PDF’s for each Satsang can be downloaded from Google Drive
Hindi sound files for each Satsang can be found on Google Drive
Maharaj Kirpal Singh tells us that the Saints lead the seeking souls into the life of the spirit “each in his own time, according to the then prevailing conditions and people’s aspirations; for they (Masters) always try to lead them from the line of least resistance and dole out the basic goodness in terms that may readily appeal to and fit in with their mental make-up, for a step higher in the process of evolution or unfoldment of the of the spirit.”
When Hazur Sawan Singh instructed Baba Somanath to leave the Dera and return to South India to propagate the teaching of Sant Mat, He said: “Somanath, the body in which your soul dwells is highly suitable for spreading the teaching of Sant Mat in South India for you have both the understanding of the ways of the people of the South and with the Grace of the Masters have perfected the meditation after passing through every lower stage of the journey. Go and commence the work of Satsang.”
We find that Baba Somanath’s Satsangs are filled with a wealth of words, names, places and concepts from the Sanskrit epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharat, from Hindu traditions prevalent at the time of His mission, and from Vedanta and other branches of Indian philosophy. To translate this feast of spirituality into English with no reference to His original words would be disservice to His meaning and to the deep devotional atmosphere that pervades His discourses. Further, Baba Somanath loved to draw on puns and folk etymology to explain complex spiritual truths to His sangat that was comprised, to a large degree, of farmers and mill workers; and much of His meaning would be lost without reference to the original Hindi. Therefore, many Hindi and Sanskrit words appear in the translations, and it may be helpful here to say a few words about the methodology employed to transliterate them.
The transliteration scheme used in these Satsangs has one goal — to give an intuitive approximation of the correct pronunciation of the Hindi sounds for readers who are unfamiliar with the sound systems of Indian languages. The transliteration follows the familiar pattern used in the bhajan book In Praise of Kirpal. A little extra information has been added with diacritics drawn from IAST (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration) and from other established historic usage. If you encounter an unfamiliar Hindi word, diacritics can offer clues to how that word is pronounced.
VOWELS
If you are going to remember only one thing while reading the transliterated Hindi, let it be the distinction between the short “a” (as in “alive”) and the long “ā” (as in “father). Short vowels have no added diacritic. Long vowels have a dash (macron) above the vowel. You can safely ignore everything else about the transliteration scheme and do just fine.
If you are up for a little more detail, here is the full list of long and short vowels:
a as in alive, achieve
ā as in calm, mom
i as in sit, knit
ī as in sweet, Rita
u as in foot, brook
ū as in school, rule
And to round out the vowels, here’s what remains:
e like hay, rain (but not a diphthong, that is, no “ee” sound at the end)
ai like west, zest (regionally, may also be pronounced like cat, sat)
au like draw, shawl
ri/rhi pronounced like “ri” in ridge or “ru” in ruse, depending on the region
An informational side note here: all Hindi vowels (with the exception of the vocalic “ri”) can be nasalized. You don’t need to give much attention to this point, but just be aware that when you see a vowel with a tilde (ã, ẽ, ĩ, õ, ũ, aĩ, aũ, ā̃, ī̃, etc.) it means the vowel is nasalized. If you are a French speaker this will be a snap for you, because nasalized vowels are common in French (bon, maison, lavande, Antibes). Otherwise, you can think of vowels pronounced through the nose with a country and western twang.
CONSONANTS
Consonants should be fairly intuitive and should not present any difficulty. Simply pronounce them as you would in English and you’ll be fine.
But if you’d like to know a little more about the sound systeml, read on…
A distinction that you may already be familiar with from In Praise of Kirpal is that some consonants are followed by a “h”, indicating that Hindi speakers pronounce those letters with an extra puff of air (aspirated). You can safely disregard this extra aspiration and pronounce “th” as “t,” or “dh” as “d” and so forth.
Also, sometimes you’ll notice a dot under a consonant. These dots usually indicate retroflex sounds, that is, consonants pronounced slightly farther back in the mouth than their equivalent English consonants. In fact, the English pronunciation is already close enough to the Hindi retroflex to make it an acceptable substitute. (The one tricky set is “ṛ” and “ṛh.” You can just pronounce them both as the “r” in “rhyme” and be close enough. You can also approximate the “ṛ” sound more closely by pronouncing it as the “rd” in the word “Urdu.” The tongue bends back, strikes the palate and flips forward. But, unless you are actually learning to speak Hindi, there is no need to master that sound set.)
Sometimes, the dots with consonants can indicate a Perso-Arabic sounds in loan words. These words are common in Sufi literature and in the ecumenical Sant literature drawn, as it is, from a vast array of religious traditions. If you encounter these letters, you can just pronounce them as you would in English and disregard the dots. (For instance, kḥ is usually pronounced simply as “kh” in modern standard Hindi, but the Perso-Arabic letter actually sounds like the “ch” in the Scottish “loch” or the German “Bach.”)
Nasal consonants have been simplified. All nasal consonants are transcribed as “n”, “m”, or “ṇ” (retroflex n). We have already mentioned that nasalized vowels are marked with a tilde (ã, ĩ, õ, etc.) No distinction is made for ṅ, and ñ; both are transliterated as “n”. Usually, no distinction is made within a word between between anusvāra and anunāsika. Final anunāsika is transcribed as the appropriate vowel with a tilde rather than using the IAST transcription “ṃ”.
Also, IAST transliterates regular “sh” as “ś” and retroflex “sh” as “ṣ”. Since most readers would be unfamiliar with IAST conventions, we have chosen to use regular “sh” as “sh” and retroflex “sh” as “ṣh”.
It is worth mentioning the letter “v.” In some regions, “v” is pronounced as “w” and is often represented in English spellings of Hindi words as “w,” for instance, in the word “Swami.” So, in the case of “v,” we use “v” when specifically transliterating a Hindi word, but in the text, we stick with the English spelling for words such as “Swami” that have a commonly accepted English form.
Finally, we don’t usually add diacritics to commonly known words such as “prana.” But if those words appear in lists where diacritics are necessary for unfamiliar words, we add diacritics to everything for consistency, for instance, in this sequence describing the koshas or sheaths: “annamaya, the food sheath; prāṇamaya, the sheath of the vital airs; manomaya, the mental sheath; vigyānamaya, the sheath of knowledge, with two aspects, gyān and vigyān (gyānamaya, concerned with knowledge of the material planes and vigyānamaya, concerned with enlightenment in the spiritual planes) and, lastly, anandamaya, the sheath of bliss, the final gossamer-thin kosha covering the soul.”
SANSKRIT vs. HINDI
The inherent “a” at the end of words is silent in modern Hindi, and so is not usually transcribed. However, it may be included for words taken directly from Sanskrit. Visarga is transcribed as ḥ, but again it is confined to Sanskrit words. The Sanskrit conjunct “jña” is transcribed as “gya” which is the more common modern pronunciation.
For the grammatical form of Sanskrit words in the text, we have been guided by Baba Somanath’s own usage. For instance, He usually favors “ātmā” (nominative singular) over “ātman” (the neutral “dictionary” form) to indicate “soul” or “self,” and we follow His lead.
Jagjiwan Sahib
O Sadhu, don’t do the devotion just looking at others.
Sādho dekh karai nahīn̐ koī
साधो देखि करै नहिं कोई ।
देखी करै बूझि नहिं आवै, भरम भुलाने सोई ।।१।।
जे साधुन तें करे समिताई, परै नरक महँ सोई ।
विद्या वाद बिबाद करहि हठ, गयो सर्ब से खोई ।।२।।
वहु बकवाद चित्त थिर नाहीं, कहि भाखहुँ मैं तोई ।
भजन बिहून मोह के बस परि, मुक्ति न कैसहुँ होई ।।३।।
सो ऐसै सब देखि परतु हैं, भक्त है बिरला कोई ।
जगजीवन गुप्तहिं मन सुमिरहु, सूरति चरन समोई ।।४।।
Jagjīvan Sāhab kī Bānī, Part 2, Updesh kā Ang, Shabd 43, p 26 (Allahabad, Belvedere Printing Press, 1966)
O Sadhu, don’t do the devotion just looking at others.
These are the teachings of Jagjiwan Sahib.1
It comes in one sloka of Kabir:
भक्ति सब कोई करे भरमना ना टरे,
भरम जंजाल दुख द्वन्द्व भारी
Everyone does the devotion, but they do not cast out illusion from their within.
Trapped in the net of deception, they undergo terrible suffering and strife.
The entire world is engaged in devotion. No one is without it. Whoever has taken birth is performing one type of devotion or another. But until we fully grasp the inner secret, our devotion cannot earn the real spiritual merit.
Take for example the trees. They do their own form of devotion. They are also benefactors. They provide shelter for the birds. They yield wood for fuel. And further they give us fruit to eat. They perform this service for the benefit of others, not for themselves. This is also one type of devotion.
Similarly, the crop ripens in the field and bestows its harvest upon us. This too is a form of devotion. The cows and the buffaloes also provide us with milk, while they themselves live on hay and grass clippings.
And human beings are also engaged in so many types of devotion according to their own temperament and understanding.
If you ask someone, “Where does your devotion lie?” they might reply, “I am a member of the Congress Party.”
Someone else may say, “I am a patriot. I love my country.”
A third person claims, “I am a philanthropist.”
A fourth asserts, “I am a Communist.”
And a fifth person tells you, “I am a member of the Jana Sangh Party.2
So, all of these people are devoted to some outer cause — they are each doing their own type of bhakti or devotion.
No one is devoid of devotion. Women do the devotion of men, and men do the devotion of women. All sentient beings are engaged in some form of devotion. Many people worship God in the in the form of Shiva, Shankar, Shakti, Rama, Vital, Hari, and so on.
Therefore, seeing all the forms of devotion that the devotees practice, Jagjiwan Sahib is cautioning us: “O Sadhus, do not perform the devotion, just mimicking what others do.” Each person is following their own type of bhakti, but what can you gain by adopting the superficial aspects of that devotion?
Putting on the jeneu (sacred thread), tying the chhoti (ritual tuft of hair), wearing the kaphani (sadhu’s unsewn garment), smearing sacred ash on your body, breaking the coconut, and playing the chimta (small bells attached to a paddle) — we engage in all these practices only because other people have told us that they are meritorious. But when we perform the rites and rituals, merely copying others, we remain far away from the Lord. Hypocrisy takes root in our heart and our egotism increases.
We cannot gain enlightenment by imitating others — in this way we only become more deeply enmeshed in illusion.
As long as we go on blindly with the prescribed rituals, understanding can never dawn in our within. Our intellect remains under the control of illusion, and we go on squandering our precious lifetime.
Those people who try to imitate the true sadhus, they make their way to hell.
Some people try to become like the true sadhus simply by adopting some special kind of apparel. They imitate the sadhus outer behavior, but what is the outcome of their actions? Well, within the hell worlds are waiting. Why? Because those unfortunate people have failed in two ways. They have not become a worldly success, nor have they succeeded in spirituality.
धोबी का कुत्ता घर का न घाट का
The washerman’s dog belongs neither to the house nor to the riverbank.
Similarly, the imitation sadhus belong neither to this world or the next. For this reason, they have to suffer the torments of hell.
The rishis, munis, anchorites and ascetics have done the inner practices and have recorded their own experiences in the Vedas, Shastras and other holy books. But after reading their books, we adopt only the external trappings of dress and ritual, and in this way, we think we have become sadhus.
We paid no attention to their real inner teachings. We have copied only their outer behavior. In this way have become imitation sadhus, and we will be rewarded accordingly.
The true sadhus have done the meditation practice and have reaped the fruit of their efforts. But that is something different altogether. Those aspirants who stick only to the superficial forms fall prey to hypocrisy. And what is their reward? They are thrown into the hells.
Becoming obstinate, they debate and argue. In this way, everything is lost.
Further, Jagjiwan Sahib tells us that the imitation sadhus read the scriptures and, according to their own understanding of what is written there, they become skilled in argument and debate.
But how can intellectual wrangling lead us to the inner experiences that the true sadhus gained in their meditation? From reading the holy books, we become stuck fast in our own opinions. All we can learn from such study is how to wage a war of words.
Ramdas Swami tells us:
फुकाचे मुखी बोलता काय वेचे | दिसंदीस अभ्यंतरी गर्व सांचे ||
The words we speak are free. They cost us nothing.
But day by day, through and through,
pride swells within us.
The more we go on lecturing others — expounding on the glories of Sach Khand and Anami Desh — the more our egotism expands, casting one more veil of illusion over our understanding.
Why does this happen? Because we have not experienced the inner reality that we are describing. It’s just like reading about a battle in the newspaper. Someone who was actually engaged in the conflict understands all too well the bitter struggle that led to victory. The opposing forces were locked in combat, bombs were exploding, this was happening, that was happening.
In contrast, we get up in the morning and sit comfortably reading about the ordeal in our newspaper. But if we were actually standing on the front lines, we would see it very differently.
Only the ones who fight the battle and subdue their mind can taste the bliss of the inner nectar. And the record of their experiences is written down in the holy books. But if someone reads those experiences of bravery and then imagines that, merely by adopting some special form of dress, they have become like those spiritual warriors — “I am as strong as a tiger. I am as brave as a lion.” — well, what benefit can possibly come of that?
The mind cannot be stilled through discussion and debate, even if you go on talking and talking.
You have engaged in so much intellectual wrangling and debate. But still your mind hasn’t come under your control. So, what did you accomplish with all that talk? Absolutely nothing.
Without meditation you will remain ensnared in illusion, so how can you achieve liberation?
Until you sit for the meditation practices, until you ascend into the inner ethereal planes, riding on of the Conscious Power that dwells within you, you won’t be able to unite with the Shabd. Without meditation it is all mere words, no matter how many scriptures you can recite.
This is all the imitation devotion; the true devotees are very rare.
The whole world is filled with those who perform the outer practices, but only some rare devotee engages in true devotion.
कोटि महँ कोई भजन राम को पावै
Out of millions, only a rare one gets the
meditation of the Lord.
Jagjiwan says: repeat the Simran in your heart and merge your soul into the His Lotus Feet.
Here he says that real Simran is the remembrance of Naam. In true remembrance, there is no need for outer repetition with the tongue. That true remembrance goes on within.
Repeat the Naam in the silence of your heart. This is what we call the gupt simran or hidden repetition. The fault we have to correct is not with the mouth, but with the heart. The mouth is only for eating and drinking. The lacking is in the heart.
To remove the defects from the heart, remember the True Lord inwardly — then merge your soul into Him. You may call it soul, or you may call it light. But the conscious Inner Power is the same, no matter what words you employ to describe it.
Audio: H248
Ravidas Ji
I have sung the Lord’s praises over and over
Gāi gāi ab kā kahi gaūn̐
गाइ गाइ अब का कहि गऊँ।
गावनहार को निकट बताऊँ ।। टेक ।।
जब लग है या तन की आसा, तब लग करै पुकारा ।
जब मन मिल्यौ आस नहिं तन की, तब को गावनहारा ।। १ ।।
जब लग नदी न समुद सामवै, तब लग बढ़ै हँकारा ।
जब मन मिल्यौ राम सागर सों, तब यह मिटी पुकारा ।। २ ।।
जब लग भकति मुकति की आसा, परम तत्त्व सुनि गावै ।
जहँ जहँ आस धरत है यह मन, तहँ तहँ कछू न पावै ।। ३ ।।
छाड़ै आस निरास परम पद, तब सुख सति कर होई ।
कह रैदास जासों और करत है, परम तत्त्व अब सोई ।। ४ ।।
Raidās Jī kī Bānī, Pad, Rāg Rāmkalī, shabd 3
I have sung the Lord’s praises over and over, but now of what should I sing?
I see that the One of whom I was singing dwells within me.
This is the bani of Param Sant Ravidas Ji. He says that so many days have passed singing the Lord’s praises: “I sang bhajans and shabds. I praised His greatness and glory. I placed my supplications before Him; but now who am I praising and who is offering that praise?” Answering His own question, Ravidas Ji tells us: “The One who is singing resides within me.” Who is really singing? That One dwells within you; He is the nearest of the near. Now recognize the One who is the source of all this praise. He is the support of all your singing.
As long as you remain aware of the body and its desires, you will go on crying.
As long as you are aware of the body and its desires, you go on crying out to the Lord for help. As long as you think that God Almighty is something separate from you, then, in order to reunite with Him, you go on praising and glorifying Him; you sing of His qualities and describe His greatness. But when you rise above all thoughts of the body, when every desire is removed, then you are all alone. You are soul — untrammeled by the body, free of birth and death, detached from mother, father, and all the worldly relations. As long as you remain attached to the body and dominated by pride, you will continue to be bound to mother and father, friends and relations; you will be caught in the love for spouse and children; you will go on thinking of yourself as a man or a woman. But as soon as you cast aside the love for the body and the selfish desires of this world, then you will be freed from the fetters of this material realm — now and forever. Ravidas Ji is revealing a profound truth to us.
When the mind loses itself in the Shabd and all the desires of the body disappear, then who remains to sing the Lord’s praise?
When the mind becomes absorbed in the One Primal Lord, when it contacts the Shabd and becomes united with it; when it merges into the Light and becomes the form of the Light, then who remains to sing the Lord’s praise? There is no more “you”. When you have united with the Lord, you have no existence separate from Him. So, who is singing praises and whose praises are they singing? As long as you think you are separate from the Lord, then you yourself sing His praise and glory, and you yourself hear that praise. You are the singer, and you are the listener. But when you have merged your individual identity into the One who is the All-Doer, when you have become His very form, then who remains to sing His praises?
Before the river flows into the sea, its pride goes on increasing.
But when the river of the mind flows into the ocean of the Lord, then all its clamor ceases.
The river swirls and rages as long as it is separate from the sea. At their source, high in the Himalayas, the Ganges and Yamuna rivers come thundering out of the mountainside. The water cascades down to the plains, flowing rapidly and noisily along toward the ocean. But when the rivers finally reach their destination, when they abandon the riverbeds and merge into the ocean water, all the noise ceases. They become quiet.
Similarly, as long as the soul is attached to the love of the body, it longs to be reunited with the Lord and goes on praising Him, extoling His qualities, singing of His glory, and speaking of the True One. But when the soul follows the stream of Shabd and merges into God Almighty, then what becomes of all the noise, the singing, the praise, and the speaking? The soul becomes silent and still.
As long as you do the bhakti with the hope of liberation, you keep singing the praise of the Almighty Lord.
As long as we perform our bhakti cherishing in our heart the hope of liberation, we will go on singing the glory and extolling the greatness of the One Supreme Lord. We will describe Him as Formless, Flawless, Immaculate, Supreme, All-Pervading, All-Protecting. We will glorify Him as the Merciful One, the Protector of the poor, and we will heap countless praises upon Him. But when our soul merges into Truth, when it becomes one with the Shabd, then who will be glorified and who will offer that praise.
Wherever the mind fixes its desires, there you can gain nothing.
He says that as long as desire remains in your mind, it makes no difference if the desire is noble or base. It is said: “You are bound by the objects of your desire.”
Whatever we are longing for becomes the source of our bondage. When we are controlled by desire, we can gain nothing, because desire is empty. As soon as desire is eradicated, we experience the bliss of desirelessness; but as long as any trace of desire remains, we will find no happiness.
When you rise above longing and desire, you reach the Highest Realm; there you attain true happiness.
When you remove desire from your within, then you become the form of tranquility. No cravings remain within you. When water becomes still, then no waves can arise. But when the water becomes agitated by the wind or by any other currents that would disturb its equanimity, then waves and ripples form. We chase after those waves, and following wave after wave, we continue to take birth. Friend, think about it; what is the nature of a wave? It is made up of water. And what is the nature of water? It is mercurial — ever-changing.
So, as long as the waves of desire keep arising in our mind, they will shape our understanding and our intellect. All our actions will be driven by those waves. We will create karmas to fulfill our desires, and then we will become bound fast by those very karmas.
But when we reverse the trend of our thoughts, from where can those waves arise? Then we enter the field of Truth. When we absorb our thoughts in Truth then no desires can come up, and when desire is removed, we cease creating karmas to achieve those desires. When desire controls us, then we create more karmas to gain the object of our desire, and our karmas keep us bound. When desire is removed, we become free of karma. Then we gain true happiness.
Ravidas says, you once saw the Lord as something separate,
But now you experience the Divine, Primal Element permeating all.
The Almighty Lord dwells in this condition. He is Self-Existing; this is His characteristic. He is Param Tattva — the Divine, Primal Element. His state is beyond the grasp of the intellect.
Audio: H111, 0:00
Ravidas
I cannot be called a God’s devotee.
Rām bhagat ko jan na kahāūn̐
राम भगत को जन न कहाऊँ, सेवा करूँ न दासा।
जोग जग्य गुण कछू न जानूँ, ताते रहूँ उदासा।। टेक।।
भगत हुआ तो चढ़ै बड़ाई। जोग करूँ जग मानैं।
गुन हूआ तो गुनी जन कहै, गुणी आप को आनै।।१।।
ना मैं ममता मोह न महिया, ये सब जाहिं बिलाई।
दोजख भिस्त दोउ सम कर जानौं, दुहुँ ते तरक है भाई।।२।।
मैं अरु ममता देखि सकल जग, मैं से मूल गँवाई।
जब मन ममता एक एक मन, तबहि एक है भाई।।३।।
कृस्न करीम राम हरि राघव, जब लग एक न पेखा।
बेद कतेब कुरान पुरानन, सहज एक नहिं देखा।।४।।
जोई जोई करि पूजिये, सोई सोई काँची, सहज भाव सत होई।
कह रैदास मैं ताहि को पूजूँ, जाके ठाँव नाँव नहिं होई।।५।।
Raidāsjī kī bānī
Pad, Rāg Rāmkali, n 4, p 4
(Prayag, Belvedere Press, 1948)
I cannot be called a God’s devotee.
I make no show of seva; I am not counted among His servants.
Many worldly people make a great show of devotion, seeking to increase their name and fame and spread their reputation for holiness. Becoming puffed up with pride, they call themselves mahatmas and sadhus. But here Sant Ravidas tells us, “I have not done the devotion of the Lord. There is no need to address me as a devotee. Neither have I done any seva nor have I become His servant.”
I have not learned the art of yogic practices or the performing of yagyas (ritual offerings). I have stayed away from such things.
Further he says, “I will not perform the various yogic practices nor participate in the yagyas or other rites and rituals. I remain detached from them. Why? Because I know that if I do all these things, they will bind me to the world. If I do yogic practices or perform the yagyas (ritual offerings), the world will praise me. And through doing pranayama and the other practices, I will acquire miraculous powers. Then egoism will swell up in my heart. Worrying about the opinions of others, I will seek praise and fear criticism. I do not engage in yogic practices, and I do not perform the outer worship, rites, rituals, and offerings, because these things will not help me reach my goal.”
If I call myself His devotee, then my fame will spread.
If I make a show of the yogic practices, then people will start to revere me.
Now here he tells us, “If I call myself a devotee, the world will hold me in high regard. And if I make a show of the yogic powers, then everyone will sing my praises. Someone will say, ‘He is a great mahatma, and I should go to him. He will be able to fulfill all my desires. He will bestow this blessing on me. He will bestow that blessing on me.’ Each person will come to me to get their own works accomplished. I will become venerated as a great soul, and for this reason, I don’t want to be known as a devotee; I don’t want to perform the yogic practices or the rites and rituals.”
If I develop all the noble qualities, the world will sing my praises — and I will start to believe in my own magnificence.
He goes on to explain, “If I become a noble person, a virtuous person, and lead an exemplary life, if I parade my virtues before the people, then they will say, ‘He is a very great man, a very holy soul.’ As they go on praising me, I will start to believe that I really am an exalted and extraordinary being. And in that way, I will become ever more ensnared in egotism and vanity.”
There is nothing in egotism, attachment and delusion,
All of these impediments must be rooted out from your within.
Here Ravidas sounds a word of caution: “If you are free from ego and attachment, then you will not be susceptible to people’s praise. But so long as those qualities are lurking within, there is always some danger that one day they may lure you astray.”
I consider hell and heaven as equal;
It is an illusion to see them as two different things.
Now he speaks of heaven (bahist) and hell (dozakh): “Both heaven and hell are equal in my eyes. I am not performing good deeds to win the heavens, nor avoiding sins to escape the hells. For me, heaven and hell are both the same.”
So, from where does the perception of difference arise? As long as you remain tied to your individual ego, the sense of duality persists. But when you eliminate yourself from the equation — when you transcend the sense of I and mine — then no difference remains between heaven and hell.
When you have gone beyond the ego, even the desire for liberation cannot arise. When your little self merges into the Greater Self, to whom should you pray for emancipation? Who even remains there to offer that prayer? 3
When you view the world through the lens of “I and you,” then you lose your capital.
He explains, “I have searched throughout the whole world. I have carefully considered the reading of the Vedas, Shastras, Puranas and other holy books, the performance of rites, rituals and devotions, the practice of yogic disciplines and the pursuit of intellectual knowledge. But in the end, my quest has only led me to the conclusion that the odor of egotism arises from all these pursuits. The sense of I-hood is at their very core. Therefore, I decided to leave all these things aside, because wherever the sense of ego intrudes, it pollutes all your good intentions. You lose those attainments you had to begin with, and you remain devoid of the real essence you are seeking.”
When the mind and self become one, O brother,
Then you can unite with the One within.
When the mind becomes freed from the outer attachments, then the soul realizes its real nature of unity. Then the soul merges into the Oversoul and attains the bliss of Oneness.
Krishan, Karim, Ram, Hari, and Raghav — all are different names we have given to the selfsame omnipresent God.
But we worship God in those various forms, only so long as we have not witnessed His Oneness for ourselves.
So long as we have not attained that state of unity, one person may worship the Lord as Krishna, another may worship Him as Rama. Someone else may be devoted to Him as Karim or Allah or Khuda.
This remains our condition until we experience that Unity for ourselves. But once that vision of Oneness dawns within us, then no difference between Rama or Karim or Rahim remains. Then we see that all the names refer to the same Power.
As long as we imagine that God is something apart from us, then we will see Him as Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, or Shankar. As long as our attention remains identified with these different forms that we have attributed to God, we cannot realize our own true self.
But when we become absorbed in Unity, then these imagined forms of God disappear of themselves — no Rama or Rahim remains.
The Vedas, the Puranas, the Koran and other holy books have not seen that Oneness.
He says that the Vedas, the Koran and the Puranas have not seen that Oneness, because whoever has experienced that Oneness is silent; that Oneness cannot be described. 4 If you have not known that Oneness, you may seek to describe it by relying on the multiple conjectures and concoctions generated by the mind and intellect.
But Oneness is Self-Existing — it lies beyond the realm of words. The sun never needs to say, “I am radiating light, and you must look at me.” Would the sun ever need to express its own greatness? No, never. It is self-evident.
The forms of God we worship are all unreal.
O brother, only the Self-Existing Lord is True.
If we worship the form of some imagined god of our own creation, that also is an imperfect type of devotion, and we become enslaved by it. He says that Truth naturally pervades every being. But to really understand this reality is very difficult.
Everyone is searching for the Truth according to their own makeup and stage of development. Even the most untruthful person will proclaim sincerely: “I am speaking the truth.” We think like this because our innate nature is Truth, and we always have that feeling within us that we are the true ones. We think we know best of all. Even though someone may be speaking a falsehood, still they will think to themselves, “All that I am saying is right and true.” Truth is all-pervading, and even though a person may be speaking a falsehood, still Truth is the foundation of all that exists. A person may take a solemn oath: “I swear I’m telling the truth.” They may be conveying something false under oath, but because their innate nature is Truth, they mistakenly think that they know best about everything and that whatever they speak is true. 5
Truth pervades all the creation. God is Truth — no other form of God exists. Until we understand this reality, the illusion obscuring the Truth within us cannot be dispelled. This is a very deep subject.
We envision God as Brahm. Or we believe in Him as Parbrahm. We are always wishing to worship the Deity in an image of our own creation. But God is what He is — He has no equal. What room is there for us to create another God?
Ravidas says, “I worship only that nameless God who has no fixed abode.”
He says, “I worship that One, who has no dwelling place — He exists beyond the realms of time and space. The God who I worship is nameless and formless. Losing my existence in Him, I have become one with Him.”
Audio: H111, 10:47
Ravidas
O mind! You are like a fish swimming in the ocean of this world.
Re man māchhalā sansār samude
रे मन माछला संसार समुदे, तूँ चित्र बिचत्र बिचारि रे ।
जेहि गाले गलिये ही मरिये, सो संग दूरि निवारि रे ।। टेक।।
जम छै डिगन डोरि छै कंकन, पर तिया लागो जानि रे ।
होई रस लुबुध रमै यों मुरख, मन पछितावै अजान रे ।।१।।
पाप गुलीचा धरम निबोली देखि देखि फल चीख रे ।
फरतिरिया संग भलो जौं होवै, तौ राजा रावन देख रे ।।२।।
कह रैदास रतनफल कारन, गोबिंद का गुन गाइ रे ।
काँचे कुंभ भरो जल जैसे, दिन दिन घटतो जाई रे ।।३।।
Raidās Jī kī Bānī, Pad, Rāg Soraṭh, Pad 47, p 23
O mind! You are like a fish swimming in the ocean of this world. Now, you should reflect carefully on your strange condition.
Ravidas says, “O mind! You are like a fish, and this world is an ocean of fear.”
This creation is filled with sense allurements in all their variegated colors and forms. The merchandise of this world is traded every moment — the give and take never ceases.
Whoever takes the lure of false attachments will be slain by them; shun their company and run far away.
False attachments are destroying your life. You should free yourself from them. Chasing after the illusory creations of Maya day and night, we are squandering our precious birth. If we will only renounce their company, then they can do us no harm.
Yama is the fisherman, the bangles are the hook on the line, and another man’s wife is the bait. O fool, if you revel in that indulgence, lost in infatuation, you will bitterly rue your ignorance.
Now, how do the dheevaras (a caste of fisherman) snare a fish? First, they tie a fishing line to a wooden stick and toss it into the water. And to fishing line they have attached a baited metal hook. Attracted by that bait, the fish rushes there thinking it has found something good to eat. And when the poor fish swallows that bait, hook and all, the sharp barb gets caught in its throat and, in this way, it has to give up its life.
Similarly, in the created world, the fisherman is Kal, the hook and line signify the binding power of karma, and the bait attached to that hook and line is the attraction of the opposite sex. Like the ignorant fish, the poor jiva swallows that bait and when the hook gets stuck in its throat, it losses its life.
In the beginning, the taste of the sense pleasures seems very alluring, but because of our rash deeds, in the end, we die suffering and repenting our folly. And then, once again we are thrown back into the cycle of 84 lakh births and deaths.
The fruit of sin appears very sweet and enticing, and the restraint of righteousness seems bitter; but when we bite into that fruit, we lament.
There is one type of tree that, from a distance, appears very beautiful, bearing wonderful bright-red fruits. When birds see that tree, they are all attracted by its lovely fruit — beckoning luscious and sweet. Anticipating a sumptuous feast, they rush there and perch themselves on that tree, but at the first taste of that fruit, their hopes are dashed.
If you think it is wise to steal other people’s wives, just consider the fate that befell King Ravana.
If you think you will find happiness with other people’s wives, then just keep the picture of King Ravana before you and contemplate on his sorry fate. Ravana was the greatest king who ever lived. There has never been one equal to him before or since. He had 100,000 sons and 125,000 grandsons. Just think of it! 100,000 sons and 125,000 grandsons. The world has never seen a king who could match him. But because he abducted Sita, the wife of Lord Rama, he lost his life, and his entire kingdom was destroyed. Turn this over carefully in your mind.
Ravidas says, “If you wish to win the precious gem of God’s Name, then sing His praise every moment. Otherwise, you are like an unbaked pot; day by day the water of your life is seeping away.
Now what does he tell us? If you wish to be liberated in this life, then day and night you should do the Naam Simran of the Lord and become detached from the net of this world and the ocean of illusion.
audio: H369
Sehjo Bai
O Sehjo, take firm hold of the Guru’s command;
Then you can tread on the Guru’s Path with ease.
Guru agyā driṛh kari gahai; Guru mat Sahajo chāl
।। दोहा ।।
गुरु अज्ञा दृढ़ करि गहै, गुरु मत सहजो चाल ।
रोम रोम गुरु को रटै, सो सिष होय निहाल ।। २२ ।।
।। चौपाई ।।
गुरु की अज्ञा दृढ़ करि गहिये । गुरु की अज्ञा ही में रहिये ।।
गुरु अज्ञा बिन काज न कीजै । हानि होय तो होने दीजै ।।
गुरु की अज्ञा विघ्न न कोई । गुरु की अज्ञा गुरुमुख होई ।।
गुरु की अज्ञा भक्ति बढ़ावै । गुरु की अज्ञा पार लँघावै ।।
गुरु की अज्ञा सकल सिरोमन । गुरु की अज्ञा चलै सो हरिजन ।।
गुरु अज्ञा मानै सोइ साधू । गुरु अज्ञा पद भेद अगाधू ।।
जो कोइ गुरु की अज्ञा भूलै । फिर फिर कष्ट गर्भ में झूलै ।।
चरनदास गुरु अज्ञा पूरी । बिन अज्ञा करनी सब कूरी ।।
अज्ञाकारी गुरुमुख नीके । सहजो लोक भोग सब फीके ।। २३ ।।
Sahajo Baī kī Banī, Guru Agyā, 22-23
Sehjo says: When you take firm hold of the Guru’s command,
Then you can tread on the Guru’s Path with ease.
When the Guru’s Name resounds in every fiber of the body,
Then the disciple is filled with bliss.
This is the bani of Sehjo Bai. She was a Perfect Disciple of Guru Charan Das Ji. Yesterday and the day before, for two or three days now in Satsang, we have taken banis describing the greatness of the Guru. Now we will consider in detail the importance of the disciple following the Guru’s commands.
Many people consider the Guru to be great. They honor and respect Him. They perform whatever seva He gives them. But to follow the commandments of the Guru, to act according to His instructions, is very difficult. There is a vast difference between the status of the manmukh, one who obeys the mind, and the Gurumukh, one who obeys the Guru. For millions of yugas, for millions of lifetimes, we have followed the mind. We have gone on creating karmas, and those karmas have become the cause of our revolving over and over in the wheel of births and deaths. And so, for age upon age, we have wandered blindly in illusion. But when we follow the Guru’s commands, He removes all of our bonds, and our soul goes free. For this reason, we should go into the shelter of the Guru. In reality, if we are asking for worldly things, if we are happy receiving the gifts of this world, then we are not following the way of the Gurumukh. We cannot call this obedience to the Guru.
Therefore, Sehjo Bai tells us the proper way to obey the Guru’s commands. We should follow whatever He tells us with firm determination. Following the Path of the Guru, we should anchor the mind in His words. Even if we suffer some harm or loss, even if we have to endure some humiliation, still we should not transgress the orders of the Guru.
What to speak of praising the Guru with our tongue, the Name of the Guru should issue forth from every pore of our body. Once Shiva and Parvati decided to pay a visit to Arjuna. When they reached Arjuna’s home, Narada Ji had also just arrived, and Shri Krishna was there before any of them. At that time Arjuna was lying down, absorbed in contemplation. From every pore of his body, the chant “Shri Krishna, Shri Krishna, Shri Krishna” was resounding. Krishna Ji went in first to see Arjuna and found him in this state of inner intoxication. So, Shri Krishna sat down beside him and also became immersed in that intoxicated state.
Meanwhile, Shiva and Parvati requested Narada to announce their arrival and to find out if Arjuna was at leisure to meet with them. But when Narada entered Arjuna’s room, he also became engulfed by the sound of “Shri Krishna, Shri Krishna,” emanating from Arjuna’s body and, taking his seat in turn, also became lost in ecstasy. After a while, when Narada did not return, Shiva and Parvati went to discover what had happened. When they entered Arjuna’s room, finding everyone absorbed in deep meditation, they also sat down and became blissfully lost to the outer world.
When the disciple contemplates on the Guru in such a way that every pore of their body chants only the name of the Guru, then they can be called a Gurumukh. When such an intoxication takes hold of the disciple, how can any room remain within for the world and worldly things?
So, take firm hold of the Guru’s command; always remain within His orders.
Never step outside the Guru’s command; if you lose everything, happily let it go.
Whatever the Guru tells us to do, we should always follow His orders. If His words appear baneful to our limited understanding, let it be so; but we should never transgress His command.
Whoever follows the Guru’s command overcomes all obstacles;
Whoever follows the Guru’s command becomes a Gurumukh.
The Perfect Disciple who follows the directions of the Guru never experiences difficulties or obstacles. By following the Guru’s order, you become a Gurumukh. Then not even the slightest trace of the mind remains. Obedience means following the commandments of the Guru implicitly.
मन्त्र मूलं गुरुर वाक्यं
Guru’s words are the root mantra.
What is the root of all mantras? Following the commandments of the Guru. Otherwise, no matter how many mantras you may repeat, you will gain nothing.
[At this point Baba Somanath Ji asks Pushpamma to sing a hymn by Akka Mahadevi, on which He comments]
O, Father! If I know You, then hell seems like salvation to me.
O, Father! Without knowing You, liberation is no better than hell.
O, Father! Without Your Love, joy is misery.
O, Father! If I have Your Love, misery is joy to me.
O, Father Chennamallikarjuna! Now I truly live; the bond you tied me with has set me free.
This is the bani of Akka Mahadevi.6 She says, “When the experience of Your Divine Presence awakens in my within, even if I am in hell, I will remain in a state of supreme happiness. But if You don’t shower Your grace, and that experience doesn’t manifest within my heart, then even if I attain emancipation, that will be like hell for me.”
Further, Akka Mahadevi tells us, “If I do not earn Your pleasure, whatever happiness comes to me will be a source of all sorrow.” She says, “No matter how much suffering You give me, if You are pleased with me, then I could achieve no more exalted state. Whatever words You have spoken to bind me, it is those words that have become my liberation. I was trapped in the net of the world, but now I am free.”
[Baba Somanath Ji returns to the hymn of Sehjo Bai]
The Guru’s command strengthens devotion;
The Guru’s command ferries you across the ocean of existence.
It is only by obeying the commandments of the Guru that our attention gets fixed in the devotion, the love awakens in our within, and we experience true bhakti. Then our slavery to the mind is abolished, and our soul attains emancipation.
The Guru’s command is the crown jewel — whoever follows the Guru’s command is the true devotee of God.
You gain the greatest happiness of all by obeying the Guru’s order. The one who follows the command of the Guru is called “Harijan” — the devotee of God.
Whoever accepts the Guru’s command is called a Sadhu; the secret of the Guru’s command is unfathomable.
She says, “Whoever does the meditation unceasingly, according to the Guru’s command, is called a Sadhu.” When we follow the Guru’s instructions and engage in constant meditation, we attain a state of consciousness that is unfathomable and unbounded — beyond the power of words to describe.
Whoever forgets the Guru’s command will suffer, hanging upside down in the womb over and over again.
She says that if you don’t follow the commandments of the Guru, then all the calamities will fall on your head. You will hang upside down in the womb over and over. You will have to die and take birth again and again.
The commands of Guru Charandas are perfect. Except for His command, everything is garbage.
Sehjo says: Only the obedient Gurumukh is happy; all the pleasures of this world are dry as dust.
Through following the Guru’s commands, we achieve perfection. Without obeying the Guru, no matter how many true and virtuous deeds we may perform, it is all a false dream.
Audio: H011
Tulsi Sahib
Dil kā hujrā sāf kar
दिल का हुजरा साफ कर जाना के आने के लिए,
ध्यान गैरों का उठा उसके बिठाने के लिए।
चश्मे दिल से देख यहाँ जो जो तमाशे हो रहे,
दिल्सितां क्या क्या है तेरे दिल सताने के लिए।
एक दिल लाखों तमन्ना उस पे और ज़यादा हवस,
फिर ठिकाना है कहाँ उसके टिकाने के लिए?
नकली मंदिर मस्जिदों मे जाए सद अफ़्सोस है,
कुदरती मस्जिद का साकिन दुःख उठाने के लिए।
कुदरती काबे कि तू मेहराब मे सुन गौर से ,
आ रही धुर से सदा तेरे बुलाने के लिए ।
क्यों भटकता फिर रहा तू ऐ तलाशे यार मे ,
रास्ता शाह रग मे है दिलबर पे जाने के लिए ।
मुर्शिदे कामिल से मिल सिदक और सबुरी से ताकि,
जो तुझे देगा फहम ,शाह रग के पाने के लिए।
गोशे बातिन हो कुशादा जो करे कुछ दिन अमल,
ला इलाहा अल्लाह हू अकबर पे जाने के लिए
यह सदा तुसली की है आमिल अमल कर ध्यान दे,
कुन कुरां मे है लिखा अल्लाह ह अकबर के लिए।
Tulsi Sahib
Dil kā hujrā sāf kar, jānā ke āne ke liye,
Dhyān gairon̐ kā uṭhā uske biṭhāne ke liye.
Cleanse the chamber of your heart,
so that the Beloved may enter;
Remove all the foreign impressions,
so that He can take His seat there.
Now, Tulsi Sahib Ji says: first of all, you should cleanse the mirror of your heart. If that mirror is covered with coal tar and you wish to behold your face in it, how is that possible?
At present, the mirror of our heart is so besmeared with the impressions of the karmas from millions of yugas and countless incarnations that nothing reflects there. It has become as black as coal. Without making the heart pure and true, it is not possible to gain self-realization and have the darshan of the soul within. Therefore, we first need to cleanse our within and stop filling it up with the worldly thoughts and impressions.
Many people have the complaint that the mind does remain still and focused when they sit for meditation. My friend, how can you expect the mind to remain still?
The antaskarana or inner mind is overflowing with the thoughts and desires because of past karmic impressions. As a result, it is constantly restless, running outside after the things of this world. When the mind is in such a state, how can our within become pure?
When the mind becomes still, all the thoughts and desires are removed. Once the mind is stilled, you can unite with that Power of Stillness within — then all the karmic impressions are irradicated. Then your heart becomes pure.
So here Tulsi Sahib tells us, “Cleanse the chamber of your heart, so that the Beloved may enter.” No other foreign thought should remain in the heart. When you invite that Pure Lord to enter your heart, how can He accept your invitation when your heart is already crowded with children, profit and loss, give and take, lust, anger, greed and desire for name and fame?
We pay lip service to the idea. We say, “The Lord is untainted by this world. He dwells beyond all.” But if we wish to have that Immaculate Lord come and take His seat within us, then we must make our heart as pure as He is.
Chashme dil se dekh yahān̐ jo jo tamāshe ho rahe,
Look with the mind’s eye and see the astonishing spectacle of this world.
Now, he tells us that we should look with our inner eye, the eye of the mind — only then will we see the spectacle of this world as it really is. Within the mind there is a single eye. We have to open that eye and see the world in its true light.
Dilsitān̐ kyā kya hai tere dil satane ke liye.
What ravishing scenes appear there to entice your heart.
When your inner eye opens, you will see clearly how the world has been filled with countless attractions to pull the mind outward and to ensnare you in the karmic cycle of action and reaction. You will realize that your within is already filled up with so many impressions of this world.
Until you look with the inner eye, you won’t be able to understand the world in its true light. But when you see with the inner eye, then for you, the outer world becomes like an open book.
Ek dil lākhon̐ tamannā us pai aur zyādā havas.
One heart, with many desires, and always the lust for more.
Here he says that the mind is one, but it is filled up with millions of desires and fantasies. From morning till night, the waves of desire surge in our heart, and even in the span of one day those waves are beyond reckoning. The mind is never idle — the thoughts rise and fall like ocean waves. As one wave sinks into the deep, another swells up to take its place, and those waves never come to an end.
The mind is only one, but the waves are beyond count.
Phir ṭhikānā hai kahān̐ uske ṭikāne ke liye?
Where is there any place for the Lord to come and reside?
Our within is surging with so many thoughts. But if we wish to make the mind still, how should we go about it?
The mind is one, and we need to make that mind remain in one place. But if we are constantly chasing after worldly desires and fantasies, then how can the mind be stilled?
Nakali mandīr masjidon̐ me jāe sade aphosa hai,
Kudarati masjid ka sākin dukh uṭhāne ke liye.
It is a great pity that, going in the artificial temples and mosques, the indweller of the true mosque [the human body] is made to suffer.
Further, Tulsi Sahib says that we use stone to construct the outer temples and mosques, and in those holy places we install idols and shrines made of stone. And in the temple, we set up the idol of a deity and give it a name. Then, we call the pandit to perform the pran pradistha, a ceremony of consecration to invite a divine being to descend and inhabit its stone likeness. That ceremony is believed to infuse life into that lifeless lump of stone.
Now, if that idol has become full of life through this ceremony, why does it not run out of the temple? Perhaps we had better close the door and imprison that idol within the temple, so that it cannot escape. Since we have imparted life to that idol, maybe it will now wish to run away from us.
All this rigmarole is like a children’s game invented to hoodwink the innocent people. The pandits and mullahs have created these imitation temples and mosques to further their own livelihood. They want to keep the worshippers’ attention engaged in outer rituals.
This human body — fashioned by the Creator — is the living temple of God. But even after attaining the human body, people go on suffering day and night because they have filled their within with thoughts of Maya. They understand the outer structures of stone to be the true temples. They have forgotten that God dwells in the real temple of the human body.
As long as the pranas go on circulating in the body, as long as life remains, the devotees flock to the outer temples and mosques. But when the breaths cease to flow in the body, then what mosque or temple will remain? While living in the human body, we have to discover the Hidden Power that is dwelling within us.
Kudarati kābe ki tū meharāb me sun gaur se,
A rahī dhur se sadā tere bulāne ke liye.
Listen with rapt attention in the prayer niche of the true Kaaba [the body],
The Celestial Sound is calling to us from the Court of the Lord.
This human body is the real Kaaba, the true temple, created by God Himself; within the body, the Voice is reverberating from on high. We should listen to that call with deep concentration for it is beckoning us back to our True Home.
But how can we hear that Voice calling to us if we are wandering about outside? When we are engaged in the outer world, who is sitting within to listen to that inner call? It is God who is calling to you from within. But you will be able to hear the sound of His Voice only when you rise up to the seat of the soul and open the inner door.
Then you can merge into the Lord and proceed towards your homeland.
Kyon̐ bhaṭkatā phir rahā tū e talāshe yār me,
Why are you wandering around lost in search of the Beloved?
When you know that the Lord is within, why do you still go on searching for Him outside? You wander here and there controlled by illusion. Someone goes to Amarnath; someone goes to Rameshwar. Someone visits Badrinaraiyan; someone travels to Dwarka. Adrift in the outer world, you roam from place to place, but you gain nothing from all your efforts.
Rāstā shāh rag me hai dilvar pai jane ke liye.
The path to the Beloved lies through the royal vein [shah rag].
The Path to meet the Almighty Lord lies through the sushumna nadi (ethereal vein) or shah rag (royal vein), the subtle inner vein in the middle of the forehead. When you enter into the sushumna nadi and rise above the body, there you will find the straight way opening before. The stream of Naam is flowing down from celestial realms above. Immerse your soul in that Sound Current.
Murshade kāmil se mil sidak aur saburi se tāki.
O Taqi, go to the Perfect Master with sincerity and patience.
Therefore, he tells us, “Go and meet with the Perfect Satguru.” Approach him with unwavering faith and serve him with love. It is not hard to take up the role of a swami outwardly, but is difficult to become a true disciple, a servant of the saints. Anyone can easily become a swami, but it is very difficult to become a real sevadar.
Once there was a dear one who remained engaged in the seva of his guru day and night. The two of them traveled about the countryside together. On one of their journeys, it so happened that they paused for a while under a canopy of trees growing by the wayside. For several days previously, the guru’s health had not been good. So, they sat down under those trees to take a brief rest.
The guru was feeling thirsty after their long travels. He told his disciple to go fetch some water, and the disciple hurried off to do his guru’s bidding. But before he could return, the guru drew his last breath and cast off the mortal coil.
But that guru was a very gracious being. As he lay dying, he thought, “This poor fellow has been serving me for twelve years. And so far, I haven’t given him any spiritual instruction. The time was not appropriate. But now, I will leave him a mantra so that, after my death, he can repeat it and attain liberation.” Thinking these thoughts, he inscribed the mantra on the ground beside him.
Now it so happened that at that very moment, a group of traveling performers called Doms were passing by. The troupe — consisting of a girl who walked the tight rope, a drummer and several other musicians — was coming along the road with their drums and other instruments.
The Guru had been writing something on the ground as they approached, and now that he was dead, the Doms went over to examine what he had written. Seeing the message, the girl took out a tiny scrap of paper and recorded the mantra that the guru had inscribed in the dirt. Then she rolled up the scrap of paper and put it in her pierced ear.
In the meantime, the disciple came running back to that place. From a distance, he could see that the girl was copying down some message. But by the time he reached that place, she had already used her hand to rub out the mantra that the guru had written in the dirt.
Then the disciple entreated the girl saying, “Mother, please tell me what my Satguru wrote before he died.”
She replied, “Just as you have served your guru for twelve years, you will now need to serve me for another twelve years. Then only will I give you the mantra that your guru wrote.” So, he had no choice but to accept her condition. He learned the art of drumming, and, traveling along with that troupe, he served them.
One day, they were performing their act in a town. As usual, the girl walked on a tightrope stretched between two bamboo poles. When she had finished her act and was descending from the tightrope, the headman of that area, who was very pleased with her performance, offered her the large gold earring that he himself had been wearing.
And in her excitement to try on the new earring, she took the guru’s message from her ear and tossed it on the ground.
Seeing this, the disciple quickly grabbed that paper, and throwing away his drum, he left the troupe behind. Then, following his guru’s instructions, he repeated that mantra whole-heartedly and achieved liberation.
So, you see, true seva is never wasted. Outwardly, anyone can do the seva. If someone works all day long in a farmer’s fields, that farmer will pay him his proper wages at the end of the day. This is just a business transaction.
But what is required in spirituality is selfless service. If we say, “I have done this work; now you should give me my reward,” well, that is not correct. Our duty is to do the seva, whether we receive any reward or not. But the truth is that when we perform the selfless service, that service never goes unrewarded. This is the foundation and essence of seva. When we are patient and unwavering in our devotion, then, if not today, definitely someday he will shower his grace.
Jo tujhe degā faham shāh rag ke pāne ke liye.
He will give you the secret to find the shah rag.
When the Satguru becomes pleased, he will reveal the way to enter within through the subtle vein called shah rag or sushumna nadi.
Goshe bātin ho kushāda jo kare kuch din amal.
If you do the practice for a few days, the inner way will open wide before you.
We should meditate daily on the inner secret that we learn from the guru. Without meditation, nothing can be achieved. The Satguru has shown us the Path, and the Satguru dwells within. In order to meet with him, we will have to do the meditation practice and go inside.
Lā ilāha allāhū akbar pai jāne ke liye.
It is the path to reach Allah, the One God, the Most High.
We repeat “la illaha lilla allah,” there is no God but God. But outer words are only an empty formula. There is nothing in outer repetition. The God those words refer to dwells within you. He is a Self-Existing Power, complete in Himself.
Here Tulsi Sahib is telling us the way to meet that Inner Lord. The Path that leads us to Him starts with the royal vein, which lies in the middle of the forehead.
Yeh sadā Tulsi kī hai amil amal kar dhyān de.
This is the call of Tulsi: O devotee, perform the practice with concentration.
Tulsi Sahib says that this is the True Path leading to the Lord. Concentrating in meditation, direct your mind to walk on this Path.
Kun kuran̐ me hai likhā allāhu akbar ke liye.
The Kun [Shabd] described in the Quran will take you to Allah, the Most High.
The True Quran of the Lord is written in our within, and the Path to meet the Lord also lies within us. Tulsi Sahib tells us to read that inner Quran. There is nothing to be gained merely by reading and reciting the outer scriptures and holy books.