Satyakam’s mother was named Jabala. Hence, he was known as Satyakam Jabala. Satyakam and his mother lived in a flimsy hut in the forest. To raise Satyakam, Jabala did hard labour work. She always told him stories about rishis, ascetics and celibates who performed spiritual endeavours in their ashrams in the jungle.

Once, when he was old enough to study at a guru’s ashram, he asked his mother the name of their lineage (gotra), about which his guru would inquire.

This perplexed Jabala since she did not have an answer. She would not lie because she had always urged Satyakam to live truthfully. Therefore, she said to Satyakam, “Since I arrived at your father’s house, I was always busy serving. Hence, I never had the time to inquire about his gotra. And he died soon after your birth. All I know is my name, Jabala and your name is Satyakam Jabala. Tell this to your guru.”

Satyakam left in search of a guru. He arrived at the ashram of Gautam Rishi. Satyakam divulged to him that he wished to live as a celibate to study under him.

Gautam Rishi asked him about his gotra, to which Satyakam replied, “O rishi! I do not know it. Even my mother does not know. She told me that I am Satyakam Jabala.”

Hearing this, the guru fell in deep thought.

He then said, “Nobody but a Brahmin can say this so truthfully. Therefore, go and fetch fuelwood. I will perform your upanayan sanskar rite (the sacred thread ritual) because you have not forsaken the truth.” Gautam Rishi then invested him with a janoi. Thereafter, he told Satyakam to take his 400 weak cows into the forest and not to return until they had increased to a thousand.

Without asking a single question about his own food or shelter, Satyakam left for the forest with the cows.

For many years, Satyakam lovingly attended to the needs of the cows and protected them from wild animals. He gladly tolerated the hardships of living in the jungle, such as, danger of wild animals, lack of regular food for himself, rain, cold and heat, since he slept under the shade of trees. Except for the company of his cows, he probably had no contact with any humans. Without a determined yearning for brahmavidya, he would not have had the inner strength to overcome the above obstacles.

When the cows increased to a thousand, he began his journey back to the ashram. Along the way, various devas appeared and imparted partial knowledge about Brahma to him. By the time he reached the guru’s ashram, his face radiated the lustre of Brahma. The other disciples noticed this.

The guru therefore asked him, “Who imparted the knowledge of Brahma to you?”

“The devas,” replied Satyakam. “However, I wish that you impart this knowledge to me. I have heard that only the knowledge imparted by the guru renders it perfect.”

Pleased with his humility, the guru imparted to him brahmavidya. Satyakam then returned home.

Similar to Aruni and Upamanyu, Satyakam did not pose a single question to his guru about his personal requirements of food and shelter. He must have possessed an intense craving to obtain knowledge in order to bear the hardships of living in the forest. How did he deal with the ever constant danger of predators such as tigers, lions, leopards and the more dangerous pack hunters such as hyenas and wild dogs? Besides animals, he braved the hardships of the weather. From a psychological viewpoint, his greatest foe was loneliness, to be able to survive without interaction with another human being.

Finally, the fact that he successfully obeyed the guru’s instructions meant that during this period he also must have repeatedly fought with his mind, for he had initially approached the guru for knowledge of Brahma. How could this be achieved by looking after cows? However, we are able to appreciate this today when we read about Buddhist or Shaolin monks being ordered to perform a meaningless task such as climbing a mountain backwards or on their hands. Similarly, Satyakam obeyed his guru’s command without doubt and total faith – sharanagati. This is the mark of a true disciple of the Upanishad.

So, what is the message for the spiritual aspirants of today? Again, the shastras guide on how to surrender to the guru to attain knowledge: The words ‘samitpānihi’ (Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12) and ‘prashāntachittāya shamānvitāya’ (Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.13) show the method.

Samitpānihi means one must go to the guru with samidh in hand. Samidh is firewood used in yagnas. The underlying sentiment is to serve with total sharanagati – complete surrender with mind, speech and actions. If a disciple wants to attain knowledge, his first duty is to humbly and enthusiastically serve the guru. If he is arrogant and lazy, he will not attain knowledge even if he stays with the guru.

‘Prashāntachittāya’ means ‘stability of mind and inner satisfaction’. What can a wavering mind grasp? Nothing is understood if the mind is agitated. To attain knowledge one must focus one’s mind and serve the guru.

‘Shamānvitāya’ means control of the senses – forgoing unnecessary or unsuitable pleasures. By controlling the senses, one can clearly hear, understand and imbibe the precepts given by the guru. Uncontrolled senses remain engrossed in material pleasures, making the realization of brahmavidya ever-distant.

The Upanishads stipulate one more immensely important discipline which pupils need to observe. In the Prashna Upanishad (1.2), after having studied the Vedas and observed brahmacharya, six pupils approach Pippalad Rishi for knowledge. He commands them to observe brahmacharya sincerely for one more year: ‘Brahmacharyena shraddhayā samvatsaram.’ Thus, he emphasizes the importance of brahmacharya for attaining spiritual knowledge.

The Bhagavad Gita (8.11) also advocates brahmacharya for those who wish to realize Akshar (Aksharbrahma). 

This is the obligation of a disciple who has surrendered to the guru.

Today, we are fortunate to have such a guru in Mahant Swami Maharaj. He is the manifest form of Aksharbrahma and is our bridge to Parabrahma Bhagwan Swaminarayan.

Therefore, as his disciples we should serve him sincerely and obtain brahmavidya from him.

This means that we should do only that which pleases Swamishri. As he often says, the guru is pleased when we firmly observe the precepts given by Shriji Maharaj in the Shikshapatri and other injunctions given in the Vachanamrut and Swamini Vato. Additionally, we should also observe the codes of the Satsang Diksha and other commands that Swamishri himself has advocated over the years. Like the disciples of the Upanishads, it behoves us to observe all these injunctions with intense faith, whether we initially understand their meaning or not.