Fourth Stage of Bhakti | Anarth Nivritti (Part 3) | Sri Vinod Babaji Maharaj

The time which has gone by, will not come back. What has happened, is past now. Nobody knows what future has in store for us. Pain, loss, disappointment, disaster - all are results of our past actions. We have to face what we have done, in future. Nobody can avoid it. Therefore, utilise the present. A sadhak must utilize his youth for bhajan. The childhood was spent in play and laughter. The old age will make your body weak and inflicted by diseases. Earn money, Dharma, education, material pleasure or yoga, whatever you want in your youth.

If most of your youth has been spent in material pleasure, still do not look back and regret it. Start utilising your time from this very moment. That you have realised that this human birth is not for enjoying material pleasures, is the sign that the auspicious time to do bhajan you were waiting for, has already arrived. 

Waiting for an auspicious time, when there will be no problem, the situation will be favourable for bhajan, everyone around us will agree to support us in our bhajan, our body will be free of diseases, our mind will be free from material Samskaras and then we will engross ourselves in bhajan - this is a big mistake. Nobody knows if in future we will have to face a more miserable situation. We must use this precious time for bhajan.

This body looks beautiful covered with skin. But inside it is filled with blood, muscles, bones, cough, urine and faeces. If this impure body is used for bhajan, it will give nectarine results, peace and fulfilment. If this body is used for material pleasure, then it will entangle you in the cycle of birth and death and put you in the three kinds of miseries. 

One who has been born, will surely die one day. With every second, every breath, we are approaching our death. How can one sit complacently to wait for an auspicious time for bhajan? Devote every second, every breath for bhajan from this very moment and free yourself from this material world. Nobody else can help you out but you yourself. Some people say that in this lifetime we couldn't do bhajan, but we are praying to Radha Rani to give us a chance to do bhajan in our next lifetime.

What do you think? In next lifetime, you will be granted a situation favourable for bhajan, a family that supports bhajan, a body free from diseases, and all your problems taken care of? Don't be in this illusion! Every person who has realised the divine love of Radha Krishna had to endure all kinds of problems, diseases and what not in order to do bhajan. Yes, use the body to fulfil your duties and responsibilities, but indulge your mind in contemplation of Radha Krishna. Know that you have no relations with the material world. You belong only to Radha Krishna. Chant Harinam continuously and fulfil your duties using your body. Keep in your mind that this Samsar belongs to God, and you are fulfilling your duties bestowed upon you by God.

But don't socialize much. A sadhak must live in solitude as much as possible. Contemplation of Radha Krishna is not possible in noisy and crowded places. The more you socialize, the more will people come to you to talk.

We were discussing Aparadh Jata Anarthas. Vaishnav Aparadha have so much power that it can cause disinterest in bhajan. A sadhak might even start to dislike bhajan. Therefore, one must be very careful about Vaishnav Aparadha. One must not find faults, critically analyse the actions of or be angry with a Vaishnav. Among all Naam Aparadhas, Vaishnav Aparadha and Guru Aparadha are the most devastating. We have discussed briefly the six kinds of Vaishnav Aparadhas. Disrespect towards Guru, finding faults with Guru, being critical of the character of Guru, believing Guru to be an ordinary human, etc are all Guru Aparadhas. If these occur, the sadhak's bhajan will stop and the sadhak will be unable to progress anymore. One has to carefully avoid them. 

The symptom of Aparadha Jata Anartha is that one gets disinterested in bhajan. If they didn't complete there rounds one day, they are not worried. They think they will complete their bhajan another day. But that another day never comes. Still, they are complacent with their bhajan. Along with this, they develop false pride that they are great devotees, highly enlightened and knowledgeable people, etc.

On committing Aparadha, it seems that the sadhak is doing a lot of bhajan, but in reality, his spiritual progress stops. This is because pride causes the material Samskaras of the sadhak to overpower the spiritual Samskaras. Just like when a boatman rows a boat upstream for a long time, but eventually realises that he has actually travelled downstream because of the high speed of flow.

Dushkriti Jata Anartha causes the sadhak to develop indifference to the material body and the world. Sukriti Jata anartha causes the sadhak to get attracted to material pleasures. Aparadh Jata Anarth causes the sadhak to develop false pride.

The fourth kind of Anartha is "Bhakti Jata Anartha". When the sadhak is able to avoid all these Anarthas, and is engrossed in bhajan, a few symptoms of Bhakti like crying, shivering, getting goosebumps, etc are seen in his body. Because of Bhakti being revealed to people, the sadhak experiences some hurdles in Bhakti path. People start comprehending the sadhak as an enlightened soul. They believe that such an enlightened soul can fulfil their desires and free them from all problems. Therefore, they want the sadhak to place his hand on the head of their children, they would prostrate and cry, ‘please show mercy, so that my daughter can get married happily!’

People think that once they can make such an enlightened soul their Guru, all their problems will vanish. In every disease, problem, pain, disappointment, if they cry out 'ha Gurudev', immediately all their problems will vanish. They don't realise that Gurudev is not there to save you from your past actions, but actually to teach how to deal with them and still make spiritual progress. He is here to disentangle you from illusory attachments and their problems. But such selfish people keep pestering the sadhak to fulfil their infinite material desires. Then the sadhak has to avoid them in deceptive ways. 

My Gurudev Shri Tinkodi Goswami Maharaj used to keep a Muslim cap with himself. Whenever any devotee came to take his darshan, he would wear the cap and pretend to be a Muslim. Because of his short beard and his only cloth, the Kaupina, he looked exactly like a Muslim Maulavi. Many people would lose their faith seeing him and would go without even prostrating before him. My Gurudev would, thus, keep the cap with great care. He would always ask me if the cap is properly kept in place. As if, it was his most precious possession! This was because it helped him avoid this Bhakti Jata Anartha. 

Sometimes he would just pretend to be in much pain in front of the people who had come for his darshan. They would think ‘Oh, this sadhu is himself in so much pain, how will he free us from our problems?’ and they would go away. This is another reason a fallen sadhak like me should never criticize a Vaishnav, because who knows why they are acting in a strange manner? 

To be continued...