The Paathi sings the Bani of Sant Paltu Sahib from the book: Paltu Sahib ki Bani, Part II, pg 6
Dhany hai sant niz dhaam sukh chaad ke,
Dhany hai sant niz dhaam sukh chaad ke,
Aan ke kaaz ko deh dhaara,
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Paltu Sahib. In this Bani, Paltu Sahib says, “The Masters, They leave Their place, Their home of bliss, of permanent bliss, and They come and adorn this body simply for the benefit of others.”
Kabir Sahib also says, “The trees, they bear fruit for the benefit of others. When the tree bears fruit, it hangs with the weight of that fruit, it bends down, and people throw stones at the tree. Still, it gives the fruit to those people.” So, the tree doesn't bear fruit for eating or consuming it itself. It bears the fruit for the benefit of others.
The other example is of a pond, which collects the water from different streams. And it collects the water and keeps it for people or others to use. So, so many birds and so many animals quench their thirst in that. And, it is also used for agriculture. So, that pond also does this selflessly. It holds the water for others. It doesn't drink its own water.
The third example is that of Masters, of Saints. They come into this world and They adorn this body. They take on all these hardships only for the benefit of others, to awaken all those souls who have gone to sleep here. The whole world’s thinking is only limited to their own benefit or the benefit of their near and dear ones. But, it is only the Saints Who think for the benefit of everyone. So, They come to give salvation to those souls, who are in sorrow here, who are sad here, and who are tied up in this lifecycle. So, They come and awaken them and help them to go back to their True Home.
So, time and again, other worldly people, who feel offended by the selfless Teachings of these Saints, they also trouble and give a lot of hardship to those Saints also. Even Jesus Christ, Who had come to awaken souls, even He was put under a lot of hardship, and people put a crown of thorns on Him, and they put Him on the cross. Even Sant Tabrez, because of this caste-ism and other things, other matters of religion, was also given a lot of suffering, and they skinned him alive. So, like that, even Mansur, and Sarmad, and such other Saints were also troubled, and They were also given such ill- treatment.
Saints do not come into this world for any particular group of people or any particular religion. Their intent is only to awaken the souls, to give Their simple message to the souls, to take them back. So, time and again, Saints come from Their blissful places, They adorn this body of filth, and They go from place to place to awaken those souls, to take them back to their True Home. So, They do not come for Their own pleasure or benefit, They come to do this selfless service.
So, like the tree, the pond, and the Masters, the fourth example that Kabir Sahib gives is that of clouds. They assimilate all the water and moisture, and they carry sweet water, and they give rains to the parched lands. They give water all around. Without clouds, we will not get water. We will die of thirst and hunger. We will not be able to produce food, and animals will not get to drink water, or eat food. There are so many trees on rocky mountains. For almost eight months, they remain completely thirsty without any water or food. And, it is the clouds, which then give them that water for about three to four months. So, therefore, even clouds assume their form for the selfless service of others.
Paltu Sahib says, “Those Saints are great Who assume these lives and adorn these bodies, or get into these bodies, leaving Their beautiful place for the selfless service of others.”
Gyaan samser le,
Paiti samsaar mein,
Gyaan samser le,
Paiti samsaar mein,
Sakal sansaar ka moh taara.
Paltu Sahib says, “Those Saints come into this world with Their sword of Knowledge, with their sword of Awareness. And They, with that sword of Awareness, destroy the darkness of ignorance.” The soul is in this darkness of ignorance, and it has been under its influence for several millions of lives. It has given control to greed, anger, lust, and ego. So, the Saints come to awaken the soul and show it the brightness. Saints go from place to place and They awaken souls there, who are lost in such ignorance, and who are in sorrow.
At the time of giving the souls, when God Almighty, had given these souls to Niranjan, He had given His promise to these souls. So, only such souls come to the Masters. When God Almighty had given a store of souls, a small store of souls, to Niranjan, He had asked those souls whether they would like to go to Niranjan. About seventy-five percent of those souls were willing and ready to go to Niranjan, but about twenty-five percent were not keen to go to Niranjan.
God Almighty told them and gave them a promise, “You go to Niranjan, and if you suffer there, or if you are unhappy there and you remember me, then I will come to get you back.” So, it is only those souls who are here, and when they go through this suffering, and they remember God Almighty, God Almighty comes and awakens them to take them back.
Preeti sab se karai mitra aur dusht se,
Preeti sab se karai mitra aur dusht se,
Bhali aru buri dohu sees dhaara,
Saints, when they come to this world, They treat both the good people and the bad people equally, and They treat both of them alike. They embrace everybody, those people who have good deeds, and those who have sins. They embrace both of them. Saints do not have this concept of ‘friends and enemies’. They treat everybody equally. They do not distinguish between a friend and an enemy. And, whoever goes to the Saints, they always benefit from the Saints. It is only about preparing our own utensil when we go to the Masters. So, those who go there with different kinds of feelings, they are able to assimilate that benefit from the Masters according to the utensil that they carry.
Therefore, Masters say, “Go to the Masters with love and affection. Go to Their Satsang. Try to imbibe all of what is said in that Satsang, and bring it into your life.”
Another example is that of Shivaji Maharaj and his guru. His guru was Guru Ramdas, who was a yogi. So, Shivaji was the King of Maharashtra and he was one of the more favorite disciples of Guru Ramdas. When Shivaji Maharaj went to Ramdas, he bowed down prostrate, and he said, “My body, my mind, and my wealth is all yours.”
So, Ramdas Ji was pleased with what Shivaji said. And Guru Ramdas felt that, being a king, he comes here and he says this. So, he felt happy. And, he used to stay on his loincloth and he used to have a saffron shawl on top, a small cloth, actually. He tore a small piece of that cloth and he gave it to Shivaji. He told Shivaji Maharaj, "You keep this always with you."
So, Shivaji Maharaj thought, “If I keep this in my pocket then, while washing the clothes, maybe, the washerman will see it and throw it away. Or, if I keep it in the cupboards at home, then it will stay at home. Ramdas Ji has told me to keep it with my self.” So, what he decided was that using the turban he was wearing as a king, he tied this piece of cloth to the turban itself so that it would always stay with him, so that the grace of his Master would always stay on his head.
Shivaji Maharaj had given one of the forts, which he had conquered in Sajjangad. He had given this fort to Ramdas Ji to run his ashram. This fort was on top of a hill, and Shivaji Maharaj would also go to the ashram quite often. So, when he would often go to the ashram, other people in the ashram, who were residents there, they would feel a little envious of Shivaji Maharaj, because they would feel that, “The Master is treating Shivaji Maharaj differently, and that is only because he is a king. So, he is treated well, because he is a king.”
Ramdas Ji was also aware of this. He also knew how these people were feeling envious. So, once, he created an incident so that their eyes would open. Once, after Shivaji left from the fort, Ramdas Ji said that his stomach is hurting, and he lied down. He was pretending that his stomach was in pain. He said that nobody should visit him because his stomach is aching and everyone should stay away. This went on for about two or three days. He didn't eat anything and he was just lying down.
So, those people would often ask, people around were very worried, and they asked him if they could get some medicine for him, which would help him. But, he didn't open his mouth. He didn't say anything. He just pretended that he had that pain.
This news reached Shivaji Maharaj also. So, Shivaji Maharaj immediately went to the ashram. He tied his horse at the foot of that hill and went up. And he bowed down to Ramdas Ji. Those same people told Shivaji, “Three days he's been unwell. You could have come earlier. Now, he is not talking to us. But, at least, you could have come earlier and asked him and helped him.”
Shivaji Maharaj asked Ramdas Ji whether he wanted some medicine, or whether he wanted something that would help him get better. Ramdas Maharaj Ji said, “No, medicine is not going to help me. What I need is something which is quite difficult.”
Shivaji Maharaj said, “You please tell me. However difficult it is, I will get it.” Ramdas Maharaj told him, “If you can get me the milk of a tigress, then I can apply that milk on my stomach, on my navel, and that will alleviate my pain, and I will get better.”
Shivaji Maharaj said that he would get it. Everyone else got very scared at this thought. But, Shivaji Maharaj said that he would get that milk. And, as a king, he was aware of the whole geography of that area, and he knew where tigers and tigresses were staying.
So, Shivaji Maharaj set out to get that milk of the tigress. And, while he was going, he thought, “This is going to be quite difficult, to get milk from a tigress. And, even to hold that milk, a container or a utensil to hold that milk has to be of gold because, in any other container, that milk would get spoiled.” So, he went to his palace and he got this gold utensil, a gold container. And, he set out on his horse to get that milk. He went in the forest where he thought that tigress would be. He reached there at about 5:30 in the evening. And there were two small cubs that were playing there.
And, as soon as they saw Shivaji, they ran inside a cave. So, he tied his horse at a little distance away. And then, he felt that, because the cubs had run inside, the tigress and tiger may be there inside that cave. But, when he went inside, he found that the tiger and tigress both were out. They had gone out for hunting, so they were not there. So, when he went inside the cave, it was all dark. And, at one place inside the cave, there was light coming in from the top of that cave. So, he went and stood there in that light. The tigress had sensed or smelled Shivaji, and the tigress started coming back to the cave. So, she was roaring and she was very angry when she came. This tigress was very angry and she felt that this person had come to hurt her cubs.
Now, Shivaji was thinking, “If I kill this tigress, then I will not be able to get the milk. But, I have to get the milk, so I'll have to keep the tigress alive. Even if I am hurt in the process, I'll have to go through that.” So, he was doing his Simran and standing there, waiting for that tigress. When she came, the cubs went to her, and she then calmed down a bit. She saw Shivaji there, but she didn't do anything. She then lied down and the cubs started feeding.
So, Shivaji felt that his guru had showered his grace so that the tigress didn't attack him, or do anything. He quietly went and he also got that milk from that tigress. The cubs were also drinking milk and they were feeding, and Shivaji also got some milk there, and he put it in that container. He took a little milk, and then, he left from there. He went back to his horse and went back to the ashram.
It was quite dark by the time he got to the ashram. But, before he reached there, in that darkness, all the other people in the ashram were feeling relieved. They felt that it is dark and, by now, Shivaji must be dead. That tiger and tigress must've killed him. They were quite happy that, now, they will get more attention from their Master. So, they were shocked to see in that darkness, when Shivaji walked in with that gold container. And they were quite amazed to see that he had, actually, got that milk. And then, Shivaji Maharaj placed that milk next to Ramdas Ji and said that he had got his medicine for him.
When he got the container, Ramdas Ji took that container, and then he applied that milk on his stomach, and he said, “Yes, now I am feeling better. This has helped me.” Then, he asked Shivaji that, “Son, how did you get this?” So, all were standing around and watching, and Shivaji explained what had happened. He said that he went there and he kept seva as his main objective. He didn't bother about his own life. He didn't bother about all the danger around him and everything. But, it was only for seva that he did this. That is how the others realized why Shivaji was given so much importance by Ramdas Ji.
So, therefore, Masters treat everyone equally. They give Their Grace and They shower Their Grace equally on everybody. It is only how we bring our own utensils and utilize them that we are able to assimilate that Grace of the Masters.
Daas paltu kahe ram nahi jaan hu,
Daas paltu kahe ram nahi jaan hu,
Jaan hu sant jin jakt taara.
Now, Paltu Sahib says, “I don't even go to God Almighty. I go to these Saints Who have liberated this world. God Almighty is there in all the forms, in all the beings. He is there through our suffering, but He doesn't do anything to give us salvation or take us out of this.” He simply witnesses all of this. When we do bad deeds, God Almighty is also observing us, and He is also witnessing our bad deeds. Now, to redeem those bad deeds, we might even go into the life of a pig. So, God Almighty also comes with us in that life of a pig. And there, also, He is witnessing. So, He doesn't stop us from doing those deeds, and He is there always with us.
Paltu Sahib says then, “What is the use of that God Almighty, Who sees and doesn't get us out of this? So I, therefore, bow down to the Masters Who have come, and Who have made us realize and given us salvation.”
When the Masters initiate us, They also take some of our large, bad deeds, and They go and give an account of those bad deeds to Kal. They also make us do Simran. They do Simran themselves, and also reduce a lot of our karmas. Once They initiate the souls, They do not allow those souls to go back in that cycle of life and death.
So, even if we have love of the Master only equal to a seed of a sunflower, even then, the Masters will always come and take us back. They will never leave us.
Paltu Sahib says, “I respect and bow down to those Saints, Who embrace all the rich and the poor equally, and give them salvation.”
Sant sansaar mein aay pargat bhaye,
Sant sansaar mein aay pargat bhaye,
Naam druday ke jakt taara,
Paltu Sahib says, “Saints come and take avatars here and They initiate souls and take them away from this cycle of life and death and give them salvation.”
There are lots of selfless donations that people do for others. They donate gold. They donate cattle. They donate food and shelter, and other things. But, all of these donations, they give only very limited benefit to the person who is donating, and to the person who is receiving that donation. Only the Grace that is given by the Masters is what is permanent. So, it is the Grace that the Masters are showering on us, which is the only thing that can relieve us from this whole cycle of life and death. So, Naam Daan is the biggest thing that can be given to any person.
Bhajan bhagwaan ko kou na jaantha,
Bhajan bhagwaan ko kou na jaantha,
Sant yeh hethu avtaar dhaara.
Paltu Sahib says, “The jiva has completely forgotten about God Almighty and the devotion of God Almighty.” That is why God Almighty has to take an avatar and come here to awaken the jiva. Therefore, the Masters come and They take avatars and come in this world, and They awaken the jivatma and tell him that this world is not where he belongs. This is not his world. And, even this body, in which you are residing, that is also not yours. And your True Home is Sach Khand-Sat Lok, and that's where you have come from.
This body is simply an earthen vessel in which the soul has come. And it has got all the importance only so long as the soul is there within it. Once the soul leaves that body, there is no value in that body. This is an earthen vessel so, after death, people bury this body, this vessel and, again, this gets converted back into mud. So, we are not this body. If we were this body, then this world would be ours. But, who are we, and where are we from? We are elements of God Almighty, and we are His, and we have come from there.
So, Masters come into this world and They preach the truth. They tell us about the Reality. And then, They awaken us to that Reality and help us to go back.
Raam ke naam par adal chalay ke,
Raam ke naam par adal chalay ke,
Kaal ke seesh par gol maara.
Paltu Sahib says, “The Masters sow the seed of Naam in the jiva, in the soul. And those souls, who have this seed of Naam implanted there, they kick the forehead of Kal and leave from this place. And, no power in this Creation can stop that soul, whether it is Kal, or it is MahaKal, or any other power. Nobody can stop that soul.” Therefore, Masters say, “Inculcate this habit of doing Simran all the time, so that, in joy and in sorrow, we should remember Simran and we should continue to do that.” We should do Simran and we should make that a habit. If we don't do it, then we suffer.
Sometimes, we even get very bad dreams. Even in our dreams, when we do Simran, that dream goes away. But, if we have not done Simran, we don't have the practice of doing Simran, then we’ll not be able to do that. So, when we face such a bad dream, then we shout out to our mother or shout out to our father.
Once, when I had shifted to Guddella and had made one room, it was early days, and there were ghosts there. So, there was a ghost there and, around 5:30, after dusk, that ghost used to come out from the grave wearing a white sari, and that ghost would keep moving around there. So, that ghost used to move around there and, therefore, nobody used to go in that place. They used to get scared to pass by that area. That is how I got this land very cheap! And the villagers, in fact, when I was buying this land, tried to discourage me from doing that, because of this ghost.
When I said, ‘I'm going to make an ashram there’, they told me, “There is this ghost here, and that ghost keeps coming out at night. So, how will people visit you? And, when they come and go, what will happen to them?”
So, when we were there, only in that barren land, and we had that one room, we used to sleep under a terrace. We used to pull up the ladder and used to sleep under a terrace. And, from there, we were also keeping an eye on the bullocks that were tied down. So, I and one old man used to stay on the top. This old man used to call himself the ‘King of Mysore’, and he was there. He stayed for a very long time with me and both of us would sleep under the terrace. And there were other lady sevadars. They would sleep downstairs.
So, one night, what happened was, when I was sleeping, this ghost came. And this ghost sat on my chest. I started feeling the weight of that ghost. So, I started doing Simran, which is naturally easy for me. I did that, and then, nothing happened.
Now, that ghost got off from my chest and sat on that old man's chest. And he started suffering under that weight. He started calling his mother. He started calling his father, and he was wriggling there under that weight.
So then, I woke him up. And then, he said, “Oh, there was some huge weight that was placed on my chest, and I could not get that off!”
So, therefore, you should make a good habit of doing Simran at all times. It should be so imprinted on you that, even in the most difficult times, and even in your dreams, if you are facing a difficulty, you should start doing Simran. If you do this, then you will not get difficulties. You will be able to ride through your difficulties easily.
Once, in Kengeri Ashram, when I was new to that ashram, I used to have some stomachache. For three or four months, I used to have this persistent stomachache. Baba Ji told me to go to Bangalore and show it to a doctor and get some medicine. So, I and one more person went to Bangalore to get the medicine. While returning, we got in the bus.
Now, usually, what happens is that I'm used to Bombay. In Bombay, buses are very crowded and trains are very crowded. So, people hang out, and they catch the bus as it starts moving. But, gradually, people push each other and move inside. So, they start getting inside. Now, in Bangalore, similarly, with that pushing of all those people, my companion went inside. But, I was still outside. And, when I caught this bus, instead of going inside, people started pushing me out! And the bus, by then, had already moved, and it was moving at good speed.
I was barely catching both the handles by two fingers each and, at one point, they started pushing so much that I had to leave both my hands. Now, I was doing Simran at that time, and I just felt that there are two hands, which are holding me from behind. So, that conductor saw me. He stopped the bus and he asked the people to come inside. He had noticed that this person was going to fall and he had his hands off. So, I wanted to tell you this incident.
So, therefore, if you do Simran, wherever, in whatever situation you do Simran, your Master is always with you. If there is Simran present, your Master is there with you. So, any untoward incidents can happen. We should remember our Simran at all times. So, whenever such things happen, the Master’s always there, and we should always remember Simran so that it becomes an automatic thing with us.
Das paltu kahein rahe sab doobathe,
Das paltu kahein rahe sab doobathe,
Sant ne pakadi ke kihaa paara.
Paltu Sahib says, “This world was sinking in this delusion of Kal and Maya. And the Masters have come and They have held the souls, and They have relieved and given salvation to those souls.” So, souls were drowning in this bhavrog— bhavrog is where you have birth, and then, you have death and, then again, birth and death, and so on. So, in this bhavrog, these souls are drowning. It is the Saints Who have come and extended Their hand and got them out of this bhavrog.
Das paltu kahein rahe sab doobathe,
Das paltu kahein rahe sab doobathe,
Sant ne pakadi ke kihaa paara.