Prasang A Day

How can One's Conviction of God Never Falter? Then, after the evening ãrti, Kubersinh asked Shriji Mahãrãj a question: “Mahãrãj, please reveal how the conviction of God that a person has firmly established in his heart would never falter.” Shriji Mahãrãj first commented, “Everyone should hear the answer to this question, so please listen attentively.” He then said in reply, “If one knows the greatness of the manifest form of God, then one’s conviction never falters. I shall now explain that greatness.All of the avatãrs of God manifest from the very God that is present in this Satsang fellowship. That is to say, He is the cause of all of the avatãrs and is the antaryãmi of all. It is He who, in Akshardhãm, is radiant, full of countless powers and eternally has a form. He is also the Lord of all of the lords of the countless brahmãnds; He is even the cause of Aksharbrahman…” [Amdãvãd-6]

How to Conquer the Mind “… For this reason, then, the mind should continuously be kept occupied in the spiritual discourses, devotional songs, etc., related to God. This can be known as having conquered the mind.” [Gadhadã II-33]

Fidelity to God “… Therefore, how does a devotee of God prevent the development of affection for anyone other than God, regardless of how virtuous that person may be? That is the question.” The senior sãdhus answered according to their understanding but were unable to satisfactorily answer Shriji Mahãrãj’s question. Shriji Mahãrãj then said, “Here, allow Me to answer. The answer is as follows: A wife who observes the vow of fidelity, even if her husband is poor, ugly, ill or old, is not even slightly impressed in her mind on seeing other men – even if they happen to be rich, handsome or young. If she does happen to affectionately look at or laugh with other men, then she loses her fidelity. If some guests were to come to the house of that faithful wife, she would offer them food and water. If she offers food and water to some male relative of her husband, she does so knowing him to be related to her husband, but the affection she has for all other men does not even come close to the affection she has for her husband. Nor does she see virtues in other men as she sees in her own husband. Moreover, she acts according to the wishes of her own husband. Such is the firm fidelity that a faithful wife has towards her husband. In the same manner, a devotee should have firm fidelity to God. Specifically, like a woman who observes the vow of fidelity, he would never develop the same affection towards even other mukta sãdhus – however great they may be – as he has developed towards whichever form of God he has had the darshan of…” [Gadhadã III-16]

Confessing an offensive Thought for a Sadhu “If anyone else, due to a malignant intellect, harbours an offensive thought towards a sãdhu, he should confess and himself voice his offensive thought by saying, ‘Mahãrãj, I have harboured an offensive thought regarding you.’ Then, in order to atone for that thought, he should fold his hands and pray for forgiveness.” [Amdãvãd-8]

Why Does one not Develop Affection for God? Thereupon Muktãnand Swãmi asked with folded hands, “Mahãrãj, there is nothing more essential than God; yet why does an individual not develop deep affection for Him? That is the question.” Shriji Mahãrãj replied, “He has no discretion. If he did have discretion, he would think, ‘I have accepted the vow of brahmacharya, yet the desire to enjoy the pleasures of women still has not disappeared from my heart. That is very improper as I have invariably enjoyed the pleasures of women when I have taken birth in the 8.4 million life forms – and those pleasures have always been much greater than those experienced in a human birth.’ Because when this jiva was born as a goat, it must have single-handedly indulged in the pleasures of a thousand she-goats. When it took birth as a horse, or a bull, or a buffalo, or a king monkey, or indeed any other animal, it must have encountered countless young, beautiful females of its own species. This was not due to prãrabdha, nor was it due to God’s grace – it was only natural. Moreover, if one does not worship God, one will obtain countless females in whichever life form one is born in. This would not be due to the service or puja of some god, or to the chanting of some mantra; because the opportunity of enjoying women and other pleasures is but natural. In fact, several times this jiva has become a god, where it has enjoyed the pleasures of Devlok; many times it has become an emperor of the world and enjoyed countless pleasures on this earth. Despite this, though, the jiva’s craving to enjoy women and other objects has still not diminished. On the contrary, a person feels that the pleasures of women and other objects are extremely rare and, realising their immense pleasure, develops affection for them. That affection is such that it can in no way be eradicated, however much one tries. It is because of this sin that the jiva is unable to develop deep affection for God.”[Gadhadã III-14]

Maligning the Sant the Gravest of all Sins “The scriptures claim that to malign the Sant is the gravest of all sins. What is the reason for this? Well, it is because Shri Krishna Bhagwãn himself resides in the heart of that Sant. Therefore, when one maligns the Sant, one maligns God as well. After all, when one maligns the Sant, God, who resides within his heart – is hurt. In such a case, the sin of maligning God is an even graver sin. Therefore, it is said that to malign the Sant is the gravest of all sins.” [Gadhadã III-35]

Observing Religious Vows with the Intention of Pleasing God “… If someone does not understand this and considers both to be equivalent, then he should be known to have a swabhãv of obstinacy and to be arrogant. If such a person does observe religious vows because of that obstinacy, and if he remains in the Satsang fellowship in this manner till the end, then it is all well and good; but one cannot have complete faith in him. Why? Because if he is offended by some remarks, or if his self-importance is not maintained, then he will not remain as he is. On the other hand, one who offers bhakti to God and observes religious vows with obstinacy is called a rãjarshi. Even greater, one who offers bhakti to God while observing religious vows with the intention of pleasing God is called a brahmarshi and a sãdhu. There is a similar difference in the fruits of the two as well.” [Gadhadã III-27]

The Friendship between the Jiva and the Mind “… The jiva and the mind have a similarly close friendship. So, the mind never entertains thoughts of things that the jiva does not like. Only when the jiva likes something does the mind attempt to persuade the jiva. How does it attempt to persuade it? Well, when the jiva is meditating on God, the mind suggests, ‘You should also meditate on some female devotee of God.’ The mind then makes the jiva contemplate on all of her features. Then, it forms indecent thoughts about her just as it forms indecent thoughts about other women. [Gadhadã III-6]

A constant Thought in My Mind “However, the following thought is constantly in My mind: When a person is laid down on his death-bed with death impending, everyone loses their self-interest in that person. The mind of the person who is dying also becomes dejected from worldly life. In the same way, I also constantly feel as if death is imminent for Myself as well as for others. In fact, I constantly regard each and every worldly object to be perishable and insignificant. Never do I make any distinctions such as, ‘This is a nice object, and this is a bad object.’ Instead, all worldly objects appear the same to Me…” [Gadhadã II-55]

Never Harm a Devotee of God to Experience Supreme Happiness “It is because of the influence of avarice, egotism, jealousy and anger that one spites a devotee of God. Only one who does not possess these four can revere a devotee of God. Therefore, one who wishes to experience supreme happiness in this very body and also experience supreme happiness after death should never harm a devotee of God – by thought, word or deed.” [Gadhadã II-40]