The Paathi sings the Bani of Swami Ji Maharaj from the book: Saar Bachan Sangrah, pg 115-116
Koi maano re kahan hamaari,
Koi maano re kahan hamaari.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Swami Ji Maharaj. In this Bani, Swami Ji Maharaj is appealing to people to listen to His Bani because, for a number of years and centuries, Masters have been explaining, but people from the world are not willing to listen. We listen to the Satsangs and the Banis of the Masters, but we take it from one ear and we take it out from the other ear. So, no one is willing to walk on the Path suggested by the Masters. Therefore, He is appealing to people to carefully listen and consider what He is saying.
Jo jo kahu suno chit dekar,
Gau ki kahu tumhaari.
Jag ke beech baandhe tum aise,
Jaise suvana nalani dhaari.
He says, “Whatever I am telling you in this Bani, you carefully consider and give it a serious thought.” So, He says in this Bani how the soul has come and has got entangled here.
He gives an example of how this soul is entangled in this world. He gives the first example of how people catch parrots. They have this perch, which is not very firm and it creates an imbalance, and the parrot comes and sits on that perch. So, since it is not stable, it tries to hold it very tight. There is glue on that and there is also some fruit tied up. So, the parrot tries to eat that fruit, and it tries to sit on that perch. Then, when it holds that perch very firmly so that it can balance well to eat that fruit, it gets stuck on that perch, and then, it is unable to fly away.
The hunter comes and he catches that bird. He removes the legs from that perch and puts it in a cage. Thereafter, that person sells that parrot, who is now in the cage, to different people. And different people make different uses of that parrot. Some of them make him talk their language, so he starts to learn and talk their language. Different people use that parrot in different ways, and that is how that parrot starts adjusting. This parrot, which was a free bird, is now encaged and has to behave itself according to the whims of the people who have it in a cage. Now, it's got its vice of desire for taste. It succumbs to its need for desirable tastes. And that is why it gets caught. So, Swami Ji Maharaj is giving different examples.
Marakat sam tum hue anaadi,
Mutti deen fasaa ri.
The second example He gives is how people catch monkeys. Now, monkeys are very greedy for food. They have a lot of greed. And, the way they catch monkeys is, they take an earthen pot, which is a big pot, but with a very narrow opening. And, that opening is just such that a hand can go inside when it is not holding on to anything, or it is not closed into a fist. So, only an open hand can go inside.
They bury this pot inside the ground and tie it down so that it doesn't come up. And, they put some peas, or chickpeas, or such chanaa, etc., inside and around the ground, so the monkey comes to eat that. So, that monkey gets attracted by these peas around the pot and he starts eating those. And once they’re gone, he looks inside, in that hole, to see whether there are more. And there, in that pot, they have kept more peas there, so he puts his hand to get more peas. And, when he puts his hand inside, he tries to grab as much as possible in his hand. Once he has this fistful of those peas, he is unable to take it out from that pot, and he gets stuck.
Now, when they come to catch him, he doesn't want to release those peas, which are there in his hand. He wants to continue to hold them. And, as a result, he gets himself caught. Thereafter, the hunter comes and he catches him. And he beats that monkey, and then, ties him, and trains him to do all sorts of tricks. And then, he earns his living by making this monkey dance around and do those tricks, so that he can earn some money.
Now, this monkey, which was a free animal in the jungle, which was on trees, etc., he gets caught and he gets chained like this. So, because of his greed, the monkey got caught. Humans know the different weaknesses of different animals, and that is how they catch them.
Marakat sam tum hue anaadi,
Mutti deen fasaa ri.
Aur meena jeehya ras maatee,
Kaata jigar chidhaa ri.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “It is similar in humans with their greed. They are going to get only what their Pralabdh determines.” But, they struggle a lot to see how they can procure more than what they will get in the normal course. They struggle and they waste a lot of energies, they travel abroad, they do all sorts of things to satiate their greed.
Greed makes a person sad because, every time, with whatever he has, he wants more. And, at all times, he is struggling to get more than what is coming his way. And, because of the greed, he is also worried of losing what he has. And that also gives him anxiety. So, he is continuously under tension and anxiety and is sad because of his greed. Therefore, because of our greed, we have become stuck very badly and entangled in this world of Kal and Maya.
Sant Ji used to tell this story, that there was a worker, a devotee. He was with a rishi and, for about ten years, he worked very hard with him. He did his seva. After about ten years, he felt like going home. And he requested the rishi that he wanted to go home and asked for some time.
So, the rishi felt that he had done seva for ten years. He was from a poor family, so he wanted to grace him. So, he gave him four candles. The rishi told him, “Take these candles and go home. And when everyone is asleep in the night, you light one candle and go eastwards. Where this candle burns out, you dig. And you will find coins, and you will find a treasure. Then, the next day, you light the other candle and go northwards. And, when this candle also gets used fully, you stop there. Don't go further. Dig there, and you will get more, different coins. And then, on the third day, you light the third candle, and then, you go westwards. And, similarly, when this candle comes to an end, you stop there and dig, and you will get some very precious jewelry. This fourth candle, don't light this candle. And don't go southwards.”
So, when he went back home, he was very eager to light that candle. He was waiting for nightfall. As soon as it was night, he lit that candle and he walked eastwards. And, about two furlongs down, that candle got burnt out and he dug there, and he got a pot of silver coins. He didn't want to wait for the next night. So, he immediately came home, lit the next candle, and went northwards. He walked about half a kilometer. Where that candle burned out, he dug there and he got another pot. When he opened that pot, he found that there were gold coins inside. So then, he was impatient for the third candle. He said, “I will not wait further.” So, he went and lit the third candle and went westwards. So, after about half a kilometer to almost a little under one kilometer that candle burned out, and he dug there and he found another pot. And there were diamonds in that pot. So, he got these diamonds, and then he was thoroughly pleased. And he thanked that rishi, because he felt, “I worked there for ten years, so this is a reward that he has given me. And my poverty is gone as a result now, because of all of this.”
But then, he had this fourth candle in his hand. And he was wondering why that rishi had told him not to light that candle. He felt, “Perhaps, if I light this candle and go southwards, then I will reach the God of Wealth only.” So, he felt, “Okay, let's not leave that opportunity.”
So, he lit that candle also and went southwards. After about half a kilometer, that candle also burned out, and then, he started digging there. Now, he kept digging. He dug about five feet, but he still didn't get anything. When he dug further, he felt that there was something like cement or some concrete there. He felt something hard there.
So he was, now, quite sure that he had, actually, fallen upon Kubera’s house only, that is, the God of Wealth. And he dug further and found the door of that house.
So, when he went inside the house, he noticed a person standing there. And, on that person's head, was this ceiling of this house. He stopped and asked that person, “Is this the house of the God of Wealth?”
That person said, “See? I am holding this weight, and it's very difficult for me to talk like this. So, for some time, you hold this, then I will tell you.”
Immediately, he obliged, and he put his head under the ceiling and relieved the other person, who was standing there.
As soon as he did this, that person said, “Yes. This is Kubera's house, indeed. I had come here, like you only, and I got stuck here with this ceiling on my head. Now, when someone else comes — who is greedier than you — he will relieve you. Till then, you will stand here!”
So then, he was stuck there perennially, under that ceiling.
It is the greed that is the undoing of a person. If he has got a few crores, he wants more. If he gets ten crores, he wants a hundred crores. So, he wants more and more. And that is what keeps him hollow and sad.
Therefore, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Just like that monkey, which gets caught by himself in greed, similarly, Kal and Maya have kept this vice of greed in a human being. And he also is entangled here, because of that.”
Aur meena jeehya ras maatee,
Kaata jigar chidhaa ri.
Swami Ji Maharaj gives another example of fish, and how they catch fish. Now, a fish, again, follows taste and likes to eat and it likes to taste. Fishermen take a hook, and they put an insect on the hook, and they throw it in the water. And that fish, in search of good taste and food, comes across this hook with that insect, and it swallows that entire insect. And, as a result, it gets caught on that hook. So, that free fish also gets caught, because of its tongue. It gets caught by a human being because of that.
It is because of this sense of taste that a human being also is unable to do meditation and do his devotion properly. So, what mahatmas and sadhus do is that they take the leaves of neem, which are very bitter, and they rub these, for about six months, on their tongue daily. And, as a result, their sense of taste gets significantly reduced or lost. Because that is a big vice, which takes a person away from his devotion.
Gaz sam moorakh hue is ban mein,
Jhooti hathani dekh bandhaa ri.
Swami Ji Maharaj gives another example of how people catch elephants. And, the biggest vice of an elephant is its lust.
How they hunt elephants is that they dig a huge trench of about ten feet by ten feet, and cover it loosely with some light bamboo and leaves so that it doesn't look like a trench or a hole. And they make a female elephant of paper or cardboard, and they keep it on that trench. So, when the elephant sees that there is this new elephant there, it doesn't check anything. It just climbs on that elephant. And, as a result, because of its weight, it falls into that trench.
So then, they begin to tame that elephant. They keep him hungry for ten days. And, because there is a lot of anger in an elephant, they keep him hungry. They weaken him. And they bring a domesticated elephant around it so that he gets used to that. And, around that trench, they keep walking their domesticated elephant. So, that wild elephant keeps observing this tame elephant, which is walking around it, and it becomes very weak. And it gets used to that concept. Then, with that tame elephant, they pull out this wild elephant, and he is too weak to struggle or fight. So, once they take him out, they chain him, and then, gradually, start training him. And, ultimately, they make that wild elephant a tame elephant, and use him in their occupation and make him a means of their livelihood. So, a wild elephant, which was free in the jungle, even that gets caught like this because of its lust.
Kya kya kahu kaal anyaayi,
Bahu bidhi tumako phans liyaa ri.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “How much can I explain? Because of these individual, dominant vices relating to each sensory organ, each of these animals is losing their freedom and getting entangled and getting caught, getting encaged. But, for a human being, he's got all the five sensory organs.” So he's got taste, he’s got smell, and he's got all of these vices, which I have explained. So, it is very difficult. That is how Kal and Maya are entangling the human completely.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Kal and Maya, they've given five sensory organs and five karmendriyas, to human beings and, because of that, they have completely entangled the human being in this world.”
Tum anzaan marm nahi jaana,
Chal bal kar in phans liyaa ri.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “You are naïve. You do not know the deceit of Kal and Maya. And, because of that deceit and delusion, they have kept you entangled and lost here.” God Almighty has given you this precious life to get yourself out of this world and go back to God Almighty. But, you are entangled here because of all these vices that you have. And all these are influencing you and continuing to entangle you, and your whole life is getting lost in ignorance. We go and listen to Satsang. We follow a little bit of Satsang. We also do Simran, and bhajan, and Dhyan here. But, when we go back to our homes, our karmendryas, they dominate, and they, again, start making us build up our deeds and make us forget our Bhajan Simran and all that we have heard in the Satsang.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Whatever I'm saying, I'm telling you for your benefit. At least, some of you listen to this.” He says, “You save yourself from these vices, these pitfalls created by Kal and Maya. So, you keep yourself safe from these.”
If we believe that we will be able to do both things, that is, we follow our senses, and we want to engage in spirituality and be successful in spirituality also, this doesn't happen. Because, if we pursue our desires for lust and other things, lust pulls us down. Spirituality requires us to go up. So, these are diametrically opposite, and it is not possible to do both things.
Now, when a human being engages and pursues his desires for lust and other things here, he has to pay and redeem those deeds. So, whatever deeds he's doing, he has to redeem them, and only then, he can leave this world.
There was this disciple of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj and he liked good food. He used to succumb to his taste everywhere and he seldom stayed at home. He used to go from village to village, and go to other satsangis. And he would like to eat the different kinds of food that they offered. So, he did this for about three or four years, he was eating outside, in other people's houses.
When his time came for leaving this body, at the time of death, he got the Darshan of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj inside. So, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj looked at his karmas, and He told him, “You have, unnecessarily, built a baggage of karmas by eating free at other people's houses for about three to four years. Now, you will suffer for another three to four days before I take you.”
So, for four days, he was suffering, and he did not die. And, he had to redeem all of those karmas, which he had built up by eating free food at different people's houses.
So, Masters say, “Whatever you build up as karmas, you will have to redeem those karmas. You will have to give an account of those karmas here, in this life.”
Chootan ki bidhi nek na maano,
Kyo kar chootan hoy tumhaari.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Masters have given you the key to get out of this. They have told you to attend Satsang and do your Bhajan Simran, every day. But, you do not follow. You do not use that key. Then, how are you going to escape from this?”
Satguru sant hue upakaari,
Unaka sang karo na samhaari.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Masters come in this world to get you salvation. They have a lot of Grace and They have a lot of compassion. And They come to take you. But then, you are not willing to listen to Them.” We do not listen to Them. We only listen to our mind. Masters say, “If, at all, there is any enemy in this world of yours, it is only your mind.”
So, if we keep listening to our mind, he is going to continue to keep you in this delusion and keep you in these attachments here. And, he’ll continue to keep you entangled here, and you will not be able to get away from all of this.
Masters say, “If you want to get salvation in this life itself, then you should listen to the Masters, and you control your mind, and curb it from all of the vices, which are drawing you out. And, if you listen to that, and you control yourself from getting swayed by your vices, and you listen to your Master, then you will get salvation in this life.”
Because, if we keep following our mind, and the mind keeps following these vices, then we keep getting a bigger burden, we keep building our load here. And, there is no benefit that we are getting out of this.
Ve dayaal as jugat lakhaave,
Kar de tum chutkaari.
If we listen to the Masters then, They will show us the way out. They are compassionate, and They will also help you to get out of this.
Paanch tatv gun teen jevari,
Kaate pal pal bandhan bhaari.
The jiva, the soul, is entangled in these five elements and three gunas. And the Masters come to untie this rope, to cut this rope out, and get the soul back. By doing the devotion of the Masters, the three gunas also become less dominant, and the soul is also able to leave this cage of five elements and go back to its home. Because, Masters come to take the soul back to our True Home, and They do not come here to help the soul get entangled here.
If we listen to the Masters, then They will be compassionate, They will help us, and They will extend Their Grace. They will shower Their Grace and help us to get out of this.
Unaki sangat karo bharm taz,
Paavo tum gati nyaari.
You should get rid of your delusion and get in the company of the Masters. What is our delusion? We have started believing what is unreal, to be true. And, we are taking what is Truth, to be unreal. So, what is Truth? Truth is what is permanent. God Almighty, the soul, Masters, and Naam, these are permanent. And that is the Truth.
So, what is false? What is not permanent?
This world, our attachments here, even our body, all of these are false. All these
things that we have are all given to us for these few days of our life, according
to our karmas. And, after that, all these things are going to remain here, and they
will not go back with us.
So, what goes with us is only the devotion that we do of our Masters and God Almighty. And, it is the wealth of Naam that we have accumulated by doing our meditation. That is what we bring back here.
Jagat jaal sab dhokaa jaano,
Man moorakh sang keenha yaari.
This world is a net of delusion created by Kal and Maya. And we have befriended our mind, which is an agent of Kal, who is continuing to keep us entangled in this net. Whatever we see with our eyes here, everything is going to get destroyed. Everything will perish, one day. The sky, the ground, the underground, all of this is going to perish. Everything has a time period. What will continue and will not get destroyed will be the soul, the Master, Naam, and God Almighty.
Iska sang tajo tum chin chin,
Nahi yeh legaa jaan tumhaari.
Swami Ji Maharaj cautions us, and says, “Leave all these things, and go to the Masters, and get the company of the Masters. Get connected with Naam and build the wealth of Naam. It is Naam, which is going to take you back to your True Home.” So, Masters keep explaining this, again and again, so that our love and affection of these worldly things get reduced. And our love and affection for doing devotion, that improves. Because, if we keep following the mind and following all these desires and attachments in this world, then we will never be successful in our devotion. And, because of that, we will build up our karmas, and then, we'll have to spend another life here, trying to redeem those karmas. We’ll have to go through hardship and suffering for that. Because, by increasing our karmas, we cannot get salvation in this life itself.
Apane ghar se dhoor padoge,
Chouraasi ke dhakke khaa ri.
If you continue to get attached here and get swayed by all of this delusion, then you will continue to remain further away from God Almighty and your True Home, and you will go into the chaurasi, you will go into the cycle of life and death again. It is only our love of our attachments and our love for this world here that puts us back into this cycle of life and death, into this chaurasi, and makes us suffer there.
Badee kugati mein jaay padoge,
Vaha se tum ko kaun nikaari.
Then, you will get stuck badly in that chaurasi, and you'll be suffering there. But, there’ll be no one to take you out. You can see for yourself now, there are so many slaughterhouses, and they sacrifice so many animals there. And, why is that being done? Because we want leather shoes and we want leather chappals. And so many animals are getting sacrificed like that.
Now, imagine that, if we are an animal and we are in that slaughterhouse, then what happens? So, those animals also pray, they also shout, they also cry, and they also feel very sad and tortured. And now, if we are also there in that life form, then even our situation is similar. There is no one, then, to listen to them.
Badee kugati mein jaay padoge,
Vaha se tum ko kaun nikaari.
Thaa te ab hee kahanaa maano,
Radhaswami kahath vichaari.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “At least now, you should listen to the Masters and save yourself from this situation of going into that chaurasi and suffering there. You should listen to your Masters.” So, you should, at least, listen now and not go again into this cycle of life and death. And, if you're suffering there, and you're in sorrow, then there is nobody to help you there. So, you should, at least, listen now.
Badee kugati mein jaay padoge,
Vaha se tum ko kaun nikaari.
Thaa te ab hee kahanaa maano,
Radhaswami kahath vichaari.