In the Samvat year 1876, on the fifth day of the dark half of the month of Paush in the afternoon. Shreeji Maharaj was seated on a wooden bedstead laid in the veranda in front of the hall facing the east near the temple of Shree Vasudev Narayan in the Durbar of Dada Khachar in Gadhada. He had put a white upper garment over His shoulders and covered His body with a white cotton shawl. He had wrapped round His head a short white garment with saffron color at the ends. Saints and devotees from various places had gathered before Him in an assembly.
Then Muktanand Swami asked, “The scriptures have described innumerable ways of pleasing God. Please tell us which of them can help us in achieving our goal of pleasing God: Which one is able to do as much as which can be done by all the other ways taken together”.
Shreeji Maharaj replied, “I will tell you one single way that can help you in achieving your goal, as capable as all the other ways taken together. Taking firm refuge unto the Lord is the greatest of all the means of pleasing Him. Your act of taking
refuge unto Him must be so firm that there remains no loophole in it. Refuge unto God can be taken in three ways. One is to take refuge unto Him like an ignorant person. He will be so firm, in his belief that even Brahma cannot dislodge him from the refuge he has taken unto God. Another way is to take refuge unto ,God out of love for Him. Such a devotee will be so steadfast in his love for God that he cannot be forcibly made to love things other than God. Refuge unto God taken, out of lave is said to be very firm. The third way is that of a highly intelligent person. He knows that God is sagun (possessing
three attributes of Maya) as well as nirgun (free from the three attributes of Maya). He also understands how God is one with the universe as well as distinct from the universe. Such a devotee understands ‘the phenomenon of creation by God through Maya He also knows the process by which God takes different incarnations on this earth. He also knows how God, at the time of the creation of this universe, assumes the forms of Akshar and then of Purush and Prakruti and then Virat, and Brahma, and Prajapati and Narad and Sanak for the good of the souls. The devotee understands this process completely and knows that Lord Purushottam Bhagavan above all these entities. and is unaffected by the attributes of Maya If one takes refuge unto God with all this knowledge and understanding. he cannot be dislodged from His refuge unto God by any person, not even of his accord if he so desires. He will not harbor any doubts when Cod assumes a human form and exhibits superhuman powers or acts powerlessly.”
Having said this much Shreeji Maharaj further said “If you all agree I would like to ask you a question now.” There upon Muktanand Swami said, “Please do ask, Maharaj.”
So Shreeji Maharaj said, ‘Which of the three features that I described above is predominant in You? All the three are blended together in a devotee. But the one that is predominant is said to be his main feature. Now tell me which feature out of the three. ignorance. love or knowledge is predominant in you.”
There upon Muktanand Swami and Brahmanand Swami replied, “For us knowledge is predominant.” Other saints also declared their own individual predominant features.
