Gadhadã I-16 Wisdom

Gadhadã I-16

Wisdom

1    On Mãgshar vadi 4, Samvat 1876 [5 December 1819], Shriji Mahãrãj was sitting in Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. At that time, an assembly of sadhus as well as devotees from various places had gathered before him.

2    Thereupon Shriji Mahãrãj said, “A wise devotee of God who can discern between sat and asat identifies the flaws within himself and thoughtfully eradicates them. He also rejects any apparent flaws he perceives in the Sant or a satsangi and imbibes only their virtues. Moreover, he never perceives any faults whatsoever in God. In addition, he accepts whatever words of advice God and the Santoffer as the highest truth but does not doubt their words in any way. Thus, when the Sant tells him, ‘You are distinct from the mind, body, indriyas and prãns; you are satya; you are the knower of the body, indriyas and prãns, which are all asatya’ – he accepts this to be the truth. He then behaves as the ãtmã – distinct from them all – but never follows the instincts of his own mind.

3    “Furthermore, such a person identifies those objects and evil company that may cause bondage or raise deficiencies in his ekãntik dharma and shuns them; but he does not become bound by them. Also, he imbibes positive thoughts and avoids negative thoughts. One who behaves in this manner should be known to possess wisdom.”

H Vachanãmrut Gadhadã I-16 H 16H

Gadhadã 1-10 The Ungrateful Sevakrãm

1    On Mãgshar sudi 13, Samvat 1876 [29 November 1819], Shriji Mahãrãj was sitting in Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. At that time, an assembly ofparamhansas as well as devotees from various places had gathered before him.

 

2    Thereupon Shriji Mahãrãj said, “Once, when I was travelling from Venkatãdri to Setubandh Rãmeshwar, I encountered a sadhu by the name of Sevakrãm. He had studied the Shrimad Bhãgvat and the other Purãns. But it so happened that during his journey, he fell ill. He had a thousand rupees worth of gold coins with him, but since he had no one to nurse him, he began to cry. I consoled him, saying, ‘Do not worry about anything; I shall serve you.’

 

3    “On the outskirts of the village was a banana grove which had a banyan tree within which a thousand ghosts lived. Because that sadhu had become extremely ill and was unable to walk any further, I felt extreme pity for him. I prepared a bed of banana leaves one-and-a-half feet high under that banyan tree. As the sadhu was suffering from dysentery and was passing blood, I would wash him and attend to him.

 

4    “The sadhu would give me enough of his money to buy sugar, sãkar, ghee and grains for himself. I would bring the ingredients, cook them, and then feed him. As for myself, I would go to the village for my meals. On some days, when I did not receive any food from the village, I had to fast. Despite this, that sadhu never once said to me, ‘I have enough money. Cook for both of us so that you may dine with me.’

 

5    “After serving the sadhu for two months in this way, he began to recover. Thereafter, as we walked towards Setubandh Rãmeshwar, he made me carry his belongings weighing about 20 kg, whereas he would walk with only a rosary in his hand. By then, he was healthy and capable of digesting half a kilogramme of ghee, yet he would make me carry his load while he walked empty-handed. In actual fact, my nature was such that I would not keep even a handkerchief with me. But respecting him as a sadhu, I walked carrying his belongings weighing 20 kg.

 

6    “Although I served that sadhu and helped him recover, he did not offer me even a single paisa worth of food. Therefore, realizing him to be ungrateful, I abandoned his company. In this way, a person who does not appreciate favours done by others should be known as an ungrateful person.

 

7    “In addition, if a person has committed a sin but has also performed the prescribed atonement for it as laid down in the scriptures, then whoever still considers him a sinner should himself be known as a sinner just like an ungrateful person.”

Gadhada I-4 Jealousy Like That of Naradji

Gadhadã I-4

Jealousy Like That of Nãradji

1   On Mãgshar sudi 7, Samvat 1876 [24 November 1819], Shriji Mahãrãj was sitting in Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. At that time, an assembly of sadhus as well as devotees from various places had gathered before him.

2    Then Shriji Mahãrãj said, “Devotees of God should not harbour jealousy amongst themselves.”

3    Thereupon Ãnandãnand Swãmi said, “But Mahãrãj, even then, jealousy still remains.”

4    Hearing this, Shriji Mahãrãj explained, “If one does harbour jealousy, it should be like that of Nãradji. Once, both Nãradji and Tumbaru went to Vaikunth for the darshan of Lakshmi and Nãrãyan. There, Tumbaru sang before them. As a result, both Lakshmi and Nãrãyan were pleased and rewarded him with their clothes and ornaments. Seeing this, Nãradji became jealous of Tumbaru, and thought, ‘I shall also learn to sing like Tumbaru and please God.’ 

5    “Then, Nãradji learned the art of singing and sang before God. But God commented, ‘You do not know how to sing like Tumbaru.’ Thereafter, Nãradji performed austerities to please Shiv and received his blessings to master the art of singing. However, when he sang before God again, God was still not pleased. In this way, Nãradji continued for seven manvantars. Despite this, God would not be pleased with his singing.

6    “Finally, Nãradji learned to sing from Tumbaru himself and then sang before Shri Krishna Bhagwãn in Dwãrikã. Only then was Shri Krishna Bhagwãn pleased, and only then did he reward Nãradji with his own clothes and ornaments. Thereafter, Nãradji abandoned his jealousy towards Tumbaru.

7    “Thus, if one is to harbour jealousy, one should imbibe the virtues of the person towards whom one is jealous, and should also abandon one’s own faults. If this cannot be done, then a devotee of God should at least totally abandon any form of jealousy that would result in harming another devotee of God.”

H Vachanãmrut Gadhadã I-4 H 4H