The paathi sings the Bani ofSant Paltu Sahib...
Bina satsang na katha hari naam ki.
Bina satsang na katha hari naam ki.
Bina hari naam na moh bhaage.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Paltu Sahib. In this Bani, Paltu Sahib has talked about the greatness of Satsang, because without Satsang, we do not know the importance of Naam. We don't know what Naam is because people feel all these mantras and tantras, which are there, and all other outwardly practices are what Naam is.
In north India, the name ‘Ram’ itself is understood to be the Naam. So, this ‘naam’ is different.
Everything we know of is contained within the fifty-two letters. Swami Ji Maharaj has said in His Bani that in the three Loks— four Vedas, six Shastras, eighteen Puranas, and all the other Scriptures — these are all written from these fifty-two letters. So, all the three worlds that we are aware of, and whatever literature is there, are contained within these fifty-two letters. Even the seventy million mantras are also made out of these fifty-two letters.
Swami Ji Maharaj says, “Everything that is contained within these fifty-two letters will get destroyed one day. But the Naam that is given by Masters is above destruction.”
Now, we may wonder that, if it is not a letter, then how does the Guru give us that, because the Five Names that are given to us to do Simran are also Varnatmak. They are also part of these fifty-two letters because this also comes within the realm of writing and speech, and that is also subject to destruction.
So, this Simran, this Naam, which is given to us, helps us to clear our nine doors and come to the Tenth Door. Once the limit of your intellect is reached at the Tenth Door and your tongue is no longer functioning at the Tenth Door, then these letters are of no use beyond that.
When the Masters initiate us, They connect us to the Sound Current that is coming from God Almighty and is reverberating at the back of the Eye Center, or the Tenth Door. They connect the soul to this Sound Current at the Tenth Door and the Sound Current is manifested at the time of initiation. So, that connection of the soul with the Sound Current is what is called NaamDaan. That is initiation. It cannot be written. It cannot be spoken. And it is not there in any of the Scriptures, because only with the faculties of the soul can we listen to that. And only with the faculties of the soul can we see that.
So, Masters give us this initiation that is made out of these fifty-two letters, because to cut our worldly attachments another worldly weapon is required. So, this Simran, or the Naam, that is given to us, the Five Names, these are the names of the gods of the higher planes. And the Masters have done a lot of charging on these Words. And that is how that is given to us so that we can cut our worldly attachments with this weapon.
So, our current attachment and our attention are all spread out in worldly matters. By doing the Simran, by repeating the Five Holy Names given by the Masters, and contemplating on the Form of the Master at the Eye Center, we gradually assimilate all this attention, which is focused outwardly in worldly matters, and we focus it and concentrate it within, and it gradually comes back to the Eye Center. So, when we do our Simran of the Five Words and we contemplate on the Form of the Master within, this attention gets withdrawn and we leave the nine doors and come to the Tenth Door. When we come there, the Sound Current, which the Masters have connected our soul with during initiation, manifests.
Thus, without Satsang, we will never be aware of Naam. And, without NaamSimran and Dhyan, we will never be able to cut away from our attachments.
Moh bhaage bina mukti na milegi.
Moh bhaage bina mukti na milegi.
Muki bin naahin anuraag laagai.
Paltu Sahib is explaining this step-by-step. So, He says, “Till we get out of this attachment, we will not get salvation from this world. If we do not get salvation, we will not be able to create the true love, the true longing for God Almighty within us.”
So, with the Grace of the Master and by doing Simran and devotion, when we are able to focus within and come out of the nine doors and open the Tenth Door, then we will see the Radiant Form of the Master within. When we see the Radiant Form of the Master, we are able to get out of our bondage of illusion. We come out of that and we truly fall in love with God Almighty. So our love, our attention, gets focused at the Feet of the Master, and that is where we develop our true love and true longing for God Almighty.
It is said that it is with this love that Mira Bai fell so madly in love with God Almighty. So, with the Grace of Ravidas, when Mira Bai got initiated and she went within and saw the Radiant Form of the Master within, she started singing and dancing, “It is with the Grace of the Master that I've got the Naam, I've got the Shabd.”
Currently, our love and devotion are fickle. It comes and goes. When we come to Satsangs and we get into the company of the Masters, then we get colored with this love and affection. And that builds up. And, sometimes, when we go back to worldly responsibilities or, at other times, this love fades away. But, once you see the Radiant Form of the Master within, the love and yearning that we develop at that time keep on growing. It never fades away.
Therefore, Paltu Sahib says, “Without cutting your attachments, you will never get salvation.” And once, after you see the Radiant Form of the Master within, when you are able to get your salvation, then your true love and true yearning to meet the God Almighty rises within you.
Bina anuraag se bhakti na milegi.
Bina anuraag se bhakti na milegi.
Bhakti bin prem ur naahin jaagai.
So, till then, our love to meet the God Almighty, the yearning to meet the God Almighty, is weak. Only when we see the Radiant Form of the Master within and the Sound Current manifests, do we realize that we are not the body, we are the soul, and there is God Almighty Whom we have to meet. There is this Father we have to meet. And that yearning, that longing to meet God Almighty, and that devotion that we have at that time to meet the God Almighty, is what helps us on the Path forward. And that is the true yearning, the true devotion, and true love.
And, until then, the soul is embroiled in duality. It is lost. It is considering that it is these worldly attachments. It is identifying itself with the body. It is identifying with all the things around. And, because of that, it is sad.
Prem bin naam na naam bin sant na.
Prem bin naam na naam bin sant na.
Paltu satsang bardaan maangai.
So, Paltu Sahib says, “Without the Saints, there is no Naam. And without Naam, there is no Love. So, Great Almighty, You grant me the company of the Saints.” Because the Sound Current is Shabd; the Masters are also Shabd, and God Almighty is also Shabd. And all are the same. It is only by how we are identifying the different manifestations that we call Them differently.
Kaun tu sakas hai? chetu kar aap ko.
Kaun tu sakas hai? chetu kar aap ko.
Kahan tu aay ke man laaya?
Paltu Sahib has now changed the topic. He asks you to recognize yourself. He questions you, “Who are you? And where have you come from? And which is the country, or which is the place you belong to? You have come from there and you have made this kingdom of Kal your home, and you are identifying yourself with this world.” So, Paltu Sahib asks you to recognize who you really are. He asks, “Who are you?” If you are the body, then this is your world. But you are not the body. You are a soul. You have come from a different place.
So, your body has been given to you by your karmas. Now, your soul is in this body, and that is why this body is so beautiful, and that is why it is so sought after. But if you leave the body, the soul leaves the body, then what is the value of the body? Then it is a handful of ashes if it is burned, or it is a handful of mud when it is buried.
Only when we go to Satsang do we come to know the Reality as to who we are, why we have come here, and what we should do to go back. All these things are taught to us and explained to us in the Satsang. Only when we come to know of this Reality by attending a Satsang, do we go to the Master and then ask for salvation and initiation from the Master. Because if we don't go to the Satsang and we are not aware, then when are we going to ask for salvation? We will never know the Reality if we do not go to Satsang. And if we do not know the Reality, what effort can we put to work towards that?
So, therefore, Masters do not talk about the great epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. But They tell you and make you aware of the Reality. Because the world has the history of various people, and by explaining the history of various people, how is it going to help you? Only when you know the Reality of yourself, will you get real help.
So, therefore, the Masters always, in Their Satsang, explain who we are, why we have come here, and how we are so stuck and entangled in this illusion.
Ketki ber tu gayaa thagaaya hai.
Ketki ber tu gayaa thagaaya hai.
Apnaa bhed tu naahi paaya.
Paltu Sahib says, “So many times you have been given the Grace of the human body. And so many times, in so many lives, you have been betrayed and fooled by Kal and Maya.” You have been misled by Kal and Maya because earlier, you had not got the benefit of the company of the Masters. Even if you have got the company, you have not followed the Path. And that is why you have been misled by Kal and Maya. Because if we had got that Grace and the company of the Masters earlier, then today we would not be sitting here.
So, Masters say, “Realize who you are; listen to the Satsang and follow the Satsang. Don't listen to the Satsang from one ear and take it out from the other ear.” You should listen to the Satsang and follow the instructions because the Masters always, in the Satsang, endeavor to dispel our illusion. They always try to help us understand the Reality and help us to take steps to get out and realize ourselves and come out of this illusion.
Bhatak yeh mitegi kaam tab hoyega.
Bhatak yeh mitegi kaam tab hoyega.
Ketik ber tu bhatak aaya.
When will your cycle of life and death be finished? When will your wandering in this ocean of the world be finished? Only when you come in the company of a True Master and listen to Their Satsangs. Otherwise, you are fooled by Kal and Maya.
When the soul is in the womb of her mother, there the God Almighty has kept two Powers. He shows the Light and He makes the soul listen to the Sound. So, only on these two supports of the God Almighty can the soul be there in the womb of the mother. And because the soul is connected with this Light and Sound Current, it realizes the hundreds and millions of lives it has taken earlier, all of which have happened earlier. So there, where it is connected with the Light and Sound, it sees all its earlier previous births and it sees all the sufferings that it has gone through in all these earlier births. And now it is encased in this black dark womb and it is unable to see anything outside.
So, the soul prays to God, “Please help me. Please take me out of this darkness and I will pray to You, I will do Your devotion, and I will not do anything other than Your devotion.”
But, just before the soul comes out of the womb, Maya casts a curtain of illusion on the soul. The soul then loses its connection with the Light and the Sound, which have been its support in the womb, and it is encased in this curtain of illusion cast by Maya.
Sukhdev Muni, when he was in the womb, he was a great seer. And he realized this illusion of Maya and this curtain of illusion that Maya would be putting on him before he would take birth. So, he was refusing to take birth while he was in the womb.
There is a story about SukhdevMuni. Once, Lord Shiva was talking about the eternal story, Amar Khata, and Parvati asked him to explain. So, LordShiva told her, “I cannot tell the story like this to you outside. I will only be able to tell you when I internalize and I do Dhyan. And then, make sure that there is no one around, not even a bird, or not even any other animal or person.” But Parvati insisted that she wanted to know this secret. And she kept insisting that he relate it to her.
So, he sent his sentries to search in the Himalayas for a place that was secluded from any animal or bird or any other person. All the sentries went and searched. And, after about two to four days of searching, they finally found a place, which was very secluded. It was surrounded by mountains and there was a cave. It was a dark cave. And they came and told Shiva of this place.
So, Shiva and Parvati also went and saw this place. And they felt that this place seemed to be okay. And then they told the sentries to make some sound or clap there so that, if there were any bird, it would go away, since no one was supposed to be there when the story was being narrated.
Now, in that cave, there was a parrot that had laid an egg. And the parrot had gone out. So, when the sentries clapped, there was no one. But this egg was there. And since they clapped there and there was no bird, there was no noise. So, they found that place to be okay.
Then, Shiva sat in meditation. And he said, “Okay, I will now relate the eternal story. I will talk while I internalize and I see within. I will be talking to you. Please say ‘hmmm’ and acknowledge that you’re listening, so that I know you are there when I'm talking.”
So, while he started, he closed his eyes and got into his trance. And he started relating this story. And, while he was relating it, it was very quiet and the atmosphere was very good and Parvati fell asleep after some time.
Now, that egg was there. Because of this story being related, that egg hatched while the story was being told by Shiva, and the bird came out. It grew its feathers and it grew very quickly because of this. And, being a parrot, it started mimicking ‘hmmm’ instead of Parvati.
So, Shiva was still in that trance and he related this whole story. And the bird kept saying ‘hmmm’. And, after the story was over, Shiva came out of his trance. He saw that Parvati was lying asleep and he was wondering who was saying ‘hmmm’? So, he was quite shocked and enraged to find that there was someone else who was doing this. And he took out his trident and hurled it towards that sound. Now, the bird flew out and this trident was following and chasing that bird. So, flying away, that bird went a few kilometers away. And there, in a river, the wife of Vyas Muni was bathing. And this bird went straight into her womb, into her stomach. So, that trident could not kill the woman and it returned. And that soul, which went into the womb, was Sukhdev.
Once inside, because of the story that Shiva had told, he completely became self-aware. And he became aware of all his lives and he realized this. So, he did not want that curtain of illusion on him and he stayed in the womb for twelve years. Then, LordVishnu told him, “Look, you're breaking all laws of nature and you have to come out.”
So, he said then, “You have to ensure that when I come out, Maya will not put the curtain of illusion on me. Even if it is for two minutes, she should stop and not do that.”
So, Vishnu had to listen and agree to that demand. And he asked Maya not to put that curtain on him. And, as soon as Sukhdev was born as a twelve-year-old boy, he started running. As soon as he started running, his mother said, “You have been inside my womb for twelve years. You are not even talking to me? You're running away!”
So, he said, “Don't talk to me now. Let me just run. I will see to that later.” He immediately ran and sat for meditation.
So, that is why it is said that Sukhdev is the only one who has escaped Maya. The word ‘Sukhdev’ − ‘Sukh’ means parrot. So, actually, he looked like a parrot also. And it is because of the way he was born and the way he went in the womb and came out that He is called ‘Sukhdev’.
Das paltu kahe hoye sanskaar jab.
Das paltu kahe hoye sanskaar jab.
Bina satsang na choote maaya.
So, Paltu Sahib says, “You have taken so many births and you have been graced with so many human births earlier also, but Mind and Maya have deluded you. Maya has cast its illusion and misled you. So, you have never come to know the Reality.”
This can only go with the Grace of the Masters, and this Grace of Masters also we get because of good impressions of several previous lives. One has good impressions if one has done some devotion in their past lives. That enables us to come in the company of the Masters. Otherwise, even this life will also move away like the previous ones. So, it is because of these impressions of previous lives that the soul gets the benefit and the Grace of the Master in this life.
Now, it depends on how good these impressions are. Sometimes, the impressions are not good enough, then even though we are in the company of the Masters, it takes longer to believe Them and to have faith in Their teachings and to do our Dhyan Bhajan.
Gagan maidaan main dhyan dhooni dharai.
Gagan maidaan main dhyan dhooni dharai.
Man main lakhi guru ka gyan chaala.
So, in the company of the Masters, if there is a good soul that has got good impressions, and it also has a longing to meet God Almighty to go within and see the Reality, then by doing its meditation and Simran it moves on that Path.
Paltu Sahib says, “To be successful on the Path of Spirituality, you should have Satsang. You should have the company of the Masters. You should have these good impressions in the past, which will enable you to get the benefit of that Grace of the Masters. And you should also have the longing and love and affection and devotion for the Masters.”
Chandra sir tilak hai tatt simran karai.
Chandra sir tilak hai tatta simran karai.
Japai hari naam ki maala.
Following the Path of the Masters, we should maximize the Simran. After being initiated, we should do as much Simran as possible. It is only with the Simran that our karmas, the bad deeds, will get reduced. And then, that will help us in the progress within.
So, it is because of the Simran and devotion that we go within. Even after taking initiation, if we don't do Simran or don't do our devotion, then it also takes a very long time for us to go within. It is these good impressions that the soul has with it, which motivate it to do that Simran and do the devotion and do more and more of that, which helps it to progress rapidly within.
Prem babhooti vivek ki faavdi.
Prem babhooti vivek ki faavdi.
Gudari khusi aur aad maala.
So, with love and affection for the Masters and following the Path of the Masters, by doing our Simran and contemplating on the Form of the Master within, and also outwardly living with everyone with love and affection, we are able to progress well within. We should cleanse ourselves of our bad deeds also. We should look within and focus within and see and try to take out our bad habits. We should not be so focused outwardly on others and looking at their good and bad habits. We should rather look within and try to cleanse ourselves of our bad habits.
Das paltu kahe sant ki sharan main,
Das paltu kahe sant ki sharan main
Likhaa naseeb ko meti daala.
When we approach the Masters with true love and affection then, many times, our bad karmas are also taken care of by the Masters. So, the Masters see and observe that we are doing our Simran and we are doing our Bhajan, we are making our efforts to cleanse ourselves, and we are following the Path, then They also grace us and help us with our karma, with our bad deeds.
During initiation, They take all the major bad deeds and They redeem those. But They also see that the soul progresses within and that no bad deed affects them and They ease the burden of the soul also. So, even if the Pralabdh of the soul is bad, and it has very bad deeds and it is supposed to be suffering, then the Guru, the Master, takes control of all the karmas of the soul. And when such bad karmas are there, many times the Masters also take an alternative and see that the soul is well provided for. And They improve the karmas of the soul.
One of the three sons of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj was to die by hanging. Now, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj related this to Bibi Rukko. And Bibi Rukko requested of Him and she told Him, “Look, he is a very big devotee of yours. And he will be quite disturbed with this.”
So Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj said, “Okay, you don't tell of this.” And He called the son of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj and He tied a noose around his neck. And He put it around the tree. And He told Bibi Rukko, “When I pull, you make sure you cut it with the ax or sword. And cut it in one shot.”
So, accordingly, He then pulled the noose. And when the rope tightened, Bibi Rukko cut that with one shot. And then He told that boy, who was the son of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, “Okay, you go now.” So, that way, He redeemed this deed of that boy. And, that way, Masters say that many times the Saints also redeem your karmas and They write different karmas. We often see so many sevadars who used to come during the programs and they used to do seva for Sant Ji. And we see that how some of these, or most of them, are so well off today. Even in Baba Somanath Ji’s time, I've seen that so many people who would come, they were very poor and they did a lot of seva. And today they're very well to do. They’ve got good houses and they’re quite happy there and settled in their lives.
So, Masters are very graceful. They do not like to see Their devotees unhappy. So, They grace them a lot. But we should all do our Simran and Bhajan. Devotees who do their devotion with love and affection and who are engaged in their Simran and meditation, Saints, the Masters, often redeem a lot of their karmas. They like to see them happy and settled. But meditation and Simran are necessary. That has to be continuous and that has to be done.
If BhajanSimran is not done, then the karmas build up and these karmas have to be redeemed before death. Masters always like to complete the karmas, and then take the soul. Otherwise, the devotee suffers and the Masters also suffer, because They feel unhappy for the devotees.
So, we should also listen to Satsangs with love and affection. We should also engage in our Simran and Bhajan. And we should do that regularly. We should also refrain and abstain from any intoxicants, any drugs, or any other thing that is intoxicating, like drink or such things. So, by doing this, the Masters get that time to shower Their Grace. Otherwise, the karmas keep building and we build a lot of these karmas. And, at the time of death, when the Masters come to take us, the suffering has increased and we have to suffer a lot for redeeming those karmas.
Das paltu kahe sant ki sharan main,
Das paltu kahe sant ki sharan main
Likhaa naseeb ko meti daala.
Radhaswami.