The paathi sings the Bani of Swami Ji Maharaj...
Mat dekh paraye avaguna,
Kyun paap badhave din din.
Mat dekh paraye avaguna,
Kyun paap badhave din din
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Swami Ji Maharaj. Saints and Masters have written different Banis to clear our illusions. Within the Path of devotion, we ourselves create a lot of impediments and a lot of illusions and attachments. So, these illusions and impediments then affect us in our devotion and spirituality.
Saints have written different Banis to caution us on our different problems that we have created for ourselves. Because our mind is impure, we often look at the mistakes and faults of the others.
So, along similar lines, even Kabir Sahib has said, “I went out to look for bad people, and when I looked within myself, I found that there is no one worse than me. All the impurities and all the bad things and thoughts and all sorts of illusions and attachments are within only. So, I am the worst of the lot.”
Sant Mat is a path of self-improvement. We have to constantly look at our own faults and correct them. It is not about looking at other people's faults and trying to point those out. So, when we look at our own faults, we should make efforts to clear and correct those, because our benefit lies therein. When we look at the faults of other people, and we conveniently don't look at our own faults, then we are, in fact, increasing our own bad karmas. So, when we look at these faults of others, we start getting into slandering, we start criticizing others and saying this, ‘he is like this’, ‘she is like that’, and get into all of these matters. So, when we engage in such slandering of others, then we are effectively taking on their bad karmas, and they are getting accounted at our end. So, knowingly or unknowingly, we keep building our bad karmas like this, by engaging in slandering of other people and picking up other people's faults.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Why are you behaving like a fly and making that sound?” We see flies always hover around dirt and filth and they make that sound. They never go on the good things and follow good incense and good smells.
Our impure mind always tends to look at other people's faults, other people's shortcomings, and keeps slandering and engaging in all the maligned thoughts. And, by doing that, we are building up our bad karmas. Because the karmas of the person whom we speak bad about, knowingly and unknowingly, get carried by us and we start building up all those bad karmas at our end.
So, the Masters say, “When such people are engaged in slandering, do one thing. Get them and make them a good cottage in your own house.” Because they will speak badly about you and you will keep getting cleansed as a result. So, because our mind is impure, we are engaged in all of this. We should do the effort of cleansing our mind by engaging in Simran and Dhyan. Because however bad another person is, he is going to bear the fruits of his own deeds. We should not be worried about that. Every person also has good traits and good qualities. We should focus and try to inculcate such good qualities and traits within ourselves.
Mat dekh paraye avaguna,
Kyun paap badhave din din.
Par jiva satave khin khin,
Chod apne avaguna gin gin.
He says, “God Almighty has given you a good body. And you should not use this, you should not use your power or your body, to create harm or evil for others.” So, if you want to selflessly help someone, you do that. Help others. But don’t try to ever hurt the heart of another person, because his weeping or feeling of hurt will definitely have an effect on our soul. So, when we are embarking on the Path of devotion, we have to be very mindful of all these things also.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “If you are looking at the qualities or attributes of other people, then look at and focus on the good traits and good qualities. Don't focus on the bad qualities of others. And look within yourselves and look at your own bad qualities and make efforts to clear these bad qualities one by one.” Because then, looking at you as a satsangi, others will also feel that, yes, he is a disciple of a True Master. So, if we do otherwise and we engage in all the slandering and other things, then people will see this and see the chaos, and they will see how these people are satsangis and how they are misbehaving.
Par jiva satave khin khin,
Chod apne avaguna gin gin.
Makkhi sama mat kar bhin bhin,
Nahi khave chot tu chin chin.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, therefore, “Don't behave like that fly, which hovers over dirt. And don’t look at the bad traits of others and get engaged in slandering because, by this, you are going to collect all bad karmas. And this is going to take you to hell and the cycle of life and death because Kal has kept karmas as the essence of the creation.” And therefore, whatever karmas we are incurring, we have to come to redeem those karmas. And, that way, we’ll have to come back to redeem the karmas that we collect.
During Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj’s time, there was one satsangi who had got into the habit of going from household to household. And there they would feed him and give food, etc. And, from village to village, he would travel. And then he would talk of different things to different people. So, that way, he spent a lot of time, and his lifetime passed in doing this. And finally, at the time of his death, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj came to him.
While he was suffering on his deathbed, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj came. And then, He saw that this satsangi had collected so many bad karmas. And He told him, “You’re carrying a huge burden of karmas. You will have to redeem this and do it in this lifetime only. So, four days you further have to suffer on the deathbed. And I will come after four days to take you.”
So, after four days, when Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj came again, He felt that this burden was still very heavy and this person had collected all this burden by slandering and taking the karmas of all the people around and, knowingly or unknowingly, had collected this huge burden. And so, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj told him to spend another four days like that. So, that is how the satsangi had to suffer.
Makkhi sama mat kar bhin bhin,
Nahi khave chot tu chin chin.
Dekha kar sab ke tu gun,
Sukh mile bahut tohi pun pun.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Whenever you look at another person, you should try to inculcate his good habits because God Almighty has given everyone some good traits and some good aspects and some good habits.” So, you always look at the good side of a person and try to inculcate that, and that will improve your whole life. You will be saved from the bad habits when you will be looking at others and inculcating their good habits.
Masters say, “You should do your Simran and Dhyan meditation, and by doing more and more of this, your mind becomes purer.” And when you become purer like that, you start looking at everyone from a different vision. You see the good in everyone, and that is how it should be.
So, it's all about your attitude and your vision. Master always sees the good in everybody. And a thief always sees the other way. So, each one looks at others and looks at life in a particular way. We should inculcate the good where we can see those good things in others.
In Rajasthan, in the place of Dadu Dayal Ji Maharaj, there was a Rajjab Ji, who was His disciple. So, Rajjab Ji Maharaj also had His preachings in a lot of places. And He was a great Master.
One of His rich devotees had once called Him and invited Him for lunch at his place. In those days, there wasn’t any other conveyance. People used to walk long distances. This place of the devotee was a little distance away. So, Rajjab Ji got ready, and then, with a few devotees of His, they all left for the invite. They were walking about five to ten kilometers.
On the way, they met a beggar. Now, this beggar saw these people all dressed in white and clean clothes, and he also joined them and he started walking with them. So, this beggar went up to them and, while they were walking, he asked them for alms. He asked them for some money with which he could eat food.
So, Rajjab Ji felt, “This man, if I give him some money, perhaps he will not use it for eating food and misuse that money.” And, He felt that, anyway, “We are also going for food only. We have been invited.” So, He asked that beggar to join Him.
Amongst the devotees who were walking with Rajjab Ji, they were all quite well-to-do people, and they had been doing seva and they were, otherwise, quite rich and wealthy in their own right. And, while they were walking with Rajjab Ji, they started talking to each other, “Look, what was the need of taking this beggar along with us? Master could have just given him one or two rupees and just done away with him.” So, they were talking among themselves.
When they reached the place for food there, when all of them reached there, the devotee who had invited them saw all that, and he had made preparations for the group to sit and eat food. There was a room within, which he had prepared for everyone to sit and be served. And this beggar, when he saw that this person was also accompanying them, he provided for a leaf outside, and for that person to sit outside the room to be served there.
So, when they were all seated, Rajjab Ji saw that this beggar had been kept outside, and he was actually out of His line of sight. He wondered whether he would be served properly sitting outside because he had been hungry for a few days. So, He told the devotee to ask that person also to be seated inside the room. Once the food started being served, Rajjab Ji had this beggar sitting next to Him. And when the food was served, He was taking good care of this beggar to make sure that he was served a lot of food because, typically, a hungry person, a beggar, eats a lot of food. So, Rajjab Ji made sure that he was well served and he was fully satiated in all respects. And, after their food was done, they got up and started to leave.
By now, the other devotees were a little frustrated. And they had decided and resolved to speak to their Master about this. So, when they left, they spoke to the Master, they spoke to Rajjab Ji, and said, “Why this kind of a treatment to this person? First of all, he joined us from where you could have just given him one or two rupees and asked him to leave. But You insisted that he should join us for this food. Then, when he was served outside, he could have well been served outside, he would have eaten as much outside also. But You insisted that he sit next to You. And You took good care of his food and all that. So, are You actually planning to give Your seat to him after You?”
Being asked like this, Rajjab Ji felt a little bad. And He thought for a while, and then, He told them, “Yes, I am going to give my seat to this person only.” So, He told that beggar, “Now, okay, follow me back to the ashram. You come with me.”
So, when he rested in the night, in the morning He gave him soap and oil and all that, and told him, “You get ready. Take a proper bath and get fully clean, and then come to me.” So, then He took him to His room and He initiated him. He graced him, and his soul came to the Tenth Door.
When he became a good sevadar, this beggar, later and eventually, Rajjab Ji gave him the seat and asked him to continue the Teachings after Him. And He cursed that seat also, that, “This seat, whoever takes the Teachings after me and after this person, he is going to be always wanting for food, he is always going to be poor. Even if he is a multi-millionaire when he takes the seat, he is going to become an extremely poor person and he is going to teach as such from there.”
So, this is because our mind is so impure that, whenever we see such things or we look at people, we always start looking at the bad things in the people. When we do our Simran and we do our meditation, then we will start looking at the good things in people.
Maharaj Ji used to say, “It's like you're wearing a red-colored goggle. And when you see outside with the red-colored goggle, everything looks red. It's not that the things are really red. It's only because you are wearing that colored goggle.” So, therefore, the fault lies within, it is not outside. And, therefore, cleansing ourselves and becoming pure is what we should focus on.
Dekha kar sab ke tu gun,
Sukh mile bahut tohi pun pun.
Main kahu tohi ab gun gun,
Tu maan bachan mera sun sun.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Listen carefully to what I've said.” He cautions that we should follow that, what He’s saying, “We have to look at the good things in people and not the bad things. And we have to change our line of vision. We have to change the way we see life and we see people. And that is how we should focus and start cleansing ourselves.”
Many people often come to me, and then they tell me, “Look, the devotees who come to You do this, do that. They are freely going to other places also. And they are free to do a lot of things. At other places, see how they are doing? They are restricted and there are a lot of restrictions. There are lots of do's and don'ts. Why don't we also discipline people here? And why don't we also ask these people to behave like this?”
So, I often tell them, “Look, people have an independent mind and people are free. And I don't like to stop anyone from doing anything or disciplining anyone. Everyone is intelligent enough and comes with their own mind and freedom. And they can behave as such.”
By listening to Satsangs, or anyone's Satsangs for that matter, there is nothing wrong in that. There is nothing wrong in any Satsang. The fault lies not in the Satsang, but in the people. So, that is what we have to focus on.
So, Masters never like to restrict. Masters like people to be free and like to give their freedom for going anywhere, doing anything. They are only insisting that we should do our Simran and we should do our devotion. And we should focus on cleansing ourselves.
Mein kahu tohi ab gun gun,
Tu maan bachan mera sun sun.
Gati gayi main yaha hansan,
Yo varna sunai santan.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “A good soul should follow these footsteps. It should inculcate the good qualities of others, not look into the bad qualities of others, and do its own Simran and Bhajan and devotion.”
So, the Masters show this Path. This is the Path, which They ask Their devotees to follow. And They are also of this type. They have love and affection and They see that everywhere. So, They also see all the good things in everyone, and They want Their devotees to also look at the good things and follow that.
Sant Mat is a Path of love and a Path of affection. Masters get so many people and They look at everyone equally. There is a good person and there is a bad person. There is a wealthy person and there is a poor person. There is a friend and there is an enemy. So, in all this, there is no such distinction that the Masters look at. They look at everyone equally, and They look at the good things in everyone.
Gati gayi mein yaha hansan,
Yo varna sunai santan.
Ab kaan dharo in bachnan,
Nahi rovoge sir dhun dhun.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, "What I've said, kindly resolve it within yourselves. And do as this is said. Because, if you don't do this, and then, what happens is, your karmas will remain as they are. They will build up, and then there will be nothing left in your hands when you are looking for salvation. So, you will have to then suffer your karmas.”
So, He said, “This is for your own good. Look at the good of others. Don't look at the bad things in others. And that will only benefit you.”
Ab kaan dharo in bachnan,
Nahi rovoge sir dhun dhun.
Yaha baat kahi mein chun chun,
Kar radhaswami charan sparshan.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “What I have told you, I have been very selective in what I'm telling you. And, what I've told you to do, and what I've told you to leave to do, is something which I’ve very selectively chosen for you because you should look for the good things and not the bad things in others. Resolve that in your mind. Act upon it, and then, you will get the Grace of the Masters.”
Yaha baat kahi mein chun chun,
Kar radhaswami charan sparshan.
Man re kyon gumaan beta re na,
Man re kyon gumaan beta re na.
So, this is the other Bani of Swami Ji Maharaj. He says, “O mind, why are you being so egoistic? Because your bondage and salvation is the result that is your mind.” The soul is naturally free and is always there for salvation. It is naturally free. And the bondage is the mind.
So, the mind creates the bondage. And the mind and soul are both in this body. This body is nothing but a rental apartment. It’s just made of mud, and it is going to be thrown away at some point.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “O mind, why are you so egoistic? Are you egoistic because you have got such a good physique and you think you are a very strong person, because of your body?” If someone gets typhoid, then that same body has to be carried by two people. Then, He says, “Are you egoistic about your wealth? Haven't you seen so many rich people becoming paupers? And so many paupers becoming rich overnight?” So, He says, “Mind, why are you being egoistic about all these things?”
Tan toh tera khak milega,
Chowrasi ja panda.
Deen garibi chit mein dharana,
Kaam krodh se bachna.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Why are you so egoistic about this body? This body is going to get converted into mud at some point. Or, it is going to be reduced to ashes on a funeral fire.”
In the south of India, after death, the body is usually buried. And we see after a burial, after a few months or a year, even the bones many times don’t remain. It is completely reduced to mud. So, He tells the mind, “Do your Simran, listen to your Master, and do the Simran and devotion of your Master.” Your lust, greed, attachment, anger, and egoism are not going to take you anywhere. These ‘friends’ are not going to remain with you. And it is only the devotion of your True Master and your love for Him and your meditation that is going to take you, after your death with the Grace of your Master, to a higher plane, to your True Home.
So, the soul has also come from God Almighty, and the mind has descended from Brahm. And, now, the two are together and both are associating with the senses. And they completely are identifying themselves as the senses.
So, He tells the mind, “You do your meditation and your devotion for your Master and go back to your Home.”
Preet prateet guru ki karna,
Naam rasayan ghat mein jarana.
Man malin ke kahe na chalna,
Guru ka bachan hiye bich rakhna.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Have your love and affection with the Feet of the Master, and follow the Path of the Masters.” He tells us, “Don’t listen to the mind because the mind himself is lost. And you will also get lost with it. And you will get entangled completely in these worldly illusions.”
Yah matimand gahe nahi saran,
Lobh badhay udar ko bharna.
Tum mano mat iska kehna,
Iske sang jagat bich girna.
He says, “The mind is completely illiterate. And it has only this feeling of wanting this, and it wants more and more and more because the mind just doesn't cease having desires.” If it gets a crorerupees, it wants ten crorerupees. After it gets ten crorerupees, it wants to rule the world, and so on and so forth. It just never ends.
And with this, the fire of desire only increases, and as a result, the soul has to go with this mind and pay off its karmas. So, all these karmas that are incurred to fulfill the desire after desire have to be redeemed. And, for this redemption of these karmas, we have to go into the cycle of life and death, the 8.4 million cycle of life and death. And you sometimes also have to go to hell to redeem these karmas. So, therefore, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Don't listen to your mind. Follow the Path of the Masters. Do your Simran and Dhyan, and then go within.”
Tum mano mat iska kehna,
Iske sang jagat bich girna.
Because, if you follow the mind, then it is going to make you do a lot of karmas and, to then redeem these karmas, you are going to have to go back in the cycle of life and death. And you will be quite unhappy. So, the biggest impediment on the Path of Spirituality is the mind. And those who have won the mind have won it for spirituality. Those who have lost to the mind are lost to spirituality. Those who have got control of their mind have, actually, got control over all the three worlds.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “How do you make this enemy your friend?” He says, “You can do a thousand different things, but your mind is not going to listen to you. And the only way that the mind is going to listen is when you get it connected and get it in touch with the Sound Current.” Because, when the mind gets connected with the Sound Current, it feels the pleasure of the Sound Current. There is nothing more pleasurable, more intoxicating, and more magnetic than the Sound Current.
So, when the mind sees that, it immediately ceases to like or take a liking to any worldly matters. It sees itself different from the senses, which it has so much identified itself with till now. And then, being in touch with the Current, it wants to go back to its home, which is the Brahm.
So, the mind then, which is an enemy, becomes a friend. And it tells the soul, “Okay, let us go on the Sound Current. I was also lost. You were also lost. Now, let us go upwards on this.”
Tum mano mat iska kehna,
Iske sang jagat bich girna.
Is murakh ko samajh pakadna,
Guru ke charan kabhi na bisarna.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “The mind is like an idiot and you give it the taste of Simran and Dhyan. And, as it keeps getting associated with this, it will start understanding and improve.” So, thereafter, it becomes your friend. And, once the two go up, you realize the bondage of the soul has only been the mind. And once you reach Brahm, the mind gets detached from the soul and stays there in its house. And the soul is then free to go upwards.
Is murakh ko samajh pakadna,
Guru ke charan kabhi na bisarna.
Guru ka roop nain mein dharna,
Surat shabd se nabh par chadhna.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Do two things, which will keep you on your Path. One is, in your attention, keep the Form of your Master at all times. So, keep your attention on the Form of the Master. And the second is listening to the Sound Current. So, these two things you should always and continuously do.”
Guru ka roop nain mein dharna,
Surat shabd se nabh par chadhna.
Radhaswami naam sumirna,
Jo vah kahe chit mein dharna.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “You keep your attention up and, with your eyes upwards, you should keep your attention on the Form of the Master and listen to the Sound Current.” And, He says, “To do this, you have to do your Simran and you have to do your devotion and Bhajan. By doing this, you tend to change the balance of power.”
Usually, if you are not doing meditations, if you're not doing your Simran, your soul is weak. Today, the mind is powerful and the soul is weak. But, as we do Simran and we do our devotion and we do meditation, the soul becomes stronger and the mind weakens. And then, it is only when the soul becomes strong enough, it goes upwards. And then, this mind goes and gets connected with the Sound Current.
Sant Ji used to often say, “Leave a hundred things and sit for Satsang, and leave a thousand things and sit for meditation. Because, with this, your work gets done.” So, just as it is important to give food to the body, it is equally important to give food to the soul. And the food for the soul is Simran and the contemplation of the Master, and the water is the Satsang.
Therefore, every day, we should do our Simran and contemplation of the Master, and we should listen to Satsang.
Guru ka roop nain mein dharna,
Surat shabd se nabh par chadhna.
Radhaswami naam sumirna,
Jo vah kahe chit mein dharna.
Radhaswami.