It is said in the scriptures that Devakiji represents wisdom, Vasudevji represents intelligence, and Kans represents self-admiration.
Devakiji was the sister of Kans. Even though Kans committed horrible crimes against her and her husband, can Devakiji disown Kans or cut her relationship with Kans? Can Devakiji ever say “Kans is not my brother”?
No. Their relationship is forever.
Similarly, Vasudevji is the brother-in-law of Kans. Can they both disown Kans? Can they divorce Kans or get rid of Kans in any way?
No.
Similarly, self-admiration exists even if we become wise, even if we become intelligent, or even if we become great. It always comes along with us.
Why doesn’t self-admiration go away even if we are very intelligent or very knowledgeable or very pure?
Because self-admiration is always related to the “self”. Self-admiration would say, “I am always related to you. How can you get rid of me?”
Tulsidasji has said that “There is no one in all the universes who doesn’t have a taste for self-respect.”
Self-admiration is part of the soul. Only Bhagwan knows the truth if someone claims that they don’t have any self-admiration.
Gunatitanand Swami says that “Even if a person has complete faith in Bhagwan and knows the greatness of Bhagwan, it is very difficult to get rid of self-admiration.”
Our self-admiration grows along with our faith in Bhagwan and our knowledge of Bhagwan.
If a person gets the intelligence to differentiate the soul from the rest of other things, then can we say self-admiration has been removed from the roots? No. Self-admiration would still be present.
The killer of self-admiration is intelligence. No one else other than intelligence can kill self-admiration. Yet even intelligence is fooled by self-admiration when someone says, “You are very intelligent.”
When self-admiration makes you think, “There is no one as intelligent as you,” the intelligence is fooled and thinks, “Self-admiration is so good and tasty.”
When intelligence itself doesn’t know the existence of self-admiration, how can it get rid of self-admiration?
Self-admiration is the driving force for self-loving souls
Self-admiring souls always want a certificate from society that they are pure and intelligent. They want to be known as the best.
When a person gets a compliment from someone that “Your understanding of scriptures is so good, your understanding of katha is excellent, your knowledge and intelligence is in-depth,” isn’t he happy to hear such words?
Let us say we do a lot of penance, and we follow the instructions of Maharaj as it is. Now when someone praises us, who within us is actually pleased?
Our admiring self is the one who is actually pleased. Our self thinks, “Whatever I am looking for is obtained today.” Our ears and heart are very eager to hear such words.
When a person wishes to progress from one position to another, the admiring self says, “Yes. I am with you. I will drive you.”
Devakiji was the sister of Kans, and she chose Vasudevji as her husband.
Kans heartfully accepted the marriage of Devakiji and Vasudevji, and said, “Yes. I don’t have any problem. I am happy with your decision, and I will be the driver of your chariot.”
Thus, Kans accepted the marriage proposal and made grand arrangements for their marriage.
When a soul wants to do penance, his admiring self will help him a lot. It helps him in meditation. It helps him in acquiring knowledge. Self-admiration says “You tell me what you want to become, and I will drive you there. I will be the driver for you.”
Thus, self-admiration would be the driving force behind a self-loving soul. It would be in the form of knowledge in a knowledgeable person, in the form of penance in a tapasvi, in the form of bhakti in a devotee of Bhagwan, in the form of detachment in a detached soul, and in the form of seva in a sevak.
Mindset of self-admiring souls
Self-admiration makes us take the best, highest, greatest, and foremost seat available in whatever way possible.
Kans was a huge supporter of Devakiji and Vasudevji. He encouraged their marriage. He conducted their marriage in a grand ceremony. Then, when came across a tough situation, he didn’t even hesitate to kill them.
A self-admiring soul doesn’t have any shame or shyness to take the wrong path.
Kans, or any self-admiring soul, has this mindset: Any kind of positive result, pleasures, experiences, if they are present, should only be in my favor. Any kind of name, fame, praise, or anything that society considers great, if they are present, should be in my favor. If not present, no worries, but if present, it should be only on one side: my side.
That is the mindset of a self-admiring soul. That is their ultimate goal. To achieve that goal, they might take a right path or a wrong path. They don’t have any shame or shyness in the path they take.
References:
- Chosathpadi Katha Part 19 (Pad 21).
- Chosathpadi Katha Part 20 (Pad 21).