Asserted Topics:
What does it mean to enter into Vasudev?
Key Points:
- Becoming deeply attached to God is what is meant by “entering” into Him.
- The merging of water into water is not considered pravesh (entry).
Explanation:
This Vachanamrut speaks about entering into Vasudev Bhagwan (God). Shreeji Maharaj discusses the types of entry: worldly entry, entry into deities, and entry into Maharaj Himself. Maharaj explains that a worldly person immediately places faith in someone who promises wealth or a son.
There are two types of people in the world: bhaktas (devotees) and abhaktas (non-devotees). A bhakta has faith in acquiring the next life, the abode of God, and has firm belief in the means to attain it. On the other hand, a non-devotee places faith only in material acquisitions and in the tools required to gain them. Hence, Maharaj says that a worldly person places faith in wealth, progeny, and the means to acquire them.
Wealth, women, and sons are the central pillars of worldly life. These three are the seeds of worldly existence. When these three become the focus of a person’s heart, one should understand that the entire world has entered his heart. Just as Maharaj describes entering into Vasudev, one also enters into the material world. The entry of a non-devotee into the world revolves around these three pillars, with wealth being the first pursuit, leading to women, and then to children. These three represent the tangible form of worldly life.
In Vach.G.L.33, Maharaj states that wealth, prosperity, women, and sons are the principal worldly possessions. In the context of these things, very few saints and devotees remain unaffected, and even fewer place no faith in these worldly objects. For example, Muktanand Swami and Gopalanand Swami remain unmoved by even the greatest miracles and temptations.
Maharaj further says that someone who is drawn toward wealth and women cannot be trusted as a true devotee. In this Vachanamrut, Maharaj provides the example of Mancha Bhakta of Kariyani. He was a true devotee of Maharaj. Initially, he followed a different path (the Margi sect), but even then, he did not stray from his nishkami (desireless) conduct and remained a lifelong celibate. Once, an alchemist visited his home and demonstrated the ability to turn copper into silver, tempting Mancha Bhakta to learn this skill to accumulate wealth. Mancha Bhakta, however, drove him out with a stick, declaring, “I have no desire for anything other than God.”
A worldly person, when given wealth without effort, finds great pleasure in it. Maharaj remarks that even devotees struggle to resist this temptation, which is why He says that a devotee, though part of the Satsang fellowship, may be considered half-hearted. True, unwavering faith is rare, as seen in Mancha Bhakta, Muktanand Swami, and Gopalanand Swami. The pleasure derived from unearned wealth is referred to as haramchaska (illicit attraction). This enjoyment is of a different kind, which can even cause someone to forget the taste of devotion to God.
Imagine there are two things: one obtained through righteous effort and the other easily gained without effort through mantra or jantra. If we compare the two objectively, the pleasure from something unearned often feels much greater than the pleasure from something earned. The allure of the material world is so strong that it can cause even a devotee to lose awareness.
For instance, one person may need a thousand, and after effort, he receives exactly that amount. Another person, however, needs a thousand but receives double or more. The joy and attachment that come from receiving more than needed are far greater than that from just meeting one’s needs—this is maya. A person doesn’t derive as much satisfaction from eating bread as he does from owning a hoard of it. Whether he uses it or not is irrelevant, but the excess creates attachment. On the other hand, if he only gets as much as he needs, he doesn’t feel the same attachment. This is the nature of maya.
Maharaj says that a bhakta whose focus is solely on Parameshwar (God) will not find pleasure in illicit or unearned gains. A true ekantik bhakta (single-minded devotee) finds no attraction in worldly pleasures and should not have any. Only those whose hearts are centered on Parameshwar are truly ekantik bhaktas, and they enter into Vasudev Bhagwan. There are four virtues required to become an ekantik bhakta: dharma (moral integrity), gnan (knowledge), vairagya (detachment), and bhakti (devotion). When a person possesses these virtues, they enter into God. If they do not, they may enter into deities like Brahma, but not into Parameshwar. Entry into God always depends on the purity or impurity of the heart. If one’s heart is impure, entry into God will not happen, even if they desire it. One can only enter God according to the condition of their heart, not through mere desire.
What is entry? Maharaj explains that merging into God is not like water merging into water or fire merging into fire. Instead, it is like the greedy’s attachment to wealth, the lustful man’s attachment to his desired woman, or the joy a childless old man feels when he gets a son. When one develops intense attachment to God in the same way, that is called entry. One who enters into God cannot develop affection for anything else. Their focus remains entirely on God, and living without Him becomes unbearable. Such a person lives in misery without God, unable to find happiness. That is what it means to have entered into God.