Vachanamrut Gadhada I 26 - A Genuine Amorous Devotee; The Nirgun State

Extract

 

On Posh sudi 14, Samvat 1876 [30 December 1819], Shriji Mahārāj was sitting on a large, decorated cot on the veranda outside the room in line with the room of Shri Vāsudevnārāyan in Dādā Khāchar’s darbār in Gadhadā. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. At that time, the sādhus had sat down to eat in His presence.
 

Thereupon Shriji Mahārāj said, “When a satsangi is likely to regress in the Satsang fellowship, vicious desires steadily flourish within him. At first, he begins to perceive flaws in all of the satsangis day by day. In his heart, he feels, ‘All of these satsangis lack understanding; only I have true understanding.’ In this way, he considers himself to be superior to all. Such a person remains constantly uneasy, day and night. He cannot sit peacefully anywhere during the day; nor can he sleep at night. Moreover, his anger never subsides. In fact, he constantly smoulders like a half-burnt log. A person who behaves in this manner should be known to be on the verge of falling out of Satsang. No matter how many days he spends in Satsang, he will never experience peace in his heart; ultimately, he will fall from Satsang.

 

 

Discussion Points:

1. Define abhav-avgun. (Hint: seeing the bad in others)
2. What causes us to take abhav-avgun?
   a. Answers can include but are not limited to: jumping to conclusions, taking sides, wanting to improve others all the time, lack of antardrashti (introspection), ego, jealousy, lack of divyabhav, looking critically at others…
3. Abhav-avgun - what is Shriji Maharaj’s opinion on fault finding?
   a. How can this help us avoiding abhav-avgun?
4. Abhav-avgun is a form of negativity. 
   a. Why is it so important to avoid negativity in our lives?
   b. How can remaining positive in our lives help us uphold samp amongst one another?
5. Discuss many different ways in which we can avoid this poison of abhav-avgun.
6. Answers include but are not limited to:
   a. Stop and think → introspect → think “Would Swami Bapa be raji with what I am thinking right now?” → think “What would Mahant Swami Maharaj do in my situation?”
   b. immediately turn around that thought of abhav avgun with a positive thought about the person you are thinking badly of.
   c. Chant the Swaminarayan mantra and pray to Maharaj and Swami to help us stop these bad thoughts from ever entering our minds again.
7. Satsang vanchan - reading prasangs of the Satpurush showing a disliking for abhav avgun

 

Activity - Memory Game:

 

1. Take 30 seconds to memorise all of the even numbers below.
   284596031757436047324673985

Moral: Since we were so focused on one thing, we became blind to other things. Similarly, when taking abhav-avgun of others, we don’t see their good qualities and focus instead on their flaws.
Watch a short clip of Param Pujya Mahant Swami Maharaj speaking about avoiding abhav avgun.