Ashok :
Okay, we will now start with a question-answer session.
Question :
So, the first question is, "If we see our Master in Babaji, and our initiating Master is no longer in the body, is it appropriate to see our Master as working through Babaji on the physical level for our benefit?
Babaji :
When we attend the Satsang of Babaji and we listen to Him and we carry these thoughts that our Master is working through Him, it is beneficial to us. Many times we also see our Master reflected in Him. So, we see the same vision of our Master sitting within Babaji when He's talking or giving Satsang. So, it is a good thing to do that.
Question :
This question is regarding successorship after the Master leaves the physical body. What are the reasons for which Masters usually do not tell Their disciples publicly Who Their Successor will be after They leave the body? So, Masters would like us to recognize Them in Their new form, but for centuries this has been a very difficult process for initiates and non-initiates.
Babaji :
Many times, the Masters, when They have to leave Their body then, at that point of time, there may not be Their initiate who may be ready to take on those duties, and, as such, They will not publicly tell at that point. Many times They tell it also. And, such initiate who is not yet ready or perhaps will get ready at a later date, the Masters inform that, but then he takes that time to be informed within, that he should start the practice and he should inform everybody.
Question :
When presenting myself for Darshan, my soul feels embarrassed and I don't know if I should seek Your eyes and take Darshan, or avert my eyes, and take the Prashad and get out. I don't feel great about my condition. I just feel embarrassed about the dirt covering my soul and the negative nature of my mind. How do we present ourselves when we seek Darshan?
Babaji :
When you go for Darshan of the Master, you should always look into His eyes because the Master showers His Grace through His eyes and He is very forgiving and He gives you forgiveness and redeems your karmas through His eyes. So, it is very important to look into the Master’s eyes and not feel embarrassed and look down while taking Prashad and going.
Question :
Is the Sar Shabd a separate Sound we are connected to when we are ready, or an extension of the Anahad Shabd we receive at the initiation?
Babaji :
The Sound Current coming from God Almighty is a single Sound Current coming, and it comes through different planes and it resonates at the Eye Center. So, the Sound is the same, only it is called by different names in different stages. So, the Sound Current, which is there, which we listen to below the eyes, is called Das Vidhi Nad. That, at the Eye Center and from the Eye Center up to Brahm, is called Anahad Shabd. And from the ParBrahm upwards, it is called Sar Shabd. So, it is a different nomenclature in different planes. But the Sound Current ultimately emanates from God Almighty and is the same Sound Current coming down.
Question :
When Sound comes by itself when we are doing Simran and Dhyan, is it better to ignore it or pay attention to it?
Babaji :
While we are sitting for our practice of Simran and Dhyan and we hear a Sound Current, then we should continue to focus on our Simran and Dhyan and not pay attention to the Sound Current. And, when we are doing Bhajan, when we are independently listening to the Sound Current, we should only do the practice of listening to the Sound Current and looking within. When we are doing our meditation, until such time that we reach the Eye Center, the Sound Currents, which we are listening to, are not permanent. They will be coming and going. When we manifest the Sound Current at the Eye Center, that will remain permanent. So, when we are doing our Simran and Dhyan, even if we hear the Sound Current, we should continue to keep our attention on our Simran and Dhyan and not divide our attention on the Sound Current.
Question :
Babaji, Master talks about our families as a duty. How do we reduce our attachments to the family members?
Babaji :
We have our attachment to our family and outside members. If we observe how our attachment is there to our near family members and to the other family members, we realize that there is a difference in the level of attachment and affection that we have for our close family members and the extended family or other friends and other relatives. So, that is the difference in the attachment. Likewise, you should have that closer attachment, which you have with the near dear ones, for the Feet of the Master, and that should be your core attachment. And everyone else should be like how we are treating all the other friends, relatives, and other extended family members. The kind of attention we have and the affection we have there, that should be for the rest of the family. We should forever keep in our mind that all the relationships that we have in this world now are only for a few days, only for a short period. And, the love for our Master is permanent and that will stay on, even beyond our death. So, accordingly, we should remain focused and keep that as a priority, keep our affection and devotion to the Master as a priority, and treat the other members with love and care, but look at that as a duty.
Question :
Can the Third Eye Center be damaged by past drug or tobacco use? Or by serious head injuries? And, can Master heal this?
Babaji :
The Eye Center, or the Third Eye, has got nothing to do with your physical attributes. When tobacco, or drug, or other substance use is prohibited, it is not for the prevention any damage as such to the Third Eye. It is more to do with the negative effect it has on your mind and on your body. And that, basically, discourages you from doing more meditation or doing your devotion. So, these kinds of injuries or drug or substance abuse will not affect the Third Eye. The Sound Current that resonates at the Eye Center is very pure and sublime. And, accordingly, when we have to go there and get connected, or manifest that Sound Current, we also, our mind and soul, have to be pure and sublime. So, to do that, we have to make sure that we do not get any intoxicants, or some effects of substances or drugs, and all such things, which affect the purity of the mind. And, therefore, Masters say that you should do your Simran and meditation, because with the Simran and meditation we do, we continuously, as a process, keep cleansing and purifying our mind and making it sublime.
Question :
Do you have any tricks or insights on perfecting Simran? For example, I tap my fingers to the beat of Simran so that I keep saying it. Sometimes, I do speed Simran as fast as I can. So, it sometimes helps me quiet my mind a little and, at the very least, gets my account up.
Babaji :
That way, in Sant Mat, outside physical measures are not generally suggested. People do use outside measures or take some support of things outside to improve their Simran but, as such, it is not suggested or recommended. What we should do is focus on our Simran, and do it slowly and in sequence, and remember all the Names clearly while we are doing it. That is the best form of doing Simran. Now, if the mind is wandering too much, then you may increase the speed of that Simran or the repetition so that your mind gets focused a little faster. But then, ultimately, you should try to do it without making a mistake in the calling out of the Names within, and do it very clearly and slowly.
Question :
We often get sick in the company of the Master or coming en route to the retreat. Is this a way of burning up extra karma? And I feel more purified and receptive towards the end of the program.
Babaji :
The illnesses that you get here, or in the company of the Master on retreat, are more to do with your Pralabdh karmas. So, they will come at that time. But, when you are here attending the program, the Darshan of the Master, eating Prashad given by the Master, and doing the Simran Bhajan — which you are doing much more here when you come here — all these result in alleviating that illness, the great pain or the problem of that illness, and purifying your mind. Therefore, you feel pure here because you’re meditating and doing more of Simran and eating the Prashad and taking Darshan. Likewise, when you go home also, if you do more and more Bhajan Simran, and you continuously do that, your mind will continue to remain pure and you will soon be able to leave the nine doors and come to the Tenth Door. And there, you will manifest the Form of the Master, Who is waiting for you there.
Question :
Do we manifest the Master at the beginning of the astral plane? Or is it at another place?
Babaji :
When we leave nine doors and come to the Tenth, we come out of our physical body. We leave our physical body, and there the soul and the Master are both in Their astral form. So, we see both in the astral form. Then, in the company of the Master, we go further, and we go into the causal form. There again, the Master is waiting in the causal form and the soul also dons the causal form there. After that, when we go to Par Brahmand, when we take the dip in the pond of Holy Nectar in Mansarovar, there the soul becomes pure and it becomes the form of Light and Sound. And there, the Master is also waiting in the form of Light and Sound. And then, together They go upwards to God Almighty from there.
Question :
It is difficult to find questions that don't get answered in the Satsang. It seems that if I think it, or voice a question, You answer it in the Satsang. How do You decide what to talk about, or which Bani to comment on?
Babaji :
So, this happens very casually in the Satsang. The Banis of the Saints have the answers to everything. So, whenever we go and whatever question or doubt we have in the mind, it always happens that that doubt or question is satisfied in that particular Bani. So, all the people often get their doubts and questions cleared in the Satsangs, and Satsang is where you get all your questions answered and you get awakened.
Question :
In the context of the Creation story, when God felt the souls, who were a part of Him, had forgotten His value and started this Creation of souls to understand His value, does this suggest God has an ego?
Babaji :
God Almighty is far beyond ego and there is no question of anything like an ego there. It is like this; He just felt that the souls should be aware of this distinction because when a prince is staying with a king, he doesn't realize the difference between poverty and his luxury and splendor that he is enjoying. He is continuously lost in that splendor. So, the king feels that he should understand the differentiation, the distinction. And therefore, he likes that to be done. So, the God Almighty felt in His own Will that the souls — which themselves are having the brightness of more than sixteen suns — and are themselves like God Almighty, within God Almighty, should understand that distinction between what it is to be otherwise than as God Almighty. And, therefore, in His Will and Wisdom, He decided and created this universe, this Creation. But, it was not in His Will that these souls would get entangled so badly in the tangles of Kal and Maya. Because He felt Kal and Maya are also His children. But, unfortunately, the souls are very badly entangled in this ocean of life under the influence of Kal and Maya. And, Kal and Maya have brought in all these vices, all these different attachments. Ego, lust, anger, all these things have been introduced, so that souls do not go back and leave their compound. So, God Almighty had ordained that Kal and Maya would keep the souls happy in their realm, under their kingdom. But, instead, Kal has done all of this and has caused a lot of grievance and sorrow to all the souls. And the God Almighty is quite unhappy about this. Therefore, Kal is not allowed to come to God Almighty and meet Him. He can only see God Almighty in his own meditation. Whereas, all the other Sons of God Almighty, They keep going and meeting God Almighty whenever they want.
Question :
When Masters compose poetry to become bhajans, are They composing with the creativity of the mind and Maya? Or is it a deeper connection to the soul, Their Master, and connection to the Shabd that inspires this creative output of poetry and words?
Babaji :
So, Masters never write these bhajans under the influence of mind and Maya. When you do your meditation and you go within, when you open your Inner Eye, then you will realize that in the astral form and even in the higher bodies, there are these springs, which open up. These are springs of melody or springs of bhajans, which open up and, on the basis of those springs, the Masters write these poems or write these Banis. So, these automatically open up when you go within.
Question :
You have mentioned that the soul is Light and Sound and has a shape. Can you describe the shape of the soul?
Babaji :
So, when we leave the nine doors and come to the Tenth Door and open our Inner Eye, for the first time we see our own soul. Our attention is focused there and we first experience and witness our own soul. There is no body of the soul; it is only the shape of Light and Sound. So, it has a shape of Light and it is of Sound. So, it's a roundish kind of shape of light that we see within.
Question :
There are Masters; there are warriors and poets. Poetry is a form of expression of love and creativity for the Satguru. Has art, like painting or sculpture, ever been a form of expression of creativity and love?
Babaji :
So, largely, the expression of creativity and love is through the Bani, through the Bani of the Saints, through Their poems and through Their Satsang. So, it is to awaken the soul, and these two are the main measures that They adopt to do this.
{Ashok has a discussion with Babaji in Hindi and the answer to the original question is extended}
So, the expression of creativity and love is still Bani, but just as an extension from the conversation we had around this question. That, in Amritsar, there is the golden temple, which is a physical replica of the Mansarovar that is there in Par Brahm, where the soul dips and it gets free of all the bodies and all its coverings. So, Guru Ram Das, Who was the fourth Saint in the lineage of Guru Nanak Ji, He had thought of creating an ashram and He conceived of this place as a replica of the Mansarovar that was there within. And He was trying to will build that, construct it here. But the artisans who were trying to do it were failing, and they were not able to get the kind of structure and everything else right. So He, therefore, initiated them and then He took them within so that they could see it for themselves. And then, once you have seen it inside, then you don't forget it. So, they came out and then they made it exactly as a replica of what is there inside. So, as you see the temple, it is a golden temple. Within Amritsar, there is a lake. And, within the lake, there is a golden temple. So, here, of course, that lake is water. But, in the Mansarovar, that is Light; the entire lake is Light there. And the Lord of that plane sits in the Golden Temple in the middle of that pond of Light. So, Guru Ram Das initiated the work, but in His lifetime that did not get completed. It finally got completed in the lifetime of Guru Arjan Dev. So, it was completed then.
Question :
Dear Babaji, I have a good friend who is doing meditation in some other path. Just before I came here, she sent me a letter telling her experiences, how she sees the souls of others in great sufferings, with great violence. She said that she helps those souls to pass through those sufferings and she also helps some of them to pass through death, doing it always with love and selflessness. I was surprised by all this, but she is a good person. Now, she is asking Your advice. Is it only her imagination, her mind, and is it good to continue to help or better to stop. Thank you, Babaji.
Babaji :
So, there are several paths and there are several practices, which focus on going within and on strengthening the power of the mind. So, there are several mantras there which strengthen the power of the mind so that you get such clairvoyance and you get such other strengths or mystical powers. So, it is possible that she does one of these things, or such things and, as a result, she has this capability. However, by doing this, there is no salvation for her. There is no benefit that she is going to get out of this and she is incurring karmas by doing this. So, some of these karmas she will be starting to assume for herself by doing these things.
Question :
As a doctor and initiate, when I have a patient with a terminal disease like cancer or others, I know this is a form of karma. I could do nothing except compassion. But what should be the right attitude towards the person?
Babaji :
As a doctor, it is the duty of a doctor to help the patient to recover till the last breath. So, therefore, if you are making effort to give him medicines and trying to help him, it is something that you should do. However, you may inform the patient's near and dear ones about the seriousness of that illness and the reality of it, and there is no harm in being able to give your services or extend your services or medicine to these people and extend your compassion.
Question :
What kind of body has Kal got as he was able to stand and do devotion on one leg?
Babaji :
Kal is in SahasdalKamal, which is the astral plane. And in the astral plane, he has an astral body. And it is in that astral body that he did this meditation.
Question :
Who was Hazrat Sultan Bahu, the writer of the beautiful bhajan, ‘Sai Vari Makke Hajj Gazarau?
Babaji :
Hazrat Sultan Bahu was a great Saint and He had written several Banis, which were very motivating to people.
Question :
Sometimes, we hear that everything happens because of the karmas with us, and sometimes, that everything happens to us because of the Grace of God? So, how are these two things combined?
Babaji :
Whatever you are enjoying or suffering is as per your Pralabdh karmas. But, in this human life form, you've been given the independence of making your own karmas also. While there is a Pralabdh karma, you have the independence of making your own karma and determining your own life as well. It is observed that several times people have been very successful or have radically been transformed in this lifetime. It is because of their hard work, effort, and dedication. So, in this life form, you have been given that freedom as well. However, your Pralabdh karmas will definitely come as according to what is ordained for you and what is fated for you. It is a good thing that you feel that it is the Pralabdh karmas, which are affecting you and it is also the Mercy and Grace of the Master that is affecting you in going through these karmas. So, that is a good thing that you are thinking as such.
Question :
What was the first impression from the first Satsang in Bombay from which Babaji made the decision to leave Durga and follow this Path?
Babaji :
Like a dear one said before, that in a Satsang a lot of your doubts and queries are settled. It is like that. When I heard the Satsang, so many doubts, which I had in my mind, and so many questions that I had about spirituality and about God, all of those were settled in the Satsang that I heard. And, during that time, I was doing the puja, I was doing the devotion, of Durga, who is a deity, for about two years. And I've always had this habit of only keeping one God to whom I pray to. It's not my habit to pray to several gods. So, in the first twelve years, I had prayed to the deity of Hanuman. And I used to follow that deity for about twelve years. And then, after that, I left that and I started the worship of Durga, which was for two years when I got the opportunity of listening to the Satsang. And, once I heard this, and my doubts were cleared, I realized that this is the only true and correct Path to go and meet God Almighty. And, therefore, I went home and I prayed for the last time to Durga and said that I will now no longer do that worship, and I will follow Sant Mat. And, thereafter, I kept following SantMat. I decided to do the devotion of the Master and follow His Path. Once I started listening to the Satsang, I decided to do the devotion of the Master and follow this Path. And each Satsang that I heard, I internalized that Satsang. So, in the evening when I heard the Satsang, and then, that whole twenty-four hours, I would be thinking about what was said in the Satsang, internalizing everything. And that is how, in less than one and a half months period, the Satsang brought out a complete transformation in myself, and I could see Baba Ji everywhere. Wherever I looked, I could see Baba Ji. And in that time, I had not even met Baba Ji and I was only listening to His taped Satsangs. So, those pangs of separation were so strong. That is when I felt I should go and meet Baba Ji and take His Darshan. That is why I decided to go to Bangalore. The reason for success on this Path is that you should be of a firm resolve and follow only one Master and do Their devotion. Once you have been initiated and you have decided to come on this Path, then you should not carry other things and other worshiping and other practices with you. Or, it should not be that you bow down to your Master; then you meet the next person and then you bow down to that person and make him your Master. That way, you keep spreading your love and affection or devotion all over the place, which is not going to be of any help in going within. So, there you have to be of firm resolve. And once you've made up your mind, you should go and follow that with full devotion. What I wanted to point out was more towards deity worship and all the other worshiping, because I observed that, though we are initiated, we have photographs of other gods and deities in our house and, if nothing else, at least we put a couple of incenses in front of them. So, that way, we still carry all of that also with us while we are following this Path. So, we should be of a firm resolve, and once we have decided that this is the Path for us, then we should follow it and not get swayed by all the other deities, all the other worshiping, and such other rituals and practices. It is like putting ten taps on a pipe. And if we leave the water running on all those ten taps, then the force of that water in each of those taps would be less. But, if we close all of those and just keep one tap open, then that force of water is much stronger in that one single tap. So, that is how our attention should be focused only on one thing and not get scattered on several things.
Question :
What does Babaji think of the fact that some disciples collect the Master’s hair or pieces of beard like relics? Can it be a type of help for a disciple to remember? And does Babaji approve or disapprove of this?
Babaji :
All this is a matter of your love and affection and devotion to your Master. That way, one should have respect and one should care for and be devoted to everything about the Master. So, I have no comments to make. If someone is doing it with love and affection, then that is fine.
Question :
When the soul goes into the wheel of 8.4 million species, does she take the form of each and every one of the 8.4 million?
Babaji :
So, the law of Kal is that you have to go through each and every species — all the 8.4 million life forms — before you complete that cycle and come back to the human birth. So, therefore, you will go through all the species of each form. And it is only with the Grace of the Masters that sometimes, when He eats the fruit of a tree or such thing, you get that Grace and the soul then comes into a human life straightaway from where it is.
Question :
When we sit for meditation and the mind wanders outside and we have to bring the mind back and make it do the Simran, who or what is making that mind do the Simran?
Babaji :
The soul has two faculties. It has got surat and nirat, the faculty of hearing and seeing. And, it is the attention of the soul. So, surat is like the attention of the soul, which is now focused within the body and the mind. And, what happens is, when we sit for meditation and we are focusing on the Simran, it is the attention of the soul that is there to ensure that the mind is doing the Simran. Many times, if we are trying to do Simran with our tongue, then the tongue keeps repeating the words, but our mind is focused elsewhere. So there, it is the soul's attention, which reminds us that the mind is somewhere else and the tongue is doing the Simran. And that then gets the mind to again focus on Simran. So, likewise, we have to focus our attention on the mind. It is not the mind that is coming back; it is the attention of the soul, which is bringing the mind back. And, when that becomes firm, our attention starts going within.
Question :
People are now listening to physical sounds called ‘biaural beats’ before, or during, meditation to help them have experiences. These sounds have slightly different frequencies in the left and right sides. Scientists observe that listening to the sounds can help people achieve the alpha, delta, and theta brainwave patterns commonly observed in deep meditation. Can and should satsangis try listening to the ‘biaural beats’ before meditation, or should this be avoided?
Babaji :
While meditating, the core thing that we should be focusing on is doing our Simran and Bhajan. Now, all these outside aids that we take, like these ‘biaural beats’ or such other things, all these are external and they are also of a physical nature outside, so the mind will start getting habituated to things outside and to such external aids for doing its meditation. So, instead, you should focus on doing your Simran and Dhyan to go within. Once you go within to the Third Eye, after and you have been able to, in a focused basis, do your Simran, then you will automatically go in and your Third Eye will open and you will manifest the Sound Current within. Once you have manifested that Sound Current, it will stay permanent and that will only increase thereafter. Also, with regard to Bhajan, when we are trying to focus and listen to Sounds while we are doing our Simran and meditation, or doing it now, when our Simran has not become very strong, it is not going to be of much impact, because these Sound Currents of the lower level will not be able to pull your soul up. It is only the Anahad, or the Sound Current that is there at the Eye Center, which has that strength. And so these Sounds will come and go. So, rather than focusing on different frequencies and Sound Currents and things like that at this juncture, you should stay focused on doing your Simran and try to get your attention focused at the Eye Center, so you can collect your attention and manifest the Sound Current within. We should try and do as much devotion of our Master and do the Simran and Bhajan as much as possible. Because once we manifest the Radiant Form of the Master within then, with His Grace, the Sound Current will get manifested. So, it is that Sound Current that will ultimately take us to God Almighty. All these lower Sound Currents that we are trying to listen to, these we can hear when the attention is more focused and our mind is still. When our mind gets scattered and our attention is less, then again we cannot hear these Sounds. So, these are more of a temporary thing at this point. So, our focus, therefore, should be: first, to do the devotion and please our Master within by doing our Simran and Dhyan. So, you have to do your devotion to please your Master and do your Simran and Dhyan, so that you can manifest His Radiant Form inside. That should be our core focus and objective. And, as a duty, we can listen for about fifteen, twenty minutes to the Sound Current and do our Bhajan. But the core focus should be on Simran and Dhyan and trying to manifest the Radiant Form of the Master within.
Question :
Next question is — Should we make ‘small talk’ with the Master? The casual conversations I’ve observed can seem quite joyful, but I myself feel insecure about treating the Master this way. Is it true that Babaji likes to act like a ‘normal person’, or does He act this way sometimes for the disciples’ benefit?
Babaji :
Sometimes, once in a while, I do say something to liven up and say a humorous thing in the Satsang. So, that is one thing. But, you're right, actually. When you are treating the Master as such and you do such small talk, then we are defocusing on our main objective of assimilating His Grace as a Master. We should not defocus that way.
Question :
How hard should we push through pain before we move our bodies? Sometimes, the pain can feel very intense, but it is still possible to stay still. And, when sitting cross-legged, does it matter which ankle is on top?
Babaji :
The power to withstand the pain depends on your personal abilities. However, when you experience that pain, perhaps two or three minutes is what most people would bear as an intensity of that pain, after which you can leave and sit in a peaceful position. Now, if you have sat for one hour and you have pushed your body for that two or three additional minutes withstanding that pain, and you do this for maybe two or three days, then on the fourth day, you will realize that your pain will only start after one hour and four minutes! So, that way, gradually, you will be able to build up the period for which you can sit without moving. And that period, you will realize, will go up to about two and a half hours. So, little by little, if you are able to withstand this pain and push it a little, it will happen gradually as a gradual process. It is not intended that you suffer a lot and try to do it in one shot because that is not going to happen that way. It will be a gradual process where it will build up. The other thing is that, earlier, sukhasana was prescribed for a position of asana to be sitting in which your left ankle comes below and your right ankle is on the thigh of your left leg. But now, there is no such prescription of a particular asana. You can sit any way that is comfortable where you can sit for the longest duration and focus. The emphasis is the focus in your mind and not how you sit. So, most Indians have this habit of sitting cross-legged on the floor. A lot of foreigners are not used to that kind of sitting posture because they sit on tables and chairs. But over this period of the last few years or months, I have observed that even those people are sitting for a much longer duration now. Even for one and a half hours, I am seeing people sitting, which is very good.
Question :
How can we, as Master’s fortunate children, best respond to the terrible suffering we see in this world without losing our spiritual focus?
Babaji :
God Almighty has ordained it for everyone, according to their karmas. And each one is enjoying or suffering according to their own karmas. Therefore, we should stay focused in our objective on Sant Mat. And we should not carry too much anxiety or too much worry about what is happening around us. Because God Almighty has mercy and He takes care of one and all, leave it on Him to take care of everybody else. If some people that you encounter have a physical problem, like someone can't see or he’s blind, or someone has a disability, and you have to extend your physical help to them to assist them to go about their lives, that is okay. However, you should not carry that anxiety in your mind. So, the important thing is that the mind should be free of that anxiety of the suffering around you.
Question :
Does the ring you wear on your right hand have any special significance. Why do you wear it?
Babaji :
So, it is customary to wear an ornament in India. So, I just wear it as an ornament, nothing more than that. There is no other significance. So, Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj had gifted a ring to Ajaib Singh Ji and He used to wear it as a remembrance of Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj. I have, of course, just worn it as an ornament.