This Week In History(52) -

|| 25 December ||

|| 26 December ||

|| 27 December ||

Vachanamrut Gadhada I-26
Shriji Maharaj says, “When only thoughts of God remain while contemplating, a state of void is attained wherein, with the exception of the form of God, that devotee does not perceive the body or the brahmand at all. Thereafter, while seeing the form of God within that void, divine light is generated, and the form of God is seen within that light. So, affection towards only the form of God in this manner is called faithful bhakti.”

Vachanamrut Loya-11
Shriji Maharaj instructs, “One should offer upasana only to God and not to any deity; if one does, then that is a grave sin, and thereby, one’s vow of fidelity is lost and one’s bhakti becomes like that of a prostitute. So, one should offer bhakti to God in the manner of Sita and Rukmini. One should meditate only on that God and not on any deity.”

Vachanamrut Gadhada II-64
Shriji Maharaj describes the yogic powers of God, “By the yogic powers of God, the 500 million-yojan surface of the pruthvi becomes the size of a sub-atomic particle at the time of dissolution. Then, at the time of creation, from being sub-atomic in size, the pruthvi again becomes 500 million yojans large. Also, thunder, lightning and dense clouds of rain appear in the monsoon season. These and all other such wonders are all due to the yogic powers of God."

|| 28 December ||

Vachanamrut Gadhada I-27
Shriji Maharaj narrates the understanding of a devotee in whose heart resides God, “Even if someone were to throw dust on me, or were to humiliate me in any way, or were to seat me on a donkey after cutting off my nose and ears; or even if someone were to honour me by seating me on an elephant – all these situations would be equal for me.’ Such a devotee views a beautiful young woman, an unattractive woman and an old woman with equality; he treats a heap of gold and a pile of stones with equality; he also possesses countless noble virtues such as gnan, bhakti, vairagya, etc. God eternally resides in the heart of such a devotee.”

Vachanamrut Loya-12
Shriji Maharaj reveals the understanding of a person with the highest level of faith in God, “One possessing the highest level of ‘nirvikalp faith’ realises that countless millions of brahmands, each encircled by the eight barriers5, appear like mere atoms before Akshar. Such is the greatness of Akshar, the abode of Purushottam Narayan. One who worships Purushottam realising oneself to be aksharrup can be said to possess the highest level of ‘nirvikalp faith’.”

|| 29 December ||

Vachanamrut Gadhada II-42
Shriji Maharaj explains, “There are two aspects of Purushottam Bhagwan’s Akshardham. The first is the sagun aspect, and the other is the nirgun aspect. Purushottam Narayan, on the other hand, cannot be described as sagun, nor can He be described as nirgun. The distinction of sagun and nirgun applies only to Akshar."

Vachanamrut Vartal-5
Shriji Maharaj reveals a spiritual short cut to enable one to become a devotee of the highest level, “Just as one performs the mansi puja of God, if one also performs the mansi puja of the ideal Bhakta along with God, by offering him the prasad of God; and just as one prepares a thal for God, similarly, if one also prepares a thal for God’s ideal Bhakta and serves it to him; and just as one donates five rupees to God, similarly, if one also donates money to the great Sant – then by performing with extreme affection such similar service of God and the Sant who possesses the highest qualities, even if he is a devotee of the lowest type and was destined to become a devotee of the highest type after two lives, or after four lives, or after ten lives, or after a hundred lives, he will become a devotee of the highest calibre in this very life.”

|| 30 December ||

Vachanamrut Gadhada I-28
Describing the characteristics of a person who is progressing in Satsang, Shriji Maharaj says, “When a person is likely to progress in Satsang, pure desires steadily flourish within him. Day by day, he sees only virtues in all satsangis. He views all devotees as superior to himself and considers himself to be insignificant. Moreover, he experiences the bliss of Satsang in his heart 24 hours a day. Such characteristics indicate that pure desires have flourished. In fact, the more such a person practises satsang, the more he benefits; and eventually, he attains profound greatness.”

Vachanamrut Loya-13
Using everyday examples to explain deep philosophical truths to the villagers, Shriji Maharaj says, “Look at the moon and the stars. Isn’t there a difference between the two? They are not similar in terms of brightness, and there is a vast difference between the intensity of their rays as well. All of the herbs are nourished by the moon, but not by the stars. Also, it is the moon that dispels the darkness of the night, not the stars. God and the muktas differ in the same way.”

|| 31 December ||

Vachanamrut Gadhada I-29
Shriji Maharaj gives clear-cut guidance on the type of company one should keep, “One should keep the company of devotees of God as well as the company of the Sant who is a knower of Brahma and who observes the five religious vows. As a result, a devotee’s bhakti for God gains tremendous vigour.”

Vachanamrut Loya-14
Shriji Maharaj reveals His personal preferences, “Now allow me to summarise my preferences in brief. I do not agree with Shankar Swami’s propagation of the non-dual Brahma. Ramanuj Swami describes Purushottam Bhagwan as transcending the perishable and the imperishable, and I worship that Purushottam Bhagwan. My bhakti towards that Purushottam Bhagwan is like that of the gopis, and the virtues of vairagya and atma-realisation within me are like Shukji’s and Jadbharat’s. These are my principles and preferences. The intelligent can realise this if they analyse my talks as well as the scriptures of our sampraday which have been accepted by me as authoritative.”