nishchay in Bhagvãn for the sole purpose of the kalyãn of his jeev, but not out of a desire for some material object. For example, ‘If I practice satsang, my ill body will recover’, or ‘If I am childless, I will have a son’, or ‘If my sons are dying, they will live’, or ‘If I am poor, I will become rich’, or ‘If I practice satsang, I will regain my lost land’. A person should not practice satsang while keeping desires for material possessions. If a person does practice satsang with such desires, then he may become a very loyal satsangi if those desires are fulfilled. However, if his desires are not fulfilled, his nishchay will diminish. Therefore, a person should practice satsang solely for the kalyãn of his jeev, and should not have any desire whatsoever for any material objects.
70.15 “Also, if there are ten members in a household and all ten are faced with death, then is it a small feat if even one is saved? Or if a person was destined to have to beg for food but received a rotlo to eat instead, is that a small feat? In these cases, a person should believe that although everything was going to be lost, at least this much has been saved! In the same way, even if extreme misery is due to occur, that misery would certainly decrease slightly if a person were to keep the refuge of Bhagvãn. However, the jeev fails to understand this. Also, the refuge of Bhagvãn can save a person who is meant to be executed on a shuli with suffering a mere pinprick.
70.16 “There is a story that illustrates this: Many thieves lived in a village. One of the thieves often kept the company of a sãdhu. Then one day, while the thief was on his way to visit the sãdhu, a thorn pierced his foot. As a result, his foot became swollen and he was unable to accompany the other thieves in a robbery. The other thieves, who went to steal, broke into a king’s treasury and escaped with a great large amount of money, which they shared among themselves. Naturally, a lot of money came their way. On hearing this news, the parents, wife, and relatives of the thief who used to sit with the sãdhu and who was injured, scolded him: ‘Because you went to the sãdhu instead of going to steal, we lost out. The thieves who did go to steal returned with lots of money’. Meanwhile, the king’s army arrived, arrested all the thieves, and took them away to be executed on a shuli. The injured thief was also caught and sentenced to execution. However, all the villagers and the sãdhu stood witness and said, ‘This man was not involved in the theft as he had been hurt by a thorn’. The thief was then released.
70.17 “In the same way, if a person who practices satsang were to face the suffering of being executed on a shuli, it would be reduced to the pain of a mere thorn-pick. After all, I have asked Rãmãnand Swãmi, ‘If your satsangi is destined to suffer the distress inflicted by the sting of one scorpion, may the distress of the stings of millions and millions of scorpions occur at each and every pore of my body, but no pain should distress your satsangi. Also, if the begging bowl is written in the prãrabdha of your satsangi, may that begging bowl come to me, but on no account should your satsangi suffer from the lack of food or clothing. Please grant me these two vardãns’. I asked this of Rãmãnand Swãmi, and he happily granted it to me. Therefore, destined worldly miseries, do not fall upon a person practicing satsang.
70.18 “So, if a person practices satsang with desires for temporary material objects, then doubts will certainly cloud his nishchay. Therefore, other than the desire for the kalyãn of his own jeev, a person should practice satsang having no desire whatsoever. Only then will unfaltering nishchay develop.”
70.19 This is only a portion of the detailed talk delivered by Shreeji Mahãrãj.
End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã I || 70 || 70 ||