Until we clearly know the difference between ourselves and Bhagwan, we will not have the glow of saintliness in us.
Once, when Shreeji Maharaj was conducting a katha on firm faith, He said, “Before attaining firm faith, a soul glows like a firefly. As the soul begins to develop firm faith, its glow increases like that of the moon progressing toward full moon day.”
What is the process of increasing our firm faith in Bhagwan?
Shreeji Maharaj explained the process with the example of Lord Krishna.
When Lord Shri Krishna was a little kid, the people of Vraj (Vrindavan) initially thought that this Kannaya (Krishna) was one among them. Gradually they understood that He is not like any of them but is entirely something else.
Then, when Krishna performed Yamala-Arjun Lila and liberated two demigods trapped in a couple of trees, by noticing the demigods from those trees worshipping Krishna and Balaram, the people of Vrindavan believed Krishna and Balaram were not just different but were indeed superior to even the demigods.
Then they remembered the words of Gargacharya saying that this boy is Lord Narayana Himself. As a result, the people of Vrindavan prayed to Him to show them His abode.
Then Lord Krishna showed them His abode. With that, the people of Vraj got solid firm faith in Lord Krishna.
Thus, as the soul gradually understands how Bhagwan is different from them, he gradually becomes happier and happier, and his faith and happiness will eventually become boundless.
The trap of knowing the greatness of Bhagwan
The more we know the greatness of Bhagwan, the more we will understand that we are great as well, thus making ourselves incapable of absorbing saintly virtues. Thus, if we know only the greatness of Bhagwan, we will forget our helplessness and our actual position.
So, more than the greatness of Bhagwan we should understand how Bhagwan is different from us.
What is our answer to this question: “How great is Maharaj?”
We say, “If all the incarnations of Bhagwan come together, they wouldn’t even be a part of what Maharaj actually is.”
Why do we say that? We say that to convey “We are next to that great Maharaj. And so, understand that we are great as well. As Maharaj is not physically here right now, who is left to be respected and admired? We are here to be respected and admired.”
That is the trap of knowing the greatness of Bhagwan.
As we continue to know the greatness of Bhagwan, we will believe that we are great as well. Gradually we will sideline Bhagwan and consider ourselves as great. And so, saintly virtues will not flourish in us but unsaintly vices flourish in us. Instead, it would have been better if we had not known the greatness of Bhagwan at all.
We say, “I am the disciple of such a great saint.”
Whose greatness are we talking about? Are we talking about our greatness or the greatness of that great saint?
We think “I have got such a great saint and so I am very fortunate.” The greatness is ours, and so unsaintly vices grow in us instead of saintly virtues.
The greatness of Bhagwan is real. While understanding it, if we consider ourselves great as well, then that is a major setback.
Saints think, “If we don’t eat their rasoi (food), how can they achieve their kalyan? If we don’t accept their offerings, how can they achieve their kalyan?”
Whose greatness is that? Is that the greatness of saints or the greatness of Bhagwan?
This doesn’t mean that we should not strive to understand the greatness of Bhagwan. While knowing the greatness of Bhagwan, our primary focus should be on knowing the difference between Bhagwan and ourselves.
Knowing the difference between Bhagwan and ourselves is the key
One who clearly understands the difference between himself and Bhagwan will automatically develop saintly qualities.
We should know: “Who is He, and who am I? What is the position of the Master of all universes, and what is the position of this one living soul?
In general, the soul knows the greatness of Bhagwan, but it is more important to know the difference between himself and Bhagwan. It is important to remember our helplessness and our true position.
Sometimes knowing the greatness of Bhagwan alone will inspire us to become Bhagwan. That very thought will throw us out of sainthood.
The core point is, we should know how great Maharaj is when compared to us. We should keep scriptures and Nand Santo as a reference, and then we should measure the difference between Maharaj and ourselves.
Muktanand Swami and other saints used to go from village to village to spread satsang. When Shreeji Maharaj gets the news of their coming back, Maharaj would ride on His horse toward them to welcome them.
When Maharaj reaches those saints, He would perform pradakshina around them, and then He would get off the horse and perform dandavat-pranam to those saints. Then He would praise those saints and speak their greatness.
Outsiders who observe this incident might think, “See how great Muktanand Swami is. Maharaj Himself is doing dandavat-pranam to him.”
However, Muktanand Swami never had a wrong thought. He never thought that “Maharaj is doing dandavat-pranam to me. Let Him do it to consider myself great.”
Why didn’t Muktanand Swami fall into the trap of greatness? Because his inside clearly knows the difference between Maharaj and himself. He knows the answer to this question very clearly: “Who is He, and who am I?” And so, he never fell trapped in such thoughts.
Someone else in the position of Muktanand Swami would fall into the trap of greatness. They would start thinking that they are as good as Bhagwan.
The only reason for their downfall is that, even if they know the greatness of Maharaj, they don’t know the dividing line between themselves and Maharaj. They do not know the answer to this question very clearly: “Who is Maharaj? and who am I?”
References:
- Chosathpadi Katha Part 23 (Pad 25-28).