The paathi sings a Bani by Shri Kabir Sahib...
sun tha nahi dhun ki khabar,
anahad ka baaja baajthaaa.
sun tha nahi dhun ki khabar,
anahad ka baaja baajthaaa.
rasmand mandir baajthaa,
baahar sune tho kya huaa.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Kabir Sahib. Kabir Sahib says, “We have been given a Sound within ourselves. That Sound Current is resonating within twenty-four hours, but we are going outward to listen to various other sounds.” Because the mind is not attuned to listening to the Sound Current within, it is searching for the Sound Currents outside. Today, in temples or other holy places also, there are several melodious types of music that are played. That Sound Current, which is resonating within, if the mind listens to that Sound Current even once, then it is not only this lifetime, but it is the burden of all our previous lifetimes’ deeds. All of those get destroyed and redeemed. It is such a pure Sound Current that there is nothing parallel to that. And it is emanating from God Almighty and resonating at the Eye Center.
Kabir Sahib says, "Because we are not used to listening to that Sound Current, we are going to listen for the Sound Currents outside.
gaanjaa afeem aur posathaaa,
baang aur saraabein peevathaa.
gaanjaa afeem aur posathaaa,
baang aur saraabein peevathaa.
ik prem ras chaakaa nahi,
amalee hua tho kya hua.
In order to quiet the mind, a lot of yogis also consume drugs. They consume ganja or other such substances, to create that illusion in the mind and to subdue the mind.
In U.P., there is AghoriMat. They are preachers and they pray to Lord Shiva and they consume non-vegetarian food. They consume alcohol also and other substances. And there have been two or three seers who have come from this Mat. They believe that they should not kill an animal and eat it. But, if the animal is dead, then it is consumed to mud; it is consumed to ashes. So, therefore, they think there is no problem in consuming that kind of non-vegetarian food. So, today also they are preaching all of this and there are followers there.
Kabir Sahib says, “Even yogis do and indulge in all of these things.” So, many yogis practice this. They take all these substances and drugs. And even worldly people consume drugs. And some of these people think that they are getting spiritual experiences by consuming these drugs.
In the northern parts of India, in the wintertime, it is quite cold. And a lot of these yogis do not wear full clothing and they are quite bare. So, they have this habit of taking these drugs.
Even Somanath Baba Ji, when he was a sannyasi and he was in search of a Master, he had gone to the Himalayas. And even he used to consume this ganja, this drug. He used to consume it so much that he had developed a tumor within his stomach as a result of this and it had become quite painful and it had become a big problem. He was referred to the doctors. The doctors diagnosed that as cancer.
So, Somanath Baba Ji started laughing and said, “Look at these doctors. They are calling this cancer. It is actually because of my drug addiction that I have developed this tumor on my rib.” And he asked for a discharge from that hospital.
So, thereafter, they discharged him and he went home and he got cured. And then he lived quite a long life. He was alive till the age of ninety-one.
Many people consume these drugs and alcohol. A lot of people also consume this to alleviate their problems if they are in sorrow. Or, to get rid of that, they consume this. But, so long as that intoxication is there, they are in a different world. But, again, they come back to this when that intoxication goes away.
There is nothing equal to the Sound Current within. Once the mind listens to that Sound Current, it gets constant peace. So, that constant peace is only possible by listening to the Sound Current within. Otherwise, you cannot get peace outside by any other measures.
Because that Sound Current has so much attraction, it has so much intoxication, and it has so much bliss when the mind gets in touch with that Sound Current, it kicks off all of the other outward worldly pleasures.
Kabir Sahib says, “There is so much intoxication in that Sound Current that even emperors and kings have also left behind their kingdoms and empires, and they have taken to the spiritual Path following the Sound Current.”
So, Kabir Sahib says, “This is such a wonderful, heavenly thing — that Godly thing — that has been kept within you. So, why are you going outwards?”
kaashi gayaa aur dhwarikaa,
theerath sakal bharmath firai.
kaashi gayaa aur dhwarikaa,
theerath sakal bharmath firai.
So, Kabir Sahib says, “There are many people who leave their homes for want of peace. In order to get peace of mind, they leave their homes. They go on pilgrimages. They go in the forests. They become recluses and they try to leave all the outwardly things.” But He says, “By doing this, the mind is not controlled and one cannot get that sustained peace. Instead, he gets into other addictions and other bad habits.”
gaati na kholee kapat kee,
theerath gayaa tho kya huaa.
gaati na kholee kapat kee,
theerath gayaa” tho kya huaa.
Kabir Sahib says, “Until we lose our duality — duality is that we outwardly show something, try to reflect outwardly what we are, and inwardly we are a different person — so, as long as that duality is not broken away and is not shed, Kabir Sahib says “What is the point of going to pilgrimages?”
There are some of these things that are ingrained in us. Like this duality is there, then deceit is there. Then, our nature of being sly, that is there. So, until we rid ourselves of such behaviors or such problems, we will not be able to proceed on that spiritual Path.
So, when we go on pilgrimages and there we eat food given by other people, then all these things, all this deceit, all this duality just keeps increasing within us.
Therefore, Kabir Sahib says, “If you want to get that peace then, instead of doing all of this, you should do your Simran and you should follow the Teachings of your Masters. The more Simran you do, the faster you will get transformed.”
These people who go out to become yogis by leaving their families and leaving their homes, they go out, and instead of gaining spiritually, they take to theft; they take to other addictions. They take to all these drug addictions and other such problems. And, because the mind is still with them, by leaving the home they’re not able to leave all their characteristics. Their mind goes with them.
So, instead of wandering around here and there like that, if you sit at one place where you stay and you do your Bhajan Simran, you will get much more benefit because God will take care of you. God Almighty takes care of all the beings, of everything. So, even if you are there at your place, God Almighty will make sure that you will be taken care of.
He gives the example of a python who cannot move but still is fed by God Almighty. So, like that, he will take care of you.
Even the birds, when they get up, they do not know where they are going to get food. They just fly about in any direction and God Almighty takes care of them also and has them fed before nighttime.
pothee kithabein baachthaa,
aur ko nith samajhaavathaa.
pothee kithabein baachthaa,
aur ko nith samajhaavathaa.
Some people take to reading the Scriptures and other holy books for their peace of mind and as a measure of salvation. Kabir Sahib says, “If you read all these books and you indulge in debates, however learned you are, if you are not following what is there in that book and what is being taught there, then what is the use?” Because by reading, one develops an ego of being learned — of being a pundit. So, where one wants to get rid of that ego and reduce it to progress on the Path of spirituality, by reading, one has built a bigger ego.
Also, a lot of these granths have been written by different people according to their thinking. So, there are several paths that are described in different books, in different spiritual books. And the more we read and the more we try to specialize in this, the more confusion is there as to what is the right path; and the more confused we get.
That is why Masters say, “Whatever the Masters say, and whatever Their Teachings are, just blindly follow Them. Follow that instruction and do your BhajanSimran.” By doing that, when you gradually leave the nine doors and come to the Tenth Door within, then your Third Eye will open. And all the Holy Scriptures, all the books, all the knowledge of creation, everything will be open to you. All these Scriptures have been written by holy people who have gone within. So, when you go within and experience it, you will not need any book to tell you what that experience is.
Instead, if we think that by reading we will get salvation and we keep reading a lot, and we do not follow what is there in those books, then there is no greater ignorance. So, when we read the books, it is only to understand what that Path is— what is the Path described by those books. And then, after that, we have to follow the Path. Unless you follow the Path, there is no point continuously reading that again and again.
So, the more time you spend on Bhajan Simran to go within, the better and faster progress you will get.
thrikutee mahal khojein nahee,
bak bak mara tho kya hua.
thrikutee mahal khojein nahee,
bak bak mara tho kya hua.
Kabir Sahib says, "Unless you come within at the Eye Center and come to that Trikuti and have that experience yourself, there is no point reading books and talking to others about it.” When we leave the nine doors, the attention of the soul retracts from the body and the body becomes numb and we come to the Eye Center. When we come to the Eye Center and all the attention is focused there, we see our soul there. And there all our doubts are settled.
So, Kabir Sahib says, “There is no point outwardly going and reading books and trying to become learned. Instead, follow the Teachings of your Master, do your Simran Bhajan, and go within. And, when you go within, you will see for yourself all the grandeur of God Almighty and see all the things that Kal and Maya have created.”
kaazi kithaabein kojhathaa,
karathaa naseehath aur ko.
kaazi kithaabein kojhathaa,
karathaa naseehath aur ko.
Kabir Sahib now talks about the kazis. Like the brahmins and the Hindus and their readings of the holy Scriptures, the kazi also reads the Holy Koran and the holy books and then he explains that to others. So, Kabir Sahib says, “Unless you have had that experience yourself, there is no point explaining all this by just reading books and telling others.”
This is the story of Mansur. Mansur was a merchant. He used to trade goods between India and the Middle East and he used to carry this, sell there, and then bring things from there and sell it to India. He got in the company of Saints when he was here and he got a Master Who initiated him. And he also practiced hard on the Teachings of his Master and he went within and his soul progressed inside.
Once he went within, he left all this, his training, his business, and all of that, and he took to becoming an ascetic and explaining the things within to people.
So, he started explaining to people and then, when he went to his country, there he started saying, “Anal Haqq.” And he kept repeating that. Anal Haqq means, “I am God.” So, he used to keep repeating that and people took offense to what he was saying because that meant he was God. So, they took him to the king there.
So, the king summoned the kazi there to discuss this. And the kazi tried to explain to him that he should not say such things. But Mansur was so much imbibed within and he continued to do that.
Again, people took him to the kazi. So, when he was brought again to the kazi, the kazi sentenced him. He said, “He is an atheist and he is saying he is God himself. Therefore, we should punish him.” And he, accordingly, punished Mansur and he gave him the death penalty.
When the people were taking him to carry out that sentence of death, on the way, while Mansur was being taken, two or three fakirs were there and they came to Mansur. They asked Mansur, “What is this love of God that you have?” So, they asked him, “What is True Love?”
And, he replied to them, “True Love? You will get to see between today, tomorrow, and the day after.”
So, as a first part of that sentence, when they were taking him for his punishment, they asked the kazi how they should start the punishment. And the kazi said, “You cut his hands off first.” So, when they cut his hands, Mansur told them, “You are cutting my hands, but you are only cutting these bodily hands. My true hand is in the mosque of my God.”
So then, they decided to cut his legs and they cut both his legs. Again, he said, “You are cutting only these physical legs. My legs are in the mosque of my God Almighty.”
The kazi then got angry and said, “He is talking too much. Let us cut his tongue off first.”
So, when they went to cut his tongue, he said, “Wait. Wait for a minute.” And then, he closed his eyes and he spoke to God. And he said, “You are so gracious, O God. My hands are being cut. My legs are being cut. And I have not even had the pain of an ant bite in this. So, You are so gracious. You have showered so much Grace on me.”
Then they took him to carry out the sentence of death. And there the sentence of death was by putting a spike in the ground. They put a spike and they throw the person from a height. They hang him on a tree and then they throw him from there. And that spike, which is in the ground, goes through the body when the body falls on it. It goes through the body; it goes through the anus and comes out of the head. That is the way they carried out that death sentence.
So, when they were starting to carry out that sentence, the God Almighty got very angry with this whole thing. And there was a river around this town, and that river, in that anger, became flooded.
Now, Mansur had instructed one of his disciples a month before that such and such a thing is going to happen and when, as a result of that death sentence, God Almighty will get angry and the river will get flooded and come towards the city, “You take my pajama, and when that river starts coming into the city, you put this pajamas in the river. So, once you put that in, then it will not flood the city and the river will calm down.”
He had given this instruction earlier. So, when this was happening and the river got flooded, that disciple had carried that pajama and he put that in the river. And, accordingly, the river calmed down and it did not flood. And, as a result, that Basra city was saved. And, wherever his blood had spilled, all over the place, from each and every drop of his blood, “Anal Haqq” — that sound — was coming. The kazi felt that it is only right to bury him because this sound is coming. So, instead, he said, “Collect everything. Collect all that blood and the body and burn it.”
So, when they burned his body and it was reduced to ashes, from the next day, from the ashes, the sound of “Anal Haqq” started coming. Then, the kazi said, “This is not correct. You collect all the ashes and then throw them in the river.” When they did this, then the sound of “Anal Haqq” started coming from the river.
So, this was True Love. From the drops of his blood also, each drop of his blood was singing out to God Almighty and it was saying “Anal Haqq”. And then, when his body was burned, from the ashes also, the same “Anal Haqq” sound was coming. And when they threw the ashes in the river also, again, in the river the sound of “Anal Haqq” started coming. So, that is what True Love is. This is what he had told those people earlier.
So, that is what Kabir Sahib says. By just reading books and explaining it, telling others, nothing is going to happen until you do your Bhajan Simran and go within and leave your nine doors and go to the Tenth Door and there open your Third Eye and see for yourself,
maharam nahi us haal se,
kaazi hua tho kyaa hua.
maharam nahi us haal se,
kaazi hua tho kyaa hua
Kabir Sahib — addressing the kazi who reads from a book and explains it to others — says, "If you are yourself not convinced and you are explaining it to others and you yourself are not convinced, how is it going to affect the person who is listening to you?”
So, therefore, Masters say, “If you do not have experience and you are trying to explain just by reading, then there is going to be no effect on that third person who is listening to you.” That is why when Masters talk in Their Satsang and They explain about this, we understand and we are attracted to what They are saying. Because They are talking from Their own experience.
satranj choupad ghazifa,
ik nardh hai badarang ki.
satranj choupad ghazifa,
ik nardh hai badarang ki.
Now, Kabir Sahib says, “There were kings who would gamble. They would play chess or they would play cards and they would gamble even their kingdoms on such games.” So, Kabir Sahib says, “What is the point of such gambling outside? There is no fun in such gambling outside. Unless you go within and you play that game of going within, there is no point in such games outside.”
You may have read in Mahabharata, the Pandavas, when they were playing this game and they were gambling, they even gambled with their wife, Draupadi. And they put her also as a stake in the game.
So, such addiction, people get so addicted to such things. As a result, they had to go fourteen years in exile and they were put through a lot of hardships. All of you have read and heard about that.
So, such games are also an addiction. Kabir Sahib says, “If you are playing, these kinds of addictions are of no use. Instead, you play the game of going within and you do that addiction of going within.”
bhaaji na laayi prem ki,
khela jua tho kya hua.
bhaaji na laayi prem ki,
khela jua tho kya hua.
Kabir Sahib says, “If you want to do your gambling, you want to play games, you play it with your Master.”
Kirpal Singh Ji also used to say, “I don't mind gambling with my Master because I know that if I lose, also I will win, and if I win, also I will win. So, I have learned — losing both my hands; if I lose, then I become of my Master — I belong to the Master; and if I win, then the Master belongs to me. So, both ways, I win!”
Kabir Sahib says, “If you have not gambled with love, then what have you gambled on? What is that addiction?”
jogi digambar sevadaa,
kapadaa range rang laal se.
jogi digambar sevadaa,
kapadaa range rang laal se.
vaakif nahi us rang se,
kapadaa range se kya hua.
Kabir Sahib addresses the yogis who wear saffron attire and wander around. He says, “What is the point of wearing such saffron clothes when you have not been introduced to God Almighty? If you don't even know Him, then what is the point of this attire?” So, he addresses the yogi and says, “O yogi, you were supposed to color your mind and get the color of God on your mind. And, instead, you have colored your clothes. Now, your clothes are not going to go anywhere. It is the mind that you have to color with the color of God Almighty because your clothes are not going to get salvation. Salvation has to be for your mind. Today, your mind is colored with the color of this world and all outwardly desires. So, you have to change that to the color of God within. So, until you do that — color it with the God within — you will not get salvation.”
mandir jharoke raavati,
gul chaman mein rahathe sadhaa,
mandir jharoke raavati,
gul chaman mein rahathe sadhaa,
kahathe kabeer hai sahi,
ghat ghat mein saheb ram rahaa.
Kabir Sahib says, “In pursuit of God, people leave their homes. They go to the riverbanks and sit there, or they go into caves, or they go into mountains, or they go into some temples. And they believe that by searching outside they will get God.” But, God is within you. So, you should sit wherever you are and search for God within.
So, Kabir Sahib, in this Bani, has explained that all these outwardly things, these sounds that we play outside in the temples, or the clothes that we wear, or different addictions that we have. Or different sounds that we listen to, all of these things are just pleasuring the mind for the limited period for which we will be listening to them. But, we will not get any salvation and we will not get any peace of mind. For peace of mind, we have to go within. We have to follow the Teachings of the Master, go within, and see for ourselves within and go and meet God Almighty.
mandir jharoke raavati,
gul chaman mein rahathe sadhaa,
mandir jharoke raavati,
gul chaman mein rahathe sadhaa,
kahathe kabeer hai sahi,
ghat ghat mein saheb ram rahaa.
Radhaswami .