The paathi sings the Bani of Swami Ji Maharaj...
Samajh kar chal jagat khota,
Maan mad tyaag man mota.
Samajh kar chal jagat khota,
Maan mad tyaag man mota.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Swami Ji Maharaj. This Bani is written by Him about a hundred fifty years back and He was from Agra. And, around that time, Agra was a place of all deity worship and all kinds of practices, rituals, etc. That was a time when all kinds of worldly pursuits, desires, everything, people were completely outwardly focused in rituals and other things. And that was the time Swami Ji Maharaj wrote this Bani. He wrote it to awaken all of those people there.
He says in this Bani, "With all the pursuits and desires that you have of this world, you're wasting your time. You're wasting your precious life in doing all of these.” Saints have forever been saying that this place, this world, which we think is ours, is not our world. It is a world of sorrow and joy. It is not the world, which we belong to. This is the world of life and death. Everything that comes to life has to die here, whether it is a human being or an avatar of God. Everything that is created here gets destroyed.
It is said in the Bani also, “Here, great avatars, great gods, have come and gone, people with great powers, like Ravana, who had a lot of mystic powers. He, also, had to die. Rama, who was the incarnation of Vishnu, had to also come here and then he also died.”
So, there is nothing constant in this world. It is all change. Everything that is created gets destroyed. And, because we get entangled in our desires and in all outwardly pursuits, we have to come back again and again into this world. Whatever karmas that we incur in this life form as a human, we have to then go later into the other life forms, the other 8.4 million life forms, the chaurasi, and we have to redeem all these karmas that we build up as a human.
After a person dies as a human being, then he doesn't get another human life immediately. He has to go in the life of a tree, or plants. After he lives those lives, he then gets the life of an insect. After those lives as insects, he then gets the life of birds. And, after the birds, he then gets lives as animals. After his lives as animals, he is again given the birth of a human.
In this world, karmas are the essence, which has been created by Kal and Maya. So, each and every life that is there, each and every living being that is there, has been created out of the karmas that it has to redeem in that life form. As a result, we are constantly in the cycle of creating karmas and redeeming karmas. We don't get out of this cycle.
So, this soul, which was a part of God Almighty, has come into this world ruled by Kal and Maya. They have entangled this soul here. They have encaged the soul in a body here and, within that body, Kal sits as the mind and Maya sits as the desires and all the other attachments. That is how they have constantly entangled and encaged the soul here.
Looking at the suffering of the souls who are forever suffering under these influences of the mind and desires, looking at this sorrow, God Almighty keeps sending His messengers, His Beloved Sons. And these Masters come into this world to awaken the souls and take them back. So, Saints come into this world to awaken the souls and take them back to God Almighty.
It is not Their intention to come here and create a new religion or enhance a religion or belittle any other religion. They are above all these religions, and Their only intention and motive is to awaken these souls and take them back to God Almighty. So, They come and awaken the souls. They come and caution the soul that this world is full of delusion.
It is a world of betrayal, where you are being misled forever, and you have to awaken yourself and go back to your True Home. Everything that we are attached to here, everything that we spend our valuable time in, we toil day and night for. In the end, while dying, we have to leave all of these things here. So, by coming into this world, we get attached to everything. We build this ego assuming all these things belong to us. And that is what creates a bondage here and that's what entangles us here.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj cautions and awakens the soul and says, “You have come empty-handed here. You have built this ego here, which is not true. You must sacrifice this ego, which you have built. If you have come here empty-handed, you are going to go back empty-handed. So, wake up! Start doing the devotion of Naam and do the things that will help you go back to your True Home.”
Khudi ko chhorr nahi tota,
Bhakti kar khaaye kyon sota.
Karo satsang guru kera,
Surat se lo gagan jhota.
He says, “Leave your ego. Sacrifice your ego. It is only because of this ego that you, time and again, come into this cycle of life and death. You come back again and again into this world of sorrow only because of your ego. So, sacrifice it. There is no harm in that.” It is because of this ego that when the messengers of death come and take the soul back, they keep hitting the soul and they keep asking the soul, “You have been given these things only for a few days here. How have you made these yours?” It’s because of this that, again, there is sorrow when, after death, the messengers beat us, and then we have to go through hell. We have to go back into the chaurasi. It is this very ego that makes us forget our brothers. It creates fights between the families. And we do not even remember that we are humans when we are fighting against our brothers and building hatred against one another in this life. And this is all a betrayal, all a delusion, created by Kal.
So, take your attention away from this ego. Sacrifice this ego and get devoted at the Feet of the Master, by which your reason for coming into this life, your reason for going back to God Almighty, is fulfilled and you make a success of this life.
Magan hoye baith phir ghat mein,
Fatah kar tirkuti kota.
He says, “Leave everything outwardly and focus on your Simran and Dhyan, and leave the nine doors and come to the Tenth Door.”
Once we come to the Tenth Door and we see the Radiant Form of the Master within, then we come to know of the Reality, because there we see all our previous lives, all our relationships. The family, which we see as ours today, once we go there, we come to know what the karmas are that bring this family together, what our relationship is with them today, and what the relationship was earlier, which has got them to become our family now. So, we see all the cause-and-effect of our karmas, once we go there. We see the reality in all of these relationships and we automatically sacrifice all of this. And we get devoted at the Feet of the Master.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Leave all your outward pursuits and focus your attention and your devotion at the Feet of your Master. Leave your nine outward doors and come to the Tenth Door. And then, within, go up to Trikuti and get out of the compound of Kal.”
Once you go into the Par Brahm, you go out of the compound of Kal. You no longer have to fear Kal and Maya. There you are yourself a power. So, there you have no karmas. All your karmas get destroyed, once you get into Par Brahm. And you have nothing to fear there. So, when we go up to Brahm, most of our karmas are taken care of. The Sanchit karmas, the stockpile of karmas of all previous births, is there in the Brahmand. And, once you go to Mansarovar and take a dip in that, the soul becomes pure and it gets itself rid of all of the Sanchit karmas, the entire stock of karmas that it has. You no longer have any karmas after that.
Saints keep coming and awakening us and cautioning us that, “You have come here and you are getting lost in all these false attachments here, and you're wasting your time. So, you should awaken and go back to God Almighty.”
Kutumbh sang chaar din naata,
Moh sang kyon parra lota.
Karo kuchh bhajan antar mein,
Gaho guru charan ki ota.
Swami Ji Maharaj talks about our family. All the relationships that we have in our family are a matter of all our give-and-take from our previous lives and previous karmas. So, it is only because of that all the family comes together for redeeming their respective deeds, what they owe each other, or what they have to take from each other. Swami Ji Maharaj says, “It is only for four days.” So, as soon as that give-and-take is over, the members depart. And then, because we are ignorant of the Reality, we feel sad when a family member departs.
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj relates a story, but this is not fiction. It is something, which happened in His own family. Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj used to tell this story, but He actually witnessed this Himself. This was a real thing that happened with Him.
He used to travel from camp to camp while He was in the military. And there were often vendors who would supply the regular groceries and other things to the army personnel in each of these camps. Oftentimes, there were fixed vendors who would be supplying this to each camp. So, He was in this camp and there was this vendor, and He used to go and often take His supplies from this grocer. And, likewise, a lot of other army personnel used to go there.
Now, there was one army soldier there who was a young man, and he did not have a family. And he also used to go to the same grocer. Oftentimes, when the salaries would be received and when they would get their payments, these would be deposited with the grocer himself. So, the account would be maintained with the grocer, because, in those days, there were very few banks or no banks to maintain these accounts. So, the cash would be deposited with the grocer, and then people would keep purchasing and settling against the money that was given to the grocers.
In those days, India was a colony of the British Empire. And even Afghanistan was a colony. And there was a war that had broken out between Afghanistan and the British at that time. And, because the British were ruling here, the army was comprised of Indians also. A lot of Indians went to fight on behalf of the British government.
So, this soldier, this young soldier, used to go to that war, he used to go and fight. And he was given a female horse. Every day he would ride that horse and go fight the war and come back.
Now, it so happened that, one day the horse panicked and she ran into the enemy territory, and there he was engulfed by the enemy. When he went there, the enemy soldiers shot down both the horse as well as the soldier. So, both of them died. At the time of death, the soldier was thinking, “I should not have died like this. It was the fault of this horse. Had this horse not done like this, and acted and panicked like this, I wouldn’t have died.” Then, he also remembered that there was a lot of money pending with the grocer there. He said, “That money which is lying there is going to get wasted because now I am not able to do anything about that.” So, with this thought, he died. He died with this thought of this horse having been the reason for his death and this grocer having an account of his money at the time of his death.
So, after a fixed period, the contract would expire and the grocer would put the shop up for bidding. And whoever would bid a higher price, he would be given that grocer’s shop and duties. Accordingly, this grocer’s period expired there, and then he collected all his belongings. He was from Jalandhar City, so he went back there and he built his own house there and he started staying there.
So, after about a year or so, that grocer also got married and time passed. Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj also retired from the army and He went to Beas. And this grocer, after a year or so, got married. Later, he had a son also. And, he had paid for his son’s education. When his son was around sixteen years old, he got him married. So, as soon as he got married, this boy fell sick. As soon as the bride came in, his daughter-in-law came in, the son fell ill. So, the son's physical condition kept worsening. Over a month he was bedridden and he was continuously vomiting and he had loose motions. After a month or so, despite examination by various doctors, he kept worsening. And after a month or so, he was on his deathbed.
So, when he was about to die, the grocer was sitting by his bedside. And when this boy was about to die, he got into a state where he could see within. His soul went up to the Third Eye and he then realized what this whole episode was about. And then, while dying, he told his father, the grocer, “Don't cry. Don't cry for me. If you recall, I am the soldier in that camp to whom you owed money. You have paid for taking care of me all these years. And the money that you owed me as a soldier, that is the money you have spent on me, on my medical expenses and everything, for so many years. And now our account is clear, because whatever you had to spend on me, whatever you owed me, that is now paid for. And that lady who is crying, my wife, she is the horse who had taken me towards my death. And I had suffered a lot while I was dying. Now, she will suffer for the rest of her life, because we are hardly married and I am dying. So, this is how our roles have played out.”
Twenty years later, when Baba Sawan Singh Ji went to Jalandhar City, He happened to meet this same grocer. They had been friends earlier when he was a grocer and Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj was in their camp. So, out of that friendship, the grocer saluted Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj and he greeted Him and asked Him to come to his house for some hospitality.
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj did not want to refuse. He accepted his hospitality and went to his house. And there he treated Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj well. They were sitting in the house when he offered Him food to eat. He brought the food out and he offered it to Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj.
At that time, there had been cries from inside earlier. A lady was crying. Though a few years had passed, she would often break down when there were visitors in the house, so she would cry.
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj noticed that there was a lady crying inside. So, He told this grocer, “Look, why are you doing all this hospitality? I believe there is some sorrow in your house and this lady is crying. So, I cannot accept your food like this.”
The grocer told Him, “Maharaj, this is the world. So, don't worry. You please have the food.”
But Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj insisted, and He said, “Definitely, there is some sorrow in your house. And unless you tell me, then I will not be able to accept this food.”
So then, the grocer related the whole story about the camp and about that soldier, how he had died, and all of that.
He said, “This is what has happened. The soldier has died and the horse is crying. So, why should I consider that as a sorrow?”
So then, only after that, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj accepted his food. Later, in His Satsangs, He would often relate this story. And He would often talk about this.
So, this is how our relationships are there. This is how our families are built up. We don't know what kind of relationships and what kind of karmas have delivered them as family members here. So, what are the give-and-takes of all our previous lives? All that is the sum of our families today.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Your family is there for four days, and it is all a give-and-take. So, why are you entangled here and why are you in such sorrow?”
Karo kuchh bhajan antar mein,
Gaho guru charan ki ota.
Saints come and awaken you. And They tell you that They feel sorry for the soul because it is so badly entangled in its attachments with its family and everything around it. So, They come and try to awaken the soul.
Swami Ji Maharaj says that you should listen to your Masters because They are saying it for your good. So, you should get out of this entanglement and you should be devoted and do your Simran Dhyan at the Feet of your Masters. Rise above all these entanglements and, every day, listen to Satsang. Every day, do your Simran Bhajan and Dhyan and elevate yourself from your sorrow here. Because only through Satsang can we come to know the Reality. We get rid of this delusion. And we are able to then work towards going back to our True Home.
Guru bin koi nahi sangi,
Unheen sang baith man ghota.
Swami Ji Maharaj then tells us, “Other than the Master, there is nobody else here to help you. So, think and take the help of your Master.”
At the time of death, when the messengers of death come, then your family members remain sitting there. They may, at best, cry. But they will not be able to stop the messengers of death from taking your soul.
So, when you have a Master, first of all, those messengers of death will not come, but the Master Himself stands at the Tenth Door to receive you. And then He takes you up with Him. They take us to the higher planes and then They are always with us. And They see us through till we reach the lap of God Almighty. The Masters help us here in this life by helping us with our karmas and, after our death, They are there to take us within to higher planes and take us back to God Almighty. And They are forever with us. They are there for what we should consider as ours, and not the others who will immediately desert us at the time of death.
So, therefore, He says, “Do your devotion at the Lotus Feet of your Master, and follow what the Master teaches you.”
Karenge kaaj vah tera,
Utaarein paap ki pota.
The Masters help us reduce our load of karmas here. They do that by giving us Darshan and by giving Satsang. Through Satsang, They reduce our burden of karmas. Then, through Dhyan Bhajan and Simran, They reduce our burden of karmas. So, They are always working towards reducing our load of karmas and They help us with that.
But, unfortunately, we are not loving Them. We are loving the others who are increasing our load of karmas.
Therefore, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “You should love Someone Who is yours, and that is your Master.”
Mile tab naam ki rangat,
Shabd ki sej ja lota.
If you follow Their Teaching and do your meditation, your Simran Dhyan, then They will give you the priceless gift of the Sound Current within. They will open up your Tenth Door and get you connected with the Sound Current. And, with that Sound Current, the mind then kicks away the world and starts getting fully devoted at the Feet of the Master.
There is so much love in that Sound Current. There is so much attraction in that Sound Current, which is unequaled in the three worlds. So, when the mind gets intoxicated with that attraction and that love in the Sound Current, it immediately, automatically, sacrifices everything else and gets connected with the Sound Current.
So, if you do your Simran and Dhyan, then your Master will grace you and open the rain of the Sound Current within.
Bhaag tera barra jaaga,
Hua man arsh ka tota.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “By doing that, your purpose of life will be attained, will be achieved, and your life will be successful.” So, that is the True Fortune within.
But, unfortunately, we are associating with outwardly things and we consider ourselves fortunate if we win a lottery, or we get a lot of wealth and such things outwardly.
But what is the fortune in those things? Because all those things are only attached to your body. And, when you leave your body, you will have to leave all those things here only. Nothing will go with you.
So, the True Fortune is the fortune of Naam. It is the fortune of the Sound Current that resonates within. And, once we get that Fortune, then the reason for coming again and again in this life is ended and we don't have to go back into the cycle of life and death.
Utha phir jaag ik chhin mein,
Jugan jug se parra sota.
Once the soul and the mind get in touch with the Sound Current, both of them awaken. The mind also awakens and it realizes that it is not the senses, which are driving it here. It is something different. And the soul also realizes its True Self. So, they both realize the Reality once they come in touch with the Sound Current, and then both get ready to go up. The mind goes and resides in the Brahm. And there the soul gets freed from the mind and goes further upwards to God Almighty.
When that Reality dawns, that is our awakening. We often, otherwise, mistake ‘awakening’ as getting awake here, but we are perennially in sleep here in this world. We are in slumber. And that is the True Awakening where we realize the Reality and we go within.
So, therefore, He says, “When you go to a True Master, you will be awakened by the True Master. You will do devotion of the True Master.” And when you do your Bhajan Simran, go within, then you will get in touch with the Sound Current, and that will be your ‘Awakening’ within.
Jagat ko dekh tu math kar,
Nahi kuchh saar hai thotha.
After saying all this, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “You sit down coolly and you think and intellectualize, see for yourself. Go in your mind and see this world. And see whether everything that you are seeing here, is there anything permanent that you see in all of this? Everything is destructible. Is there any Reality in all of this? So, you think for yourself.”
He says there is nothing permanent here. Everything is changing. What is there today is not there tomorrow. What is there tomorrow is not there the day after. So, everything will be destroyed here. There's nothing permanent here. Everything will be destroyed. All these are delusions of Kal and Maya. And the soul gets entangled in this Kal and Maya and starts associating with that, gets entangled here, and suffers a lot.
Ulat kar dil matho apna,
Amolak vakt kyon khota.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “When you have thought coolly, and you have realized that nothing outside is permanent, and everything, all your relationships, all the entanglements outside, are untrue and not permanent, then you turn your mind, you turn your attention, and focus within. Do your Simran Dhyan and come inside.”
Guru ne ab kari kirpa,
Diya ab kaal ko gota.
Kahe radhasoami yah tum ko,
Chalo satlok doon nyota.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, "Now, you have a True Master. He has initiated you. He has connected you with the Sound Current inside and He has told you about the reality. So, now you should spend your time and focus your attention within. And start preparing for going back to your True Home.”
The outside worldly people are not aware of this Reality. But you have been told of this Reality time and again in the Satsangs. So, you are aware of the Reality. And you should, therefore, prepare to follow the Teachings of your Master. Do your Simran Dhyan and prepare to go within.
Guru ne ab kari kirpa,
Diya ab kaal ko gota.
Kahe radhasoami yah tum ko,
Chalo satlok doon nyota.
After saying all this, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “I am giving you an invitation to come back to Sach Khand-Sat Lok. Now, you've heard all of this, so you come back. This is an invitation from me.” So, He says, “I invite all of you to come back to Sach Khand-Sat Lok. Take my invitation. Come back. Your throne for you to sit upon awaits you. Your crown to adorn you also is awaiting you.”
Kahe radhasoami yah tum ko,
Chalo satlok doon nyota.
Radhaswami.