We should know the value of what we obtained
Nishkulanand Swami describes Akshardham as follows: “Once a person reaches Akshardham, he will never fall back. At this place alone can we obtain the highest possible bliss. Uncountable liberated souls with a radiant divine body are in constant seva of Shreeji Maharaj who is seated on a divine throne located at the center of Akshardham and who is pulling everyone’s heart toward Him.”
We can’t get such a bliss of Akshardham anywhere else.
Nishkulanand Swami says that we have now obtained the platform as well as the time to achieve Akshardham.
What is the platform to achieve Akshardham? Maharaj’s murti, Vachanamrut, and other key scriptures, five sacred vows, satsang, and rules-and-regulations of satsang form the platform to achieve Akshardham.
Shreeji Maharaj has said that “I brought these five vows, these moral values, these saints directly from Akshardham; they do not belong here. Even if you go to other great abodes, you will not get these facilities: five vows, saints, and the murti of Maharaj.”
Maharaj and elder saints have prepared this platform for us, and we got associated with this platform somehow. We are also blessed with valuable time to achieve Akshardham.
In this world, there might be so many individuals who are more intense than us and better than us; they might be better in detachment than us. But they have not obtained the platform that we obtained.
Maharaj has said that “The saints and treasures that I provided to you all are desired even by the king of Shwetdweep.”
By realizing the true value of Maharaj’s satsang and His saints, the king of Shwetdweep wonders, “Wow, such a valuable treasure in the form of pious saints and satsang? How can I get such a thing? It would be wonderful if I could obtain such a valuable treasure. Let them take away this Shwetdweep, and in return let me get those saints and satsang.”
Maharaj provided us with such a valuable platform.
Yet we have no taste for what we have obtained
Maharaj made the platform for us and provided it to us. Why did He provide such a platform for us?
So that we can make the right use of it and reach Akshardham. But, for what purpose are we using this platform?
Swami Ni Vato says that a shepherd found a huge diamond, and he tied it to the neck of a sheep.
What is the shepherd’s valuation of the diamond? Good that he didn’t throw it away. But where did he use the diamond?
He tied it to the neck of a sheep. Is it the right use of a diamond?
What is our valuation of the platform provided by Maharaj? Good that we are still part of it. But for what purpose are we using this platform?
We use it to eat high-quality food and lead a comfortable life. Is it the right use of this platform?
We are known as the “Swaminarayan sect.” Society thinks that “All the followers of Swaminarayan live a rich life.” We use our satsang to lead a rich life. Is it the right use of satsang?
If someone obtains a diamond as big as a tennis ball, and if he doesn’t know the value of it, then where would he use that diamond? He uses it as a paperweight to stop papers from flying away.
Similarly, we obtained a precious diamond in the form of Maharaj, satsang, and saints. Where are we using this diamond? Are we using this diamond as per its right value?
Can we enjoy something without a hunger for it?
We don’t know the value of the platform we obtained. And so, we don’t have any taste for it.
If we don’t know the value of a food item or if we don’t know how to eat a food item, then, even if the item is so good, do we eat it? No. We don’t know the value of it, and so we misuse it.
Similarly, if we don’t know the value of the platform provided by Maharaj or if we don’t know how to take complete benefit of this platform, then we misuse it.
Also, we are not hungry for Maharaj. And so, we don’t know how to take complete benefit of this platform.
Does a person value a food item when he is not hungry?
Let us say a person is already filled with food up to his neck. Now someone brings him a tasty food item. Would he like to have that food item? No. If he consumes it, he might throw up.
So, even if a food item is delicious, we will not eat it if we are not hungry.
The bhakti of Gopis is praiseworthy.
Aren’t we all doing bhakti, too? Isn’t our bhakti praiseworthy as well?
What was the prayer of Gopis in Gopi-Geet? “Hey Lord, please give us Your darshan.”
How about us? We have darshan of Bhagwan’s murti every day. Yet are we hungry for the darshan of Bhagwan’s murti?
Gopis bhakti is praiseworthy because their hunger for Bhagwan is praiseworthy. Their hunger for Bhagwan is so intense that they are unable to live without seeing Him. No one in this universe has such an intense hunger for Sri Krishna.
How about us? We have murti of Maharaj. But where is our hunger for Maharaj?
We don’t value Maharaj as much as we value food
Pujya Krishnapriydasji Swami used to frequently share an interesting incident with Shastriji Maharaj.
One early morning, Shastriji Maharaj was doing his daily puja at a place. Krishnapriy Swami too got ready to do his daily puja at a place very close to Shastriji Maharaj.
Krishnapriy Swami sat on his puja mat and started his puja. Without any delay, he slipped into a deep sleep. Thus, he slept while sitting in front of the murti of Maharaj for quite some time, and Shastriji Maharaj observed him thoroughly.
Later that day, Shastriji Maharaj mentioned Krishnapriy Swami and said, “Wow, this saint is so good that he sleeps while doing puja. He took an unbreakable nap of thirty minutes. Does he have any faith in Bhagwan? Does he have any taste for puja or for Maharaj? He has zero taste for puja or for Maharaj.”
If a person is hungry, will he get sleep? Did we ever see a person sleep while eating? No. Even if we didn’t sleep for two or three days, we will never doze while eating. How about while doing Maharaj related works? We sit and sleep in puja, we sleep in katha, and we sleep while chanting the names of Bhagwan as well.
We don’t sleep while eating food because we enjoy the taste of food. We sleep while doing puja, listening katha, and chanting the names of Bhagwan because we have no taste for the activities related to Bhagwan. And so, we never sleep while eating food, but we sleep uninterruptedly while doing the activities related to Maharaj.
We don’t value the platform we obtained from Maharaj, not at least as much as we value food. We don’t have a hunger for it, and so we don’t enjoy the taste of it.
How to get a hunger for Maharaj?
When we sincerely work for Maharaj, we will get more hunger for Maharaj.
The other way to increase hunger for Maharaj is to understand the greatness of Maharaj, saints, and satsang.
All the things that are related to Maharaj have this unique quality: We will not be satisfied by consuming it once. The more we consume the things related to Maharaj, the hungrier we will be, and we will want more and more and more.
The more we drink the nectar of Maharaj, the thirstier we become. Even after sufficiently drinking that nectar, we will feel “I drank nothing so far.”
That was the nectar of Bhagwan drank by Gopis, Arjun, Shukji, and Sanakadika Rushis.
References:
- Chosathpadi Katha Part 31 (Pad 55-57).