The paathi sings the Bani of Sant Kabir Sahib from the book: Santon Ki Bani, Vol I, pg 213
Timir gaya rabi dekhte,
Kubudhi gayi guru gyaan,
Timir gaya rabi dekhte,
Kubudhi gayi guru gyaan,
Sumati gayi ik lobh tein,
Bhakti gayi abhimaan,
Bhakti gayi abhimaan.
THIS IS THE BANI of Param Sant Satguru Kabir Sahib. In this Bani, Kabir Sahib talks about devotion, and how we face some other impediments due to our lust, greed, attachment, ego, and anger. He says that this darkness, which is surrounding us, when the sun rises, this darkness vanishes. And where it goes, we don't know, but that vanishes when the sun rises. And then, once there is brightness, the earth is all lit up, and everyone gets around doing their work.
So, Kabir Sahib says, “With the sunrise, the darkness of this earth vanishes. Like that, with the knowledge from the Master, the darkness of our ignorance within vanishes.” He explains how this darkness of ignorance goes away from us, and how the Knowledge of the Masters comes. It is when, on the Teachings of the Master, we do our Simran and Dhyan and focus inwards and, after going to the Tenth Door, we go in and see the Radiant Form of the Master within. And then, with the Grace of the Master, we get to see the Jyoti within, and He gets us connected with the Sound Current. And that dispels the complete darkness of ignorance that we have. In that situation, when we close our eyes, we see full Light within. We see it all illuminated within. And when we open our eyes to the outside world, then we see the light outside also.
This darkness of ignorance is not there only today with us. It has been for millions of previous lives. This darkness gets quelled in a second with the Knowledge of the Master. When the disciple goes within and he sees all of this, he sees how this whole cycle of life and death is happening, how Maya and Kal have created this whole illusion, how they have brought into work these five elements, how we are all suffering as a result of all our karmas, and how we are getting into the cycle of life and death. And, if we seek this Knowledge by reading Vedas, by reading scriptures, and by Gita or Ramayana, or any other religious books, this Eye of Knowledge within will not open. If we read these holy books, and we read more and more, the more we read, the more confused we get, because there are various things explained in that with different perspectives. So, the more we read these books, the greater confusion it leads to.
In Sant Mat, it is a very simple Path. The Path is to simply follow the instructions of the Master faithfully. And the instructions that the Master is giving us are to simply do our Simran and Dhyan and get inwardly focused.
Kabir Sahib says, “The good virtues that we have, they get destroyed once greed sets in. And when ego sets in, our devotion gets destroyed.”
When a disciple gets egoistic, his progress on the Spiritual Path stops. The only veil separating us, the soul and God Almighty, is the veil of ego. And it is to get this veil removed between the soul and God Almighty that we go to the Masters. And on the Teachings of the Masters, we carry out our devotion, and when we do it with love and affection, we get our mind purified and we are able to then reduce our ego and get this veil taken away. By doing the devotion of the Masters with love and affection, we start becoming humble, and with setting humility within us, our Path of Spirituality progresses.
Bhakti bhaav bhaadon nadi,
Sabai chaleen ghahraaye,
Bhakti bhaav bhaadon nadi,
Sabai chaleen ghahraaye;
Sarita soi saraahiye,
Jo jeth maas thahraaye,
Jo jeth maas thahraaye.
Kabir Sahib says, “Our devotion is like a river. And that devotion starts moving and gaining the momentum like the flow of a river, it gets faster as it goes further.”
Our devotion is like the river in a rainy season when it gets a lot of momentum. It has a lot of speed with a lot of water coming. Kabir Sahib says, “That river is very good when, even in the summer months, it doesn't dry up.” He says, “In the rainy season, there are lots of rivers that start flowing, but when summer comes, those rivers dry up.”
So, Kabir Sahib says, “The river of devotion should flow continuously and constantly, despite various circumstances. We should have the flow of devotion and the progress continuous and constant.”
Sometimes it happens, when we have wealth and we have the riches, and things are going well for us, then we do our meditation and we do our devotion. But, if some mishap happens, or we face some difficulties in life, then we start doubting the faith in the Master and the capability of the Master.
So, therefore, even in those circumstances, when there is some illness, or there is some other difficulty or ailment, we should continue to have the same quantity, or the same level, of devotion. That is how it should be. So, that is the true devotion that, even in difficulties, it is also there.
Kaami krodhi laalchi,
In tein bhakti na hoye,
Kaami krodhi laalchi,
In tein bhakti na hoye;
Bhakti karein koi soorma,
Jaati baran kul khoye,
Jaati baran kul khoye.
Kabir Sahib says, “People who have lust, or anger, or greed, such people cannot do devotion.”
The flow of lust is downwards. So, the soul, and the attention of the soul, gets pulled downwards. And the flow of Naam is upwards. So, these are opposing each other. Therefore, to be alert and not get swayed by lust, it is very important for a devotee to do that.
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj used to live in a worldly manner, in a family, and He used to say how one should live in this worldly manner in the married life. He used to say, “Our intercourse with the spouse should happen once in a month. And once a baby is born to the couple, then for three years, they should remain celibate. One year, to take care of the womb of the lady, and two years, to take care of the milk of the lady.” And then, the child, which is born, will be bright and will have good virtues. Otherwise, the parents have their influence on that child.
So, if we want to move ahead on our Spiritual Path, then we have to control these urges.
Bhakti dwaara saakara,
Raayi dasave baag
Bhakti dwaara saakara,
Raayi dasave baag
Man airavat hoyiraha,
Kaise hoye samaav,
Kaise hoye samaav.
Then Kabir Sahib says, “The Door of Salvation, which is at the back of the Eye Center, is one-tenth the size of the sesame seed. And to pass through that it is difficult, because the ego that we have, that ego is as big as an elephant.” So, to have that elephant to pass through that small door is very difficult.
Therefore, to pass through that very, very small, fine door, the mind also has to be very subtle and very pure. In order to do that, when we do our Simran and Dhyan and the contemplation of the Master, it is like grinding our mind and ego on Simran and this contemplation of the Master. And we make it more and more fine and more and more pure.
So, Kabir Sahib says, “The Door is so fine and the mind has become like an elephant because it has all its desires, it is pulled by its senses, and it has created a huge ego for itself.” All of this makes it very difficult to pass through that very fine door.
Now, when we do our Simran and we do our Bhajan, then we purify the mind. We make the mind more subtle, more pure, and we get rid of all these outside pressures and pulls. And then, the mind becomes more sublime and is able to go through that fine door.
Kabir guru ki bhakti bin,
Dhig jeevan sansaar,
Kabir guru ki bhakti bin,
Dhig jeevan sansaar;
Dhoo'aan ka sa dhaulhar,
Jaat na laagai baar,
Jaat na laagai baar
Kabir Sahib says, “Without the devotion of our Masters, this life gets wasted because we have believed this world to be true. And we have believed this outside, physical body of ours to be true. And we are spending so much time in the upkeep of this body, and in our pursuits of this world, that we are not getting any time to go within.”
These feelings for the world and this love of this world and this body are like smoke. And when the smoke starts rising, it feels like a cloud that comes, and we see that becoming big. But, when one slight whiff of wind comes, then all this smoke gets scattered. Because then, when death comes, or we get some illness, all of this vanishes.
So, without the benefit of devotion, without having done that devotion, all of this is of no value. These two things, this world and this body, they don't go with us in the end. God has given us this time to do this meditation. So, if we do not spend that effort towards devotion and towards love of God Almighty and the Masters, then we will be wasting this time, wasting this life.
Once, a king went in the jungle for hunting, he got thirsty and he wanted to drink water. So, he searched for someplace there. And then, he found that there was a place, a hut, of a woodcutter. So, he went to that hut, and in that hut, the woodcutter and his wife were sitting, and he asked for water.
So, they offered him hospitality. They asked him to sit inside on a bench. Once he was seated there, they cleaned a vessel. And then, nearby, they had dug a fresh well. And so, they took out some fresh water, giving him that utensil.
So, the king thought to himself that, “This person is helping me. And, that way, he might be helping so many people who may be losing their path, or coming this way in the forest.” He wanted to help this woodcutter. So, he gave the address to that woodcutter, and he said, “You come, if you need anything, you come to this address, you come to me.”
So, after two, three days, that woodcutter went to the king. The king called in his minister, and then, he said, “This farmland, which I have, which has all sandalwood trees, you transfer this into that woodcutter's name.”
That was about fifty to sixty acres of jungle land, having all sandalwood trees. So, that minister transferred all of that land to this woodcutter. That woodcutter went to this land and he was very happy to see so many trees planted there. He thought to himself, “Good, now I don't have to search for wood in the forest. I can start cutting these trees, burning them, and making coal out of that.” So, that way, he would cut the trees, make coal out of them, and then, he would sell the coal in the market. So, that's how he started earning his livelihood.
Three, four years passed by, and that king once went again in the forest, and he remembered that this woodcutter was there. And now, with that full sandalwood forest that he had given him, he felt that he’ll be a rich man now, and would have made a big house for himself. So, he was thinking like that and when he went there to see and meet that woodcutter, he saw that, in that jungle of sandalwood, this woodcutter was still sitting with a small hut. He saw that the whole jungle had been leveled, and there were only very few trees left now in that jungle, very few sandalwood trees. So, the king asked him, “What have you done with all that wood?”
The woodcutter told him, “I have done the same thing that I was earlier doing. I used to cut wood, and then make coal out of it, and sell that coal.”
So, that king really cursed himself as to why he had given such a precious thing to this person. And he told him, “Okay, do you have some wood left out of those trees?”
So, that woodcutter went and fetched a couple of logs he had of those sandalwood trees.
Then, the king told him, “Do one thing. Take this log as it is, don't burn it. Just take it to the market, and just sell it as it is. And see how much money you get for it.”
When that woodcutter took that log to the market, the smell of that sandalwood was spread all over, and a lot of traders came to purchase that sandalwood from him. And then, with only those small pieces of log, he made a lot of money.
So, when he came back with a lot of money, the king told him, “You wasted all of this wood in burning it. You should've just cut it and sold it. You would have been a crorepati by now.”
So, it is like that woodcutter that we spend our lives. God Almighty has given us this precious body for doing His devotion and getting salvation. But we are using the time of this life in very wasteful exercises. We spend it on lust, on anger, on greed and such other things, and that is of no value. And that chance that God Almighty has given, to be used in this precious life, is lost. And then, the soul goes back into those 8.4 million life forms, because we have wasted this opportunity that God Almighty has given us to do His work. We have not done that work, and that is why we suffer.
Nir pakchhi ko bhakti hai,
Nir mohi ko gyaan,
Nir pakchhi ko bhakti hai,
Nir mohi ko gyaan,
Nir dundhi ko mukti hai,
Nir lobhi nir bhaan.
Nir lobhi nir bhaan.
Kabir Sahib says, “The person who is unbiased, or is not prejudiced by his caste, creed, color of skin or such like, and who does his devotion, that devotion is the True Devotion. And the person who gets that Knowledge, who gets the Knowledge within, is the person who is free from desires. And those others who are lost in attachment, to them even the talk on spirituality is not understood, nor digested, by them.”
During Guru Nanak Ji's time, there was a disciple who had taken initiation. In those days, the knowledge of initiation was not so profound. And where his family, perhaps, would have taken initiation, this person also went and took initiation. So, this person was very attached to his family, and his farm work, and other things, and he had a lot of affection for his animals. He had this affection for his cattle, for his animals, and when he died in that attachment, he was reborn as a calf.
The law is that, where we have desire, we will be born in the same place. And the only thing is, the form in which you are born, the life form, which you take, that depends on the karmas. So, if your karmas do not warrant you to have a human form, you will be born as any other animal there, depending on your karmas. But you are born in the same place where your desire has led you.
That family was a well-to-do family, and he was born again in that family as a calf. And he was well looked after as a calf as he grew. But, after three years or so, they took him for farming.
So, when a calf runs here and there, to train that calf, they have to, sometimes, beat that calf. So, his own children would beat him as a calf. But they didn't know that he was their father in the previous life.
So, when he grew, there were five bullocks, and he was one of them. And then, he was also taken to do farming.
Guru Nanak Ji was there, on a hill nearby with Mardana and He suddenly started laughing. So, Mardana Ji asked Guru Nanak Ji as to why. There was nothing warranting Him to laugh, so why had He suddenly started laughing?
So, Nanak Ji told him, “What can be done? This jiva, who was with me, he was to rise above the human form but, instead, he has gone into lower forms, and he is now born as a bullock.”
Mardana told Nanak Ji, “Now, he must be suffering, so he may come back on the Path. Why don't we go and try to bring him on the Path?” So, when They reached that family's house, it was a well-to-do house, and they received Nanak Ji and Mardana Ji, and they asked Them as to what had brought Them there.
Nanak Ji told them, “I want to see one of your bullocks.”
When that person took Guru Nanak Ji to where all the five bullocks were, there He went to that bullock in which that soul, who was initiated by Him, was. Then, He whispered in the ear of that bullock, “Now, at least, are you willing to come?”
But then, that bullock conveyed that the bullock, which is with him on duty, that bullock is weak. So, if he comes, then they will not be able to do farming properly. So, that farming will not happen, if he leaves now.
The Saints do not use any force and, therefore, seeing him attached and still lost in that attachment, they left him there.
The bullocks normally have lives of around eighteen years but, because they are made to do such hard work, they do not live that long. So, after a few years, that soul in that bullock left the body, that bullock died. And because he still was attached to that family, he was still attached there, and he still had desires there, he was, again, reborn in that same place. And now, this time, he was reborn as a dog.
So, when he was a pet dog in that family, oftentimes, the dogs come inside the house. One day, that lady had prepared some rotis of bajra and, on that, she had kept some in the utensil, and she was cooking one of them. She had left that and just gone off to fetch some water.
When that dog smelled that bajra roti getting prepared on the fire, it came inside. And then, he pulled that roti out and started eating it. Now, meanwhile, that lady came back. And she saw that this dog was eating that roti, which she was preparing. So, she set that pot of water aside, and she took a stick and she was waiting at the door. When that dog started running, she hit him hard with that stick, and it broke his backbone.
Now, she didn't know that this was her father-in-law in his previous life. So then, there was no one to take care of that dog. He stayed there, suffered, and after about a month and a half, he died. But his attachment was still there. So, he was again reborn. This time, he was reborn as a snake in that place.
So, that snake gradually started growing there at that place. But he had that attachment to see his grandchildren, and he would go to see them. And when the family members would come to look and catch him, he would, again, hide somewhere.
One day, it so happened that the family members were on the farm, and they were cutting grass there, and their granddaughter was at home on the bed. She was crying and there was no one to look after her there. So, he could not stand that his granddaughter was crying. He came out from his hole, and he went there to make her stop crying. He was playing with her, and then, that granddaughter became quiet.
But, in about ten, fifteen minutes, one of the ladies of the home, came back to fetch some water. When she saw that there was a snake on that bed of the granddaughter there, she threw that pot of water and ran out to call everybody, and said that snake has bitten their daughter. So, three, four people came with sticks and, meanwhile, he continued to play with his granddaughter. He had completely forgotten about what kind of a body he was in now. So then, they beat that snake to death. But he had not done anything to his granddaughter. But there still was attachment. So, he again was born. This time he was born as an insect. And the dirty water that went out from the house into the backyard, he was born in that gutter there. So, as an insect, he may be the size of a grain of rice, a little bigger than a grain of rice.
Now, meanwhile, Nanak Ji was reciting some words, and Mardana Ji was writing it when Mardana remembered, and he inquired with Nanak Ji, “What became of that devotee who was born as a bullock?”
So, Nanak Ji told him, “He died as a bullock. Thereafter, he took the form of a dog. Then, he died as a dog. After that, he became a snake. And, after he became a snake, in the next life now, he is an insect, and he is there in that gutter. And, after this, he will go and become a tree in that house.”
So then, Mardana prayed to Nanak Ji and said, “You please help him, because this jiva is not going to otherwise come back into this fold.”
Nanak Ji also told him, “Even I am getting old, so let's go and get him now.”
So, they went again to this house, and again, were well received, etc. And then, they wanted to use the washroom at the backside, so they said, “We’ll go behind.” And there, Nanak Ji told Mardana where this insect was.
Then, Mardana Ji took that insect out from that gutter with the help of two sticks. And, once that insect was taken out, Nanak Ji crushed it with his toe and, with His Grace, He gave him the life of a human being.
So, Kabir Sahib says, “The souls, they spend so much time in these worldly pursuits, and they don't understand the meaning, and they don't follow the words of the Masters.”
Bhakti soi jo bhaav se,
Iksam chit ko raakh,
Bhakti soi jo bhaav se,
Iksam chit ko raakh;
Saach seel se kheliye,
Main tain dou naakh,
Main tain dou naakh
Kabir Sahib says, “Devotion is achieved by only those people who are unbiased towards others, who are equal, who look at everyone equally, and it's only such people who can develop true devotion.” So, a true devotee is one who sees the enemy, or a friend, a sinner, or someone who has done good deeds, everybody, equally. The other basic plank of devotion is truth. We should have truth as our main plank. And our behavior, our talk, and everything that we do, should be on the lines of truth.
The devotion is as difficult as walking on the fine blade of a sword. And it is difficult because no one can progress further, unless he is truthful, unless truth has become his basic fundamental.
So, Kabir Sahib has also said, “There is no penance bigger than speaking truth and being truthful. And there is no bigger sin than lying and being untruthful.”
Till we manifest Truth within us in all respects, we cannot be successful on the Path of devotion, we cannot move forward on the Path of devotion.
So, we go into the forest; we leave our families. Or, we go in the ashrams, and we stay there in pursuit of our Spiritual Path. But the success of this Path is achieved, wherever we are when we have the following things. One, is to look at one and all equally. Whether a person is good, or he is bad, when we look at him and be indifferent as to what he is, and we look at everybody equally, that is one behavior we should have. The second is, we should have love and affection to the Master and this Path. And the third is truth. If we look at the word ‘truth’, it is there in Sach Khand, Sat Lok, Satguru, all these names are embodied Truth. And we can only be successful in this Path when we make that Truth a part of our lives, and when we are truthful about everything.
So, when we do our Simran Dhyan, and we go inside also, we get connected with the Sound Current, that is Truth. We become satsangis. We get into the company of Truth when we get within. So, it is Truth, which is the basic tenet of this Path.
Most of us will have this doubt that, in our businesses, or in our trades, thinking, “How can we do our business, or trade, if we don't lie a little? So, we need that to sell our wares to people.”
But, we see Baba Somanath Ji also did His business, and He did His business on the premise of Truth.
Once, some merchants from Bangalore had come and asked Him, “You say that we should only speak truth all the time. How is that possible because, when we sell are clothes, and when we sell things in our shop, we have to lie a little.”
So, Somanath Baba Ji had told them, “No, you are not required to lie. For example, even I have done business. And when I did this business, I used to sell clothes in my shop and I used to fix the price. So, if I had to decide that I would make a ten percent profit, then I would add that markup to my price at my ten percent, fix it, and write the prices. Whoever wanted to buy, would take it. Whoever did not want to buy, would not take it. But then, I never got into this thing about telling him a high price first, then telling him a lower price after that, and then coming to some discount. So, all that is not required.”
Bhakti soi jo bhaav se,
Iksam chit ko raakh,
Bhakti soi jo bhaav se,
Iksam chit ko raakh;
Saach seel se kheliye,
Main tain dou naakh,
Main tain dou naakh
Radhaswami.