Saturday 9 December 2023 | Kartik Vad 12, Samvat 2080

Sat 9 Dec 2023

 

On this auspicious day of 203rd jayanti of Vachanamrut scripture held at Swaminarayan Mandir-Nairobi, Gnan Mahodadhi Acharya Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj showered His divine Jay Shree Swaminaryan to the congregation.

He further went on and acknowledged that 203 years ago today, in Samvat 1876, during the night of Maghsar Sud 4, in Gadhada in the hall where the sants were residing Lord Shree Swaminarayan commenced a discussion and asked questions to the sants. Lord Shree Swaminarayan then commanded the sants to record His divine words spoken in the assembly. The assembly held that night was the first discourse that is recorded in this Vachanamrut scripture. From that day onwards, all of the Lord’s teachings from His discourses were accurately transcribed. The discourses given by Lord Shree Swaminarayan were instilled into the hearts of the five eminent scholars: Sadguru Shree Gopalanand Swami, Shree Muktanand Swami, Shree Nityanand Swami, Shree Brahmanand Swami and Shree Shukanand Swami, who complied this Vachanamrut scripture for souls to attain salvation.

The greatness of the Vachanamrut scripture is such that whoever consumes (recites with affection/performs darshan/understands their Glory) this nectar (Amrut) in the form of the Lord’s Divine words (Vachan) gets their all their divine wishes fulfilled and attains great bliss. One who understands the greatness of this scripture gets their divine wishes fulfilled.

All things that one has to attain/achieve in life fall under the Four Purusharths (Achievements of life): Dharma (religion) to purify ones soul; Arth (wealth) to run worldly interactions and dealings, Kaam (desires) for creation and Moksh (Salvation). The first three Purusharths are for living a successful and prosperous life. The Lord has given us this human form in order to attain the 4th Purusharth - Moksha (eternal salvation) from the unending cycle of birth and death. The Vachanamrut scripture enlightens the way to eternal salvation attain.

Lord Shree Swaminarayan explains in the Vachanamrut that to permanently destroy the persistent thoughts and volitions that leave an impression on the mind, one has to honestly uphold the Satsang with his  mind, actions and words, and think about and contemplate the discourses of the Lord.  Gnan Mahodadhi Acharya Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj on explaining the greatness of the Vachanamrut scripture in this context further explained that continuous thinking/reminiscing, understanding and contemplating about the same read/heard chapters of the Rahasayarth Pradeepika Tika Vachanamruts over and over again will give a better and newer understanding. With every read and continuous practicing this alternatively feeds the soul with good thoughts and eventually helps permanently eliminate/destroy these persistent thoughts and volitions that leave an impression on the mind. This is how glorious and great the Vachanamrut is.

He mentions that this scripture is a jewel mine that consist of profoundly complex theology, elucidation about Dharma (religion), Gnan (spiritual knowledge), Vairagya (asceticism/detachment) and Bhakti (devotion) and also understanding of the Lord’s Greatness:

  1. There are 9 types of devotion (bhakti) which can be performed whilst in any of the three attributes (three gun) and each of these type of devotion can be performed in three levels highest level, medium level and low level. This totals to 81 forms of devotion. These 81 forms of devotions are considered as Sadhan bhakti (devotion through devotional practices of worship). The best form of devotion i.e. 82nd form of devotion is Prem Lakshana Bhakti (loving devotion) which is the ultimate form of worship. Through performing these forms of Bhakti one has to aim on attaining infinite love for the Lord, the kind of love that the Anadi-muktas have with the Lord. This scripture explains in detail the forms of devotion and in order to perform devotion to attain absolute love toward the Lord one has to read and understand the Rahasayarth Pradeepika Tika Vachanamrut daily. This scripture is therefore the jewel mine for devotion towards the Lord.
  2. The second jewel is Spiritual knowledge (Gnan). The soul is separate from the body which is perishable and full of misery. The soul on the other hand is eternal, imperishable and full of happiness. Lord Swaminarayan is supreme and to understand that His Murti is divine, full of love and happiness and to be able to understand the significance of this knowledge we have to  read and understand the Rahasayarth Pradeepika Tika Vachanamrut daily.
  3. Vairagya (detachment/asceticism) is having no affection for anything or anyone except for Lord Shree Swaminarayan, i.e., from the smallest grasses to the Akshar categories, is the definition of Vairagya – i.e., true asceticism. One can develop this form of affection for the Lord through reading and understanding the Rahasayarth Pradeepika Tika Vachanamrut daily. This scripture is therefore the jewel mine for Vairagya too.
  4. The fourth jewel is Dharma (religion). There are vishesh dharma, samanya dharma and bhagvat dharma. Dharma is defined as the religious code of good and moral conduct that has been described in the sacred scriptures, behaviours that are not opposing to worldly and scriptural regulations, and which have been sanctioned by eminent religious teachers. The true Religion is following the Lords commands and acting as per His will, having assertiveness towards the Lords words and not going against the Lord’s words and will even during tough times. And despite tough times no irregular thoughts arise in ones mind and remains under constant contemplation of the Lord’s Murti. This Dharma is Bhagvat. To attain all forms of dharma one has to read and understand the Rahasayarth Pradeepika Tika Vachanamrut.
  5. The Supreme Lord Shree Swaminarayan’s Greatness and Glory is unsurpassed. Just like on a sunny day when a ray of sunlight shines inside a dark house through a hole in a roof and one sees through squinty eyes countless subatomic particles floating around, in a similar manner infinite cosmoses reside like atoms within a single lustrous ray of Tej (Akshardham) of Lord Shree Swaminarayan. It is through reading and understanding the Rahasayarth Pradeepika Tika Vachanamrut that one gets to understand the Lord’s Greatness. Vachanamrut Scripture therefore is a Jewel mine for the Lord’s Greatness and unsurpassed grandeur.

Vachanamrut scripture contains the precise words of the Lord as He spoke them; unlike the previous scriptures, in which the particular incarnation’s teachings have been retold and interpreted by the sages. The previous scriptures based their narratives about the nature of the supreme God on inference; the authors themselves had not actually encountered the almighty Lord Shree Swaminarayan. In contrast, this scripture contains the words of the Lord Himself. Only the Lord Himself can truly appreciate the magnitude of His greatness; and only He can narrate His unsurpassed grandeur. These are the great narratives written in the Vachanamrut scripture.

To clarify the context of the Lord’s words and remove any ambiguity, Jeevanpran Shree Abji Bapashree created the Rahasyarth Pradeepika Tika (commentary) to the Vachanamrut scripture. Jeevanpran Bapashree bestowed His divine blessings to those who read this Scripture at least 5 times and understands the glory, reminisces the teachings gets their persistent thoughts and volitions that leave an impression on the mind permanently eliminated/destroyed.

203rd Vachnamrut Jayanti Celebrations - Nairobi 27th November 2022