Swami Shreeji!

Volume 5, Issue 5-6 Satsang Times May-June, 2015 Let’s Welcome Chaturmaas

In this issue: Though He was totally detached from the worldly affairs, Shreeji Maharaj always liked festivals. He celebrated many festivals with grandeur and  Let’s Welcome religious fervor and infused new excitement in people who were frustrated Chaturmaas due to the terror of kings, oppression of dacoits, bad customs, etc. He  How Do We overcome reformed the celebration of festivals, to be devoid of any vices and bad Maya? customs. It was a new way of celebrating festivals, where fatanaas (songs with swearing and illicit words) were replaced by devotional songs;  Kakaji Where Faith Conquers Logic bhaand-bhavais (illicit dramas and dances) were replaced by traditional dances such as raas; gambling, drinking, and other vices were replaced  Festivals During by acts of kindness, donation, fasting, and good deeds. Maharaj Chaturmaas incorporated spiritual discourses into these festivals to guide people towards more divine activities. The atmosphere was fun-filled, and the

main highlight of these festivals was the divine knowledge Bhagwan would impart. As a result, these festivals became a pathway to liberation and were referred to as samaiyaas. Divine Days:

Chaturmaas is a period of four auspicious months in the Indian calendar,  July 31: GuruPoornima and was eagerly awaited by devotees because of the many festivals  August 29: celebrated within this period (see full list below). It begins with the month Rakshabandhan of Ashaadh, in which we celebrate Guru Poornima and Hindola Parva. In  September 1: Pappaji’s Birthday the month of Shravan, we celebrate Lord Krishna’s birthday,  September 5: Lord Rakshabandhan, and in the month of Bhadarvo. We Krishna’s Birthday have Navratri and in the month of Aso.

Chaturmas begins with Devpodhi —the eleventh day of the first bright half, Shukla , of Ashadh —until Prabodhini Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the first bright half of . Devpodhi Ekadashi is also called the “Niyamani Ekadashi.” On this day, devotees perform one extra Note from the Editor: spiritual observance to please Lord , who is at the doorstep of King Please contact us at Bali in the paataal (nether regions). To continuously remember Him in [email protected], hopes that He returns early, devotees perform various spiritual activities. or [email protected] This tradition was continued by Shreeji Maharaj Himself by giving vows to with any feedback. His devotees. In verses 76-78 of Shikshapatri, Shreeji Maharaj has mentioned some observances for devotees during these four months. From Chicago, Parixit and Richa’s Once, during Shreeji Maharaj’s stay in Mangrol, this Ekadashi was being Jay celebrated. Devotees from various places came for Maharaj’s darshan and took a vow according to their capacity, such as listening or reading stories of God, singing God’s glory, offering mahapooja by bathing the image of God in panchamrut [milk, butter, yogurt, sugar, and honey], chanting God’s name, reciting stotra, doing pradikshina [circling clockwise around the image of God], and offering prostrations. Pleased with their devotion and wanting to elevate them, Shreeji Maharaj graciously commanded the devotees to take one more vow: To meditate upon the manifest form of God by thoroughly understanding His greatness (HariCharitramutSagar 3/20). Satsang Times, Volume 5, Issue 5-6

This year, Chaturmaas begins from July 27. Understanding the inner wish of Shreeji Maharaj to worship the manifest form of God, let’s remember the gunatit saints, the manifest form of God, in all our actions, and all the time. In addition, let’s partake in at least one spiritual observances to reap the full benefit of these four months.

How Do We Overcome Maya? Continuation of previous article…

Let’s say we are locked in a room with a latch closed from outside. Only a person on the outside can unlock us. Our task is to find a person on the outside, who will release us from the closed room.

The first person who is above the realm of Maya is the Lord Himself. Let’s suppose an ingenious software engineer created a computer virus that can affect millions of computers. No antivirus software has been found yet. The computer virus is very deceptive and potent, and only a few people, besides him, can understand it. No one else except him can develop an antivirus to stop it. No matter how powerful the virus is, only the engineer has the ultimate power to stop it from victimizing others. We can assure that his members and friends are not his targets.

Similarly, since the Lord has created maya, He completely controls it (Vachanamrut Gadhada First 51). Only He can decide who should be affected by it and who should not be affected by it (Vachanamrut Gadhada Middle 21). If we are in the beads of His rosary, maya would not be able to create bondage for us. By offering single-minded devotion to Him with the understanding of His magnanimity, accepting Him as the All-doer and with a form, and following His commands, one can find a place in His rosary.

The second person above maya is Aksharbrahm Gunatitanand Swami, the divine abode of Lord SwamiNarayan, or Brahm. Let’s assume our software engineer developed an antivirus that required a secret activation code. Without the code, the antivirus software is useless. Besides Him, only His secretary has the activation code. Due to his/her proximity, the secretary also learned of the complexity of the virus and methods to prevent it. We can assume that whomever is in close association with His secretary also may not feel threatened by this virus. Similarly, Lord SwamiNarayan has given the key of Akshardham to his chosen devotee Gunatitanand Swami. Whomever pleases Gunatitanand Swami also gets liberated from the shackles of maya, while the ultimate controller remains Lord SwamiNarayan (Vachanamrut Gadhada First 73).

The Shrimad Bhagvat Puran states, “God dispels the ignorance of maya through His dham.” It is only through Aksharbrahm that a soul can associate itself with God and understand Him well enough to seek complete refuge in Him. Due to maya, the soul is clouded and distracted from its association with God. By associating with Aksharbrahm, the soul becomes divine by default because Aksharbrahm is eternally divine. All of the actions and experiences of the soul become divine, thereby bringing the soul out of the darkness of maya.

So far we learned that Brahm and Parabrahm are above the shackles of maya. What if our programmer decided to give out the secret code for the antivirus to other qualified individuals in their close association? As a result, there are now many individuals who can remove the virus from our computers. Similarly, saints who have developed unity with Brahm can elevate souls from the bondage of maya. In Vachanamrut Gadhada First 54, Lord Swaminarayan cites the Shrimad Bhagavat Puran and says that the

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Satsang Times, Volume 5, Issue 5-6 gunatit saint is the only pathway to God and to liberation. Like Aksharbrahm, he is responsible for helping the souls get free from maya. In fact, the gunatit saints are the manifestations of God on this earth, as described by Nishkulanand Swami in Purushottam Prakash, 41. In Vachanamrut Sarangpur 10, Maharaj also states the darshan of such saints is equal to the darshan of God.

Thus, Lord SwamiNarayan, Gunatitanand Swami, and the Gunatit saints are above maya, who can release us from the shackles of maya. Just as fishes near the fisherman are not caught by his net, souls who are near these 3 entities will not be affected by maya. After physically departing from the world, God forever remains on the earth through gunatit saints and helps souls to elevate from the tangle of maya (Vachanamrut Vardtal 10). However, the challenge remains how do we recognize a gunatit saint? What are the qualifications of such saints?

To be continued… Kakaji Where Faith Conquers Logic A few days ago, I received a very unique text message. It was a conversation between a pregnant mother and her daughter. Testing her daughter’s morals, she lovingly asked her daughter, “What do you want – a brother or a sister?” “Brother,” replied her daughter. Mom asked, “Like whom? Ram or Ravan.” “Ravan,” said the daughter. She became angry upon hearing this and tersely asked, “Why?” “Why not?” the daughter replied, “Ravan risked all his royal ship and kingdom, all because his sister was disrespected. Even after kidnapping Sita, he didn’t ever touch her. On the other hand, Ram left his pregnant wife after listening to a washer man, though His wife always stood by His side.” The mother was in tears.

This is the power of logic. By logical arguments, we can change the perspective of the situation. By logical arguments, we can prove a dacoit to be a , and vice versa. Logic can prove that the act of stealing is as good as the act of donation. We live in a society, where by logic, genuine people suffer and fakes are worshipped. In 1975, several years before his death, Chaplin entered a look-alike contest of himself in France. At the time of the competition, he was in France. As a joke, he entered the contest incognito. The competition ended and he placed 3rd! When asked, Chaplin attributed his third place to logic of judges, but his faith made him a first-place winner in the real life.

Intellect is a gift and it is normal to apply logic. It is appropriate in many situations, such as buying a car. We need to use our intellect and logic to choose the car that best fits our needs and budget. However, there is something beyond logic and intellect. We see many cases where doctors have lost hope, yet a patient is cured. There is something beyond our mental limitations. We describe it as faith. When logic doesn’t work, faith sustains. When there is faith, logic simply doesn’t exist. Kakaji had such faith in the words of Shastriji Maharaj. Due to this, logic and intellect were never able to deceive him even in the most difficult commands given by Shastriji Maharaj. Whether it was Shastriji Maharaj’s command to not go abroad after graduation, or donating his borrowed business funds for the temple, or to accept Kantikaka as his brother and business partner, or to accept Yogi Bapa as Shashtriji Maharaj, Kakaji’s faith made him victorious in all situations. Logically, none of these situations made sense at the time, as they were simply beyond ordinary thinking. It was almost impossible for Kakaji to earn more money in India than in London, especially in the very first year of business. But Kakaji believed it and indeed, his profit from the first year of business was 700,000 rupees, more than triple than the 60000 rupees he would have made in London. Today’s generation is called the Y generation, referring to their tendency to question everything. It is said a logical mind is an innovative mind, and it is imperative to think logically to analyze situations, quench our thirst of curiosity and continue a quest of innovation. It was because Newton was curious that we now have a concept of gravitational force. Because Steve Jobs was innovative, we have Apple products. On

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Satsang Times, Volume 5, Issue 5-6 the other side, we accept many things on faith, without questioning them. How many of us have seen air, yet we don’t question when we breathe. We trust that the air we breathe contains oxygen. How many of us have seen a snake biting a person and the person dying from it? Nah! Yet, we still get afraid and run away when we see a snake! We never question such things.

It is because we have total faith in the words of others. Someone told us and we accept it without questioning. Because Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, we believe that we can go to the moon as well. Similarly, when we cultivate faith in our spiritual masters, the questions of ‘Why” and ‘How’ never exists. Just as a worldly person has faith in his possessions, a strong person has faith in his power; a spiritual person has faith in the words of Lord and Guru.

Yogi Bapa asked Kakaji to help Nandaji to win the election in 1951. From a psychological perspective, there are two sides to the human mind. First is the rational side, which is logical and reasonable and allows you to analyze a given situation with intellect. The second side is the emotional side, which is subconscious and allows you to follow your faith. If one analyzes this particular situation with his rational mind, a defeat of Nandaji was inevitable for so many obvious reasons. Firstly, Nandaji’s opposition was the popular king of Idar, Himmatsingh, who had been ruling the region since 1931. At that time, kings were worshipped like gods. Typically, people would remain loyal to them and were naturally inclined to vote for them. Secondly, even the members of Nandaji’s own party were not in his favor. In fact, Nandaji was deliberately given this seat on the assumption he would lose.

At that time, Kakaji was living a very affluent life in Mumbai, with amenities one could only dream of. Going to Sabarkantha meant very strenuous conditions, where you would barely get clean water to drink, or a neat space to sleep. It also meant inviting a sea of mental stress in the form of insults and ridicule by local people, constant fear of being killed by wild animals, local outlaws and oppositions. Also, leaving a smooth and successfully running business to someone else’s hands could end up in havoc. However, Kakaji had faith in Bapa’s blessings in a letter, stating that “victory is on the side of the one who has the side of the saint.” As a result of Yogi Bapa’s blessings and Kakaji’s incessant and meticulous efforts, Nandaji implausibly won the election by 22,374 votes.

Another such command by Yogi Bapa was to initiate 51 educated saints. For any given challenge, it requires courage to say yes and accept the challenge. For example, if someone challenges you to run the marathon, you can say no and simply go home and relax. If you say yes, the real training starts immediately! It is easy to say I don’t believe in God, and don’t want to follow the commands of God and His saints. The real challenge starts when you have faith in God and resolve to sacrifice yourself to fulfill the command of God. Day and night, Kakaji endeavored to fulfil Bapa’s wish. Doing this, Kakaji faced insults and accusations, but that did not hinder Kakaji. Many people would have argued, ‘Isn’t it better that educated youths serve the society by staying in the society?’ They are logically correct. For example, Doctor Swami could have practiced medicine and treated sick people. But, Yogi Bapa had a vision that in the future, through these saints, many more youths would become free of vices and serve society. This is a much bigger impact than the patients he would have seen! Hence, Kakaji had faith in Yogi Bapa’s vision; he full-fledged supported Yogi Bapa’s mission. As a result of his faith in yogi Bapa, on May 10, 1961, during Yogi Bapa's 70th birthday celebration, 51 young educated saints took initiation in Gadhada. Among these were Aksharvihari Swami, Mukundjivan Swami (Guruji), Purushottamcharan Swami (Kothari Swami), Keshavjivandas Swami (Mahant Swami), Svayamprakash Swami (Doctor Swami), and other divine saints. Today, they are the important pillars of Yogi Divine Society (YDS) and Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS), and thousands of youth volunteers, under their guidance, are serving the society. 4

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The centennial celebration of Kakaji and Pappaji is approaching very soon. Their lives were the epitome of faith, where worldly calculations and questions never existed. Their faith conquered logic. We pray to Lord Swaminarayan, Gunatitanand Swami and all gunatit saints that we cultivate such indomitable faith and fulfill their commands with utmost sincerity.

Festivals During Chaturmaas Devpodhi Ekadashi and Chaturmaas begins Ashadh Lord Vishnu stays at King Bali's doorstep. sud 11 The four months that special niyams are observed (through Shravan, Bhadarvo, Aso, and upto Kartik sud 11). The month of Shravan is especially sacred (see Shikshapatri verse 76). Traditionally, a waterless fast is observed. Gurupoornima Ashadh Vyasji's birthday. sud 15 Traditionally, guru poojan is performed. Hindola Parva begins Ashadh Devotees place Lord Swaminarayan in decorative swings for 1 month (upto vad 2 Shravan vad 2). Rakshabandhan Shravan Also known as Shraavani, Baleva, and Nariyali . sud 15 Lakshmiji ties a raakhadi on King Bali's hand and asks that Lord Vishnu (whose dwarf incarnation is known as Lord Vaman), return to his abode. and Shiva agree to stay 4 months each to fulfill Lord Vishnu's promise - Lord Vishnu stays during chaturmaas. Traditionally, sisters tie a raakhadi or, in Hindi, a raakhi (decorative string) on their brother's hand. The guru ties a raakhadi or naadachadi for the disciple's protection. Birthday of Lord Hayagriv (horse incarnation of Lord Vishnu). A new yagnopavit/janoi is adorned by Yajurvedi and Rugvedi . Janmashthami Shravan Lord Krishna's birthday in Mathura at 12 midnight. vad 8 Traditionally, a fast is observed. Lord Varah's birthday (Lord Vishnu's boar incarnation). Bhadarvo A new yagnopavit/janoi is adorned by Samvedi Brahmins and saints. sud 3 Ganeshchaturthi Bhadarvo Ganesh's birthday (see Shikshapatri verse 127). sud 4 Jal Zilani Ekadashi Bhadarvo Lord Krishna takes the Gopis boating on Yamuna River sud 11 Clay moorti of Ganesh is taken to river bank, offered poojan, and immersed in water (visarjan). Water is also poured on Thakorji (abhishek). Traditionally, a waterless fast is observed. Lord Vaman's birthday Bhadarvo sud 12

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Shraadh begins Bhadarvo Ancestors are remembered for 16 days (upto Bhadarvo vad 15) per vad 1 the tithi that they have passed away (otherwise done on amaas). Navratri or Norata begins Aso sud 1 Mahishasur (the bull demon) fights Lord Shiva's consort, Shakti (also known as Mataji, goddess Durga, Amba, Ambika, Bhavani, and Chamunda) for 9 days (upto Aso sud 9). She is victorious on the 10th day. Traditional dances (such as garba and dandia-raas) last 9 nights. Women also observe special fasting. Dushera or Vijaydashmi Aso sud Lord Rama is victorious against the demon Ravan. Thus all times of the day 10 are considered auspicious. Traditionally, devotees enjoy jalebi and faafdaa with chutney. Sharad Poornima Aso sud Lakshmiji (goddess of wealth) moves around the beautiful night sky asking 15 "ko jagarti," searching for people who are awake. Lord Krishna plays mahaaraas with the Gopis in Vrundavan. Gunatitanand Swami's birthday in Bhadra, . Traditionally, devotees eat doodhpauvaa (parched rice in milk). Vaaghbaaras Aso vad "Vaagh" is repaying one's financial debts - account books are thus cleared. 12 The cow, also a symbol of mother earth, is offered poojan. Aso vad "Dhan" is wealth - devotees pray that they may use money positively. 13 Also known as -poojan, the goddess of wealth is worshipped. Kaalichaudash Aso vad Hanuman is offerred poojan (see Shikshapatri verse 127). 14 Lord Krishna vanquishes the demon Narkasur. Diwali Aso vad On the "festival of lights," Lakshmiji emerges from the samudra manthan; 30 Lord Rama returns to Ayodhya; and the Pandavs return from exile. Traditionally, festivities include fireworks, lighting of divas (lamps), and rangoli decorations. Also, Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, is worshipped by doing poojan to books (Sharda Poojan or Chopda Poojan). Nutan Varsh Kartik sud On the Hindu New Year day, devotees resolve to live a divine life, as 1 previous ill feelings toward anyone are forgiven. Lord Vaman asks King Bali for 3 steps. Lord Krishna teaches pratyaksh poojan of Govardhan Mountain. Traditionally, annakut is setup at temples and varieties of foods are offered to God (sweets are placed nearest God, followed by vegetables, etc. with a mountain of cooked rice in the center). Bhaibeej Kartik sud Yamunaji (the manifest form of Yamuna River) invites her brother Yamaraaj 2 (demigod of death) to her home. Traditionally, opposite of Rakshabandhan, brothers visit their sister's home.

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Labhpancham Kartik sud "Labh" means benefit - shops reopen for the New Year. 5 Devuthi Ekadashi and begins Kartik sud End of Chaturmaas. Lord Vishnu returns to Vaikunth from King Bali's 11 doorstep. Traditionally, a waterless fast is observed. Devotees offer poojan to the (stone representation of Lord Krishna) with tulsi/vrunda leaves. Birthday of Dharmadev, Lord Swaminarayan's father in Samavat 1796. Neelkanth Varni/Sarjudas initiated as Sahajanand Swami/Narayan Muni by Ramanand Swami at Piplana in 1800, then appointed at Jetpur in 1801. (Source: www. Kakaji.org)

Jay SwamiNarayan!

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