The paathi sings from the Bani of Sant Kabir Sahib...
Sou barsa bhakti karein,
Ik din pooje aan,
Sou barsa bhakti karein,
Ik din pooje aan,
So aparaadhi atma,
Pari chouraasi khaan.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Kabir Sahib. So, in this Bani Kabir Sahib illustrates that for a gurumukh who has spent lots of years doing his devotion to the Master, if he goes and bows down to some other person or deity, then whatever he has done is all wasted.
There are lots of satsangis who do the devotion here of the Masters and God Almighty, but then they also go and do deity worship and indulge in all of the other rituals, etc. So, this Bani has been written by Kabir Sahib on that.
When you do the worship and other rituals of other gods and goddesses, being a satsangi, then it means that you do not have faith in your Master. In this world, there are two types of mahatmas. There are Shabdkari Mahatmas and Kalkari mahatmas. The Shabdkari Mahatmas are those Saints Who are only connected with the Sound Current. And the only thing They want to do is get everyone connected with the Sound Current. And those which are Kalkari mahatmas, they are mahatmas who are incarnations of Niranjan, or other powers under the Brahm. And they show their mystic powers and they try to delude people from going back to God Almighty.
So, Kabir Sahib says, “Those who are initiated and who are on this Path of Sant Mat, for them they should be devoted to their Master. And they should not be going here and there doing worships of other deities or doing other religious practices.” We should not be bowing down to the other deities or showing our devotion to them or being devoted to them. And, that way, even if we are doing several days of worship and devotion, here at the feet of the Master and on this Path, but then we go there and we bow to them and we worship them also, then all these days of work that we have done, the devotion that we have done, gets wasted.
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj, Ajaib Singh Ji, all these are Saints who are Dayalkari Mahatmas. And if we are bowing down to Them, or expressing our devotion to Them, that is not a problem. But, when we go to a Kalkari mahatma and we bow down to that Kalkari mahatma, the things work differently. There, we lose whatever we have gained from devotion here. We tend to lose all of that when we go there because there, they pull all these benefits and deeds. Those Kalkari mahatmas pull that. So, therefore, during initiation it is also mentioned that if you see some form of even your own Master, or see some other deity, or see any such other figure when you're doing meditation within, or even if it appears outside like that, then you should always do your Simran and test that. So, when we see these Kalkari mahatmas, or we see or visualize those, then we should always do our Simran and test it. And none of these will stay there. Kalkaris will not stay. But, if they are from the Dayalkari, or They are from the that side of Dayal, then those images will stay. And all manifestations will stay despite our Simran.
Satnaam ko chaad ke,
Karain aan ko jaap,
Satnaam ko chaad ke,
Karain aan ko jaap,
Thaa ke muhde deejiye,
Nowsadar ko baap.
Kabir Sahib says, “The person who is doing the Simran, or he is doing the Simran of Sat Naam and the devotion of the Master, if he is chanting mantras of some other deity, or something like that, then in his mouth he should have nosadar.” Nosadar is a combination of a lot of filthy things so that the mouth will stink. So, therefore, we should be devoted and faithful to the Path.
We have, what we call as a pativrata wife, or a faithful wife, like that, there is also a thing, which is guruvrata, or the faithfulness to the Masters. So, if we have Sat Naam with us, we should be devoted to That, because That alone is the be-all and end-all.But if we keep doing various things at the same time, then we will not be successful on this Path. And that is why we are, so far, not successful on this Path.
Satnaam ko chaad ke,
Karain aur ko jaap,
Satnaam ko chaad ke,
Karain aur ko jaap,
Veshya kare pooth jyon,
Kahe koun ko baap.
Kabir Sahib says, “For those who have surrendered to the Master and got the Satsang, but then are seen doing all these other chanting of mantras, etc., and following other deities, they are like the child of a prostitute.” Who will they call as a father? So, because they are not devoted and they are not resolved in their devotion to any single person or Master or deity, at the time of their death, therefore, there is no one who comes to protect them. There are so many different people, persons, or deities, that they have worshiped. So, who is going to then come at that time to protect them?
Therefore, when we go at the feet of the Master, we should have true and complete love and affection to the Master, and a complete resolve of the faith in the Master. Because, when we have complete faith in the Master, then we are successful and, in that situation, the Master is also able to shower His Grace on us.
Sant Ji used to tell this story. There was this devotee and he was going in the sea in a small boat. And there were very big waves and, as a result, the boat capsized and he fell in the water. So, this devotee was drowning and he was praying to his Master to save him.
Now, sometimes the Master also wants to see how resolved that his devotee is, and He tests His disciple. So, He sent Vishnu to protect this disciple, His devotee. Vishnu appeared there and he extended his hand for saving and pulling up this devotee.
So, the devotee asked him who he was.
He said, “I am Vishnu.”
The disciple said, “No. I am praying to my Master. So, my Master will come Himself and protect me.” So, he didn't take the hand of Vishnu. So, Vishnu disappeared.
Then, his Master sent Brahma. So, Brahma came and offered his hand to save the devotee. Again, the disciple asked who he was. So, he said, “I am Brahma.”
The disciple said again, “I am praying to my Master. Only He should come and save me.” So, Brahma also disappeared from there.
Finally, Shiva came like that. And Shiva extended his hand. And, likewise, the disciple did not accept even Shiva’s hand.
Then, finally, his Master appeared and He helped him. So, therefore, if we have a firm belief in our Master, He will definitely come at the time of our crisis.
Satnaam ko chaad ke,
Karain anya ki aas,
Satnaam ko chaad ke,
Karain anya ki aas,
Kahe kabir tha daas ka,
Hoy narak mein baas,
Hoy narak mein baas.
Kabir Sahib talks about a person. So, when he has got his Sat Naam, he should be only focused on That. And he should only do the Simran and jap of that Sat Naam.
What happens is, there are many devotees, there are many such incidents that happen, where a person gets sick and then someone says, “Okay, you repeat this mantra and your sickness will go.” Or, “If you have this problem or this ailment, then you’ll just do this much, and you’ll follow this practice, and that ailment will go.”
So, what we try to do is okay. We are doing our devotion to God Almighty. We are on the Path of Sant Mat. We continue with that, but we also do this jap or this mantra on the side. So, that our problem gets resolved and our sickness goes, or our ailment is taken care of.
Now, all these things, what do they mean? They mean that you are still trying to go on the worldly path. You are still trying to save yourselves from some illness, which is part of your karma. So, you're trying to do that while you are on the Path of Sant Mat.
The Naam that has been given to us is the Names of very pure Lords of the planes above, and these are above the Tenth Door. And these have never incarnated and come into this world. So, those are the Names, and they are very, very pure.
Now, all the mantras that we talk of, and all the other japas and tapas, and all of that, falls within the realm of about 330 million gods and goddesses, all of which are contained within the six chakras below the eyes. So, all of those are the mantras that we are trying to recite or repeat to take care of our ailments, etc.
But, we should stand aside and think that the Naam that has been given to us is the Naam of all these five Lords of all these planes. And if we do that, that is much higher and much purer than all the mantras and tapas put together. And when we are doing our Simran and we are devoted to God Almighty and to our Masters, of course, our Masters will come and take care of our problems. They even look at our worldly problems as They try to do as much as possible. They extend help to us to take care of the problems that we are facing.
These things are done like this only by those people who have not understood Sant Mat properly. Those who have understood Sant Mat and what it is will never indulge in such practices. And, those who have understood Sant Mat, they have full faith in their Master. And they are not willing to do any such frivolous deed.
Kaami tarai,krodhi tarai,
Lobhi tarai ananth,
Kaami tarai,krodhi tarai,
Lobhi tarai ananth,
Aan upaasi kruthagni,
Tarai na guru kahath.
Kabir Sahib says, “If a devotee has lust, even he will get salvation. If a devotee is lost in anger, and even if such a person, or a devotee, is lost in greed, even such a devotee will get salvation. But, such devotees who are doing all these practices of outer deities, and doing all these mantras, etc., they will not get salvation.” Kabir Sahib said at the beginning of the Bani, “Those devotees who follow the outside deities and who also do all those mantras and tantras and all of that, they have created their passage to hell.”
Devi dev maanai sabai,
Alakh na manai koy,
Devi dev maanai sabai,
Alakh na manai koy,
Jaa alakh ka sab kiyaa,
Tha se bemukh hoy.
Kabir Sahib says, “People do the devotion of these deities and they enjoy and they have faith in these deities, which they have created. But they do not have faith in Alakh, God Almighty, Who is the Creator of all.”
Kabir Sahib has written this Bani about six hundred and fifty years back when these practices were so prevalent and all these outside rituals, deity worships, and all of these were practiced by everybody. And such a Bani, such a fearless Bani of Kabir Sahib, which was written there during that time, created a lot of animosity with all of these so-called rishis and pundits, and all of these people who wear all these saffron clothes and do all these mantras and tantras and do all these outward practices.
Truth is always bitter. And Saints never fear speaking the truth. Because, if the Saints don't speak the truth, then who will speak the truth? Because, if this truth is not told to people, then we will not be aware of this reality. And then, because of that, we will continue in our duality and we will put our feet in two different boats.
So, earlier in my childhood, I was not aware of this Path. And up to the age of twelve, I used to do the devotion of Hanuman. And I was fully devoted to Hanuman only. I did not do the devotion of other deities.
After that, after the age of twelve, I met a brahmin who talked to me and explained to me about the deity known as Durga. And then, I started following the goddess Durga. I left my devotion of Hanuman then. At all times I've always been devoted only to one deity or God or being. And so, I got devoted to Durga. And for about two to three years, I did that. And, in fact, I did it very religiously and, so much so, that I got a little bit of mystic powers there for the repetition of the goddess Durga.
When I was of the age of eighteen, I moved to Bombay. And, in Bombay, I happened to listen to a taped Satsang of Somanath Baba Ji. And, in that one Satsang, the endless queries that I had about all my doubts about the Path, about God, and about salvation, all of those got cleared in that one taped Satsang that I listened to. And, after listening to that Satsang, I got very clear in my mind that this is the only Path, and this is the correct Path.
So, I went home that night and I bowed down to the goddess Durga, whom I was worshiping, and I told her, “All my duties to you are over from today. Whatever give-and-take we had is over now and I will be leaving and I will follow this.” And, after that, I have always followed the Sant Mat and I have been dedicated to Satsang thereafter.
So, Satsang is such a great transformation. It causes such a great transformation. When I listened to that Satsang, I would internalize that Satsang, and I would keep thinking while I walked home on that Satsang. And while cooking food, again, I would be thinking on the matters expressed in that Satsang. And while I ate food, I would think about it. While going to sleep, I again thought about it.
Next day, when I went to work, I would keep thinking on that Satsang. So, all the time, I would internalize what was talked about in that Satsang. The next day, I would listen to the next Satsang and I would, again, internalize and think on that Satsang.
Now, this happened to such an extent that, within about one and a half months, I got such a strong pang of separation for my Master, and I had never met Somanath Baba Ji. I had not even seen Him in person. But, the feeling of that separation from Him became so strong, all because of these Satsangs that I was listening to and all because of my internalization of those Satsangs. I was continuously in the thought of those Satsangs. So, you can imagine what Satsangs do. It came to a point when I used to see Somanath Baba Ji everywhere. Where I was working in the mill, I would see the finished cloth, or the ironed cloth, I would see Baba Ji’s face on it. When I would see a person, I would see Baba Ji there. And on the machines also, where these spinning machines were, also I would see Baba Ji. So, everywhere I would see Baba Ji. And this was all because of those Satsangs that I listened to. And, within about one and a half months time, it became so much, that every day of that separation, which I was away from Baba Ji, seemed like a year. So, it became very difficult for me to continue.
I asked somebody the address of Baba Ji and then I ran away to the ashram. I took the address and, at night, I left at the Bombay Center, took a bus from there. Early morning, I reached Bangalore. And, when I reached Bangalore, from there I went to Kengeri Ashram. I reached the ashram very early in the morning. And Baba Ji called me for a personal interview there and to give His Darshan.
So, I went there where Baba Ji was sitting, and His feet were on the floor. I never knew how to take the Darshans and how you should meet our Master. So, I simply went there, bowed down to His feet, and I put my head down. I bent my forehead and touched His feet. And, for five minutes, I did not know about anything. I just completely lost the bearings of where I was and what I was doing. I was completely lost in that Darshan, and Baba Ji was trying to get me to sit up. I did not even realize that. After five minutes, I realized suddenly what had happened. Then, I sat back.
So, throughout my life, I have always focused on only one deity or thing to worship. And so, after I went to Somanath Baba Ji, after that, there has been no looking back. I have been doing only His devotion.
And we should, therefore, in our life, always stick to and focus on our Masters and completely be dedicated with all love and affection at the feet of the Masters. It is like a tank of water. If it has ten holes and water is flowing out, there are ten different pipes drawing water from it, the flow will be slow in all of those ten pipes. That same water, if at the same time it has only got one outlet, and only has one pipe from where the water is flowing, that flow of water will be quite strong. So, that is how we should channelize all our energies and focus with full, dedicated attention and love and affection, all as one at the feet of the Master.
Therefore, Kabir Sahib has tried to illustrate in this Bani, that when we go to the Masters, we should have a firm resolve and have complete faith in our Masters.
Ekai saadhai sab saadhai,
Sab saadhe sab jay,
Ekai saadhai sab saadhai,
Sab saadhe sab jay,
Jo gah seve mool ko,
Phoolai phalai aghai.
Kabir Sahib says, “If you are devoted to One, that contains the devotion of all. So, we should stay dedicated and devoted with full faith in our devotion to our Master, which covers our devotion of all. And, as opposed to that, if you are devoted to all, then you will not get the benefit of devotion to even one.”
Even Swami Ji Maharaj says, “In the devotion of the Master you are covering the devotion of all the gods and goddesses and everything in all Creation.”
It is like the ocean and the rivers. If we are going on pilgrimages to all the rivers, all the benefit of that is contained in the ocean, where all these rivers finally merge. So, it is the same ocean from where the water goes back and forms these rivers. And these rivers, again, go and merge back into that ocean. So, if we go and do the pilgrimage of the ocean, we go and bow to the ocean, you have effectively bowed to all the rivers everywhere, because all of that is merged and contained in that ocean.
Like that, when we are doing our devotion to the Master, we are effectively doing the devotion of all the gods and goddesses and all the powers that are contained across the Creations, which are contained within the Master.
So, we should be devoted to our Master, and everything is contained within that devotion. All the lords of all the planes, all the gods, goddesses, everyone is within the consent of the Master. Nobody is opposed to the Master. And they are all happy to be in consent and follow the Word of the Master.
But it is our mind, which deceives us. It is our mind, which plays on us. When we get initiated, or otherwise, and something happens afterward, we have some ailments or we have some sickness, we feel that because we have not done the devotion of some deity, whom we were previously devoted to, and we have displeased him by going to the Master, that is why this kind of calamity has befallen us. These are all things and fears that the mind puts on us. Whereas, the truth is quite different.
This is the beginning of a new shabad...
Paahan keri poothari,
Kari pujai karthaar,
Paahan keri poothari,
Kari pujai karthaar,
Vahi bharose mat raho,
Boodo kaali dhaar.
Kabir Sahib says, “We take a stone and make a deity out of that stone. And then, we get devoted to that stone in the form of a deity.” He says, “Don't lose yourself in that devotion, because you're making your path straight to chaurasi again.”
These deities, which are made, they are made from stone, or rock which is taken, and then the artisan who creates or gives shape to that idol, sits on that idol, and he also chips away with his chisel on that idol. Sometimes, so the chisel doesn't break or gets smashed, he even spits on the chisel while he is giving shape to the idol. That way, that idol is made. And, once that idol is made, some brahmin is called. And that brahmin, does this ritual of putting ‘life’ into that idol, which is called pran pratishtha.
So, they do this, where the brahmin puts ‘life’ into the idol. Thereafter, the idol becomes a deity and everyone starts worshiping it. The only question is that if the brahmin can put life into such stones and make it a deity, or put such power in it, why doesn’t he use that same power and bring some dead child or something like that into life? That would be of far more use than putting such powers into a stone idol and making it into a deity. This is all child's play. With all this deity worship and everything, it is all child's play. And we have also been playing as children with this, and we are going by whatever we have learned. We are also doing this child's play.
But, now that we are aware, now that we know the reality, we should not continue to indulge in this kind of thing. The other thing is that these idols are made of one element, that is stone, earth. So, this is only one element; whereas, a human form is composed of five elements. Now, after getting into a human form, which is such an evolved form, and a combination of five elements, we are using this precious lifetime to do worship of that one single element. So, what is the rule? The rule is that you go back to what you love. And, if you love one element, which is earth, you are going to go back into becoming earth and leaving these five elements. So, it is such a betrayal of your soul that you are going back into one element from your current five elements.
So, where your desire is, you’re drawn there. If you're doing the worship of trees, you will be born as a tree. If you're doing the worship of pilgrimages, you are so dedicated to going to pilgrimages, you will be born as a toad or a fish or something like that at that pilgrimage. So, that is how we’ll be drawn into our next life.
He says that you have come through this evolution of 8.4 million life forms and you have now evolved as the penultimate form of that evolution, which is the human body. Now, you have to make efforts to rise further, and not make efforts to go back into those lower forms.
Kaajar keri kothari,
Masi ke kiye kapaat,
Kaajar keri kothari,
Masi ke kiye kapaat,
Paahan bhooli prithvi,
Pandit paari baat.
Kabir Sahib says, “It is like entering a house, which is made of carbon, like the chemical in the eyeliner. If your whole house is made of that, wherever you go, you're going to get that black color on you.”
So, this whole thing of all this worshiping of all of that is like getting into a house, which has all this black content. And all that is going to rub off on you. So, as a result, the only thing that will happen is that we will be building up our karmas, and we’ll be more distant from salvation.
Paahan ko kya poojiye,
Jo nahi deh jawaab,
Paahan ko kya poojiye,
Jo nahi deh jawaab,
Andha nar aasamukhi,
Yehi hoy kharaab.
Kabir Sahib says, “You are doing this deity worship of this idol who doesn't reply to your queries, who doesn't reply and doesn’t talk to you. So, what is the point of doing this idol worship? The only thing is that, because of your ignorance, you are doing this. Because of your delusion by Maya, you are getting into all of this.”
Nowadays, this whole thing of vaastu has become very prevalent. You have vaastu specialists, who are doing everything, and they advise you how to make your house. Everyone has this small place, which is created before they enter the house, which is called ‘gods and goddesses'. And there, they keep some idols, some photo frame, or something like that of some deity. And, irrespective of whether they worship that deity or not, they will keep that up, because of this vaastu. Because they fear that if they don't do this vaastu, then something wrong will happen.
Now, it may not be so prevalent in the bigger cities that we have, but I have seen in the villages, all satsangis who are there, when they built or constructed a house, they followed this vaastu. And, when I've gone to their houses, I've seen these small places that they have created, which are for keeping a deity, or a photo frame of a deity, or some Durga, or something like that they will keep, despite being satsangis.
Now, when we speak to them, they say, “This is just kept for purpose of vaastu. We are not really worshiping them.” But then, what is the point of keeping a deity, or a photo, and you are not worshiping that? What exactly are you doing? So, they end up lighting a small oil lamp there because, otherwise, they will not be at peace. So, they do something like that.
Ham bhi paahan poojathe,
Hothe ban ke roj,
Ham bhi paahan poojathe,
Hothe ban ke roj,
Satguru ki krupa bayi,
Daara sir ka bhoj.
Kabir Sahib says, “Had I not met a Master probably I would also be doing all these deity worships. But, it is only with the Grace of my Master that I have been able to get this burden of all the gods and goddesses tied up in a bag and be able to throw it away.”
Paahan pooje hari mile,
Tho mein pooju pahaar,
Paahan pooje hari mile,
Tho mein pooju pahaar,
Tha the yeh chaaki bhali,
Pees khaay sansaar.
Kabir Sahib says, “If by doing devotion to a deity, you could get God Almighty, then I would like to do devotion of a big mountain, because, otherwise, there would be no point. And, therefore, instead of worshiping such deities, it would be better to worship that stone idol, which we have at home, which at least would be of use. Because, with that grinder, we could grind the wheat and we could get wheat flour and we would be able to eat it. So, I would rather do the worship of that wheat grinder!”
Kabir Sahib is saying all this is to quash your delusions about all these deity worships and all of these outward rituals, practices, and everything that we are doing. He has written this Bani about six hundred and fifty years back when these rituals were more prevalent and people were completely lost in that. And, after that, all the Saints have been talking on these Banis, and have been explaining these Banis, to everybody. And it is very clear that you have to do your meditation and you have to do your devotion at the feet of the Master. There is no other solution to this.
Paahan pooje hari mile,
Tho mein pooju pahaar,
Paahan pooje hari mile,
Tho mein pooju pahaar,
Tha the yeh chaaki bhali,
Pees khaay sansaar.
Radhaswami.