The Words of Great Saints—Listen Attentively

At Shri Radha Keli Kunj in Vrindavan—an intimate conversation with Pujya Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj. Sadhaks ask questions about their life and sadhana, and Maharaj Ji answers them.

The Full Discourse

Listen with great care. These are the words of great saints. Your bhav, your vrittiyaan, your conduct are not pure. This is how it is. My bhav is not pure. My vrittiyaan is not pure. My conduct is not pure. Listen carefully. In sharnaagati, your bhav, your vrittiyaan, your conduct are not pure. So what? Do not worry about these things. I will take care of them. I will take care of them—that this bhakt of mine has impure bhav. I must set this right. His vrittiyaan are not right. I must set these right. Why should you worry?

Why should you worry? Why did He do it? Why did you make it this way? No. There is a circle of grace around us. You cannot even see us. You cannot even touch us. Do not even mention speaking. If you are speaking with us, seeing us, touching us, then He has touched you, which is why you are touching. He wanted this conversation to happen, which is why you are speaking. He wanted to show Himself, which is why you can see. Otherwise, you cannot even see us. We are the Lord's possession. We are the Lord's possession. In the second chapter, the seventh verse of the Gita, Arjun speaks of surrendering to the Lord.

Then in the eighth verse he says: even if I were to receive a kingdom on this earth filled with wealth, free from thorns, or even the sovereignty of the gods, my sorrow—the sorrow that delights the senses—cannot be removed. On one hand, he says the disciple is here, I have surrendered—now I will do whatever you say—and the Lord could not even speak, and yet he is saying I do not want to fight. What kind of sharnaagati is this? The Lord could not even speak. But immediately after that verse, He spoke. First he said: the disciple is here, I have surrendered—now be quiet, let the Lord speak. But the Lord made it clear: neither the kingdom of the earth nor even the sovereignty of the gods can remove my sorrow.

Because I will not fight. So when the Lord spoke, He spoke with a smile: Ah, what surrender! I will not do it. Ah, what surrender! First he said: the disciple is here, I am surrendered to you. After this, for you to say "no"—this is absolutely inappropriate in no way whatsoever. I am yours. Whatever you say, however you say it, I have nothing to do with what you are saying. Whatever pleases you, whatever you do, whatever makes you happy, that makes me happy—this is a very great thing. Has anyone's sorrow been removed by relation to perishable things?

It cannot happen. There is no possibility of it happening. But if you take refuge in Me and yet you are grieving, this is a grave mistake. Why are you sorrowing? You are in My refuge, so have faith: from today I have taken your burden upon my head. Every word is nectar. From today, have faith: I have taken your burden upon my head. Our Shri Ji, our darling—though Brahma, Rudra, Shukar, Narad, Bhishma and such exalted personalities exist for us, our Shri Ji, who is our beloved—when your sharnaagati becomes firm, then the matter arises. After becoming a sharnaagat, listen very carefully: you should have no worry about this world or the next world, no worry about salvation or damnation, no worry about this or that. This is not for you to be concerned about.

Will I have salvation or damnation? Will the world be made or the next world? Will it be spoiled or made? None of this matters. The surrendered bhakt lives in such pride. The Lord is mine and I am the Lord's. This conviction becomes so firm. This acceptance becomes so powerful that his worries, fears, sorrow, doubts—all of these are destroyed at their root. The ground of my faults is cut away. The ego and pride in which faults reside are cut away, destroyed. All the faults that come arise from estrangement from the Lord. When one is turned toward the Lord, all the impressions dependent on the world and the body are destroyed, slowly but steadily, as one keeps one's gaze on the firmness of the relationship with the Lord.

The focus on the relationship—is there any inner deliberation about the relationship with one's ishta dev and guru? There is deliberation about "I." I am doing it, I am doing it. This will be the result. I am like this, I am like that—there are many qualities and subjects. When the gopis, standing in water up to their necks, performed sadhana and came out and made a sandy image of the goddess and said, "O Katyayani, O Mahamaya, O great yogini, be pleased with us and grant me the son of Nand as my husband and beloved"—one who identifies with the body can never attain the son of Nand as one's beloved.

The Lord saw that they had fully prepared themselves for My attainment, and among them were only unmarried girls. But some of them had performed such practices even though they had husbands, because when they were stopped from going to the rasa, it is mentioned that their husbands stopped them, so they shed their bodies and reached the rasa. See the relationship! We are your maidservants. Do not jest and tease with us. The gopis had such a focus on the relationship—where is the attention? My guru, my ishta dev—how much attention is there? How much emphasis is placed on this relationship? Do you have faith in your own actions or faith in the relationship? This is what must be considered. Faith in actions. Is it faith in your own deeds or faith in the relationship?

What fortune! Today the fruit of the entire daily practice was obtained—I have received service. I have received a command. I have received a command. I took the order and went as His maidservant. The firmness of the relationship. Worry, fear, sorrow, tests, contrary feelings—these six things do not remain in sharnaagati. In sharnaagati, worry, fear, sorrow, doubt, tests, contrary feelings—none remain. The sharnaagat becomes so beloved that however you are asked—if you want to give pain, give it here, give it here, give it here. Do not strike the heart. It is a very delicate place. It happens, no? Strike the back, strike the cheek, but do not strike the heart.

It is a very delicate place. The one worthy of shelter cherishes those who take shelter like their own heart. Remember this. One cannot command. Because He is this way, completely perfect. Whatever we say He will do, and He will do that which brings about their welfare, their benefit, their attainment of the supreme state. What He is capable of doing—one cannot say something beyond His capacity. If there is worry, if there is fear, if there is sorrow, if there is doubt, if there is testing or contrary feeling—this is not yet true surrender. Does the Lord accept me or not? I don't know. One must become carefree. When a devotee, along with all their cherished possessions, dedicates themselves—every word must be understood. When a devotee dedicates their body, their mind, along with all their cherished things, then not even a trace of worldly or spiritual concern remains in them. How will life be sustained? What about my conduct? How will my welfare happen? There is no state of feeling in me. What will be my fate?

There is absolutely no concern. Just as people living in a house have no worry—whether learned or householders—benefit, liberation, everything. They eat, drink. Mother, father, family—completely this way. Completely from the Lord, just this way. They eat, drink, dance, sing, jump from the Lord. Hari sharnam, Bhagavan, blissful sadhana. He is making you do this. You haven't read. The compassionate Lord of the poor has affection, the mind always in joy.

Jo so pratipalsi Ramdas Govind chinta din dyal ko moh man sada anand ja so pratipalsi.
He who sustains the poor and compassionate—Ramdas, Govind—has affection, the mind always in joy, whoever sustains.

He who created will sustain. When firmness in relation to God comes, then all connection with the world and body is completely severed. Completely by command, just as—completely. Just as His color comes.

That color of surrender comes. Then the hope of living and the fear of dying, the desire to do and the greed to gain—all disappear. No daily routine is ours. You alone are our daily routine. We have no supreme state. You alone are our supreme state. There is no greater benefit than this—that You graciously see us, speak with us. This much alone. But where do we need to go? You are with us. Completely utterly carefree state. In devotion, where does doubt come from in the mind? My conduct is not pure. My tendencies are not right. So take hold of this.

My conduct is not right. You take it. I have surrendered. My conduct, this body—it belongs to the Lord. What is mine in this? Where did my conduct come from? My tendencies are not right. The mind belongs to the Lord. What do my tendencies mean? Sit and understand this properly. This does not come from sadhana. This comes from understanding. This is why it was said: "Father, heaven, higher realms, and pleasures gathered there, if compared to even a fragment of the joy of satsang."

From satsang, what is obtained after thousands of years of austerity comes in a single second. This is why satsang is incomparable—it is not equated with heaven, liberation, and pleasures of other worlds. Satsang is the greatest. Satsang is the greatest.

My tendencies—why did I take them as mine? Why are your tendencies not right? If you accepted your tendencies as yours, then how can surrender happen? My conduct is not right—but conduct comes from the body, doesn't it? If you have not even dedicated your body, then what are you carrying? Carry the burden. Do your karma and its fruit will keep coming. The result—meeting Shri Ji, attaining God—this won't happen. This is a great fault. My tendencies are not right. My conduct is not right. My tendencies are not right.

This is not as great a fault as this: my tendencies are not right. Listen, friend, everything becomes right in a single moment. He is pleased—everything is right. You are pleased—then the mind, intellect, senses, body. The sense that these are mine, this is the greatest weakness. This is the greatest mistake. Give this to Shri Ji. Give your mind, your senses, your body, everything to Shri Ji. Because when I have taken shelter in God, when I have dedicated everything, then in everything—mind too, intellect too—how can these still be mine?

In truth, one who has taken shelter should not even worry about the impurity of mind, intellect, etc. "My tendencies are not right"—such a feeling should never arise. If by chance such a feeling comes, then one should cry out in fear. "Lord, see, save, save! Your possession is being claimed as someone else's. Your possession—my tendencies are not right." This is not a petty matter. It is a serious matter. My tendencies are not right. Even now Your possession is being claimed as mine. Master, save! One should call out to the Lord. Almighty Lord, after dedicating myself to You, why should I worry?

After dedication, worry does not remain and should not. We gave our bicycle to someone. Now its chain breaks, its brakes break. That is his concern, brother, its chain is broken. If someone tells you, "The bicycle you gave has a broken chain," you will say, "Now we have no concern with it." Whoever owns it, we gave it away. We have no connection with him anymore. Just so—from the body, from the mind, from the intellect—this is surrender. We have no concern with it. God has also said, "Do not worry.

Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shucah.
Abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not grieve.

Become carefree. Lie at the feet of God. Blissfully take shelter. When the matter is not understood, say, "Lord, this too is all dedicated to You. You see to it. Lord, this all is Your business. It is not my concern." Then he became carefree. Then he spoke again: "The mind is grieving very much. Let it grieve. The reins are in His hands.

Kar jatan vividh vidhi ati se prbal ajay, Tulsi Das bas ho tu prabhu berak bar.
Though I try many ways, the mighty and invincible one—Tulsi Das says, be still, O Lord, I am at rest.

This text is taken from auto-generated captions from the video—there may be errors in the words. To hear the authentic words, please listen to the video.

Original video: Bhajan Marg (YouTube)