Amdavad-4

Amdāvād-4

On Fāgun vadi 3, Samvat 1882 [26 March 1826], Swāmi Shri Sahajānandji Mahārāj was sitting on a cushion with a cylindrical pillow placed on a decorated cot upon a square platform facing the mandir of Shri Narnārāyan in Amdāvād. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. A pink pāgh had been tied around His head, and tassels of roses were dangling from that pāgh. Bunches of roses had also been placed upon His ears. In addition to this, several garlands of roses were hanging around His neck, and armlets of roses had been tied around both arms. At that time, an assembly of munis as well as devotees from various places had gathered before Him.

Thereupon Shriji Mahārāj said to the muni-mandal and the devotees, “Everyone please listen to what I have to say. One should first develop a firm conviction of the form of God. What is God like? Well, He, by His own wish, takes birth for the liberation of the jivas. Yet, having taken birth, He is still beyond birth. Despite having to die, God is still beyond aging and death. He is also ‘niranjan’, that is to say, He has no blemish of māyā. In addition, He possesses a definite form and is self-radiant; He is Parabrahma, antaryāmi, the supporter of countless millions of brahmānds; and He also transcends Akshar. His assuming and discarding of a human body is merely an illusion - like the magic of a wizard. Furthermore, He is the controller of the countless muktas, including Akshar. He is also the lord of all. That Shri Purushottam Nārāyan, after first taking birth from Dharmadev and Murti, performs austerities in Badrikāshram in the form of Narnārāyan.

“That same Shri Narnārāyan assumes the forms of Matsya, Kurma, Varāh, Vāman, Rām, Krishna, etc., on earth for the fulfillment of particular tasks. There, using his own body, he helps other people eradicate their belief of being the body and accept the belief of being the form of Brahma. In this way, he makes his body and the bodies of other people appear to be the same. Just as, for example, after a thorn is used to remove another thorn, both thorns are discarded, similarly, God also discards His body like other jivas discard theirs. This phenomenon is explained in the Mahābhārat through the story of Nrusinhji. When he wished to leave his body, Nrusinhji, through his antaryāmi powers, inspired Shiv within his heart to take the form of a sharabh. Then both Nrusinhji and the sharabh fought a battle in which Nrusinhji died.¹ Thus God independently, by His own wish, accepts a human body and abandons that human body.

“After hearing the incidents of Shri Krishna Bhagwān being killed by an arrow striking his foot,² the minds of those with a nāstik perspective and those who are not devotees of God become confused. They then allege that God too passes through birth and death just like themselves, and that He receives a human body according to His karmas and leaves the human body by His karmas as well. They also assert that only when God performs karmas that do not cause attachment will He be acquitted of His karmas and attain liberation.

“On the other hand, those who have an āstik mind and those who are devotees of God realize the understanding of the nāstiks to be wrong. They know the body of God to be eternal; and that the birth, childhood, youth, old age and death of God, as well as whatever other bodily traits He may display, are merely an illusion. This is because kāl and māyā are not powerful enough to have any sort of influence on God’s body. In fact, all transformations that do appear to occur in God’s body are all due to His yogic powers. Those who are devotees of God do not become misled by this; whereas the minds of those who are not devotees become bewildered, just like worldly people become bewildered on seeing a wizard’s acts. Those, however, who are aware of the wizard’s techniques are not bewildered. Similarly, Purushottam Shri Narnārāyan also assumes many different bodies and discards them like the wizard. Thus, this Shri Narnārāyan is the cause of all avatārs.

“Those who infer death upon Shri Narnārāyan will themselves have to undergo countless births. The suffering of passing through the cycle of 8.4 million different life forms and the torments of Yampuri are indeed endless. Conversely, those who realize Shri Narnārāyan to be beyond aging and death will be released from their karmas and the consequent cycle of births and deaths in the 8.4 million life forms. Therefore, all satsangis and sādhus of our Uddhav Sampradāy should not infer death upon the forms of God - those that have occurred in the past, the current one or those that will occur in the future. This principle should be noted by all.”

So saying, Shriji Mahārāj revealed Himself as the incarnate form of God. All who heard this discourse affirmed their faith in Shriji Mahārāj in this same manner.

On Fagun vadi 3, Samvat 1882 [26 March 1826], Swami Shri Sahajanandji Maharaj was sitting on a cushion with a cylindrical pillow placed on a decorated cot upon a square platform facing the mandir of Shri Narnarayan in Amdavad. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. A pink pagh had been tied around His head, and tassels of roses were dangling from that pagh. Bunches of roses had also been placed upon His ears. In addition to this, several garlands of roses were hanging around His neck, and armlets of roses had been tied around both arms. At that time, an assembly of munis as well as devotees from various places had gathered before Him.

Thereupon Shriji Maharaj said to the muni-mandal and the devotees, “Everyone please listen to what I have to say. One should first develop a firm conviction of the form of God. What is God like? Well, He, by His own wish, takes birth for the liberation of the jivas. Yet, having taken birth, He is still beyond birth. Despite having to die, God is still beyond aging and death. He is also ‘niranjan’, that is to say, He has no blemish of maya. In addition, He possesses a definite form and is self-radiant; He is Parabrahma, antaryami, the supporter of countless millions of brahmands; and He also transcends Akshar. His assuming and discarding of a human body is merely an illusion - like the magic of a wizard. Furthermore, He is the controller of the countless muktas, including Akshar. He is also the lord of all. That Shri Purushottam Narayan, after first taking birth from Dharmadev and Murti, performs austerities in Badrikashram in the form of Narnarayan.

“That same Shri Narnarayan assumes the forms of Matsya, Kurma, Varah, Vaman, Ram, Krishna, etc., on earth for the fulfillment of particular tasks. There, using his own body, he helps other people eradicate their belief of being the body and accept the belief of being the form of Brahma. In this way, he makes his body and the bodies of other people appear to be the same. Just as, for example, after a thorn is used to remove another thorn, both thorns are discarded, similarly, God also discards His body like other jivas discard theirs. This phenomenon is explained in the Mahabharat through the story of Nrusinhji. When he wished to leave his body, Nrusinhji, through his antaryami powers, inspired Shiv within his heart to take the form of a sharabh. Then both Nrusinhji and the sharabh fought a battle in which Nrusinhji died.¹ Thus God independently, by His own wish, accepts a human body and abandons that human body.

“After hearing the incidents of Shri Krishna Bhagwan being killed by an arrow striking his foot,² the minds of those with a nastik perspective and those who are not devotees of God become confused. They then allege that God too passes through birth and death just like themselves, and that He receives a human body according to His karmas and leaves the human body by His karmas as well. They also assert that only when God performs karmas that do not cause attachment will He be acquitted of His karmas and attain liberation.

“On the other hand, those who have an astik mind and those who are devotees of God realize the understanding of the nastiks to be wrong. They know the body of God to be eternal; and that the birth, childhood, youth, old age and death of God, as well as whatever other bodily traits He may display, are merely an illusion. This is because kal and maya are not powerful enough to have any sort of influence on God’s body. In fact, all transformations that do appear to occur in God’s body are all due to His yogic powers. Those who are devotees of God do not become misled by this; whereas the minds of those who are not devotees become bewildered, just like worldly people become bewildered on seeing a wizard’s acts. Those, however, who are aware of the wizard’s techniques are not bewildered. Similarly, Purushottam Shri Narnarayan also assumes many different bodies and discards them like the wizard. Thus, this Shri Narnarayan is the cause of all avatars.

“Those who infer death upon Shri Narnarayan will themselves have to undergo countless births. The suffering of passing through the cycle of 8.4 million different life forms and the torments of Yampuri are indeed endless. Conversely, those who realize Shri Narnarayan to be beyond aging and death will be released from their karmas and the consequent cycle of births and deaths in the 8.4 million life forms. Therefore, all satsangis and sadhus of our Uddhav Sampraday should not infer death upon the forms of God - those that have occurred in the past, the current one or those that will occur in the future. This principle should be noted by all.”

So saying, Shriji Maharaj revealed Himself as the incarnate form of God. All who heard this discourse affirmed their faith in Shriji Maharaj in this same manner.

FOOTNOTES