71.1 In the Samvat year 1876, on the evening of Chaitra vad 4 [2nd April, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting with a large, cylindrical pillow on a decorated bedstead which had been placed on the platform in front of the west-facing medi in Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was wearing a white khes and had covered Himself with a white chãdar. He had also tied a white feto around His head. A sabhã of sãdhus, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him. Muktãnand Swãmi and some sãdhus were singing kirtans to the accompaniment of musical instruments.
71.2 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Please conclude the kirtans for now, and begin a question-answer discussion amongst yourselves.”
71.3 Somlã Khãchar then asked, “Bhagvãn forgives all the mistakes of His bhaktas, but which one mistake does He not forgive?”
71.4 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “Bhagvãn forgives all other mistakes, but He does not forgive the mistake of insulting a bhakta of Bhagvãn. Therefore, a person should never harm a bhakta of Bhagvãn in any way whatsoever. Furthermore, of all the mistakes made against Bhagvãn, to deny the svarup of Bhagvãn is a very serious mistake. A person should never make this mistake; and anyone who does make this mistake, commits a sin more serious than the five great sins.
71.5 “Denying the svarup of Bhagvãn is nothing more than understanding Bhagvãn, who eternally is sãkãr, to be nirãkãr. In fact, Bhagvãn who is Purushottam, forever resides with a divya svarup in His Akshardhãm, and His divine light is like that of millions of suns and moons. Countless millions of brahm-rup muktas serve the holy feet of that Bhagvãn. That Bhagvãn, also known as Parbrahm Purushottam, incarnates on earth out of compassion, for the kalyãn of the jeevs. When He incarnates, all tattvas that He accepts become brahm. The three bodies (sthul, sukshma, and kãran), the three mental states (jãgrat, svapna, and sushupti), the ten indriyas, and the five prãns, were all apparent in avatãrs such as Rãm and Krishna. Although all of them appear to be like ordinary humans, in reality they are all brahm, not mãyik. Therefore, a person should never deny the svarup of Bhagvãn.”
71.6 Mãtra Dhãdhal then asked, “What is the characteristic of jealousy?”
71.7 Shreeji Mahãrãj replied, “A person who is jealous of someone cannot tolerate that person benefiting in any way. He would be pleased if misery falls upon that person. That is the characteristic of jealousy.”
71.8 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj asked the munis, “A person who has nishchay in the pratyaksha murti of Bhagvãn, worships Bhagvãn, and behaves in accordance with the niyams of satsang, will attain kalyãn. That is the way of satsang. However, what are the methods of kalyãn according to the shãstras? The meanings of the Veds are indeed very difficult to understand, so they are not narrated in kathãs. However, the Shreemad Bhãgvat Purãn and the Mahãbhãrat contain the message of the Veds, and are easier to understand. Therefore, they are widely narrated in public kathã. Please explain how a person can attain kalyãn as explained in the shãstras. Also, bear in mind that Shankar-Ãchãrya has proposed that Bhagvãn is nirãkãr, whereas Rãmãnuj-Ãchãrya and other ãchãryas have proposed that Bhagvãn is sãkãr. Therefore, please base your answer on the principles of the shãstras.”
71.9 Using references from shãstras, the munis then disproved the view that Bhagvãn is nirãkãr, and promoted the view that kalyãn is only possible by the worship of Bhagvãn with a sãkãr murti.
71.10 Shreeji Mahãrãj then commented, “I myself also accept that view, but I would like to ask you a question regarding this. Purushottam Bhagvãn is greater than the nirãkãr Akshar-Brahm and He is eternally sãkãr. If a person, who has found that Bhagvãn on this earth, still cherishes a desire to see Brahmpur, Golok, Vaikunth, Shvet-Dvip, and the other dhãms of Bhagvãn, can he be said to have nishchay in Bhagvãn, or not?”
71.11 The munis replied, “Despite having found Bhagvãn, a person who constantly feels in his mind, ‘Only when I see Akshardhãm and other dhãms, or see the light of millions and millions of suns, is my kalyãn attained,’ does not have absolute nishchay.”
71.12 Shreeji Mahãrãj argued this by asking, “What sin has he committed in having a desire to see Brahmpur, the other dhãms and the svarup of brahm, that you disqualify his nishchay?”
71.13 The munis replied, “Why should a person who believes that kalyãn is attained by the mere darshan of pratyaksha Bhagvãn have a dislike for Brahmpur, Golok, and other dhãms? After all, they do belong to Bhagvãn. Also, without Bhagvãn, he would have no desire for them.”
71.14 Shreeji Mahãrãj further questioned, “Those dhãms and the pãrshads residing in them, are chaitanya and are beyond Mãyã. So, what flaw is there in them that a person should not desire to see them? Also, what about Bhagvãn who is pratyaksha on this earth? How do you view His pãrshads, who are in fact perishable, and the houses He lives in, which can be destroyed?”
71.15 The munis replied, “We understand those houses to be like Brahmpur and the other dhãms, and we understand those pãrshads to be brahm-rup.”
71.16 Shreeji Mahãrãj then said, “Brahmpur and the pãrshads of Bhagvãn residing in Brahmpur are immortal and imperishable, whereas the houses and pãrshads of this Mrutyu-Lok are perishable. How can you possibly compare the two?”
71.17 Finally, Nityãnand Swãmi requested, “Mahãrãj, you will have to answer that question.”
71.18 Shreeji Mahãrãj explained, “When Bhagvãn incarnates for the purpose of granting kalyãn to the jeevs, He is always accompanied by His Akshardhãm, His pãrshads – who are chaitanya – and all of His divine powers. However, they are not perceived by others. Nevertheless, when a bhakta acquires an alokik vision during samãdhi, he does see divine light equivalent to countless millions of suns in the murti of Bhagvãn. Together with the murti, he also sees countless millions of muktas, and also Akshardhãm itself. Therefore, all of these do accompany Bhagvãn. Despite all of this, Bhagvãn only accepts the sevã of His own, earthly bhaktas. He stays in the houses of His bhaktas, which are made of mud, clay, and stone. He lovingly accepts whatever those bhaktas offer Him, whether it is incense, an oil lamp, food, clothes, or anything else. He does so for the purpose of elevating those earthly pãrshads to the ranks of divya pãrshads. All the objects that a bhakta offers to Bhagvãn assume a divya form in the dhãm of Bhagvãn. Moreover, that bhakta also attains a divya svarup and attains those divya objects there. In this way, Bhagvãn accepts all the offerings offered by His earthly bhaktas in order to allow them to experience everlasting bliss. Therefore, a bhakta of Bhagvãn should realise that the svarup of Bhagvãn, along with His Akshardhãm, is present on this earth, and he should also explain this fact to others.”
End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã I || 71 || 71 ||