The paathi sings the Bani of Sant Kabir Sahib...
Kabir guru ki bhakti kar,
Taji bishya ras chuj.
Baar baar nahi paa’i hai,
Manush janm ki mauj.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Kabir Sahib. Kabir Sahib is saying that we have got a very rare opportunity of the human form and human life and to make the most of it. He tells us to do the devotion of the Masters. Now we may have a doubt in our mind as to why He is telling us to do devotion of Masters and why not of any other gods or goddesses or other deities?
In India, there are more than 330 million deities, and there is Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh. So, despite so many deities and Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh, doubt may come to our mind. Why should we do the devotion of the Master and not any one of these deities?
Masters say that we have not seen these deities or gods or goddesses. We don't know how they look or what their form is, so then how can we meditate on their form? Whereas the Master is in front of us in His physical form, we can see Him and He has initiated us. He gives us Satsang and He gives us His Darshan. So it is His physical form, which we have seen with our eyes in person, and we can visualize and contemplate on His form. Thus, what we have not seen is difficult for us to contemplate, but because we see the Master in front of us, it is possible to contemplate on the Form of the Master. Even SantMat preaches that we need a living Master to contemplate on, and we cannot simply contemplate on the form of previous Masters or Their photos or other images.
A sick person needs a real doctor to treat him and rid him of his sickness. Similarly, a wife will require a real husband. She cannot do with visualization of some past ideal husbands. Therefore, the people who want to be liberated shall have to seek a Living Master.
In the past, there have been great Masters, like Kabir Sahib, Guru Nanak Ji, Jesus Christ, Maulana Rumi, and such others. But today if someone wants to follow this Path and do the practice, he will need a Living Master. We cannot contemplate on the forms of past Masters we have never seen.
Masters take Their initiates and liberate them from this ocean of the world. They liberate and carry Their initiates on the boat-like Naam through this ocean of the worlds. Saints, who have come earlier and gone, have taken all Their initiates in Their respective boats. And now, the Master in the present form has His boat-like Naam ready for liberating souls. And we should sit in His boat if we want to get liberated.
Therefore, Kabir Sahib Ji says, “You have got a very precious life. Make the most of this life. Do the devotion of a Living Master.” All other pleasures, attachments, sorrows are there only for a few days, and they are only attachments with the body. After we leave the body, all these pleasures, sorrows, and attachments will remain here only.
Bhakti beej binsai nahi,
Aaye perrai jo chol.
Kanchan jo bishta parrai,
Ghatai na ta ko mol.
Kabir Sahib Ji says, “The seed of devotion, which is planted within the soul, will never get destroyed. It will fructify sooner or later.” It is like gold. If gold falls in the mud and it gets dirty, that doesn't mean it loses its value. A person can always wash it, take it and sell it, and get the value for that gold.
So, likewise, the seed of Sat Naam, which is planted in the soul by the Masters, will never get destroyed. And, sooner or later, it will definitely fructify into devotion. So, to grow this seed of devotion, we should fertilize it with Simran and Bhajan, and we should constantly give it the water of Satsang.
Guru Nanak has also said, “Indeed, the people who have got this initiation, or have got a Living Master in their life, are really fortunate, because their cycle of life and death is over and they have got liberated.” If such a soul, by misfortune or otherwise, does wrong deeds after he is initiated and has to experience hell as a result, because of the seed of Sat Naam that is planted in him, the Master goes to hell to liberate him from there.
It so happened that once a devotee of Guru Nanak Ji did some bad deeds and, as a result, upon his death he was put in hell, in Kumbhi Narak. Kumbhi Narak is where there is absolute foul filth in which the soul and the causal body are immersed. And he has to bear that stench and the very dirty smell. And when he tries to struggle and get out of that, the servants in hell take their chappals and then they hit the soul and put him back into that filth.
It so happened that Narad Ji was passing by. Narad Ji had this capability of transcending heaven, earth, and hell. And he observed that this soul was being treated like this in hell and he was, actually, an initiate of Guru Nanak Ji. So Narad Ji went to Guru Nanak Ji and told Him about this.
Guru Nanak Ji contemplated within and He saw that this soul had not done any devotion whatsoever. And, because of his misdeeds, his mind had got completely attached in bad deeds and karmas. And that is why, by mistake, he had actually been taken to hell. Guru Nanak Ji went to the door of hell to get His initiate.
So, when He stood at the door of the hell, the Lord of Judgment came running to attend to Him. And he asked Him why He had come to such a place. He feared that if Guru Nanak Ji entered hell, then the place would get completely transformed because everyone's karmas would be redeemed and the place would become absolutely pious. So, when he asked Him, Guru Nanak Ji told him that one of His disciples was in hell.
So, the Lord of Judgment also contemplated quickly within and he saw that, yes, one had been brought by mistake to hell.
Guru Nanak Ji entered the hell and He placed His left thumb in the Khumbhi Narak. And with the placement of His thumb, the devotee started remembering the Simran and started doing Simran. As he did Simran, the other souls, who were also trapped there, also started doing Simran. And then, one by one, everyone started doing Simran, and soon, all of them were doing Simran. And everyone got liberated from hell.
So, when this incident happened, after this, the Lord of Judgment instructed all the agents of death that, under any circumstances, no initiate of any Master should be brought to hell.
Kabir Das Ji also says, “Gold never rusts, and iron never rots. In the same way, an initiate of a Master never goes to hell.” So, where their deeds are bad, the Masters give another human form and improve him in the next human birth. And then They liberate him after that. But They don't allow him to go to hell.
Guru bhakti ati kathin hai,
Jyon khanre ki dhaar.
Bina saach pahunchi nahi,
Maha kathin byauhaar.
Now, Kabir Sahib tells us why the devotion of the Masters is difficult. He says that devotion to the Masters is like walking on the blade of a sword. So, even at the slightest mistake, walking on the razor-sharp blade of a sword can cut the person, because the essence of devotion to the Masters is Truth.
We should be truthful in our behavior, in our deeds, in our action, in our talking and in our complete behavior. So, the further we are from Truth, the less we will be able to be successful on this Path. He says the Name of God Almighty is Sat Purush, meaning ‘True Person’. The Masters are called Satguru, again, the ‘Masters of Truth’. The Masters connect us with the Sound Current, Shabd, which is the Truth, and It is indestructible. The Path of meeting or going to Sach Khand is also Truth. And the devotees, who are also devoted to Masters, by virtue of that, are called satsangis. Because Sat or Truth is the essence everywhere. So, He says that we have to be truthful in our behavior; thoughts, words, and actions. And Kabir Sahib also says, “There is no bigger penance than adherence to Truth. And there is no misdeed bigger than falsehood.”
Businessmen would often visit Somanath Baba Ji. And they would then question Him and say, “You tell us always to be truthful. But then, how can we do business by being truthful, because we have to lie to do business? When we trade, we have to lie about the margins and we have to make profits.”
Baba Ji would often laugh and reply, “Look, it is not necessary that you have to be a liar to be a businessman. You can also be a truthful businessman. You decide your percentage as you decide what kind of margins you want to make. You fix your margin and then you don't move away from those margins.” So, that’s what He used to say.
Somanath Baba Ji, with the permission of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, used to also do business. After He had worked in mills, He started a shop with His savings. And there He used to sell at a fixed price. And that business grew quite a lot. And there were a lot of traders and businessmen who would come and trade with Him. That business was quite big.
Actually, in the 1950’s, when they decided to close that business, all the satsangis just went and sold the stock of cloth in the shop. And the sale of only that cloth itself fetched about 60,000 rupees. This was in the 1950’s. So, back then 60,000 rupees was a lot of money. With that money, He bought these 101 acres in Kengeri in Bangalore. And He bought it for 45,000 rupees. And He paid 10,000 rupees as registration. So the full ashram and that land cost Him 55,000 rupees.
So, Kabir Sahib Ji, therefore, says, “Your devotion becomes difficult only because you are unable to maintain the Truth in your life.”
Bhakti duheli guru ki,
Nahi kaayar ka kaam.
Sees utaarai haath se,
So lesi satnam.
Kabir Sahib says, “Yes, the devotion of the Masters is difficult. It is not the work for any frail-hearted person. One needs to be strongly resolved in the pursuit, and one needs to surrender to the Will of the Master.”
The biggest problem is our egotism. We feel everything belongs to us. Everything is about ‘me’, everything is about ‘mine’. So it is all about the ‘belonging’.
Kabir Sahib says, “You have to cut this egotistic head.” When He says ‘this head’ He means the head of egoism, the head of ‘me’ and ‘mine’. You have to cut this, and only then can you progress.
So, devotion is difficult. You need to be strongly resolved to do your pursuit of your spiritual practice. You need to have faith in your Master. You need to have love and affection and devotion for the Master.
Often, when we sit for meditation, our knees ache, our back aches, neck aches, our mind becomes restless. We have to bear all of this. Oftentimes, there are pulls and pressures from the families or from other things in the world. We have to again be strongly resolved and have faith and maintain our practice, despite all of these pulls and pressures. We have to bear the pain when we sit for meditation.
Now, we sit for a minute, it pains us, we bear the pain, then we are able to sit for two minutes. In that way, we have to keep bearing this pain and resolve to sit longer. In that way, we should continue in our meditation to be successful while doing that. So we have to, basically, bear that pain, and that’s how our body will get used to sitting for a longer time.
Sacrifice is another very important thing. We need to sacrifice. We also have to have this pang of separation, which is very important. So both the pang of separation and sacrifice are, again, of essence to your devotion to the Master.
So, you would have visited the place where Sant Ji meditated. And you would have seen, when you went there, that there was only one wooden bench and there was a small earthen pot. And there was no mattress and there were no other luxuries in that place. Sant Ji took so much pain, so much sacrifice to do His devotion.
So, it is not easy in that sense. You have to be able to bear that pain and do that sacrifice.
Bhakti duheli guru ki,
Jas khaanrre ki dhaar.
Jo dolai to kat parai
Nihchal utrai paar.
Kabir Sahib Ji again says,”Devotion is like walking on the razor edge of a sword.” So, only those who have a firm resolve and have faith walk that fine edge and get liberated. And all those who are in doubt or are of weak resolve, or do not have faith, they fall off and get distanced from devotion.
So, the war for devotion is not external, you do not have to fight with anybody else. You have to fight with your own mind. And the mind has been used to the practice of going outside, outward, for millions and millions of lives. And it is not something, which will be changed overnight or done easily. Mahatmas have fought with Their own mind, day and night, to control it and get it connected with Naam. And, finally, with Their struggle, have controlled it.
So, when I and other devotees used to sit for meditation in a cave on the hill, many times there was nothing to eat also. So once, on a festival on Sankranti, we felt like eating, so we broke the leaves of a neem tree, which are very bitter. And we made a vegetable of that and ate. So we have to sacrifice while we are doing our devotion. If we meet all the needs and expectations and demands of the mind, then we’ll never be able to control the mind. So, we have to be able to sacrifice and train the mind.
Kabir guru ki bhakti ka,
Man main bahut hulhaas.
Man mansa maanjai nahi,
Hon chaahat hai daas.
We carry a lot of love and affection and we feel like doing meditation and devotion. But then we falter, as we are unable to govern the mind. We do not keep a strict watch on the mind because the mind goes all over the place, and then we are not able to do our devotion.
So, to be successful in your devotion, you have to constantly govern and keep track of your mind. We have to constantly do our Simran. When we sit for meditation, the mind keeps running away. We have to bring it back and do our Simran, again it turns away, and again we have to bring it back. And, if we continuously do this, at some point, the mind listens and then we are able to transform ourselves completely.
So, we have to cleanse the mind by doing Simran and Dhyan. Because with these two tools the mind gets cleansed and becomes quiet and we are able to become successful in our devotion.
Harash baraa’i dekh kar,
Bhakti karai sansaar.
Jab dekhe kachu heenta,
Augun dharai gavaar.
Now, Kabir Sahib Ji says that we should not do our devotion with a desire of getting importance. Oftentimes, we do our devotion because we are getting importance from the Masters or in the ashram. And when we fail to get such importance, then we stop doing our devotion.
And on occasions, the disciples also go to the extent of criticizing the Masters. These are the games of the mind. And the mind, therefore, tries to take you away from the Path by these kinds of things.
Therefore, we should always go to the Masters with humility and for doing seva. And we should go with love and affection. When we go there with humility and affection and love, and we go there and we do seva there, then we get the Grace of the Master very easily.
Bhakti niseni mukti ki,
Sant charrhe sab dhaaye.
Jin jin man aalas kiya,
Janam janam pachtai haras baraa’i.
The Masters say that devotion is the sign of liberation. And, therefore, They have all plunged into this ocean of devotion. The Masters have not looked here and there. They have followed the instructions of Their Masters and jumped in this ocean of devotion. And that's how They have been liberated. Those who have spent time thinking about other things, thinking about this and that, those people have not been successful.
So, this is like fishing for pearls. When people go for collecting pearls, there are two people who go in a small boat. And they keep going into the sea. When they see shells on the surface, they dive there to collect the oysters at the bottom. They dive there without any other thought. Without thinking any other thing or about the dangers of diving, they go straight inside. And then they dive down and collect the shells. Some shells have some living creatures inside, some do not. And some have pearls. So, they just collect all of those shells and put them in their bag. Such people get the pearls.
So, unlike these people, if someone goes and sits on the seashore and he wants these pearls, but he's scared of the waves, and the small boat, and the big fish in the sea, and about what will happen if some mishap takes place, and he thinks on the outcome of all this on his family and his job etc., then he will only keep standing at the seashore. Such people will never get those pearls.
So, the Masters see devotion as the path of liberation. And, therefore, without thinking any other thing and without using too much of Their intellect on all of these things, They have dived straight into the ocean of devotion with firm resolve and They have been liberated.
So, we have experienced that when we get up for meditation, our mind also wakes up with us. And then, like a lawyer, he starts arguing and he starts explaining and giving explanations. He asks, “Why are you getting up at three o'clock. Maybe, if we get up at four, what is the problem? My head is aching a little bit, maybe I should sleep, or my stomach is feeling a little upset, or my back is aching.” So, all these kinds of arguments are put forth by the mind as a lawyer.
If we listen to those arguments and get swayed by the mind and sleep, hoping to wake up at four instead of three, then the family members come and wake us up only for morning tea and coffee. So, then we kind of resolve with ourselves and say, “Okay, never mind. I’ll do it tomorrow.” But, then tomorrow, your mind is also with you again. It is also going to wake up with you. So, that way, doing ‘tomorrow’,’ tomorrow’, the Kal comes and snatches you up and your precious time is lost.
Kabir Sahib Ji says, “What you have to do tomorrow, you do it today. What you have to do today, you do it now. In the next second there may be a calamity, then when will you do whatever you have embarked to do?” So, don’t waste your time and do not procrastinate your devotion.
Bhakti bina nahi nistarai,
Lakh karai jo koye.
Shabad sanehi hvai rahai,
Ghar ko pahunchai soye.
Kabir Sahib Ji says, “No one has got liberated without devotion.” So without devotion, you may try a hundred thousand other measures, but you will not get liberation. So Kabir Sahib Ji says, “Those who have practiced the Surat Shabd Yoga, who have meditated, who have done their Simran and who have done the devotion of the Master, they have gone and met God Almighty.”
Devotion is a very straightforward thing. We don't have to change our clothing. We don't have to change our eating habits. We do not have to change our place of staying. So, neither do we have to change our country, or go to any particular place, to do this practice.
You can do your meditation, your devotion, and practice, wherever you are staying and within the family that you are living with. You do not have to go anyplace. You have to do it with love and affection. Every morning, give two and half hours of meditation time. Every day. Do the practice and do the devotion every day. Your Master Who is residing within you, if you do His devotion two and a half hours every day, as you contemplate on Him, He will show Himself to you. You will get to see the Radiant Form of your Master. You will also get connected to the Sound Current. So, you have to do devotion.
Other measures are not going to yield that success, and also, while you are doing this devotion, you have to live in this world belonging to the Master. So, you have to always keep that in mind.
Bhakti bina nahi nistarai,
Lakh karai jo koye.
Shabad sanehi hvai rahai,
Ghar ko pahunchai soye.
Kabir Sahib Ji says, “Devotion is of utmost importance for liberation. You may try a hundred thousand other measures, but you will not get liberated.” We have living examples of Baba Somanath Ji and Ajaib Singh Ji also because They did a lot of other practices.
Ajaib Singh Ji practiced for almost fifteen years. He did various things like jaldhara and he also did the jap of ‘Hey Govind, Hey Ram’and several other austerities that he practiced for fifteen years. But, finally, He only got His liberation when He got initiated by Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj in the Sant Mat.
Likewise, Baba Somanath Ji also spent more than twenty-five years, and he covered most of north India doing these practices over these twenty-five years. He did all kinds of austerities, but he could not get his success. He could not get peace of mind there. And only when He met with Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, and was inducted into the Surat Shabd Yoga and He got initiated, was He liberated.
The point of telling you this is that whatever one tries, whatever other measures one tries, finally the liberation is in the true devotion of a Living Master, and that is through the Surat Shabd Yoga, by doing Simran,Dhyan, and Bhajan.
Bhakti bina nahi nistarai,
Lakh karai jo koye.
Shabad sanehi hvai rahai,
Ghar ko pahunchai soye.
Radhaswami.