Gadhada I-19

The Interdependency of Ātmā-realization and Other Virtues

On the evening of Posh sudi 1, Samvat 1876 [18 December 1819], Shriji Mahārāj was sitting in Dādā Khāchar’s darbār in Gadhadā. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. At that time, an assembly of paramhansas as well as devotees from various places had gathered before Him.

Thereupon Shriji Mahārāj said, “In this Satsang fellowship, those devotees seeking their own ultimate liberation cannot fulfill that aim by ātmā-realization alone; nor can they fulfill that aim by lovingly offering the nine types of bhakti alone; nor can they fulfill that aim by vairāgya alone; nor can they fulfill that aim by swadharma alone. Thus, all four virtues, i.e., ātmā-realization, bhakti, vairāgya and swadharma, should be perfected since all are dependent upon each other.

“Now please listen as I describe how these four virtues are interdependent.

“One may have the virtue of ātmā-realization, but if one does not have love¹ towards God, then one does not attain the favor of God, which can only be attained by such love. Such favor results in the attainment of the desirable and great divine power of not being overpowered by the gunas of māyā. If, on the other hand, one does have love for God but has not attained ātmā-realization, then due to the belief that oneself is the body, that love cannot be perfected. One may have both the virtue of ātmā-realization and love for God, but if one lacks firm vairāgya, then the desires for worldly vishays will prevent the perfection of ātmā-realization and love for God. Then again, one may have vairāgya, but if one lacks the virtues of ātmā-realization and love for God, one does not experience the profound bliss associated with the form of God. Also, one may have swadharma, but if love for God, ātmā-realization and vairāgya are absent, then one will not be able to transcend Bhurlok, Bhuvarlok and all of the other realms up to Brahmā’s Satyalok. That is to say, one will not be able to transcend the brahmānds and attain God’s Akshardhām, which transcends the darkness of māyā. On the other hand, one may have the three virtues of ātmā-realization, love for God and vairāgya, but if swadharma is lacking, the other three cannot be perfected.

“In this manner, ātmā-realization and the other three virtues are dependent upon each other. A devotee who has extremely firmly established these four virtues within himself through the profound association with God’s Ekāntik Bhakta has completed all spiritual endeavors. Only he should be known as an ekāntik bhakta. Therefore, a devotee having any deficiency in these four virtues should overcome that deficiency by serving and profoundly associating with the Ekāntik Bhakta of God.”

On the evening of Posh sudi 1, Samvat 1876 [18 December 1819], Shriji Maharaj was sitting in Dada Khachar’s darbar in Gadhada. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. At that time, an assembly of paramhansas as well as devotees from various places had gathered before Him.

Thereupon Shriji Maharaj said, “In this Satsang fellowship, those devotees seeking their own ultimate liberation cannot fulfill that aim by atma-realization alone; nor can they fulfill that aim by lovingly offering the nine types of bhakti alone; nor can they fulfill that aim by vairagya alone; nor can they fulfill that aim by swadharma alone. Thus, all four virtues, i.e., atma-realization, bhakti, vairagya and swadharma, should be perfected since all are dependent upon each other.

“Now please listen as I describe how these four virtues are interdependent.

“One may have the virtue of atma-realization, but if one does not have love¹ towards God, then one does not attain the favor of God, which can only be attained by such love. Such favor results in the attainment of the desirable and great divine power of not being overpowered by the gunas of maya. If, on the other hand, one does have love for God but has not attained atma-realization, then due to the belief that oneself is the body, that love cannot be perfected. One may have both the virtue of atma-realization and love for God, but if one lacks firm vairagya, then the desires for worldly vishays will prevent the perfection of atma-realization and love for God. Then again, one may have vairagya, but if one lacks the virtues of atma-realization and love for God, one does not experience the profound bliss associated with the form of God. Also, one may have swadharma, but if love for God, atma-realization and vairagya are absent, then one will not be able to transcend Bhurlok, Bhuvarlok and all of the other realms up to Brahma’s Satyalok. That is to say, one will not be able to transcend the brahmands and attain God’s Akshardham, which transcends the darkness of maya. On the other hand, one may have the three virtues of atma-realization, love for God and vairagya, but if swadharma is lacking, the other three cannot be perfected.

“In this manner, atma-realization and the other three virtues are dependent upon each other. A devotee who has extremely firmly established these four virtues within himself through the profound association with God’s Ekantik Bhakta has completed all spiritual endeavors. Only he should be known as an ekantik bhakta. Therefore, a devotee having any deficiency in these four virtues should overcome that deficiency by serving and profoundly associating with the Ekantik Bhakta of God.”

FOOTNOTES