Overview of Qualities

The first and foremost identifying mark of a Gnani is His speech: It is Absolute and free from all attachment. There exists no other mode or measure in our age. In the days gone by, there were people so highly developed in their spirituality, that by just a mere look into the eyes of the Gnani, they could recognize His vitragta – His state void of any attachment towards worldly thing, including His physical body. Not even for a split-second is the Gnani bereft of vitragta.

The Gnani should be recognized through His outstanding qualities. But how can an ordinary individual understand such qualities? There are 1008 qualities of the Gnani, of which four are exclusive in the Gnani.

1. The Gnani has the dazzling majesty of the Sun-God. He is the symbol of the infinite luster and strength of the Pure Self. This strength is visible in His eyes. Only on experience does one feel the Divine energy behind it.
2. The Gnani has ‘the coolness’ of the Moon in His un-surpassing love and compassion. Everyone in His presence feels the bracing tranquility of this ‘coolness.’ It is so soothing that one would not wish to be away from the Gnani even for a moment. The power of His coolness is enough to ‘melt’ the radiant heat of the sun - a person may come to Him, tormented with rage and anger but with a mere glance into His eyes – the splendor of serenity within will sooth and calm him.

3. Radiant splendor and soothing ‘coolness’ of compassion - these two virtues exist simultaneously in the Gnani alone. Some have the splendor of strength without ‘the cool’ of compassion and some have ‘the cool’ without the ‘splendor’ of the Pure Self. But the Gnani has the splendor in one eye and coolness in the other.

4. The Gnani has the depth of serenity of the ocean. He accepts and absorbs anything offered to Him, regardless of its quality and contents and blesses the giver.
5. His stillness and steadfastness is comparable to the mountain of Meru. No external circumstances or events dare shake His inner poise or steadfastness. His steadfastness must not be mistaken for psychic or physical fortitude or stubbornness. Many will hold their palm over a burning candle without flinching - that is not steadfastness; it is stubbornness or obstinacy - the expression of ego. But the Gnani is completely free from ego. He is natural and spontaneous in His reflexes or routine activities. Steadfastness has nothing to do with physical fortitude or rigidity. The Gnani would not put His hand where there is a possibility of getting burnt and if by chance He does, He would immediately retract it. His physical being is quite normal and natural but His omniscient inner poise is unparalleled. No events or circumstances would upset or affect even a single atom of His inner harmony; that is real steadfastness. Steadfastness is where the tranquility within is never perturbed or never is there a hint of inner turmoil. The physical pain is a natural property of the body and has nothing to do with the equanimity or steadfastness of the inner Self.

Description in the Scriptures

The Gnani is so intricate and inscrutable that He is beyond the comprehension of a layperson. He has no need to establish ashrams, no symbolic flags to fly! No sect or creed! No label! No special attire of white or saffron! He is clad in a quite and plain attire of a householder. How is one to recognize Him? Even then, the Gnani can be identified through His description given in the scriptures:

‘The Gnani lives in a state of ‘samadhi’ - the active and alert awareness of the Pure Self and the state of being the Pure Self. His speech delivers experience. He has no worldly desires, no pride nor internal worldly stagnation within. He is not allured by anything - veneration or self-worship, objects of senses, riches or disciples. The eternal light of Knowledge only manifests within when all one’s needs and desires are completely dissolved. ‘Being’ liberated, He is the liberator, the savior, and the beacon light – living to lift and liberate others.

The Gnani has in Him, the concurrence of many divine circumstantial evidences. Beatific is His name, richly rewarding the one who recites it. Credit regales in crowning deeds performed through His blessings. His speech is spellbinding and salutary. His status of spiritual placement is a status revered by people. So many such evidences of this nature come together to make the Gnani manifest in the world.

The Gnani does not need to read scriptures or perform any religious rituals. Before Him all distinction between a devotee and God disappear. He Himself is God. He is the Omniscient Manifest. God is an adjective or attribute applicable to the one who possesses divine virtues! The Gnani is an incarnation of Divinity.

So long as one is prone to errors, there is God overhead and as soon as one becomes free from all one’s errors, there remains no authority of God overhead. The Gnani is beyond all laws, faults and errors and that is why He has no one of authority over Him nor does He exercise authority over others (no underhand). He is completely free and independent.

Every action of the Gnani is divine; it never binds Him. The deeds of the relative world perpetuate bondage of life, whereas the deeds of the Gnani only serve to liberate. He is the Self-realized liberated Soul and so He is capable and competent to liberate countless others.

The Gnani is known to have 1008 outstanding qualities. A description of all of these is not possible, but here is a detailed description of 10 of those qualities:

Infinite Compassion

An abode of infinite compassion, the Gnani does not have a grain of pity. Pity is an egocentric virtue – it is a virtue that exists in duality with its corresponding counterpart. Presence of pity on one hand is balanced by cruelty on the other hand. Only when it manifests, does one see the reality of this duality. But the Gnani is above all duality. In the Gnani’s eyes flows an endless stream of the elixir of love. Forever within Him remains the spirit of comforting and saving, and liberating all the creatures of the world, suffering in agony the afflictions of the worldly life.

Childlike Innocence

There is a childlike innocence and guilelessness in the Gnani. In a child however, it is ignorance that breeds innocence but the Gnani’s innocence springs from the highest degree of wisdom and knowledge. A vision that sees no fault or flaws anywhere but finds and feels everything in order. Having become free of faults Himself, He views the whole world, as it stands, to be innocent and ‘in order’.

Simple and Straightforward

Not a single trace of stubbornness or obstinacy would be there in the Gnani. Stubbornness is the expression of ego-sense. Narrow is the path to liberation and the stubborn cannot enter it. Only the simple and straightforward can get past it without any difficulty. Obstinacy or stubbornness is the greatest obstruction in the world. The Gnani remains unaffected or unruffled even in the face of some one’s untoward gesture, abasement or humiliation. He would pacify anyone’s tartness with unsurpassed politeness. No instigation dare irritate Him – His vitragta can be evident upon provocation. What a wondrous detachment to external factors and forces. He is anything but the Gnani who, when piqued, is provoked to rage or wrath.

Not even a jot of stubborn insistence is to be found in a Gnani. He is entirely aloof from ‘insistence’ or ‘stickiness’ - Insistence endangers dissent or conflict, and that comes in the way of liberation.

God has asserted for one not to be a prey to any clinging insistence except in seeking the Gnani, at whose lotus feet lies liberation. The grace and blessings of the Gnani would place you right on the threshold of Liberation without any strain or pain on your part.

Pure Love

The Gnani’s love is the purest love. It is a fountain of divine love that puts out the fires of the worldly life. The Gnani has an ardent wish for the liberation of all caught in the quagmire of the worldly life. The most salient feature of the Gnani is His non-partiality. He is neither dogmatic nor pragmatic. Partiality or prejudicial approach implies blindness to other existing viewpoints. This is being fanatic. Confinement to some creed or to compartmentalize would come in the way of the Real or Truth. In order to realize the ultimate Truth, one must be free from partiality, fanaticism or bigotry. The Gnani is open to all viewpoints. He is non-partial even towards His own mind, speech, and physique. On account of this all comprehensive outlook and openness, He exalts to the highest status of the Omniscient Manifest. The Omniscient will never rigidly cleave to one viewpoint or partiality. Despite various religious beliefs of those who sit in the discourse of the Gnani, all experience a spirit of oneness within and with Him. Each of them finds in the Gnani the most trustworthy and authentic representative of His religion. It is the ignorant that has infinite diversity of opinions, whereas all Gnanis from all different sects come to a uniform conclusion amidst myriad viewpoints!

Without Intellect

The Gnani is omniscient as well as without intellect – not a drop of intellectualism prevails in the Gnani. Where the intellect sinks eternally into oblivion, spontaneously arises the state of Omniscience in all its splendor and glory. This is the natural law: Only the one who is free from the grips of intellect can become the Omniscient.

Omniscient

For the Gnani, the stage of ‘becoming’ is over. He is in the supreme sate of ‘being’. Therefore, He has nothing more to know or perform in the world. No need to read books! No standard to pass! No beads to count! There is nothing the Gnani has yet to know or do. He is the Omniscient and He moves about in complete liberation.

Compressibility, Flexibility and Tensibility

Were one to assimilate in living, three divine virtues of the Gnani, He would surely find the puzzle of life perishing. These divine traits are: compressibility, flexibility and tensibility.

Compressibility is His trait whereby no matter how great the pressure may be, the Gnani would adjust, bear the burden blithely and resume the original state as soon as the pressure is gone. His flexibility is where He will not break down at any time, no matter how much force is exerted. And tensibility is His trait whereby He remains steadfast amidst tension, torment or tribulations. These three traits would remove all hurdles and set backs in the worldly life and lead one to liberation without any obstruction.

Trustworthy

Only the Gnani is trustworthy in this world. You can place your trust in the Gnani in all respect, not only in worldly matters but also in your path of liberation, until you reach the ultimate destination. So long as one has not realized or glimpsed the Pure Self, the Gnani is His very manifest Soul; the guiding star of His self. The Gnani is Liberation Incarnate. The Self within will manifest upon having seen the Gnani. The Gnani is the gem of parasmani – that which turns iron – a non-realized being into gold, Self-Realized, provided one has lifted His inner curtain of discord or dissent before Him. The Gnani has innumerable divine and dexterous devices for transmission of one’s awakening, communication with the Self and enlightened intuitive intellect for inspiration. One should take the utmost benefit of the Gnani for the attainment of Liberation and make one’s existence on this earth meaningful and fruitful.

Nirvikalpa Samadhi

One will have to come to the Gnani in order to realize the Soul. The cherished object cannot be attained from the one who is not familiar with that which one desires. To know the Soul, you will have to approach the Gnani, who is perennially in a state of meditation of the Soul – Nirvikalpa Samadhi - He is completely free from any sense of ‘I-ness’ and ‘My-ness’. The Gnani alone can place the Real in your hand. The Gnani has the ability to do anything and yet He performs all tasks in the spirit of being a mere instrument in the process. The Gnani never becomes a ‘doer’ of anything.

All the scriptures proclaim unanimously, ‘If you desire to realize the Pure Self, go to a Gnani.’ The lighted can kindle light in others. The Gnani is the perfect Self Realization in the human form. He is therefore, the Liberator and the Saviour.

Lives in the Present

The Gnani  lives in the present – not the past or the future. There is a permanent prevalence of the present within Him. A broken glass is the past and worries and anxieties about ‘What will happen now?’ is the future. The Gnani ‘lives’ in the minutest fraction of time, which is impossible to divide any further. Being Self-Realized, He has traversed and seen each and every atom of the cosmogony of the universe. Yet He remains the Knower – Perceiver of all that is to be known. Only the Gnani can reach to the level of the smallest indivisible fraction of time (samay) and sub-atomic matter, which can no longer be divided (parmanu).

There is no sorrow for that, which has past,
No yearning for that which is to come,
Gnani is He that is forever poised in the present.

If one comes to the Gnani in perfect humility and a spirit of ‘I know nothing’, one is sure to be lifted and liberated. Even once, if one surrenders his all, at the lotus feet of the Gnani, without any reservations, he will doubtlessly attain liberation – what an awe-inspiring mystery of the modern age!

Never has ‘Dada Bhagwan’, inflicted any pain on any living being. He has forever been in pursuit and presence of the Pure Self. So anything good, done sincerely in the name of Dada would certainly yield the right reward.

No language or words are apt to describe the Gnani. The pen too is halted in its process.

Beware the Onlooker

The Gnani defies all worldly measures of worldly scales. You should not gauge or judge Him. The very effort of attempting to gauge Him would proclaim your gross ignorance, intellect penury and stubborn stagnation and create an obstruction on the only available path to liberation. It is sheer impudence to measure the Gnani with one’s own sense of what is of worth and the one who does, does so in proving one’s impropriety by such a wayward gesture. When one does not understand even a word of what the Gnani utters, how is it possible to measure Him? Ask yourself if you are qualified to judge a Gnani. The Gnani is not to be measured with the intellect – on the contrary, one should put aside all intellect before Him and go to Him with utmost humility. The intellect will always flash distorted and perverted mental images. Failure to understand the Gnani is the echo of one’s egotistical and rigid stubbornness. And if by chance that stubbornness is allowed to prevail before the Gnani, then lost forever is the only opportunity for liberation. Liberation is only at the feet of the Gnani, and if even here you insist on being stubborn, where else will you go for liberation?

There is a saying in Gujarati: ‘Even a witch would leave out one home’. There must be at least one such a place where one should not be awkward or stubborn – let that place be only the place of the Gnani. Meddlesome interference elsewhere is tolerable, but not at all before and with the Gnani. If you do, you will create an indestructible obstacle in your path to liberation. Never, ever be cross with Him if you wish to solve the puzzle of your life.

You may honestly disagree with the Gnani, but you must not disregard Him. Candid difference of opinion is not objectionable but beware of indifference or ineptitude. That would entail the greatest obstacle or barrier on the path of Self Realization.

Being nonchalant towards or negating the Gnani is outright disregard. The Gnani who awakens the Self within all, is a reflection of that Self, thus disregard towards the Gnani is the same as disregard towards one’s Self. Those for whom stubbornness is an inherent trait need to be extremely cautious – a single humiliating gesture towards the Gnani will result in an eternal perdition in hell! If you do not relent your rigidity and stubbornness before the One who has won over the Lords of all three universes, where else will you relent? Only upon complete surrender before the Gnani can one accomplish his task.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan

Not so long ago, a Gnani Purush, Param Pujya Dadashri, walked amongst us. He attained spontaneous Self Realization in June 1958, on Platform # 3, in the Surat Railway Station in Gujarat, India.  

From a young age Param Pujya Dadashri’s elevated character, values and qualities were apparent. His mother, Javerba, was a big instrument in moulding Him. He had an ardent desire to know the Soul and He spent a lot of time reading scriptures in order to find the Soul. He would have continuous thoughts of the Soul for days on end, even before the manifestation of Self Realization. This state is known as Gnankeshepakvant in the scriptures.

In addition to this, Param Pujya Dadashri had a great many qualities. You can learn more about some of His qualities in detail, by clicking the links below:

1. Gnanakshepakvant
2. Free from all Bondage of the Universe
3. Flawless Vision
4. Everywhere Adjustable
5. Both laghutam and gurutam
6. Free from the mind
7. Non-Violence
8. Universally Accepted Speech
9. Celibacy
10. Purity