Kashidas Bhai of Bochasan asked Maharaj, “Maharaj, Saints whose only duty is to worship God could have unbreakable meditation on God. But how could the householders who have lot of distractions have unbreakable meditation on God?”
Maharaj replied, “Remembering God or not is not decided by the distractions one face. It is the attachment to things and people other than God that stops you from remembering God.”
If there are lot of disturbances in your neighbor’s family, does it bother you? No, because you are not attached to what happens to them. If some disturbance happens to your family living in a different country, then you would get so disturbed. Why? Because you have attachment with them.
To have unbreakable meditation on God, householder path or renounced path doesn’t matter much. If the attachment to non-God related objects or persons is reduced and if the attachment to God and His devotees is increased, then it is possible for anyone.
You might think, ‘If I reduce my attachment to the family, how would I run it? How would I live without any attachments, as my life is completely based on attachments?’
The family could be run like how an employee could run a company without attaching to it.
Parvat Bhai used to maintain unbreakable meditation of God and he was a householder. Govardan Bhai of Mangrol had unbreakable meditation of God. Many lady devotees of our Sampraday had unbreakable mediation of God like Jivuba, Laduba, Minbai, Raibai etc. They used to see God in all their three states of life. Gunatitanand Swami, Gopalanand Swami, and Vyapakanand Swami are some of the saints who had constant meditation of God.
What is Pravruti Marg? Pravruti Marg is performing activities for earning wealth and for the sake of family and relatives. Once you are married, you are responsible to take care of your family. It doesn’t mean you should not worship God.
What is Nivruti Marg? Austerity, Sacrifice, worship of God is Nivruti Marg. If you undertake austerities, it doesn’t mean that you will constantly remember God. Saubhari Rushi performed thousands of years of austerities. If he had remembered God constantly, he wouldn’t have decided to marry just by seeing a couple of fishes.
Who could remember God more? Maharaj said that even householder could have unbreakable meditation on God. When? When they reduce the attachments for other things and people.
How much attachment should we have to maintain the family?
Have the same attachment to your present family as you have now for your previous life family and relatives. But don’t tell the family any of these things. There would be more problems. Keep it within yourself that they are similar to what you had in previous life. If your previous life family is living next to you, you would not know. Even if you know, you might not have attachment like you had before.
There is an incident in our Sampraday supporting that. There is a village named Kalsari near Visavadar Taluka of Junagadh district. Many devotees live in that village. Gunatitanand Swami and other great Saints often visited the village. Once the devotees decided to build a temple of Lord Swaminarayan. They requested Gunatitanand Swami for the permission. Swami gave permission and asked the devotees to search for a long log of wood that is required for the top support of the temple.
Swami asked, “Is there any such tree around that would help our temple?”
Devotees replied, “There is a Kohli Patel, a farmer, who has a tree that would be good enough for the temple.”
Swami asked, “Ask Patelji if could donate the tree.”
The devotees asked the Patel. Patelji replied, “That is good. Please take the tree as my humble service to God.”
Swami made him the devotee of Maharaj, took the tree, and made the top-support of the temple with the log of that tree.
Later some other devotees told Swami, “Swami, Patelji is a very good devotee. He does a lot of service to temple. But he doesn’t have a son.”
Swami replied, “The tree that he offered would become a son in his home.”
After ten months a boy was born in Patelji’s house, and he was named ‘Govind Bhai’.
When the boy grew up, he came to know that he was that tree in previous life. He became a good devotee and used to visit that temple and do chanting sitting near Maharaj’s Murti. To detach from the worldly-relations, he used to tell himself by showing the top-support that, “You are the tree of that log of wood in your previous life.”
Even if our previous body and our previous family and relatives come to us now, we may not have that much attachment. That is why Maharaj mentioned to keep as much attachment with your present family and relatives as you would keep with previous family and relatives.
Whether a person wants to increase the attachment or decrease the attachment is completely in the hands of that person. If you decide to reduce, it reduces. If you want to increase, it increases.
The one who can decrease the attachment to other things could constantly meditate on God. It doesn’t matter if he is a householder or a Saint.
References:
16th July 2017: Los Angeles, CA
Vachanamrut Karyani 7