The Paathi sings the Bani of Swami Ji Maharaj from the book: Saar Bachan Sangrah
Bandhe tum gaarre bhandan aan,
Bandhe tum gaarre bhandan aan,
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Swami Ji Maharaj. In this Bani Swami Ji Maharaj has illustrated how the soul has come down from God Almighty and it has got completely entangled in the world of Kal and Maya. The soul has got encaged in the body and the mind. And it has got entangled in all the indryas, in all the vices, that have been set for it by Maya— that is, greed, attachment, anger, and lust, and ego. So, it has got entangled in all of these. These were to be controlled by the mind, and the mind was to be controlled by the soul, but it is all now working in reverse. And, as a result, the soul has got entangled. The mind is entangled with the indryas, and the soul is tied up with the mind. And that is how it is encaged in this world of Kal.
So, in this Bani, Swami Ji Maharaj has explained how different kinds of entanglements have been cast, and how the soul has been entangled in various kinds of attachments.
Pahile bandhan parra deh ka,
Doosar tiriya jaan.
The first attachment is the body. When the soul comes at the back of the Eye Center, and it starts associating itself with the body, it builds the ego around the body. So, that is the first attachment. Now, because the soul is encaged in the body, it has to think of everything, and it has to take care of the body. The body needs clothing. It needs food. It needs air and water. So, all the things that the body needs are what the soul has to now think about, and it has to work towards that. So, that is the first bondage that the soul is tied up in, with the body.
After that, when the child grows, the parents get the child married. And then, he has a wife to attend to. So, that is the second bondage. Now, the person has to think about himself and his wife. And, he has to take care of all the needs of both of them. He has to search for a livelihood and he has to make a home, and all of those things. So, the soul gets attached into all of this.
After the wife, when the two are there, they want a progeny, they want a child. So, the third is the child. So, now, they have the child to care for. The soul is now worried about the child, the upkeep of the child, and the education of the child, and the nurturing of the child, and all of those things attached around the child. So, now, this is the third bondage that the soul is getting tied up in.
Now, after the child, when people get older, they want to see their grandchildren. And, they have this urge to see their children having children. So, they start getting attached around their grandchildren.
And that is how, thinking about all of these bondages and attachments, day and night, the soul becomes sorrowful.
Baba Ji used to, often, relate this story. There were three friends, and they went out for a walk. And, while they were walking, there was a temple on the way. So, they went into that temple. This was a very old temple, built of stones, and there was a very big deity of Lord Ganapati, that was there inside.
One of them went in, and he saw this huge deity of Ganapati, it was made of stone. And, since it was very big, the stomach of Ganapati was also very large. So, this person started touching that stomach of that deity. When he touched it, he felt the deity, the idol, was very cold.
The priest used to give a bath to that idol regularly. In that place, in that temple, that idol had become very cold. So, when he moved his hand around the stomach of that idol, he felt that this stone, this idol, was so cold. And, as he touched that stomach, because this idol was so large, the navel of this idol was also quite deep. He felt, “If I put my finger inside that naval, that must be even cooler. Let me just feel it.” So, he put his finger inside.
Now, that navel was quite deep inside, and there was a scorpion inside. So, that scorpion stung this person, who had put his finger inside, and he got bitten. Now, he didn't shout. However, he felt, “If I now tell my two other friends that I have got bitten like this, then they will make a mockery of me.” So, he came out.
He quietly called one of them inside, and he said, “Come, see this idol.” And when he came inside, he said, “See? Touch that stomach of the idol. See how cold it is.”
And that person started putting his hand around the stomach of that idol and feeling how cold and seeing how cold it was.
Thereafter, he wanted to motivate him to put his finger in that navel. So, he said, “See? Outside it is cold, but in the navel, it is really cold. Put your finger inside and see!”
So, he also put his finger inside and, similarly, the scorpion stung even the second person. Now, he took out his finger and he started almost screaming, but the first friend said, “Be quiet. The third one is left. We'll have to get him.”
Both of them now went out and got the third person, and they said, “You are sweating outside. Go inside and see in the temple. It's so cold.”
So, they brought him in. They, similarly, told him also to touch that stomach of the idol, and then, to put his finger inside the navel. Similarly, the scorpion stung the third person also. He started screaming, and these two told him, “That's fine. We also got bitten like that only.”
He said, “Why didn't you tell me before?” And they said, “But then, you would be laughing at both of us!”
So, this is how the world is. And, all the older generation that is there, they have been bitten by the ‘scorpion’, by their families, and they have been through all of this, and they've been through all these problems.
When they see their child, they don't want the child to get off scot-free and running, so they also get him ‘stung’ in a marriage. So, that way, they get him married, and then, after he has two or three children, he gets thoroughly domesticated. And then, when he goes and he complains to his parents about the problems he’s facing in life, they tell him, “Look, even we have gone through all of this. So, that's not a problem. You should go through this.”
That is how this world is. The soul gets bound by its body, and then by the spouse, and then by the children, then by the grandchildren, and then, the great-grandchildren. And that's how the whole lifespan of a person passes away in this sorrow only.
The Masters say, “This life, which is given to you, is a very precious gem. It is the only door to go back to God Almighty. When you pass this and you miss this opportunity, then you go back in the cycle of life and death in the 8.4 million life forms.”
But, no one listens and, accordingly, in all of these attachments, the life ends. And, finally, the soul is put back in the chaurasi and, again, there it is in deep anguish and sorrow. But, then, there is no one to listen to it.
This human life is very precious, and that doesn't come back easily. So, the soul then goes into these different life forms. It is put in the life forms of trees, insects, animals, etc., so it is continuously in anguish and in sorrow there. In these 8.4 million life forms, there are nearly 3 million different forms of plants, and about 2.7 million forms of different insects, and about 1.4 million life forms of birds. And there are 900,000 life forms that stay in water. In the rest of the 400,000 life forms, there are the gods, goddesses, human forms, and all the yaakshas and gandharvas also. So, that way, once the soul falls back into this chaurasi, it goes through all of these life forms, and then, comes back in the human form.
Teesar bandhan putr bichaaro,
Chautha naati maan.
Naati ke kaheen naati hove,
Phir kaho kaun thikaan.
So, that way, after the children, the grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren, the bondage continues. And, in between these, the soul leaves that body.
Dhan sampatti aur haat haveli,
Yah bandhan kya karoon bakhaan.
Chaularr pachlarr satlarr rasari,
Baandh liya ab bahu-bidh taan.
After the bondages of these bodies, there are umpteen numbers of other bondages, like our houses, our farms, and so many other things that we start possessing. And, the soul keeps getting entangled in the attachments of all of these. So, that way, all these seven or eight larger attachments engulf the soul, and the soul is completely entangled in that.
It's like we have our farmland, and we have to think about what we're going to do with that. If there is wealth in our possession, then we are worried about how we will be utilizing that wealth, or whether that wealth is going to be secure and safe.
So, all these kinds of attachments, these continuously keep increasing.
Masters say that, nevertheless, we have to be in this world. We are here, along with all of these. But then, how should one tread through these attachments? How should one tread through this world? One should act selflessly. And one should not get too attached in everything that one is doing.
It is only when we are doing our karmas, we are doing our actions with the attachment associated with that we are, then, building up our karmas. But, if we are doing the same action without that attachment, then this karma doesn't build up. So, these attachments are so overpowering that the soul forgets about itself. The soul forgets about God Almighty and about the way of going back to God Almighty because, in these attachments, the soul completely identifies with this. It starts believing all this to be real. And, beyond the mundane things that we are doing, beyond our families, beyond these attachments, we are unable to look up and think.
This is another example. Once, there was a shepherd and he took his animals to graze. And he kept going a little further into the forest where there was a lion staying. So, when he took these animals to graze, he went deeper into the forest. And then, in a cave, a lioness had had two cubs, and those cubs were playing there. And, this shepherd went near that cave.
So, when that shepherd went there, he saw these two cubs. Now, one of the cubs ran away, and the other, out of fear, stayed there. So, he saw this cub and he picked up the cub. And then, he nurtured the cub, he brought it back, and that cub was fed with goat’s milk. And the cub was small. When all these small animals are there, they’re not harmful. So, therefore, he nurtured it, along with the rest of the goats.
But, as that cub grew up, along with the other sheep and goats, it gained its normal form of a lion. So, it grew hair and it grew into a very large lion. But, that lion was identifying itself with the other goats and sheep there with that shepherd. And, it would play with them and it would stay with them only.
So, once it so happened that that shepherd, again, went into that forest. And he took all his goats and sheep there and, along with that, that lion, which had been domesticated by him, also came.
Now, when he went there, there was this other lion, this other cub, which had grown in the wild. And, that lion was very surprised to see that this lion is roaming around like this with the other sheep and goats. So, that lion came near this lion and he spoke to him in his ear and asked him, “Who are you?”
This lion replied to him, “I am a goat here.” So, that lion said, “No, no, no. You
are not a goat. You are a lion.”
This domesticated lion refused to believe. He said, “No, no. I am a goat.”
So, this other lion, this wild lion, took that other lion to a nearby rivulet. And
there, where the water was still, he showed his reflection. And he said, “See your
reflection? And, see my reflection? Is there any difference between us?”
That lion said, “There’s no difference now.” He saw that he looked similar.
So, this wild lion then told him, “Okay. Now, you roar like I am going to roar,
and just see.”
So, both of them then roared loudly, and with two lions roaring like that, the entire
jungle emptied out. The shepherd ran away. The goats ran away. Everybody ran away.
And, this lion understood what he truly was.
That is what happens when Masters come and They tell us, “You are the soul. You are not the body.” But, everyone refuses to believe that. They identify themselves with the body.
So, what the Masters then do is that They give us Simran. And, by doing Simran and Dhyan, our attention starts getting focused back at our seat, where the soul is, behind the Eye Center. There, in that ‘rivulet’, is the Sound Current, which is synonymous to the rivulet of the lion, where we see the reflection. There, we see our own selves. We see our own soul. And the Masters show us that there. So there, when the soul awakens, it sees itself, we come to know that we are the soul and we are not the body.
So, until we actually realize ourselves like that, we do not truly understand the meaning of the Satsang also.
Kaise chhotan hoe tumhaara,
Gahre khoonte garre nidaan.
Mare bina tum chhoto naheen,
Jeete ji tum suno na kaan.
Swami Ji Maharaj has illustrated all these different attachments, and He says, “How are you, as a jiva, going to get liberated from these attachments, because these attachments are anchored in hell. Kal and Maya have created these attachments. They are all anchored in hell. So, you will only be able to get relieved of these attachments after your death.”
Even when we come and listen to Satsangs and we attend Satsangs and carefully listen, even then, when we go back home, we listen to our mind. We don't listen to the Masters.
The mind tricks us into doing our karmas. It makes us sin. It makes us build up our karmas, and it doesn't allow us to listen, the soul to listen, to the Masters. So, the mind has become so impure that, when the Masters explain to us in the Satsang and we listen, even if there is some little bit of impact, even then, because of the impurity of the mind, it mixes up everything. And, again, it puts the soul into duality, into these attachments.
Jagat laaj aur kul maryaada,
Yah bandhan sab oopar thaan.
Leek puraani kabhi na chhorro,
Jo choorro to jag ki haan.
When Swami Ji Maharaj further says, “Beyond all these attachments, there is also this ego around, what we are, our creed, our color, and our stature in society, and all of these other things that we build our egos around.”
So, it is like the old pathway that the older generations have all followed, and we want to follow that same path. And we are not concerned about where that is taking us, but we want to just follow that path.
By our fortune, if we get the fortune of the company of the Masters, and we are able to, with Their Satsang, transform ourselves, that is the only way of salvation out of this. Otherwise, there is no other solution. There is no other way out.
Kya kya kahoon bipat main tumhaari,
Bhatko Joni bhooti masaan.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Beyond this, the soul also goes into forms like ghosts, and it goes into all those lower life forms, where it suffers a lot.” So, what is it that takes us there and makes us suffer there? It is these same attachments. It is our karmas, which take us there. And that's where we get down and go into those lower forms and suffer.
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj had a house near this Murree Pahar, that is, a hill. And He had built a house around there. And there was a very large tree, a Babul. This land had been allotted to Him by the government, and He had made His house there.
So, there was a ghost who used to stay on that tree. And, when the sangat used to come to take Darshan of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, oftentimes, they would see this ghost. So, the satsangis would get scared, and they would tell Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj also, “This house, which you have taken, is in a very desolate place. And, there is this ghost also. Many times, we go back in the night, or we are coming in the night, so it should not happen that this ghost, then, attacks us, or does something untoward.”
But then, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj told them, “It is unfortunate, but that soul is very good. The ghost is there for some unfortunate action. He has to take this form of a ghost, but he was, earlier, a Muslim fakir. And that soul has done devotion earlier and it knows that, by staying here and by getting Darshan, its karmas are getting redeemed, and it will get free soon. It is a good soul and it will not attack you. So, all of you need not fear for that ghost.”
So, even with devotion, souls have to suffer these kinds of situations.
Tum tho jagat satya kar pakada,
Kyonkar paavo naam nishaan.
Bedee tauk hathkadi baandhe,
Kaal kotari kasht samaan.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “There is a lot of suffering that the jiva has to undergo as a result of these attachments. And the agents of death come, and all these yamdoots come, and they shackle the soul, and they take the soul and punish it. And then, after that, they push it into this cycle of life and death again.”
Because the mind is so attached here, it refuses to leave the attachments that it has around it at the time of death. And that is why, when the angels of death come, they start beating that soul, and they start telling it, “These attachments have to be left here. These do not belong to you.”
And that is how they beat and take out the soul from this attachment.
So, Mahatmas say, “We have come empty-handed in this world, and we will be returning empty-handed. Whatever we are getting for these ‘four days’ that we live here in this world, is all belonging to Kal and Maya.” And these have been given according to the Pralabdh karmas of the soul. All these are given here and, at the time of death, we have to leave all of these things here only and go.
Kaal dusht tumhen bahu bidh baandha,
Tum khush hoke raho galtaan.
Aise moorakh dukh sukh jaana,
Kya kahoon ajab sujaan.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “This is how Kal has entangled the soul in so many ropes of attachments.” It is like a hunter who catches pigeons. He spreads a net on the ground, and he nails that net into the ground, and he throws various grains there to attract the pigeons. So, when one pigeon sees that food, it comes. And, looking at that pigeon, another pigeon comes, and so on, so forth. A lot of pigeons come to eat those grains. And when there are a lot of pigeons around there eating, the rope of that net is with this hunter, and he pulls that rope.
Now, when he pulls that, all the legs of those pigeons get entangled in that net. And they are unable to fly because it is nailed down into the ground. And, that way, he catches all the pigeons. And then, he puts them in a bag and makes them his food.
That is how Kal has also entangled the jiva. He has thrown the grains of attachments of these bondages of the family, of wealth, of different kinds of possessions, and all of these other attachments that we have. So, when the jiva comes and starts eating this ‘grain’, these attachments, Kal and Maya then, after that, grab that jiva and put it back in the 8.4 million life forms.
Sharam karo kuchh lajja thaano,
Naheen jam-pur ka bhogo daan,
Radhaswami saran gaho ab,
To kuchh paa'o un se daan.
Swami Ji Maharaj, after explaining all of this, says, “If you want to get out of these attachments, then you should go to Radhaswami.” He means the Masters. So, when you go to a Master, He will show you the solution. He will show you the Path back to God Almighty. And He will help to take you back to God Almighty. So, the only way to get out of these attachments is to surrender to the Will of the Masters. And there is no other solution; there is no other way, or exit, out of this.
Sharam karo kuchh lajja thaano,
Naheen jam-pur ka bhogo daan.
Radhaswami saran gaho ab,
To kuchh paa'o un se daan.
Radhaswami.