The paathi sings the Bani of Sant Rajjab Ji from the book: Santo Ki Bani...
Sarvasv de sarvasv liya,
Shish satguru kane aaye.
Sarvasv de sarvasv liya,
Shish satguru kane aaye.
Rajjab mahad milaap ki,
Mahima kahi na jaaye,
Mahima kahi na jaaye.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Rajjab Ji. Very few people know about Rajjab Ji. He was a Master and He was a disciple of Dadu Dayal from Rajasthan. So, Rajjab Ji was a person with very good impressions from previous lives and this incident was when he was getting married.
In those days there weren't any buses or cars and the bridegroom would travel in a marriage procession on a horse. So, the marriage procession, with about a hundred fifty to two hundred people, with all their band and music and ceremonies, was going. And Rajjab was to get married and he was mounted on a horse and this procession was going. On the way, about ten kilometers down, the ashram of Dadu Dayal was there. While the procession was passing the ashram, Rajjab Ji saw that Dadu Dayal was sitting outside on the platform made under a neem tree, and He was brushing his teeth with that neem twig. Rajjab Ji, when he saw Him, felt, “This is a very auspicious thing. I am going for marriage and I’m having the Darshan of a True Master. So, I think I should go and meet Him.” He was dressed as a bridegroom and he got off the horse and he went to Dadu Dayal Ji and he bowed at the feet of Dadu Dayal Ji.
When he bowed down, Dadu Dayal Ji was very happy, but these words just came out from the mouth of Dadu Dayal Ji and He said, “Rajjab, you have done a great thing. You had come into this life to do the devotion of God Almighty, and you have tied this on your head.” (Bridegrooms tie a certain ceremonial thing on the forehead.) So, He said, “You have tied this thing on your forehead and you have come to do the devotion of God Almighty, but you are giving way to Kal.”
This simple sentence completely transformed Rajjab Ji right there and he removed all the bridegroom dress that he was wearing and he sat down there next to Dadu Dayal Ji. He said, “I'm not going to get married. I will do this devotion.”
So, all the marriage procession, all the people who had come, his relatives, parents, had all got very annoyed with Dadu Dayal, and they started saying all sorts of things to Dadu Dayal. They said, “You have done some mantra. You must've used some mystic power and you have spoiled this boy's thought process.”
Dadu Dayal JI said, “No, I have not said anything. I have given him blessings. I am quite happy. If you want to take him, he can go.”
But, Rajjab Ji refused to go. And they kept trying to persuade him to go. Finally, he got angry and he took off all his clothes. And he was only there in a banyan and his undergarment. And he said, “You take all this. I'm going to sit here, like this.”
The time of this marriage ceremony was passing. The parents decided that his younger brother should get married. So, they got him to wear all these clothes, and then that marriage procession went on.
After that, Rajjab Ji stayed there at the ashram. And he would continuously do seva and Simran — and only do seva and Simran. And, ultimately, he became a Perfect Master. He went to Sat Lok-Sach Khand. And when Dadu Dayal Ji passed away, He left His body, He asked Rajjab Ji to continue there at the ashram.
So, such Saints Who come, They come with past impressions. They have done Their devotion already in the past, and when They come into this life with all those impressions, it is just one sentence of a Master that completely transforms Them. It strikes like an arrow, one sentence said by the Master and it completely transforms Their life.
So, this is the Bani of Rajjab Ji in which He says, “The Master initially takes everything from you also, but then He gives everything and more back to you.” And Kabir Sahib also says, “The difference between a Master and a philosopher's stone is that the Master converts the person, His disciple, and makes him a Master. Whereas, a philosopher’s stone converts iron into gold, but cannot convert gold into a philosopher's stone.”
Rajjab Ji, when he had gone to Dadu Dayal Ji, he surrendered everything to his Master. And, likewise, Dadu Dayal Ji graced him completely and He transformed him, took him within and took him to God Almighty and made him a True Master like Himself.
So, therefore, Rajjab Ji says, “Initially, the Master asks everything from a disciple, but then He ultimately gives everything and more back to the disciple.”
Kabir naamdev kahgaye,
Param punya upakaar.
Kabir naamdev kahgaye,
Param punya upakaar.
Jan rajjab jeev uddhrain,
Shabdhon yahin sansaar,
Shabdhon yahin sansaar.
Rajjab Ji says, “It is not me who says this only. Also, Kabir Sahib, Namdev, and other great Saints have also said that ‘there is no salvation without Naam’.” So He says that there is no other measure to control the mind. It is only when the mind gets in touch with the Sound Current within. Only that is able to control the mind. You may try scores of other measures. You may try everything, but you will not be able to control the mind. It is only the Naam that can control the mind.
Rajjab Ji says, “It is not me alone who says it. All the other Masters like Kabir Sahib, Namdev, everyone says, “Without the Naam, without the Shabd, you cannot get the mind under control. So, you have to follow the Path of Surat Shabd and that's how you will be able to control the mind.”
Guru darji soo'i shabad,
Dora dori soye.
Guru darji soo'i shabad,
Dora dori soye.
Rajjab aatam raam saun,
Sadguru seenvai koye,
Sadguru seenvai koye.
He says, “The Master is like a tailor, and the Shabd is like the needle and the thread to tie the soul back to God Almighty.” So, if we do not practice and the Sound Current has not manifested within, then we will not be successful on this Path. Like the thread, which ties up two pieces of cloth, likewise, it is the Shabd, which ties the soul back with God Almighty.
Rajjab aatam raam bich,
Guru gyaata su dalaal.
Rajjab aatam raam bich,
Guru gyaata su dalaal.
Jyon chakva chakvi mile,
Sooraj kaate saal,
Sooraj kaate saal.
He gives an example of the chakwa and chakwi. This is the chakor bird. Now, it is a strange phenomenon of this bird that, in the daytime, the male and female birds are together. But, at nighttime, they are always separate. How much ever one tries, they will always be separate. If the male is sitting on one side of the bank of the river, the female will sit on the other side of the bank of that river. So, likewise, they always are away from each other in the night. Both will make their own sounds from both the sides, where they will stay always separately. So, when the sun rises, they both come together. But, as soon as the sun sets, they both separate.
So, like that, when the Master, the Radiant Form of the Master, manifests within, It is like the sunrise, which then allows the female soul to meet with the male God Almighty. For millions and millions of years, the soul has been away from the God Almighty and in the clutches of the mind. It is only with the company and the Teachings of the Master that the soul is, then, able to go back to God Almighty, it’s husband. And this soul, in whichever life form that it is in, those whole 8.4 million life forms, it is always unhappy and it is in sorrow. So, it only gets happiness and peace when it goes back into the lap of God Almighty from Whom it is away for so many millions of years. And this can happen only with the Grace of a True Master.
So, that example given by Rajjab Ji, that is, the chakwa and chakwi, they stay together when the sun rises, but then when the sun sets and it is dark, then they separate and they don't meet during that time.
Another feature of this bird, it is very attracted to the moon. And it keeps the company of the moon, so much so that when its gaze is so steadfast on the moon that, as the moon moves across the skies, it does not turn. It simply moves its neck. And by the time the moon has crossed the other side of the sky, its beak and its tail touch. So, it still doesn't move. It is so engrossed in this gaze of the moon that, if anyone wants to catch it, it is very easy to catch this bird while it is gazing at the moon. And when it does not see the moon then, if it sees any hot ember, anything like burning coal or something, then it goes and it swallows that, thinking it is the moon. But, because its mind and attention are on the moon, that ember doesn't burn the bird. So, that way, it spends the night looking and gazing at the moon. And, during the daytime, the male and the female bird come together.
Jeev rachaa jagdeesh ne,
Baandh liya kaaya maayi.
Jeev rachaa jagdeesh ne,
Baandh liya kaaya maayi.
Jan rajjab mukta kiya,
Gurusam koyi naaahi,
Gurusam koyi naaahi.
Rajjab Ji says, “God Almighty has created this whole creation. And He has given the souls here and they are encased with the mind and Maya, and these souls are forever lost in the sorrow of this world. It is only the True Master Who comes and shows the Path back to God Almighty, and takes the soul back to God Almighty.”
Even Sahjo Bai says, “I am willing to leave God Almighty, but I will never leave my Master.” Because She says, “God Almighty has encaged me in this body with the mind and with Maya and has created this full delusion. And, despite being within this body and very near to me, He has not protected me. And so, though, God Almighty is forever with me, He has not protected me. If I have sinned, then He has not stopped me from sinning. And, after that, for redeeming the karmas of those sins, I have gone to hell. And I have suffered in hell. And God Almighty has come with me in hell, but He has not relieved me from hell. Likewise, I have been given all kinds of life forms. I have stayed as a pig. And God Almighty has also come there and stayed with me as a pig. But He has not helped me get out of all of this. But the True Master, my Master Who has come, He has got me connected with the Sound Current. With His Satsang, I have been able to understand the reality, and with His Grace, I have been able to do my meditation and go within and, finally, meet God Almighty.”
Therefore, Sahjo Bai says, “What is the use of such a God Almighty Who, despite being with me, has not helped me. So, I am willing to leave God Almighty, but I am not willing to leave my Master Who has elevated me from this suffering.”
Sakal karm taalab hai,
Jeev jadatha maayi.
Sakal karm taalab hai,
Jeev jadatha maayi.
Rajjab guru ko che bina
Kabahu khute nahi,
Kabahu khute nahi.
The jiva comes into this world and he keeps doing more and more karmas, and more and more deeds, and keeps getting more and more entangled in this world. He can only get free from this entanglement when he meets a True Master.
Kal, who rules this world, he has made karmas the essence, and everyone has to suffer or enjoy these karmas. There is no escape from karmas in this world. One may do good karmas of donating and doing other good things and he’ll get the benefit, or the fruit, of those good karmas. Or some may do bad karmas and suffer those deeds. But, there is no escape from karmas in this world.
So, when we do bad karmas, we have to suffer those bad karmas. We go back into the cycle of life and death, into numerous other lives, all the 8.4 million life forms that are there. And if the karmas are even worse, then we even go to hell and suffer the tortures of hell. So, we will not get out of this and we will not get any salvation until we meet a True Master.
When we meet the True Masters, They show us how to do our Simran and Dhyan. And, by doing that, we gradually are able to reduce the burden of our karmas. Gradually, the Masters reduce our burden of karmas and They teach us how to continue in this world, doing our karmas, but being bereft of desires while we are doing those karmas. So, to be detached when we are doing karmas is what is taught by the Masters to us. Masters teach us how to do our deeds without desires, without the attachments and the desires around those deeds.
While we take care of our families, They say that the family belongs to the Guru. So, you should treat the service to your family as your duty to your family, which belongs to your Guru.
Likewise, our work or business that we are invested in, that we should believe belongs to the Guru, and we should do it as a duty or as a seva to our Guru. That way, we will be able to stay away from getting attached to those deeds, because the moment you are attached to your deeds, you have to come back into this world.
We have to try and stay detached from the deeds that we are doing. This attribute comes to us when we do our Simran and Dhyan. So, as we do more and more Simran and Dhyan, our love and affection, which we have in our desires and worldly works, gets redirected to the Feet of the Master. And the more and more devotion we do of the Master, the more and more we believe this world to be everything related to the Master, and that's how we develop this attribute of not being attached to the things that we are doing.
Three gunu rahit kuchi guri,
Taala trigun sareer.
Three gunu rahit kuchi guri,
Taala trigun sareer.
Jan rajjab jeevat kule,
Jyo yogy mile guru peer,
Jyo yogy mile guru peer.
Kal has created this whole creation and there are three gunas; rajo, sato, and tamo. All our thought processes are guided by these three gunas. Rajjab Ji says, “Everything that Kal has created is under the influence of these three gunas.” So, these three gunas, or these three attributes, are tamo, sato, and rajo and each of us has a mix of all of these three. But, one of these gunas may be more predominant than the others in each of us.
So, the satogun is the essence from Lord Vishnu and the typical attributes of this guna are that people are more devoted. They believe in whatever practices that they are doing in terms of their devotion, whether they are going to pilgrimages, doing fasting, or doing worship. All of these people are more inclined and bent on doing these practices and doing the devotion of God.
Where the rajogun is predominant, you’ll find people of stronger intellect. These people will be professionals, or they will be businessmen, or they will be priests. These are people who have more refined intellect.
The tamogun draws its powers from Lord Shiva. And the attribute of tamogun is typical of people who are more inclined towards gambling, or towards intoxication, or eating non-vegetarian food, or fighting. All these kinds of attributes are of tamogun.
So, Rajjab Ji says, “The whole world is under the influence of these three gunas. The only people who are not influenced by these three gunas are True Masters. And They are above these three gunas.” Likewise, when we do our devotion and we do our Bhajan Simran, gradually, the influence of these three gunas on us also is reduced.
Baahar baite bahirmukh,
Gurumukh beethar jaaye.
Baahar baite bahirmukh,
Gurumukh beethar jaaye.
Rajjab reetha kyo pade,
Khol khajana khaay,
Khol khajana khaay.
Rajjab Ji says, “All the worldly people follow their desires, follow their attachments, and do everything and get entangled more and more outwardly in this world.” So, they have a huge entanglement outside of the body in this world.
Whereas gurumukhs, or the initiates of Masters, are more focused inwards, and they are working towards getting more and more entangled inside, and more and more getting the treasures of what lies within the body. So, those people, those devotees, go within and they go to the back of the Eye Center and they drink the Nectar that is available there. They enjoy the treasures that are there inside.
God Almighty has kept all sorts of treasures within the body. And when one does His devotion and he does his Simran Dhyan and goes to the back of the Eye Center and opens the Third Eye, then he is able to see for himself all these treasures that are kept within him.
But we cannot get these treasures until we work hard and do our Bhajan Simran. We can see all the Saints Who have gone within, and They have worked hard and They have been very devoted, and have done Their Bhajan Simran. And that is how They have been able to go within and see these treasures.
The worldly people often feel that they have come into this world to enjoy, and they like to enjoy the luxuries that are offered by this world and this life. But they have thrown away their life, which is so precious, and which has been given to them to get out of the suffering.
Vasudha maayi beej hai,
Kyo aaatham ankur.
Vasudha maayi beej hai,
Kyo aaatham ankur.
Pe gagan guruvarsa baya
Pragatan hai vah mahasoor,
Pragatan hai vah mahasoor.
He now gives an example that on this land there are so many seeds that are there, but we do not see plants growing. Only, when it rains, suddenly you see greenery everywhere and all these seeds grow into plants.
Likewise, in this world, there are so many souls, but these souls have not been able to evolve, for want of a True Master.
So, we see when farmers work so hard to take out the grass from their land, but that grass keeps growing again and again. That is because there are so many seeds that are already there. It is only when they are watered that they start growing.
Like that, without the Grace of the Master, there are so many millions of souls around us. We do not see them. But, only with the Grace of the Master, we will be able to see them.
We harvest groundnuts. And, many times, some of these groundnuts are eaten by animals. Some of them lie there also. So, after that, when someone comes, it is all dry. We have harvested it and the land is fallow. But, when it rains again, some of these groundnuts again start growing. These seeds are there for eight or nine months inside the ground. And they grow when it rains after nine months. So, like that, these seeds are there all over the place and they grow into plants when it rains.
Like that, there are souls everywhere. Only with the help of a Master, we can see that this whole place has souls all over. So, when only a True Master is able to show us that, we get to see it.
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj had built a house on Murree Pahar. This was land given by the government, allotted to Him, and there was a large tree, a babul tree, behind. And, oftentimes, when people would come for His Darshan, sometimes they would see this ghost on this tree. The sangat used to get scared because they used to see this ghost on the tree and they feared that this ghost would come and seize them.
Some of them went to Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj and requested and they said, “At this place, there is this ghost behind. You have built a house at such a place where there is a ghost. So, we are scared that this ghost may seize us at any time.”
So, then Sawan Singh Ji told them, “No, this soul is good. He was a Muslim fakir in his previous life, but because of some karmas, he became a ghost in this life. He is aware and he sits on the tree to protect this house. And he knows that by taking Darshan this karma of his will get redeemed. So, he knows that by getting the Darshan he will be able to redeem his karmas and he will get salvation.”
After that, people would continue to see him, but then they were not fearful of him.
Dehi dariyaa naam sunaav,
Buddhi baadbaan vichaar suhaav.
Dehi dariyaa naam sunaav,
Buddhi baadbaan vichaar suhaav.
Rajjab kiya guru sab saaj,
Ye vidhi uthare paar jahaaz,
Ye vidhi uthare paar jahaaz.
He says, “In this body, which is an ocean, there is the boat of Naam and there is the intellect which drives that boat. One day, this boat will pass through this ocean and the intellect, the mind, will get salvation.”
So, He is pointing out that this body is like an ocean and the boat to travel on this ocean is the Naam, and the mind is the boatman. If the boatman works properly and he takes the help of Naam, then he can cross this ocean. But, if the boatman is outwardly drawn, then he will not be able to take this boat of Naam and travel through this ocean, because this mind is forever driven by its desires and attachments and has deluded us for so many lives. And it is constantly taking us outward in this world.
So, that same mind, if it gets connected with the Naam and it follows the instructions of the Master, then this back-and-forth travel of life and death will stop, and we will get salvation.
There are four sections in our mind. One is the mind, manas; second is the intellect, buddhi; chit is our faculty of visualization inside, whatever we visualize; and the ego, ahamkar, associated with that visualization. So, these are the four sections of all our thought processes inside.
The mind, manas, is the leader, he is the head of this whole process, and he throws up a thought. And once that thought is thrown up, the intellect, the buddhi, immediately starts thinking on that thought. And as soon as it starts thinking on that thought, the faculty of visualization, the chit, that immediately pictures that thought. It creates a visual of the thought, and then our ego, ahamkar, starts associating with that thought.
So, if for example, a thought comes that we have to create, ‘build a hall here’, then, immediately, the mind starts intellectualizing that. The intellect starts thinking about how to build that hall and, immediately, we start visualizing that hall. Now, once we visualize the hall, we become a part of that visualization. That is our ego getting associated with that visualization. So, we start seeing ourselves in that hall, and that’s the ahamkar, that is the association of that thought with our ego. So, that ego then influences the mind in turn.
Every time we have these thoughts that come up, we visualize them, and then we associate with them. That's a continuous process. And the more we associate, that influences our mind more.
Now, at the time of death, we have had many thoughts, which we have, likewise, intellectualized and visualized, and we have been associated with these thoughts. Now, these could be good thoughts about something, or these could even be bad thoughts about something. But we have, somewhere in our mind, been associated with these thoughts. Now, these are also our Agamya karmas.
So, these are also thoughts that we have created. However, at the time of death, these are forgiven. But when we have associated with these thoughts and then we have acted upon them with our body, then those are permanent karmas that we have built up. Those are not forgiven.
So, those thoughts, which we have carried out with our body, we have enacted those thoughts with our body, we have built those karmas. We will come to either suffer that or enjoy that, as the case may be, based on what karma we have done. That is what then takes us back into the cycle of life and death. Again, we go into the 8.4 million life forms to redeem those thoughts, or we may even go somewhere else to enjoy good deeds that we have done.
So, we all know about the three karmas, which are Kriyaman, Pralabdh, and Sanchit. These are Agamya karmas, which is the karma that we have done only in thought. So, it is the Agamya karmas, which are forgiven at the time of death. But they, nevertheless, influence the mind.
Jo bahu ratn samudra mein,
Tyon satguru shabhad naadi.
Jo bahu ratn samudra mein,
Tyon satguru shabhad naadi.
Marjeeva hai ho maahi mile,
Jan rajjab vit kaadi,
Jan rajjab vit kaadi.
Rajjab Ji says, “All the gemstones, all the stones, are found in the oceans. And that is the treasure of all the precious stones because when during Manthan or during Pralay, what is land becomes water, and what is under water becomes land.” So, everything, all these shops we have, which have precious stones, jewelry, etc., all that finally gets submerged inside the ocean over various yugas. So, that way, the oceans are a treasure of all the precious stones.
Likewise, the treasure of All-Precious Naam is the Master. So, like the ocean is the treasure of all precious stones, the Master is the treasure of all Naam.
Now, if there are pearls in the ocean, and if someone wants to obtain a pearl, then he has to take the risk and he has to dive deep down into the ocean to extract that pearl. Likewise, to extract the precious Naam, we have to do our Simran and Bhajan as the Master has taught us. So, we have to follow the instructions of the Master and we have to dive down with Simran and Dhyan to extract the precious Naam.
So, these people who go to extract pearls from the ocean, they are called marjivas and they are brave people. Usually, they go in a small boat with only two of these fishermen. And where they see floating, empty shells, they dive down in the sea. They tie a rope and they dive down there, and then they start collecting the oysters, which are there at the sea shelf. And very few of those oysters will yield the pearl. But, then they collect and take all the risks of diving deep down into the sea. And then they are able to enjoy that pearl, which they are able to extract.
Now, opposed to this, if you sit at the shore and you fear the deep sea, and you fear the deep waves, and you fear what will happen to your family if you dive, and you fear what will happen to your occupation if you dive, then you'll never be able to achieve those pearls, which are there at the bottom of the sea. For that you have to take the risk, you have to dive down and be brave enough to dive down deep to get it.
So, similarly, following the instructions of the Masters, those who sit without any inhibitions, they just sit and do their meditation, Simran and Bhajan, and they are able to get this pearl of Naam.
As opposed to us thinking about what is going to happen when we sit. If we think about what is the next thing that is going to happen, about our occupation, about our family, about whether we’ll procrastinate a bit, ‘we will sit a little later, now I am tired’, ‘I will sit later’, all of these things and such activities will not yield the pearl of Naam. For that, we have to relentlessly sit, do our meditation and Bhajan, and follow the instructions of the Master without thinking about the past and the future.
So, we should sit every day for Satsang. We should sit every day for Simran and Dhyan. We should give an opportunity to our Master to shower His Grace on us.
Jo bahu ratn samudra mein,
Tyon satguru shabhad naadi.
Jo bahu ratn samudra mein,
Tyon satguru shabhad naadi.
Marjeeva hai ho maahi mile,
Jan rajjab vit kaadi,
Jan rajjab vit kaadi.
Radhaswami.