Vachanamrut Essence

Gadhadā I-19

1. Those devotees seeking their own ultimate liberation should perfect all four virtues: ātmā-realisation, bhakti, vairāgya and swadharma.
2. All four virtues are dependent upon each other:

1. One may have ātmā-realisation, but if one does not have love towards God, then one does not attain the favour of God – such favour results in great divine power of not being overpowered by the gunas of māyā.
2. If one has love for God but has not attained ātmā-realisation, then due to the belief that oneself is the body, that love cannot be perfected.
3. One may have both the virtue of ātmā-realisation and love for God, but if one lacks firm vairāgya, then the desires for worldly vishays will prevent the perfection of ātmā-realisation and love for God.
4. One may have vairāgya, but if one lacks the virtues of ātmā-realisation and love for God, one does not experience the profound bliss associated with the form of God.
5. One may have swadharma, but if love for God, ātmā-realisation and vairāgya are absent, then one will not attain God’s Akshardhām.
6. One may have the three virtues of ātmā-realisation, love for God and vairāgya, but if swadharma is lacking, the other three cannot be perfected.

3. A devotee who has extremely firmly established these four virtues should be known as an ekāntik bhakta.
4. A devotee having any deficiency in these four virtues should overcome that deficiency by serving and profoundly associating with the Ekāntik Bhakta of God.