॥ શ્રી સ્વામિનારાયણો વિજયતે ॥
॥ THE VACHANAMRUT ॥
Spiritual Discourses
by Bhagwan Swaminarayan
Jetalpur-1
Jetalpur-1
About an hour-and-a-half after sunrise on Chaitra sudi 3, Samvat 1882 [10 April 1826], Swāmi Shri Sahajānandji Mahārāj was sitting on a large, decorated cot that had been placed under an āsopālav tree in the mansion in Jetalpur. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. Around His neck He was wearing several garlands of guldāvadi flowers. Tassels of dolariyā flowers were dangling from His pāgh, and two karnikār flowers had been placed upon both of His ears. Also, He was playing with a beautiful lemon in His hands. At that time, an assembly of sādhus as well as satsangi men and women from various places had gathered before Him.
Then addressing the entire assembly, Shriji Mahārāj asked, “Everyone in this world accepts some doctrine or other. Basically, though, there are two major doctrines: One is the Dvait doctrine and the other is the doctrine of Advait.1 Please explain which doctrine a spiritual aspirant should accept.”
Thereupon Purushottam Bhatt said in reply, “Mahārāj, in the Advait doctrine, by believing their ātmā to be God, people behave as they please. Consequently, they fall from the path of liberation. Thus, an aspirant should accept the Dvait doctrine.”
Shriji Mahārāj then raised a doubt. He questioned, “According to the Dvait doctrine, jiva, ishwar and māyā are satya. But as long as māyā persists, how can the jiva attain liberation?”
Purushottam Bhatt replied, “By performing pure karmas one attains liberation.”
Again Shriji Mahārāj raised a doubt, “The two types of karmas, namely nivrutti and pravrutti, become assimilated in māyā in the form of deep sleep. What is that state of deep sleep like? Well, just as no one is capable of conquering Mount Lokālok, similarly, no jiva is capable of conquering that deep sleep. Above that still is māyā in its state of equilibrium, which is extremely immense. No jiva can conquer it. Thus, the means to transcend māyā is as follows: When the jiva comes into contact with the manifest form of Shri Purushottam Bhagwān - who is beyond māyā and who is the destroyer of māyā and all karmas - or the Sant who has attained that God, then by accepting their refuge, the jiva can transcend māyā.”
After delivering this discourse, Shriji Mahārāj went up into the mansion to His meals. After dinner, He returned and sat on a large, decorated cot under the āsopālav tree. Then, looking lovingly at all of the sādhus and devotees, He said, “In the beginning, when no one honors a person, imagine what his nature is like. Then, when 100 people begin to follow him, his self-conceit becomes of a different type. Further, when 1,000 people or 100,000 people follow him, or 10 million people follow him, his self-conceit becomes of a different type altogether. Then, if he becomes like Brahmā, or Shiv, or Indra, and if he is rational, he would realize, ‘My greatness is not due to this status.’ What is it due to? Well, greatness is due to the ātmā; and secondly, it is due to association with the Sant. This is because even though Brahmā and the others are all great, they still crave for the dust from the feet of the Sant.
“So then, wherein lies the greatness of the Sant? Allow Me to explain. The greatness of the Sant is not due to wealth or objects or any kingdom; rather, his greatness is due to his bhakti and upāsanā of God. Secondly, the Sant has ātmā-realization. It is due to these virtues that he is great.
“If one cannot realize this, then one should develop a conviction within one’s ātmā that one should be profoundly attached to the Sant who has attained the incarnate form of God, and one should believe only that Sant to be one’s own self. One may doubt, though, ‘How, then, is the master-servant relationship maintained?’ Well, take the example of King Gālav. He wanted to perform a sacrifice for which he specifically required black-eared horses. It so happened that those black-eared horses were at the home of Varun. But since that region was beyond his reach, he called upon Garud. Then, having mounted Garud, he went there and brought back the horses. So does this mean that King Gālav’s servitude towards Garud diminished? No, it did not diminish. Similarly, the purpose of being profoundly attached to the Sant, who is a knower of Brahma, is that he has the ability of penetrating the barriers. That is the reason for being profoundly attached to such a Sant.”
Shriji Mahārāj then added that all should imbibe this principle, as it is the very life of everyone.
Vachanamrut ॥ 1 ॥ 270 ॥
This Vachanamrut took place ago.
FOOTNOTES
1. The sampradāys of Bhārat are categorized as Dvait and Advait.
Advait doctrine: sampradāys that accept this doctrine believe in one eternal entity.
Dvait doctrine: sampradāys that accept this doctrine believe in more than one eternal entity.
Explanation: Various āchāryas have established their own doctrines among the various ‘Darshanas’ of Bhārat. In the Vedanta Darshan, the following āchāryas established and spread their respective doctrines:
Shri Shankarāchārya established the Advait doctrine
Shri Rāmānujāchārya established the Vishishtādvait doctrine
Shri Madhvāchārya established the Dvait doctrine
Shri Nimbārkāchārya established the Dvaitādvait doctrine
Shri Vallabhāchārya established the Shuddhādvait doctrine
Shri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu established the Achintya Bhedābhed doctrine
With the above doctrines in mind, Shriji Maharaj refers to two ‘mats’ or doctrines to encompass all doctrines. He mentions the Advait doctrine which refers to the doctrine established by Shri Shankarāchārya. According to this doctrine, only Brahman is the true eternal entity and everything else, including the jivas and the world, are false. The Dvait doctrine actually refers to the doctrine established by Shri Madhvāchārya; however, in this context, Dvait refers to the doctrine accepted by the Vaishnav Sampradāys established by Shri Rāmānujāchārya, Shri Madhvāchārya, Shri Nimbārkāchārya, Shri Vallabhāchārya, and Shri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu as mentioned above.
To elaborate further, Maharaj refers to whichever sampradāy believes jivas, māyā, etc. as distinct and separate from Parabrahman as Dvait. So, Maharaj has accepted the Dvait doctrine because he himself explained the same belief that Parabrahman is distinct from jiva, māyā, etc.; albeit, the other āchāryas mainly accepted three entities: jiva, māyā, and Ishwar. In contrast, Shriji Maharaj accepted five entities as being distinct from each other and eternal: jiva, māyā, ishwar, Brahman, and Parabrahman. (Vachanamrut Gadhada I-7; Gadhada III-10)
