If we think about the grace that has been bestowed upon us by Swaminarayan bhagwan, whereby Guruhari Pappaji Maharaj and His swarupo have come down to our level and have sanctified our lives, giving us a supreme spiritual experience, then we would realise that today we have attained divinity in person. Spiritually, this is such an opportunity for us to realise the supreme truth and that this is something that so few are lucky to have.
Gunatitanand Swami used to say that we should ask ourselves, “What is it that I have come to do and what is it the I am doing?” We should always ask ourselves what is it that I want to attain spiritually? Whatever we decide in terms of the type of sadhana we want do, it is a personal contract between us, Guruhari and our guru.
Pappaji used to say that for those who want to do their sadhana at the speed of Concorde, they should not be held back, and those who want to do their sadhana as if strolling through a park, they should not be criticised. In reality, Guruhari Pappaji says that sadhana is only for those who want to attain stithi (a God realised state) but for the rest, they only have to sit back and Shreeji Maharaj will do the rest. Therefore, we should not compare our progress with anyone and we should maintain samp, suhridbhav ané ekta with all satsangi.
Once, a haribhakta who was not able to regularly attend sabha because he lived far away, asked the question, “How can one become Param Bhagwat Sant without attending sabha?” The answer given was, “What is it you do at home? What sadhana do you practice by yourself?” In other words, what is our own sadhana?
In 1945, Pappaji Maharaj had written down key elements of sadhana, when Param Pujya Didi came to Tardeo some ten years later, Guruhari Pappaji explained to P.P. Didi the pertinent points of sadhana suitable for her. P.P. Didi has said that, despite her key interest in cultural activities such as dance, bhajans and so on, the most important thing for her is her own sadhana. In other words, it is all about her own efforts to establish a personal relationship with God and attain the God realised state.
On one occasion when P.P. Didi gave a spiritual discourse for youngsters, she explicitly said that even though one maybe a house-holder living in the material world with all the responsibilities and activities relating to that, we should still always have the goal that ‘I want to be a sadhu.’ Foremost, we should strive to live a life dedicated to Guruhari Pappaji, living with spiritual purity.
What does this mean for house-holders? Does it mean that we should live remote from the material world doing only puja, bhajan and meditation all day long? No, it does not mean that because we have to live in the material world. Pappaji Maharaj used to say that we do not want to run away from the world.
There are many good things in life to enjoy, but there are also many bad things to enjoy. There is nothing wrong in enjoying the good things in life, but only with one condition: ‘Pratham Prabhu, Pacchi Paglu’ – always put God first before you act. We should always ask ourselves whether Pappaji will be pleased by our actions and deeds? The answer will always be clear.
Even though we live in the material world and indulge in worldly things, still if we act as per the wishes of guru and Guruhari, keeping them predominant in our lives, then those actions will be pious. On the other hand, someone who despite following religious principles conscientiously, may not be so spiritually elevated because they do things as per their own mind and understanding.
Millennia after millennia we have undertaken our spiritual journey as per our own mind, but today we have found the Gunatit satpurush and if we act as per His wish, then our spiritual journey will have been completed in just one lifetime. This is the difference between guru-mukhi and man-mukhi, that is, acting as per God’s wish or as per the calling of our own mind. This is the glory of our Guruhari Pappaji Maharaj and the present day swarupo – this is our true sadhana.