Sarva Karta Pre-Reading

Vachanamrut Gadhada II-21

Pre-Reading

Vachanamrut Gadhada II-21 – “The Main Principle”

Please note that we will be only reading paragraphs 1-6 of the Vachanamrut.

On Fagun sudi Punam, Samvat 1878 [7 March 1822],Swami Shri Sahajanandji Maharaj was sitting in front of the mandir of Shri
Vasudevnarayan in Dada Khachar’s darbar in Gadhada. He was wearing a white khes and had covered Himself with a white
cotton cloth. He had also tied a white pagh around His head. At that time, Premanand Swami and other paramhanso were
singing a Vishnupad before Him.

Thereupon Shriji Maharaj said, “Please stop the devotional songs. I wish to speak to all of you, so please listen attentively.” He
then said, "I, Myself, have attentively listened to all of the scriptures which Vyasji has written regarding the attainment of
liberation. The main principle prevalent in all those scriptures, and the only principle for the liberation of the jiva is simply this:
The sole creator, sustainer and destroyer of this entire cosmos is God.

“Moreover, in all of those scriptures, there are talks of the divine actions and incidents of either God or His Sant. So, liberation
cannot be attained just by the observance of the dharma of one’s caste and ashram, or through its fruits in the form of dharma,
arth and kam. This is because the observance of the dharma of one’s caste and ashram on its own may bring worldly reputation
and physical comforts, but that is all. For the purpose of liberation, however, realizing God to be the all-doer is the only means.

“In addition, if a person realizes the greatness of manifest God and His Bhakta-Sant in exactly the same way as he realizes the
greatness of past avatars of God, such as Rim, Krishna, etc., as well as the greatness of past sadhus, such as Narad, the Sanakadik,
Shukji, Jadbharat, Hanuman, Uddhav, etc., then nothing remains to be understood on the path of liberation.

“Whether this principle is understood after being told once, or after being told a thousand times; whether it is understood today,
or after a thousand years, there is no option but to understand it. Even if one were to ask Narad, the Sanakadik, Shukji, Brahma
and Shiv, since they are wise, even they, using many different techniques, would point to the manifest form of God and the
manifest form of the Sant as being the only granters of liberation. They would also explain that the greatness of the manifest
form of God and the manifest form of the Sant is exactly the same as the greatness of past forms of God and the Sant.

“A person who has such a firm conviction has grasped all of the fundamental principles. What is more, he will never fall from the
path of liberation. Brahma, Shiv, Bruhaspati, Parashar, etc., may have fallen from the path of dharma due to lust, anger, etc., but
because they had the same conviction in and knowledge of the greatness of the manifest form of God and the manifest form of
the Sant as they had of their past forms, they did not fall from the path of liberation. Thus, the essence of all of the scriptures is
this very fact.”

The Paramhanso’s Faith in Maharaj’s Kartapanu

Maharaj sent His paramhanso to travel to various places to spread His philosophy. Their vicharan led them to towns that
accepted them, and many which did not. Some people feared the influence Shriji Maharaj had. His socio-spiritual movement had
already ended long-held practices that involved killing (such as yagnas where animals were sacrificed), and various bawas and
kings feared further reform would be imminent. As a result, many of the Shriji Maharaj’s messengers were punished out of fear.
Brahmanand Swami and Muktanand Swami were two of the many sadhus who persisted with faith, courage, and tolerance.
One day, these two sadguru sadhus were imprisoned in a room by an envious bawa. The peaceful ways of these paramhanso
asked that they accept the punishment delivered to them without the slightest bit of reservation. Accordingly, they saw their
fate flash before their lives in the knife of this bawa. After ensuring the two sadhus were securely imprisoned, the bawa slowly
exited outside to collect his weapons. Picking up his knife, he noticed it required some sharpening. The sadhus were tied up
inside, and so the bawa had no reservation in taking some time to sharpen his weapon. Understanding his fate, Brahmanand
Swami began to contemplate the circumstances of his eventual death (will they get killed or just have their nose and ears
chopped off?). “How could this happen to us,” he quietly mused. Muktanand Swami said to him, “In whose hands does the
power to cut off our nose and ears lie? Throughout the whole of creation, only Shriji Maharaj’s will has prevailed. Whatever he
does will be for our benefit, and nothing else. In our past births, our limbs have been severed for our families, so this time they’ll
be cut off for Maharaj!” Brahmanand Swami, admiring Muktanand Swami’s understanding, contemplated his words and
developing his own faith.

In the meantime, a devotee named Raghav Jat noticed the bawa menacingly sharpening his knife and arrived on the scene. His
intuition recognized that the situation encompassed more than what was immediately visible. Judgment and inquiry led him to
realize what was actually about to occur. Being one of the transformed devotees of Shriji Maharaj, he leapt to action. With his
own scolding words, he used his demeaning stature to chase the bawa away from the scene. Seeing the two sadhus tied up
inside, he freed them to continue on their vicharan.

The Story of Pujya Sant Swami

Anyone lucky enough to witness a meeting between Param Pujya Swamishri and Pujya Sant Swami will be the first to tell you the
magnitude of their love for each other. Seeing them begin to do dandvats to each other upon arrival was a sight no one would
forget. Pujya Sant Swami had intense mahima for Param Pujya Swamishri, and for Bhagwan Swaminarayan—that was what
cultivated his intense faith in Maharaj’s kartapanu. This understanding might have been the single most important component of
his life during his final days.

In 1992, Pujya Sant Swami suffered a massive heart attack. He was in Sarangpur at the time, while Param Pujya Swamishri was
some miles away. Upon hearing the news, Swamishri immediately drove to Sarangpur in the middle of the day to meet him.
Swamishri entered the room in which Pujya Sant Swami lay, and slowly moved towards the bed. The joy emanating from both of
their faces was more than visible. Pujya Sant Swami softly turned his head to Swamishri and said to him, “take me to
Akshardham”. Swamishri replied, “I will, the coming Uttarayan.”

During January of 1993, the festivities for Uttarayan were underway in Sarangpur. On the day of the festival, Param Pujya
Swamishri was doing puja. Whilst doing mala, a sant rushed up to the stage and nervously whispered something into Swamishri’s
ear. “Pujya Sant Swami looks very ill, Swami.” Param Pujya Swamishri met his frantic face with unseen poise. He replied, “there is
still time”. Gesturing for the sadhu to return to the side of the stage, he continued finishing his puja.

Immediately after he was done, Param Pujya Swamishri wasted no time in going to see Pujya Sant Swami. He climbed up the
steep steps that led to his room, without the aid of a single sevak. Pujya Sant Swami lay on his bed, pale, but clearly happy to see
Swamishri’s face. Swamishri calmly walked up to the bed, and sat by its side. Moving his hand towards Pujya Sant Swami’s heart,
he repeated “Swaminarayan” three times, all whilst moving his hand in a circular direction. On the third “Swaminarayan,” Pujya
Sant Swami closed his eyes. This is the power of the pragat Sant—the same one defined in Vachanamrut Gadhada II-21, who has
the power not just to see the future, but to change it.