॥ શ્રી સ્વામિનારાયણો વિજયતે ॥
॥ THE VACHANAMRUT ॥
Spiritual Discourses
by Bhagwan Swaminarayan
Gadhada II-11
All Karmas Becoming a Form of Bhakti
On Shrāvan vadi 5, Samvat 1878 [18 August 1821], Swāmi Shri Sahajānandji Mahārāj was sitting on a large, decorated cot under the neem tree in front of the mandir of Shri Vāsudevnārāyan in Dādā Khāchar’s darbār in Gadhadā. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. At that time, an assembly of munis as well as devotees from various places had gathered before Him.
Thereupon Shriji Mahārāj said, “After listening to all of the scriptures, some people believe that they only deal with dharma, arth and kām. Thinking thus, they themselves also perform pious karmas such as sacrifices, observances, etc., only for the attainment related to dharma, arth and kām. As a result, they enjoy the fruits of such karmas in Devlok, Brahmalok or Mrutyulok. Then, they return to the cycle of births and deaths. Therefore, the pious karmas that a person performs while harboring a desire for dharma, arth and kām all become sāttvik, rājasik and tāmasik; and the fruits of those karmas are enjoyed while staying in the realms of swarg, Mrutyulok and pātāl. However, they do not attain the gunātit abode of God. As long as one does not attain liberation, the miseries of births, deaths and narak do not subside.
“So, if one abandons the desire for the fruits related to dharma, arth and kām, and if one performs pious karmas only to please God, then those pious karmas become a form of bhakti and aid in the attainment of liberation. Thus the verses:
Āmayo yena bhootānām jāyate yash-cha suvrat |Tad-eva hyāmayam dravyam na punāti chikitsitam ||
Evam nrunām kriyā-yogāhā sarve sansruti-hetavaha |
Ta evātma-vināshāya kalpante kalpitāhā pare ||1
“The essence of this verse is as I have described earlier.
“However, this fact is actually very intricate, and if it is not fully understood, then on seeing a devotee of God behaving in the same way as all ignorant people do, one would perceive flaws in him. As a result, the person who perceives the flaws would be consigned to narak.
“But in fact, there is a vast difference between the activities of a devotee of God and the activities of a non-believer. How? Well, all activities of a non-believer are for pampering his indriyas, whereas all activities of a devotee of God are solely for serving God and His devotee. As a result, the devotee’s activities are a form of bhakti.
“Moreover, bhakti is like gnān in the sense that both are a form of non-karma. Hence, all of a devotee’s activities are in a form of karmas that do not cause attachment. Thus the verse in the Bhagwad Gitā:
Karmanyakarma yaha pashyed-akarmani cha karma yaha |Sa buddhimān-manushyeshu sa yuktaha krutsna-karma-krut ||2
“The meaning of this verse is as follows: If a person sees non-karma, i.e., gnān, in the karmas performed by the devotees of God for the purpose of pleasing God; and he sees a non-believer who has adopted the path of nivrutti as drowned in karmas, then such a person is said to possess gnān and is the most intelligent amongst all people; he is a yogi; he is worthy to attain liberation and is ‘krutsna-karma-krut’ - i.e., he has performed all karmas.
“Therefore, if in any way a person perceives a flaw in a devotee of God who, by God’s command, performs karmas for the purpose of pleasing God, then adharma and its retinue will enter and reside in the perceiver’s heart.”
Vachanamrut ॥ 11 ॥ 144 ॥
This Vachanamrut took place ago.
FOOTNOTES
1. आमयो येन भूतानां जायते यश्च सुव्रत।
तदेव ह्यामयं द्रव्यं न पुनाति चिकित्सितम्॥
एवं नृणां क्रियायोगाः सर्वे संसृतिहेतवः।
त एवात्मविनाशाय कल्पन्ते कल्पिताः परे॥
O Observer of Pious Vows [Vyās]! Does not that same [food, e.g. ghee] which causes illness in beings - if purified and prescribed by a qualified doctor - cure that illness? Similarly, then, if all of one’s karmas - which [normally] cause one to pass through births and deaths - are offered to God instead, those same karmas are destroyed [i.e. are no longer capable of causing births and deaths, but instead, lead to one’s liberation]. - Shrimad Bhāgwat: 1.5.33 & 34
2. कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः।
स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु स युक्तः कृत्स्नकर्मकृत्॥ - Bhagwad Gitā: 4.18
