The Paathi sings the Bani of Sant Paltu Sahib from the book: Kundaliya, Part I, ppg 61-62
Swathi ko jal ek hai,
Apani apani khaani.
Swathi ko jal ek hai,
Apani apani khaani.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Paltu Sahib. Paltu Sahib says, “The rain that comes at the time of the swati nakshatra, at that constellation, the rain is the same, but there are different things that are produced as a result of that rain.”
In the same manner, the Teachings of the Masters are the same for everybody. But according to our assimilation of Their teachings, and according to our feelings towards our Masters, we imbibe different qualities in us and the Teachings affect us accordingly.
Masters do not discern between people. For Them, everyone is equal, whether it is a poor man or a rich man, whether it is their relative or someone outside, whether it is young and old. So, everyone is treated equally. And, for them, all are equal. Each one, when they sit and listen to the Masters, they follow the Teachings according to their feelings about the Master, and according to their attitude towards this. So, each one benefits differently from this.
There are also some people, who come in the Satsang, who come with past impressions of devotion in their previous lives. So, they also have a very good effect of the Teachings of the Master. For such people with past impressions, when they listen to the Master’s Teachings, those Teachings are like arrows to them, and they get a transformation, immediately and faster, with the Teachings of the Master.
The Teachings of the Masters are very pure. And, if we listen to them with love and affection, then our karmas are redeemed with that. Even when we listen to the Teachings of the Masters by playing a tape, Satsang, or on the CDs at home, we should stop all other activities that we are doing and listen to that Satsang with full attention. And it will be as if we are listening to the Master and He’s sitting there. Then, we get the benefit of that Satsang.
Sometimes, what happens is that, when we are listening to Satsang, we are trying to do some other work also. Children are making noise in the house, or there are some other arguments or discussions, and the Satsang is continuing, and the Satsang is playing, like that. And we are not paying attention to what is being told in that Satsang.
Now, when we have such an attitude towards that Satsang, what happens is, the importance that we are giving to the Master, and the devotion that we have towards Him, and the affection that we have towards Him, is reduced. And, gradually, that affects us, the way we treat the Master when we meet him also. So, even when we meet the Master, because we have been doing such things at home, then the mind is continuously wavering when He is talking. And we are not able to still the mind and listen with full attention to what He is teaching us.
We should value everything about our Master, and we should value His Word for what He is teaching us. We should leave aside all the other things that we are doing. Stop all of those activities, and then, listen with full attention to what He is teaching us. Then, we will get the same benefit from that Satsang, as if the Master were sitting in front and talking to us.
Paltu Sahib says, “The raindrops that come during the swatinakshatra during that constellation, it is the same raindrop that comes down, but then, there are different things that are produced or get prepared, as a result of those drops.”
Apani apani khaani seep se moti kahiye,
Apani apani khaani seep se moti kahiye,
Heera hoy hiranz sees gajh mukht lahiye.
Those drops are the same everywhere. And that drop, when it falls in the sea and goes into an oyster, then a pearl is formed. Otherwise, the oysters continuously throw out the seawater. These shells are floating in the water, and they keep throwing away the seawater. When that raindrop, during the swati nakshatra, falls in that shell, that oyster, then that oyster closes and goes to the bottom of the sea. And there, the soul of that oyster and that drop of rain, they merge, and a pearl is formed.
When the farmers till their lands and they plow their lands, the soil, which is there below, comes up, and the soil, which is up, goes down. And, as a result, sometimes, this stone, which is called hiranj, that also comes up. That is a type of stone, and that stone comes up when they are plowing the land sometimes. And, if that drop of rain, during that constellation, falls on that hiranj stone, then a diamond is formed.
This is also a very unique thing, because of that rain. Sometimes, these elephants are tied outside by their owners, and what happens is that, when it is raining during this period, there are these birds, more like a woodpecker, a small bird with a large beak, it makes a hole in the head of the elephant. And, during that time, if this drop of rain of the swatinakshatra goes inside his head at that time, then a very precious stone is formed in the head of the elephant. So, that way, with this same drop of rain, the gajmukta, or that stone is formed in the head of the elephant.
There is also a particular snake, which comes out during this time. It opens its mouth when it is raining under the swati nakshatra and it takes in some of the drops of rain. And, inside, these drops start to form into a jewel.
So, a lot of hunters try to search for these snakes. This snake develops that jewel as a result, and that jewel glows like a lamp. This snake, when it is nighttime, and it sees that is around 11:00 PM or midnight, it comes out. And, when it is quiet and dark, then it goes to a particular place, and it takes out this jewel from its mouth. That jewel glows like a lamp, and it keeps it in front. And, as a result, these moths come around that lamp. And then, it eats those moths.
So, these hunters, what they do is that, when they see that there is this light below a tree, and that light is consistent for two or three days, then they mark that tree. And then, they return. Only two of them come and they have mud and soil in a plastic bag. They climb up on that tree and they sit very quietly. So, when that snake comes out, it again removes that jewel from its mouth and it starts catching these moths. And then, it goes a distance also to catch the moths.
When the hunters see that, they come quickly and put that mud on that jewel. When they cover the stone, that lamp gets covered.
Now, the snake, when it sees that it cannot see that jewel, it gets very angry, because that is the source of its food. And, without that jewel, it perishes. So, it gets very angry and starts searching for that stone. And then, finally, on that tree, it keeps banging its head. It keeps banging its head and it dies.
But, these people don't come down, because that snake is extremely poisonous. So, they wait for dawn, and when they see that there is sunrise and that snake is dead, then they come down. And they take that mud, along with that jewel, and then, that jewel sells for a very high cost.
Kings used to put that as the main stone in their turban because then, wherever they would go, it would be lit.
Even the musk deer, this water, when it rains, it accumulates in certain places. This musk deer goes and drinks that water. And, because of that water, it develops musk in it's navel. Even these toads, the yellow-colored toads, they come out in the rainy season, and they also open their mouth to drink this water, and when this drop of the swati nakshatra comes, with that, that toad also develops a mohra in its throat.
That same drop of water, if it doesn't become impure with other water, when the cows or buffaloes drink that drop, or they lick that drop, which is there on a stone or something, then they also develop a particular stone in their stomach, which is a very precious stone.
That same drop of water, when it falls on bamboo, and it percolates down inside the bamboo, it produces a very good medicine at the bottom of that bamboo. And that bamboo, which has this drop of rain, sells at a very high price. And these Ayurvedic doctors procure that bamboo and make medicine. They make powder of that medicine, and then, that’s a very important medicine that they prepare.
Similarly, in a banana tree, when it has fresh leaves, and it has a fresh stem, then if that drop of water falls on that fresh stem, then it produces camphor.
That same water, when it comes in very huge quantities, if there is copper inside the ground, then that gets converted into gold.
So, that way, there are so many things that are produced as a result of that same drop of rain in the swati nakshatra.
Kera parai kapoor ben,
The lochan byaala,
Kera parai kapoor ben,
The lochan byaala,
Ahi mukh jahar samaan
Upal the loh karaala.
Paltu Sahib says, “Just like that drop of rain produces camphor in a banana tree,
and it produces
banslochan lotion, which is a medicine in a bamboo shoot, that way,
different things are produced, but that drop of rain is the same. So, similarly,
that same drop of rain, when it is consumed by a snake, by a particular snake, then
it produces that jewel, and it also increases the potency of its poison.” So, He
says, “The drop of rain is the same, but then, different things are produced as
a result.”
Gau lochan gau sees
Mirag madh naabhi te janau,
Gau lochan gau sees
Mirag madh naabhi te janau,
Binn binn gun hoy
Neer ek hi pehchaanau.
Similarly, that same drop makes gorochan in the stomach of a cow or a bullock. And that is used also, again, for medicinal purposes.
That same drop of rain, when it goes in the earth, different types of jewels and different types of things are produced, but the rain is the same.
Paltu khamind ek hai
Nischai prem pradhaan,
Paltu khamind ek hai
Nischai prem pradhaan,
Upazai vastu subhaav the
Apani apani khaan.
Paltu Sahib says, “It is the same Master, and there are different disciples. And it is the same Teaching. But, that Teaching takes longer to transform some people. It takes a shorter time to transform some people, according to their love and affection to the Master, and according to their devotion to the Master.”
I remember a story. Once, there was a Mahatma, and outside the village, there was a temple where He used to do Satsang every day. And as He would do Satsang every day, gradually, people started coming for the Satsangs and, approximately, a thousand, fifteen hundred people started coming.
Once a horse rider was passing by, and he saw that there was quite a gathering, and there was a Mahatma Who was giving some discourse. So, he stopped by. He tied his horse to a nearby tree, and he also went there and sat in the Satsang. He sat and listened to the Satsang and, in that Satsang, the Mahatma was talking about the pangs of separation, and how each breath of a human is so important. It is more valuable than all the three worlds. And he was talking about the pangs of separation from God Almighty.
Now, this impacted that person so much that, he went there, he left his horse, and then, he became a sadhu. And he started going around the country as a sadhu. He also took initiation, and then, he continued to wander from place to place, because he had very strong pangs of separation from God Almighty. And he moved around. He went to the Himalayas, and he went to a lot of these places.
After about nearly twelve years, he came back to that same temple. When he came there, he saw that, now, the crowd has increased to almost four thousand people, which had been about fifteen hundred earlier. So, he came, and he again sat and listened to the Satsang. Then, after the Satsang was over, he went up to the Mahatma, and he said, “Please, give me the mic and I would like to talk for two minutes.”
So, that Mahatma arranged for the mic to be given to this person. And, when he got the mic, he asked the people, who had gathered, as to how long different people were attending this Satsang. So, some said for five years. A lot of people raised their hands for five years. Then, some for ten years. Again, a lot of people raised their hands for ten years; some for twenty years. Again, there were a lot of people who raised their hands for twenty years. So, he said, “You are really blessed people because you are coming here and listening to Satsang for twenty years. I came here twelve years back, and I got one ‘slap’ of the Satsang and I lost my bearings, and I moved around the whole country. I couldn't stand that slap! And you people are taking these ‘slaps’ for twenty years.” After saying that, he left from that place.
If we do not imbibe those qualities that are taught by the Masters, we do not bring it into our life, we cannot bring about a transformation within ourselves, because there is no pilgrimage like a Satsang of the Masters. Because, in the pilgrimages that are outside, in those places, we can only clean our outward body, and we cannot clean our mind. But, when we attend to the Satsangs of the Masters, in that pilgrimage, we clean our mind.
So, Satsang is a very important thing. It is a very high thing. And, when we listen to the Satsang, we should carefully introspect on what is said in that Satsang, and we should try to imbibe those Teachings and bring them into our life. Then, it brings about a huge transformation in us.
This is the beginning of new Bani:
Paltu neech se unch bhaa
Neech kahai na koyee,
Paltu neech se unch bhaa
Neech kahai na koyee.
Paltu Sahib now talks of a different subject in this Bani. And, He says, “I was born in a lower caste, a trading community which, basically, goes about earning their livelihood by telling a little bit of lies, so that they can make their money. Now, it is only with the company of the Masters that, from a lowly caste, I have now come to a situation where no one can tell that I am from a low caste.”
Neech kahai na koyee
Gaye jab se sarnaayi.
Naara bahi ke milyo
Ganga mein gang kahaayi.
Paltu Sahib says, “Since I surrendered to the Masters, now, nobody can say that I am from a lower caste, because of the company of the Masters.”
It is like all the sewage that comes from the city, and then, flows into the Ganges, and all that water gets transformed into the water of Ganges. So, though that sewage water goes into the Ganges, once it goes into the Ganges, it becomes the water of the Ganges. Many people drink that water or have baths in that water. That water is also bottled and it’s considered very sacred. So, the value of that water, which flowed from the sewage, now has gained so much importance by flowing into the Ganges.
In the same way, an impure soul, which is maligned by bad deeds, when it comes in the company of the Masters and follows the Teachings of the Masters, and it does the devotion and meditation, that soul also becomes pure and sublime.
You can see that, in Satsangs, different types of people come, some from high caste, some from low caste, and they all live with love and affection amongst each other. That is the impact of a Satsang of the Master. Because, in the eyes of the Saint, all are equal and, accordingly, all are given equal importance and everyone is given equal opportunity to do seva.
Therefore, Paltu Sahib says, “Ever since I've gone in the company of the Masters and surrendered there, there is no one who can say I am from a lower caste.”
Paaras se parsang
Loh se kanak kahaavai,
Paaras se parsang
Loh se kanak kahaavai,
Aagi maahain jo parai
Jarai aagai hoyi javai.
He gives an example that when we go in the company of the Masters and we surrender to the Masters, it is akin to iron being touched by the philosopher's stone and it gets converted into gold. So, that same iron, which one buys at twenty-five, thirty rupees a kilogram that, by the touch of the philosopher's stone now, sells for about twenty-eight thousand rupees for ten grams. The iron, when it gets in touch with the philosopher's stone, it changes the nature of iron, and the value of iron goes up manifold as a result of that.
Similarly, when the soul comes in the company of the Masters and surrenders to the Masters, the true value of that soul, the true qualities of that soul, come up.
It is like when we put any type of wood in fire, all of that burns and it becomes the same. So, that fire, the quality of the fire is to make everything like itself. So, when any kind of wood is put in, it is also burning, and it also becomes fire.
Likewise, the Masters, when a soul comes in connection with the Master, the connection makes it a Master, it makes the soul go back to God Almighty. It is different from a philosopher's stone, which makes iron into gold. Here, the Master makes the soul like Himself. And, as a result, the soul, the person, completely transforms. And the people, and the world also, respect that.
Raam ka ghar hai bada
Safal augun chip jaai,
Raam ka ghar hai bada
Safal augun chip jaai,
Jaise til ko tel
Phool sang baas basaai.
Paltu Sahib says, “The house of God Almighty is very large. And there, anyone of whatever caste and of whatever stature, all of them become the same there, in the house of God Almighty.” Whatever caste and creed we have, these distinctions are only limited to the body. The soul is an element of God Almighty, and there is no caste and creed of that soul. It is like the sun has no caste and creed, so the rays of the sun also do not have any caste and creed.
Likewise, the soul is an element of God Almighty, and there is no caste and creed of that soul. So, all this caste, creed, color, all of this is left, and it becomes a handful of ashes at the time of death. It is only the soul, which has to go back, with the burden of the karmas that it has built up in this lifetime. And, wherever it has to go and account for those karmas, it has to take that.
So, Masters don't ask for any caste, and creed, and color. For everyone who prays and goes back to God Almighty, there is no distinction between any caste and creed there. All this caste-ism, and all these distinctions and classes, have all been created by us here. These have not been created by God Almighty.
About six hundred years back, there was no Sikhism. Everyone was a Hindu. It was after Guru Nanak Saheb and then, the subsequent nine Masters that there was a further classification of Sikhism, within the Hinduism.
Similarly, about sixteen hundred years back, there were no Muslims. The classification of Muslims happened after Mohammed Sahib came into this world.
Similarly, about two thousand sixteen years ago, there was no Christianity. And it was only after Jesus Christ came into this world that Christianity started.
Like that, about two thousand five hundred years back, there was no Buddhist, and it was only after Buddha came into this world that Buddhism started.
So, all these different religions have all been created by human beings. They have not been created by God Almighty. God Almighty has only made two distinctions, a male and female. All the souls are the children of God Almighty, and there is no distinction. All of them are the drops from the ocean of God Almighty. After they have come into this world, according to the occupation, according to other things, some have become of high caste, some have become of low caste, some have become rich, some have become poor, so all those distinctions are here. But, finally and eventually, all are children of God Almighty.
So Paltu Sahib, “Whatever goes into fire, becomes fire. And, whatever comes in contact with fire, it gets converted into fire.”
Bhajan kare parthaap the
Tan man nirmal hoy,
Bhajan kare parthaap the
Tan man nirmal hoy,
Paltu Sahib says, “When we sit for meditation, we do our Simran and Dhyan, then our mind also gets pure and our body also gets pure.” So, when the mind gets pure, the body also, as a result, gets pure.
Therefore, there is a lot of benefit of doing Simran and Dhyan.
Bhajan kare parthaap the
Tan man nirmal hoy,
Bhajan kare parthaap the
Tan man nirmal hoy,
Palatu neech se unch baa
Neech kahe na koy.
Paltu Sahib says, “By doing the devotion, by doing bhajan Simran, the mind and the body is respected.” There is respect in this world and, after that, when the soul goes into the higher planes, there also, there is a lot of respect for that soul.
Therefore, Masters say, “We should do our Bhajan Simran and, because we do that Bhajan Simran, the deeds that we have been accumulating for hundreds and millions of lives earlier, those also get reduced.”
So, if we sit for Simran and Dhyan every day, and we have a sitting of about two and a half hours, then we see that, in this life itself, we become successful. And, the Masters come, before death, almost three or four days in advance, They come and tell us.
Sawan Singh Ji's mother, she knew that she was going to pass away. And she wrote a letter to Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj to come and visit her before she leaves, because, her Master had come within and had told her that He would come to take her. So, she asked Him to come and it was a weekend and Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj was loaded with a lot of work.
So, He told her, “You please request Him that, instead of taking you on Saturday, He should take you on Monday.”
On Saturday, when the Master came to take her soul, He asked her, “What happened? Your son didn't come?”
She said, “He’s requested You because He is unable to come today — if You could postpone it to Monday?”
So, on Monday, 11 o'clock was determined as the time for her to leave her body, and Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj had not come by then.
So again, her Master asked, “What happened? He’s come?”
She told him, “No, He's not been able to come.”
So, He said, “Okay, never mind, I will come tomorrow.” So, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj
came in the night, on Monday, and He had got in late, so He was also worried, “Perhaps,
she has left her body in the morning.”
So, when He came, He asked her, “What happened? I thought you would have passed
away.” (In those days, there were no mobiles and phones to check!) She said, “No,
Master has said He'll take me tomorrow.”
So, accordingly, He came the next day and took her.
For a devotee who’s doing meditation, and who’s doing Simran Dhyan, for him, at the time of death, it is like a bridegroom. It is the happiness that a bridegroom has at the time of getting married. So, that is the happiness at the time of death.
So, therefore, Mahatmas say, “With each breath, you should do your Simran, because each breath is so priceless. And, you have to gather this wealth, which you will be taking after your death.”Mahatmas say, “So many sinners, in the company of Masters, got salvation. So, why won't you get salvation? You will definitely get salvation. But, you should care about yourself and you should do your Bhajan Simran.”
So, when you are going about your worldly things and activities, you should remember the Master. And you should forever be in His memory. You should take out time to do your Bhajan Simran, and go about your worldly activities, thinking that these are duties you are doing for your Master. You'll see how fast you will get transformed.
Bhajan kare parthaap the
Tan man nirmal hoy,
Bhajan kare parthaap the
Tan man nirmal hoy,
Palatu neech se unch
Baa neech kahe na koy.