The paathi sings the Bani of Swami Ji Maharaj...
Hansani, kyon peeve tu paani?
Hansani, kyon peeve tu paani?
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Swami Ji Maharaj. The swan has these qualities and attributes that if you mix water and milk and feed it, then it can separate the milk from the water. So, the Masters equate the soul to a swan. And They say that the swan has come from the God Almighty and it has come into this world of Kal and Maya. And it is not the world in which the swan belongs. So, the swan, the soul, is the inhabitant of Sach Khand-Sat Lok. It has come here into this world and it has forgotten its True Home. It believes this current world to be its true world and this body as its true form.
Masters are the loved ones of God Almighty and He sends Them into this world to awaken the souls, like all of us, and take us back to our True Home.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “O swan, you were supposed to drink milk, but unfortunately, you have got attached here in this world and you are drinking the water of all your worldly attachments.” Because after wandering through all of these 8.4 million life forms, God Almighty has graced us with this human life. So, why has He graced us with a human life? He has graced us so that we can get rid of our sorrow. We can get out of this lifecycle of these 8.4 million life forms and we can go back to our True Home.
Kabir Sahib also says, “I beat the drum and I repeat it, that with every breath you are losing the benefit of three worlds” because, with each breath that we take, we are spending our precious time, which is more than the worth of all the three worlds.
Somanath Ji Maharaj also says in his Bhajan, “We are losing more than 21,600 breaths every day.” That is the average number of breaths we take in a day. And that is the kind of value we are losing each day. So, that way, if we lose 21,600 breaths each day, just imagine how many breaths we lose in a month; how many breaths we lose in a year; and how many years we have lived. How much time has gone wasted?
So, Swami Ji Maharaj awakens us and says, “You have spent so many tens of millions of years in different life forms and you have got this precious life now. When you are here now, you should use your time and drink the milk.” The milk is the milk of devotion to the Masters and the God Almighty.
So, leave the water, which you are drinking, which is your attachment to all the worldly matters. This is the only time that you can do it. If you don't do it now, then you will slide into lower life forms. If you will become an insect, or a plant, or an animal, then how will you ever meditate?
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “O swan, you drink the milk of Naam and leave the water of all your worldly attachments for which you have to come back into this world.”
Hansani, kyon peeve tu paani?
Saagar ksheer bhara ghat bheetar,
Peevo surat taani.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “That ocean of milk of Naam is within you. So, you gather your attention to the back of the Eye Center and drink from that ocean.” Masters say that this is a very unique body that you have in which the God Almighty has kept all the sixteen planes of life forms. He has kept all His treasures within you, within this body. And He is also sitting and residing within this body.
So, if you follow the Teachings of the Masters and sit for meditation for two and half hours daily, you will leave all your nine doors outside, and come inside and open your Tenth Door. Then you will see for yourself all of these things within you.
The soul is a princess and it is the princess from Sach Khand-Sat Lok. As such, she is someone who can come and give to this whole world, and provide for this whole world but, instead, she has come here, lost her way, and now she is attached to desires for providing food and shelter for herself.
So, Masters caution us and awaken us, “Come inside, see within yourself. And you will realize that you have come here to give to this world. You are not a person who has to ask and beg from this world.”
Saagar ksheer bhara ghat bheetar,
Peevo surat taani.
Jag ko jaar dhaso nabh andar,
Mandar parkak nishaani.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Unless you have rid yourself of all your attachments outside, you cannot realize all the treasure that is hidden within you.” He says, “You have got so much desire for worldly things, and you have got so much greed. Till all the traces of your greed and desire are extinguished, you will not be able to come and see and get your treasure within, no matter what you try.”
So, He says, “You do devotion with love and affection, and then you will be able to get your treasure within.” Because this desire and greed of the outside world continuously make us come back into this world, makes us take a rebirth in this. And if we have love and affection for our Masters, then we go within and, as a result, break out of this cycle.
There was a great Master, Nizamuddin Auliya, in Delhi, and He had a disciple called Amir Khusrow. He was a great Master. Even today in Delhi there is a railway station, a main junction in Delhi, called Nizamuddin.
Amir Khusrow was a minister in Arabia. He was working there and for some reason, he broke off with the king. And he decided to return here and come to Delhi. So, he gathered all his wealth, which he got as his retirement. All that wealth was laden on seventeen camels, and with that caravan, he set off for India. Around the same time, there was a poor brahmin and he wanted to get his daughter married. And nobody was willing to lend any monies for getting that marriage accomplished. Someone suggested to him to go to Nizamuddin Auliya and meet Him. So, he met Nizamuddin Auliya.
Now, Nizamuddin Auliya had very meager means in which He was living. He just had a hut of His own and He had a pot of water there. So, when this poor brahmin asked for some help for getting his daughter married, Nizamuddin Auliya told him, “You stay here. You stay maybe two, three days with me. And then, if there is some devotee who comes and gives something, then I can help you.”
So, the brahmin waited and he stayed with Nizamuddin Auliya. And two to three days passed by, no one came. Then, on the fourth day also, when no one came, he spoke to Nizamuddin Auliya and he prayed that he had to go and arrange for all the ceremonies. Because the date of marriage was fixed, he had to go and do all those formalities. And he requested that he be relieved so that he could go and do that.
He said, “My Pralabdh karmas may be bad, as a result of which, I have not got anything. So, never mind that, I will perhaps, try somewhere else. Please let me go.”
Now Nizamuddin Auliya, as a Master, also did not want to let him go empty-handed. So, He told him, “Okay. Look, I don't have any other thing, so you please take my shoes. You take my shoes and maybe on the way you can sell them. And perhaps you will get something for your snacks, which you can eat on the way home.”
So, the brahmin wrapped those shoes in a cloth and took them with him. And he was quietly saddened and, while he was walking back, he was cursing his own fate. While he was walking away quite dejected, he was going through the forest as he walked towards his home.
On the other side, at the same time, Amir Khusrow was coming with his caravan of seventeen camels laden with all his wealth. And while they passed each other, Amir Khusrow smelled the fragrance of his Master. So, while they were passing, Amir Khusrow got this fragrance of his Master, and as he passed, as the distance increased, that fragrance diminished. So, he realized that this fragrance is coming from this person whom he just passed. He got off from his camel and ran to that brahmin. And he inquired, “How is that fragrance coming from you?”
So, this poor man then related his whole story to him. And he said, “Look, I am just returning from Nizamuddin Auliya. And I stayed there for four days. I was really hoping for getting some help for getting my daughter married, but I didn't get much help. He gave me His shoes and He told me to sell these shoes and to eat, get some snacks, on my way home. So, I will try and sell these and buy something, or see if I can get some help for getting my daughter married. Now, you tell me, with these shoes, what will I be able to do?” And that way he cried his heart out to Amir Khusrow.
Amir Khusrow realized that fragrance was coming from those shoes, which he was carrying. So, he asked this man, “Okay, are you willing to sell these shoes to me?”
The man told him, hesitatingly, “What can I ask from you? These are old shoes. So, whatever you think fit, give me. It's okay with me.”
Amir Khusrow readily took those shoes and he said, “Okay. I'll take this. And I'm giving you a price for this.” So, he kept one camel for himself and he gave the man the rest of the sixteen camels laden with the wealth of his lifetime earnings. He said, “Okay I'm paying you this price. Give me those shoes.”
So, that poor brahmin got very happy. He took those camels back and he got his daughter married in great pomp. And he built a house for himself and he lived the rest of his life quite wealthy.
Amir Khusrow went with his one camel to Nizamuddin Auliya, and when he reached there, he got off and washed his feet and went inside the hut. He placed those shoes of Nizamuddin Auliya in front of Him.
Nizamuddin Auliya inquired, “Khusrow where did you get these from?” So, he told Him, “I purchased these shoes.” Nizamuddin Auliya asked him how much he had paid for the shoes. He said, “I bought them for sixteen camels of wealth.” So, laughing, Nizamuddin Auliya told him, “Yes, you got it very cheap!”
So, who recognizes this wealth? Who recognizes the greatness of the Master? It is someone who has gone within and who has seen the Radiant Form of the Master within. He can truly recognize the True Worth of the Master.
So, thereafter, Amir Khusrow stayed there with Nizamuddin Auliya and did a lot of devotion. And, after Nizamuddin Auliya, Amir Khusrow was the Successor, and He carried on the preachings of His Master.
So such gurumukhs, who have seen the Radiant Form the Master within, they know the worth of the Guru and they don't desire any of the outwardly wealth or give any value to it. For them, their Master is their wealth.
Jag ko jaar dhaso nabh andar,
Mandar parkak nishaani.
Guru moorat tu dhaar hiye main.
Man ke sang kyon phirat nimaani?
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Take out your love and affection that you have in your heart for the world and place that love and affection for your Master in your heart. Do the Simran and devotion of the Master, and then your purpose of coming into this life will be successful. You will be able to live in this world, and while you do your Simran and your devotion at the Feet of the Master, you can continue to do that and live in this world.”
Think calmly, we are very attached to our family and others now. But at the time of our death, who is there? There is nobody who comes to our aid. When the soul leaves the body, all of our near and dear ones just remain standing by the side, and it is only the Master Who comes and truly helps the soul.
At the time of death, the Master comes and He shows His Radiant Form and He gets the Sound Current manifested. And, once the soul hears that Sound Current, it gets attached to that Sound Current.
What otherwise normally happens is, that we have so many attachments here that we are unable to go within, we are unable to do our Dhyan, Bhajan, and Simran well enough to manifest the Sound Current before our death. So, at the time of death, the Master comes and then manifests It Himself, and He shows His Radiant Form. The soul then gets detached from worldly matters and gets attached to the Sound Current. Then, depending on how much devotion and how much SimranBhajan the soul has done, the Masters place them within in higher planes, either at the Thousand-Petaled Lotus or at the Par Brahm level. And then, They get the souls to practice there and They take them upwards.
None of the Masters prefer to send the soul back into this world because this world is full of maya, illusion, embedded with joy and sorrow. So, the Masters do not prefer to bring us back into this world. They keep us up there, and then from the higher planes, They take us to Sach Khand-Sat Lok.
So, I have often said before also, that where the soul and the mind don't have attachments, or don't have any desires left, then at the time of death, even if the satsangi has not meditated or done a lot of devotion, if he does not have any desire, then the Masters take the soul straight to Sach Khand. The Master is there for us in this world, and even after death, in all those planes, the Master is always with the soul.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Therefore, keep the Master in your heart at all times. Do your devotion with love and affection. Keep your heart full of love and affection for the Master. And while doing your Simran and while doing your devotion, you do the rest of your activities in this world. That way, your coming into this world will be fruitful and you will achieve the purpose of your life.”
Guru moorat tu dhaar hiye main.
Man ke sang kyon phirat nimaani?
Tera kaaj karen guru poore.
Sun le anhad baani.
Swami Ji Maharaj questions the soul and says, “Why are you lying with the mind?” The mind is an agent of Kal. It is a part of Niranjan, just like the soul is a part of God Almighty. The mind is a part of Niranjan and the duty given to the mind by Niranjan is to ensure that the soul doesn’t leave the compound of Kal’s world.
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Don't lie with the mind, because the mind continuously wants to tie you down to this world.” Swami Ji Maharaj says, “There is no enemy in this world other than your own mind. So, don't listen to your enemy. Don't listen to your mind. Listen to the Master and do your work here.”
Further, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Why are you worried about all these things here? Leave your worries with your Master. Your Master is going to take care of you. He has a lot of Grace and He is very kind. He will take care of you. You should not have anxieties or worries.”
So, the Masters say, "How should you live in this world?” You should live as if you do not belong to this world, but you belong to the Masters. You should have your love and affection at the Feet of the Master. And you should belong to the Master, and yet, do your duties as if they are duties in this world.
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj did his duties in the military during the British rule here. The British were very strict and made Indian soldiers work very hard. Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj was an engineer who was working with the Army. Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj was given a horse and he used to go to various places and do his surveys. When he returned in the evening, after so much travel and so much work, he used to most often be very tired while he sat for his meditation in the evening.
So, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj once wrote a letter to his Master, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj, and requested, “Oh Master, I am unable to do my meditations because of this very hard work that I have to do in this army. So, is it possible that I give my resignation here and I come to the ashram and I do seva there? I will be able to do better meditation when I come to the ashram.”
Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj replied to him, “Look, son, if you do that, then you shall have to take another birth to redeem your karmas. You'll have to take another birth to fulfill and complete that work.” So, He wrote to Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, “Your karmasrequire you to do that kind of work. And while you are doing that work and completing your duty, do that as your duty and you continue to do your meditation.”
So, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj then built a bairagan − a standing wooden structure embedded in a wall − where he would stand and do his meditation. He would support his two hands on that and he would do the meditation in a standing position. He would tie his hair to a nail above so that when, due to sleep, his head would go down, he would get a jerk as his hair would be pulled back, which would awaken him. He built all this and he underwent all of this to do his meditation and concentrate and improve his Simran and meditation.
So, this way, he did very hard duty during the daytime, and then he would do meditation all night in that position. And that's how he improved and achieved his meditation.
Now, whenever he would get his salary, he would take that salary and give it to Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj. So, he always belonged to his Master and he was doing his duty as if he was living for his Master. He never used his salary or gave his salary to his wife or children. He would always surrender the full salary and payment to his Master, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj.
And then, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj would decide how much to deduct for his seva, and then He would send the payment to his family.
So, the Masters have never said that you cannot live in a family. Masters have also had families. Kabir Sahib had a family. Guru Nanak had a family. Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj had a family. So, that way, Masters have also lived in Their families and achieved Their salvation. What They say is you should always live, go about your duties, but you should go about your duties belonging to your Master. That way, when you do your duties as if you are doing them on behalf of and belonging to the Master, then the Master also showers His Grace.
And He also helps you in your worldly matters. That way, you can do your devotion and you can achieve your love and affection for the Master, and you can also do your duties successfully with the Grace of the Master. So, that way, when we belong to the Master and we do our duties here, and we go about our worldly ways, doing our duties belonging to the Master, then the Master also showers His Grace on all our worldly matters also. And, that way, we will get a lot of help from the Masters.
But when we forget our devotion, we forget our Simran and devotion to the Master, then we get ourselves lost in worldly matters and attachment. Then we alienate ourselves from the Grace of the Masters.
Tera kaaj karen guru poore.
Sun le anhad baani.
Karam bharam bas sab jag baura.
Tu kyon hoth deevani?
The whole world is lost in deeds, in karmas, and this duality. They have no clue about the Masters and this Path, and they are completely lost in these karmas, in this entire duality. So, they have no inkling about the value of this human life and this Path of the Masters. And they think that they have got this life to enjoy and go about pursuing various things.
But Masters say, “This life has been given to you so that you can come out of the sorrow of your cycle of life and death. You can come out of this ocean of the world by doing your devotion.”
So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Why are you also doing what those worldly people are doing? You have got Naam. You have got a Master. You have to do your devotion and you have not to get swayed and lost in those karmas and duality. Don’t get colored in the color of this world. You should get detached from these desires and karmas and you should stick to giving your attention and your affection and love at the Feet of the Masters. And then you do your duties.”
So, to a satsangi, repeatedly in Satsang it isexplained, and it is always illustrated, as to what is the reality of life. What are the correct things and what are the incorrect things. All this is always explained in the Satsang to a satsangi.
But, despite being told all this in the Satsang, we still get entangled in these worldly desires. We get entangled in those karmas. And because of that entanglement we, at the time of death, also face a lot of suffering, because we have increased our burden of karmas by being entangled and having built up a lot of desires. We have gone to the Masters for so many years. We keep going so many times to the Master and listening to the Satsang, but yet, after that, we go and listen to the mind again and again. And the mind makes us do all these karmas. It ties us up in all these desires. So, Swami Ji Maharaj awakens us and says, “Now you have, as a satsangi, got a Master. You have got Naam. Do your devotion and, belonging to the Master, go about doing your worldly deeds, seeing them as your duties in this world while you are here, but at all times, as belonging to the Guru.”
Swami Ji Maharaj has said in one of His Banis, “Do your meditation and live in happiness, live in bliss. Why are you following all these attachments and desires and living in sorrow?”
So, whatever is fated, according to your karmas and your Pralabhd, is fixed. It is sealed. Nothing is going to change that. By worrying, these are neither going to increase nor reduce. So, why carry all the worries about how your karmas are going to shape out? Instead, focus on your meditation and do your devotion and carry on with your life, because your karmas are already fixed.
Karam bharam bas sab jag baura.
Tu kyon hoth deevani?
Surat samhar karo satsangat.
Kyon bish amrit saani?
Swami Ji Maharaj awakens us and says, “When you listen to Satsang, you put your heart in it, put your soul in and listen to the Satsang. Imbibe the talks in the Satsang and carry your life according to what you hear, and take that seriously. Listen to it from your soul and not from your mind.”
When we listen to the Satsang with our mind, then we listen from one ear and take it out from the other ear. And, that way, if we spend a hundred years listening to the Satsang, nothing is going to change.
But, when you listen to the Satsang from your soul, and then inculcate what is said in the Satsang and bring that into your routine life, then see what kind of a transformation a Satsang can bring about. Let alone the huge transformation that Simran and devotion can bring about. A simple Satsang, which you listen to from your soul in order to imbibe it, can transform your whole life.
So, listen to the Satsang with purity. Don't make it impure with your mind. When we try to put our intellect and our mind in it, then that is poison. It is like mixing nectar with poison when we listen to the Satsang.
So, listen to it with purity. And don’t intellectualize. Then you can follow what is said and see what changes it can bring about. So, you should listen to the Satsang with purity. Most often we listen to the Satsang and hear what only we want to hear. We decide something in the mind and we want only to hear that. And so long as that is satisfied, we only listen to that and then leave off the rest of the Satsang. We just pass it off from one ear to the other ear. And later, we come to the Guru and we just remind Him of this particular thing that He has said.
So, try to listen to the Satsang with a pure mind, with a pure heart. And try to inculcate that. Try to live in this world. Try to do these deeds as if you are belonging to the Master. Then, see the change that comes about.
Surat samhar karo satsangat.
Kyon bish amrit saani?
Tera dhaam adhar mein pyaari.
Kyon dhar sang bandhaani?
So, after explaining all of this, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “O soul, you are from a different world. You are from Sach Khand-Sat Lok, which you reach after seven different skies.” You have now come to this world. You should stay in this world thinking of Sach Khand-Sat Lok.
So, you should be belonging to that world while doing your duties as required for staying in this world, till you go back. But instead, what has happened? You have come here and you are now beginning to think that you belong to this world and you are of this world alone. Your real world is much better, and it is above the seven skies.
Our approach to this world should be like that of a guest who has come to your house. Now, every day we cook good food and see that the guest is pleased. We give him good food, nice place to stay, and we try to keep him comfortable. But how does the guest stay? Now, the guest always has detachment when he is staying with you because he knows he has come from a different place. He has left his job somewhere. He has left his family somewhere. And he is sitting with you. He is enjoying the food with you, but he knows that he has to go. He doesn't come here, get comfortable, and then decide to stay twenty more days. He knows he has to go back. So, all the time in his mind he is constantly thinking of his having to return to his own family, his own work and his own house. But he is with you and he is happy eating and enjoying your hospitality.
Like this guest, we should live in this world. We should forever remember that our house is Sach Khand-Sat Lok and we have to go back there. And, while we have to go there, we stay here and remember, every day, that we belong there. We are only here as guests. So, we should not get cozy here and comfortable here and get attached here. We have to go back.
Tera dhaam adhar mein pyaari.
Kyon dhar sang bandhaani?
Jaldi karo charro oonche ko,
Radhasoami kahat bakhaani.
So, after explaining all of this, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “You should expedite your return to Sach Khand. You should expedite your return to God Almighty.” Because, staying here, being attached in all of these worldly things is going to give you nothing but sorrow. The happiness and bliss that we are seeking, everything that we see around here, is not real. There is no bliss. There is no happiness in anything that you see in this world.
The only True Bliss and the only True Happiness is in the Sound Current and the Radiant form of the Master, which we have to manifest, and which shall take us back to our True Home.
Tera dhaam adhar mein pyaari.
Kyon dhar sang bandhaani?
Jaldi karo charro oonche ko,
Radhasoami kahat bakhaani.
Radhaswami.