2025-12-03 – Gungrahak Swami

. Who came from Akshardham to earth as innumerable embodied forms, and resided in the hearts of countless devotees, bringing them immense joy. Who performed beautiful divine acts, out of compassion, I bow to the auspicious form, placing the supreme Shri Hari in my heart. Whose saintly fragrance is seen today in the world in the form of Shriji, and whose Dharma, Jnana, Vairagya, and Bhakti glories are superior to each other. Every word spoken is invaluable, sweet, and like nectar itself. All are redeemed by bowing with affection to such a divine Swami Hariprasad. Swami Shri Hari, having taken initiation, served with love. He instilled a very divine sentiment and glory of servant of servants among devotees. Through whose darshan and association, everyone attained Shri Hari. Devotees worship such a loving Guru, the servant of God, with devotion. Our revered deity, the supreme, all-incarnating Lord Shri Swaminarayan, Akshar Murti, is resplendent in his divine form. Gunatitanand Swami, all Gunatit forms, our life-sustaining Guru Hari Hariprasad Swamiji Maharaj, are resplendent in their divine forms. Manifest Guru Hari Prem Swaroop Swamiji. And all the Akshar Muktas of Akshardham who have come from far and near to benefit from this camp. Master, may Your will prevail, and may only You remain. Otherwise, neither I nor my desires remain. Lord Swaminarayan was once seated with all the senior paramhansas, and Maharaj then told the paramhansas, "You should reveal whatever special quality or extraordinary virtue you possess in your life." Muktanand Swami said, "Maharaj, no matter how angry a person may be, if they come before me and speak with me for a few seconds, their anger will subside." Gopalanand Swami said, "No matter what kind of yoga it is, I have mastered Ashtanga Yoga." Brahmanand Swami said, "No matter how wild or 'mad,' in Gujarati, a horse may be, if I simply chant the Swaminarayan, Swaminarayan mantra into its ear, it will calm its temperament." Nityanand Swami said, "Maharaj, in the time it takes to place one foot on a horse and then the other, I can answer any difficult question from the scriptures." Brahmanand Swami said, "Maharaj, I possess such swift poetic skill that I can write one stanza, and while everyone repeats it, I can write another." Nishkulanand Swami said, "If you command me and just give me a hint, I can make you a wonderful swing." Amidst all this, when Akshar Murti Gunatitanand Swami was seated, Maharaj asked him, "What extraordinary quality do you possess within yourself?" Muktanand Swami also said, "Right now, we are all sitting here." Each of us has some extraordinary quality. Someone is good at cooking. Someone is good at driving. Someone is good at decoration. Someone is good at preparation. Someone is good at videography. Someone is good at photography. Someone is good at discourse. Someone is good at announcements. In this way, each person has a different kind of extraordinary quality. If we are asked, "What is your extraordinary quality?" Then we tell everyone about our quality, saying, "God has given me this quality." But when Gunatitanand Swami was asked, he humbly replied to Muktanand Swami, "Where we have no existence, we can have no personality. This is called 'neither I nor my desires remain'." What is 'arzoo'? It means our understanding. What is 'arzoo'? It's our thought. What is 'arzoo'? It's our belief. What is 'arzoo'? It's our resolve. What is 'arzoo'? It means we have thought something, we have decided something, we have our own unique understanding. That is called 'arzoo'. Neither my desires remain. At the feet of God, there is no understanding, no resolve, no alternative, no thought beyond that, and no personal mind beyond that. The true saint or true devotee of God is one who, has no mind of their own, meaning no personal thoughts. One who calms the mind is a true devotee. During Yogiji Maharaj's time, Prabhudasbhai, Guru Hari Hariprasad Swamiji, demonstrated such a life. Yogiji Maharaj demonstrated it. Shastriji Maharaj said, "You have to stay with Vigyan Swami." Yogiji Maharaj stayed for 20 years. He stayed with Nirgun Swami for 20 years. He made rotlas in the kitchen, 400 rotlas. But he never once told Shastriji Maharaj that he possessed this extraordinary quality, so he should be assigned this particular service. If we have an extraordinary quality and are assigned a different service, our extraordinary quality immediately comes to mind, and we feel like saying, even in the form of a request, "I prefer this service more, so please assign it to me." Even if we don't tell our elders, we definitely tell our friends, "I prefer this service more, but I've been assigned this one." Neither my desires remain. May there be no Hari's command. So Yogiji Maharaj said that the bodily feeling belongs to the embodied being; we have to serve in this Hari-agnaya yajna for three days. Swamiji did not get food. He sustained himself on gathiya and boondi prasad for three days, fasting and following Yogiji Maharaj's command, but he never went to Yogiji Maharaj to tell, inform, or complain about it. Yogiji Maharaj simply told Swamiji that they wanted to celebrate Jaljilli Utsav at Narayan Ghat. Swamiji arrived alone at nine at night with a flashlight and cleaned Narayan Ghat as much as he could by himself until four in the morning. And then he brought his friends and cleaned the whole area, and the Jaljilli Utsav was celebrated there. Yogiji Maharaj said that Adwad Bapa used to go back and forth from Dhandhuka to Adwad. A sadhu fell ill, and Swamiji was told, "Go to Dhandhuka and bring a doctor." He went to call the doctor, but the doctor was out. So he went to tell another doctor. The other doctor said he would come. He then cycled back to Adwad to Yogiji Maharaj. Yogiji Maharaj said, "That doctor charges money, but the other doctor performs the service for free." "Go and tell him no." He goes to tell him no, comes back, and Yogiji Maharaj sends him again. But Swamiji never once thought of telling Bapa, "Bapa, I will pay that doctor's fees." "Let the doctor come." But Yogiji Maharaj, if you say day, it's day, and if you say night, it's night. When this acceptance is natural in one's life, that is called "neither I nor my desires remain." There are countless such incidents in Swamiji's life. Swamiji himself says that he never gave Bapa a single chance where Bapa had to instruct us again. Once Bapa said that service should be done while chanting bhajans, and he never gave Bapa another chance to repeat it. Once Bapa said that if we go on a pilgrimage to any holy place, we should not sleep in that holy place. So Swamiji followed the command completely and never gave Bapa a chance to suggest it a second time. Whether it was postal service or youth service. "Neither my desires remain." Swamiji never kept his own understanding or his own desires. When he was undergoing dialysis, whenever saints went for his darshan, Swamiji would ask one question: "Have you held the youth assembly?" Swamiji then continues, saying, "Bapa had commanded us, and we used to hold two youth assemblies by 12 noon." His entire existence. He had merged his entire understanding, his entire personality into Bapa's desires. Let's reflect on the life of Guru Hari Prem Swaroop Swamiji. When Gurupurnima was celebrated in New Jersey, and after it concluded, as we all know, the fiber murtis of Shastriji Maharaj and Yogiji Maharaj were placed in the old sukhasaiya (bed). Swamiji came there for darshan, and I was standing nearby. Prabhupriya Swami was serving Swamiji. Swamiji was doing dandvat pranam, and Prem Swamiji was standing beside him. Swamiji performed dandvat and then stood up and looked. It was a fiber murti, and the turban on the fiber murti seemed a bit too high to Swamiji. Swamiji felt as if it was a murti and a turban was placed upon it. Swamiji told Prem Swamiji, "Look, that turban is a bit high; lower it a little and straighten it." We all could see that it was a fiber murti. And Prem Swamiji could also see it. But it was Swamiji's command, so he went there and, as per Swamiji's instruction, tried to slightly lower the part with the turban. Then Prabhupriya Swami said, "Swamiji, this murti is made of fiber; the entire murti is made of fiber, and the turban is also fixed with it." Swamiji smiled gently and meaningfully. Swamiji, the omniscient and all-knowing Purushottam, who knows the innermost thoughts of everyone, already knew it was a fiber murti, but he wanted to demonstrate to me, those standing around, and all of us that "neither I nor my desires remain." One day, Prem Swamiji went from New Jersey to Florida at Swamiji's command, and as we all know, Prem Swamiji always travels by car. He drove there to Florida, and while he was unloading Swamiji's luggage, Swamiji called him and asked, "Where are you?" And there, Prem Swamiji said, "Swamiji, I have just arrived here in Florida; I am in Florida." Swamiji said, "You come back to New Jersey." What's the urgency on the phone? We just arrived. Can we leave in the evening? Can we leave after an hour? Can we leave tomorrow? Can we leave after eating? Can we come by flight? No such questions, no requests, no excuses. He loaded the luggage back into the car exactly as he had unloaded it, and turned the car from Florida back towards New Jersey. A similar incident happened when, by Swamiji's command, he went from New Jersey to Columbus, and the same thing happened in Columbus. He must have unloaded the luggage in Columbus and perhaps just entered the room when Swamiji's call came. Swamiji asked, "Where are you?" "Swamiji, I am in Columbus." Swamiji commanded him, "You come back to New Jersey." And without any thought, without any resolve, without getting caught up in any surrounding affection, without getting caught up in anyone's request, Prem Swamiji got into the car and drove back from Columbus towards New Jersey. Neither I nor my desires remain. Neither my existence remains. Neither my thought remains. Neither my resolve remains. Neither my alternative remains. Nothing of mine remains. In the year 1984-85, the bicentennial celebration of Gunatit Swamiji was to be held in Surat, but it rained, and the area was waterlogged, making it impossible to perform the yagna there. Swamiji said, "No, the yagna must be performed there, the festival must be celebrated there." And Prem Swamiji said, "Yes, Swamiji." And he prepared that place for the yagna and for the festival. Our mind seeks excuses. Our mind makes resolutions. Our mind thinks. Our mind prays. In such situations, the phrase "neither I nor my desires remain" does not apply. We all perform service. We all become simple. But how? We become simple by making excuses. We become simple by discussing. We become simple by doubting. We become simple by blaming. We become simple by making resolutions, and we become simple by expressing our own thoughts. "Neither I nor my desires remain" means. Such a saint, such an Ambarish, such a devotee, when given any command, only one phrase emerges from their mind and mouth: "Yes Swamiji" and "Ji Swamiji." This is called "neither I nor my desires remain." Just as when someone asks a servant, "What is your name?" they reply, "Whatever you give." "Where do you want to stay?" "Wherever you say." "What do you want to eat?" "Whatever you give." "So you have nothing of your own?" "No." "Why?" "Because I am your servant." "Neither I nor my desires remain" - this is a state. So, such devotees during the time of Lord Swaminarayan included Parvatbhai, Govardhanbhai, Puja Daudiyo, Devji Suthar. During Gunatitanand Swami's time, there were Ram Bhanderi, Rajyo Desai of Neinnpur, Shivalal Sheth. During Shastriji Maharaj's time, there were devotees like Ashabhai, Maganbhai, Harmanbhai. During Swamiji's time, many such devotees demonstrated a life of detachment from the mind. Such a devotee king of ours is Sata Bapa Odwala. In 1967-68, he came into Swamiji's association, and having experienced Swamiji's divine life and being dazzled by his divinity, he became firmly resolved. And once that resolve was firm, he demonstrated a life of "neither I nor my desires remain." Once Swamiji asked him, "What crop have you grown?" Then he said, "Swamiji, I have grown tobacco." He had grown tobacco, and the crop was now ready to be harvested. Swamiji said, "We are satsangis; we should not grow tobacco." As soon as Swamiji said this, he drove a tractor through his entire field, destroying the entire crop. Once he came to Swamiji at the old temple to pray and told Swamiji, "Swamiji, my daughter's eye power has increased." Swamiji said, "Perform a Maha-puja for five rupees." He performed the Maha-puja, and his daughter's eye power increased. He came again. Swamiji said, "Perform one for ₹10." He performed the Maha-puja, and her power increased again. He came back again. Swamiji said, "Perform the Maha-puja again." In this way, he kept performing Maha-pujas, up to ₹51, and each time he performed a Maha-puja, her eye power increased. Her eye power increased. Swamiji increased the donation amount for the Maha-puja, but Satabhai's faith never diminished. Neither I nor my desires remain. When they were coming to see his daughter, he told Swamiji, "Swamiji, her spectacle lenses have become as thick as the bottom of a glass." Swamiji said, "When the boy comes to see your daughter, tell her to take off her spectacles." "And if it seems necessary, she can put them back on later." Satabhai did not say, "Swamiji, if she takes off her spectacles, she won't be able to see anything." He only said, "Yes Swamiji, no problem." And he said "Yes Swamiji," and when the daughter took off her spectacles, she took them off for good; by Swamiji's blessings, her eye power disappeared permanently. So, one whose life is "neither I nor my desires remain" naturally receives such blessings. This was about his own body. This was about his own family. Now let me tell you about the mandal (congregation). Satabapa Od's mandal. Some devotees support, some don't. Our behavior with those who support us is different, and our behavior with those who don't support us is entirely different. There is a kind of mental discrimination, both in thoughts and in actions. And the third thing is our speech; our entire behavior becomes different with those who are with us and those who do not accept our words. Furthermore. Our thoughts are different for the person we like. Our behavior towards them is different. And the way we talk to them is also different. For a person we don't like, our thoughts are different, our demeanor is different when we talk to them, and our behavior towards them is also different. And when we meet a close friend and a conversation starts, we express even the slightest minor negativity that may be present within us. I am talking about "neither I nor my desires remain." As much as one likes God, one likes His devotees just as much. That is called "neither I nor my desires remain." Swamiji came to meet Sata Bapa and asked, "Bapa, how are things going?" When someone asks us "how are things going," we first say, "Swamiji, things are going very well." Perhaps we give a sophisticated answer like, "Everything is going well as you wish; my journey is progressing as you enter the muktas. The number in the assembly is decreasing, but the darshan of all muktas is wonderful." And while doing so, we also convey whatever else we want to say. Negativity within positivity. Let's add it and present it. But Sata Bapa said, "Swamiji, you have given very good devotees, and the mandal is running so wonderfully; the whole mandal has become like Gokul." And by saying so, Sata Bapa praised the qualities of the person who was opposing him. Swamiji was so pleased that he embraced Sata Bapa himself, and he embraced him in such a way, that he took him with him to where Swamiji used to bathe. After applying sandalwood paste, Swamiji embraced Sata Bapa along with it. When such an embrace happens, one should understand that it is "neither I nor my desires remain." Let me tell you another incident of his extremity. A true devotee had to go to prison for some legal reasons. When Sata Bapa found out, he went to the police station and told the police, "He is our devotee, a good person. He must have made a mistake. This is..." But the police said that they would follow the legal process and law, whatever it may be. They did not accept his plea. So Sata Bapa said, "Please, do one thing: release him and put me in jail instead." Would we ever have such a thought or say something like this? For us, the first thought might be to go to the police station, perhaps even to jail. After going to the police station, we would only think about hiring a good lawyer and how to get him out. But Sata Bapa said, "You release him and put me in jail instead." Swamiji would not have spoken like that for no reason. In 1994, when Swamiji's Golden Tulabharam (weighing against gold) took place, Swamiji uttered such words that "even after weighing me, this Sata Bapa Od is ready to be weighed." When a great personality feels like saying something like this. When a great personality feels like embracing someone in this manner. When a great personality sees us and immediately feels immense joy, then one should understand that it is "neither I nor my desires remain." Yogiji Maharaj kept no desires of his own. Yogiji Maharaj kept no existence of his own. Gunatitanand Swami kept no desires of his own, no existence of his own. Maharaj said to go to Burhanpur, and he went to Burhanpur. Maharaj said to go to Krupanand Swami's mandal, and he went there. Maharaj said to go to Muktanand Swami's mandal, and he went there. When told to go to Junagadh, he went to Junagadh. When Yogiji Maharaj was told to serve in the kitchen, he went there. When told to make 400 rotlas, he made those rotlas. He went to work with the daily laborers. He told Swamiji to do this service and that service. Swamiji never made any complaints or grievances to Yogiji Maharaj. Swamiji was an extraordinary, multi-dimensional personality. We see now that when Swamiji left his body, he had organized an Atmiya Youth Convention with over 1 lakh youths. So, when he was revered among youths, what must his intellect and talent have been like? At the age of 11, he had memorized the entire Gita. When he was young, he had asked a Shankaracharya, "Sthitapragnyasya ka bhasha?" (What are the characteristics of a steadfast mind?) by quoting that shloka and had discussed its secret with the Shankaracharya. If he knew so much, wouldn't he have known what to do and what not to do during Yogiji Maharaj's time? But he had merged his mind and his existence into the feet of Yogiji Maharaj. A youth asked Yogiji Maharaj, "Bapa," "You are giving such wonderful darshan now, but when you were with Shastriji Maharaj, where was your divine effulgence, your divinity, then?" Then Yogiji Maharaj said one sentence: "My divine effulgence, my divinity, had merged into the feet of Shastriji Maharaj." Thus, when our understanding merges at the feet of a great personality. When our beliefs merge, our thoughts merge, our resolutions merge, our alternatives merge. And beyond that, when our good qualities also merge there, and our flaws also merge there, then one should understand that "neither I nor my desires remain." On this auspicious and greatly blessed day, I wish to offer only one prayer at the feet of Thakorji and Guru Hari. That even if one has spent millions of rupees or perhaps offered services worth millions. Purushottam said with affection. No matter how much one chants bhajans, or chants them with tears, or eagerly performs service, or meditates on My murti. Even if he has offered services worth millions of rupees. But Lord Swaminarayan said that if he does not act as we instruct, then we are a hundred thousand miles away from him. And then Lord Swaminarayan says that even if he doesn't do all that, but does as we instruct, then no matter how far he is, he is close to us. All of you have come from far away to benefit from this camp. Guru Hari Prem Swamiji commanded that one camp be held in New Jersey and another in Maryland. We have all come to the camp according to his command, so let's decide something today before we leave. Let us consider this camp as an occasion to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Hari Prem Swaroop Swamiji through this camp. Let us consider this to be Swamiji's Atmiya Parva, which is celebrated every year. Let us consider this as a stage of the Shikshapatri Bicentennial Festival. And let us consider that 60 years are being completed since Guru Hari Swamiji's initiation and Prem Swamiji's initiation. So, as a summary, let's do one thing. If no intellect is applied to his words, then "neither I nor my desires remain." If faith comes in his words, then "neither I nor my desires remain" - that is the point. If we become naturally simple in his words, then "neither I nor my desires remain." If his words are easily accepted, then "neither I nor my desires remain." In becoming intimate with someone, we should not see their good or bad qualities, but rather the great personality. In serving that person, one should not see their flaws, nature, or physical form, but rather the command of the great personality and the relationship with them. Then one should understand that "neither I nor my desires remain." This much is one thing. The simpler one is, the closer they are to God and the more joy they can attain from Him. There is only one point among a million. Only one who calms their mind can attain the pleasure of the great personality. A prayer at the divine feet of Thakorji Guru Hari Swamiji. A prayer at the feet of Thakorji, on behalf of all the muktas who have come for the camp. Guru Hari's 60 years of initiation are being completed. As its essence. The vision of his life, with its many qualities and various aspects, is just one. That he, Swamiji before Yogiji Maharaj, and Prem Swamiji before Swamiji, never kept their own mind before the great personality. He kept no thoughts. He kept no understanding. He made no resolutions. He didn't even pray. He kept nothing of his own, neither his personality nor his existence. In the same way, we who are all seated here, let us also pray that we too place our minds, our understanding, our true beliefs, our resolutions, alternatives, thoughts, and prayers at his feet. "Neither I nor my desires remain." May he grant us all the strength, intellect, and power to live our lives accordingly. This is the inner prayer. Victory to Sahajanand Swami Maharaj. Jai Swaminarayan from my heart to all.