These 20 things bring Bhagwan's grace and grant pure bhakti!

Watch the video above for the full satsang of Pujya Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj.

Full Discourse

Jai Jai Shri Harivansh, Jai Jai Shri Radha, Jai Shri Radha Radha. To all the God-loving sants and mahatmas of the whole world, koti koti pranam and namaskar. This path of bhakti to Bhagwan is a very strange path. The upasak who walks on it must first of all be very patient. He must be extremely patient. We tell you something from experience: when someone walks on Bhagwan's path and connects with Bhagwan, joy, favourable circumstances, praise, fame and respect all begin to come to him. But when Bhagwan begins to love him, then another thing comes.

Then there is a test of adversity. As Meera Ji's brother-in-law went to the extreme and gave her so much trouble, you cannot imagine how far he went. Hiranyakashipu gave Prahlad Ji suffering. Adversity, dishonour and blame are the flower through which we come to know that Bhagwan is shining in our heart as fragrance and as joy. But these are very hard to bear. When we are praised and four people bow down to us, it feels good, that we are gaining from bhakti of Bhagwan. But when those same four people begin to criticise and insult us, we think, "Where has Bhagwan gone?"

Look, we are being criticised. We are being insulted. But at that very time we should be alert, because Bhagwan's special grace is descending into our heart. Please believe this. When dishonour, rejection and blame happen in society and you remain innocent, then Bhagwan's pure grace comes, and that person progresses on the steps of bhakti. He who holds patient waiting and endurance in his heart does not become distressed, does not get bored, and does not lose faith in Bhagwan. However great the adversity, when we surrender this life to Shri Priyalal, we become puppets.

As they make us dance, so we must dance. Uma daru joshit ki nai, sab nachavat Ram Gosai.
Like a wooden doll, Lord Ram makes everyone dance. This is how we should live, in surrender.

We should not apply our own intellect. We should surrender our intellect at the Lord's feet. It is considered truly surrendered only when: Teshaam satatayuktanam bhajatam preetipoorvakam, dadami buddhiyogam tam yen mamupayanti te.
To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the yoga of understanding by which they come to Me. So now, from the teachings of Pujya Pad Shri Uriya Baba Ji, these are 20 things. The sadhak who makes them part of his life receives Bhagwan's love, and his sadhana is surely accomplished.

His bhajan begins to flow continuously. For continuous bhajan, for bhagwat prem and the attainment of Bhagwan, listen to these 20 things patiently. The first point: do not be afraid, speak the truth. If you make a mistake, you will be punished and blamed. You will become pure. But if you hide it by telling a lie, that sin piles up, and one lie requires many more lies to cover it. So if we want to attain Bhagwan, we must take refuge in truth. Bhagwan is called Satyanarayan. He is called Satya-vratam. Therefore, the first thing: we should speak the truth.

Do not take refuge in falsehood. The second: never criticise anyone. These are very ignorant people who criticise the devotees and sants of Bhagwan for worldly gain, for nothing. Par nindaa ke kiye te aavat nahin kachhu haath, moorkh parvat paap ko le chal apne saath.
Nothing comes into your hand by criticising others, fool; you carry a mountain of sin along with you. By criticising others, a bundle of sin is placed on your head, and you go to hell. Bhakt nindaa ati buri, bhool kare jin koi, sukrit bahu janm ke chhin mein dhare khoi.
Criticising a bhakt is very bad; let no one make that mistake. The merit of many births is lost in a single moment. So if a bhakt is being criticised somewhere, the merit of many lifetimes will be destroyed in an instant.

Therefore the second point: never criticise anyone, and do not listen to criticism. Listening brings the same sin as doing it. The third point: understanding Bhagwan's maya, do not rejoice in favourable circumstances and do not grieve in adverse ones. Bhajan must go on with an equal mind. However great the calamity, keep constantly remembering Bhagwan; that calamity will be destroyed. Hari smriti sarva vipad vimokshana.
Remembrance of Hari liberates from all calamities. If, in calamity, you become frightened and abandon remembrance of Bhagwan and take refuge in some worldly official or worldly person, your bhakti becomes corrupted.

Ek bharoso ek bal ek aas vishwas, ek Ram Ghanshyam hit chaatak Tulsidas.
One trust, one strength, one hope and faith: only Ram, the dark-cloud-hued Lord, is the beloved of Tulsidas, the chataka bird. The one trust is in Bhagwan alone. Whether he gives dishonour or honour, sorrow or happiness, whether he makes you be rejected or made to bow, his play with his devotees goes on. Sometimes great emperors take off their crowns and put them aside, and sometimes an ordinary man beats him, criticises him, and stands against him. This is the leela of Bhagwan, and it happens in the lives of all devotees. It happens in the lives of all the great devotees.

So, when calamity comes, patiently immerse yourself in the contemplation of Bhagwan. When honour comes, understand it as Bhagwan's affection, and bow to him again and again, and think this: we must not drink the poison of honour. Sanmaanam garalam vishamam, apamaanam amritam.
Honour is poison, dreadful; dishonour is nectar. Therefore pray to Bhagwan that the poison of honour never comes to you, so that your contemplation grows, your bhakti grows, your love grows. Let dishonour, sorrow and rejection keep coming to you instead. Then you will have no attachment to the world and no attachment to the body. The fourth: if any suffering living being comes to your refuge, however great a mistake he has made, if you forgive him, Bhagwan's grace will fall upon you.

Suppose he has made a mistake. It is maya; he has slipped. That is his old habit. If he has erred but walks on Bhagwan's path, you should forgive him. Filled with remorse, he will surrender his nature at Bhagwan's feet, and one day he will be set right. One day he will become a sant. He will truly become a sant. Bhagwan will send such adversity that every lane closes, and only Bhagwan's lane remains open. If someone commits an offence and asks you for forgiveness, pleading and wanting to reform, then please, in kindness, give him one chance.

If they turn towards God, God will shower His grace upon them.

Fifth: when a sorrow arises, do not speak of your pain to anyone. Bear it within yourself. If you tell someone else, they will either become sad too or they will mock you. If you tell the sorrow of your heart to someone, either they will ridicule you or they will become sorrowful themselves. So bear it yourself, and pray to God: remove this sorrow, or do not remove it, but give me the strength to bear it.

Sixth: keep a spirit of doing good to everyone. Have a heart eager to give happiness to all, wish well to all, and be without any selfish motive. Expect nothing from them.

But good should be done to them through us. Even if they are doing us harm, we should still do good to them. These are the marks of God's beloved bhakts.

Seventh: do not hold any offence committed by any living being as an offence against you. Why? Because our own karma is driving them to act against us. The karma of our past life is inspiring them and making them do the opposing act, making them commit the offence. So we should bear it. Then all your offences will be destroyed, and the offender will be reformed through divine punishment.

Umaa kshama saap te bhaari, apne karm jaankaari
Forgiveness is mightier than a curse; one's own karma is known to be the cause.

If you forgive, he will be punished even more severely than by a curse, and he will be reformed.

Eighth: while doing your worldly work, do not let the chanting of God's name slip away. This is a very important point.

Paayo naam chaaru chintaamani ur karte na khaso ab nashaani
I have obtained the beautiful wish-fulfilling jewel of the Name; it will not slip from the hand of my heart now, and the loss is over.

Until now you have been destroying your life, enslaved by the senses and controlled by the mind. Now, by God's grace, it has become clear that the world is a mirage of sorrow. So whatever business, job, or work we do, let us practise the chanting of God's name.

Ninth: never speak harsh words.

Katuk vachan kabahu na kaha, priy hitkar madhur bhaashan
Never speak bitter words; speak pleasing, beneficial, sweet words.

Only then are you God's beloved devotee. After meeting you, the other person's heart should become cool.

Aisi vaani vaani ek amol hai jo koi bole jaan, ye taraazu tol ke tab mukh bahaar aa
Speech is a priceless jewel; whoever speaks should know this. Weigh it on the scale of the heart, and only then bring it out through the mouth.

First weigh your speech in the scale of the heart: when it comes out, will it give happiness to the listener or sorrow? Sweet speech, beneficial speech, pleasing speech.

Tenth: even if anger comes, never give abuse. Do not utter obscene words, and do not speak obscene talk while sitting together. Sit together and speak of God.

Bodhtaa parasparam paraspar
Enlightening one another.

If anger comes, keep your speech under control, or keep silent, and bear the force of the anger. [clearing throat] Such anger should be borne like this. Lust and anger are visitors that come and go.

Eleventh: do not tell others about someone's shortcomings. If you cannot hold back, tell it to the person whose shortcoming it is. That is not slander, and it is not tale-bearing. But if you tell it to someone else, it becomes tale-bearing. It darkens your intellect and makes you carry the same fault. So do not backbite.

Twelfth: do not sit for hours talking about worldly entanglements. Spend your time in God, and then your time is meaningful. If you talk about worldly entanglements, your time becomes meaningless. The shastra instructs: avyarth kaalatvam, do not waste time, do not let time be wasted.

Thirteenth: use only your own honestly earned money. Wealth earned through dishonesty, bribery, theft, deceit, violence and the like does not let you walk the path of God, and does not let you walk in dharma. It comes as a great calamity and in the end destroys everything. So earn pure wealth and nourish your family with it. Do not perform any action that is against the shastras.

Fourteenth: do not perform useless activities. Playing cards, for example, is useless and brings no benefit. There are many other such games which people play while forgetting God, and their whole time is wasted. Each breath is so precious that even if you were given the earnings of fifty years, you could not add one more breath to your life. Do not spend such breaths on useless tasks.

Fifteenth: eat wholesome, light, easily digestible food, so that your digestion improves. Very heavy food, tamasic food, rajasic food, and even eating until you are stuffed are all signs of ignorance. Eat appropriate food, eat little, eat wholesome food that digests well. Then your bhajan will deepen.

Sixteenth: whatever experience you have in devotion, do not reveal it before ordinary people. If you must reveal it, do not speak as if it is about yourself, saying "I did this bhajan and this experience happened." Instead say, "Some sadhak.. They do bhajan, and they were describing that such and such experiences happen." Do not reveal it about yourself.

Seventeenth: do not accept any devotional act with pride. Whether it is japa, tapa, purity, or pilgrimage, all of it is happening by God's grace. Where is my capacity?

Atishay kripa Ram ki hoi, paav deh yah maarg so
When Ram's grace is exceedingly great, one attains this body and this path.

When God shows exceeding grace, then the means of satsang become available. So bow to God's grace; do not take pride.

Eighteenth: give honour to all. Respect whoever comes near you. Give honour to everyone, and remain without honour yourself.

As Shri Hanuman Ji Maharaj said to Vibhishan:

Asamay adham sakha sun moh pad
Listen, friend: I am a lowly one.

Nineteenth: whatever divine qualities you have within you, keep them all hidden. When you display your divine qualities, devotion weakens and the qualities disappear from within.

Sab ang gunheen ho taako jatan na koi, ek Kishori kripa te jo kachhu ho so
One who is devoid of all good qualities has no means of improvement; whatever there is, comes only by the grace of Kishori.

To feel that you are devoid of all qualities is humility (dainyata). To feel pride in your qualities is aversion from God. God never keeps pride in His devotee.

Sunahu Ram kar sahaj subhaau, jan abhimaan na raakhe kaau
Listen, Ram's nature is simple: He never lets His devotee keep pride.

He performs such leelas that the pride of the one who is turned to dust is itself reduced to dust.

Twentieth: do not adorn the body too much. Bhagwat prasad garlands, sandalwood paste and the like are a different matter. But devotees should not take up modern adornment, because it increases rajoguna, and bhajan also becomes distracted.

Deh bhaav pusht hota hai shringar karne se. Agar hum Prabhu ka prasadi chandan lagate hain, raj lagate hain. Ye koi laukik shringar mein nahi aata. Garv ka vishay hai. Apne isht ka tilak, Guru ke dwara di hui kanthi, bhajan mala, yeh sab saubhagya ka chinh hai. Ye 20 baatein yadi sadhak apne jeevan mein utaar le to usmein divya sadguon utpann ho jayenge. Kaun se sadguon? Nirapekshan, vah nishpaksh ho jayega. Kisi ki apeksha nahi rakhega. Kisi se koi chaah nahi rakhega. "Chaah mite, chinta mit, manva muni nirantar," shastra aur Guru, mantra aur naam ka manan karne wala ban jayega.

Shantam, har dvandva mein shant rahega. Koi bhi dukh sukh use harshit ya shokit nahi kar paayega. Nirvairam, poore jagat mein ek bhi uska dushman nahi hoga. "Harivansh naam leen je, ajaat shatru sada sam darshanam," sam mein apne Bhagwan ka darshan kare. Aise bhakt ke prati Bhagwan ka itna pyaar umadta hai ki svayam uske charan raj lene ke liye peeche dolte hain. Anujam nityam, sabse prarthana hai ki in mahapurushon ke vachanon ko shravan kiya jaaye. Manan kiya jaaye. Dhairya poorvak apni bhakti ko aage badhaya jaaye. Hamara jeevan Bhagwan ki prapti ke liye hai, aur Bhagwan ne aadesh kiya hai, "Saatvin bhakti saato sab mohime jag dekha, mote adhik sant kar lekha." Ye Bharat bhoomi mein ek mahan purush sant virajmaan hain, aage bhi rahenge, peeche bhi the. Bina santon ki sharan ke hum Bhagwan ki taraf chal nahi sakte, unnati nahi ho sakti. Aap sab hamari aatma hain. Aap mazboot hokar taiyar hoiye, aur badi se badi viprit ta, pratikoolta, dukh, apmaan, nindaa, inko sahte hue aage badhiye.

Hamein kisi ki ninda nahi karni. Koi hamari ninda kare, to muskura ke sah lo. Bhagwan ne thoda kadwa prasad diya hai, jo bahut jaldi abhimaan roopi rog ka naash karega. Isliye shravan kijiye aur manan kijiye aur aacharan mein utaariye.

Yeh paath video ke swachalit (auto-generated) upshirshakon se liya gaya hai. Isme shabdon ki truti hon sakti hain. Pramanik vachan ke liye video avashya sunen.

Original video: Shri Hit Radha Kripa (YouTube)