The paathi sings the Bani of Sant Kabir Sahib...
Sangat se sukh oopjai,
Kusangat se dukh joye.
Sangat se sukh oopjai,
Kusangat se dukh joye.
Kahai kabir tahan jaayiye,
Saadhu sang jahan hoye,
Saadhu sang jahan hoye,
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Kabir Sahib. In this Bani, Kabir Sahib has explained the impact of companionship or the company we keep. Because everybody needs some company or the other, from the time the person is born to the death.
When a child is born, a baby is born, there is a need for parents who teach him how to communicate and take care of all of his needs. When the child goes to school, then there are teachers in school who, gradually, step-by-step, open up his knowledge. That same child then one day becomes an engineer, or a barrister, or a politician. All this has happened because of the company that he has been able to keep.
So, Kabir Sahib says, “Likewise, for a devotee, there is need for keeping the company of a sadhu.” If we go in the company of others who are nonbelievers and other worldly people, then those people will be able to influence our mind. And when we go in the company of Saints, then Their influence is there on our mind, and then we also get devoted to God Almighty. Even, when an ordinary person goes in the company of Saints, gradually, he also becomes a devotee and he also becomes a mahatma.
Likewise, if a person keeps bad company, people with vices then, even if he is otherwise a good person, he will develop these vices over a period of time.
Therefore, Kabir Sahib says, “You should go to such a place where you can keep the company of the Saints.”
Sangat keeje sant ki,
Jin ka poora man.
Sangat keeje sant ki,
Jin ka poora man.
Antole hi det hai,
Naam sareekha dhan,
Naam sareekha dhan.
So, which is the best company that we can keep? It is the company of Saints because Saints give us the Grace of the priceless Naam without asking anything in return.
There are many types of things that we can give. There are many types of benefits we can get by doing things; like donating cows, donating land parcels, donating money, or even giving food. But all these kinds of things give only a temporary relief to the people who are consuming this and to the person who is giving it also. But these, compared to the Grace given for getting riddance from the cycle of life and death, are of no value.
The biggest Grace that someone can shower on us is the Grace granting us riddance from the cycle of life and death. The Naam Daan that is given by the Saints, that is of the highest, and that is the most priceless because it grants us riddance from the cycle of life and death and gets us connected with God Almighty.
So, the biggest Grace that is showered on us, is showered by the Saints, without taking anything in return.
Kabir sangat saadh ki,
Harai aur ki byaadhi.
Kabir sangat saadh ki,
Harai aur ki byaadhi.
Sangat buri asaadh ki,
Aatho pahar upaadhi,
Aatho pahar upaadhi,
Kabir Sahib says, “The company of the Saints, that company, gives us relief from the sorrow of this world and the sorrow of attachments of others.” Because our bad company, or company with people with vices, make us also do such things, and then builds the karmas on us, and then we also go back and suffer in the chaurasi because of this.
Sant Ji used to often relate this. Once upon a time, Narad Muni had a doubt as to what the benefit of the company of a sadhu was. He went to Vaikuntha, and there he posed the same question in front of Lord Vishnu. So, he posed this question to Lord Vishnu and he asked as to what the benefit of the company of a sadhu was.
Now, Lord Vishnu looked at him and he laughed to himself. He felt, “Narad Muni is himself a sadhu and he is asking me this question?” So he said, “Never mind.” He told Narad Ji, “You go down to this world, go down to Earth. And there, in this particular town, go to the east of the town. And, when you go to the east of the town, there is a tree. And there is an insect there. That insect makes these balls of cow dung. So, it's a small insect, which makes balls of this cow dung and then stores it. You go there and ask it.”
Narad Muni got annoyed by this answer and he told Lord Vishnu, “You always make fun of me whenever I ask you questions. And now I'm asking you this question and you're not answering me. You’re asking me to go and ask this question to an insect and I don't even know how to talk to that insect.”
Vishnu said, “Never mind, you go there. There is a well there. Next to the well, there is a tree and, below the tree, there is this insect. So, never mind, go there and ask this question to it.”
So, according to the directions given by Lord Vishnu, Narad Muni went there to the east of the town, and there, he went to this place where there was this well and the tree. And he indeed saw that insect carrying that ball of cow dung. When Narad Muni saw this insect, he folded his hands and very humbly asked this question, “Oh insect, please tell me. What is the benefit of meeting a sadhu?” As soon as he asked this question, that insect looked at Narad Muni and he died instantly.
Now, Narad Muni wondered what poison was in this question that, when he asked it, that insect immediately died. So, sad at heart, he went back to Lord Vishnu and he, again, told this whole incident that happened.
So, Lord Vishnu said, “Okay, you do one thing. You come after about four months, and then we will find a solution.”
After four months, Narad Muni again came. He was also adamant. He did not want to give up that question. So, he came back to Lord Vishnu after four months.
And now, Lord Vishnu told him, “Okay, go back to that same place. On that tree, which was there, there will be a nest, and there will be a small bird. There’ll be a baby swan there. Go there, and ask this question to that swan.”
Accordingly, Narad Muni, once again, went to that place. And there on that tree, he saw this nest, and there was a one-month-old baby of the swan. And then again, with folded hands, he asked that bird, “Oh bird, tell me the benefit you get by meeting a sadhu.”
So, once again, when he asked this question, that small bird looked at him and, again, it immediately died and it fell down from the tree.
Now, Narad Muni was aghast at this. He was, again, deeply saddened that there was something seriously wrong in this question that he was asking. And again, while he was thinking, he went back to Lord Vishnu and then related this whole incident.
Lord Vishnu told him, “Okay, I will give you your answer now after ten months. So, come back to me after ten months.”
So, Narad Muni came to him after ten months and, again, asked that question. And Lord Vishnu told him, “Now, you go to that same city, but you are going to the east of that city. This time, you go to the palace of the king of that city. And there, he has got a newborn baby. You go and ask him that question.”
So, Narad Muni now replied to Lord Vishnu, “See, you told me to go and ask this question to that insect, and that insect died. There was no family, nobody bothered. So, that was okay. Then you asked me again to go to that bird and ask this same question. Because I asked that question, that bird also died. But, again, I somehow got out from there. But, now, you are telling me to go to a prince of this kingdom and ask this question. And if they find this out, that I am the cause of his death, then they are not going to leave a single bone in my body.”
But Lord Vishnu told him, “No, you will get a lot of respect there. Go there and ask that.”
So, when Narad went there, he asked for the palace. He got directions to go to the palace, and then he entered the court of the king. When he came to the court of the king, the king was delighted to have Narad Muni visit his kingdom. And he asked him the reason for his visit. So then, Narad Muni told him, “I understand that you have a one-month-old baby that was born here, your prince. So, I want to talk to him in privacy.”
The king thought that this baby, who is born, is indeed very fortunate because Narad Muni himself has come to meet him and talk to him. So, the king arranged for that. And he kept the baby on a cot inside and he left Narad Muni there alone with the baby and they closed the door.
Now, when the two were together, Narad Muni was quite apprehensive, he was quite scared of asking this question. But, nevertheless, he asked him with folded hands. He asked the question to that baby, “Oh baby, tell me. What is the benefit of meeting a sadhu?”
So, that baby told Narad Muni, with folded hands, “When you came in the first instance, I was that insect, which was moving that cow dung. And you came. When I saw you and I got your darshan as a sadhu, all my karmas of that life got redeemed immediately. And, as a result, I got out of that life form and I was born with better karmas as a swan. When I was born as a swan, you again came to visit me in a month's time. And, again, whatever karmas were there, a lot of my karmas got redeemed by your darshan again. As a result, with the good deeds and with the good karmas of having met you, I was born now as a prince in this kingdom. And now you have come again here to visit me. So, all my karmas are redeemed and now I'm going to go to Vaikuntha.”
So, from Vaikuntha, there was a plane with agents of Vaikuntha who came to take the soul of that baby. And they escorted the soul back to heaven, or Vaikuntha. Now, Narad Muni was quite frightened and he opened the door slowly. Then, he went and met the king.
Now, the king had also three other princes, boys, and when he related the whole thing to the king, he told the entire story to the king. So, the king felt very happy that, at least because of this, Lord Vishnu, at some point, would have visited him. And he would have had the blessings of Lord Vishnu, for having been a part in all of this. Then he showed respect to Narad Muni after that.
So, with that, Narad Muni came to know what is the benefit of darshan and meeting a sadhu.
Tulsi Sahib says, “If we look at one ghadi, which is three hours, half of that is one and half hours, again, half of that if we are able to meet a Master, then for not only one life, but for crores of our lives, for tens of millions of our lives, the karmas of those are redeemed because of the company of the Saints.”
Kabir sangat saadh ki,
Jau ki bhoosi khaaye.
Kabir sangat saadh ki,
Jau ki bhoosi khaaye.
Kheer khaanrr bhojan milai,
Saakar sang na jaaye,
Saakar sang na jaaye.
Kabir Sahib says, “You should be in the company of the Saints. Even if you do not get to eat there, and even if you get a roti of the husk of wheat and not the wheat also, even if you are getting the husk of the wheat and you are getting a roti of that husk, even then you should be there and have the company of the Saints.”
As opposed to that, even if you are getting all kinds of sumptuous food with people who have vices, and you get all kinds of halvahs or all kind of good food that they offer, and sweets and everything, even then, you should not go in that company of people who have vices. Because, with that, you will also do karmas for which you may have to suffer for millions of lives.
Even if you are getting the roti of husk in the company of a Master or the company of a Saint, you stay there because, with Their company, a lot of your karmas will keep getting redeemed.
Kabir sangat saadh ki,
Jyon gandhi ka baas.
Kabir sangat saadh ki,
Jyon gandhi ka baas.
Jo kachhu gandhi de nahi,
Tau bhi baas subaas,
Tau bhi baas subaas.
So, how is the company of the Masters? It is like a scent shop. It is a shop where we get scents, perfumes, or attar. Even if you go and stand in the shop, you will keep getting a sweet fragrance of all the perfumes there. So, even if you do not buy any perfume, you still get the fragrance of the perfumes there.
If you go in the company of the Masters and sit in the company of the Masters, without even having any desires there or any wish to be fulfilled, but you simply go there and sit in the company of the Master, even then there is a rub-off effect of the company of the Masters and a lot of your karmas get redeemed. Because Saints look at everybody equally, They do not differentiate between an enemy and a friend, a family member or someone from outside. For them, everyone is the same. So, that way, if you go in the company of the Saints, your karmas will get redeemed. Even if you just simply go and sit there. And, if you keep going there and attending the Satsangs, then even your life will get transformed.
Riddhi siddhi maangaun nahi,
Managau tum pai yeh.
Riddhi siddhi maangaun nahi,
Managau tum pai yeh.
Nis din darsan saadh ka,
Kah kabir mohen dey,
Kah kabir mohen dey.
Kabir Sahib prays to God Almighty, and He says, “I do not pray for getting any mystic powers. I only pray that You give me the company of the Masters because, by the company of the Saints or company of the Masters, I will constantly be devoted to You, to God Almighty. But, if I go for asking for some mystic powers and the other things, then I will go away from my devotion.”
Even people who have very bad sins and who have sinned a lot in their life, who have very bad karmas also, when they go in the company of the Saints and they get the benefit of Their company, over a period of time, they get completely transformed and they become mahatmas also.
Therefore, Kabir Sahib says, “I do not ask for any mystic powers. I only ask for the company of Saints. And, by that, my devotion to You, Lord God Almighty, will keep increasing.”
Kabir sangat saadh ki
Nisphal kadhi na hoye.
Kabir sangat saadh ki
Nisphal kadhi na hoye.
Hosi chandan baasna,
Neem na kahsi koye,
Neem na kahsi koye.
Kabir Sahib talks about how that company of the Masters is. If we go in the Himalayas, there is Malayagiri Mountain. And on that mountain, there are sandalwood trees. Those sandalwood trees give a very good fragrance. In Mysore, there are good sandalwood trees, but those give a good fragrance only when we rub them and they are red in color. But the trees in Maliyagiri, all of them have very good fragrance. And that fragrance is so profound there that it rubs off on the other trees also. So, if you have a babul tree or neem tree adjacent to these sandalwood trees there, then even those trees, if you cut that wood, that would also smell like sandalwood.
In summertime, it is quite hot in northern India and there are snakes where the venom of the snakes increases during that period. So, to feel cool, these snakes go and they wrap themselves around these trees. Each of these trees will have two or three snakes that have wrapped themselves around to feel cool because of this tree. So, these trees have this effect on the other trees. The other trees also start smelling like sandalwood. Like that, when we go in the company of the Masters, even if we don't want it, we imbibe Their goodness in some way or the other.
Kabir sangat saadh ki
Nit prati keejai jaaye.
Kabir sangat saadh ki
Nit prati keejai jaaye.
Durmati door bahaavasi,
Desi sumati bataaye,
Desi sumati bataaye.
Kabir Sahib says, “If you get an opportunity to go every day to Saints, you should do that. Because They will get rid of your vices slowly, and They will fill you with virtues.” So, Kabir Sahib says, “It is difficult to get the company of Masters every day like this. But, as and when we get the company of the Masters, it helps us to increase our devotion to God Almighty and it gets us to be more virtuous.” Kabir Sahib has said and even Swami Ji Maharaj has said that you should try and get as much company of the Masters as possible.
Now, if it is not possible to get the company every day, you should at least try once a month. If you can't get it once a month then, at least, try once in three months. If not that, then try once in at least six months. If not once in six months, then at least once in a year. But, however distant that disciple may be, it is important that we have this pang of separation with the Master and we feel like going and meeting the Master. If we do not feel like meeting the Master even once a year, then we have to question ourselves as to what and how much do we really love our Master. And the relationship between the disciple and the Master becomes weaker like that, where we do not feel like even going and meeting the Master.
So, if we are at our home and we listen to Satsang, and we do our Simran, we sit for our meditation, even then we are connected with the Master every day.
Sant Ji used to give this example of how we get used to our environment and how our mind behaves. He used to say, “It is like the people in the fish market. Now, those people sitting in the fish market are continuously smelling fish. That smell of fish is so all-pervading to them. They are so used to it that, if you take them out and then they get some good fragrance and they get some good smell elsewhere, they will feel very out of place there.”
So, that is how our minds behave. Once there was a fisherwoman and she was carrying her basket, which she would carry fish in. And she was out walking one day and, on the way, there was this perfume shop. Now, because of the fragrance of the perfume, she became so intolerant to it that she got a fit and she fainted there, because of that smell. And people around felt that she is such a healthy lady and everything seemed fine and they were wondering why she got a fit like that. So, there was a person from the fish market who was standing nearby. And when she fell down, that basket fell down and it rolled away. This person from that fish market understood what the problem could have been. So, he told them, “You bring her basket.” And when they brought her basket, he put the basket on her face and, with that smell, she again revived and she came back.
Sant Ji used to often relate this story and it is like that. Even worldly people, we are so much engrossed in outwardly thoughts, attachments, and desires and feelings, that when we talk about Satsang, going in the company of Masters, sitting there, all of that gives us a very repulsive feeling. It's like the effect that lady gets.
Those people who are devoted, who know this, who know the benefits of all of meditation and of the company of the Masters, they understand all of this. For them, all this is very soothing but, if we look at the worldly people, who are not much aware of all this, for them this is very difficult for them to accept.
Mathura bhaavai dwaarika,
Bhaavai ja jagannaath.
Mathura bhaavai dwaarika,
Bhaavai ja jagannaath.
Saadh sangat hari bhajan bin,
Kacchu na aave haath,
Kacchu na aave haath.
Kabir Sahib's Bani was written about six hundred fifty years back. In those days, a lot of importance was given to pilgrimages. And people considered that as the highest form of devotion, that of going on pilgrimages. So, Kabir Sahib says, “You go to Kashi, Varanasi, you go to Mathura, or you go to Haridwar, you go to all these pilgrimages. It’s of no use if you do not meet a True Living Master.”
He says, “Only by doing the Simran Dhyan Bhajan of the Lord Almighty, you’ll get the benefit.” There is no benefit in you going to these pilgrimages. You can just do your Simran and Dhyan and meditation at home. You don't have to go and roam around in these places to do Their devotion.
Saadhu sang ki anthar pade,
Yeh mat kabahu na hoye.
Saadhu sang ki anthar pade,
Yeh mat kabahu na hoye.
Kahe kabir tri lok mein,
Sukhi na dekha koy,
Sukhi na dekha koy.
Kabir Sahib prays to God Almighty and says, “Please grant me a boon that I, even by mistake, also do not harbor any ill will against any Saint or against any Master. And You grant me a boon that I stay forever in Their company. And I respect that company, because the mind is very vicious, and one never knows how devious it is in getting us out of the Path.”
So, wherever devotion is not very strong, the mind immediately acts and tries to get us off the Path. One can never predict and take the mind for granted.
Therefore, Kabir Sahib prays to God Almighty to give Him the fortitude to stay forever in touch with the Masters and, even for a fleeting moment, not to get away from the good thoughts that He has of Saints and Masters.
I have observed this. There was a very good devotee. He did meditation on Pahad for twelve years. So, this devotee was in Pahad, a place in Andhra where now there is an ashram of Somanath Baba Ji. So, he used to be on that Pahad and he was very devoted. He had got initiation from Somanath Baba Ji and he was about forty-five years old. He always claimed that he never wanted to get married. He did not want a family life. So, he was living a life of a recluse there, as a devotee, doing the devotion of Somanath Baba Ji.
Now, Somanath Baba Ji wanted to build an ashram there. So, after about twelve years or so, the mind of this man changed so radically that, within about three months time, he suddenly felt that he should go back home. He should ask for his share of land from the family. He should get married. So, all these thoughts kind of kept coming in his mind.
Baba Ji requested him after that to stay, continue to stay there, for about two to three years and help in building this ashram because he was an educated person and He felt that he could handle the affairs of that ashram well. So, Somanath Baba Ji requested him to stay another three years to handle all of that, since he was a person who was already there for twelve years.
But, within three months, this transformation started happening. His mind completely took over.
So, Somanath Baba Ji said, “I will send you money for building that ashram. You keep an account of all that money and you help in building that ashram.”
But then, he refused to do that, and he told Baba Ji, “I want to go back. I want to claim my share of land in my family. I want to start some business, and I want to get married.”
Somanath Baba Ji told him, “You can do all of that. Just continue for another three years only and I will ensure that you get all of that.”
But, he did not listen to Baba Ji.
So, Baba Ji also asked the other people who were his acquaintances and friends to speak to him and try to convince him to stay just for another three years. But he did not listen to anyone. His mind had so completely taken over that he refused to accept anyone's suggestions. And then, finally, Somanath Baba Ji told him, “Okay, you leave. Then you handle and take care of your own karmas.”
So, he left and he went to his family. And there his elder brother gave him his share of land also. He gave him sixty thousand rupees and this person got married also. And then he set up shop in the village where his wife was. So, he made a shop.
But, over a period of time, he developed this habit of gambling. And he started gambling and, eventually, he lost everything that he had. Then, after that, he came back to his village where he went back to his brother. But, his brother told him, “I have given you your rightful share, so there is nothing more that I can give.” However, he gave him a house in another village, which they owned. So, this person went there and he did this work of tailoring there. But that was not successful. So, there was no money that he was making and he did not have any money to take care of his wife or his children.
He used to keep coming to me also, quite often. And, whenever possible, I would help him. I would give him four hundred, five hundred rupees. But, after some time, he stopped coming also. He died later in the same state and, because of that shock, his wife also had a mental problem. And, after some time, she also died. His son now has some small job in Bangalore. He is working here.
So, therefore, Kabir Sahib also says in the Bani that He prays to God Almighty not to take Him away from the Masters any time. Because He says, “For anyone who goes away from the Master or opposes the Master, I've never seen such a person being happy.”
Like that, I have seen with my own eyes, there are three or four people who opposed Him. And I know for myself what a terrible state they are in.
Saadhu sang ki anthar pade,
Yeh mat kabahu na hoye.
Saadhu sang ki anthar pade,
Yeh mat kabahu na hoye.
Kahe kabir tri lok mein,
Sukhi na dekha koy,
Sukhi na dekha koy.
Radhaswami.