The paathi sings the Bani of Sant Paltu Sahib...
Jagth kee preethi ko delh liya,
Naahak ko log tagaate hai jee.
Jagth kee preethi ko delh liya,
Naahak ko log tagaate hai jee.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Paltu Sahib. The life of Paltu Sahib was similar to Sant Ajaib Singh Ji. He also spent about sixteen years in doing austerities, in pranayamas and other practices. And, finally, He got peace and He followed the Surat Shabd Yoga and became a True Master.
He used to talk fearlessly on spirituality. And, in those days, there were the other pundits, the so-called bearers of religion and faith, and He would speak out very vociferously and fearlessly against them. In those days, people did not know much about the Surat Shabd Yoga and, when he would preach It, then people felt that this is a new religion that He was talking about. He had a hut on a farm, which was made of hay, and He would get up every day for meditation between 3:00 to 6:00. During that time only, these people came and they set fire to His hut. So, He left His sharir in that same meditation, which He was doing in the hut.
He had promised a nearby villager that He would come and initiate him and He would be giving Satsang a month later. His body was burned in that hut. But, despite that, after one month He went to that village and He manifested there and He gave Satsang and He also gave initiation.
So, in this Bani, He is talking about worldly people. It's like a blind person wants eyesight. Likewise, these worldly people want all the luxuries and all the outward attachments that they are pursuing. People would often trouble Him. Many people would line up and they would ask Him for various worldly things. Someone who did not have an issue — or a child — he would come and ask for a child. Someone would want more prosperity, and so on, so forth. So, everyone would keep coming and troubling Him.
So, in this Bani, Paltu Sahib says, “These worldly people come and they show outward love to the Masters. And the treasure that the Masters have got through their meditation and devotion to go to God Almighty, these worldly people come and try to snatch that.”
Swaarath ke hethu se preeth kare,
Daulat beta maangath hai jee.
Swaarath ke hethu se preeth kare,
Daulat beta maangath hai jee.
He says in the Bani that these people come and they show this outwardly love. They want to pursue their own desires. And, for that, they are showing outwardly love and someone comes and asks for more wealth to be given to him. Someone wants a child to be granted to him.
So, all these people are driven by their own desires. And, to meet those desires, they come here and show love to the Master. There are very few who actually come to the Masters to ask for salvation of the soul and for devotion, for true devotion.
Lambhi dandavathe aap karein,
Dagaabaaz ki preethi kahaath hai jee.
Lambhi dandavathe aap karein,
Dagaabaaz ki preethi kahaath hai jee.
He says, “These devotees come and they lie prostrate in front of me. They bow down at my feet and they want to show that they are highly devoted. And these are the absolute traits, which show and give them away. But, they are coming and doing all this to pursue their own desires.”
In those days, Surat Shabd Yoga was not so well known. And people would often come for these purposes only. But, now, the preachings of Surat Shabd Yoga are quite prevalent and these kinds of problems have diminished.
Two thousand years back, Jesus Christ had come and He also followed the Surat Shabd. And there were very few devotees and very few people who accepted this practice. And, eventually, they put Him to the cross. So, very few people understood His message. And the bearers of religion at that time felt that this is a new religion that is there, and this is a blasphemy on the existing practices that they had. And, as a result, they got together to torture Him and put Him on the cross. And when God saw that suffering, God asked Jesus Christ, “These people are causing so much suffering to you, so these people should be punished.” But, Jesus Christ prayed to God and told Him, “Do not punish them. See if we can open their eyes to understand what I'm trying to teach them.”
Even Guru Arjan Dev Ji, about five hundred years back, had to undergo terrible torture. He was brought to Lahore, and then, He was made to sit on a hot iron plate. And then hot coal embers were put on him.
Mian Mir was a descendent of a Caliph and He was a fakir also, and He was a good friend of Arjan Dev Ji. And He told Him when He was seeing the suffering that Arjan Dev Ji was being put to, He said, “Just let me know. Should I completely destroy Lahore for what they have done to You?”
But, Arjan Dev Ji told Him, “No, we have to be within the Will of God and we have to do as He wills and as He desires.” So, there is a lot of humility in Saints.
In earlier days, to preach was very difficult, because people didn't understand this Path. But, now, it is more prevalent and the practice is better known. So, it is easier now.
Palatu inse samhaar raho,
Tere man ko chor lagaath hai jee.
Palatu inse samhaar raho,
Tere man ko chor lagaath hai jee.
Paltu Sahib says, “Be wary of such people who will show outwardly love to you and who will loot all your spirituality.”
Mystic powers are forbidden in Sant Mat. With the practice, it is not difficult to get mystic powers, but the ideal kept before us is that we should be doing all our practices to go to God Almighty and nothing else. So, the focus is to go on the Path back to God Almighty, back to our True Home.
Ilam pada par amal nahi,
Amal bin ilam khaak hai jee.
Ilam pada par amal nahi,
Amal bin ilam khaak hai jee.
He says, “If we read these Scriptures and we read the holy books, and then we profess to others out of the knowledge that we have read and we have got from those books, that knowledge or that practice, which we do, is of no use.” All the holy books have a lot of value because there is a lot of experience of True Masters that is written and contained in those books. However, if we go to just read those books, and then we profess from there, that is of no value. Those books have to be read and then that has to be brought into our own practice.
Sant Ji often used to relate this story about Sarvajeet. He was a very learned scholar and he had read all the four Vedas and the Puranas and all holy books. And he knew all of these by heart. He used to often get into arguments and he used to come to Varanasi to do that.
So, scholars would come to Varanasi, he would always challenge them and get into an argument on the understanding of these Vedas and scriptures, etc., and then he would defeat them. He became very egoistic in believing that he really knew these holy books and scriptures and he had named himself, ‘Sarvajeet’. Sarvajeet, in Hindi, means ‘winner of all’. So, he had proclaimed himself as ‘Sarvajeet’. And everyone would also address him as ‘Sarvajeet Pundit’ in Varanasi.
But his mother would, however, call him by his first name. And he used to feel a little humiliated when there were other people and she would be calling him by his first name. So, he would often taunt her and he would often tell her that she should also address him as ‘Sarvajeet Pundit’, and not call him by his first name in the presence of others. She knew about Kabir Sahib. And she told him when he asked her to call him Sarvajeet Pundit, “Okay, I will call you Sarvajeet Pundit, provided you go and have a discussion with this poor weaver who is there and goes by the name of Kabir. So, go and you take your arguments there and, if you win that, then I will call you Sarvajeet Pundit.”
So, he told her, “That's not a problem. This person is ignorant. He is illiterate and there should be no problem for me going over and winning my arguments with him.” So, he loaded a buffalo with all his books and scriptures on both sides, and he went to Kabir Sahib.
When he reached Kabir Sahib’s house, Kabir Sahib's daughter, Kamaali was there. And he asked her whether Kabir Das was there at home.
So, she exclaimed in reply, “You are asking for the address of Kabir Sahib. Kabir Sahib stays above the seven planes, and where He stays, even an ant can't put its foot. And you have brought a big buffalo and you are asking about His residence.”
Then, she went inside and told Kabir Sahib, “This scholar has come to meet you.”
So, Kabir Sahib immediately came out to meet him out of His humility. He gave him a place to sit and He offered him water and He asked him the reason for his visit.
The ‘Sarvajeet Pundit’ told Kabir Sahib, “I've come here to argue with you.”
So, Kabir Sahib said, “You are such a scholar and I am illiterate. And you have come here to debate with me, to argue with me? Do you think there is any point in that?” So, He asked, “Why is it that you want to debate with me or argue with me? Just tell me the reason.”
Sarvajeet, accordingly, explained to Him that his mother had asked him to come here and debate with Him and argue with Him. And that is why he had come here.
Kabir Sahib said, “Well, that is very simple. You just write down that ‘Kabir Das has lost the debate, and Sarvajeet has won the debate’. And you tell me where to sign and I will sign there.”
So, he wrote it down and he asked Kabir Sahib to sign at the bottom. Kabir Sahib readily signed that and, euphoric, he went back to his mother. When he showed that letter to his mother, his mother told him that, “I cannot read. So why don't you only read it and tell me what is written?”
So, in fact, the inverse was written. He had written, “Kabir Das has won, and Sarvajeet has lost.” It was exactly the opposite of what he was supposed to write. He kept reading it, again and again, because he himself had written it. So, he couldn't believe that this was so. He felt that, finally, “I've made a mistake while writing.”
So, he again went to Kabir Sahib. He came back and met Kabir Sahib and again he told Him, “I think I made some mistake while writing.”
Kabir Sahib said, “No problem. You write again, I will sign.”
So, he once again wrote, “Sarvajeet has won, and Kabir has lost.” And he read that ten times again to make sure that he had written everything correctly. Then, he asked Kabir Sahib to sign. So, Kabir Sahib, accordingly, signed and gave him that letter.
When he again took that letter and read it to his mother, the same thing happened. It was written, “Sarvajeet has lost, and Kabir has won.” So, when he read it again, he felt, “Kabir Sahib has used some mystic powers, some tantras he’s used to make me write something wrong.”
But then his mother told him, “No, it is not that. Kabir Sahib is a True Master. You should beg forgiveness, go there, and make Him your Master.”
So, finally, he went to Kabir Sahib and he got initiated by Kabir Sahib and he became a devotee of Kabir Sahib. Later, he also became a Mahatma.
So, the point is that just reading and writing and explaining is of no use. Whatever you read you have to also follow that and bring that into your life and practice it. A lot of these vedantis, they read the Vedas, and then they keep reciting those Vedas to others. That is of no use. They are wasting their time because till we bring that into our practice, we will not bring about that transformation in us. Until then, we will not get our salvation.
Ilam padein au amal karei,
Usake ham to mustaak hai jee.
Ilam padein au amal karei,
Usake ham to mustaak hai jee.
Paltu Sahib says, “For those who read these scriptures and then who practice as it is written there, I am a devotee of such people.”
Behad kathai au hadd rahein,
Uska to mooh naapak hai jee.
Behad kathai au hadd rahein,
Uska to mooh naapak hai jee.
Paltu Sahib says, “Those people who talk about the within and about all the planes above, and who have not been there, there is no point to what they are talking about.” There is nothing wrong in reading these books. These books written by Saints carry a lot of Their experience. It is always good to read these books. But if one just keeps reading throughout their lifetime, only reading these books, then he's wasted his time. Because all these books finally talk about going to a Master, doing devotion at the feet of the Master, and doing the practice and rising above and getting salvation.
Those things have to be brought into practice and life has to be transformed, according to the writings of those books. All books are good. Books contain all the experiences of the Saints. But, till we go and enjoy those experiences, we do not get the enjoyment of reading and following those books.
So, one should not just keep reading those books. We should focus our energies for doing our meditation, for doing our Dhyan and Bhajan. These books explain to us what a True Master is, what Dhyan is, what Bhajan is, what Simran is. But, once we have read it, and we know what these things are, there is no point in reading them again and again. Then, what is important is that we have to actually act on that and practice that.
Sant Mat is a path of practice. It is a path where we have to follow the Teachings. And those people who actually follow, do their meditation regularly and follow the Teachings of the Master, they are the people who progress on this Path.
Palatu gufthaan soyee deedan,
Woh to maarfath ki naak hai jee.
Palatu gufthaan soyee deedan,
Woh to maarfath ki naak hai jee.
Paltu Sahib says, “If people read these books and scriptures and get an ego, then there is no escape from hell for such people.” Because, by reading these books and then practicing on that, we should develop humility. And we should not become egoistic about these things.
When we do our Simran and Dhyan then, automatically, we imbibe the virtues of humility. And, with that humility, we continue to do further Bhajan Dhyan and we progress further.
Syaar ki chaal ko chood be baalake,
Aap ko khoobh dari aaf keejai.
Syaar ki chaal ko chood be baalake,
Aap ko khoobh dari aaf keejai.
Sant Ji used to relate this story of a jackal. He painted stripes on himself and wanted to look and feel like a tiger. And he felt, “If I paint these stripes on myself and I go to this village, then the shepherds will get scared of me, and I will easily be able to pick these sheep and eat like a tiger can do.”
So, he went into the village. But, there is a difference between the walk of a tiger and the walk of a jackal. He was instantly recognized. And, then, all the shepherds ran to him with sticks, and they beat him up. And, then, he finally made the sound of a jackal and that gave him up completely.
So, that is what happens when people simply read books and they talk and they do not carry that practice, which should be there. Then, there's a difference between one doing that practice and then talking, versus what one who just reads and talks.
So, Paltu Sahib says, “Leave being a jackal. Go within and do your own practice. Leave all your nine doors and go to the Tenth Door within.”
Oftentimes, people try to mimic Masters. They do not do their practices, but they only want to outwardly mimic by walking like Masters and such, dressing like them, and doing such things. But, there is no use in all of this.
So, in Sant Mat, practice is the essence. If we do not practice, if we do not go inside, we will not be able to be successful on this Path.
Simh hai tumhi tahkeek kar aap mein,
Syaar ke sang ko chodd deejay.
Simh hai tumhi tahkeek kar aap mein,
Syaar ke sang ko chodd deejay.
Paltu Sahib says, “Leave the trait and walk of a jackal. You are a lion. You have come from God Almighty. So, you get into your essence and go back.” Because, you are not this body, you are a soul. The soul is never born and never dies. You are the essence of God. The soul is an essence of God. And, therefore, you should recognize your Self.
But all the worldly people associate themselves with the body and associate themselves with all the outward pulls of attachments and desires here. They fail to understand the Reality. If we were the body, then this world would be ours. This body would be ours. But, we are not the body. We are the soul. We belong to God Almighty and that is our True Home there.
So, Paltu Sahib says, "Leave the walk of the worldly people. Leave that walk, and walk towards God Almighty, go on that Path, go within.”
Aahaar tho keejiye aap se maarke,
Aur ke maara naa kabhee leejai.
Aahaar tho keejiye aap se maarke,
Aur ke maara naa kabhee leejai.
Paltu Sahib gives the example of a lion. He says, “The lion always hunts his own food and, whatever he hunts, he eats that. And whatever is left, he allows others to eat.” He says, “For a devotee, he has to work and he has to earn his own livelihood. He should not be dependent on others.”
So, if you have your own honest livelihood, then you will get good benefit on the Path, on what you do, because you are earning an honest livelihood on your own. But, if you are dependent on others, then the benefit of the practice that you are doing, part of that benefit will go to those people on whom you are dependent.
Palatu tu simh hai woh garaj be haaq dai,
Pakari gazraaj gai paav mee jai.
Palatu tu simh hai woh garaj be haaq dai,
Pakari gazraaj gai paav mee jai.
Paltu Sahib says, “You are a lion and, with your roar, everyone in the jungle gets scared. But, unfortunately, you have come to a state where everyone is pressing you, all the lust, greed, anger, attachment, ego, all of these are overpowering you, whereas, they should have been completely fearful of your roar. They are now overpowering you.”
So, the situation has inversed. The mind is now in the control of the senses and the organs, and it is drawing the soul, whereas it should have been the reverse. All our sensory organs are pulling the mind. The mind is being drawn as they wish and, accordingly, the mind is pulling the soul.
Now, because of this, we keep going into the chaurasi, we keep going into the same suffering again and again.
So, Paltu Sahib says, “You are the lion.” He is addressing the soul and He is saying, “You are the lion. You should be in control of your mind. And then, the mind should be in control of all the sensory organs and the senses.”
But this will happen only when we go to the Tenth Door and there we see the Radiant Form of the Master and we get connected to the Sound Current. When we go there, we will see our own Selves. We will see the atman there and we will see the soul there. And we will see the Radiant Form of the Master. Once we go there, the soul will get in control of the mind and the mind, in turn, will get control of all of the senses, which otherwise are dragging it today.
When the attention is focused at the back of the Eye Center, and we rise up and see the Radiant Form of the Master and get connected with the Sound Current, these five senses come in the form of small children. And then they beg there for being released. So, from that point, the soul starts determining what the senses are doing and what they should be doing.
Sometimes, when we are practicing, it also happens that these senses come from outside, manifest outside, and try to threaten us. So, this happens. Sometimes, these senses even manifest outside to threaten us and dissuade us from our meditations.
This happened with one of the disciples of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj. He was about eighteen years old and he was a good meditator and he would sit for three to four hours at a stretch.
Once it so happened that he was riding a bicycle and he was going somewhere when these five appeared as dacoits. He was crossing a small bridge and they were all standing on the bridge like dacoits. Now, when he came there, he got scared of them, and he felt that they would take his bicycle and they would hurt him. Since he was a good meditator, he automatically started doing his Simran. And when he did the Simran, all of them vanished from there.
So, then what he saw was, these five vanished and Kal had come. Kal came in the form of his Guru there. He came and he had caught the bicycle, and he told this boy, “You are not even saluting me? You're not bowing to me?”
When he saw this, usually when Kal comes in the form of the Master, there are some differences between how the Master looks and how Kal looks. There is a difference in the nose sometimes, or in the forehead, or even the way the pagdi is worn, the turban is worn. So, there are these differences.
When he saw that he was looking slightly different from his Master Sawan, he immediately did his Simran. He started his Simran right away. And, when he did that, then that image also went away, and Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj Himself came there. He manifested there.
Now, the boy was continuing to recite the Naam. He was doing his Simran. So, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj told him, “Don't worry. You have now gained progress over all your five senses and over Kal. Had you bowed down to them, they would have taken your earnings. See? They would've taken your meditations and your spiritual powers. But, you have now gained control over your five senses, and you have overpowered Kal.”
So, therefore, there is no telling about these senses. Sometimes they come outwardly also, they will manifest and try to distract the disciple. These things happen with people who meditate.
Ordinarily, if you don't meditate, then there is no reason for them to come and do these things. But, even during initiation, everyone is always cautioned that when something like this happens, or whenever you are in doubt, you should do your Simran and test that image, or test that person, with Simran.
So, these senses and Kal do this. And for people who meditate, they come to take the spiritual wealth that has been gained by their meditation. They come and do all such things also. But, of course, if we are not meditating and we are not doing anything, then all these things are not going to happen.
Palatu tu simh hai woh garaj be haaq dai,
Palatu tu simh hai woh garaj be haaq dai,
Pakari gazraaj gai paav mee jai.
Pakari gazraaj gai paav mee jai.
Radhaswami.