Shree Hari Jayanti. To welcome each and every occasion, auspicious and melancholy with a light hearted, cheerful spirit is Gunatit Wisdom – Pappa
Today, on the anniversary of the birth of Lord Swaminarayan, let us make a solemn vow:
‘Oh Lord, you have clearly stated and explained your inner-most wishes, opinions and expectations in the Vachnamruts Kariyani 10, G. III 2, G. II.13, G. I. 62. Furthermore, Pujya Yogiji Maharaj lived accordingly, practising and demonstrating those principles in such a way that his life has become an inspiration to us all, encouraging us to do the same. Thus Lord, grant us the divine strength to accept You, as the supreme controller, one who inspires all events and circumstances affecting us – as stated in Vachnamrut G. II. 62. G. III.30. Give us the strength to abide by these beliefs and convictions and to practice them in our social and moral dealings.
We are all bona fide members of the Gunatit Samaj and as such everything about us; our thoughts, speech and actions are controlled by the determination (sankalpa) of the Lord and Yogiji Maharaj, at all times. It must be noted however that the Lord controls the actions and destinies of all sambadhwalas in just the same way as he does ours. His determination and prayers (sankalpas) alleviates them from the intrinsic impurities of their déhabhav and frees them from the worldly desires and lust (known as vasna) replacing them with righteous qualities (brahmbhav) which enhances their worship and devotion for the Parabrahm (God).
Thus, any incident which we would consider to be either favourable or detrimental, only appears to be so due to our own déhabhav. In reality all incidents and circumstances are inspired and initiated by the Lord himself. Therefore all are auspicious and we should greet them with a light-hearted cheerfulness. We should believe that the Lord, by highlighting this incident and bringing it to our attention, is testing our conviction. Yet, we should remain alert and aware that whatever He does, He is utilising our prarabhdhas (fate) to enhance our spiritual progress, to increase our spiritual knowledge, to strengthen our conviction and to increase the intensity and depth of our worship and devotion for the Lord. It is all for the best. Thus, whether we approve or disapprove of such an incident, if we honour it with zeal and devotion, it would indicate that our mind is firm in the knowledge of the highest truth and we have risen above the variances of hope and despair, suffering and pleasure – This is known as Gunatit Sthit-Pragnata.
If however, we feel hurt and distressed – we should consider it our own weakness that we are unable to acknowledge the Lord, and should remain happy and cheerful and feel indebted to the Lord for having revealed our déhabhav. We should pray and do japyagna so that our mind can become tranquil and neutral. Eventually our mind will become so divine that it will have no ulterior motives – it will be so pure and desireless that it will accept the Lord as the supreme controller and will be able to witness the Lord at work with ease. This is when we will have reached the end of our sadhana. Let us celebrate the anniversary of Yogiji Maharaj’s birthday by achieving this – by reaching the end of our sadhanas in this way.
The principle of a Gunatit –
Instead of being determined and insistent about explaining to others, expecting them to behave in a certain manner, if we concentrate on ourselves, accept and acknowledge the Lord as the supreme master who controls everyone’s destiny, remain firm with ourselves and pray, then we will have achieved the ultimate goal.