^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ JJ Ÿ¢è S±¢ç}¢Ý¢Ú¢²‡¢¢ï ç±Á¢²¼ï¼Ú¢}¢ì JJ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ SATSANGI JEEVAN ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ PUBLISHED UNDER THE ORDERS ^ ^ ^ ^ of ^ ^ H.H. Acharya Maharaj 1008 ^ ^ Shri Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj ^ ^ ^ ^ Shri Narnarayandev Desh Peeth ^ ^ Kalupur, Ahmedabad. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Translated in to English ^ ^ Shri Jethalal Dhanji Savani (Kera-Kutch & London) ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ First English Edition ^ ^ 22th July, 2013 (Gurupurnima) ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Publishers ^ ^ Shri Swaminarayan Temple ^ ^ Kalupur, Ahmedabad-380 001. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ • • • • • ^ ^ ^ ^ Kalupur, Ahmedabad-380001. Shri SwaminarayanTemple Shri SwaminarayanMudranalaya PRINTER : Kalupur, Ahmedabad-1. Shri SwaminarayanTemple Book Designing: Rs. :150/-(ConcessionalRate) Copies :1,000 ^ First EnglishEdition:22 All PublishingRightsReserved Kalupur, Ahmedabad. Shri SwaminarayanTemple, Mahant Swami Shastri SwamiHarikrishnadasji PUBLISHERS ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ th ^ July,2013(Gurupurnima) ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý ^ S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý ^ ^ ^ ^ says (Vachnamrut58,Gadhadamiddlechapter) thatascripturedescribing salvation (Moksha)inthisKaliYug.Moreover, SwaminarayanBhagwan Leelas ofAlmightyGodisthesure,straight andshortestpathfor thousands ofYagnasinpresenttimes.To singandlistentothedivine the lineageofAcharyaswithinHisown family. Shikshapatri andaskedHissaintstowrite ScripturesandHeestablished devotees andcreatedanarmyofcelibatesaints,HeHimselfwrote and installedHisownvariousMurtis,HegaveDikshatofaithful Lord Swaminarayanestablishedfourinstitutions.Hebuiltgrandtemples the SampradayHeestablishednotonlysurvivesbutthrivesforever, Swaminarayan andestablishedapureSampraday.Tomakesurethat establish trueSanatanDharma.HetookbirthindependentlyasLord Lord NarayandecidedtocomeontheEarthprotectpiousandre- malpractices andmisinterpretationofreligiousedictsforselfishmotives, the ‘SatsangiJeevan.’ how aSatsangishouldlivehislife(jeevan),thereforeitisaptlycalled His scripturesandsaintsiscalled‘Satsangi.’Thisshows The personwhoassociatesandkeepsthecompanyofthesethree;God, ciation (sang)with‘sat’;God,Scripturesanddevoteeiscalled‘Satsang.’ (true person).Thesecondsyllable‘sang’meansassociate.asso- by thereligiousedictsreflectedinscripturesiscalledSatpurush but the‘true-sat’scripturesremainunaltered.Adevoteewhoabides remain trueatalltimes.Historychangeswiththetimeandinterpretation scriptures whichrecordandretellHisdivineattributesLeelas established andespousedbyHimeternallyremainstruetoitscore.The ing. Godisoneentitywhichcanneverbenegated.Thereligion syllable ‘sat’meanssomethingwhichalwaysremainstrueandunchang- S ^ ATSANGI ^ ^ It isnotpossibletomeditateuponGod foryearsorconduct Upon hearingtheascendencyofeviloverpiousand What isSatsang?Thewordmadeoftwosyllables.first ^ J ^ EEVAN ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ FOREWORD ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ develop interestinlisteningtoLord’sKatha. Swamiwrites(V8,Ch.2 than manyYagnasandgreatdonations puttogether.Butonemust the Punyaofreadingevenasmallportion ofthisscriptureisgreater studies thisscriptureissavedbythepoison ofthisworld.Headdsthat for devotees.Singingthepaeansthisscripture, hesaysthatwhoever water isthelifeforceforfishes,Satsangi Jeevanisthelifeforce that thisscriptureislikealifesupportmachine fordevotees.Justas with Hismemory.Shatanandswamisays(v.43,Ch.70,FifthPrakaran) death, theseLeelasremindusofHimandsoulachievesgreatheights remember Leelasofone’sIshtadev.IfweforgetGodatthetime Hari. learn thisscripturetostrengthentheirfaithanddevotioninLordShree to understandthemessageofLordShreeHari.EverySatsangimust and the‘Vachnamrut’,‘SatsangiJeevan’isaveryimportantscripture His Leelasandmessageingreatdetail.Alongwiththe‘Shikshapatri’ Swami hascomeveryclosetoachievingthisgoal.Hedescribed other virtuesingreatdetail. equanimity, egalitarianism,nonblasphemous,detachmentetc.besides The SatsangiJeevandescribesLordSwaminarayan’sgenerosity, this knowledgeaboutHimandlisteningtoHisdivineLeelasrepeatedly. devotion tofructify.TheinGodgrowsmanifoldbyacquiring knowledge aboutHim,Hisgloryandsupremacyisvitalforthe nourish andstrengthendevotioninHim.Justlikethedetachment, sermons depictingreligion,knowledgeanddetachmentwhichhelp besides narratingthedivineLeelasofLordSwaminarayan,isfull intelligence tohelphimcompile‘SatsangiJeevan’.Thisscripture, Lord SwaminarayanblessedShatanandSwamiwithdivinevisionand asked ShatanandSwamitocompileascripturedescribingHisLeelas. most vitalmeanstokeepaSampradayeverlasting.TothisendHe the purposeofmanifestationone’sIshtadevandHisLeelasis ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Lord SwaminarayansaysinVachnamrut(3rd)thatonemust No oneisabletodescribeBhagwan’sLeelasinfull,butShatanand ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý ^ S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý ^ ^ ^ ^ Satsangis inourSampraday. me despitethefactthattherearemany othermoreknowleadgeable giving methisopportunitytoserveourSampradayandreposefaithin tion. grammatical additionsandalterationsbeforethefinalphaseofpublica- their valuabletimeinproofreadingthetext,carryingoutnecessary Mandvi andMr.DipakbhaiKanjiRabadiaofBaladiawhohavegivenup script. IamespeciallygratefultoMrs.RasmitabenKapilRabadiyaof guidance besidescorrectingthegrammaticalomissioninEnglish Mr. NanjibhaiMeghjiHiraniofNaranpurforhiscontinuoussupportand move simultaneouslyfortheeaseofreading.Iamalsoverygratefulto great dealofhistimetosetSanskritandEnglishscriptssothatthey in theSanskritscript.AtulbhaiPatelofAmdavadtemplehasgivena temple forgivinghisvaluabletimetocheckandcorrectanymistakes I amalsogratefultoSadguruShastriSwamiNirgundasjiofAmdavad of Bhujtempleforhisteaching.Hehasbeenagreatinspirationtome. I hopethiswillmakeabetterreading. the concurrenceofH.AcharyaMahajshreeandMotaMaharajShree. than aliteraltranslation.Thiswasdecidedaftertheconsultationwithand translated andpreparedaswholetoconveythetotalmeaningrather - toreadtheSatsangiJeevanforMoksha(V16,Ch.68,5thPrakaran). Almighty LordSwaminarayanrecommendsallHisfuturedevotees-us only attheascentofPunyasaccumulatedoverhundredsbirths. 1st Prakaran)thatonedevelopskeeninterestinlisteningtoHisKatha S ^ ATSANGI ^ ^ IshallforeverremainindebtedtoH.AcharyaMaharajshreefor Iamverygratefultomyguru,ShastriSwamiAksharPrakashDasji As thescriptureitselfisinanarrativeform,eachchapter ^ J ^ EEVAN ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ (Kera -Kutch&London) ^ Jethalal DhanjiSavani ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ scripture availableataconcessionaryrate, ourdevoteesShreeDevshibhai is faithfultotheoriginaltextbyShatanand swami.Tomakethis of oureminentscholars,toensurethatthe Sanskrittextinthisvolume addition. AcharyaMaharajshreedirected Shastri swamiNirgundasji,one Satsangi JeevanfromSanskrittextwithout anydeviation,omissionor has previouslytranslatedthe‘Shikshapatri ArthDeepika’,totranslatethe Jethalalbhai DhanjiSavani(ofKera-Kutch andpresentlyLondon),who need inmind,ourAcharyaMaharajshreedirecteddevoteeShree English versionsofimportantscripturesavailableforthem.Keepingthis and thereforealwaysrequestedH.AcharyaMaharajshreetomake Africa andAustralasiahaveagenuinedifficultyinunderstandingGujarati Second andthirdgenerationsofdevoteessettledintheU.K.,U.S.A., one mustendeavourtoreadsuchscriptures. our Sampraday.Sampradayisnourishedbyitsscriptures.Therefore, reading andunderstandingourscriptures,asitisessentialtounderstand scriptures. Thisisnotso.Alargenumberofourdevoteesundertake argue thatwedonotgetorhaveenoughtimetoreadsuchvoluminous Yagnik, whichwaswarmlywelcomedbydevoteesatlarge.Manypeople and comprisingtheoriginaltextitsGujaratitranslationbyDr.Indulal he publishedthebilingualversionofSatsangiJeevan,infivevolumes Katha -ParayanrecitedbySadguruswamiHarikeshavdasji.Lateron, Maharajshree undertookthepublicationofSatsangiJeevaninaform diocese overtheyears.Asapartofthisprocess,H.Mota has beenanintegralandcontinuousprocessbyShreeNarNarayanDev volumes, wascomposedinSanskrit.Thepublicationoforiginalscriptures epic scripturecalledthe‘SatsangiJeevan’.Theoriginalscripture,infive swami compiledBhagwan’sLeelasandHisphilosophicalmessageinan asked swamitocomposeascriptureoutliningHisLeelas.Shatanand ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Our Sampradayhasflourishedinallfourcornersoftheworld. To fulfilwishesofSadguruShatanandswami,BhagwanShreeHari ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ PREFACE ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý ^ S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý S¢yS¢æx¢è Á¢è±Ý ^ ^ ^ ^ emancipation fromthisworld. important tooltounderstandbasicphilosophyofourSampradaytheir our youngSatsangistoreadandstudySatsangiJeevan,whichisan in publicationofthisvoluminousscripture.Isincerelyhopeandrequest His blessingspleasureonallotherswhohavecontributedinanyway services inpreparationofthisGranth.MayBhagwanShreeHarishower and ShastriswamiNarayanmunidasjihavealsorenderedvaluable and H.H.MotaMaharajshree.BrahamchariPujariswamiRajeshwaranandji great pleasureofBhagwanSwaminarayan,H.H.AcharyaMaharajshree Taraben DevshiHalaiandHarishbhaiVeljiHalai.Theyhaveearned family members;namelyVeljibhaiSamjiHalai,AmarbaiVelji rendered agreatfinancialserviceinmemoriesoftheirAksharNivasi Velji HalaiandShreePrafulbhai(ofSurajpur,Kutch)have S ^ ATSANGI ^ Shri RasikbhaiAmbalalPatel Shri Dr.Kantibhai Shri RatibhaiKhimajibhaiPatel Shri RamanbhaiPranbhaiPatel