Life and Laughter

by Darshan Singh

A Sant Satguru on the earth-plane is an embodiment of Divinity. He is a Perfect Man mixing freely with the people irrespective of their status, religion, belief and opinion. He even shares their mundane joys and sorrows, encouraging some and assuaging others in their griefs. Enthroned in His native God-hood He enjoys His sojourn on earth with the fullest zest. Everthing comes natural to Him; His sparkling wit, His scintillating humour and His hilarious laughter. Such indeed was Hazur Maharaj Baba Sawan Singh Ji’s life as a Houholder-Saint, smiling all through. His simple, homely talk went straight to the hearts of His listeners.

Hazur’s humour brings to one’s mind the joyous peals of laughter in childlike simplicity. With a deep gusto He would intersperse His discourses with apt anecdotes which came like ripples, one after the other, explain His points and His whole being would vibrate with a gleeful mirth. The audience could not but laugh and share His joy, feeling as if they were taken far away from the earth to some other place where there was nothing but joy and happiness. What is more, waves after waves of Spiritual Emanations floated from Him, filling the whole atmosphere with joy, unkown and unheard of.

Here are some of the droll tales Hazur used to recount in the course of His wonderful Satsangs:

In a certain village, in times gone by, the people were altogether ignorant and had no count of time. Among them lived a wise old man who kept a peculiar calendar for the village-folk in a small earthen jar in which he put a grain of corn each day. Whenever someone came to consult him, he would pour out the grains, count them up, make his calculations and let each one know the moon-date. One day his daughter-in-law noticed the jar with a few grains at the bottom. Not knowing the significance of the pot and its use, she filled the jar with a handful of grains. Soon after an elderly woman came to enquire the moon-date and the old man took out the pot-calendar from under his cot but to his great surprise he found it all full of grains. He made many small heaps of 14 grains each but being unable to make anything out of them, in consternation he blurted that it was a Ghamsan Chaudas or an an ill-mixed-up fourteenth day of the moon. This is what we exactly do, not knowing the real nature of God.

*****

Once Hazur dilated at some length on the sheepish way in which we often follow rites and rituals blindly, without even thinking for a moment as to what we are doing. Once the woman-folk of a village went in a procession to worship the village deity. A crone who led the procession saw an innocent and harmless donkey grazing by the road-side. Just for the fun of it, she plucked a hair from the donkey’s back and all the women following her started plucking hair taking it a part of the ritual to propitiate the deity. The poor donkey began to bray and kick out of sheer agony.

This then,

said Hazur,

is the result of blind enthusiasm for a cause of no consequence.

*****

On another occasion Hazur narrated the story of a Qazi – a civil judge – and a Mirasi – a tribe of singers known for its ready wit. Once the Qazi asked the Mirasi to be always truthful.

The Mirasi retorted:

Truth is bitter. Who will swallow such a bitter thing as truth? And above all, who will save me if I am harmed for speaking the Truth?

The Qazi assured him that no harm would come to him for doing a right thing. In the neighbourhood of the Mirasi, there lived a farmer who was carrying on with a woman of ill repute and had a daughter from her. One day the Mirasi called the girl addressing her as the daughter of a whore. She told her father of this shameful remark. The farmer was enraged and ran after the Mirasi to take revenge. The Mirasi sought shelter with the Qazi. The Qazi advised him to patch up with the farmer. In despair, the Mirasi apologised to the farmer for his indecent remarks by telling him that he was under the influence of hemp at the moment and not in his proper senses when he uttered the shameful words. This is how the Master explained that truth is bitter and should be handled with discretion, without causing offence.

*****

One day the Master told us of an incident from the life of Suthre Shah, a pious man who lived in Guru Arjan’s times. On being told that a holy man had come to live in the neighbourhood, Suthre paid a courtesy call on him. After formal greetings, Suthre begged of him for the boon of fire for kindling a Chilam – an Indian earthen pipe. The Holy Man had no fire to offer and begged to be excused. After a while, Suthre again requested the Holy Man for fire and got the same reply. When Suthre asked for the third time, the Holy Man lost control of himself and taking a bludgeon fell upon Suthre shouting,

I have told you twice before that I have no fire and you do not listen.

Suthre quietly submitting to the blows mutterd

Oh Sain Ji (holy man), you have so much fire in you and have been unnecessarily grudging to part with a bit of it. I thank you heartily for what you have, and after all you have spared something of it.

Such indeed are the ways in which Saints sometimes expose the self-styled holy men’s piety they assume and arrogate to themselves.

*****

These are just a few of the innumerable anecdotes of the Great Master’s hilarious mood. These anecdotes with a moral or Spiritual Lesson will always remain a source of immense mirth and laughter.