The Paathi sings the Bani of Swami Ji Maharaj from the book: Saar Bachan Sangrah, pg 185
Surat bundh sat sindh taj,
Aayi dasave dwaar.
Surat bundh sat sindh taj,
Aayi dasave dwaar.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Swami Ji Maharaj. In this Bani, Swami Ji Maharaj talks about how the soul has come from the ocean of God Almighty. And this drop, which is the soul, has come and now is at the back of the Eye Center. And here, she has come, and she has forgotten about her home and she is also in deep sorrow.
There was a time when all these three worlds were not there, and there were these 330 million deities were not there, and we were also not there. All these souls were in the lap of God Almighty, in Anaami.
Anaami Purush, which is God Almighty, thought of creating some worlds. So, God Almighty took out powers from Himself, and these were in the form of Sound. And, He instructed all of these different powers to go and create their own planes. So, He came down from Anaami into Alakh, Agam, and Sat Lok. And then, He sat in Sat Lok.
So there, He was sitting as Sat Purush and, for a long period, the Creation had stopped there.
From there, God Almighty, again, instructed that further creation had to be made. So, Sat Purush, then, took out sixteen powers from Himself, and these were all in the form of Sound Currents. And, He instructed each of these to go and settle in different planes. So, one by one, these planes from Sat Lok started forming, and each of these powers started ruling those planes and, that way, sixteen planes were created. So, this Creation, like this, was there for a long time.
Niranjan prayed to God Almighty and said, “I want to have my own creation.” So, Niranjan prayed to God Almighty.
Now, God Almighty felt that he is His son, so He allowed Niranjan to create — to go and do his own creations.
So, Niranjan created the three worlds. But, the material for creating these three worlds was not there with him. So, again, he prayed to God Almighty, and God Almighty told him to take the material from his elder brother. He told him to take it from Maha Kal, who is in Maha Sunn. His name is Kurma, and Niranjan took the material of creating these three worlds from Kurma. And then, he came and created these three worlds. But, there were no souls in these worlds. And there was no charm, as a result of that, because all the souls were with God Almighty. So, he meditated for seventy chaturyugas. One chaukriyuga is equal to four yugas. That way, he stood for seventy chaturyugas, praying to God Almighty on one foot. He prayed for a store of souls from God Almighty.
So, there was a store of some souls just below Sach Khand, and Sat Purush decided to give this store of souls to Niranjan. But, before He gave all these souls, who were there, who formed that store of souls, He asked the souls that, “Niranjan has created these three worlds. Would you like to go and stay in those three worlds?”
About seventy-five percent of the souls agreed, and they wanted to go to Niranjan’s worlds. And, about twenty-five percent of those souls were not very keen to go there.
So, Sat Purush told those souls, “I've already given my word to Niranjan, so you should go there. But, if you feel like coming back, then I will come personally to take you back.”
Thereafter, Sat Purush took out one more power from Himself, which was Jyoti, because Niranjan was alone there. So, He took out this power, Jyoti, and asked Niranjan to do the creation, along with Jyoti. Jyoti is another name for Maya. And, Niranjan is a power, which is distinct from Jyoti. So, both Jyoti and Niranjan came down to their three worlds, and then, they started doing further creation.
Niranjan explained to Jyoti how all the creation had to be done. He also told Jyoti, “You do the creation, but let no one know about my identity here.” After that, he went and sat for meditation in Sweth Sunn. And, today also, he is meditating there. Thereafter, Maya took the store of souls and came down into the three worlds, and in Jhanjari Dweep, she started forming the creations.
So, from that store of souls, Maya first made three powers. They were Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh. Then, they took five elements and, out of the five elements, they made 8.4 million life forms. And, each soul was put in one of the life forms. And then, Maya gave the duty of running this creation to the three powers of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh.
Brahma was to create, so every time the soul would die, the new body for the jiva would be created by Brahma. Then, Vishnu was kept as a protector and as a maintainer for the soul, once it is in the body. And Shiva was kept for the destruction of that body. So, the soul would be released from the body and go back, again, into the creation.
After giving the duty to the three powers, Maya went to her place, and she also sat for meditation. And this entire world is now being managed by Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh. And, the three of them also do not know about Niranjan.
The soul came down, plane-by-plane, and now, is sitting at the Eye Center. So, at the Eye Center, the soul sits. And, from there, there are panch pranas, which come down. And, with the vitality of the panchpranas, the body is functioning.
So, in all the life forms, Maya kept her five powers, which are kam, krodh, lobh, moh, ahamkar, and the five senses. And Niranjan sat, as the mind, in all of the bodies. And then, these five were instructed that they should not allow the soul to leave the compound of Kal.
When the creation started, initially, all the souls were very pure and their minds were also very pure, and they were fully aware of all of their life and how they had been formed. As a result, no one was doing any sins, and there were no karmas being built up. No one was going below the human life form, and the creation stopped there. So, since this creation was not functioning smoothly, again, Niranjan stood on one foot and, again, did meditation for sixty-four chaukriyugas. And then, he asked for three boons from God Almighty.
The first boon he asked was that the soul should not remember about its previous births. When it is given a life, it should not remember its previous births. The second boon that he asked was, whenever he put the soul in a life form, the soul should remain content in that life form. And the third, he knew that when this creation would start, there would be sorrow, the souls would be sad and would be given punishments, etc. So, he knew that God Almighty had promised them that He would come to take them back. So, the third boon he asked from God Almighty was, “When You come to take the souls, You should not show any miracle, and You should not show any mystic power to take these souls back. So, You should come only and do Your Satsang. And, only by that explanation, if a soul is convinced to go back, then You can take the soul back.”
So, once the soul gets into the body now, into the cycle, it has forgotten its True Home and it has forgotten about this whole Creation and about God Almighty.
Vaha se uthari pind mein,
Basee aay nou vaar.
Man indri sambandh kar,
Padi jagat ki laar.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “The soul came from Sat Lok, and then, it came to Par Brahm. From Par Brahm , it came below into Brahmand and And, and from And, it has come into the Pind. And now, it is encaged in this body of nine doors.”
So, once the soul came into this cage of nine doors, the mind and the indriyas, the sensory organs and the senses, they became dominant, and they encaged and entangled the soul.
Janam janm dukh mein rahee,
Bahi chourasi dhaar.
Sudh bhooli ghar aadh ki,
Satpurush darbaar.
With the mind, the soul got entangled in all the indriyas and all the senses and, as a result, it built up its deeds and had to go down into lower forms. And, as a result, it went into the 8.4 million life forms, and it has been here for tens and millions of years. It has completely forgotten about itself, and it has forgotten about God Almighty and its True Home.
When good deeds are done, the soul, and the mind also, go to heaven. And as long as the power of those good deeds is there, till the redemption of those good deeds is finished, they have the bliss of heaven. And then, again, they have to come back into these 8.4 million life forms. So, that way, the soul goes up into the heaven, and back into this world. And that world is not too different. It is in the astral body, it is not in the physical body there. But, all the other things are quite common there. There also are marriages there. Also, there is envy, and there are other vices.
So, that way, the soul is going up and down, between the heaven and earth. The only place where the soul can get salvation from all of this cycle is in the Par Brahm. And that is only with the Grace of a Master. So, that way, the soul gets entangled in all of these karmas and becomes very sad.
Nar dehi jab jab milee,
Kiyaa na satguru pyaar.
Sansay rog bharmat rahee,
Kyon kar uthare paar.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Even in previous lives, as human beings, the soul has come. But, it has not followed the instructions of the Masters, or it has not come in contact with a Master. And, therefore, it has lost those opportunities as a human form for several hundreds of times like that. It has, continuously, gone back into the cycle of life and death.”
Like I said earlier, when the soul is in the womb of the mother, it is aware, because of the support of Light and Sound. It is aware of all the previous births. It is fully aware about everything.
But, as soon as the child is born, the veil of reality and illusion is cast by Maya and Niranjan. And, as a result, everything is forgotten. And the baby, the person, grows up in ignorance and dies in ignorance. Because, when the child is born, it associates with and identifies with this world. It feels that it is born only to take care of the family, and to do whatever it has been trained or taught to do. But, Masters say, “This is not the purpose of why you are given this life.” Masters say, “This is the door of salvation. And, after crores, that is, the tens of millions of lives you have had, this is the door of opportunity for salvation.”
Satguru sant dayaa karee,
Aaye dhar avtaar.
Bahu bidhi ab samjhavahi,
Maarag shabd pukaar.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “When the soul is fed up with this and is in deep sorrow, then it prays to God Almighty. And, hearing that prayer, God Almighty sends the Masters into this world.”
Masters come into this world and, through Satsang, They make the soul aware of Reality. And, with the help of Naam and Their Grace on the soul, They help the soul to go back to God Almighty.
Kaal bichaaya jaal as,
Gupt kiyaa mat saar.
Karam bharam paakand ka,
Keenha bahuth pasaar.
Again, Swami Ji Maharaj explains, “With regard to reuniting with God Almighty, Niranjan and Maya have created such a delusion here.” They have created such divergent practices here that people follow different types of austerities. They do all kinds of difficult things to go back to God Almighty. But, these are all delusions that Niranjan and Maya have created for everyone.
So, some souls pray to deities and idols, some of them pray to elements, trees, and other things. And, some of them believe in fasting, and some of them go on pilgrimages. So, all these kinds of things are delusions to mislead the soul.
But, what happens is, when we pray, and we do such kinds of practices (like we pray to deities or we do our puja, etc.) then, when the mind and soul are in love with that prayer, the rule is that, where there is love, the soul will, again, go into that form. So, whatever we are praying to, we become that form in our subsequent life. There is a hill here, a mountain here, which is about thirty-five kilometers from here, which is called Nandi Pahar. And the story of Nandi Pahar is also similar.
There is a village at the foothill of this mountain. And, in that village, there was a sculptor. When he was old, his family members sent him to graze four cows. So, when he went to graze, since he was a sculptor, he felt, “There is no point just sitting and having the cows graze. Instead, I'll make a sculpture here.” And, out of that rock, he made a sculpture of a cow, of Nandi.
While the cows grazed, every day in the morning, he would take them, and then, he would do the sculpture through the day. He would overlook the cows, but he would also make the sculpture of Nandi, which is the form of a cow.
So, in about six months, he made this sculpture. And then, he felt that, if he just left it like that, then children would come and break that sculpture. So, he started making a fence, a boundary, for that sculpture. And, slowly, he made a sculpture and he made it like a temple.
And, during that time, it was time for him to leave his body. So, while dying, his last thoughts were on that sculpture, which he had made, he felt, “I've made such a beautiful sculpture, and now, the children will break it.” So, with that desire of that sculpture, and the thoughts around that sculpture, he left his body.
Now, he had to go where his love was. So, his soul was put into the sculpture. And, gradually, that sculpture, the Nandi that was made started growing. Villagers started seeing that this Nandi was growing. And so, they started praying and making offerings there, and they made a big temple out of it. So, the temple that the villagers had made, when this Nandi kept growing, it outgrew that temple. So, the temple also fell short.
Now, this was during the British rule. And, the Britishers also came to know of this, and they came and they wanted to test it. So, they made two holes in the back of that idol, and they put iron rods inside, and they left two inches out.
Now, gradually, that Nandi has grown and covered those two inches also. That Nandi continues to grow, and people make all kinds of offerings to that Nandi. But, that poor soul, which is there, it is very sad in that stone, because it has been encaged in that stone. But, people have made a deity out of it.
So, where we have desires, we are going to go and stay there in our next life. Wherever we have love and where we have affection and, while dying, we have a desire, we are going to go and do that. We are going to live there.
Even mountains have lives. They also grow from the ground, and as they grow, when they age, then the stones also start breaking from the top, and then, they start scattering. So, in all of these 8.4 million life forms, even stone is a life form.
Kal has created these delusions. He has made someone pray to deities. He has made someone pray to trees. And he has made someone do all these other austerities, or go on pilgrimages, and he has deluded them so that they lose that precious time that they get.
Masters come, time and again, and explain this. But, the mind doesn't listen. We do not accept the Teachings of the Masters. So, after we listen to the Masters also, the mind gets us away from that Teaching and goes on its own.
Bidhyaras ghyani tage,
Baachak athi ahankaar.
Jad chetan granthi bandhe,
Tota kare vichaar.
Some people take to Scriptures. They read the Scriptures, the Vedas, Puranas, and they feel that their salvation and liberation lies in the understanding of these Scriptures. But, one doesn’t get salvation by simply reading these books, or reciting the verses there.
But, one gets liberation by following the Teachings that are stated in that. Masters do not criticize any such scriptures or writings, or Granth, or such books. They only insist that whatever is written in that book has to be followed, and not simply read and left there.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “These people spend their whole lives trying to read that and explain those books. And, in that, they lose their precious life.”
Surat shabd ki raah ko,
Kare na angeekaar.
Man bairi dhokaa diya,
Taje na mool vikaar.
The Masters of Sant Mat, the Surat Shabd Path, have explained that the mind does not allow us to follow. It, again and again, deludes us or misleads us into other things, and into other desires or passions, or other matters.
Masters say, “In this world, there is no other enemy. The only enemy is your own mind, who is with you.” So, Masters say, “Don't listen to the mind. If you do not listen, then you will get salvation.”
Inaki sangat mat karo,
Ye maare gera daar.
Khoji koyi koyi hoyega,
Baadi sab sansaar.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Don't go in the company of such people, because they will delude you, and you will waste your precious time.” So, Masters say, “Follow the Teachings of the Masters. Otherwise, the mind will mislead you here, and he will make you follow the desires into this world and waste your opportunity.”
Rojgaari bheki sabi,
Maani maan adhaar.
Radhaswami gaaiyaa,
In se raho hoshiyaar.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “These so-called ‘Godmen’, who are wearing saffron clothes or are posing to be Godmen, they are very selfish and they are only showing you affection because they want to get their selfish means addressed. And, if you get in the company of such people, then they will mislead you.” So, such people, when they are around pilgrimages, or around the places where there is a large crowd, then they benefit from such places, because of the large number of people there.
When I was of the age of about sixteen years, I felt very religiously inclined, spiritually inclined. And I used to go and meet a lot of sadhus and inquire of them, whether they know someone who is an attained soul?
So, I was in the high school around that time, and I used to ask sadhus like this. And, where my school was, about two furlongs away from the school, we had a railway station. And, there were lots of these people who were passersby, and they would meet me. They would be at the station.
So, when we used to get a tea break, my friends would run for their snacks or tea, and I used to run to the station, thinking that I would get to meet some sadhu, or some mahatma, there. Sometimes, I would meet some sadhus, sometimes I would return, just like that. Now, one day, there was a sadhu who was wearing saffron clothes and a lot of these rudraksha, maalaas, and he had a kamandalu. And he was sitting at the station.
So, I bowed down to that sadhu, and he wondered, “Why is this schoolchild coming
here and bowing to me?”
I asked him, “Maharaj, you must have gone to so many places, to the Himalayas, to
the Ganges, and so many other places, and I want to know whether you have come across
someone who is a very attained soul?”
So, he asked me, “Why do you want to make a guru, and why are you searching for
someone like that?”
I told him, “I want to become a yogi. I want to go in the Himalayas and do my practice.”
So, he told me, “Look, if you leave your family, your house, and your dear ones,
and you go out searching for someone, you'll get someone like me only.”
I wondered why he said that. So, I said, “You are such a saintly person. Why are
you saying that?”
He said, “Look, I am not a Saint and I am not a yogi. I am a householder. I have
four children and, what happens is, whenever there are these pilgrimages, and the
season of pilgrimages, the people come to the pilgrimages, I wear these clothes,
and I go there and I make a living. And then, I use that money to maintain my family.
So, if you go around searching for people like this, you'll get someone like me
only!”
So, I got terribly scared with that. And, thereafter, I stopped going around seeking and searching for people with saffron clothes.
So, it was later when I went to Bombay. It was the time that everything was all set to happen. And, when I was walking past this place, I saw the signboard for Satsang.
The purpose of telling this is that such people, who wear such saffron clothes, or so-called ‘Godmen’, they do all this only for getting wealth and getting importance. That is all. There is nothing godly about it, and there is no spirituality associated with it.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Be careful! Stay away from such people and be careful.”
Sant saran drud kar gaho,
Kaal badaa bariyaar.
Surat na paave shabd ras,
Tab lag rahe kuvaar.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Go and take shelter and surrender to the True Masters, and hold that support very tightly because the study and practice of Surat Shabd is the only thing that can take you away from Kal and Maya.”
Surat na paave shabd ras,
Tab lag rahe kuvaar.
Ta te satguru sang kar,
Pahuncho nij ghar baar
He says, “Till the soul gets the taste of the Sound Current within, the Naam within, it remains unhappy. And once it gets the intoxication of that Sound Current, or that Naam, then it becomes happy and it gets salvation.”
The soul has come on the same Path of the Sound Current, from Sat Lok. And it has come from different planes down into this body. And, from this Pind, from this body, it is going to go back to God Almighty on the same Path of the Sound Current.
Ta te satguru sang kar,
Pahuncho nij ghar baar