by Sunil Gandhi
In Param na Pathik né Chapter 24, Param Pujya Pappaji explains the brahmsutra, “Brahm-Swaroop na déha karta ténu nam, ané nam kartay ténu vachan, anant ganu kam karé chhé”
In Swami ni Vato, Swami explains that when we have attained the great sant, it is only when we completely surrender to them and do as they say, that we will become brahmrup in this very life time, which would have normally taken millions of births[1]. This emphasises that acting as per the agna and vachan of the satpurushare supreme in our sadhana.
We all do murti ni smruti of the physical form of God that we have attained, we all do dhun or jap, but these two by themselves are not enough, there is a third ingredient that we have to follow, agna and vachan, which will take us to that highest spiritual level. Fundamentally, this is about whether we act as per guru-mukhi or man-mukhi.
The physical form
The physical form of God (the Pratyaksh Gunatit Swarup whom we have attained in person) makes God tangible. Everyone who has had contact with Param Pujya Pappaji will have had some form of indescribable experience of the divine, where the soul will have been touched deeply. This is where we feel that there is something more than the material world and our incessant wants.
In some cases, the God that they had always longed for, they have met in person, in the form of the Gunatit swarup. This was the case for Param Pujya Ben, when she had the divine vision of Shastriji Maharaj.
Nonetheless, just because we have the physical association of manifest form of God, this doesn’t mean that our faults are instantly and automatically removed, though we are on the journey to emancipation. Maharaj clarifies this in the Vachanamrut where He explains that if someone were to offer poison to God, then the intrinsic nature of the poison doesn’t automatically change, albeit it will not affect God because He is the supreme Yogi.
Once, Maharaj described the qualities of two devotees, one had spent much of his time with Maharaj, but the other who, from necessity, lived far away from Maharaj:
- Regarding the former, Maharaj said that, “He stayed with me for many years but he did not develop any virtues”,
- Regarding the devotee who was physically away, but lived every moment as per Maharaj’s wishes, Maharaj said of him, “I am not even an iota of distance away from him.”
So, we can see that Maharaj is so pleased with those who live as per His agna and wishes that He will always be with them, even if they are not in physical contact with the Lord. It is clear that even though someone may be in constant physical touch with the swarup, they may not understand what pleases Maharaj and they continue to do bhakti in their own way.
Gunatitanand Swami also highlighted that sometimes there are flaws in our bhakti because our worship is based upon our own wishes and understanding, “Bhakti ma swabhav vadhé, ané dhyan ma aham vadhé…”[2]That is to say, in devotion our likes, dislikes and judgements on rights and wrongs in religious activity and satsang can actually grow, and in meditation as we feel a greater oneness with God, our ego can increase because we feel that ‘look how I can command God, look how I can stay in God’, and as such the ego increases with the feeling that ‘I am something’.
There is the story of Swarupanand Swami, who was a senior paramhansa at the time of Shreeji Maharaj, he could behold the image of Maharaj constantly. Once, Maharaj had need of him and sent a sevak to fetch him, when the sevak went to call Swami, Swarupanand Swami said that as he can see Maharaj’s murti constantly, it was not necessary for him to go to Maharaj. Swarupanand Swami had a developed such an ego about his spiritual attainment, that he even disobeyed Maharaj! Maharaj consequently inspired illness in Swarupanand Swami as a result of this flaw.
Even Gunatitanand Swami proclaimed that even if by the grace of God, someone can constantly see the murti, then so what?! Yogiji Maharaj in order to take us to highest spiritual level, started to remove this type of achievement and commenced the purification process to take devotees to a state of gnan-samadhi – a constant reality and consciousness of God in all aspects of our life. Guruhari Pappaji has continued that work, for example He removed P. P. Ben’s murti of the physical form and replaced it with the realisation of, “Maharaj, it is only You [in all bhakta].”
Namratan
The physical form makes God tangible, but meditating on God’s name, namratan, takes us to another spiritual level still, this coupled with murti ni smruti of the manifest Lord, helps with the purification process.
We know that positive reinforcement in our mind helps us physiologically and mentally with positive thinking, motivation and self-confidence, such positive reinforcement is in-it-self a mantra. However, a spiritual mantra is endowed with spiritual power, which we have all experienced when we do dhun or jap.
There are a lot of mantras, but the Swaminarayan mantra, which was given to us by the supreme Lord Himself, is the greatest mantra or all, as explained by Gunatitanand Swami, “There is no mantra as powerful as the Swaminarayan mantra. This mantra protects us from the poison of the black cobra, it destroys desires for sense pleasures, makes one brahmrup…[3]”
By meditating on God’s name, doing dhun, the divine sound penetrates into every faculty of our being, this couple with murti ni smruti, enters into our subconscious. With the power of these two, our inner desires, swabhav, and other shortcomings become nullified over time and so chanting God’s name is transformative.
Just like waves of the sea erode the cliffs on the seashore into rocks, then into boulders, then pebbles and finally into sand, the Swaminarayan mantra, will transform us and our dehabhav will be destroyed so that we realise of ourselves as spirit soul and we have the vision of the supreme Lord within the soul.
Guruhari Pappaji in Panchamrut has given us the agna to continuously do Jap Yagna and thereby be constantly filled with God, but also to solve any problem that may arise from any corner by remembering the guru and doing dhun.
Agna ané Vachan
Certainly, smruti of the manifest accompanied with Jap can take us to really high spiritual level, but despite that, without adhering to vachan and agna, it can only take to a certain level. To live by Pappaji Maharaj’s principles and forsaking ourselves is what is totally spiritually transformative.
In ‘Fragrance of Supreme Devotion’[4], Guruhari Pappaji explains that with power of murti and the Swaminarayan mantra, the likes of Pujya Kashiba, Param Pujya Kakaji and Param Pujya Ben, where able to command Maharaj to fulfil their own wishes, and the wishes of fellow bhakta. Pujya Kashiba even possessed the power of being able to see Shastriji Maharaj wherever He was and whatever He was doing. Such was the spiritual attainment of these swarupo!
However, Pappaji likens this to worshipping the paroksh Bhagwan. This is where we believe in the almighty Lord, but we still act as per our own likings. The analogy is when we offer prasad to the Lord, when we offer fruit to the paroksh murti in our mandir for example, then we may offer items as per our own likings, be it savoury or sweet, and fruit without much thought of whether the item is sweet, bitter or spicy etc. but, if we were offer fruit to Guruhari Pappaji in person, then we certainly would make sure that the item is that Pappaji likes and palatable too Him! This is the difference in worshipping the Lord as if He is pratyaksh before us, where we behave in the way He likes, and paroksh, where we do as per our own likings.
Pappaji says that it is a sin to get what we want using the strength of murti in this way. In fact, Pappaji further elucidates that by doing so, many defects will increase in us. We will be guided by our own mind, and would not heed anyone else, with the strength of the murti and mantra, we would grow arrogant (like Swarupanand Swami) and our ego would increase in the knowledge that, “See, how Maharaj is making my dreams come true!”. We would even convince ourselves that everything is ordained by God, when in fact it is we who are obliging Maharaj to fulfil our desires through the power of murti and jap.
Pappaji Maharaj explains that our inner selves can only be purified to the highest spiritual level, known as nirvikalp nischay, by having a firm conviction in God, whereby we want to worship Maharaj for His own sake, without any expectations in return. Thus, Guruhari emphasises total surrender to the Gunatit Swarup.
We are what we think, and the way we think is how we behave. We are to become the embodiment of Shreeji Maharaj and Guruhari Pappaji’s principles as per their scriptures and teachings. Whilst, dhun, bhajan, prathna, are important, to behave with Gunatit bhav is the pinnacle.
On one occasion when Pappaji Maharaj had gone for padhramani to a devotee’s house, Pappaji was pleased with the devotee because every morning he read the Param na Pathik Né. Guruhari Pappaji said to him, “It doesn’t matter if you do less dhun, but always read this so that it stays in the back of your mind, so that you behave with Gunatit bhav.” So, we can see the importance of acting as per the Gunatit principles. By what means can we achieve this? We should concede to Pappaji Maharaj and truly believe from within that ‘Whatever is mine is false, and whatever is Yours is true’[5]. Even if the guru says that is midday when it is midnight, but if we say, yes, my Lord, it is midday, Guruhari Pappaji says that if we become nothing in Him in this way, then Maharaj will be pleased and we will receive His grace.
“Annihilate the ego and He will be there.” Pappaji Maharaj says that we need to accept this. The trouble is that even though we are a mere drop of water, we think we are the ocean!5 When we do murti ni smruti, bhajan and dhun, how much of ourselves do we leave behind (rather than becoming nothing in Him), how much do we oblige the Lord to fulfil our wishes, either material or spiritual?
If, however, we sincerely endeavour to surrender to His Will totally, unreservedly, forsaking our own ego, even if it is means becoming invisible in satsang, and we act only to please Him, adhering to His agna ané vachan, then we will earn His grace and we will reach to the top most spiritual level of Param Bhagwat Sant.
Sahajanand Swami Maharaj ni Jai
[1][1] Swamini Vato App, Atmanistha – Brahmrup, Chapter 1:119
[2] “In acts of devotion, our swabhav can increase, and with meditation of the Lord, our ego can increase…”
[3] Swamini Vato App, Atmanistha – Brahmrup, Chapter 1: 153
[4] Fragrance of Supreme Devotion, Page 103 Lila Darshan.
[5] Prasann Prabodh 27th December 1992