The paathi sings the Bani of Sant Kabir Sahib...
Kabir saathi koi deeya,
Dukh sukh jaanina koi
Kabir saathi koi deeya,
Dukh sukh jaanina koi.
Til mil ke sang ke nahi,
Kabhi bicho ha na hoyi,
Kabhi bicho ha na hoyi.
THIS IS THE BANI Param Sant Satguru Kabir Sahib. Kabir Sahib says, “If you want to make a friend in this world, then what kind of a person would you make a friend?” Then He only points out that the friend should be such that he should not have any joy and sorrow. So, if that friend is beyond life and death, then in the company of such a person, he will also be happy, and we will also be happy with him. So, such a person, He points out, is the Satguru Who, at all times, is with us and He is beyond joy and sorrow. So, Satguru is always with us.
If we leave one city and go to another city, then we leave some of our family members behind and we go to the other place. Or, we go to a different town; we leave some of our members behind. But, it is only Satguru Who is always with us, wherever we go.
If we do the Bhajan Simran here, then He protects and helps us in this world also. And, after death, He is always with us. And He does not leave our hand till He gets us to meet God Almighty. At the time of death, our near and dear ones, our friends and relatives, we have to leave their company. But, there is One Whose company stays beyond death also, and that is the Satguru.
So, in our joy and sorrow, if there is one True Friend that we have, it is our Satguru. Therefore, Kabir Sahib says, “Make such a Friend Who is not affected by joy and sorrow, and Who is always with you.”
Yaar bhulaave bhav se,
Moh pe gaya na jaaye.
Yaar bhulaave bhav se,
Moh pe gaya na jaaye.
Dhan maili peev ujalaa,
Laagi na sakoo paay,
Laagi na sakoo paay.
The soul is forever in repentance as God Almighty is trying His best to get that soul to meet Him. But, because she is impure, she is unable to go back to God Almighty. The reality is that the soul never gets impure. Whatever impurity is there, it is in the mind. Whatever deeds are embedded for that redemption, everything is embedded in the mind. But, because the mind has such a knot tied with the soul, it is the soul which has to go everywhere along with the mind. Therefore, it is the endeavor of the Saints to cleanse the mind, to cleanse this impure mind, which has got all these deeds embedded in it.
So, by doing the Simran of the Naam given, and by contemplating on the Form of the Master, the mind starts getting purer. And that is how it starts getting cleaner and goes within. By listening to Satsangs, by doing Simran, by doing meditation, and by contemplating the Form of the Master, by doing all of these things, the mind slowly starts getting purer and purer. And that is how it is able to then go within.
When the mind is impure, it is forever wavering. It is turbulent and it is not still. As it becomes purer, the mind starts becoming more still. And, once the mind becomes still, at that time, our spiritual journey starts and the attention of the soul starts getting focused at the back of the Eye Center. Once the attention of the soul gets focused at the back of the Eye Center, it realizes that it is the soul. It gets the knowledge that it is different from the mind. It is the soul. And, likewise, when the mind gets there, the mind realizes that it is not the body. It is not all of these sensory organs and senses, which have been pulling it in different directions. And that is the awareness that both of them get there.
So, reality is known when we get to the back of the Eye Center and understand the truth. Otherwise, the mind is continuously wavering and going back and forth in this lifecycle, and it is in sorrow.
Tarvar thaasu milambiye,
Barahmaas paran.
Tarvar thaasu milambiye,
Barahmaas paran.
Seethal chaaya sagal pare,
Panchi ke lakharan,
Panchi ke lakharan.
Kabir Sahib says, “That tree is a good tree, which is full of leaves and bears fruit all the year round. And there are birds, which make that place their home. In the evening, these birds show up there and they play there.” So, that kind of a tree is what a good tree is. So, Kabir Sahib says, “What is the point of that tree, which has no leaves, no branches there, and the birds don’t come there?”
Likewise, the soul applies this body for both these worldly matters and for the spirituality for its getting salvation. That is what is worthwhile in the human body.
Tarvar sarvar sant jan
Chautha barase megh.
Tarvar sarvar sant jan
Chautha barase megh.
Paramaarath ke kaaran,
Chaaro dhaarein deh,.
Chaaro dhaarein deh.
This Bani of Kabir Sahib has a mixed reference to several things. So, now, Kabir Sahib says, “There are four things; the trees, the ponds, and Saints, and the clouds, they all assume their form for the benefit of others.”
Like I had said yesterday, a tree which bears fruits, when it bears the fruit, it bends down and it gives this fruit to others, for the benefit of others. It doesn't eat its own fruit. And a lot of people throw stones at the tree, still, it gives them fruit in return.
Likewise, the pond collects the water, which is flowing in different directions. It all collects into the pond. The pond doesn't drink its own water. It keeps this water for the benefit of others. Birds come and drink in it and animals come and drink in it. It serves water to those farming. People come and wash their clothes, and people come and bathe in the pond. So, all this is for the benefit of others.
Likewise, Saints come into this world and adorn this body. They do not come into this world only to take care of Their family members. They come into this world to take care of all of the people of this world. And They look at everybody, one and all, with the same eye. And They treat everybody equally. They go from place to place. Whatever kind of stay or accommodation is given to Them, They take that happily. Whatever food is served there, that also, They take happily, whether it is good or not so good. All of that is taken evenly by the Saints. And why do They do all this and suffer all this pain? It is only for the benefit of others. Their only purpose is to get the people awakened and to take them back to their True Home.
Kal is very strict. He does not like the souls to leave from this realm. He likes to keep all the souls there. Now, a lot of the souls, where the minds have done deeds, knowingly or unknowingly, these deeds require them to go to hell. So, such sins that they have done, which require them to redeem these sins in hell, when the Saints initiate these souls, They assume all of these bad deeds of the souls. They take on all these sins, which require that soul to go back to hell. All these sins, at the time of initiation, are assumed by the Master. And then, after initiation, the Master meditates and goes to Mansarovar. And there, He washes off these sins.
So, these sins, or these deeds, are taken over by the Masters at the time of initiation. Because, if these deeds are not taken over, then such a person will also never be able to go inside.
Kal will never allow that soul to go inside. That account has to be settled with Kal. So, all these sins and all these deeds are, therefore, assumed by the Master. Then, after that, whatever other deeds are there, which are bad deeds, but may not require one to go to hell, these kind of deeds are then taken care of by the Saints, having this disciple, or devotee, do his meditation; also, by giving him Darshan or Prashad and Satsang. Doing all of these things, they further reduce or redeem those deeds.
This is an incident relating to Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj. There was an old initiate of Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj’s. His name was Moti Ram Tailor.
In those days, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj did not have too many initiates. And, what He used to do was, He used to travel from village to village, spend about five to ten days in that village, and initiate and make people aware of the Reality. And, that way, He would travel from village to village. So, in the village of Moti Ram Tailor, there was a rich landlord called Hukam Singh. And Hukam Singh had asked Moti Ram if he could get initiated. So, Moti Ram had promised that, when Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj would visit his village, He would arrange for Hukam Singh to be initiated by Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj.
So, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj visited their village and He did Satsangs for two days. On the third day, Moti Ram Tailor went to Him and requested and prayed to Him that there is a Hukam Singh in this village who is the village chief, and he’s a very rich landlord. And he is desirous of being initiated. So, he requested Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj to give initiation to Hukam Singh.
Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj closed His eyes and introspected, and then He told Moti Ram Tailor, “You can ask me to do any other thing, but don't ask me to initiate your Hukam Singh.”
Moti Ram Tailor told Maharaj, “I have given him my word that You will initiate him. And it will be very good if he gets initiated as the chief of the village, because that will help others also to come on the Path, and it will be good for the village if he gets initiated.” So, he insisted that Hukam Singh should be initiated and Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj was not in favor of that. But, he kept insisting.
Finally, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj told him, “Okay, if you are insisting, I will initiate him. But I have come here to your village for ten days, and if you want me to initiate him, then I will initiate and leave immediately.”
Moti Ram Tailor came and told Maharaj, “That is okay because we will come to Your ashram and we will attend to Your Satsangs. So, I request you to initiate him.”
Accordingly, Hukam Singh was called and that arrangement was made to initiate him. So, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj had earlier requisitioned a horse cart to be kept ready. And He said, “As soon as I complete this initiation, I will walk straight into that horse cart and I will leave from here. So, have my luggage, etc., all packed and ready for me to leave.” And then, He did give that initiation for two and half hours.
So, His luggage, etc., was packed and the horse cart was readied to take Him to the railway station. And He gave that initiation for two and half hours and, immediately after that, He left without any word spoken to anybody. He went and sat on that horse cart and left. And He, accordingly, then took the train and went back to Beas.
Now, as soon as He reached Beas, He got a very high fever. And He gave instructions, “For seven days, I will be staying isolated, and I will not give Darshan to anybody. I will not eat anything. I will not drink anything. So, nobody should come and disturb me during that time.”
News spread to all the other initiates and devotees, and Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj also came to know about this. And Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj was in isolation in that room for seven days. On the eighth day, He came out. And people asked Him as to the reason why. He did not share that reason with anybody. He only said that His fever was very high and He had such high fever that it would affect anyone coming into that room also. Therefore, He had asked nobody to come inside the room.
So, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj came after that, and people questioned him, why he didn't come earlier because he's a gurumukh shish. And perhaps His door would have been opened for him. So, when Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj came to the ashram, he wanted to know why this had happened, that Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj had such a high fever and He was suffering so much. On the ninth day, he met Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj and he prayed to be told what had happened.
So, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj, initially, told him, “I will not tell anybody.”
But, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj insisted. And he said, “You have been unwell for such a long time. You've been suffering. So, we must know, what is the reason?”
Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj told him, “Okay, I will tell you. But, you have to promise me that, so long as I am here alive in this body, you will not tell anybody else.”
So, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj decreed that Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj promise that he will not speak to anybody about this. And then, Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj told him, “This is what happened. I had gone to this village, and there, Moti Ram Tailor insisted that I give initiation to Hukam Singh. Now, Hukam Singh was not destined to be given Naam, but Moti Ram Tailor insisted. So, I had to give him initiation. Now, Hukam Singh had such heavy and bad karmas that he had to spend seven lifetimes in hell. And he was to sit on a hot plate for seven lives. So, he had such bad karmas that those had to be redeemed because Kal will not forgive such karmas. Someone has to account and pay for those karmas. So, I had to take over and assume those karmas on my body. And that is how I had to account for those to Kal. So, therefore, I assumed that karma and I had to redeem it on my own body. And the heat, during that period, would have been so much that no one would be able to withstand or bear it. And, that is why I did not allow anybody to come in.”
So, thereafter, Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj never told anyone about this during the lifetime of Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj. But, after that, in several Satsangs, He referred to this and He mentioned how the Saints come and how They assume these karmas, and how They redeem those karmas of Their initiates.
So, Sant Ji also used to say in His Satsangs, “If you really come to know how much Grace your Master showers on you, you would start dancing in joy.”
Therefore, Kabir Sahib says, “Saints, trees, ponds, and clouds, they all come for selfless service for the benefit of others.”
Naman naman bahu antara,
Naman naman bahu baath.
Naman naman bahu antara,
Naman naman bahu baath.
Ye tino bahute name,
Chita chor kamaan,
Chita chor kamaan.
Now, Kabir Sahib says, “When we bow down, and we bow down to someone, then there is a lot of difference in the bowing down also.” Of course, Saints do not encourage anyone to bow down at Their feet. They encourage all the people to simply meet with folded hands and look into the eyes.
Kabir Sahib says, “These three bow down a lot — a cheetah, a thief, and the bow, which bends down when we pull it for the arrow.” So, Kabir Sahib says, “There is so much difference in bowing, bowing down or bending. The cheetah bends down, and the more he bends down, the longer he will be able to jump and catch his prey. Likewise, a thief also bows down very quietly. And, when he soft-pedals, he tries to go and seek things. So, he is also bowing down, bending down. And, the third one is the bow. When we put an arrow on and we bend the bow, the more it bends, the longer it will shoot the arrow.”
Kabir sukh ko jaayitha,
Aage milaya dukh.
Kabir sukh ko jaayitha,
Aage milaya dukh.
Jahu sukh gad aapane,
Ham jaane aur dukh,
Ham jaane aur dukh.
Kabir Sahib says, “How much pleasure and joy I tried searching for in this world, but I got more and more sorrow.” So, then Kabir Sahib says that He tells joy to go away, He says, ”I'm not searching for joy anymore. I'm searching for sorrow now, because when I am in sorrow, then I remember the God Almighty.”
So, devotees of God Almighty and Masters, they search for sorrow. And, in sorrow, they remember the God Almighty. Because they fear that, when there is joy and there is happiness and abundance around, then they fear forgetting God Almighty and their Master.
Even Sant Tukaram used to sit below a neem tree, which was on the outskirts of His village. And He would go there and sit for about two, two and a half hours, for meditation. So, Sant Tukaram used to sit below this neem tree for a few months every year.
Now, in that same village, there was a person who was a drug addict, and he would take drugs. And then, after that, he would feel very hungry. And, at that time, he would come home and beat his wife and trouble her for giving him food. So then, they would often have fights because of that. Now, he had developed a technique to resolve these fights. Whenever these got to a point, he would threaten her, “If you take this any further, then I will go and sit like Tukaram. And I will sit on the outskirts and do my meditation.” So, the wife would then get scared that he would take sannyas and he would go late and sit outside. And, even though he was a useless person at home, but at least thieves wouldn’t come and there was a little bit of protection with someone being there. So, she would get scared, and then she would be quiet. So, that way, he had developed this technique of threatening her every time.
So, once, she went alone to Tukaram. And she told Tukaram about her problem like this. That her husband troubles her and then he finally threatens her that he’ll become like Tukaram. He’ll come out and will take sannyas.
So, Tukaram told her, “Okay, what you do is, prepare a small bag and keep a blanket in it and keep one vessel in it for water. That’s all. And when he comes and fights, don’t give him any food. And don’t succumb to any of his pressures like this, just keep fighting. And, when he finally threatens you that he’s going to become like Tukaram and go into the forest or take sannyas, then you take this bag out, put it around his neck, and tell him to go. And then, let him come to me. Then, I will handle it when he comes.”
So, in that hut below the tree, which Tukaram had, he cleared it for anything that was there in the hut, and he only kept one pot of water and one earthen vessel for drinking water. And, other than that, he removed everything, any foodstuff, and everything that he had there. And he sat there.
So, as usual, this person came in the evening, like every day. He came and he started fighting with her to give him food. And she also got into an argument, and both of them started fighting. And, as was his usual weapon, he said and threatened her “If you don’t do this, then look, I'm going to go. I'm going to leave you and become Tukaram.”
So, she was prepared for this. She went inside. Now, he thought she’s going to get him some food. So, she came and, with that bag she had already prepared, she placed it around his neck. She said, “Okay, if you are insisting, then become Tukaram.”
Now, he got into a fix, because he had already been threatening like this for one year. And now, he could not go back on what he was saying, so it was a little insulting. He said, “Okay.” Now, with a sad heart then, he finally walked out to go towards Tukaram’s place. So, saddened at heart, he left. But then, he was thinking that Tukaram, being a Saint, may have some fruit and all those things for His food. “So, I’ll get something to eat. So, I will go there.”
Now, when he reached there, to his shock, he found that the hut was completely empty. When he reached there, he saw there was nothing.
Tukaram also told him, “Okay, you have come.”
He said, “Yes, I have come.”
So, He said, “Okay, now, close your eyes and sit for meditation.”
So, such kind of people, they’ve never meditated in their life. When they close your eyes, they remember only such things. So, after some time, he got up. He could not bear that hunger. He asked Tukaram if there was something to eat because he was feeling very hungry.
Then Tukaram said, “No. Wait for some time. If some disciple comes with some food, then we’ll both share and eat it. Until such time, you close your eyes and continue meditating.”
So, that way, that whole night passed, and he was in terrible hunger. And no one came, and no food was given. That whole night, he could not sleep, because he was terribly hungry and there was nothing to eat. So, he somehow passed that night. And, in the morning, then he again asked Tukaram Ji, “If there is something to eat, give me something to eat, because I’m terribly hungry.”
Tukaram told him, “Look, this is a place I come to for meditation, and unless someone brings something to eat, there is nothing, there is no food. Even I am hungry. So, that's how we live. Now, since nobody has come and you are feeling so hungry, this neem tree is there. Why don't you climb up and get some leaves? And let us ground some leaves and make a paste of it, and then make a supper from that. And you will take one glass, and I will also take one glass.”
So, he climbed up that tree and brought some leaves down. And then, he made a paste of those leaves. He prepared a supper from that. And then, he added some sugar there, because neem is extremely bitter. The taste remained very bitter. So, both of them drank that.
Now, it was a very bitter taste that he had to swallow. So, he drank that bitter drink and, because of that, he vomited. Now, whatever little he had in his stomach, that also came out. So, now, it was impossible for him to bear that hunger.
Then Tukaram told him to wait for some more time and if some disciple will again get some food or something, then they can eat that.
So, that way, again, that day passed, and it was near nighttime. And, now, it had become impossible for him. Finally, he requested Tukaram to help him and call his wife back and try to convince her to take him back to the house.
Some farmer was passing by. So, Tukaram requested that farmer to call for his wife, and then that poor lady came to their hut. When that lady came, then Tukaram requested her, “You should allow him to come back to the house, and he has agreed to abide by everything you say, and he’ll lead a good life and listen to you, and take care of the household duties. So, you are requested to take him back.”
She, however, said, “No, no, it's okay. If he stays here, that is fine with me. Because it is said that, if the husband does meditation, then half of that benefit comes to the wife. So, let him stay. I'm happy in that.”
So, this person then started crying at her feet, saying, “No, no, no, no, don't do that. Because I'm very hungry and I’ve stayed here like now two days, and anymore, I will simply die. So, I will fully agree with everything you are saying. Please take me back.”
Then Tukaram requested her, “You take him back. It's okay. And, if he does it again, then you are free to send him back here, whenever you want.”
So, then, he realized how difficult it is to get food.
So, that way, the Saints and Mahatmas have undergone so much difficulty for their meditation, and so many rishis have spent thousands of days without food, living only on the juice of some of the leaves. So, that is something, which is not possible for worldly people to do.
Kabir sukh ko jaayitha,
Aage milaya dukh.
Kabir sukh ko jaayitha,
Aage milaya dukh.
Jahu sukh gad aapane,
Ham jaane aur dukh,
Ham jaane aur dukh.
Radhaswami.