4.8. Basic Philosophy of Svāminārāyaṇa

[Full title: Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa and His Tradition (8): Philosophy]

Svāminārāyaṇa effectively assailed the roots of the immoral and lawless in society by eradicating the base instincts of ego, lust, greed, hate, and anger from their hearts. He gave them a new direction; devotion to God. He thus showed that a jīva (the self) could be freed of sin, attain mokṣa, and experience God’s bliss in this very birth. His basic philosophy stresses that the ātmān (pure soul) is separate from the three bodies–the gross, the subtle, and the causal and above the three guṇas, namely sattva, rajas, and tamas. The ātmān identifies itself with Brahman (Akṣarabrahman) and offers a devotion to Parabrahman, the Supreme Reality. This is mediated by the manifest form of Akṣarabrahman–the Guṇātīta Sādhu.

Towards the final years of Svāminārāyaṇa’s life, He consolidated and strengthened the framework of the saṃpradāya by erecting six mandiras of the breathtaking beauty. In these, He consecrated the mūrtis of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, Nara and Nārāyaṇa, Lakṣmī and Nārāyaṇa and others, in consonance with Sanātana Dharma’s eternal tradition of worshipping God with His foremost bhakta (devotee). In addition to mandira construction, the saṃpradāya needed a code of conduct and a foundation of philosophical literature. An erudite scholar of the śāstras Himself, He arranged philosophical sessions every day in which He enriched His philosophy. Five of His senior Paramahaṃsa meticulously recorded and compiled His philosophical teachings, which became recognized as the Vacanāmṛta (the prominent subject of this thesis). He enjoined devotees to read this every day and imbibe its precepts.

1 An Introduction to the Vacanāmṛta

The Vacanāmṛta is a collection of 273 discourses. It was delivered by Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa during the last 10 years of his life, between 1819-1829 CE. Gopalānaṃda Svāmī, Muktānaṃda Svāmī, Nityānaṃda Svāmī, Śukānaṃda Svāmī, and Brahmanand Svāmī were the editors of the Vacanāmṛta. This text is the most prominent and foundational scripture of the Svāminārāyaṇa Saṃpradāya. The scripture is divided into 10 sections, based on the various villages in which discourses were delivered. The sections are chronological in order and are named as follows: Gaḍhaḍā I, Sāraṃgapura, Kariyāṇī, Loyā, Paṃcālā, Gaḍhaḍā II, Vartāla, Gaḍhaḍā III and finally additional Vacanāmṛtas. Within each section, individual Vacanāmṛtas are arranged in chronological order and are numbered sequentially.^[1]

2 A Historical Document

Each Vacanāmṛta begins with an introductory paragraph taking the reader back in time to the exact environment in which the discourses were held. This description mentally prepares the reader for the profound wisdom that is to come. The first Vacanāmṛta starts from 21 November to 25 July 1829. The compilers meticulously–and ingeniously–detailed all of the significant aspects of the settings of the assembly, even at the risk of sounding repetitive. Invariably, they mention the date, month, year, village, location within the village, as well as audience seated in the assembly. In many instances, they even mention the time of day and the direction in which Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa was seated. In many instances, they have even described the seat upon which he was seated as well as the dress and adornment of Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa at the time. Primarily, the reason for their meticulousness was that they were convinced of his divinity.

They understood that the assembly was not an ordinary, worldly assembly of people but a divine assembly presided over by the supreme God himself. After all, much more than anything else, divinity is worthy of being recalled correctly. From a scholarly point of view, this introductory paragraph adds a stamp of authenticity to the scripture.

In the words of an eminent Gujarati scholar, Mr. Bhogīlāla Sāṃdesarā:

“Among all these scriptures [the scriptures of Buddhism, Jainism, Rāmānujācārya, Vallabhācārya, and other Ācāryas] the position of the Vacanāmṛta is unique because the discourses of Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa were compiled verbatim. There is a reference to the place and time of the discourses; a note of the year, month and day; a description of Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa’s garments and even the names of the people participating in the dialogues are maintained… Thus, there is no room for interpolation.”

The Vacanāmṛta is also an authoritative scripture in as much as it was spoken by God Himself and written down at the same time. In fact, it was even reviewed and approved by Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa during its compilation, a fact evident in Vacanāmṛta Loyā-7. Moreover, the fact that concepts expounded in the Vacanāmṛta are based on Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa’s own personal experience gives it an added note of authority.

In fact, He states in Vacanāmṛta Gaḍhaḍā 3/39:

“I deliver these discourses to you, not from an image of my mind nor to display any sort of aptitude. I have experienced all that I have spoken about. Whatever I speak, I practice first.”

3 Method of Discussion

If the introductory paragraph of the Vacanāmṛta renders the scripture unique, the method of imparting spiritual wisdom is no less unique. Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa delivered his discourses in a dialogue form. We find the root of this method in the Upaniṣads. At times, Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa would ask a question to the members of the assembly, or sometimes he would inspire the assembly to pose a question to him. On other occasions, devotees of the assembly would ask a question directly. In his assemblies, all could question and even counter-question, regardless of whether they were scholarly renunciants or ordinary householders. Keeping in mind this question-answer method and the fact that many of the members of the assemblies were great scholars themselves, one can imagine the thoroughness of Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa’s knowledge on subjects discussed.

4 Preaching Through a Profound Experience

The Vacanāmṛta entails the essence of all of the ancient scriptures. Why? Besides the fact that the supreme Reality Himself spoke the words, Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa had studied the scriptures thoroughly, had mastered aṣṭāṃga-yoga and had also scrutinized the beliefs and practices of people throughout India. Thus, when he spoke, it was from a base of profound scriptural wisdom, advanced spiritual insight, and vast practical experience. In the Vacanāmṛta, He has quoted verses from the Vedas, the Śrīmad Bhāgavata and other Purāṇas, the Upaniṣads, the Gitā as well as other parts of the Mahābhārata.

In fact, in Vacanāmṛta Gaḍhaḍā̄ II-28 Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa has gone so far as to say:

“Whatever I speak having heard and having extracted the essence from the Vedas, the śāstra, the Purāṇas and all other words on this earth about liberation. This is the most profound and fundamental principle; it is the essence of all essence.”

Moreover, the Vacanāmṛta is also the first literary work of prose in the Gujarati Language, thus providing a good specimen of the culture and speaking style of the Gujarati language. It is a generous gift of Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa to Gujarati literature. Having read the above, one can better grasp why the compilers named it the Vacanāmṛta. After all, it is, nectar, ‘amṛta’ in the form of words, ‘Vacana’ from Bhagavān Svāminārāyaṇa.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Dave Harshad, New Dimensions in Vedanta Philosophy, Philosophy of Shri Svāminārāyaṇa and The Upaniṣads, Shri Svāminārāyaṇa Mudran Mandir, 1981, p.5 27