If you want to attain God, tolerate criticism, insult and disobedience in the same mood you would respect and praise. “Karat je ansahan nindak tinhu pe anugrah karayau – Sevak vani”. The path towards God is opposite to worldly dealings. If someone treats you with love, you should be cautious. You have to remain indifferent. Because the one who claims to love you will trap you in this world. There should not be anyone about whom you think in solitude. In solitude, only God should be remembered.
Once, I said to Sadgurudev, Maharaj Ji, it is written in Sevak Vani, “Hansi bolay bahu maan de”. This means that upon chanting Harivansh, the devotee will consider himself the smallest and happily talk to everyone with full respect. I asked him why he always kept looking at me with anger. He said, “It is written about how we should behave with others, not for ourselves”. This was a very profound thing. Later, when I thought about it, I understood that Guruji wanted to say, “Are you someone else? You are my own”. It is very difficult to understand the words of great men. So much love, he called me his own. Guru behaves rudely towards the disciples to help them develop.
Saints never expect anything from anyone!
A devotee has a relationship only with God, not with any donor in the world. They do not think that if a devotee gets angry, how will my needs be met? Maharaj Ji used to live in Ladli Kunj, but the door was never locked there. Even today, Shriji’s food is prepared with wood and a stove; it was the same earlier. One day in the evening, Maharaj Ji went for darshan. When Maharaj Ji returned, some devotees left gas, stove, cylinder and cooker in Maharaj Ji’s hut and went away. When I returned, Maharaj Ji asked, what is all this? When I went inside, I saw the kitchen fitted with brand-new equipment. I told Maharaj Ji that I was not involved in any of this. I do not even know any devotee who can bring all this. Maharaj Ji said, pick up all this and keep everything on the Parikrama Marg; whoever wants to take it will take it. He burnt wood, prepared food for Shriji in the same old stove, and offered it to Shreeji by putting it in an old clay vessel.
To date, he does not have any expectations from anyone. You can go to him every day, and there is no problem. Even if you do not go, he will never ask about you. Once, a rich man came and asked to meet Maharaj Ji. At that time, Maharaj Ji was in solitude, so I said that he would not be able to meet Maharaj Ji right now. On this, he gave me his visiting card and said to tell Maharaj Ji to remember him if we needed anything. When Maharaj Ji learned about this, he forbade him from ever coming there again. He said our arrangements were made by Shriji, not by the phone number of any rich man. We remember Shriji, not any worldly man.
Not Taking Anything From Anyone, Not Collecting Anything
Once, Maharaj ji went to Sunrakh (a place in Vrindavan) and returned with an empty vessel. At our place, milk is offered to Shriji at night. On asking, he said, “I have not given anything to the milkman for a long time, so today I did not have the courage to go ask for milk, so I came back”. I felt very sad to hear that my Gurudev could not arrange for the offering to Shriji. At that time, milk worth perhaps Rs. 250 per month was consumed. After a while, someone came and said, I want to meet Maharaj ji. I asked about the reason for the meeting. He said these 250 rupees were to be given to him. Then, milk came from Sunrakh, and Shriji was offered the milk. You just have to depend on God for everything; He will take care of you. Maharaj Ji never expected anything from anyone and lived without any facilities. At that time, there was no electricity in Maharaj Ji’s hut. There was a Madan Ter in front of his place, where insects, spiders and scorpions, etc. roamed freely in nature. It did not make any difference to him. It was very rare to get his darshan in the past. It is the Lord’s grace to us today that everyone gets his darshan so easily.
