Five Dacoits are looting while Man slumbers

II

You will remember, in the Puranas it tells of Food going to Lord Vishnu with the complaint that the people were eating him mercilessly, and what should he do about it? Lord Vishnu said that if anyone eats Food more than necessary, then Food should eat them! You can see this very result around you: the majority of people are sick, the cause of which is principally an excess of food in the system and irregular eating habits. One should take a little less than is necessary at each meal; that will give a buoyancy and aid one’s efforts in becoming more awake. Furthermore, the health will improve, and one will be able to tackle a larger share of work. However, even if one goes to the extreme outer practice of fasting, what is the result?

Swami Ji tells us: 

“By remaining hungry, the hunger has not gone; you have failed in your purpose.”

People have kept fast upon fast, and have not achieved anything really worthwhile because the consciousness does not awaken thereby. This is due to these outer practices being performed at the sense-level. If some higher purpose or result was achieved thereby – if one thereby gained an Inner Contact with Naam, for instance, or the company of the Satguru – then fasting, or pilgrimage, austerities, etc. would have some value. Fasting for fasting’s sake alone is spiritually worthless. This applies also to reading the scriptures, which merely increases intellectual knowledge.

Tulsi Sahib says,

Four, eighteen, nine, were read; reading all this, yet the point was lost; without contact of Surat with Shabd, one is like the chandool bird.

The four Vedas, the eighteen Puranas, the nine Shastras – these are the ancient Hindu scriptures. But what is the use of absorbing the whole world’s scriptures if they have no value in the light of one’s purpose or goal? He says that one becomes like the chandool bird, which goes on imitating all the sounds it hears. No one ever got salvation through reading – understand this carefully.

The Upanishads tell us that the senses, the mind, and the intellect all should be stilled; and only then will the soul perceive. Reasoning is a help – for understanding – and reasoning is a bar also.

The Vedas say,

The ignorant will go to dark regions at death; those drenched in knowledge will go to darker regions.

To still the intellect is most important, for that very intellect is at sense-level, and the mind is already asleep because of its connections with the senses. None of these outer practices can awaken the sleeping mind.

“Repetition, austerities, restrictions, and many more – the ignorant even kept silence.”

The tongue goes on repeating God’s Name, but the mind is running around all over the place. What is achieved like this? To rise above the senses means that the body becomes dead – including the tongue. Some people go to the extreme of not speaking – even for years – in the belief that this will give them some Spiritual Advancement. Similarly, having a silent tongue does not still the mind’s endless chattering. What is more, such an individual must fill his daily needs; and so he resorts to making signs and writing notes. How can Spiritual Awakening take place in this way? He who truly keeps silence is he who silences his mind.

Mind has not been shaved, so why shave the head?

All these practices come under Apara Vidya – study of scriptures, teaching the scriptures, fasting, giving alms, etc. – they are all under the rule of the senses. And the soul, connected to the mind as it is, is sleeping within.

“Resorted to many means; even then the mind did not awaken.”

A learned pundit once went to Hazur, and upon hearing Hazur’s Satsang talk was inspired with a keen yearning for initiation. Hazur gave him initiation; and when he was leaving I was standing nearby, and he said,

Maharaj, according to whatever instructions You have given, I will achieve everything in three months’ time; and I will then return here to you.

Hazur said,

That will be marvellous.

But it was nine months before the pundit returned to Hazur, and again I was present as he sat before our Master.

He said,

Maharaj, before You initiated me I used to do my worship and prayer for six or eight hours at one time and my mind would never wander; and now it will not remain still for even two minutes.

He was very distressed and could not understand the difference. This happens because with outer worship the mind is getting food – it is occupied, just as it is when reading or writing – but for Spiritual Experience the mind must be stilled and remain inactive.

Taking a simple example, if a man owns a number of horses, and they are securely locked up in the stables, he sleeps without a care knowing that his horses are safe. However, if any night he has doubt as to whether the stable door is securely fastened, he cannot rest in peace. And then, if by chance the horses do get out and run away, he will do everything in his power to recapture them and bring them back. So the Negative Power does not interfere with the souls while they remain docilely in his domain, in which a web of sense-enjoyments is spread to trap them and bind them, and from which there is no escape.

Good actions therein bring rewards, and bad actions take the soul to the lower regions. The poor soul is bound to an ever-revolving wheel of existence in the various expressions of creation, and, therefore, the Negative Power is not the least worried. However, when the soul meets the Master, it is taught to rise above the senses; and the Pathway of escape is opened up – through the Grace and greatness of the Satguru Who is the pole of the Positive Power. When he sees that a soul is threatening to leave his kingdom, the Negative Power becomes concerned and endeavours to keep the soul in his clutches.

Salvation, then, is achieved only through Para Vidya, which means the soul’s knowledge of the Oversoul: and that is to free one’s self from mind and senses, to have knowledge of self and Knowledge of God. We must become infinite, for, One as high as the High One will know Him. As high as the Lord Himself – Infinite, Inconceivable, Ineffable.

Indian mythology tells us that Lord Shiva is sitting in meditation; and Parvati, his wife, keeps feeding him intoxicants. In this way, the soul is being intoxicated by the mind. When this intoxicant wears off the soul wants to awaken; but before it gets the chance, the mind again feeds it more intoxicant. The world’s population is suffering from this drunkenness, and only those who are awake can see this condition clearly.

“After a long search I found the Satguru Who gave this scientific method.”

At last the True Seeker finds that Personality Who is one with the Truth, Who gives the means of the soul’s awakening.

“Keep the company of the Master and serve Him; sacrifice body and mind unto Him.”

What does it mean to serve a Master? It means that with respect, yearning, and devotion, one should keep His commands.

Guru Amar Das says,

Greatly fortunate is he who serves the Satguru, for the Sound of God’s Naam is awakened within.

He has mentioned nothing of those who touch His feet and show great respect to His physical form alone. Those who do not place the Master’s words on the altar, accepting them as God’s commands, will not succeed.

We know how to talk, but do not know how to do.

There is a cure to the condition: keep a Spiritual Diary, just as if you were in school doing your lessons. With the aid of this diary you can search out your faults and failings and note down your weaknesses. Slowly, gradually, these weaknesses will be weeded out. Along with this there is meditation. How much time do you put in? And through meditation, what progress have you made? In this way, you will yourself know where you stand with Spiritual Advancement and with ethical life alike. Without keeping a diary, interest and concern for these two important factors cannot be upheld. Following disinterest, meditation ceases altogether.

What else do I ask you to do? Only to keep your life pure and good, and to weed out the weaknesses. Then, food of the soul is your meditation; so meditate regularly. Do not feed the body until you have fed the soul.

Furthermore – to attend Satsang is like having a protective hedge around your meditation. It also increases the incentive to meditate. Attend the Satsang, even if your time is limited. Cancel some other appointment in order to do so, if necessary, for the benefits of Satsang are invaluable. All I ask you to do again and again is to be pure and chaste and keep your diary. Do you know of any means by which you will obey the Master’s instructions?

There is a cure for our failures; but if you do not take the cure, then what is the cure for that omission? There is no cure for not doing anything. Sometimes you fight like dogs – when people see such behaviour, will they not wonder what kind of teaching you are receiving? This brings disrepute upon the name of the Satsang.

A bad dog brings curses upon his Master.

The pain in my heart is speaking when I ask you of any means whereby you will follow the commands. Having tried all means, in defeat I can only say that you should try for yourself and see how that invaluable gift will increase. If after doing what I ask you do not gain progress, then you may come and complain.

Start from today. Where there is a will, there is a way. You can find the time if you really want to. You have got the greatest of good fortune to be linked with a Personality Who is the form of the Truth.

King Janaka was one soul who got something from Ashtavakra in those days; but each and every one of you has had experience from the very first day. If you don’t continue it, how do you expect to progress? Attend the Satsang and have the advantage of a protective hedge around your meditation.

I once asked Hazur Maharaj,

What are Your orders regarding Satsang?

He told me,

If you are very sick in your bed, but you can move then attend Satsang.

Just note that He did not say that if you have the strength to walk, then attend Satsang. 

From this single instance, one can see how important it is.

Master removes the veil from the eye; He gives the Inner Darshan; oh friends, that Satguru is most attractive to me.

The cause of not following the instructions is just laziness and concern for bodily comfort. Remember that this is the Path of Inner Intoxication, so why worry about the body’s comfort? Do not drift away on the waves of the mind; do the work which you have to do. When the lion wants to quench his thirst, he goes straight to the river. Become lion-like – you are soul, the entity of the Lord. Make the keen aspiration you had in the beginning into a reality. Leave the consideration of bodily comforts and the demands of the mind for the sake of that aim. Instead of obeying the mind, place the Master’s commands on the altar of the Lord.

If ye love me keep my commandments.

Would you not wish to obey the one you love? A True Lover is more afraid of disapproval than he has consideration for body and mind. Go all out for your goal.

Listen to the Satguru’s Sound – by rising above.

Put all your attention, in full consciousness, upon that Inner Place, upon the Naam. The intoxications of the senses will start wearing off, and you will awaken to a new life. 

“Through striving and striving, the mind has now awakened, and the world has become transient.”

When one rises above the senses, one can see that the body is but a piece of clay. You yourself are detached from it, and the world is an insipid thing. In this way, the question is answered and the problem solved; for the soul can see that her Lord is God, and all outer things are unreal. Masters do not tell us to leave our homes and flee to the jungles, for we have got the duties of the body and mind and their responsibilities; but the soul must be rejoined to its Lord, and this is the greatest and most important task in this human life. The only true helping factors in this work are the company of the Satguru and the contact with the Naam.

“Attention got help from the mind and both reached their homes.”

Separated and freed from the pull of the senses, the mind begins to taste the sweetness of the Inner Nectar.

When that Nectar comes, this becomes distasteful.

From then on it is willing to cooperate with the soul, and the soul is able to fly. Death of the physical mind makes the work easier, for it is the physical mind which is deeply involved in the worldly actions and keeps dragging the soul back. Until there is something to hold the attention, it is most difficult to go within; and this is why the Master gives the contact with Naam on the very first day.

Join me back to the Lord – anyone!

That contact must then be increased daily.

“Without the Shabd, the mind will never awaken; though numerous different practices be performed.”

This hymn of Swami Ji’s is very long – I have just taken a few verses, as it covers the same subject as Guru Arjan’s hymn; and it shows how all the Masters say the same things. Now, Guru Arjan was telling us how the Awakened Soul can give us help and protection:

“Riches and knowledge will not give self-protection; the enemies are controlled only in the Master’s company.”

Seek the company of the Guru, if you wish to control anger, lust, greed, attachment, and ego. There is no other way, no matter how much knowledge you have or deep thinking you do – these five will remain. The bigger the person gets, the more is he consumed in the fire; and the only saving factor is the Master’s company. You wish to enter a house, but the owner’s five big dogs are guarding it and start barking as soon as you approach. A true guard dog will not even accept food as a bribe. All dogs are famous for their faithfulness. In the Gurbani it states that one should become faithful like a dog. Now, how can you control these fierce dogs? You cannot. You can only shout for their owner who will himself call the dogs back so that you may enter and meet him. So it is that in the company of the Master the barking dogs – these five enemies – will one by one run away by themselves.

At the death of the five boys, only the Lord’s Love remains.

They recognise that such company is no place for them.

God is already within you. He is Light – and the perpetual flow from the beyond is going on. Connected to Him, the sins of the mind are gradually washed away. If you want to be a doctor, keep the company of a doctor. If you want to know the science of the soul, keep the company of One Who has mastered it – call Him by any name you like.

Keep the Guru overhead, and live in His commands.

Keep His word – above all else. He will never leave you until He has taken you to your True Home. Guru is not just a physical body, although we have respect for that body in which that God-Power is manifested. He is that Power – call It God-Power, Christ-Power, Guru-Power – and He is there to help you experience that manifestation within yourself. If but His single glance falls upon a person, that person is saved. Be obedient, that is all; do not ignore what He tells you.

Kabir says, such a server has no fear in all three regions.

If one was aware of His presence constantly, would one be likely to sin?

I remember, Hazur once sent me an order. Sometimes it happens that if an individual is heading straight for his target, others create propaganda against him. Due to this type of propaganda, Hazur ordered that I should attend only the Satsang at Ravi Road Lahore, and should not visit anyone. I said,

All right, whatever are His orders.

I got a lot of rest during those days – something like a servant who normally cleans twenty rooms being told to clean only one and leave the rest. I had more spare time, so I wrote the book ‘Gurumat Sidhant,’ a big book of over 2000 pages. I strictly curbed all visiting; in fact, a relative’s son died and I did not attend them at their house, but went only to the cremation. There was another case of a Satsangi dying, and he sent a message for me to go to him for the Guru’s sake before he died. I had a strong desire to go, and the pain of sympathy was so great that I cried; but I had to send the message that I sincerely wished that he have full protection and all my good wishes were with him, but that I was helpless for I could not disobey the Master’s orders. He died, and when Hazur came to Lahore, His widow complained that her husband had died in torment because of his desire to see me, and my refusal. Hazur turned to me and said,

Kirpal Singh, in this type of condition, you should go.

From then on, when people summoned me to sickbeds, I would attend, and they would die. It became very difficult, but His orders were to go only wherever the person was dying.

Never ignore the Guru’s commands. If you obey, you will have nothing to fear – here or in the beyond. Hazur told us that if a person gets initiation and has to go into the hands of the Lord of Death, he should politely turn from both such initiation and its guru.

Just giving some words – that is not Naam. The words given by the Satguru have a powerful charging; that is your protection. Guru is He Who brings Light into the darkness, and He remains with you forever. Hazur would say that if a five year old child is present, can you commit any sin before him? When you truly realise His constant presence, you will do no wrong. Also, be truthful before Him, not just when people are present in a hypocritical way. Remember, He is sitting within you; so hold the awe of Him in your heart and you will do nothing bad in His presence.

A disciple of Baba Jaimal Singh once told me that when Baba Ji gave initiation, He would tell the initiate,

Now I am residing within you, so do nothing to put me to shame.

Masters use many different ways to help the children keep Their commandments. This is the time for you to understand these things and live up to them.

If you do not feel so inclined, then you will continue to lament, birth after birth.

Only if you are fortunate enough to get the human birth again will you have another chance of doing this Spiritual Work. Those who have got the Naam – not only do they have the good fortune of the human life, but the Inner Path has been opened up for them. Work hard for your progress.

“Have Mercy and give me the Water of Life; bless me with the dust of the Master’s feet.”

Oh Lord, I am like a beggar, yearning for a drop of that Nectar, wanting only the Master’s company. Bless me with a small particle of that priceless Gift. Give me His company. How rare are such People – where can I find Him?

After the great Mahabharata battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas – it is a very long story – they held a yug (a gathering of many holy men to perform various rituals until the Voice of God is heard) – the Ashav Med Yug – and at the completion stage no Sound of God had been heard. They approached Lord Krishna and told Him, Our yug is a failure; what shall we do? Lord Krishna said, It is because no realised Soul has been in attendance there. They protested and said, But we have invited all the Sadhus and Mahatmas – how can that be? He said, No, you may have all the Sadhus and Mahatmas, but no realised Soul is there.

Finally He advised them to approach a certain Sukrat Ji, and told them where to find Him. When they explained their desire to Sukrat Ji, He said, Yes, I will attend your yug, but not until the fruit of 101 Ashav Med Yugs is given to me. They were astounded and cried, But how can we give You that when even our single yug has been a failure? But He was adamant, and so they went home. When they told their wife, Draupadi, she said, All right, let me go. She was a queen and a very wise soul; but she forsook her carriage and went on foot all the way to Sukrat Ji, with sincere humility. She told Him that she had come to give Him the fruit of 101 Ashav Med Yugs, saying, Maharaj, in the Shastras it is written that if you go to a realised Soul in all humility, then each step you take gains the fruit of one Ashav Med Yug, so great is the value of this blessing. So you can take the fruit of 101 Ashav Med Yugs from my journey to you and give me what is left over. He was so pleased with Draupadi that He agreed to go, and the yug became successful. So you can see how rare and invaluable is the presence of the realised Soul.

In the days of King Janaka, there was only one Soul to give him the connection – Ashtavakra. In the days of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, only Sukrat Ji could make the Sound audible. To go to such a Master and to have His darshan gives much more blessing than the fruit of 101 Ashav Med Yugs.

If you can find more than one such Soul, then the more fortunate are you. He is a man like us, but He is an expert in the Science of the Soul. God is All-Wisdom; wherever He manifests, that pole becomes His mouthpiece. That mouthpiece is called the Satguru. This name is not given merely for wearing a certain type or colour of clothing. Satguru is He Who has the highest degree in God.

There is a story of a King who held a bazaar, in which many beautiful and valuable things were displayed. He proclaimed to his people that each subject could select one gift from the bazaar for themselves, and that the bazaar would last from sunrise to sunset. Hundreds of people came and went away with their selected gifts. When it was almost sunset time, a young girl entered and wandered around the bazaar. She seemed a very simple girl, but inwardly she was very wise. Praising everything as she went around, she thought if the bazaar was so beautiful, then what must the creator of it be like? Meanwhile people advised her to select some gift before the bazaar closed. She walked to the very end of the bazaar where the King was seated on a dais. When he saw her approaching, the King rejoiced in his heart that at least one person was interested in him. Gifts are loved, but the Giver is forgotten; the poor mind does not realise its error. Outwardly the King showed anger, saying, Mad girl, why do you come here? Go and choose something and take it home. Without any hesitation she placed her hand on the King’s head and said, Now tell me, oh King, to whom do you belong? He said, Now I am yours. She asked him, And whose is this bazaar? The King declared it to be his; but she said, But now, to whom also does it belong? and he had to admit that everything in the bazaar belonged to her, too, since she had chosen him.

We see everything in life with a superficial sense of value. If you give yourself up to Him, then God becomes yours, and so does all His creation.

If you become mine, then the whole world will be mine.

True Masters are very rare, and the world has started ridiculing the words Sadhu and Gurudom because so many are acting and posing; and their teachings reach the sense-level only. They have themselves never risen above the senses, and they cannot take anyone above. When people learn this, they have no option but to turn to the scriptures, which feed the intellect only. Have Mercy on us! Without the Master we cannot reach the Lord – it has never been possible, nor never will be. 

A Muslim Fakir tells us that God Himself said that He is so great He cannot be absorbed – from the lowest depths to the highest peaks, in all the skies or all the earth; and even under the earth, the whole of creation is not capable of containing Him, so great is He – and yet He can dwell in the heart of His True Devotee. If anyone desires Him, they should seek Him there. 

That True Devotee is a Living Pole – a human being in Whom God is apparent. He is also in others but is hidden. 

From the lowest, I became pure, brother.

And how did the realised Soul become pure? 

Since I got the knowledge of the Guru’s teaching.

God is not far above in the skies, nor sleeping in the Holy Scriptures; He is already within you. Those Holy Books are records of how the realised Souls found God, reading which a yearning or incentive to meet God is created in the seeker. But Naam is within man – the radiance of God’s Light and the beauty of His Sound, the Music of the Spheres. 

Just differentiate between the outer Naam and the Inner Naam, and then get the connection. Those who live only for enjoyments cannot walk on this Holy Path, for one must cut away from all such expressions. Ethical life is a stepping stone to Spirituality. If you awaken, no dacoit will be able to enter your house; for if even a single person is awake in a house, the thieves will think twice about breaking in. Thieves like to find a house full of deeply sleeping people – some even administer chloroform to ensure that the people remain in deep sleep so that they can work at leisure.

“In the Satguru’s company one gets the Perfect Gift, and awakens, oh Nanak, to the colour of Par Brahm.”

The Master’s company protects you from losing that precious Gift He gives; and through His Mercy you will awaken to the extent of enjoying the intoxication of Par Brahm. That intoxication is already within you. 

The intoxication of Naam, oh Nanak, inebriates day and night.

It is perpetually vibrating everywhere – radiance, intoxication, and bliss. 

“He awakens, whose Lord is Kirpal; (the Merciful One) with His Gift, one gets the entire wealth.” 

Whomsoever He awakens, will awake. The Merciful Lord Himself awakens the soul. 

If He showers His Mercy, the Satguru is met. 

And when the Satguru is met, He connects you with God’s Naam. Naam is above the senses; It is in your own house – body. This Gift you can take with you when you leave this world, for It has the Satguru’s protection. Our attention is ever going into dispersion – sometimes on financial affairs, or on children, or property, etc. When one dies, where does one go? One goes wherever one’s attention is centred. In this way we again and again return to the worldly life because that is where our attention is – where our attention has been fastened. Since the day our soul separated from the Lord, it has never returned to Him up to now.

If one were to try to describe what Spirituality is in a single word, one could say Naam or Satguru.  Get connected to either, and your whole Spiritual Future is established.

Maulana Rumi says,

Know that to be near the realised Soul is to be near God.

That is where God is manifested, and that Perfect Being will make the connection for you. 

Those who are connected should take the rare opportunity to make the best use of it. 

Those with good karmas from aeons past get connected to the Lord’s Naam.

The soul that has an accumulation of good karmas, which constitute the Mercy received from God for many past ages, gains the special Mercy of the Naam, which gives all-happiness, all-peace. How does one know one is connected to Naam?

In that house (body), the Unstruck Sound is vibrating.

The indication of the presence of the Perfect Master in the student is the music of the Sound or the radiance of the Light – whichever is manifesting at the time.

This has been Guru Arjan’s hymn. Merely listening to the words will not give you emancipation from this world – you must live up to what you have understood. If you have not obeyed in the past, then start from today: do your meditation; do not take any food until you have sat for a while. If you are not getting much experience within, then look to your diary; and you will find the reason or cause lying in your everyday life. Do not use harsh words to others – keep a sweet tongue in your head; that will solve many problems of life.

You may remember that with a single bitter word, the great Mahabharata battle was started. The Kauravas were visiting the Pandavas in the palace of Draupadi, the Pandavas’ wife. The floor there was so beautifully made that it reflected the light and gave an impression of a shallow pool. When the Kauravas picked up their long clothes to step through what they thought was a pool, Draupadi very mischievously called out, Blind son of a blind father! mocking the blindness of the Kauravas’ father, King Dhritrashtra. The whole of India’s civilisation was destroyed in that great war, and you find similar things happening today on a smaller scale.

So live up to the Master’s teachings and make your life peaceful, and you will have success in every way.