In the Samvat year 1876 on the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Magh in the morning, Shreeji Maharaj was seated facing to west. on a wooden bedstead laid on the platform under the neem tree in front of the temple of Shree Vasudev Narayan in the Durbar of Dada Khachar in Gadhada. He had put a white turban on His head and with one loose end of the turban, He had covered His chin and mouth side. He had covered His body with, a white cotton shawl and put a white upper garment over His shoulder. A Garland of white flowers was wrapped round His turban. Saints and devotees from various places had gathered before Him in an assembly.
Then Shreeji Maharaj asked, ‘What is the nature of love for God?” Brahmanand Swami tried to describe the nature of love for God, but he could not satisfy Shreeji Maharaj.
Thereupon Shreeji Maharaj said. ‘You have not understood what actually love is. You define love for God as merely indifference to the body and the world. It is the definition of non-attachment and not of love. To love is to constantly remember the divine image of God. The devotee who absolutely loves God does not think of anything else except God. His love can be said to be imperfect to the extent that he thinks of other things. One who loves God fully and completely. Feels uncomfortable if any idea about other objects except God enters his mind consciously or unconsciously. He would feel
distressed as if a handful of dust and sand was thrown into his tasteful dishes. or he would feel tortured as if he was branded with a red hot iron on his forehead. He would feel
uncomfortable like this if ideas other than God occur to him. ‘Only then he can be said to be truly loving God. Now look into your own hearts and you will know how intense your love for God is.”
Then Brahmanand Swami said, “Maharaj. please tell us how we can develop such an intense love for God.” Thereupon Shreeji Maharaj said. “It is only the company of saints that can help you to develop such an intense love for God.”
Here Somla Khachar intervened and said, “Maharaj, we very much remain in the company of saints. Then how is it that we still have not been able to develop such an intense love for God?”
Shreeji Maharaj replied, “I know you remain in the company of saints, but you do it only half-heartedly. Half the time you remain in our company and half the time you remain engaged in worldly affairs. That is why you cannot develop intense love for God.”
Then a Brahman named Vala Dhruv of the town of Vaso asked, “Maharaj, please tell us how we can get rid of thoughts such as: This body is our Self and the relatives of this body are our relatives?”
Shreeji Maharaj replied, “It is the perverted thinking on the part of the soul that is the reason. The soul does not think that he is different from the body, but thinks that the body is his real Self. This physical body is very firmly attached to him. Suppose a person gets a coat prepared by a tailor and puts it on. Now if he thinks that the tailor is his father and the tailoress is his mother, then he must be considered a great fool. In the same manner this body which is the outer garment of the soul is sometimes produced by a Brahman couple, and sometimes by a low caste couple. It was also produced often and often by innumerable pairs of creatures of innumerable kinds. Now if one thinks that this body is his real Self, and that the parents of this body are his real parents, he must be considered a great fool. He must be equated with an animal. He had innumerable mothers and sisters and daughters and wives in innumerable previous lives but none of them maintain the same relation in subsequent lives and remain chaste. How can one get rid of the feeling of aham i.e. ‘me-ness’ and mamatva i.e. ‘my-ness’ for this body and its relatives. if he thinks that the relatives of this body are his true relatives? Without such a clear understanding it is very difficult to get rid of one’s love for one’s own relatives and also for one’s native place.
As long as one thinks this body to be his real Self. all his wisdom is worthless. As long as one is proud of his varna i.e. caste and ashram i.e. stage of life, he will never be able to develop the qualities of a true saint. Hence one who gets rid of his attachment for his body and its relatives, one who considers himself one with Brahm, one who gets rid of all worldly desires, one who stays within the bounds of his own path of duties, and one who worships God, such a person is said to be the real saint. And one who becomes such a saint is not even a bit far from God. Everything else is easy, but to become such a saint is very difficult. Such a saint I am. I am not the least proud of my ‘varna and ashram’
Thus Shreeji Maharaj concluded His talks, and whatever He said was for the good of His disciples, but actually He Is the God Himself – Purushottam Narayan.
