The paathi sings the Bani of Sant Sahjo Bai from the b00k: Santon Ki Bani, Vol II, pg 311
Dhanvante sab hi dukhi,
Nirdhan hai dukh roop;
Dhanvante sab hi dukhi,
Nirdhan hai dukh roop;
Saadh sukhi sahjo kahai,
Paayau bhed anoop.
THIS IS THE BANI of Sant Sahjo Bai. Like there were several Saints Who were males, there were a few noted Saints Who were females. All the three lady Saints were from Rajasthan, and all were a part of the royal families. So, Mira Bai was a Saint earlier, and then Daya Bai and Sahjo Bai, these two were Saints, and They had taken initiation from Charandas. So, the family of Charandas had moved from Rajasthan to Delhi. And Sahjo Bai also, and Daya Bai also, both were His disciples, and they had also come to Delhi to do seva. They were great Saints and They had unfaltering love for Their Master.
So, this is the Bani of Sahjo Bai. She says, “No one in this world is happy.” She says, “Even the wealthy people, people who are affluent and who are wealthy, they are also quite unhappy.”
The human form is cast on both good and bad karmas and, if one had only good karmas, then he would be in the heavens. So, it is only because of a mix of good and bad karmas that one gets this life in a human form.
This cycle of good and bad karmas is an ongoing thing, as sometimes it is good, and sometimes it is bad. These experiences and these karmas keep coming. And that’s how we have got enjoyment and sorrow. So, there is some or the other ailment, some people have mental stress, some people an economic problems, some people have sorrow from families or loved ones. There is some or the other form of an ailment or a sorrow. So, both happiness and sorrow keep coming, and there is no one whom we can say is happy, or truly just happy.
Kabir Sahib says, “I look with my Mystic Eye and, from where the sun rises to where the sun sets, I can tell you that there is no one who is happy.”
So, Sahjo Bai says, “Wealthy and affluent people are also unhappy, and those who are poor and the have-nots, they already have desires for becoming wealthy.”
Na sukh bidya ke parrhe,
Na sukh baad bibaad;
Na sukh bidya ke parrhe,
Na sukh baad bibaad;
Saadh sukhi sahji kahai,
Laagai sunn samaadh.
Now, Sahjo Bai says, “Even those who are literate and who are learned, even they are unhappy.”
So, if we feel that we learn, or we become learned, or we gain literacy, then we will become happy, it is not like that. And neither is there happiness in people who intellectualize and get into debates.
Sahjo Bai says, “Only those people are happy who are Sadhus, who have followed the instructions of the Master, gone within and, at the Third Eye, they have gotten connection with the Sound Current coming from above.” The mind is forever in search of happiness and pleasure. And it keeps searching for this happiness and pleasure in all outwardly manners. And it never is able to satiate that desire of happiness and pleasure. So, when the Sadhus, or when we, do the meditation, go within and come to the back of the Eye Center, and the Sound Current manifests Itself there, and we get in connection, get in touch with the Sound Current, the bliss and the happiness, or the enjoyment that we get from that, is unparalleled in all the worlds.
The mind, being a pleasure seeker, gets the highest pleasure in getting connected with the Sound Current, and then, it kicks away all its other desires for outwardly, worldly pleasures, because it has got the best happiness and pleasure there. Once the mind gets in touch with the Sound Current, it realizes that pleasure is not outward, neither is it this body, neither is it any of the senses that it has been pursuing. It is a part of the Brahm, and it realizes that. Once the mind gets connected with the Sound Current, it leaves all its worldly pursuits, gets fully intoxicated in the Sound Current, and it never looks back.
So, Sahjo Bai says, “It is, therefore, the Sadhus who are the happy souls, because they have realized the Truth and they have gone behind at the back of the Eye Center and got in connection with the Sound Current.”
Jaise sanrrasi loh ki,
Chhin paani chhin aag;
Jaise sanrrasi loh ki,
Chhin paani chhin aag;
Aise dukh sukh jagat ke,
Sahjo tu mat paag.
Sahjo Bai says, “Our happiness and sorrow here are like the iron tong of an ironsmith.” She says, “Our joys and sorrows are like the tong of the ironsmith.” He holds this iron in the fire and heats the iron. So, it is the tong, which goes into the fire and also faces that heat. And then, after he has molded the iron, hit it and brought it into shape, then again he puts it in water. So, again, the tong also gets the benefit of cooling down in that water. It keeps going from fire to water to fire, and that's how our joys and sorrows are that we enjoy or suffer in this world.
So, She says, “Therefore, sorrows and joys are not permanent. They keep coming, as per your Pralabdh karmas. And there is nothing permanent about any of these. So, you should take your mind away from all of this and focus within.”
As the practitioner, as the devotee, does the Simran and he does the meditation and practice, he becomes more resolute in that practice. And he also gets emboldened in that practice to withstand all these joys and sorrows, and not get affected by them.
So, when we encounter a pleasure or a joy, we believe in the permanence of that, and we get completely involved in that pleasure, which then becomes the cause of sorrow.
To understand this, we can look at this example, where honey is put on the wall. Some honey is smeared on the wall. Now, a lot of flies come to eat that honey. There are some flies, which are greedy, and they want to eat a lot of honey. So, they sit in the middle of that honey.
Now, when they sit there, their legs get stuck there, or their wings get stuck. And they are completely stuck in that honey.
And those standing at the periphery eat a little and they can fly away. So, they eat this honey standing on firm ground outside, and they do not get greedy, and they do not sit in the middle. And they enjoy the honey also, and then, they fly away with dry wings also.
Therefore, in this world, the people who have more desires, more wishes, they are more unhappy. And those having fewer wishes and fewer desires and limited desires, they are relatively more happy.
Mahatmas, They are happy in the way They have been kept by God Almighty. Sometimes, even for a couple of days, They do not get food to eat, but They maintain that They are happy in the Will of God. And They surrender to the Will of God and are happy in that.
Unlike that, worldly people have unending desires. Whatever they have, they keep wanting more. And when they get more, they even want further. So, in that, they are quite unhappy throughout their life.
So, Sahjo Bai says, “These joys, pleasures, and sorrows are, therefore, passing phases. You should get your intellect above all of these and get in connection with Naam.”
Once, during the time of Ravidas, there was a brahmin who used to have a bath early and used to go out to have this bath. He was late one day, so in a hurry, when he went and he broke his chappal, the one that holds the toe. So, he looked around for a cobbler. Just then, around that time, Ravidas Ji was opening His shop. And this pundit came to Ravidas, and said, “Please hurry up, please repair my chappal, because I'm running late for the puja.”
So, Ravidas Ji requested that He is just opening His shop and He wanted to just organize the things, and then, He would, immediately, work on that chappal.
But the pundit was in a hurry and he refused. He told Ravidas, “Nothing doing. You get my chappal repaired first.”So, Ravidas Ji took that chappal and got a nail, and He hammered that nail in place. And He asked the pundit where he was headed.
The pundit said, “I am going on the riverbank to have a bath. This is the time I always do it.”
So, Ravidas gave him two paisas. In those days, there were coins of one paisa also. So, He gave two copper single paisas to the pundit and He said, “Please when you go, offer these to the river from me.”
So, the pundit went to have his bath. He tied those two coins to his towel and he went for taking his bath. And he also felt, “Fine, Ravidas has done my work, so it's okay if I carry two of his coins and offer them in the river for him.”
So, when he was having his bath, he remembered those coins Ravidas had given to be offered to the river. He untied that knot, took out those coins, and then threw them in the river. When the coin was offered to the Ganges, from the Ganges there came up a hand with a jewel-studded bangle. And that hand came to the brahmin, to the pundit, and it offered that studded bangle to the brahmin. So, the brahmin took that bangle.
Then he started on his way back, but then, he took a slight detour, because he felt, “If I pass by Ravidas, then I may have to offer this bangle to him.” So, he took a detour, and he was returning home.
So then, after a few days, he slowly started passing by Ravidas’s place again, and as Ravidas had not asked him about this episode, he felt that, perhaps, it had not registered in his mind. So, he kept that bangle, and later, when he felt that Ravidas would not ask, he passed by Ravidas’s place two or three times. He saw that Ravidas was not asking for anything. He felt, “Okay, now I think I’ll sell this bangle to the king.”
So, the brahmin went to the king and offered this beautiful bangle. The king looked at the bangle and he was very happy and pleased to see that bangle. And he called his wife, the queen, and he offered that bangle to her. She also liked that bangle a lot. But then, she said, “Look, this is only on one hand, so I have only one bangle. I should have bangles on both my hands. So, ask that brahmin to get the other bangle also.”
So, the king told that brahmin, “Bangles are always made as a couple, as a pair. So, where is the other bangle? You should get that other bangle also, and once you get that other bangle, I will give you any price that you put to me.”
But then, the brahmin told him, “Look, I only have one bangle.”
So, the king told him, “This is not acceptable. You cannot have only one bangle, and I'm giving you one week’s time to get the other bangle. Now, if you don't get the other bangle, I will hang you!”
So, Ravidas Ji said, “You should have come to me when you had got this bangle, which was given to you by the Ganges. At least you should've come and told me that such a thing has happened. And then, you could have always told me that you wanted to keep it and I would not have objected. But you should have come to me then.”
So he begged for forgiveness and Ravidas said, “Okay, don't worry.” And He then took out one more paisa, one coin, and He had this vessel. And this vessel was used to soak leather, to soak skins, and because of that, the water in that vessel was red, because of the leather soaked in it. So, He threw that coin in that water, and He said, “If the mind is pure, then even this water is like the Ganges.” And He threw the coin inside. And again, that hand came from that vessel itself and offered that bangle to Him. Then, He gave the bangle to that brahmin, and He said, “Go, save your life.”
So, when he took that bangle to the king, he offered that bangle. The king saw that it was exactly the same bangle, and he offered it to his queen also. And then, the queen was very happy to receive both the bangles. So, they told him, “Okay now you quote your price for this.”
So, the brahmin said, “No, I don't want the price. I don't want any money for this. You just take away that death sentence and we are square. So, I don't want anything.”
Now, the king told him, “This bangle is definitely not anything that can be made on this earth. So, this is definitely a divine bangle. I want to know where you got this bangle from?”
So, then that brahmin told the king, he told him the entire story, related how it had happened. And then, he told the king, “In Ravidas’s vessel, God alone knows how many bangles are there. So, now I don't want any money from you. I am going to go to Ravidas, and I'm going to go in to surrender to Ravidas and take His Blessings.”
Then, the king said, “Such a great person is there in our kingdom, and we are not even aware of this." He said, "We will go together.”
So, he and his queen and others went in the chariot to meet Ravidas Ji. They were deeply impressed by the Satsang of Ravidas Ji. And, since then, a lot of talk of Ravidas Ji also happened in that kingdom.
So, Ravidas Ji, throughout his life was a cobbler and He made His living by selling and mending chappals and footwear. And He never complained to God, or He never requested God that He should be given any more wealth than what He had. And, many times, He used to remain hungry because there was no money with Him.
Therefore, for a true devotee, the sorrow and joy are equal. For them, it doesn't make a difference whether there is joy or whether there is sorrow.
Sahjo jag mein yoh rahe,
Jyon jihva mukh maahin;
Sahjo jag mein yoh rahe,
Jyon jihva mukh maahin;
Gheev ghanaa bakshan kare,
Tau bhi chikni naahin.
Sahjo Bai says, “This is how a human being should stay in this world, how he should live in this world. He should live like the tongue stays inside the mouth.”
The tongue stays inside the mouth and the mouth has thirty-two teeth. And, despite that, the tongue stays within that without being eaten, or chewed, by those teeth. So, it is the tongue, which moves the food and rotates the food in the mouth and, as it chews, it never gets chewed itself. All the taste is enjoyed by the tongue. But all the food, it pushes down. So, it doesn't get the food itself, but it enjoys all of the taste of that food. It enjoys the food of all types. And even very oily food, or when there is ghee on it also, it enjoys that taste of the ghee, but it doesn't allow that ghee to stick on the tongue. We see that oil never sticks on the tongue. So, that way, She says that we should stay in this world. We should stay in the families. We should take care of our loved ones. We should go about our livelihood. We should live in this society. But, at all times, we should stay detached from all of these things, and enjoy all of this around us, but stay detached in it.
Chalna hai rahna nahi,
Halna bisvaabees;
Chalna hai rahna nahi,
Chalna bisvaabees;
Sahjo tanak suhaag par,
Kaha gundhaave sees.
Sahjo Bai says, “None of us are going to stay here. Everyone has to go. So, nothing is permanent. Everyone will have to leave this place.”
Sant Ji also used to say often, mentioning in the Satsang, what is truth and what is false. He often used to say that, “To live is false, and to die is the truth.” So, He used to often say, “Whoever is born, has to die, whatever has been built, will get destroyed. And that is the law and nature of Kal.”
Sahjo Bai says, “We should not look at this as permanent, and we should not sacrifice our head for this thing, which is not permanent.”
Kabir Sahib also has said, “The great Lord Rama, and also the very learned Ravana, they have also left this world. They were also in this world. They have also left this world. And nothing in this world is permanent.”
Ravana, he was very learned, and he had tried a lot to get permanence, to become immortal, in this world. Ravana had tried to gain immortality. He and his brother Vibhishana, they had both carried out austerities, and they had manifested Brahma who was their deity also. So, they had manifested Brahma and they had taken the nectar of life. They had taken nectar to get immortality from Brahma. Then, he had also pleased Lord Shiva, and he had gained a lot of strength with that as a blessing, and he had the strength to lift up the Himalayas. So, he even had gained power over the gods, and he had done a lot of things on this earth also. But, ultimately, even he had to die.
So, therefore, whoever is born has to die. Whatever has been created, will get destroyed. And that is the nature of this world.
Jyot tiriya peehar base,
Surat rahe piv maahin;
Jyot tiriya peehar base,
Surat rahe piv maahin;
Aise jan jag mein rahen,
Guru ko bhoole naahin.
Sahjo Bai says again, She gives another example, of how you should stay in this world. She gives the example of a bride. When this bride marries a person and she goes to his house, her husband's house, and stays there, after a year or so, when she comes back to her mother's house, she is otherwise as she was before. She goes around doing everything in her mother's house and staying there. But her mind is always with her husband.
That is the way we should live in this world. We should go about doing everything in the normal way, but then, our mind and our attention should always be at the Feet of the Masters within. That way, when we go about our worldly ways, we also get the help of the Master.
When our mind and attention is focused on the Master, then the Master also helps in our daily routine work also. So, that soul is, therefore, happy then in this world, because it gets the support of the Guru. And, at the time of death also, the Master takes the soul into higher planes and keeps that soul in the higher planes.
So, that soul is always accompanied by the Guru and the Shabd. And there also, that soul is very happy.
Unlike that, for the person who is, otherwise, lost in this world, he has wasted his life trying to fulfill his desires in this world. At the end then, again, he dies in these desires and comes back to this world to again suffer in this world.
So Sahjo Bai says, “You should stay in this world like that bride who has come back from her husband to her mother's place, and there, she is going about her regular routine. But always her mind is attached to her husband.”
Pahile bura karmaaye kar,
Baandhi vish ki pot;
Pahile bura karmaaye kar,
Baandhi vish ki pot;
Sahajo kharcho ka rahyo,
Kar hisaab ghar maahin.
Sahjo Bai says, “I don't know how many lives we have lived as human beings earlier and how much of karmas we have incurred. And we are carrying that burden of karmas for so many lives before. And, in this life now, we have come and we are continuing to carry the burden of all our previous lives’ karmas now also.”
Now, when we come in connection with a True Master, then, in a second, that burden is reduced, and that burden is destroyed. So, we should search and, with the Grace of God, if we get the Mercy of the Master, and we get in touch with the True Master, then that burden, which we have carried for so many lives before, that gets destroyed in a moment.
If we look at it, the kind of burden we are carrying of the karmas, it is impossible to get salvation in this life. It is only with the Mercy of the Master that, during initiation, the burden of karmas is reduced so dramatically, that it is only with His Grace and Mercy that we are able to get salvation in this life.
So, once we get in touch and connection with the True Master, we don't have to come back into this world. Even if our love for the Master is only limited to that of a sunflower seed, even if it is that little, we have just managed to come for a Satsang or two, and we have just that little bit of love, then we don't have to come back to this world. The Master takes us after our death and keeps us happy in a higher plane.
Those devotees who love their Master, who are doing the practice and following what the Master has said, for them, they are not kept in the higher planes. They are straightaway taken to Par Brahm and kept there. And for those of the devotees, who do not have any desires, for them, the Master takes them straight to Sach Khand after their death. So, even if the devotee has not done meditation, and he has not done the practice, but he does not have desires, he does not have any further wishes and desires in this world, then the Master takes him to Sach Khand. The only reason we are not in Sach Khand and we are somewhere in-between is because of our desires.
So, we are so much lost in our attachments here, it is, therefore, necessary for us to do Simran so that we can get out of this attachment, we can detach in this life.
Swaas ko jaanu jaat hai, Taaki sodhi naahi, Swaas ko jaanu jaat hai, Taaki sodhi naahi, Sahajo kharcho ka rahyo, Kar hisaab ghar maahin.
Sahjo Bai says, “This store of breaths that has been given to us, we are just wasting these breaths. We have no accounting of these breaths, and we have no knowledge of the importance of these breaths. We are just wasting it.” Because, if we value these breaths, the importance of these breaths that have been given to us then, with each breath, we will repeat the Naam, we will do Simran, and we will gain and we will build the wealth, which is going to take us towards salvation, which is going to get us our salvation.
Yeh avasar durlabh mile,
Acharaj maanush deh;
Yeh avasar durlabh mile,
Acharaj maanush deh;
Laabh yahi jo kahe
Har simaran karleh.
Sahjo Bai says, “God Almighty has given you priceless breath and this opportunity. Use this opportunity. Use these priceless breaths that have been given to you, and use them wisely and collect the wealth of Naam. Do your Simran and collect the wealth of Naam, which will give you salvation.” Because, if this opportunity is lost, then the soul will go back into the form of a tree, or a bird, or an insect, and then, this opportunity of collecting that wealth and getting salvation is lost.
Phaavak naam jalaahi he,
Paap taap dukh dundh;
Phaavak naam jalaahi he,
Paap taap dukh dundh;
Raam sumir jo sahjo kahe,
Jo bisure so andh.
She says, “So, therefore, light the fire of Naam, and use that fire of Naam to burn away the wood of the karmas. Use the time for doing this, otherwise, whatever time you are doing to collect all the wealth of this world, that is going to get reduced to ashes and dust. Because, at the time of death, none of these things are going to go with you.”
Sahajo sumiran sab kare,
Sumiran maahi vivek;
Sahajo sumiran sab kare,
Sumiran maahi vivek;
Sumiran koyee jaaniye,
Kaato madhy ek.
Sahjo Bai says, “Don't do Simran just for the sake of doing Simran. Do it with the knowledge of the importance of the Simran that you are doing.”
Likewise, also when we listen to Satsang, it is not just that we listen to Satsang and end it there. We have to inculcate the Teachings that we learn in the Satsang and bring it into our routine life.
Aisa sumiran keejiye
Sahaj rahe lav laaye,
Aisa sumiran keejiye
Sahaj rahe lav laaye,
Bina jeeb bin taaluve,
Antar surat laagay
So, She says, “You do Simran in such a way that your tongue doesn't move, and the Simran happens within. And it happens to such an extent that your soul starts leaving all the nine doors and goes within.”
Initially, to quiet the mind, we do Simran with our tongue. We use the tongue to do Simran also. But the Simran should then be graduated to the mind, and when the mind does the Simran continuously, then that Simran gives us the result.
Hamsa soha taar kare
Suratam kariya poye,
Hamsa soha taar kare
Suratam kariya poye,
Utar utar phir chade,
Sahjo sumiran hoye.
By doing Simran, by doing continuous Simran, when we develop the capability like a spider, the spider releases a very fine thread and it climbs on that thread and goes up, and then again, when it wants to go down, it climbs back on that thread and swallows that thread back. So, that is the capability that the soul starts developing, once we are able to do the Simran and refine it to that extent.
So, the soul has its own luminescence and it has this capability and the Sound Current. And then, on the basis of this, it goes further and rises up.
Hamsa soha taar kare
Suratam kariya poye,
Hamsa soha taar kare
Suratam kariya poye,
Utar utar phir chade,
Sahjo sumiran hoye.
Radhaswami