The paathi sings the Bani of Swami Ji Maharaj...
Guru kyon na samhar.
Tera nar tan beeta bharam main.
Guru kyon na samhar.
Tera nar tan beeta bharam main.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Swami Ji Maharaj. In this Bani, Swami Ji Maharaj has talked about Gurubhakti. The first step in Sant Mat is Gurubhakti. Gurubhakti means to do Simran, Dhyan, and seva and to manifest the Radiant Form of the Master at the back of the Eye Center. Gurubhakti gets completed when one’s attention reaches behind the Eye Center and the Light within is manifested, and the Shabd is manifested. But the mind deludes us and creates obstacles.
Swami Ji Maharaj says that God Almighty has given this precious jewel of human birth and the time to remember Him. So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Why don't you use this time to remember God Almighty?”
Our precious time is getting wasted in bharam — or duality. Bharam means to believe all this deception, this falseness, as reality; and to disbelieve reality and think of reality as a falseness, or a myth, or unreal. So, the mind has distracted us in this illusion, and taken us away from reality. It constantly is lost and engaged in this illusion, and we are, therefore, drawn away from God Almighty.
So, what is Truth? Truth is what never gets destroyed. And what is false? Falsehood, or illusion, is everything that gets destroyed. So, what is Truth? The soul is Truth. Satguru is Truth. Naam is Truth. And God Almighty is Truth. These will always remain forever. Everything else that we see, experience, or feel, is falsehood and will perish. Our body will not stay forever. It will perish. Our relationships will also perish. They will not stay forever. But, we spend all our precious life in following this falsehood, this illusion, and in pursuing all worldly things, which will perish.
Therefore, Saints come and caution and awaken us. We have come empty-handed into this world. Nothing belongs to us here. And, when we leave the body and go back, we shall be empty-handed. But, because of our attachment to this world, at the time of death, it causes a lot of sorrow. It is only because of our attachment to this world that we have to take birth again and come back for these things, which we have so dearly loved during our life.
However, we are not graced with a human life every time. So, when we come back for these things, we probably will be in the form of another species. So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Why don't you love your Guru Who is yours, and spend this precious time correctly?”
During our final moments, when our breath stops, when the soul starts retracting and leaving our body, who is there to help the soul? It is only the Master Who comes at that time to help the soul. If we follow the Masters, and follow what They tell us, and do our Simran, then even in our worldly pursuits, we get help from the Masters. And, at the time of our death, They come and liberate our soul. The Masters come at the time of death to help our soul and, after death also, the Masters stay with the soul and guide the soul in higher planes.
So, the Master is the True Friend of the soul. The Masters are always with the soul, even in higher planes where the soul stays for its onward journey to God Almighty. The Masters always accompany the soul and They do not leave the soul until They have accomplished the task of taking the soul back to the lap of the God Almighty.
So, why don't we love the Masters Who help us so much? Why is it that we love all the other worldly things, none of which will be with us when we leave this world?
Dara suth parivar thagiyan sang kyo khovahi.
Swami Ji Maharaj points out that our family members, our spouse, our children, and other family members, whom we have made our very own, are sweet thieves. There are three types of thieves. Some thieves are those who rob the house. In olden times, there were clay houses and they would come in the night, make a hole, and then take away all the belongings. Other thieves are those who come with their guns and other weapons and, at gunpoint, they take away whatever belongings we have. So, even if we are awake, we have to hand over all our belongings to them. And the third type is our family members. They live very sweetly with us, but then they take away our most precious belongings, which are our time and our breath. We are so much engaged in our affection towards our family members that we spend our lifetime engaging in these pursuits, and we do not follow the Path of the Master and do His devotion.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj explains that you should not spend all your priceless breath on these sweet thieves, your family members. You should, instead, spend time and focus your energy at the Feet of the Master. You should live in this world belonging to Him.
The Masters, however, say that there is no need to follow austerity and go into the jungle to follow your pursuits of spirituality. You can do that by living in your families. But, while you are there amidst them, you should do so belonging to the Satguru, and you should continue your pursuit and practice whilst fulfilling your duties towards your family.
Kyon nahi karat vichaar.
Jagat mithya yah hai sahi.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Why aren't you thinking that the world is false, and Naam and Master are Truth?” Love the Truth as It is immortal, and by doing that, you will also become immortal. All worldly things are destructible. We should keep our love and energy and focus on indestructible things, like the Naam and the Master. Because, when you love Them, then you will also become indestructible like Them. But, instead, you spend your energy in worldly things, which get destroyed. And, as a result, your human life perishes and your precious time is wasted.
Man hai badaa gavaar.
Moh raha kar pyar.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Your mind is illiterate and it is lost in this illusion. And it is continuously spending its time and making you spend your precious time in these pursuits.”
Guru Amar Das Ji Maharaj once took His disciples to a farm, and He asked everyone to make choutras. Choutras are platforms of bricks built around trees. Maharaj Ji asked everyone to build choutras, which would take a couple of days to build. And, when these were completed, He would then say they were not built correctly. He would then ask that disciple to rebuild around some other tree.
So, this went on for some time. Each time these were built by His disciples, He would come and say these were not constructed properly. He would direct them to break down the constructed choutras and would ask them to build again near another tree. A lot of sevadars, initially, started doing this. And He was continuously telling them to build these, and then break them and, again, rebuild those. So, like that, some people built choutras four times. Some people built those three times. And they started getting frustrated with the way their Master was telling them to do and redo these again and again.
At that time, His age was about ninety-five years. So, gradually, people started leaving that seva, and they would think, “Look, after seventy years, a person becomes senile. So, I think He is now ninety-five years. I am not sure we should follow His instructions.” So, that way, they started losing their faith in the Master, and they stopped doing that seva. Some disciples did it for six times, seven times. Some people, who had more love and affection, did it perhaps for eight times or ten times, but then, everyone gradually left in frustration.
There was only one disciple, Ram Das Ji, who kept doing it, again and again, as instructed by His Master. It would take a long time to make the choutras. And every time Maharaj Ji would again come and tell him to break it and redo it, Ram Das Ji would keep doing that, following the instructions of His Master. And the Master continued similarly, and He would ask him to build it, then again break it.
This went on for a few days. Others were observing what was happening, and then, they also came to him and said, “Look, I think the Master has got quite old and senile. But, are you also losing your senses?”
So, Ram Das Ji pleaded with them that, “Don't say such things about the Master. Because, if the Master becomes senile, and if He is not in His right senses, then what is going to happen to the world? So, whatever you want, you tell me. Even if the Master tells me for my whole lifetime to make these and break these, I will do it. Whatever you want to say, you tell me. But don't speak anything improper about the Master.” So, this way, he broke and created the choutras seventy times.
After he had done it for the seventieth time, Amar Das Ji called him and embraced him and said, “What you had made even on the first occasion was correct. So, you were always right and you are my True Disciple.” And, with this, He enlightened Ram Das Ji. He showered a lot of Grace on him and He took his soul to Sach Khand-Sat Lok.
When I had gone to Baba Somanath Ji, my age was twenty-one years. And after a few days of seva only, Baba Ji gave me the night duty. Baba Ji used to give the seva to about four people at least because it was a big compound covering one hundred and eleven acres. And this night duty involved maintaining the security of the perimeter of the Kengeri Ashramarea.
So, we used to take rounds of that ashram in the night. And, usually, He would keep about three to four people, or sevadars, to do this. Now, because it was a very strenuous thing to do this, usually, people would eat and go to sleep. So, this was seldom properly done, and Baba Somanath Ji was quite worried about this duty.
Once, He called me after about three to four months of my being there. He asked me, “Ram Singh, will you do this seva? Will you go and do this night duty?” I thought He is telling me to do the night duty for one night! So, I said, “Okay.” Along with me, there were about three others who were also given that duty. I gradually realized that this duty was to be performed daily.
Over the next month or so, the other three sevadars slowly eased themselves out of the seva, and I started doing the seva alone. Now, I was too scared to go and tell Baba Ji about it. So, I used to continue to do that seva alone. And this went on for six months. I used to do this seva in the night and in the evenings. I also had the seva of taking the milk to Baba Ji.
So, one evening, after about six months of this duty, I took that milk. And Pushpama had made some coffee for me. While I was having that coffee, Baba Ji also came there. And Pushpama then referred to Baba Ji that, "Look, Ram Singh is doing this duty for six months, and he is doing it all alone. There are a lot of sandalwood trees and all that. And there are lots of thieves. If someone hurts him and does this theft, or beats him up, nobody will even be able to come and tell us about it. So, it is quite risky.” Baba Ji then closed His eyes for a moment and then said, “No, it's okay. Ram Singh will do this duty. It is fine if he does it alone.”
Now, I realized that I had no other option. I had to do that seva all by myself. So, I then kept two dogs with me. That way, I had these two dogs, and they would accompany me on this touring across the ashram’s periphery.
And, what otherwise generally used to happen is, people would eat in the night, and then, they would go for this duty, and then fall asleep. So, this duty required us to remain hungry in the night, so that we could properly do that duty. I did this seva for eight years. Doing this duty was difficult because going alone in the night like that is difficult. But these two dogs were there, and they used to go in the front, and I used to follow them. And I used to do my Simran while I walked. And, that way, because of that, my practice of Simran improved significantly. And, in about one and a half years or so, my soul started ascending to the Eye Center.
After my duty in the night, I would wake up the foreigners. Bernard was there and, with him, there were some thirteen or fourteen other foreigners. I used to wake them up. And then, they used to prepare tea. Then, I would also have tea with them. After that, I would go and sit for meditation near the building of Baba Ji.
So, the purpose of telling you this is that the Hukam, or the instruction of the Master, is a very, very important thing. And, it is because of His simple instruction to me to do the seva that I had His Grace. So, the instruction of the Master should be kept above everything else.
And, similarly, Ajaib Singh Ji also instructed me to come to Andhra. And because of His small instruction to me to come here and reside here, all that you are seeing here is happening.
Man hai bada gavaar.
Moh raha kar pyaar.
Choote kaise jaar se bin guru chale na daav
Thake sabhi upaay kar.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “The mind constantly deludes us and it follows its illusions, and it takes us away from our spirituality and from our devotion to the Masters. We should get out of the purview of our mind, and follow the instructions of the Masters, and do our Bhajan and Simran with love. Until we do that, we shall not get out of this illusory net, which is this illusory world.”
Naam samharo meet.
Dheeraj dhar ghat main raho.
Swami Ji Maharaj addresses the soul and points out that the Masters have given us Naam, and that is out of the infinite Grace showered on us. The Naam given to us has been earned by the Masters. Therefore, we should follow the Teachings of the Masters with love and affection and do our Simran and Bhajan. And, only with that devotion and the remembrance and the practice of Naam, will we be elevated from this ocean of the world. That Naam is very pure, and no other negative force like Kal, or Maha Kal, can stand in way of that Naam. It is a very pure thing that we have been graced with.
That is why, during our initiation, we are instructed that if we see something within, the correct way to test it is to do our Simran. And with Simran, if that image or whatever you are seeing inside stays, then it is from Dayal, or from the Master’s side. And, if it withdraws or goes away, then it is from Kal, the Negative Power.
So, therefore, Naam is very high Grace showered on us, and we should lovingly do our practice of Simran and Bhajan.
Mauj nihaaro peev.
Jo karehai so sab bhalaa.
He says, “Surrender to the Will of the Satguru.” What He does is for your benefit. Once you are initiated, you should surrender to the Will of the Master and follow His instructions.
All your karmas, after you have been initiated, are taken over by your Master. Until then, your karmas are recorded and addressed by the Lord of Judgment. But, after the initiation, the Guru takes over your entire karmic debt from the Lord of Judgment. And, therefore, you should resign to His Will.
When you are initiated, that department, which maintains a record of your karmas, changes from the Lord of Judgment and is taken over by the Master. And the Master takes the responsibility of the soul.
Therefore, Swami Ji Maharaj says that Master shall always work towards the benefit of the soul, and we should not feel disheartened towards the Master or His Will. Whatever He does is for our benefit, and we should surrender to His Will.
Teri budhhi maleen.
Man chanchal ghata gahe.
Tu nahi jaane bhed.
Bharam jaal main bas raha.
Your intellect is impure. Your mind is lost in illusion and you should not get swayed from the Path by your mind. According to our deeds and past karmas, we shall have our joys and sorrows. But the mind, because it has got so engaged in worldly matters, it has gotten dirty and, therefore, it maligns our intellect and thoughts.
We should not get swayed by this maligned intellect in our devotion and faith towards our Master. All these deeds and karmas that we are redeeming are for the benefit of the soul. Unfortunately, we get swayed by the mind and we blame the Master for our sufferings. And, as a result, our faith in the Master gets swayed.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says that you should have faith in your Master. Whatever the Master does, whatever you are going through, is for your benefit. So, you keep your love and devotion steady for your Master, and you should spend time every day for Simran, Dhyan,and Bhajan.
ya ate kar vishwaas guru bin aur na kaun doosara.
guru ka ghaat nihaar surat baand nij shabad main.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Have faith in the Master. Continue to do the practice of Simran, Dhyan, Bhajan and withdraw your soul from the nine doors and come to the Tenth Door and manifest the Sound Current within, because, the Sound Current has come from the God Almighty and it reverberates at the Tenth Door at the back of the Eye Center.”
So, you should withdraw your attention and get connected with that Sound Current. Unless we do our devotion with faith, love, and affection, we will not be successful in the devotion.
Shabad bina koi nahi.
Jo kaade is fand se
Ta te shabad kiwad.
Kholo guru kunhi pakad.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “There is no other power in this universe other than the Sound Current, which can take you away from this ocean of the world.” So, with the treasure that your Master has given, you should do the Simran, Dhyan, Bhajan day and night and, using that treasure and that key, open your Tenth Door and get connected with the Sound Current.
When you do your meditation, you withdraw from the nine doors and then come to the Tenth Door. Once you are at the Tenth Door, you manifest the Radiant Form of the Master. You also see the Jyoti, which is the Light, and you will hear the Sound Current. You will get connected to the Sound Current. To reach there is our duty, after that, it is the Master's duty. But to reach there we have to put forth the effort. We have to have faith. We have to have love and affection towards the Master.
Mahal maahi dhas jaaye.
Gurumukh ko roke nahi.
Manamukh bhataka khaaye.
Chad utare gir gir pade.
Swami Ji Maharaj points out that the gurumukhs, who do their devotion with faith, love, and affection, they progress on the Spiritual Path within, as the Grace of the Master, the hand of the Master, is always on their head. None of the powers within stop that gurumukh soul. And the gurumukh progresses, plane-by-plane, as the Guru is always there, the Master is always there, to give help across all the planes.
And those who take the mind’s support for spiritual progress, like doing pranayamas, or doing other spiritual practices, they are not able to transcend these planes. They do not get success.
So, the need of the Master is very important. Master helps us here outside, and He helps us within. We cannot take a single step on the Spiritual Path without the help of the Master.
Therefore, we see all the yogis and the sages and all the various practitioners of different spiritual practices have had to face disappointment. They have not been able to successfully progress in their spiritual pursuits, because they have taken the help of the mind, and mind has originated from Brahm. It is within the purview of Kal.
So long as you take the help of the mind, you are still within the purview of Kal. It is only with the Grace of the Master that the soul goes into Par Brahm, or beyond Kal. And that's how we meet God Almighty.
Theka thour na pay.
Kyun kar guru samjahavahi.
Manmath chode naahi,
Guru ko dosh laghavahi.
Manmukhs shall not stop being stubborn. Baba Ji used to explain that there are people with three types of intellect. First are the people who are intelligent. Second are the people who are simpletons, or illiterate and unintelligent people, who typically do all menial activities. And then, there are the third, who are in-between the intelligent and the illiterate, and these are the stubborn people.
So, it is these people in-between who are stubborn, and they are within the purview of the mind. They are taking the help of the mind to progress spiritually and continue to remain stubborn.
The intelligent ones, or the intellectual ones, take the help of the Master, and they progress within.
The illiterate, or the completely unintelligent ones, also follow the Masters, because they don't ask questions and they also progress well.
It is only the people in-between who are stubborn. Those people have a problem. They follow their mind and there is no progress. So, they are the people who do not easily have faith in the Masters. And they are the people who follow the directions of the mind, and that is why they remain fickle-minded and are unable to progress.
Like science now says ‘there is no God’, scientists say there is no God, and everything has happened by accident on its own. But you should very clearly think, step aside and think, that if something is made, someone has made it. If there is a glass, it's not going to happen on its own.
Someone has made that glass. So, likewise, when this whole world exists like this, there is someone who has made this world. They follow the mind and they do not easily believe this in this reality. And such people also don't come to the Masters.
Guru jo kahe upaay.
Usi main man bandhe nahi
Kyun kar hoy nibah.
Jam dhakke khaavat phire.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, therefore, "Whatever the Masters tell such people as steps to be taken for spiritual progress, such people do not believe and do not follow those steps. So, such people do not follow the Teachings of the Masters, they follow the mind and then, they get into the lifecycle, the cycle of life and death of the 8.4 million life forms.”
Kyun kar hoy nibah.
Jam dhakke khaavat phire.
Radha swamy kahat sunaay,
Man bairee ko meet kar.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj, after explaining all this, says, “Make friends with your mind. The mind, who is an enemy, convert him to a friend and your work will be done.”
So, how will you make the mind a friend? When you retract the soul and the senses to the Tenth Door and manifest the Sound Current, you connect the mind with the Sound Current, then the intoxication of the Sound Current to the mind is so heavy and so fulfilling that the mind kicks off all the other worldly pursuits that it has been doing, and it becomes a friend of the soul.
The mind is a slave of pleasure. It always likes things that give it pleasure. And when the mind gets connected with the Sound Current, there is nothing that gives it more pleasure, because there is an immense amount of pleasure in the Sound Current, and the mind gets completely intoxicated in that pleasure.
Once the mind gets connected with the Sound Current, it realizes, “I am the mind. I have come from Brahm. I am different from the senses, which I have been so associated with.” So, it sheds off its attachment to the senses and outward pursuits, and then, starts getting inward bound. And then, it wants to go back to the Brahm.
So, from the Tenth Door, the mind wants to go back to the Brahm, and it helps the soul also ascend to the planes upwards. And when it reaches the Brahm, the mind separates from the soul and resides in the Brahm. And, thereafter, the soul ascends further upwards with the help of the Master.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “When you make your mind a friend and convert him from your enemy, then your fear of the mind and his other pursuits will go off and you will be able to progress.”
Radha swamy kahat sunaay,
Man bairee ko meet kar.
Radhaswami.