The Jewel of Happiness

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The Jewel of Happiness..C

Si h



The Jewel ofThe Sukhmaniof

Guru Arjan

Sant Bani Ashram,



Happiness

a commentary by

AJAIB SINGH

Sanbomton,New Hampshire, 1984



T h e Sukhmanitext was t ransla ted f rom the Punjabi by Raj KumarBagga with the assistance of Kent Bicknell. Sant Ajaib Singh'f com-mentary was t ransla ted by Raj K umar Bagga and edi ted by Russell an dJudi th Perk ins .

Calligraphy by Jerri Jo Idarius

Ph ot o Credits: Fro nt cover, Richard Ca rdoz o; pp. 28, 152, Steve Arky;p . 84 , Jonas Gerard ;p. 174, Jack Dokus; pp. 212, 358, 498, Charl ieBoyn ton ; p. 228, Bruce Cowan; back cover, Joe Gelbard.

Photocom pos i t ion an d pr in ting by Th e San t Bani Press , Ti lton , N.H .

ISBN: 0-89142-042-8Library of Congress Cata log Card Number: 84-050910



Table of Contents

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ntroduction viiAshtapadi One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .he Remembrance of God 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .shtapadi Two 29

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .he Shadow of the Naam 37Ashtapadi Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .he Glory of the Naam 65Ashtapadi Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .o Pain, No Gain 92

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .shtapadi Five .. 111. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .n Truth and Vanity 118

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .shtapadi Six 135. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .n the Grace of God 142

Ashtapadi Seven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .n the Company of the Saints 162

Ashtapadi Eight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .he Knowers of God 182Ashtapadi Nine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .nly Three Things Matter 200. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .shtapadi Ten 213

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .any Millions .. 220Ashtapadi Eleven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .od is the Doer 235

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .shtapadi Twelve 229. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .he Ornament of the Saints 253

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .shtapadi Thirteen 271. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .he Unforgivable Sin 278

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .shtapadi Fourteen .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .n the Will of God 309



VI CONTENTS

Ashtapadi Fifteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

The Love Dust of the Sadhu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327Ashtapadi Sixteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

The Givers of Naam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346Ashtapadiseventeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

The True King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365Ashtapadi Eighteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

Who is the Satguru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

Ashtapadi Nineteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403The Noose of Death is Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410

Ashtapadi Twenty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425Why Forget Him? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Ashtapadi Twenty-one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439The Performer of His Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446

Ashtapadi Twenty-two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

On the Protection of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464Ashtapadi Twenty-three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

"Where Will All the Garbage Be?" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485Ashtapadi Twenty-four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506



Introduction

G u r u A rj an , the au th or of the Sukhmani, was the fif th guru in theline of the ten Sikh Gurus. Over the 250 years between the birth ofthe first of the Sikh Guru s, N anak (1469-1539), an d the d eat h of thetenth Guru, Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the outward role these saintsplayed changed dramatically. Nanak was a simple farmer; Arjanplanned cities and built a great temple at Amritsar; a n d Go bin d Singh

was a warr ior, comb ating the tyranny of the M ogul rule. Yet th e loveand grace that they gave out remained unchanged; and the messageof h ope that they bro ugh t to humanity at large remained the sam e-to love and serve Go d; to love and serve hum anity; an d to reunite thesoul with i ts sou rce- Go d, the Oversoul - throug h the grace of On ewho has known Him.

Gu ru Arjan was born in 1563 and was the son of the fourth Gu ru,Ra m das (1534-1581). Fro m his earliest years, A rja n h ad a deep ye arn-

ing to reunite with G od . T o realize this goal, he served G od in the h u-m an form of Gu ru Ramdas with a n unfail ing love an d devotion. Whilethere are many w ho can serve the Master fo r recognition, fo r worldlygains or for hopes of heavenly rewards, there are few who can serveH im just fo r the sake of H is love an d grace. Thu s Saints test their dis-ciples. G uru R amdas had three sons: Pri thi C han d, Mahadev a nd A r-jan. Wh en R am das was invited t o a wedding, he said he would sendon e of his sons instead. First the eldest, Prithi Ch an d, was appro ach ed.

H e was asked to attend th e marriage and remain there for ab ou t fifteendays. P rithi was afraid his absence would h arm his chances to gain th espiritual succession he desired. Therefo re with p oo r excuses, he refusedt o go. Mah adev was usually in a state of spiritual intoxication an d heldworldly affai rs in contem pt . Finally Ram das app roached A rja n a ndasked him t o rem ain at the wedding until he was requested to return.T o Arj an th e Master's presence was as precious as life itself- bu t still

vii



. .V l l l INTRODUCTION

more d ear were His wishes, a nd so he proceeded to the wedding. The

marriage end ed, the days passed, but A rja n received no message fro mthe M aster. Ou t of the yearning of his heart he wrote this poe m , whichhe sent to the Master:

My mind is desiring Thy darshanLike the rainbird in anguish,The thirst remains unquenched- there is no peace;I am living like that without the Beloved s darshan;

Ramdas was rest ing when the messenger arr ived and Pri thia said hewould deliver it . But when the messenger left , Prithia hid the note inhis pocket . T hu s more t ime passed an d stil l Ar jan was without wo rdfrom the G ur u. In the fi re of separat ion, A rjan wrote ano ther poem :

Glory to that place where You reside;Your face is so beautiful,Seeing this, the inner Sound easily vibrates.

Pri th ia again in tercepted the poem and Arja n wrote a th i rd one:

The separation of minutes was likened unto an age;0 Beloved, when will that time be when I may see You?I cannot sleep and the nights cannot pass without Him who

is my Lord.

This time, A rja n m arke d th e let ter with a"3" and said that i t was tobe delivered only to th e G ur u. W hen Ra md as read i t , he asked his el-dest son w here the f irst tw o let ters were. P ri thia swore three t imes hehad no knowledge of them but Ramdas orderedhis clothes to besearched a nd they were fou nd in his coat . M eanwhile, Arja n h ad beensum mo ned to return. R am das said that whoever could write the fo urthstanz a to these poems w ould be the on e f i t for the spir i tual succession.Arjan wrote the fol lowing:

With great destiny I met Him:The Ever-Permanent Lord was found in the house;I desire only to serve and never be separated for a momenr.I am thy servant, 0 Lord.

Greatly pleased withhis son's devotion , R am das filled him with his ow nLife impulse-so muc h so that the two were blended in to On e. While



I N T R O D U C T I O N 1X

others sought their o wn gains, Arj an could not step beyond the bo und s

of the Guru's words. He had surrendered his mind to the Guru. Be-cause his obedience an d devotion were perfected, he alone was fit tocarry on the Guru's work.

With R amd as' death, Arja n gained property, wealth an d recognition,yet his heart remained unchanged: he continue d to see himself as a sim-ple servant to his illustrious gur u; a mere channe l for H is wor k. W he nhis elder bro ther , Prit hia, m ade claims to his pro per ty, A rja n gave itto him. W hen Pri thia demanded the turban Ram das had given Ar jan -

the turban which symbolized the spiritual successorship to GuruRa md as- Ar jan gave him that too. For all his brother's spite, Ar jangave only love and forgiveness.

My wealth and property may go to ruinM y treasure is in God's feet.

Giving up the comfo rts he had earned , Arjan worked h ard to see hisMaster 's w ork gr ow . In Am ritsar , he directed the building of the greattemple,Hari Mandir (often called Th e Golden T emple). Breaking withIndian prejudices that set one person against another, Arjan saw thatthe temple was constructed-as he wished all his wo rk to be do ne -with the ou tlook of the on e family of hum anity having on e G o d over-head. Thus the temple's foundation was laid by a Muslim holy man,Mia n Mir. Hind us an d Muslims, rich an d poo r, all worked side by side.Brahmins ate in thelangar (community kitchen) beside outcastes.

As Prithia's spite continued, A rja n left Amritsar an d traveled thro ughthe villages of India, spreading his message of love and peace. Heplanned the construction of Ta rn Tar an -a ci ty of refuge for lepers.H er e, fo r probably the first time in India , lepers were treated w ith hu-m an dignity an d given hom es, f oo d, clothing, medical aid a nd c are.From Ta rn Ta ran , Arjan continued his t ravels. H e planned the con-struction of a noth er city, Ka rtarp ur, a nd finally ended his self-imposedexile, returning to Amritsar.

Th e world seems to have l it tle place for those w ho d o the w orkof

the Most High and on his return, Ar jan -thr oug h Prithia 's designs-received more persecution. He was called before the emperor Akbarand charged with sacrilege. Ak bar however was a very unusual em peror .O n examining Arjan's case, he found him innocent of th e charges an don meet ing the guru, he fo und a great a nd holy ma n. Prostra t ing him-self before H im , Ak ba r begged his counsel. Ar jan advised him to pu tthe welfare and happiness of his subjects even before his ow n; that G odhad given him his duty as an emperor as a sacred trust a nd A kb ar should



X INTRODUCTION

rule accordingly. Akbar was a great man and did his best to live up

to this advice . But with his death , a less enlightened son , Jah angir, seizedthe thron e. Again charges of blasphemy were brought against the guruand again he was summ oned to the emperor 's cou rt . Knowing the fatethat awaited him, Arja n announc ed that his son , H ar Go bind , shouldsucceed him as G ur u. H e consoled his family and followers an d bad ethem not to mourn his approaching death: "Whoever is born in thisworld must die; this is Nature's La w . But as the Pow er w ithin is de ath-less, mourn not. Do not love this body, but love and attach yourselfto the deathless Power."

The earth, the skies and the stars are under the shadow of Fear;over their heads reigned the unchanging law.

Wind, Water and Fire are under that shadow; so too is poorIndra (Lord of the gods).

All things know fear; only the Creator is free from it.Saith Nanak, God is the companion of the Saints; they adorn

His court and therefore they too are without fear.GURU ARJAN

A rjan was imprisoned a nd tortured : dipped into boiling wa ter; seatedon red-hot plates; a n d scalded with b urning san d. But throug hou t thetortures, he remained calm. Men came to him for his final blessingsand were uplifted by his courage. W hen a holy m an devised a miraculousescape for H im , Ar jan refused: "Faith is tested in the hour of suffer-ing. My one joy in life has been as a humble servant of the L or d- to

d o H is Will . ShouldI now look elsewhere? By my ex am ple, othe rs willbe lent courage in their times of trial."Days before his de ath , A rja n was permitted a final meeting with his

disciples. H is body was emac iated and w orn w ith scars but his face wasilluminated by the Light within . H e advised his following tha t his earthlylife was soon to en d. H ar G obind would continue the work begun byN an ak . H e was to act as did his predecessors save now tha t oppressionwas on the rise, it should be dealt with squarely: Har Gobind was toact as an ideal Knight and protect the Indian people from the Moguloppressor. With these words, Arjan returned to the tortures until hisdea th o n M ay30, 1606.

The Master has snapped the chains of the captive soulAnd the cycle of transmigration has come to its end.Cooled in the Guru's Naam, the world's cauldron boils no

more.In the company of the Saint, Death's friends do not come near.



INTRODUCTION

From the sea's depths haveI reached the shore;

Such is the mercy of the Guru.Truth is m y place, Truth is m y seat and Truth is m y purpose.Saith Nanak, within myself haveI gathered this Truth.

Arjan, whose whole life was dedicated to God, sought to express hissearch for God and its fulfillment -the love and intoxication as wellas the piercing torment of separation-in the countless hymns tha t hewrote. He later collected his own hymns, those of the four preceding

Sikh Gurus and the writings of other holy men, dating from the timeof Jaidev (1 180-1202) onward, into what later became the Sikh holyscripture, The Guru Granth Sahib.The completed work was writtenin the comm on language (Pun jabi), in the Gurm ukhi script (the Pu n-jabi alphabet which was developed by the second Guru of the Sikhs,Guru Angad). It contains writing of Hindus of all castes, as well asMuslims. TheSukhmani is a small but important part of theGuruGran th Sahib,considered to be one of the five basic scriptures, mem o-rized by all devout Sikhs.

God's Law of grace -that when souls yearn for Him and cry ou t toHim in their helplessness, He manifests Himself in some human bodyto guide those souls back to Him -is a law for all eternity. The lives

and the greatness of the saints born for this blessed work lie well be-yond the comprehension of us ordinary people; at one moment theyare living in this world, and the next, their souls have traversed intothe higher spiritual regions. At best, all that can be doneis to describethe extraordinary events that surround their lives. Sant Ajaib Singh,who has supervised the translation and has written this commentaryon the Sukhmani, follows in the line of those great souls who comeinto the world to carry out the work of the Most High.

Ajaib Singh was born into a Sikh family in the Pun jab of India, Sep-tember 11, 1926. His mother died giving him birth and his fathe r dieda few days later. His great-uncle and au nt -w ho were wealthylandowners- dopted him and brought him up as their own son . Whenspeaking of his parents, it is they that he refers to.

He received little form al education, but was brought up under o rtho -dox Sikhism and was well-read in their scriptures.

Like the great Saints before him, Ajaib Singh hada ruling passionto realize God from his earliest years. For this he felt the grace and



xii INTRODUCTION

guidance of a God-realized person was necessary. Again and again, his

elders told him that the Living Master was the Granth Sahib, the scrip-ture of the Sikhs. In his childhood innocence, he followed this adviceand worshipped and read the scripture through the long hours of thenight. So passionate was his worship that when he slept, he would dreamof the Granth. But still he found no peace. What he read in these scrip-tures was that they could not impart the living impulse necessary tofind God; this could be had only through a living Godman. Thus be-gan the long search for the Holy One to guide him back to God-a

search that made him turn his back on wealth, comfort and ease.The way to God is riddled with half-truths and deceptions and oftenfor those who seek the hardest, these seem to manifest the most. Theyoung Ajaib studied with many who made promises of miraculous pow-ers or salvation after death, but none could show the way to realizeand become one with God while still living in the human form. Foryears, under the guidance of different gurus, he practiced hard austeri-ties and repetitions of holy names but none gave him inner peace. Thenabout 1940, he met a sadhu, Baba Bishan Das, and knew at last thathe had found one who could truly help him on the spiritual journey.However Bishan Das gave little outward encouragement to the seekingboy; instead he would speak harshly to him and slap him. When Ajaibrequested initiation, he was refused. A lesser soul might have given up,but he who was stung by the arrow of God's love knew no peace tilllove's fulfillment. To Ajaib Singh, Bishan Das's slaps became sweeterthan the smiles of other sadhus because he knew Bishan Das had some-thing real.

Meanwhile, while still still in his teens, Ajaib Singh was drafted intothe army. True to his nature, he continued his devotions while fulfill-ing his obligations as a soldier. When circumstances permitted, he wouldtake leave to visit Baba Bishan Das.

While still in the army, stationed near Beas in the Punjab, he heardof a great saint, Baba Sawan Singh, and went to have his darshan. Herehe met the most beautiful personage he had met in his life; one in whomhe knew God had manifested in His fullness. He begged for initiation,

but as with Bishan Das, his request was refused: "He who will initiateyou will come to you on His own." Knowing that he had found a perfectsaint, he brought Bishan Das to see Him as well. He also requestedinitiation, but on account of his old age, was also refused. However,Bishan Das was reassured by the promise that grace and inner guidancewould be extended.

In the late 1940's Ajaib Singh was discharged from the army. He re-fused to accept any of the family wealth and instead worked for them



...INTRODUCTION X l l l

as a laborer. While working in the fields, some time in the early 50's,

Bishan Das walked up t o him, looked him in the eyes and sa id: "AjaibSingh, I am very pleased with you.I want to give you something." W iththese words, he transfered his spiritual powers to him and promisedhim that he would get more later from someone who would come tohim by himself. The next day Bishan Das left the body.

Shortly after this, in response to a n order he received in meditationfrom Baba Bishan Das, Ajaib Singh left his parent's fa rm an d set outto Kunichuk to build an ashram. Trusting in the one who gave him

inner guidance, he left for this remote desert village in Raja sthan wheresumm er temperatures go well over 120 degrees and a scarce ration ofwater was often only a long walk away. The ashram was completedand as other sources of water became available, the surrounding landbecame an operating fa rm . This provided h im-as well as those whojoined him- with a means of income, cash to suppor t the needs of theashram and food for the langar (free kitchen). While working as a farm-er, Ajaib Singh also spent many hours daily in meditation. It didn't

take long for the people of the area to realize that a true devotee ofthe Lo rd was in their midst. They began to gather aroun d him t o seekhis guidance and to meditate with him. He soon became known to allas "Sant Ji," a title of reverence and affection. (His second Gur u, Kir-pal Singh, also referred to him as Sant Ji and now he is known to allby that name.) Aja ib Singh's unwavering devo tion and intense spiritu-al practices revealed more and more of the inner mysteries- nd yethe knew his time had not come: he still saw himself as a seeker afterGod and not one to guide disciples.

At last promises fo r full spiritual knowledge arose when Sw ami ShivDayal Singh -a perfect saint from the 19th century, also in the lineof Gu ru Arjan- bega n to appear to Ajaib Singh in his meditations.Gradually Swami Ji's form changed into the form of another great saint,but now one whom he did not recognize. One year late r, in 1967, Kir-pal Singh, the one whom Ajaib Singh was seeing within, came to hisashram and initiated him. Thus was the prophecy of Baba Saw an Singhfulfilled and thus ended the long search for a perfect Master.'

The rest o f Ajaib Singh's life is a story of devotion and of the per-fecting of a soul. Under Master Kirpal Singh's orde rs, Ajaib went intofull time meditation. The master himself would often drive throughthe desert roads t o see his beloved d isciple. In 1972, Kirpal Singh's last

* Kirpal Singh was the successor of Sawa n Singh, and a spiritual desc endan t of Kab ir,Nan ak, Ar jan , and Swami J i , among others . See Aja ib Singh,Streoms in the Desert,p . 11 for a complete list of Masters in this line.



xiv INTRODUCTION

public visit to Rajasthan, the Master told Ajaib Singh that he must carry

on the work of Naam initiation. The disciple protested, but to no avail.During this time, an initiation was conducted at Kunichuk Ashramwhere, under Kirpal Singh's wishes, Ajaib Singh gave the instructionswhile the Master looked on . This was an unprecedented event in thelife of Kirpal Singh and one of great significance. Shortly after the in-itiation, Master Kirpal looked Ajaib in the eyes and said: "Ajaib Singh,I am very pleased with you; I want to give you somethingn-the verysame words Baba Bishan Das had said to him more than twenty years

earlier. As the Master spoke to him, Ajaib Singh felt Master's life andpower entering his soul through the eyes. But remembering that Bi-shan Das had left his body one day after passing on his spiritual pow-er, he begged the Master not to do this, fearing that the Master toomight also leave His body soon. But the power was passed and twogreat souls were reunited. From this point on, Ajaib Singh had theauthority to give initiation without first consulting his Guru.

Ajaib Singh had received the order from his Guru to leave his ashramin Kunichuk. For a moment his heart sank- here was all that he ownedand now he was told t o leave it. But embedded in faith, he walked outits gates leaving all material things that he owned behind. At the invi-tation of an earlier associate, Sardar Rattan Singh, he went to the vil-lage of 16 PS where an underground room had been constructed forhim. In this small dark room, o n a slab of wood, he sat for continuousmeditation for the next two years. In August 1974, he came out of medi-tation to visit devotees in the village of 77 RB. It was there that he heardthat his great Master had left His body for the final time. Weeping bit-terly, he went to Delhi to pay his final respects to the body of the Onethrough whom he received his enlightenment. As has often happenedthroughout history, the true devotee and the true successor of the Guruis often reviled by other disciples who seek the property and power oftheir Master. Shortly after his arrival at Sawan Ashram in Delhi, AjaibSingh was asked to leave. He then traveled to a small village in Rajas-than where no one knew him. There he meditated and wept in the sepa-ration of his beloved Guru. There he would have been happy to have

spent the rest of his days on earth; unknown to the world silently com-muning with the Master within. But the cries of those souls lost in thisworld and the orders of his Guru within brought him out - irst to thevillage people of Rajasthan and then throughout the rest of the world.

Today he continues to live in the simple ashram at 16 PS in Rajas-than where seekers after Truth from around the world come to himfor spiritual guidance and strength.

These few words give a brief account of two Saints' lives: testimoni-



INTRODUCTION X V

als to holiness and an inspiration to those seeking the spiritual way.

But the living reality of their presence is a joy and a peace th at defiesall description.

JON ENGLE



7 bow t o the ~ d iuru A M ~ ~ ' P U V U S ~ S W ~ ~ M

7 bowt o jugad Guru ( S a t ' P ~ r u ~ k )

7 bow t oSatguru (~habdaGuru)

7 bow to Gurudev ( the living mas^)30 irnran; achieve h p p i n e s ,by d o i qJrmmnjRemove the a @ u t l o u 4rnin.d md body.Remember H L ~hosuftainsthe world ;

*Bymeditatzvon is Maammuny got-libmtimt.h oodpiou,words4 ch8 ~edas,Puranaj

lrndSmritijdeclare that dze M a w $~ o ds the only true word.

One in whose h v ~~ S ame is c a w dt o d w d even a l i t t febic-

His glory cannot-bedescribed .

M n n k mys, Ziberfit8me w i t ht whoy6arn t o hhab Yourdarhun."

7hEAmbrosialNaam of theLord &thejewel ofhappiness w h hresides iut thdevotetvtf theu r d .



4 THE JEWEL OF HAPPINESS

73y dmng theSivnvan4 he Lord,onedmsnot return t o th womb;'Bydoing the Simrm$ heLord, th

fear tf y a m runs away.

Bydoing thL JimmnoftheLord,~d an-not ~pproach;

Bydoing theJinzran4 h 6 ~ o v d ,heJive2nem~sgowfiy.

By doing th Sinran$the Lord,no ob-~ L U C L ~ ~ SOM j

By doing thejimran oftheCord,om m-mainsawakc day and n y M .

3 doin3 thehinrcm $the ~ o r d f i v;snorfib;3 y doing J i m v m ,pa& doesnot @a MJ

7he ~mvan $ ~ o dexideswtththe

true devotetu;N a n d sayj, "7he evotzan oftheLord



ASHTAPADI ONE 5

~yevna turdower, mnd the nine

jtandz'nj.'7hc M w a n f o d5 worship,m p e-

wnishej .One w b oe, thejimran of ~ o dS t h b red

one who Low the . ~ ~ r modget5 allthin r dew i~ a good way.Ln e w does theh h r m of ~ o dap




3 doing thej'mrm 4~ o dhe deires

w e xtiyuijhed3 dabg h S~i?zrm4 o dverythiyis seen clear-Lv .

God mides on the ~ U Y E heA h n d myj " Iam the servunf$ he

jwvmnts of God."



ASHTAPADI ONE 7

h j e hovewmber Godaw thehghe,t.Wten

7 b f ewho remmbw ~ o de ndependaq7ho.u whou m b e rGodmre the den

4 a U .-Thosewho vemunber ~ o dwellta tkt

rmL happimw;%se who rememkr G Q ~ecaw iade-

,.rn&ibb.Only h e pon whomUe~hw~r~y rmce

3et m ~ ~ ~ h do ~ i r n r nTv'anclk p y s f brhti d u g 9 h a i x k .

d o j e who remember GOw e the t rue

bev God.

%jkm oJthose who remembsr adare b v y h ~ ;

d o s e w b emember ~ o dzv8 hyyily.%OJP who do the Simmn of GO^hav8

1

conquered themselve,



Wkk jay; OMLJGJiLMzrun oniy$he

b s o o d ~ r t t r ~'By do~figh J~rnvun9 o d ,d worksare accompLished;

% o ~ e who n m e m b ~ o dvtw rep&&

m dne

v w hwep i n andgrief.'Bydoing h e Simwn $ God, one^5 p u h is devoted t o ~ v ~ i s i n yod;

'By doinq $heSivnvanof ~ o d ,n e abm-bj

3 ~ P I Y C ~he imr-am ofgod, i L p a -the 'mmovablfisea^

73y doi y the S~mrgn fGod, the lotusblassoms.



ASHTAPADI ONE 9

% w e w eno limits t o the hop 'nb f iOdo~ltg~';rtran.

h v eon whom~ o dhuwersm ~ eo thel imrm ~ o d3hnrnk,a yj, 7 lrm ifi their jhehr.T h edtwotee, are vemembcredb e c a ~ j ef

thehinrmn

o f ~ o d2 ecawe ofth6 Simvan4God, the Vedmwbre compo~ed

3 doing the J i r n ~ m ~ o d ,mm be-come5 A

jidh(seer

1,a j g t i i elibgte j

end




qfi whom God rngkej grmiwiLy ~ d r -m n d -

3 h n a k says, Hegca th 5imran)%m

theGurumukhs.



Chapter 1

The Remembrance of God

I bow to the Adi Guru [Anami Purush , Swami]I bow to Jugad Guru [Sat Purush]I bow to Satguru [Shabda Gu ru]I bow to Gurudev [the living Master]

In this hymn, Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj first of all bows down

to the Almighty One. He says, "I bow dow n before theAnami [Ab-solute] Master, I bow down before the infiniteShabd Master, and Ibow down before the perfect living Master."

Do Simran; achieve happiness by doing Simran;Remove the afflictions of mind and body.

The Guru lays great emphasis on doing Sim ran or the Remembrance

of G od . In the old days, the perfect M asters first required their disciplesto perfect their Simran. Only after they had done th at were they giventhe Sound Current. In the present time, the Saints have showered muchgrace on the soul: now They give Simran and initiation into the S oundCur rent a t the same time- because in the days when They were givingthe Sound Current only after the disciple had perfected Simran, whatwould often happen? Either the Master would leave the body beforethe disciple had perfected his Simran, or the disciple would finish his

journey through the world before he could perfect his Simran and getthe Sound Current. In either case, the work of the disciple remainedincomplete. So in this age the Masters have showered much grace an dare giving both the Sound Current and Simran at the same time, atthe time of Initiation.

Simran is the only means to reach theDhunatmak Naam which weare supposed to catch. But we do no t know the value of S imra n, and



12 THE J E W E L OF HAPPINESS

therefore we do not put enough emphasis and effort into doing it.

Because we do not know its value, we are not able to appreciate it.Simran has a lot of power in it, and only if our Simran is perfectedcan we catch the Dhunatmak Naam - he Sound Current that will pullus up. No matter how much or how loud the Sound we are hearing,that Sound will not be able to pull our soul up if our Simran is notperfected.

So Guru Arjan says, "Do Simran, and do Simran." By doing Simranyou will be able to get rid of the evils of your body -lust, anger, greed,

attachment and egoism. By doing Simran you can easily overcome theseevils.

Remember Him Who sustains the world;By meditating on His Naam many got liberation.

Now everybody is doing the simran of his work or activity. Theshopkeeper is doing the simran of his shop; women are doing their

simran, they are remembering their duties; the clerk is rememberingwhat he has to do in the office. In this way, everybody is rememberingthe activities of the world in which he is involved. Because we are allinvolved in doing the simran of the world, we are always having worldlythoughts and we are always involved in worldly pursuits. That's whythe simran of the world- the remembrance of the world - rings us backinto the world. It does not allow us to become liberated from this world.

But Guru Arjan says that you should do the Simran of such a Power

which can liberate you from this world. By doing that Simran you willnot have to come back into this world.

The good pious words of the Vedas, Puranas and Smritisdeclare that the Name of God is the only true Word.

The twenty-seven Shastras, eighteen Puranas, and four Vedas are theHoly Scriptures of the Hindu religion. Guru Arjan says, "I have read

all these holy books and I have found only one thing: emphasis on do-ing Simran." One cannot get emancipation except through the Simranof the Lord.

One in whose heart His Name is caused to dwell even alittle bit-

His glory cannot be described.

The glory of Simran cannot be described. Even if one has done only




birth in this world again. Fu rthe r, the Angel of De ath can no t com e nearus; we become free from the fear of him. If we do Sim ran , we can becomefree from the problems and pains of this world also.

By doing the Simran of the Lord, Kal cannot approach;By doing the Simran of the Lord, the five Enemies go away.

If we are doing Sim ran , Kal does not com e near us, because, behind th eSim ran given by the perfect M aster, the charging an d the Po we r of the

perfect M aster is working. T he perfect M asters d o not give us the Sim ranwhich they have heard fro m o thers; they give us the Simran which theyhave meditated upon and perfected. Behind the Simran given by theMasters the strength of the Master Power is working. By doing suchSimra n even ou r enemies leave us. O ur greatest enemy is the m ind whichis residing within us; if we are doing Sim ran, the m ind com es under ou rcontrol and we can easily dominate it .

G uru Na nak says that by doing the repetition of the Nam e of the Lo rd

ou r mind-which is wandering here an d there , very swiftly, like a deer-

comes under ou r control- f we are remembering the Name of the Lo rd.

By doing the Simran of the Lord, no obstacles come;By doing the Simran of the Lord, one remains awake day

and night.

If we are doing con stant Sim ran, we will not have t o face any obstacles

an d o ur body will not have any pain.If we are doing constant Simranwe wake u p in S imran an d sleep in respect to the w orld. Everyone knowshow sleep bothers the dea r ones. Sleep is dom inating us very much ; that'swhy it is a problem . B ut if we wake ourselves up in the Na am , then thereis no prob lem. Th ose who w ake up in the N aam , even if they d o notsleep for three o r fou r nights, will not have any problem, because Na amhas such strength, such power in it .

By doing the Simran of the Lord, fear is not felt;By doing Simran, pain does not affect us.

By doing Sim ran our will power gets increased an d w hatever fear o f theworld we have goes aw ay. W e have fear of the w orld only as long aswe are doin g bad d eeds, as long as we ar e involved in sin. But on ce wemanifest the Truth within us, and once we realize what the Truth is,an d once our will power is increased, we need no t be afraid of the w orld.Once we attain that con dition, we always see the world as Lord an d G od .



THE REMEMBRANCE OFGOD 15

Because we have recognized the power of G od , we need not be a fraidof the world.

The Simran of God resides with the true devotees;Nanak says, 'The devotion of the Lord is the treasure house

of all riches."

Ca n we get the Simran by ourselves? Ca n we achieve Simran by our ownefforts? Guru A rjan says, "No, you cannot achieve Simran by yourself."

If you will go in the com pany of a perfect Master, a perfect Sadh u, andif that perfect Master or Sadhu is gracious on you, and if graciouslyHe gives you the S imran on which H e has meditated and which H e hasperfected, only then will you be able to have it. This S imran is the abodeof all happiness, and by doing it one gets the happiness of all the w orld.

Kabir Sahib says, 0 Kabir, in the com pany of the Sa dhu , God isremembered. Only the m oments which we have spent in the comp anyof the Masters are counted. All other m oments a re wasted."

By doing the Simran of God one gets supernatural powersand the nine treasures.

By doing the Simran of God one gets knowledge, medita-tion and understanding.

If we are doing Sim ran, the supe rnatura l powers come under o ur con-trol. But the Satsangis are told no t to use them: those who a re doingthe meditation on Naam , the supernatural powers are their slaves. Bydoing Simran, knowledge comes within us. What knowledge? Theknowledge of God: tha t God is all-pervading and is work ing within us.

The Simran of God is worship, repetition, austerities;By doing the Simran of God, duality vanishes.

If we are doing constant Sim ran , we are getting the benefits of repeti-tion (japa), performing austerities (tapa), an d all the rites and rituals.

If we are doing constant Simran, the sense of duality leaves from withinus, an d we see Go d working a t every place. When we see Go d workingat every place we do no t call anything bad or good. G uru N anak says,

0 Lo rd, when You have made all this creation, whom can we call thebad ones?" We see God working in everybody; for us, G od is everywhere;fo r us, G od is good.

One who does the Simran of God is the real pilgrim;One who does Simran is honored in the court of the Lord.




In India, people go to holy places and bathe in holy water to remove

the dirt of the sins which they are carrying. There are many temples andholy places, and at each one of them there is a pond of water, and ofeach one it is believed that whoever bathes in that particular holy placewill become free of sin. But Guru Nanak says about those places thatthe so-called "holy waters" also want some Saint to come and put hisfeet in the water. That water is carrying the sins of all those who comeand bathe there, and it is longing for the dust of the feet of the Master,so that it can become free of the sins of those people.

The truth is, as Guru Arjan says, that those who are doing the Simranof God, get the benefit of bathing in all the holy places and of all thepilgrimages while they are sitting at home. If one is doing the Simranof the Lord, he is given respect in the court of the Lord.

One who does the Simran of God gets all things done ina good way.

One who does the Simran of God reaps the fruit.

It is always good for us to do the Simran of the Lord. When we do theSimran of the Lord, He always gives us the benefits.

Only those who are made to do His Simran, do it;Nanak says, "I touch their feet."

This is a matter that requires great understanding: when we know howimportant it is to do Simran, when we know its value and what we getfrom doing it, when we know it is so beneficial, why can't we do it?By listening to talks on the importance of Simran, everybody will feellike doing it, but Guru Arjan asks, "Is it possible for everyone to doSimran?" and replies, "No, it is not possible. It is not in our controlto do Simran unless God showers grace on us. Only he can do the Simranof God on whom God showers grace."

Guru Arjan, in another place, says, 0 Lord, if it had been in ourhands, then why would we have gone away from you? Now when weare weeping in Your separation, if it were in our hands why would webe separated?"

Hazur Maharaj Kirpal Singh Ji used to say, "It is not in the handsof the blind man to go and touch the man who has eyes; unless the manwho can see calls the blind one to come and take his hand, he cannotdo it. In the same way, unless God showers grace on us, and links usin the company of those who have done Simran, and unless he gives



THE REMEMBRANCE OFGOD 17

us Simran through a perfect M aster, we cann ot d o it."If we are for-tunate and if G od w ants to shower grace on us, then He brings us inthe comp any of such a Mahatma. An d when that M aha tma o r Mastergives us the Simran in all His grace and g lory, and when He makes usdo that Simran, only then can we do it. Otherwise it is not inour hands.

The Simran of the Lord is the highest;By doing the Simran of the Lord, many have swum across.

Those who are doing the S imran of the Lo rd go to the highest place:Sach Khan d. An d by doing the Sim ran of the Lo rd, they bring m anyother souls to that place.

Kabir Sahib says, "Even a leper, fro m whom a bad smell is coming,who is doing the meditation of Naam is better th an one who has a bodyof gold who is not doing the Simran."

By doing the Simran of God the desires are extinguished;By doing the Simran of God everything is seen clearly.

The desires which have m ade us a m ad do g, an d a re leading us like amad dog- aking us here and there- f one is doing the S imran of th eLord, even if he is ridden with desires, he gets contentm ent an d all hisdesires and madness go away. Those who achieve this come to knoweverything- ha t is, they come to have the knowledge of the L ord. They

know that except God there is nothing.

By doing the Simran of God the fear of Yama goes away.By doing the Simran of God all desires are fulfilled.

If we are doing the Simran of God, the Angels of Death cannot stopour cou rse, canno t frighten us, and cann ot give us any trouble. If weare doing the Simran of the Lo rd, whatever desires or needs we have

in this world, He fulfills; and we become free of all desires.

By doing the Simran of God the dirt of mind is removed,And the Nectar of Naam dwells within us.

By doing the Simran of the Lo rd, o ur m ind, which is laden do wn withdirt fr om ages an d ages, becomes free from it; the dirt is washed aw ay.By doing the Simran of the Lord, the nectar of Naam starts flowing

within us, by drinking which our soul becomes immortal.




God resides on the tongue of the Saint;

Nanak says, "I am the servant of the servants of God."

G ur u Ar jan Dev is asking: W here does God reside? Does H e reside inAm erica or Africa, o r any other coun try? Does H e reside in any cityor village or town? Does H e reside in a temple or chu rch, o r any othe rholy place? Tell me, where does G od reside? If H e were residing in thechurches, the Christian priests would have found Him; If He wereresiding in the temples, the H indu priests also would have fo un d H im;

If H e were residing in theGurdwaras, the bhais o r the Sikh priests alsowould have fou nd H im. The n there would have been peace all over thewo rld: the prob lems w hich we now have regarding religions- he con-flicts which o ne religion has with ano ther- we would no t have seen. Peo-ple would no t hate each other, o r care abou t the difference of black a ndwhite. But this is not the way of the w orld: everywhere people ar e fightingin the nam e o f religion; everywhere injustice prevails.

Guru Arjan replies to His own question. He says that God resides

on the tongue-that is, in the words-of the Sad hu. Th at is why G uruArja n Dev Ji M aha raj says,"I am the servant of such M asters in whosewo rds G od is residing." K abir Sahib also says, "I a m the servan t of thoseSadh us wh o have controlled their minds."

Kabir S ahib says in ano ther place, "My mind became a bird a nd w entinto the heavens. T o my surprise I saw that the heavens were empty an dGod was residing within the Saints."

G uru Na nak says, "God always resides in the hu m an fo rm of a Sa int.

W henever H e wants to com e into this world, H e takes on the form ofa S aint. H e comes as a h um an being a nd resides in the w orld."

Those who remember God are truly wealthy;Those who remember God are truly honored.

W ho is wealthy? W ho is honored in this world? Only those who m editateo n the Naam of the Lord and w ho do the Simran of the Lord ar e wealthy,

an d only they are truly honored. Neither the riches of this world no rthe hon ors of this world will go with us. O nly the meditation of N aaman d the Simran of the L ord will go with us. That's w hy G uru A rjan callsthose who are doing the Simran of the Lo rd the wealthy one s and thehonored ones.

Those who remember God are welcomed;Those who remember God are the highest men.



THE REMEMBRANCE OF GOD 19

Those who remember the Lord constantly, who are doing the Simranof the Lord constantly -only they are well-respected, only they arewelcomed in the Cour t of the Lo rd, and only they are given the highestplaces in the Court of the Lord.

Those who remember God are independent;Those who remember God are the rulers of all.

Those who remember G od become independent; they d o not rem ain

dependent on o thers. They a re the only true kings in the world, becausethey rule over the hearts of the people.

Those who remember God dwell in the real happiness;Those who remember God become indestructible.

Those who remember the Lord constantly become the abode of hap -piness, and they become indestructible. They never come to an end .

Guru Nanak says, "My Satguru always remains in life. He nevercomes, He never goes. He is the indestructible Person, and He is all-pervading."

Only those upon whom He showers grace get attached toSimran-

Nanak prays for the dust of their feet.

Guru Arjan says that He longs for the dust of the feet of those whohave applied themselves to Simran, and those who are doing Simranday and night.

Those who remember God are the true philanthropists;I sacrifice myself on those who remember God.

One who does the Simran of the L ord, or one who repeats the Nameof the Lord, becomes the true benefactor, or philanthropist; he worksfor the benefit of other people in this world. Now this is very impor-tant to understand properly: Who truly helps others? Who can reallybe called a great benefactor? Master Kirpal Singh used to explain thisby giving the example ofa prison. Suppose there is a prison in whichthere are many prisoners who are in poor condition. One good mancomes there an d he sees tha t the condition of the prisoners is not g ood ;they ar e not getting good f oo d,and their healthis not being taken care




of . So he donates a lot of money to the prison, and arranges for good

food and medical care for them. He has done a very good thing forthe prisoners; but still they remain prisoners.

Another benefactor comes and observes that in winter there is noheat, and they don't even have good blankets or bedding. So he alsospends money and provides them with blankets and bedding. In thisway, he has also done a good job for the prisoners; but still they re-main in the prison.

Another benefactor comes and sees that in summer it is very difficult

for the prisoners, because there are no fans and the ventilation is poor.So he spends money and puts in fans and a ventilation system. He im-proves the condition of the prisoners; but still they remain prisoners,still they are in jail.

One more benefactor comes there, and he has the key to the prison.He says, "Come on, dear ones I have the key to this prison and 1 amopening this door for you. Those who want freedom, just go out." Ifwe compare the actions of all four benefactors, we will come to theconclusion that the one who had the key to the prison was the mosteffective- because he set the prisoners free. The other ones no doubtdid good things for the prisoners, but they were only able to improvethe condition of the prisoners asprisoners; they could not completelychange their condition and set them free.

In the same way, in this world we may find many philanthropistsor benefactors who work for the benefit of the people. But only theMaster Who has Naam with Him can be called the Great Benefactor,because only He has the key to our freedom. If He showers grace onus, we can become free from the miseries of the world. Only the Masterwho has the key of Naam, the key to the Court of the Lord-only Hecan set us free from this prison of the world. Because this world is abig prison, maintained by the Negative Power, in which we are all suf-fering. Only the Satguru has the key, and only He can set us free.

Kabir Sahib says, "The river flows for the benefit of others, not itself;the trees bear fruit for the benefit of others, and the rain showers waterfor the benefit of others. The Saints also take up the body and come

into this world only for the benefit of others; they don't have any otherpurpose."

Ever since our soul was separated from God it has taken up the bodiesof animals, trees, and many other forms of life; but He comes intothis world taking up the human body only for the benefit of our soul.

So Guru Arjan says here that those, the Masters or the Saints, whodo the Simran of the Lord, within them comes the power of workingfor the benefit of others. And, He says, I sacrifice myself on them,



THE REMEMBRANCEOF GOD 21

and I sing praises of those who have become the form of the Lord by

doing the Simran of the Lord.

The faces of those who remember God are bright;Those who remember God live happily.

In the court of the Lord, the only faces which are glorified and respectedare those of the souls who are doing the Simran of the Lord.

Those who do the Simran of God have conquered them-selves;

Those who do the Simran of God are pure and true.

Now G uru Arja n tells us what the power of Sim ran is, and u p to whatpoint Sim ran can carry us. Only through Simran can we withdraw ou rattention from the body, and concentrate it at the eye-center. Whenwe do S imran we start cutting ourselves off f rom the world; and whenwe withdraw all our attention from the body a nd bring it to the eye-center- when all ou r consciousness is gathered there- we will cross th estars, moon, sun, and then we will come to the Radiant Form of theMaster. M aster is always waiting for us. As soon as we cross the star s,moon, a nd sun, we will meet Him. Th at fo rm of the Master will tell usto catch theShabd Dhun and He will take us above. But Sim ran is theonly thing which can take us up to the Radiant Form of the Master.

The Guru says that by doing the Simran of the Lo rd one conquersthe world, because when the mind is conquered, the world is con-quered. If we conquer our mind by doing the Simran of the Lord, wecan bring even the creator of this world into our control.

Those who remember God, their happiness is dense;Those who remember God live near Him.

If there is any real pleasure or happiness in this world, only the peoplewho are doing the Simran of the Lord have it. God is very near tothose who do His Simran.

Once there was a king who had several queens, and they were allbathing h im. O ne of the queens was weeping because she had receiveda letter from her brother saying to come and see him if she wanted,because after a week he was going to become a Sadhu. She was verysorry to learn t ha t, and while she was wiping the water from the bodyof the king tears fell from her eyes and the king asked the reason. She




told him , but the king said, "You should not worry ab ou t him; he is

not going to turn into a Sadh u. Those who become Sadhus do not in-vite their relatives, nor d o they ann ounc e it ahead of time. Th ose w hobecome Sadhus do that without lett ing any one know. So you d o notneed to worry about him."

(Baba S awa n Singh Ji used to say, "Those w ho ar e shot by the bulletof love become useless for the world. For them no accounts of theworld have any meaning.")

The n the king said, "Those who have the yearning for G od d o not

tell people that they are going to leave this world. As soon as theyearning comes within them, they just leave. When we have the desireto get N aam , the yearning comes to us. An d the real yearning comesonly when Naam is manifested within us." The queens wanted toknow what this yearning was, and the king told the m , "All righ t,I willshow you." From then on he stopped looking at the queens withthoughts of lust; he completely withdrew from the pleasures of theworld. T he queens complained to him an d asked him w hy. H e replied."A girl plays with dolls as long as she is not married. When she getsmarried to her h usb an d, she stops playing with dolls because she hasa husban d an d she plays with h im. In the sa me way , a soul plays withtoys or worldly things as long as he has not realized the real thing.When a soul gets attached to the Shabd Naam, that soul finds nopleasure in worldly things and even if one offers him gold andall the riches of the world, still he will never be ready to enjoyworldly pleasures- ecause he has realized the real pleasure of Sh abdNaam."

Now th e king was pretending that he had realized the Sha bd N aaman d had beco me a Sa int; so the queens told him, "You are pretendingtha t you have attained the Supreme Bliss an d therefore you do n't w antto enjoy worldly pleasures. But we are afraid that you are going torepen t-like the crane who wanted to leave eating fish an d act likeswans do "

They were referring to a story of a cran e who cam e to a place whereswan s were living, and he saw tha t they were not ea ting fish- ecause

swans d o not eat f ish, and cranes do, al though they look alike. W hentha t crane saw that th e swans were not eating fish an d were drinkingcoconut milk, he tr ied to break through the coconut and drink thatmilk; but he couldn't d o it . The crane's co mp anion told him tha t heshould not try to drink coconut milk, because the beak of a crane isnot as strong as that of a swan; if he tried too hard he might breakhis beak a n d then he wouldn't be able to even eat fish But the cra nethought that there was no difference between him and the swan, and




he kept on trying. In the beginning he drank some of the milk which

had been spilled, and he told his companion, "We have been uselesslywasting our energy in eating those fish. This is the only thing whichwe should drink." But his companion said, "You should not thinkabo ut it, because you can never drink tha t milk. Even though you looklike a swan, you cannot drink the m ilk, because you do not have thatbeak. And if you don't eat the fish, you will neither be a swan nor acrane. So forget about it."

But he didn't take the advice of his companion. Daily he came to

the place where the swans were drinking milk out of coconuts. Oneday all the swans left and in their absence the crane tried to break opena coconut and d rink the milk. But he couldn't do it, because his beakwas not as strong as theirs; his beak broke, and he was not even ableto catch fish. He couldn't eat or drink anything, and he eventuallydrowned himself in the ocean.

Our condition is also like the crane's. We come to the Satsang , andwe see that Master is just like us- e is also a human being- and when

he talks about Shabd Naam and all these things, we think , what is thedifficulty in experiencing such things? W hen we come in the companyof the Saint, we also try to pretend that we are Saints and not less thanHim . But then we are easily overcome by lust and other things and welet ourselves go in their direction. Sometimes we come into the Satsangand pretend we are good people; but because we are not completelysaintly, we can neither enjoy worldly pleasures nor can we realize thereal taste of Shabd Naam.

Guru Nanak says, "We, the worldly people, are hanging betweenthese two things: we are neither saintly nor worldly." When we comeinto the company of the Saints, we want to become Saints. We say,"What is the difference between me and the Master?" But there is agreat difference, because the Master has done the Sim ran of the Lo rd ,and within Him, God has kept that power of recognizing the Shabd.Whereas God has not kept that within us; we have to earn it. That isthe difference between us and the Saint.

M ahatm a C haran D as Ji says, "The crane looks very beautiful, andhe pretends he is doing the devotion of God by standing on one foo t.But in his mind he has the desire to catch fish. When he hassuch adesire, how can he expect to meet God?"

By the grace of the Saint one remains awake day andnight;

Nanak says, One gets Sirnran only if he has goodfortune.




If we have good fortune and we come in the company of the Saint,

why do we have to remain awake? Guru Arjan says, "We have to re-main awake in remembrance of the Lord." He says, "Remain awakein the name of the Lord."

Guru Nanak says that when our good past karmas come to fruition,we meet a God-realized soul. And when we meet such a soul, we wakeup from the sleep which we have been in for ages and ages.

By doing the Simran of God, all works are accomplished;

Those who remember God never repent and never havepain and grief.

If we are doing the Simran of the Lord, then all the works which weare supposed to do in this world are taken care of ; they are all done.And up to now, those who have done the devotion of the Simran ofthe Lord have never repented.

There is an incident in the life of Bhagat Namdev, Who was a

perfect Saint. He was in the business of selling cloth: along with hisbrothers, he made cloth and went to the market to sell it. But becausehe was in remembrance of the Lord, instead of going to the marketand selling the cloth, he would remain in deep meditation: he was notable to do business as his brothers did. Whenever he came back, hismother and the other members of his family would get angry at him.They would even inspire his wife to fight with him, because he was notdoing well at his business.

Once it so happened that he came back from the market withoutselling any cloth and his wife got angry and said, "If you couldn't findany customers who would give you cash for the cloth, you should havegiven it to somebody on credit. Sooner or later he would have givenus the money. But you should have done some business, either cashor credit." He said, "All right; if you want me to give this cloth tosomeone on credit, I will go find a customer right now." It was nighttime, and there was no one outside his house to buy his cloth; so he

took the cloth and draped it all on some stones, and said, "All right:I am giving you this on credit and after some time I will come to col-lect the money." For security he took one stone from that place. Whenhe came back, everyone was surprised and asked him, "How come youcame back so soon?" He said, "When I went out of the house, I foundmany customers waiting for me; they all wanted the cloth on credit.I have given it to them, and I have brought this as security."

Then he sat in meditation, and for one week he was continually con-nected with the Lord. When he got up from meditation, everyone told




him he should go and get the money for the cloth which he had soldon credit. He said, "Don't worry. I will get the money." He took outthe stone which he had brought as security, and he found that thatstone had tu rned into a piece of gold. So he said to his relatives, "Sub-tract the cost of the cloth from this piece of gold, and leave the restwith me."

Because he was doing the devotion of Go d- the Simran of theLord -Go d took care of his business, and he turned th e piece of stoneinto a piece of gold. This happened only because he was doing theSimran of the Lord. One who does the Simran of the Lord , complete-ly, all his works are done by God Himself.

By doing the Simran of G od, one's speech is devoted topraising God;

By doing the Simran of God, one absorbs himself intothe state of Sehaj.

If we are doing the Simran of the Lord, and the devotion of G od , ou rspeech becomes very sweet. It becomes such that we can liberate manysouls; it becomes pleasing to everyone; and we achieve the state ofSehaj.

By doing the Simran of God, one gets the immovableseat;

By doing the Simran of God, the lotus blossoms.

By doing the Simran of the Lord, we achieve a place that never fallsin the dissolution or the Grand Dissolution; that is, Sach Khand. Webecome the resident of Sach Khand if we are doing the S imran of th eLord and our inner lotus blossoms; peace comes within us if we aredoing the Simran of the Lord.

By doing the Simran of God, one hears the limitless

melody;There are no limits to the happiness of doing Simran.

Simran is the means of withdrawing from the nine openings of thebody. W e get liberation- we go up- nly by catching the Sou nd C ur-rent; but unless we do Simran, we cannot vacate our body an d contactthe Sound Current. Nobody can know the limits of the happiness ofSimran. Only those who are doing Simran and have realized the per-fection of Simran, can know how important it is to do Simran.




Those on whom God showers grace do the Simran of God;

Nanak says, I am in their shelter.

Who can do the Simran of the Lord? Only those on whom God is gra-cious; only those with whom God is pleased; they can do the Simranof the Lord. He says, "I long for the dust of the feet of those who aredoing the Simran of the Lord. I have taken shelter with them."

The devotees are remembered because of the Simran ofGod;

Because of the Simran of God, the Vedas were composed.

What is the power of Simran? What has Simran done in this world?The devotees of the Lord who have come into this world and haveliberated souls, were able to do so only because they had done Simran.

When Kabir was on this earth, there was a king who was very popu-lar and very powerful. His name was Sikandar Lodi. Not many peopleremember Sikandar Lodi now, but with how much love and respect

we are remembering Kabir Sahib At that time Sikandar Lodi tried tokill Kabir Sahib, who was despised by many because he was consid-ered of low caste. But even so, now we remember Him with so muchlove and devotion, and no one remembers Sikandar Lodi, even thoughhe was popular and mighty in his time.

In the same way, Ravidas was born into a family of cobblers - lowcaste-but still people remember his name with love and respecttoday.

In the same way, Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj, who has written thisSukhmani which we are reading, was tortured to death by the Em-peror Jahangir who made him sit on hot coals and threw hot sand onhis head. Nobody remembers Jahangir now; but how lovingly everymorning the Sikh people remember Guru Arjan Dev, and read thisbani.

Why did such devotees become known in this world and why arethey well remembered to this day? Only because they did the devotionof God and the Simran of the Lord.

By doing the Simran of God, a man becomes a Sidh[seer], a jati [celibate] and a giver;

By doing the Simran of God, even a low-caste person canbecome famous in all four directions.

Up until now, those who have become well-known in this world be-cause of their celibacy or their charity, achieved that because they had



THE REMEMBRANCE OF GOD

done Sim ran. Even those from the lower castes who were not consid-ered good men also became kings of spirituality and received theworship of other people, only because they had done the Simran ofthe Lord.

Kabir Sahib says,"A daughter who does the devotion of the Lordis better than a worldly-minded son who is not doing devotion." Hecompares tha t son who is not do ing devotion to the wattles which thegoat has on her neck fro m which neither urine nor milk com es-h e isuseless. He says that a son, even if he is very rich, who is not doingthe devotion of God, is useless; and a girl who does the devotion ofGod is better tha n such a man . (In India, if anyone gets a baby girl,they are unhappy. They mourn because of her birth. But when theyhave a baby boy, they become very happy and they even distributesweets to celebrate his birth.)

The Simran of God supports the whole earth.Remember God, Who is the cause of all creation.

The Simran of God has created this whole playground;In the Simran of God resides the Formless God Himself.

He whom God makes graciously understand-Nanak says, He gets the Simran from the Gurumukhs.



Ngnwk sq yr, " 1 havec o r nunderyour"gotectzunw5th thyme aJmyM m t e ~

0 my mind where neither mother,fither,p a dbrothr nor son can

help,Naam willbeheLpfi~lo yoi~herewhue th mfip tcrriblc angels ofma

m y crush yo^,

5-here only theNuamwig Trotect you.~ h e r e w r bre arb many hewyproblem4WimmwiU l i b e r ~ eou ~ i . m m a t ' .




3 u t one becomeshappyby mditfi t i i tgon th.heNaclm of~ o d .

E ven zf on6 ii tied bymzuzon~$ opes,

o w hirst;But bymeditat~'ngn Nham onebmmej

sat-isfLed.%at. road on whichn mmutgoef alone-%rt theMiam 4 ~ o dsists him.0 y mz'fid, iLwfiy5 m d i t ~ en s u h

W c l a t n;

W a n d says, '{BYdoing so onegetsth)I

htghejt ~ t a t ~ f+ivurnukh.




7he Wmy, whtch 25 pttch dark,W& be iz;t by tb Naam 4 od.On hfi way where no om knowr you -dwre the?ham of God w i l lbew z i

d w hadow 4 theBaamof~ o d/zll1

be on gob.0 y mind where hint wiUt0vwM you,

7Vmm.k~ f i i 5 ,hsre th 7 V nam ofGod

willshower the r a h n e ~ a r nyou.w a a mzr the only thznj the dwofitwshave t o d d ith,

%rough the ' N m n ofGO^miILionihuve been lzberated .



ASHTAPADI TWO 33

5u i~ t sing the praise $God, dayand

7hck mind a i d bodyare colored in oaficolor-

Wanak jays, S M G ~evotmsget. th di-vine knowledgeofdiscriminfi~wyt.

'?or thedevoteesof God theN m m o f ~ o d1

ij tho p&h $ ' l i k Y c z t i o ~ .7 0 v th devotetu ofGod, the wgamof ~ o d




% W a r n afGod is t h 8 honor 9 hedevo~tws$ heCord ;

7he ovoteesofG-od jritg l a r e d byrnedzh t ingon the Xaam afGod.

Unionwith t heNmm 4 G U ~ht enjoy-ment 4 th hvoteer $ he ~ ~ r

7 h ed r v u t e e ~fthe ~ o r dave thetreajure 4 TJmm-7n which the weah% 4 God hmjbeen

3 t o tht3dwoteesby God ~ i i n j e l f .7ht devotee,

$he ~ o r dave th power-

& wppovt.afGod;7he evotees of h e ~ o r d not a u p ~

my ~ p p o r ~~ ~ the Glary fGo&.



Chapter

The Shadow of the Naam

0 Sympathizer with the poor, Destroyer of pain, Father ofthe orphans, Who resides everywhere-

Nanak says, "I have come under Your protection with thegrace of my Master."

Gu ru Arjan is praying to the Lor d: You are the Father of the orphans;

You a re the Remover of sins; and Your p rotection is always over ourhead. No doubt You are within us always, but still You remove sins,and You are always giving. There is water everywhere under the ground,but whose thirst can be quenched? Only those who take ou t tha t waterby means of a well or in some other way. But those who take it out,their thirst is definitely quenched. In the same way, there is no do ub tthat the Almighty and Perfect Lord is within us; but after separatingfrom Him , we have taken the bodies of insects, animals, and many other

forms of life. And until we go and unite with Him, we cannot realizeHis Self, which is within us. Heis residing within everybody; but u n-less we go within and find Him, we cannot see Him.

0 my mind Where neither mother, father, friend, brothernor son can help,

Naam will be helpful to you there.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj is talking about that time which we allhave to face, which comes to everybody. What time is that? Death:when neither our father nor our m other , nor ou r brother or sister, norany relative of this world can go with us. Neither the wealth of thisworld, nor any power which we have in this world, can come to ourrescue at the time of death. That is a very critical moment, when no-body from this world can help us. A t that time, and a t that place, who



THE SHADOW OF THE NAAM 41

were coming to His place, and on the way they met some rich peoplewho valued big buildings. They taunted the devotees of C haj ju Bhagatsaying, "If he is a perfect Saint, why doesn't he make big palaces? Lookat us We have them " S o those dear ones replied, "Tha t peace whichwe get from our Master's palace"-they referred to His hu t as apalace- "we would not have even if we got the kingdom of Balkh Bok-hara. Because in the hut of Chajju Bhagat, people meditate uponNaam."

That road on which a man goes alone-There the Naam of God assists him.

W ho is our real friend o n that path which our soul has to travel afterleaving the body at death? When our soul leaves this body, she hasto go alone on that pa th; so who is our real friend there? A t tha t timenot even our body will go with us; only the Master will go with us,and H e is our real friend . When the soul leaves the body, after all, the

body doesn't have any importance ; it is crem ated. So when the sou lgoes back, she has to go alone; and without Master, there is nobodywho can help her.

0 my mind, always meditate on such Naam;Nanak says, "By doing so one gets the highest status of

Gurumukh."

Because Naam is the only power which protects us; because withoutNaam there is nothing which can protect us, and because we can gethigh status in the Court of the Lord only by doing meditation- thereforewe should do the meditation on Naam: it is the only thing which willgo with us.

Even though a man may have millions and billions of handshe cannot get liberation.

But by meditating on Naam, the Ocean could be crossedover.

We only have two hands; but even if we had millions and billions ofhan ds , with all those hands and with all tha t power, we could not facethe angel of death if we did not have Naam. Only af ter receiving Naamcan we cross the ocean of this world; w ithout it, no m atter how power-ful we become, we cannot do it.




When numerous obstacles trouble a man,

The Naam of God at once protects him.

Kal and m ind put many obstacles in the way of the soul. At the timeof d ea th , when the soul is leaving the body, Kal may even com e in theform of the Master to take her, and he may even call in the voice ofthe M aster, "Come an d follow me " So that is why the Masters saythat at the time of death, or at any time when you feel that you arebeing misled by Kal or the Negative Po w er, you should d o Sim ran or

the repetition of th e Five Nam es. If it is the fo rm o f the M aste r, it willremain there; if it is of the Negative Power, it will go away, becauseKal cannot stand before the five charged words.

Man is born and dies in many bodies;But by meditating on Naam he gets rest.

Saints give us initiation not because they think th at we are very rich,

o r very intellectual, o r kings, or an ything like th at . They give us initia-tion only because of the grace an d mercy they have fo r all souls in thisworld. It is just like a dog who wanders from door to door, askingfor fo od : in some places it gets fed, an d in so m e places it doesn 't. Butwhen it comes to the do or of a very good m an, th at m an thinks, "Thisdog is a po or anim al and it is starving; let me give it som e food ." H edoes not give it food because he thinks that it is a mighty or stronganim al; he gives because he is gracious, a nd he has mercy on th at d og .

Our condition is also l ike the dog. We wander from one place toanother - rom one door to another- nd finally when we com e to thedo or of a Sa int, H e gives us initiation only because H e is gracious onus. Saints know that many times we tak e birth in the w orld, then againwe go back, a nd again we return: sometimes in the body of a do g, some-times a ca t, goat, horse- in on e body after another we keep o n comingan d going to a nd from this world. When we finally get this human body,after wandering here and there, and we come to the feet of a Saint,He gives us initiation in all His grace and mercy only because He isgracious upon us. It is not because of our merits. It is only becauseof Grace.

Sukhdev Muni, the son of Ved Vyas, had the knowledge of God whilehe was still in his mother's womb, so right from birth he started thedevotion of the Lord. As he was leaving home, his parents told himthat he should stay there and do worldly things, because it was timefor them to d o the devotion of the Lo rd. S ukhdev Muni told his par-ents, "I have the knowledge of my past one hundred lifetimes; what-




ever I have suffered in those lives, I remember it.I want to d o the de-

votion of the Lord now becauseI have finally got this human bodyonce again;I don't want to waste this opportunity."

He told them, "I remember that onceI had the body of a donkeyand when I remember what I suffered in that body, I am compelledto do the devotion of the Lord . I never want to go through that again.I was owned by a washerman w ho used to put a heavy load o n me an dtake me to the river where he would wash clothes. Afte r using me forthis, he would set me free; but a t tha t place there was no grass or any -

thing to eat, so all day long I would wander here and there lookingfor fo od . In the evening, the washerman would again load his burdenon me, and I would have to go back to his home, and do his work;but still I had not received any food from h im. This went on for yearsand years, and one day it so happened thatI became so weak thatIcouldn't walk; when the washerman was coming bac k,I had to crossa canal, and I sat there and couldn't get up becauseI had grown soweak. The washerman had no pity on me; instead of helping me out

of that canal, he started beating me. Finally, sinceI could not get uphe took his load and abandoned me. Nobody else had pity for meeither; nobody showered any mercy or grace on me. Those who w antedto cross that canal used me for a bridge.I had many wounds on mybody, and when crows saw those wounds, they came and started ea t-ing my flesh and blood. Whenever I remember that life as a donkey,I know tha t I must no t waste this hum an body; I must do the devotionof the Lord."

The soul is defiled by the filth of egoism, and its filth isnever washed;

But the Naam of God makes one lose millions of sins.

Our soul is covered by this dirt of our many births. From ages andages our soul has been covered up by the dirt of our ego. What is theego? That which makes us think,"I am an intellectual,I possess thisthing, I am so beautiful,"-like tha t. The sense of I-hood- wheneverwe think tha t something is ou r own- that is all ego. We are all suffer-ing from this sweet disease of egoism. And only by doing the medita-tion of Naam can we get rid of this sweet disease; there is no otherremedy.

0 my mind Meditate upon, and dye yourself in, the colorof such Naam:

Nanak says, "It can be obtained in the company of theSaints."




dear soul up. S oI m ean to sa y, by telling this long story, th at because

he had faith in the Maste r, that the Master would com e, an d becausehe didn't have any concern with the Lord of Judgment, the Mastersdid com e and They took his soul up. An d this is why Gu ru A rjan DevJi M ah araj says, "At the time of d eath , only the Naam which has createdthis world will come to o ur rescue; and only the Satguru W ho has givenus that Naam will com e to help us." N othing else of this world will cometo help us, tha t is why we should m editate only up on the N aa m whichthe M asters have given us, a nd we need no t bother ab ou t the L ord o f

Judg me nt: because ever since we came in contact with ou r M aster, o urconce rn with the Lo rd of Judgm ent is finished. Now the Lor d of Jud g-ment is no longer responsible for keeping the accounts of our deeds;now it is all in the hands of our Master.

That Way, of which the miles cannot be counted-The Naam of God will serve as the provisions there.

Everybody has to travel a road or way after his death, an d we haveno idea how long that road is going to be. We make all sorts of ar-rangements when we are ab ou t to take any w orldly journey; first ofall, we find out how fa r that place is where we are going, a nd h ow longwe will have to travel; we tak e money w ith us an d food also. W e say,"This is what we are going to spend on the way." But when we die,there is a journey in front of us which we all have to make; but wedon 't ma ke any preparation s for that journey, because we don't knowhow long it is going to be.

What is that which we can take with us when we leave this world?No thing. W e won't be able to tak e ou r body , which is very dea r to usnow; we won't be able to take o ur wea lth; we won't be able to tak ewh atever nam e an d fa m e we have gained in this world. All will rem ainhere. Only one thing will go with us: Sh abd N aam . G uru N anak says,"When you go on the journey after death, on that journey you alsoneed something to spend o n the way. W hat is that which you can spend?What is that which you can take? Only your meditat ion on Shabd

Naam." Meditation on the Shabd Naam is the only thing which canbe spent on the journey after death.

The Way, which is pitch dark,Will be lit by the Naam of God.

The journey after death is full of darkness; and our light-ourradiance-is no t going to do us any good, because we don' t have any




light. But if we have Naam, and if we have collected the earnings of

our Naam, that will work as a light on that path, and it will help uswalk on it.

On the Way where no one knows you-There the Naam of God will be with you, as a true friend.

When we come from Am erica to India, we don't have any problems-because we know people here. We meet the dear ones whom we know ;

before com ing here, we cabled our friends that we were coming, so theycome to meet us. O n the way back also we tell our friends or relativeswhen we will be back, so tha t they will be there to receive us. A t bothends we have people who know us and w ho are waiting fo r us, so wedon't have any problem. But the journey which we are going to takeafter our death -as Gu ru Ar jan says, "Who is there wh o knowsus?" At the end, after death, when we will have to take that jour-ney, there is nobody there who knows us. You know that one whohas a proper ticket, an d all his papers ready , only he is allowed to g oon a flight, only he is allowed to go through all the authorities, andonly he is allowed to enter into any country. But if we don't have aticket or papers, nobody will allow us to go anywhere.

In the same way, when we have to leave this world, this hom e, an dgo to another place, if we don't have proper arrangem ents -if we don 'tknow anyone, and if we don't have proper "tickets and papersv - nobodywill allow us there. The meditation of S habd Naam is the visa we needto enter that country.

We know that a visa can be issued only by a high authority. Ordi-nary people cannot do it. In the same way, only the Masters can issueus a visa fo r that place. Paltu Sahib says, "Whatever work is don e inthe court of the Lord, it is all done by the Master Saints." Whateverwork is don e in the cour t of the L ord, as far as liberating the sou l isconcerned, is all doneby the Masters.

The Way, where there is terrible and unbearable heat-

The Shadow of the Naam of God will be over you.

Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say tha t in the inner w orld, th e Nega-tive Power has created many pillars which he always keeps heated, an dthey are so hot that if we were to bring even one of them into this plane,we would feel the heat throughout the whole world. He used to sayalso that those who do not remain within their limits in this world-the women who do not remain within their limits, and the men who




d o not remain within their limits-are ma de to embrace that heated

pillar, an d in that way are punished by the N egative Pow er.A personbecomes very happy when he is doing bad deeds, but when he is beingpunished by the angels of death, it gives too much pain. When a per-son w ho has d one bad deeds is being punished by those angels, he feelsthirsty an d asks f or water. But there is nobo dy t o give him wa ter. Ifhe has Naam with him, however, he will get the shade of that Naam.

The fact is, though, that one who has Naam will never be allowedto go with the angels of d eath; but those w ho are not accom panied by

Na arn, they have to go with the angels of dea th a nd they get whateverpunishment they deserve.

0, y mind Where the thirst will torment you,Nanak says, there the Naam of God will shower the rain

of nectar on you.

W hen the angels of dea th punish a soul who has do ne bad deeds, theyask him, "Why did you d o those things?" At t ha t time, the soul suffersa lot. But if we have Naa m , we d o not have to go through th at su ffer-ing. If one has Naam, he gets a shower of nectar after death, whichonly the soul can taste.

Kabir Sahib says that this body is like a pitcher which is full ofwa ter-one day it will break. Those who d o not have M aster as theirprotector are plundered on the way. Before they even get to the Lo rdof Judgment, they are plundered. When a soul is being punished by

the angels of dea th, an d feels thirsty an d asks for w ater, the angels ofdeath say, "You can have water, but you will have to pay for it withthe good deeds which you have done." A t tha t place, nobod y takes yourbad deeds; only your good deeds are taken, because you only get thebenefit of you r good deeds and you have to suffer the reaction of yourbad deeds. So his good deeds are given up to the angels of de ath , inasking for water and things like that, and he is plundered along theway. W hen he gets to the Lord of Jud gm ent, he doesn't have any gooddeeds left; so according to his bad deeds, because he is supposed tosuffe r the reaction of his bad deeds, he is punished by the Lord o f Ju dg-ment also.

But if we have the Naam with us, and if we are initiated by a Mas-ter, then we do not have to go through all this.

Naam is the only thing the devotees have to deal with,And it resides within the Saints.




Whatever work the Masters are doing in this world, is regarding theShabd N aam. Where is that Shabd N aam? It is residing within the Mas-ter. G uru N anak says, "Whether They are sitting or They are standing,whether They are asleep or awake, They are always resting in theNaam."

The Naam of God is the support for His servants;Through the Naam of God millions have been liberated.

Some people seek suppor t from their relatives, some people seek supportfrom their children-they expect that when they grow up they will givethem support- nd some people even seek support fro m their paren ts.But Saints and Masters-Those W ho are the Beloveds of G od , ThoseW ho a re the real devotees of G od- re always aware that the real sup-port is only that of Naam and that there is no support except tha t ofGod and of Naam.

Saints are not the only ones who get liberation through the N aam .Those who come to the Saints, and get Naam from them, they alsocan get liberation, n o matter if they a re millions or billions in num ber .History shows that many people have gotten liberation after gettingNaam from the Saints. But for that- Kabir Sah ib says, "The love thatwe had fo r the Master on the very first day we met Him-if we couldmaintain that love for Him, what is the question of ourown libera-tion? We could liberate millions of other souls."

Saints sing the praise of God, day and night;Saints earn the medicine of the Naam of God.

Saints and Mahatmas, the Beloveds of God, always sing the praise ofG od . And they are aware tha t Naam is the only medicine-the onlycure- for all the problemsof this world.

The devotees of God have the treasure of the Naam ofGod,

Which is given to them by the Supreme God Himself.

Saints have the treasure of Naam . W ho has given them that treasure?The Satgurus, the Masters of the Saints, Who are one with the SupremeG od , have given the treasures of N aam as a gift to them , aft er shower-ing them with grace.




Their mind and body are colored in one color-

Nanak says, Such devotees get the divine knowledge ofdiscrimination.

The Saints' mind is dyed in the color of Naam; their body is dyed inthe color of Naam; they do not wear dyed robes o r dyed cloth to showpeople that they are dyed in the color of Naam, but it is still true thattheir whole being is dyed in that color. Generally, people have this thingin their mind: that only by wearing certain colored clothes can they

get God. Some people think that by wearing saffron-colored clothesthey will find God; some people think that by wearing rosaries and otherthings they will find God.

Guru Gobind Singh says that by imitating we can influence the peo-ple of this world, but in the end, the Negative Power will cut us withscissors, as paper is cut. Even then he will not be content; ultimatelyhe will throw us into Hell-as we throw pieces of paper into the fire.

In order to teach a lesson to His disciples, Guru Gobind Singh once

put a skin of a lion on a donkey, and He left the donkey in a placenearby His fort. The next day, when people went outside of the fortand saw that there was a lion there, they all became afraid, came backinto the fort , and told the Master that there was a lion there. This wenton for a few days, and eventually everybody was sure that there wasa lion outside of the fort, and they all stopped going outside. But GuruGobind Singh knew that it was not a lion, because He Himself hadplanned it, and He said, "All right; I will do something about him."So after a few days, Guru Gobind Singh told the people to come alongwith Him, and to bring guns and bows and arrows. He fired one shot,and hearing it, that donkey who was wearing the lion-skin becameafraid, and he ran back to where the other donkeys were. When hesaw his donkey brothers, he made the same kind of noise as they weremaking. When the person who was taking care of the donkeys saw thathe was not a lion, but really a donkey, he removed the lion-skin at onceand again started using him as a donkey. When the people saw thathe was a donkey and not a lion, they felt ashamed and said that they

were cheated - ecause they couldn't recognize it as a donkey - nd itwas very shameful for them.

But Guru Gobind Singh said, "Don't worry about that . I wanted toteach you a lesson. I wanted to show you that even though you putthe skin of a lion on a donkey, he is still a donkey. In the same way,though you put colored clothes on your body, you cannot change yourbeing. Just by wearing colored cloth and pretending to be a great soul -agreat Mahatma-you cannot be a Mahatma. If you don't have love



THE SHADOW OF THE NAAM 5 1

for God, if you don't have devotion for God, if you have not donethe meditation, then you may wear colored clothes, you may do any-thing outwardly to show that you are a Master, but still you won't beone."

For the devo tees of God, the Naam of God is the path ofliberation.

For the devotees of G od, the Naam of God i s the meansof quenching their thirst.

Now we, the worldly people, do m any repetitions and perfo rm ma nyausterities and other kinds of worship in order to get liberation. Butthe Beloveds of God, the real devotees of God, are aware that real liber-ation lies only in meditation , the practice of Naam. Because they knowthat, they meditate on Naam, and they get liberation from it.

The Naam of God is the beauty and color of the devo tees

of God;By meditating on the Naam of God obstacles can never

come.

The form of the Saint is the fo rm of N aam; the color of the Saint isthe color of Na am. Whatever is of the Saint is of Naam ; a nd one whois doing the meditation of Naam, no obstacle can come in his way, andnobody can stop his progress.

The Naam of God is the honor of the devotees of the Lord;The devotees of God get glorified by meditating on the

Naam of God.

I have seen many times tha t when people tried t o garland Mas ter Kir-pal in order to praise Him and give Him worldly respect, He alwaystook the garland and instead of allowing them to put the garland aro undHis neck, He would put it aro und their neck. In that way, H e wouldgive respect to the people who wanted to give respect to H im. Manytimes I have seen that when people wanted to throw flowers on Hishead, He would not allow them to ; instead H e would take flowers fro mthe basket and throw them o n the heads of the people who had cometo respect Him. The point is that Saints never give any importance toworldly fam e or worldly respect, because it is not going to go with us .They don't give any importance to it, because They know that the realfam e, the real praise, is gotten a t the Co urt of the Lo rd. Th at is why




they never allow people to give them name and fame, and they don't

give any importance to it: because this name and fame only remainsas long as this body is in the world, and many times it doesn't evenremain as long as that. The worldly people do not waste any time inpraising someone, and when they want to withdraw their praise andstart defaming, they*don't waste any time then either. Many times wehave seen that one day a Master, or anyone, is appreciated and praised,and people even print his words and pictures in the newspaper; but af-ter a few days, we find that the same person is being criticized by the

same people, in the same newspaper, and in the same magazines, andthose who respected him so much a few days before are criticizing himnow.

So this name and fame and all these things do not go with us, be-cause they are only a concern as long as our body is here; and some-times not that long. The Masters understand this, and They know thatthe real name and fame, the real respect which we may get in the Courtof God, will only be due to our meditation of Naam, and that is why

They emphasize doing the meditation of Naam.

Union with the Naam of God is the enjoyment of the devo-tees of the Lord;

By meditating on Naam, one never suffers from any painof separation.

People of this world are involved in pleasure, and for them, pleasureis everything. They don't see anything beyond it. What is the pleasurethat the Masters have? Uniting themselves with Naam.

The devotees of the Lord always remain in the service ofthe Naam of God;

Nanak says, "Even gods and goddesses worship Them."

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says that even Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva,the so- called creators of this creation, and thirty-three crores* of gods,according to the Hindu mythology -even all these are worshiping theOne Who has connected Himself with Naam, has mixed Himself withNaam, has absorbed His being into Naam, and has manifested Naamwithin Him. All these gods and goddesses are worshiping Him. Even

* 1 crore equals 10 million.




the angels of death bow down in front of Those W ho d o the devotion

of the Lord.The devotees of the Lord have the treasure of Naam-In which the wealth of God has been given to the devo-

tees by God Himself.

If Masters have any real treasure, it is the treasure of N aam . G od hasgraciously given them tha t treasure, and it will never come to a n en d,

no m atter how much wealth from it the Masters may give ou t to theworld. It will never come to an end.

The devotees of the Lord have the powerful support ofGod;

The devotees of the Lord do not accept any support butthe Glory of God.

The Saints, the lovers of G od , have only the supp ort of G od , and Theydo not seek any other support.

The devotees of God are absorbed in God as the warp andwoof;

And being intoxicated by the Naam are in Sunn Samadh(deep meditation).

Such lovers of God a re absorbed in God as the cotton is abso rbed inthe thread. The cotton itself is cotton , but it takes the for m of a thread;all its cotton-ness is in that thr ead. In the sam e way, Go d a nd the Be-loveds of God are absorbed in each other.

The devotee of the Lord, who meditates on the Naam ofGod always,

Such a devotee becomes manifest and cannot be kepthidden.

One who meditates on Naam twenty- four hou rsa day, who has mergedhimself in Naam for always, cannot remain un-manifested. Even if peo-ple want to hide H im , He cannot remain hidden- He always manifests.When the sun rises, it gives light to all creation; it rises fo r everybodyin this world. T here are some creatures, like owls, tha t d o no t believein the existence of the sun, because when the sun is risen they do notopen their eyes to see it; but even for them, the sun is risen. In the same




way, those Mahatmas Who are doing the meditation of Shabd Naam

preach Shabd Naam in this world. They manifest Themselves here andThey preach Shabd Naam. But there are many manmukhs (those whoobey their mind) in this world. For them, the existence of the Mastersdoesn't have any meaning, because they can neither see nor understandthe glory of the Masters. For them, it doesn't make any differencewhether the Master exists or not.

Mahatma Chatardas says that once all the owls got together just todiscuss whether the sun exists or not. After thinking it over, they came

to the conclusion that, "There is no sun. Whatever people say aboutthe sun is false." The oldest owl, on reflection, said, "If there was anysun, I would have seen it - ecause I am older than anybody else inthis court But I have never seen the sun, so it is obvious that it hasnever existed." One swan was listening to this meeting, and he said,"If you want to see the sun, you should get up early in the morningand see the rays of light which come from it; and then you will believethat there is something which gives light to this world." When he saidthis, the bats and other animals who also did not believe in the sunstarted laughing at the swan and said, "He is lying. There is no sunIf there was a sun, we would have seen it." So, looking at their atti-tude, the swan thought it was better to keep quiet. And MahatmaChatardas says that this was a unique court in the three worlds-where people did not believe in the existence of the sun. The oldest owlis he who has read many books and has a lot of intellectual knowledgeand argues, saying, "I have read all these books and know all this, andif God was within man, I would have gotten it; I have more knowledgeof God than anybody because I have read many books."

The devotion of God liberates many-Nanak says, "With the devotee of God, many swim

across.I1

The Beloveds of God d o the devotion, and They are liberated. Innumer-able others - ou cannot even count them -get liberation by catching

hold of such Beloveds of God. All those who get Naam-initiation fromThem are liberated.

The Naam of God is the Parijat tree;The singing of God's glory is the Kamdhenu cow.

It is said that there is a tree in the heavens called Parijat; go and situnder it, and all your desires will be fulfilled. And it is said that there




is a cow in the heavens calledKamdhenu and if you drink her milk,

all your desires will be fulfilled. But if you are doing the meditationof Shabd Naam, all your desires can be fulfilled without all that justby meditating on Shabd Naam.

The story of God is the best of all stories;By hearing the Naam of the Lord all pain and sorrow

vanish.

The story of Shabd Naam is the best story of all. The discussion ofShabd Naam is the best discussion- because by hearing the discussionor the story of Shabd Naam, and by meditating on Shabd Na am, ou rpain is removed. W hat is the greatest pain? The pain of birth and death .And only by hearing the Shabd Naam is this pain removed.

The glory of Naam resides in the heart of the Saints;Due to the glory of Saints, all sins depart.

Only the Saints know the importance of Naam, and only They knowthe glory of Naam . A nd only because of the Saints, the angels of deathdo not come near the on e who is protected by the S aint; because thePower of Naam is such tha t the angels of dea th cannot com e near onewho has It.

The fortunate ones get the company of Saints.The meditation on Naam is the service of the Saints.

Only those with very good fo rtune have the com pany of the Saints andMasters. And when we go in Their com pany, an d when we star t serv-ing Them , They tell us to do the meditation on Shabd Naam. And whenwe start meditating on Shabd Naam, by Their grace, we start takingadvantage of being in Their company.

Kabir Sahib says, "One moment of L ord Ind ra is more than twelvemo nths of a well; and on e moment in the company of a M aster is m oretha n the Simran of fifty years." He says tha t if L ord Ind ra, w ho sendsrain to this ea rth, becomes pleased and showers rain only for on e mo-ment, he can send more water in that m oment th an we could get froma well if we took it out for twelve mon ths continuously. And if we spendeven one mom ent in the company of a perfect Mahatm a W ho has donethe m editation o n Sh abd N aam , it will give us more benefit tha n wecould gain by sitting in our homes and doing Simran for fifty years.




There is nothing else equal to Naam;

Nanak says, "Only a few devotees of the Lord get Naamfrom the Gurumukh."

There is nothing which is equal to Naam. No repetition of any mantra,no worship, no reading of any holy book-not even performingausterities-is equal to the practice of Naam. But the question is, wherecan we get that Naam? We cannot get it from any temple or mosqueor any other religious place. Earlier I have said that this Naam has made

its residence within the Saints, and we can get It only if we go into thecompany of Saints, and only if the Saint is gracious on us.Bulleh Shah was a Kazi-a priest - n a mosque of Lahore, and his

father also was a priest in the same mosque. Bulleh Shah was a learned,intellectual man, and had read many holy scriptures and other books.He had a lot of knowledge from the books. But it so happened oncethat he met an initiate of Inayat Shah, who was an illiterate farmer.That initiate told Bulleh Shah (because he knew he was a sincere seeker),

0 brother, why do you always shout so loud when you are calling God?You should go and meet my Master, Inayat Shah; He will break theseals of your ears so that you can hear the Divine Melody within you,and He will make you meet that God Who is within you."

When he heard that, Bulleh Shah went to see Inayat Shah, and hesaid, "Master, I have come here to know God. Tell me something aboutHim. I have come here to realize my own Self, to realize God Whois within me, and 1 want you to teach me that." Inayat Shah was afarmer, and at that time He was transplanting onion seedlings. He wastaking them from the nursery on one side of the garden and plantingthem in their permanent place on the other side. He thought, "If I givehim any examples from any of the holy books it won't do him any good,because he already knows them all and he has not received anythingfrom them." So He said, 0 Bulleh, what difficulty is there in receiv-ing God? It is a very simple thing. Just cut off your mind from theworld and take it towards God, just as I am doing with these onionplants: I am taking them from one side and putting them on the other

side. In the same way, divert your attention from the world to God.It is a very easy thing."Often I have said that the coming of a lover soul to the Master is

like the coming of dry gunpowder in contact with fire. Master SawanSingh Ji used to say that if one wants to learn spirituality he has tobecome like a five-year-old child, even if he has a master's degree. BullehShah has also said, 0 brother, now stop reading all these books, be-cause one word of Love is enough for realizing Him."



THE SHADOW O F THE NAAM 57

When Bulleh Shah got dyed in the color of Naam- when he got in-

itiation from Inayat Shah-people opposed him, because he was aSayyed; and the Sayyed caste is a very high Muslim caste. Sayyeds arevenerated by the Muslims because they are thought to be very holy.And Bulleh Shah's M aster, Inayat Shah, belonged to a caste called Arainwhich is considered very low by the Muslims. So when the people heardthat Bulleh Shah, who was a Sayyed, had become a disciple of a n Ara in,they started criticizing him. But he didn't care. When people startcriticizing Sadhus, they become strong within themselves, and they say,

"It's all right if you criticize me, because my desire is to meet G od , andI will just keep doing this work ." W hen people criticize a Sadhu, theytake on any sins or bad qualities that he might have, and give theirgood deeds to the Sadhu . That is why when Bulleh Shah was criticized,it didn't bother him; he accepted it as a blessing because, in that way,people were purifying him.

In fact, he wanted them to criticize him more; so he gave them moreopportunities to do so. He went out and bought some donkeys, andstarted living with them .* Because he belonged to tha t very high caste,when people found out that he was living with donkeys, they said, "Lookat Bulleh He has gone mad First he left his high cas te, and becamethe disciple of a low-caste man; and now what is he doing? The do n-key business " So people continued to criticize him.

Then it so happened that a poor man's wife was kidnapped by a verystrong Pa than,** and that husband was told by some of Bulleh Shah'sopponents, "Go to Bulleh Shah, because he is called a great Mahatm a;beg him to help you, so that you can get your wife again." They wereplaying a joke on Bulleh Shah; but when that poor m an came to him,he begged him to do anything which would bring his wife back. SoBulleh said, "All right; go and look in tha t city and see if you find any-one singing or dancing in the streets." So that man went and came back,and said, "Yes, there are some dancers there." So Bulleh Shah wentthere and joined them: he also started dancing. When people saw thatone who was once a Kazi, a very holy man of the city, was dancingin the streets with ord inary dancers, they again started criticizing, say-

ing, "Look at this man - he has really gone mad H e is doing all sor tso f things which are bringing a bad name to his family and t o the cityalso." But he didn't care about that. So he danced and sang, saying,"A Sadhu with donkeys is calling you from the Street of Mango;0wife of this poor one, if you hear my voice, come and go back t o your

* Dealing with donkeys was not a proper occupation fora Sayyed* *Pathans are war-like people of northwest India and Afghanistan.




husba nd. If you ar e sleeping wake up .0 bro ther, thus the grain is sepa-

rated." H e said tha t with a lot of attention- Godly a t tention- o thatthe wife of tha t poo r m an was attracted by that sou nd, an d she cam ethere. He told that poor man, "All right, now take her."

But people were surprised to see this also, and they again startedcriticizing, saying "Look at this man Now he is even attrac ting women "But still Bulleh Shah didn't care. Eventually word of the criticism wassent to his father also, because he was a Kazi an d a m an of reputa tion.He was told that his son was bringing a bad name to the family and

a bad nam e to the religion. T he fa ther of Bulleh S hah was a very oldm an - he couldn't walk without the supp ort of a stick- an d he becameupset and said, "All right,I will go and teach him a lesson " So withmuch pain a nd hard ship, he came to where Bulleh S hah was dancingan d singing; in one han d h e was moving a rosary, a nd in the other hewas carrying his stick. When he came there, B ulleh Shah th ou gh t, "To-day I should not leave my father also.I should dye him in the colorof Naam." S o Bulleh Sha h gave him His attention, and w hen Heshowered grace upon his father, his father also realized the glory ofN aam . But before H e showered grace on his father, Bulleh Sha h sangthis hymn: "All life long this old man has moved the rosary, but stillhe is not able to d o anything.0 brother, now I will show him howthe grain is separated " So when H e gave all his atten tion to him, healso became intoxicated with Naam, a nd he started dancing with his son.

S o when all the people saw wh at had happened to bo th the fatheran d the son- that they used to be the holy people of that tow n andnow both of them were just singing and dancing without any worryab ou t their repu tation-they started criticizing them bo th. But the fa-ther didn't bother about the criticism, because he too was now realiz-ing the Naam. Instead, he sang this hymn: "The parents whose sonsare dyed in the color of N aam , how can they remain without the colorof Naam ? 0 bro the r, tod ay I have learned how the grain is separated "W hen Bulleh Sha h saw tha t his father was also intoxicated in Na am ,a n d he was also danc ing with him, all his fear of w orldly criticism a ndall his worrying abo ut nam e and fame an d w orldly shame went aw ay;

an d both the fathe r and the so n, without bothering about people's criti-cism, were dancing in the intoxication of Naam.



N h a krclyr,wothky is equal t o the%am

oJGod.

J;I/a mm%r $one mmclkeim m y&orti -Zvcn f one donat'ej d i~mondsnd rub&j-No mautw4 w c ~ t sind b ~ ~ r r t r isbody,Observe5 fasts, and pfir$oorms rep Lar




3f om w a u t d w ~hrough the wne canti-

And becorn, awtic and h t w h d-7Jonc bum, h'm5elJ in fEu and h u b s

3old,horje, and Lmd-Toi e p e ~ o r m rNeoli Karm and o t k

YOJ C p v d ~ ~ m , d prmt~&e~hbpath0f carztro, a, the j a rn5 do -

i v mthen thefiLtha f t y owillnotgo.Mthinj is 8 q u d t o the%ham 4 th Lord

N n a k ray,, 'Bymdztatingon the

A man may drsrirr:t o /leave hLjbody

his mid.f bn $ow take5 bath,day and n g h ~




7ov 1111other action, o n e ispunishedbyVamct.

3/eiy ma) docs nor reye& anythingexcept th dtwotionof ~ o d .

nnyonswsnts glory, he shO~lded ve his

e@m in the company o the 5a~nts.7 fanyom LJ of i a~dJb~r thmnd death,he should take the compcrny 4 ~t

IPev fec t3aint:~ fhe;e '5 anyone who ir thirsty f o r

God3 dwshan, Whauk sacr@~imselJJorim.

Om whojepride i, erased bygoing in thecompany4 he 5adh.5,



ASHTAPADI THREE 63

3 j eis th+mvnost. amongall men .wewho underjtand~ imself a, a lowOM,7s counted a5 thgrefifiejt. 4 d

3 j ewhose mind become,t h edust $every-

body15e ~ tJees ~ o dd HLSWaam w i t h i ? ,d

wewho destroys aU evilfim~ L S i dsees th&whh worldmshi, fi'gnd.

them n e-

OhCord, your Naam r j the wedth orthoje who avd poor.

your Naam ir the hornf i r th~e hoI

have none.

ohCord, Your aam if the hOnorf4Ythose whohave no honor;

yougivej L f s t o aU .OhCord, Y O U do and mdke othsrs do.

you are t h eA11Consabm One.




you youuelf lcnow your $bry and iimti,And OhLord, you are abwbedin your-w n ~ d f .

Nawk ,-ayJ-.Wo oneehe know your

tht?dirt ofevi lbygahg 1% the com-p w y ofthe h d h .

J

w ay jre p e a the Maam 4 ht Cord

OJaUthebunii, tthe mctary51 bani Zj. t oLLtter thePra~se 4 Gad wh~chneh e w 5 w i t hhis ears.

WnnfiIi 5 q j t h a ~ dl the@mj heb e j t one z j where th N a ~ m Jthe40rd rtvzdtx



Chapter 3

The Glory of the Naam

I have searched through and examined many Shastras andSimritis -

Nanak says, Nothing is equal to the Naam of God.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji is lovingly explaining to us that we cannot realize

Go d by reading the Vedas or other holy scriptures, because as He says,"I have gone through the four Vedas, eighteen Puranas and twenty-seven Simritis- ll these holy scriptures of the Hindu religion.I havegone through them all, and after searching fo r God in themI have cometo this conclusion: tha t by reading these books one cannot realize God .An d there is nothing in this world which is equal to Naam"- becauseNaam is a precious thing and without doing meditation on Naam wecannot realize God no matter how many books we read.

Guru Nanak says that all the Vedas an d holy scriptures keep the soulextroverted in the world; but the Master o r the God of Nanak is within,and is not dependent on any holy scriptures.

Kabir Sahib also says, "Oh brother, by reading these Vedas and o therholy scriptures, you cannot become worryless." He says that you can-not remove the worry o r the fear of the angel of de ath , and you can notbe sure after reading the books tha t you will become free fro m the a n-gel of death.

Tulsi Sahib also says that even though one has read all these holyscriptures one has forgotten the origin, which is God. And if one isnot practicing the real Shabd a nd going in the com pany of the Master,his condition is like the bird who imitates other birds but doesn't haveanything of its own.

Once a learned man came to Kabir Sahib to argue and debate onthe holy books. But Kabir Sahib was not a t home an d tha t learned m an




met Kabir's d aug hter Kam ali. Whe n he asked her which was the house

of K abir, she replied, "Oh intellectual m an , what d o you thin k-th atKabir is a man? Kabir lives in the heavens where not even an ant cantak e its body, a nd you have come with a bullock cart loaded w ith books?You cannot get there that way "

Now wha t a re these Vedas, Shastras and various holy scriptures whichare before us? W hen past M asters came into this world, w hatever ex-periences They had, whatever They had to go through, whatever ef-forts They made to realize God, whatever came in Their way, They

recorded in the form o f a bo ok . Now we take those experiences of thepast Masters asa guide for our own self; but just by reading those boo kswe canno t reach any inner plane nor get any peace of m ind, even thou ghthe books tell us how: reading the books is not enough- nless wealso do what the books say.

If someone wants to go to America, and he finds a guide book inwhich everything is written: how to get a flight to Am erica, which flightsgo, w hether he has to change planes in Ro me o r England o r G ermany,

an d everything else necessary -an d if he just goes on reading that boo kan d does not w ork according t o its instructions: if he doesn't go to theairline people and buy the ticket an d get on the flight to Am erica, hecannot experience America only by reading that guide book.

In the sam e way, if we go on reading holy bo ok s, including boo kswritten by the Master, without working and molding ou r lives accord-ing to what is written in those bo oks, we can not reach o ur de stination,no matter with how much love we read them.

But ou r condition is just as M aster Sawa n Singh Ji used t o say: "Wepeople like to sing songs for o the r people's weddings, bu t we a re notinterested in getting married ourselves. We a re hap py w hen we see peo-ple getting married, but we do not want to get married. What is theuse of d oing that? W e canno t get the real happiness of marriage unlesswe get married." In the sam e way we read the experiences of th e pastM asters an d what They have attained , and we sing Their praises an dsay tha t They were very great M asters. But we d o not w ant to changeou r l ife according to w hat They have done; we d o not w ant to d o whatthe M asters tell us to d o in order to realize Go d. So what can we gainby reading the books if we are not working in accordance with whatthe Masters have done?

Masters don't mean to say that reading is bad.It is not bad, it isgood . B ut it is very impo rtant t o work on w hat you read. J ust readingwill not do an ything.

Guru Nanak says, "By reading you will get no peace.If you don't



THE GLORY OF THE NAAM 67

believe me, go ask a priest or bishop o r pundit. You will find that theyhave not found peace from reading books."

Master Sawan Singh Ji used to tell about Ravana who was a greatcritical scholar: he commented on the four Vedas of the Hindu reli-gion, and up until now nobody has written a better Vedic commentary.But even so, he had no peace of mind.

Japa, Tapa, ~nowlecl~e nd traditional meditation;Commenting on the six Shastras and the Simritis-

It does not matterif one is involved in performing the austerities (tapa),or doing the repetition of the names of gods or goddesses, there is stillno practice in the world as useful as the meditation of Naam.

The practice of yoga and performance of religious rites,Abandoning all and wandering in the forests-

No matter if one is doing Yoga practices, or if one has left his homean d family and gone into the fo res t, and is suffering, still it is useless.

No matter if one makes many efforts-Even if one donates diamonds and rubies-

No matter how much one donates- ven diamonds and rubies- tillone cannot say that that is equal to the meditation of Naam.

Guru Nanak Sahib says,"I have examined everything,I have ex-perienced much, andI have come to this conclusion: that there is noth-ing equal to Naam."

No matter if one cuts and burns his body,Observes fasts, and performs regular practices-

N o matter if one allows his body to burn in the fire, no matter howmuch one fasts and gives pain to his body, it canno t be said that it isequal to Naam.

-None of this is equal to the contemplation of the Naamof God.

Nanak says, Meditate on Gurumukh Naam.

Nothing in this world can be compared with Naam. And that is why




we should utilize this golden opportunity which we have been given-

of being in the human body- ecause only in the hum an body can wed o the devotion of Naam .

Every creature gets the knowledge of pain an d pleasure w ithout teach-ing. Everybody is aware of pain and pleasure; but not everybody inthis creation is aware of , and capable of doing, the devotion of N aa m .H um an beings are the only creatures who can d o the devotion of Na am .

Kabir Sahib says, "Oh man, when you get four legs and you haven o tongue t o speak w ith, in that body how will you sing the praise of

G od? W hen you will be beaten always, w hether you are sitting o r stand-ing, how will you sing the praise of G od ? W hen you are pulling a ploughan d you r nose is being to rn by a ro pe, how will you d o the devotionof G od ? If you will not obey the words of the beloved of G od , thenyou will have to suffer according to your own actions."

If one wanders through the nine continents of the earth andlives forever,

And becomes ascetic and detached-

Some people think t ha t by going arou nd the w orld on pilgrimages an dvisiting the places of the past Masters, they will find peace; and theythink that they are doing the devotion of God by visiting the placesof the past Masters. But Gu ru Arja n Dev Ji M ah ara j says, "No m atterif one goes aro un d the nine sections of this creation -n o ma tter if onegoes sightseeing all over the world-still he will no t get an y peace ofmind if he is not doing the devotion of G od." M any people think tha tby visiting holy places and meeting more people, they are doing thedevotion of God and they will come near Him. But that is not true.Th e more we go into the world, an d the m ore people we meet, the far-ther we get from God: because our attention will be scattered and wewill have many mo re though ts because of o ur m any conta cts. Insteadof coming nearer to God, we will be going away from Him. That iswhy M asters always say to rem ain in the world in such a way tha t youare not scattered in the world.

If one burn himself in fire and donates gold, horses andland-

If one performs Neoli Karmand other Yogic practices,and practices the path of control as the Jains do-

No matter if one performs all the practices of the yogis, no matter ifon e observes all the rites and rituals of the Jain religion, still, we can -not say that by doing that he will realize God.




Even if one takes baths day and night,

Still the filth of mind will not leave the body.

No m atter if you go on bathing in holy waters, da y and n ight, still youwon't be able to remove the dirt of your m ind. You may remove thedirt of your body by bathing in holy waters; but as far as removingthe dirt of the mind is conce rned, you c an no t get rid of tha t unless youd o the devotion of Naam .

In J ap Ji , G uru N anak says, "If your hand s and feet are dir ty, are

mu ddy, you can remove that dir t and m ud by washing them in w ater.If your clothes have become dirty, by blood and other dirt, you canremove tha t dirt by using detergent and o the r soap . But if you a re dirtywithin, if your heart is impu re, you ca n remove that d irt or impu rityfrom your heart only by using the soap of Naam."

Even if one makes his body do many practices,Still the poison will not abandon the mind.

No ma tter how much you try , you won't be able to purify your innerself by purifying your outer body. No outer purification will purifyyour inner self, which is full of all the dirty thoughts and impuritiesof the mind.

Guru Nanak says, "Our mind has become dirty because it has beenpicking up dirt fro m ages an d ages- rom our m any past births- ndunless we wash it with the soap of Naam, we cannot get rid of thatdirt." T he condition of ou r m ind is just like the co ndition of a pieceof cloth th at has been used by a n oil me rchan t. If the oil mercha nt triesto clean that cloth which is saturated with grease or oil, he ca nn ot. H emay wash it a hundred times, but he will never be able to bring thebrightness out from that dir ty cloth. In the same way, we cannot pu-rify our mind n o matter how much we try, just by purifying ou r body.Unless we go within and apply the soap of N aam , we cannot removethe dir t of our mind.

Even if one washes his body with a lot of water-How can a muddy well become beautiful?

The glory of Naam is very great; the value of Naam is very high. Butonly those w ho have absorbed themselves and merged with the N aam ,only they have a real appreciation of Its glory.By doing the d evotionof N aa m , o ne can attain the highest po sition possible an d on e ca n beliberated from this world.



THE GLORY OF THE NAAM 7 1

Even if one is very clever the fear of Yama is there,No matter how many efforts, the thirst is not quenched.

Even if one is clever or wise, still he canno t become free fr om the fearof de ath ; he cannot become free from the angels of death. N o matterhow many outer practices we are performing, still we cannot get ridof our desires. And as long as we are involved in our desires, we can-not go within and realize God.

Once one dear one came to his Master, an d the M aster became very

pleased with him; He gave him four candles and told him , "Burn onecandle and go in one direction. When the candle goes out, dig at tha tplace. Be contented with whatever you find there: don't go in any otherdirection. But if you do go in another direction, don't go in the thirddirection. An d even if you have to go in the third direction,never goin the fourth direction." So when the dear one went home he burntone candle and he went in one direction. When the candle went out ,he dug there and he found some rupees and some relatively valuable

things. But that dear one was not content; even thoug h his Master hadtold him not to go in another d irection, still he said, "IfI have got rupeesand other things in this place, let me go and see what there is in thenext direction."

So he burnt another candle and went in another direction. W hen thecandle burnt ou t, he dug at that place and he got some dollars and m orevaluable items. He became very happy and desire was growing withinhim . H e said, "Master told me not to come to this place because H e

knew that there was more valuable treasure here, and that's why hedidn't want me to come and get it Maybe he has kept evenmore valu-able things in the third direc tion, so let me go an d get that " Desirewas growing within him.

So obeying his m ind, he went in the third direction where he discov-ered some jewels and very valuable things. He was very happy, andthe desire was again growing. He said, "All right: Let me go and tryin the fourth direction also, soI can get more wealth there." Eventhough he had a lot of wealth already from going in the three direc-tions, still he was not content: because desire is such a thing that ifyou have a hundred, you want a thousand; if you have a thousand,you want ten thousand . It goes on increasing and increasing. So he burn this fou rth candle also and he forgot what his Master had told h im. H ewent in the fo ur th direction and when the candle burn t out he dug there.And when he went underground he found a house with one door. W henhe went in the house he saw a man standing there ho lding up the roofwith his head; and tha t man looked very confused an d very tired. But



THE GLORY O F THE NAAM 73

Guru Nanak says that the people who are imitating, the false holy

people, are always afraid of the world. They are always careful thatpeople should not discover that they are imitators and not real ones.The refore they are unable to d o any devotion of the Lo rd. If you w antto kill a snake, and you smash the place where the snake is living whenthe snake is not there, you cannot say tha t you have killed the snake.You have to smash the place of the snake when the snake is hom e. Thismeans that you have to control your mind, you have to control thebad thoughts of your mind, when you are in your full senses.But if

you don't have the guidance of the Master, whatever practices you a redoing- whether it is imitating a Saint, or performing anything- youcannot have any benefit from them; because without the guidance andprotection of a perfect M aster, you don 't have anyone responsible fo ryour good o r bad actions. So unless you have the guidance of a perfectMaster, you cannot get any benefit from any kind of practice whichyou are doing, thinking that it is the devotion of God.

Even if one travels to the sky and below the world he willnot be liberated;

He will be entangled more in the net of Maya.

In order to get liberation from this world and become detached fromthis world, it makes no difference if one lives under the earth, or ifhe makes his home in the sky -if he is not free from all his desires,he cannot become detached f rom this world. Why? W hen a man leavesthe body, he has not yet accomplished all his desires. There is always

one o r ano ther desire left which is not fulfilled. Wherever you are at-tached, there you g o. So , according to our desires which are not ful-filled, and according to wherever we are attached, we have to comeback into this world again to pay off our debts. So it does not matterif we physically leave this world, but if we have not left theattach-ments of this wor ld-our thoughts and our desires-we canno t beliberated.

For all other actions one is punished by Yama.He (Yama) does not respect anything except the devotion

of God.

It does not matter if a man is performing many good deeds; if he isno t doing the devotion of Naam, no action of his is counted in the courtof the Lord. H e doesn't get even a little bit of benefit fr om doing prac-tices other than Naam. Only the devotion of Naam is counted; onlythat devotion is acceptable in the court of the Lord.




Kal does not spare those who ar e not doing the devotion of N aam :

he gives them a lot of suffering. But those w ho are doing the devotionof N aam are treated w ith respect by the angels of de at h.

By meditating on the Naam of God all the pain vanishes.Nanak says, This is the State of Sahaj.

Even if one becomes the King of all creation, still, if he is not doingthe devotion of Naam, he cannot be happy. So very lovingly, in this

section of Sukhrnani, the M aster has explained to us the glory of Na am .He told us that we cannot get Naam unless we go into the companyof a perfect Master, and that unless we go and sit in the Satsang wecann ot become aw are of ou r faults. Whenever a soul is sitting in them editation of S hab d Na am an d whenever he is doing even a little bitof Simran, his attendance is marked in the Court of the Lord.

If anyone wants the four boons, he should do the seva ofthe Sadhu.

It is said that if one gets to heaven, he gets four boons: religion(dharrna),material things (artha), the fulfillment o f his desires (kama),and liberation (rnoksha). And it is said that one who has these fouris the greatest of all. O ne w ho is the own er of these fo ur doesn't haveto h ave anything else: he is understood to be the greatest in this world.

But Gu ru Arjan Dev Ji M ahara j says that if you go in the compan yof so me perfect Sadh us and if- y God's Grace- t happens that youma y get the guidance of such a perfect M aster, then you c an have thefruit of these four boons without going to heaven.

If anyone wants to finish the pain, he should always chantGod's Naam in his heart.

The greatest pain is the pain of birth and death; but there are manyother pains and difficulties in household life. Sometimes it is very dif-ficult for us to breathe happily, because this world is full of miseryand pain.

Tulsi Sahib says, "Some a re unhapp y because of their body, som eare unha ppy because of their mind, and they always remain sad. Every-on e has on e or ano ther pain an d unhappiness. But only the servant ofthe Saint is without sadness; only he remains happy."

If you want to have real peace and happiness, if you want to riseabove the pain of births an d deaths, what should you do ? You should




do the meditation of S habd Naam, because tha t is the only way to get

real happiness.

If anyone wants glory, he should leave his egoism in thecompany of the Saints.

In o rder t o get worldly fam e or g lory, we sacrifice our precious princi-ples and forget about them, because we want the worldly name andfame and we want people to remember us. But the pity is that even

though we collect so much worldly nam e and fame , still it doesn't helpus-because we cannot take it with us when we leave this world. Butwhat is the real glory and the real name and fame? Guru A rjan saysthat you should try to earn the real glory which will help you in thecourt of the Lord . How can you do that? H e says, "Go in the comp anyof the Master . And when you go in His com pany, remove the wall ofego which is standing between you and God. If you remove that wallwhich is between you and the Master, only then will you be able toearn the real glory which will help you in the court of the Lord."

If anyone is afraid of birth and death, he should take thecompany of a Perfect Saint.

If there is any medicine in this world to remove the pain of birth an ddeath, it is Naam. And we can achieve that Naam only after going inthe company of a perfect Sadhu; we can get Naam only from Him.

If there is anyone who is thirsty for God's darshan, Nanaksacrifices Himself for him.

Kabir Sahib says, "IfI could find anyone who remembers the Lordeven in his dream s, I a m ready to make sandals ou t of the skin of mybody for his feet. He who remembers the name of the Lord even whensleeping and dreaming is always in love with the L ord. Th at is whyIwill be happ y to m ake shoes out of my skin fo r such a dear one whoremembers the Lord day and night."

Gury Nanak says, "I sacrifice myself on those souls who haveachieved Naam in this Kali Yuga." Tha t is why here also G ur u Sahibsays, "I a m ready to lay down my life fo r those who have love fo r G odwithin themselves and those who are thirsty for His darshan."

One whose pride is erased by going in the company of theSadhs,

He is the foremost among all men.




that his name was Sheetardas, which means "a cool person who doesn't

have any anger within him." There was one fearless man, named Suthra,and he thought of testing that Mahatma to see whether he really hadthe quality of coolness in his heart, or if he was Sheetardas in nameonly. So he came there and said, "Mahatma Ji, give me some fire."Th at Ma hatm a said, "I don't have any fire." S o again, that dear oneasked , "Please give me some fire." But Shee tardas said, "I d on't haveany fire- lease go away from here." But still, because Su thra was try-ing to test the coolness of Sheetardas' heart he said again "No, you

should give me some fire " So after the third time he asked for fire,that Mahatma got angry because he did not have any humility withinhim. It was just a fake thing. So he started chasing Su th ra , and whenpeople saw how angry he was at Suthra, then they realized that onlyhis name was Sheetardas; in truth he had no coolness in his heart.

He who destroys all evil from his mindSees the whole world as his friend.

The physical existence of lust, anger, greed, attachment and egoismis at the eye center, and the astral existence of these passions is in Triku ti.So, when we rise above body consciousness, cross Trikuti and go toP ar B rahm , these things do not exist. When we get to P ar Brah m, themind- who is now our enemy- ecomes our friend; and when we makeou r mind ou r friend, then, for us, all the people in this world will be-come our friends and we will not have hatred or bad feelings towardanyb ody : because when we have controlled o ur mind and m ade it ou rfriend, we will have no enemy in the world. It is only because of ourmind that we make friends, and it is only because of our mind thatwe start hating people. M ind has such a quality that sometimes he willmake us love others and sometimes he will make us hate them. It isonly because of our mind that sometimes we start liking people, andsometimes we start disliking people.So unless and until we contro l themind, and until we make the mind our friend, we cannot make theworld our friend; because Mahatmas tell us that there is no enemy

outwardly- ou have no enemy out in the world. If you have an enemy,it is your mind; and that is residing within you. So if you remove theevils of your m ind, and make the mind your friend , then you can m akethe world your friend, easily. If you don 't m ake the mind your friend ,then it is very difficult to make the world your friend; but once youhave made your mind your friend, then- for you- t will no t be diff i-cult to love everyone in this creation , because on ce you have c on trol




Oh Lord, You do, and make others do.

You are the All Conscious One.

Now he sings the praise of the Satguru and H e sings the praise of G od .He says, "You are the One Who connects the soul with Your O wn Self.You a re the One Who is doing everything which happens in this world .Residing within every soul You a re keeping the accoun t of the deedsof the soul." In other words: "You are the only Doer." Master SawanSingh Ji used to say, "People say, 'We are going to take initiation. . .we are going to the Master for taking initiation.' But who says that?Only those whose eyes are not open. People say, 'We are going to Sat-sang.' But who says that? Only those whose eyes are not open. Thosewhose eyes are open know tha t there is Someone W ho is pulling themto Satsang and W ho is giving them Initiation. They ar e not coming toSatsang and getting initiation by themselves-there is Someone ElseW ho is doing it." As long as the curta in is not removed, we ask ques-tions of the Mas ter; once our curtain is removed, an d we see ou r M as-

ter within, we don't need to ask any questions of H im : then we realizethat Master knows more about us than we ourselves know.Many people who come to me have many questions in the beginning,

and they want to ask me those questions. But after they come here an dmeditate for a few days, all their questions are gone. They come tome and say, "When we came here, we had many questions, but nowthey are all answered in meditation. Now we only want the darshanof the Master." Those who meditate will find that all their questionsare answered by their meditation.

Kabir Sahib says that the Lord who is sitting above, in the window-He means sitting at the eye center- hat Lord is looking at all our deeds,and according to our effort and our devotion for Him, He is payingus for the work we are doing for Him.

You Yourself know Your Glory and limits,And Oh Lord, You are absorbed in Your own Self.

Gu ru Ar jan Dev Ji says, 0 Satguru , only You know ab out Yourself.Only You know ab out Your glory, Your reality, and Your tr uth, andhow can we understand Your secret? You ar e the only one W ho knowseverything, and we have no idea of what You are doing."

You alone can praise Your own self,Nanak says: No one else knows your Glory.




Now He says, "You know Your glory -You know Your importance.

How can we poor souls sing the praise of Your glory?" Guru Arjansays, "You are the emperor, and You are even greater than theemperor-if we can even use these words, 'emperor' and 'greater thanthe emperor' for singing your glory, because they are not enough-they are only worldly words: You are more than the emperors and thegreat emperors, but we cannot sing Your praise in complete form, be-cause we don't know who You are."

Of all the religions, the best one is to meditate on the Naamof the Lord-as this is the purest breed.

Once there was a shopkeeper who used to attend Satsang regularly.He was so regular in his devotions that once, when for come unavoid-able reason he cound not attend Satsang, he sent his son in his place.His son had never been to the Satsang, and he didn't know anythingabout it; but when he went there he heard this: "We should always havemercy on the poor and on the cows- because they are considered hdlyanimals-and moreover we should treat the Saints well."

Next day when he was sitting in his shop, he saw that one cow waseating some grain from the shop. He didn't stop her, because he thought,"God has given us a lot of wealth; my father has given money to manypeople and they pay us interest on it, so we have many sources of in-come. If she eats a little bit of food, we are not going to become poor "So he didn't remove that cow. But when his father came there and sawthat his son was looking at the cow and not removing it, he grew angryand said, "Are you blind? Don't you see that the cow is eating our food,and you are not removing her?'' The son replied, "Father, yesterdaywhen I went into the Satsang, I heard that we should always have pityon cows and the poor. I f she eats a little bit of food, then how willit affect us? We have a lot of money, and if we give food t o this cow,we are not going to become poor." The father got very angry with hisson and said, "If I had put all the Satsangs I have heard into practice,I would have become a pauper " In his anger, he said, "Go away from

my house You are not a good son." So the boy went away.As he left the village, the boy saw a snake who was trying to eat afrog: the frog was trying to get away from the snake because he didn'twant to die. When that son of the shopkeeper saw that the frog wasin danger, he helped it to escape. But the snake had been hungry formany days; and when that boy realized this, and that there was noth-ing else the snake could eat except that frog, who was gone-that boycut some flesh from his body and gave it to the snake, so that it was



THE GLORY OF THE NAAM 8 1

satisfied. Now he was in terrible pain; but he walked o n and , after som e

time, he saw an old w om an com ing with a little boy, an d she was car-ring a b urden o n her head. W hen she came nearby, she said to the shop-keeper's son , "Dear son , please help me to carry it , I will be very gra te-ful to you." Th at boy was very kind and loving toward everybody- irstto the cow , then to the fr og, and then at the expense of his own bod y,to the snake, So here, also, he showed his kindness. Even though hewas in so much pain, still he carried her burden.

After some time walking toge ther, they saw tha t a m an was com ing

toward them , bringing a horse. The old wom an said, "Dear s on ,I havesome money, an d you can spend it in buying tha t horse, a nd the n wecan all ride on it an d get to our destination." So , using the m oney ofthe old wom an, the boy bought tha t horse, and they all climbed on toit and eventually came to a city.

After they had spent one night there, the old woman said,"I havesome more money, and you can use that to buy some food an d to opena business." So using tha t money, the boy went int o business, an d af-ter some time, he got a good post in the court of the King.

Now tha t king had a magic ring; som ebody had given it to h im , an dby using it he could enjo y with th e fairies in heaven. Onc e it s o hap-pened that he was bathing in a pool and lost that ring; he announcedtha t if an yon e would help him take the ring ou t of the pool, he wouldgive him whatever he asked for.

Then the little boy who was with the old woman said, "All right,I will do something for you." H e went into that p ool, a nd f oun d thering at once , and w hen he gave it to the king, the k ing said, "Yes, nowyou c an ask fo r anything you want."But the little boy said,"I don'twant anything for myself, butI want that you should ma rry your dau gh-ter to my older brother here, and make him your heir." The king agreed,and he married his daughter to the son of the shopkeeper. Now theshopkeeper's son was well settled; eventually he became king. So afte rliving with him for some tim e, the old wom an, th e horse an d the littleboy all wanted to go back to their places.

So the boy w ho was now king came with them, and after walking

for som e time, the little boy w anted to leave. But before going, he saidto tha t son of the shopkeeper, "Don't you recognize me?" H e replied,"No, I don't." So the little boy said ,"I am tha t frog whom you savedfrom the snake, and because you saved me from the snake, and be-cause you saved my life, that is why in order to pay fo r that good karm a,I came as a little boy to help you." And he disappeared.

Th e son o f the shopkeeper continued walking w ith the old wom anand the horse. After some time, the horse wanted t o leave and he said,




mercy on your own sou l. That is why we should wholeheartedly d o ou rmeditation.

Of all deeds, the best one is to remove the dirt of evil bygoing in the company of the Sadh.

Gury Arjan Dev Ji Maha raj asks, "Which is the greatest Karm a, am ongall the Karmas?" He answers, "The greatest Karma is going into thecompany of the Master; and doing the meditation on Shabd Naam is

the greatest of all."

Of all hard works, the best one is to always repeat the Naamof the Lord in the heart.

We know that in our wordly works, we work very hard and we putin much effort to be successful. But Guru Arjan asks, "Which hardwork is beneficial for your soul, and which hard work is the best?"

He says that the act of getting up in the morning - the hard w ork whichyou d o in getting up in the morning to sit for med itation-that is thegreatest and the most beneficial for you. Guru Nanak says,0 man,all day long you go on working for your own self, but when you sitfor the remembrance of God you feel as if somebody has put a stoneon your head."

Of all the banis, the nectarful bani is to utter the Praise of

God which one hears with his ears.

Which is the best sound? He says tha t the Sound which is coming fromSach Khand, which is sounding at our eye center, tha t is the best Soundof all; and he is the fortunate one who collects his thoughts, and bydoing Sim ran comes to the eye center and listens to that Sou nd; onlyhe is the fortunate one.

Nanak says that of all the places the best one is where theNaam of the Lord resides.

Which heart is the purest of all hearts? The heart within which Naamis manifested. That is the purest of all.



remember God.

you:'Oh soul,nmemberthe qualities4 he

Lord:

'Remtmber w h a ~ou w ~ t lnd w I t ~you a m .

3 j c whomade you,adorned you, andbea~t@dyo&,

who ~ a v e d ou fvom thefir6

4the

I

- whogave you milkinyour chddhoodAad food, hap pine^and awarfinexs in

th bllnessof

youth--whogave you rehrive, and fiend, ~h

your old age, whofed you whileyou




7hi.s~ i r t ~ eUS one

doe, not knowofit.T\Iunuk sayj , ''Forgivehim JO that hfimay ~nder~ tand .

3/e, by whoje Grace you livehappiLy

on the ~ a v t h ,And lnugh withyour >-on,brother,@end and w t e -

By who~eGrace you dr id+oolwate r :

3 whoje G r m you cgoyaLL pleamw,Andget aU the materid things -

who gaw you hunds,fecc, ear,; eye, andtonguc-whyhuveyou Lek H L ~ ,nd atrdchfid

yourfelf w i t hothers ?

L h ookhand blind men are fiatan-

gled ~ i z,+t,-

Waw k sa y5, 0 ~ o d ,ou Y O M Y S C ~



8 8 THE JEWEL OF HAPPINESS

~ l ehinkr the hevtevt'tmblr:D ~ Wa y.He workr hardf o r what he must. have1

here ;

qe s p w mHim Whoa lw~yxelpsand

lzve5

wzth him.L d e th domkey,he loves the mhes,And he w m h 5 away thfisanddwood

coat/.

7 h e,.inner

h m f d e n nto a terribleblind w e U .Nbin~k my4 " 0 p c i o u ~ -ord, t g k e h ~ m

owl? I

7 h e,inner is man only in appemnce.?/is deeds are ofthe animal,: day and

nigh/ he cheatsothen.d

Outwm-dlyhe wears ueligiouigarb, burwithinhim he hn, the dzrt of7May~:

OutwavdLyhe ha5 knowledgem d contern-~glation, d he bathe, ~ f ioly water/;



ASHTAPADI FOUR 89

him, t/u dog $greed i s there.him i j f ive ,and ol.rtwardLyhe

qe hai stowr wound hi, neck - how

can he jwim A C Y O ~ She b o t t o d e ~ sHe in whose heart God rex'dej,Nanak mys, f ' ~ u ~ hone wiUbe ~ b -

,orbed Liz Jehdj.

wow c~7n b l~ndmunf b td the way on1yby king to ld?you t a k ~ im byhi5 hand,only thencan hfi ~ e w hhe aoal.

L l

qow can the deqman solve n;ddles?5f you teUhim ic is nyM, he wiUthivrkt h g t you are talking a b o u ~ y

3 /ow can GI dumb m m sing the .song/ ?Zven

$he tries, hi, voict?willbreak .

3 j ow con a cvzppkwmdw over t h mom-bin5 ?




7 h epoor one

prayjt o

the ~ e r c ~ b lCvea~or

only by y o u vGme. 1

ye who6j the helper and dwayrmccom-

w t , alsehood'Baddeed$,greed, mnd ce are Iwm'

by him.~ I Zhi, wny he hm- livedlit many birth,-M n a k my 0 ord, j w e himby your

Grme."you Are the Cord mad I pray t o yog -



ASHTAPADI FOUR 91

7heo u lnd

bodym-6 y o ~ r rern~ion

y o u are our mother and ? g t h c and wefire Your ch~ldren

with your grmce, we havegrmt hup@enesJ,

7\/0 one knows YOMYi ~ 2 5 ,h GO^^Y O M m-6 yreutw thmn thegreat ist:~vevything ~n your 5triyAU that happen5 is under Your ordbrs.youalone know your glory and limit^,Wanuk rays, your ve e vev sw@es

t o you. I



Chapter 4

No Pain, No Gain

Oh ignorant and virtueless man, always remember God.Keep the Creator in your heart.Nanak says, "He will always accompany you."

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj in this sloka is telling us, 0 man, youshould remember God, Who has given you life, and from a drop ofliquid has given you the body. You should remember that God, and

dwell on Him in your heart. In the end He is the only one Who is goingto help you; because when we leave this world, nobody will help usexcept God." That is why He says, "Why should we not remember HimWho has given us life and everything that we have? Nobody will ac-company us in the end except Him and His Naam-that is why weshould remember Him."

Oh soul, remember the qualities of the Lord:Remember what you were and what you are.

Now this is the fourth Ashtapadi of this Sukhmani Sahib, in which GuruArjan Dev Ji lovingly tells us that we should remember God, Who hasgiven us life. He says, 0 man, you should remember God Who hasgiven you this beautiful body and Who fashioned your beautiful bodyout of a drop of liquid; you should remember how He has given youall the things which you need. Remember how He sustained you whenyou were in the womb of your Mother and how He attached your eyes,

nose, and all the other parts of your body at the places where they wereneeded; and how He grew your hair wherever it was needed. He doesall these things in such a way that not even the mother within whomall these things happen, knows when He comes and creates all this withinher womb. Without anyone's help, God Himself does all these things."That is why He says, 0 man, you should remember Him."



NO PA I N , NO GAI N 93

He Who made you, adorned you, and beautified you,

Who saved you from the fire of the womb-

Guru Arjan says, 0 man, you see how God preserved you and pro-tected you in the fire of the womb: and how, at that place where noone else could reach, He supplied food and everything you needed."Guru Arjan says that in the womb of mother, the body is curled up,the hands a nd legs are here and there, and the body of the soul is verymuch in pain. W hy should such a God be forgotten W ho was remem-

bered when the sou l was in the womb of the mother in such a pa infulstate?In order to form the bones, the body has to be heated in the fire

of the womb for ninety days; only then do the bones become strong.

-Who gave you milk in your childhoodAnd food, happiness and awareness in the fullness of

youth-

When you came out from the womb of your m other, you were an in-fant; have you forgotten how God arranged fo r your nourishment then?How He brought milk in the breasts of your mother, and how, whenyou grew into youth, He arranged for your comforts and pleasures,and for the food and other things you required? This was God's giftto you; you were not able to do anything on your own. It was all HisGrace and gift, that H e gave you whatever you needed a t the app rop ri-ate time.

It is said in the history of Kabir Sah ib tha t H e used to see daily oneold man, who was always involved in his worldly work. Even thoughthat m an was very old and near his death , he was not interested in do-ing the devotion of God; and whenever Kabir Sahib would tell him,

0 old man, you shouId do the devotion of the Lord " he would al-ways present one or another excuse. Sometimes he would say, "My chil-dren are not yet grown up , and they cannot take responsibility for thefamily, so I have to tak e care of them ," and sometimes he would pre-

sent on e excuse and sometimes another one; he just wanted t o avoiddoing the devotion of the Lord. You know that death never waits forus to accomplish or complete all the works which we desire to do. When-ever we leave the body, one or another work always remains incom-plete, because no one has ever completed all his work; and whateverwe desire, at the time of death, in order to fulfill that (or to pay offou r debts) we have to come back into this world. Wherever we are at-tached, there we go, because that is the rule of attachm ent. So, because




that old man was very much attached t o his animals and to his family,

when he left the body, he came back in the body of a bullock in thatsame family.

When Kabir Sahib passed through that place and saw that bullock,He easily recognized that it was the same old man, and when He sawthe condition of that soul, He felt much pity for him. And Kabir Sahibsaw that when that bullock was young he was fully utilized by his sonsand the other family members, who plowed the fields with him; thenHe saw that after using him, they sold him to another person who used

him for pulling a cart. And when that bullock became so old that hewas useless to the other man, he sold him to an oil merchant, who blind-folded him and put him on a treadmill and he had to go round andround in the same house to move the oil mill. And when he becameso old that he became useless even for the oil merchant, he was soldto the butcher, who slaughtered him and sold his flesh, and even soldhis skin. The people who bought his skin from the butcher took it andmade a drum out of it and sold it to a temple, where it was played twicea day, in the morning and in the evening.

When Kabir Sahib saw all this, He felt much pity for him, and said:0 old man, since you didn't do the devotion of the Lord, you became

a bullock and had to serve the same family who served you in yourprevious life; when you became useless to them, they sold you with nopity or mercy. When the other man also found that you were uselessto him, he sold you to the oil merchant, who used you further; andwhen you became useless even to him, you were sold to the butcher,who slaughtered you, and sold your flesh. People ate it; and your skinalso was sold and you became a drum. Whatever karmas you have left,you are paying for them by getting a beating every morning and eve-ning. Because you didn't utilize the human body which you were givengraciously by God, and you wasted it unnecessarily in all the false at-tachments and relations of this world-that is why you have to sufferall this."

-Who gave you relatives and friends in your old age, who

fed you while you were just sitting-

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "When you reached old age, afterpassing your youth, and you were not able to do anything and you weresitting in your courtyard, and you were not even able to move yourbody, God arranged t o take care of you at that time also. He has givenyou your wife, your children, your relatives and friends who come andserve you wholeheartedly. You were not even able to eat by yourself,



NO PAIN, NO GAIN 95

but still God has provided you with all these people-all your dearones- ll your relatives and children; and without your moving yourha nd , still you a re being fed. This is all the gift of G od, which He hasgiven to you. And even after getting all these things, if you do notremember G od , that is not go od; you should remember Him."

This virtueless one does not know of itNanak says, "Forgive him so that he may understand."

Guru A rjan is making a request on our behalf to the Almighty Lo rd.

He is saying, "0, Lord, these poor souls cannot comprehend YourGlory , and they cannot even understand W ho You are; and since theycannot understand You, they cannot sing Your praise. Only if You willshower grace upon them will they be liberated; there is no o ther meansfor their liberation."

We say that we are attending Satsang, and we ar e doing the medita-tion on N aam, as long as our eyes are not open. But once our eyes areopen , we see tha t we are not the ones who are coming into Satsang,

and we are not the ones who are doing the meditation: it is He W hois bringing us in to Satsang, and it is because of His grace that we areable to sit in His remembrance and d o meditation. It is not w ithin thereach of the blind man to go and catch hold of the one who has eyes.Unless the person who has eyes calls to the blind man , and gives himhis fingers, the blind m an can not catch hold of him. In the same way,unless God showers grace on us, we cannot come in to His Satsang,and we cannot meditate upon Naam . If He is not gracious on us, we

cannot even have the company of the Master, what t o speak of doingthe meditation on Naam . Everything is dependent upon His grace. Wecannot do a thing unless He is gracious on us. That is why Mastersalways make requests to the Almighty Lord: because Their eyes areopened and They see that They are not the doers, that soul cannot d oanything, and t ha t everything is being caused by the Grace of the M as-ter . He Himself is doing everything, and that is why the Masters, Whoseeyes are opened, always make this request to the Almighty Lord:0Lo rd, shower grace on these poor souls because they do not know Yourglory -they cannot understand You; an d if You do not shower graceupon them, they will not be able to come into your Satsang and theywill not be able to remember You." Unless Go d showers grace on us,there is no possibility for us to come in to the Satsang an d to remem berHim.

He, by Whose Grace you live happily on the earth,And laugh with your son, brother, friend and wife-




Guru Arjan says, 0 man, consider how much God has given you in

this world And by the Grace of God and the power of God, how manycomforts you have He has given you wife, children, friends and rela-tives: just to keep you happy here, how much He has arranged for you."

By whose Grace you drink cool water,And the pleasant winds and precious fire serve you-

Now the Guru says, 0 man, consider how by the Grace of God you

are drinking the cold water which He is supplying for you, and howyou are enjoying the breeze which He is giving to you - nd how youdon't have to pay anything for that breeze. Consider how you are us-ing the fire, which He has created for you." All these things are thegift of God, which He has given to mankind.

By Whose Grace you enjoy all pleasures,And get all the material things-

Now consider how much more He has given you. That God has givenall the material of the world to you, and He has made you the leaderof all creatures in this world.

Who gave you hands, feet, ears, eyes, and tongue-Why have you left Him, and attached yourself with others?

Guru Arjan says, 0 man, don't you see that God has given you eyes,ears, a tongue to speak, hands, feet, and He has given you the powerto move on this earth? He has given you all sorts of comforts and thingsin this world. But it is a pity that you have forgotten the One Whohas given you all these things, and instead of turning your attentiontoward Him, and becoming attached to Him, you are attached to theworldly pleasures; and you are ruining your life."

Such foolish and blind men are entangled in sins

Nanak says, 0 ord, You Yourself take them out."

Now the Guru once again makes a request on our behalf: 0 Lord,man is foolish and has no understanding. He doesn't even rememberwhy he has come down into this world. So You should shower graceon him, so that he may not have to go again in the cycle of eighty-fourlakhs births and deaths, and so that he may become liberated from theocean of this world. This can happen only if You are gracious on him."



NO PAIN, NO GAIN 97

Guru Arjan says in another place, "I didn't appreciate what You were

doing for me; You ar e the One W ho has united me with God . I haveno good qualities; it is only because of Your Grace thatI have beenunited with God. You were merciful upon me, and You showered graceon me, and then I met my beloved Satguru . Nanak says, I survive onlyby getting Your N aam ; whenI get Your Naam , my body and soul arefilled with delight."

He Who is the protector from the beginning to the end-The ignorant one does not love Him.

When a man is born, he is just like a piece of flesh; he cannot evenremove the flies by himself, and he cannot nourish himself. It is onlybecause of G od , residing within the mother, Who creates the love withinthe mother for the baby, that the baby is nourished, and the mothertakes care of the bab y. I n the end also, when we become old an d allthe parts of our body become useless, and our family members haveno interest in us, because of our old body-it is because God resides

within ou r children, our relatives and our friends, and works throughthe m, tha t they come to serve us, an d give us all sorts of comforts withwhatever they have.

So in the beginning, when we were bo rn in this world , and we werenothing, it was God Who supported us and gave us everything; andin the end also, when we cannot do anything by ourselves- when weare again like a piece of flesh-it is because of God tha t people aretaking care of us and giving us everything. So God , W ho is supporting

us every mom ent and at every step, W ho is guiding us and leading us-why should we not remember such a G od , Who has given us our verylife? When we know th at He is the only one Who is sustaining our life;why should we not remember H im? Guru Arjan says,0 God , the manis foolish. Even though You are the One Who supported him in thebeginning, and in the end You will also take care of him , still he is fool-ish, and he cannot understand what You are doing for him. That iswhy You must have pity on him, and shower grace on him- because

he is foolish and cannot sing Your glory."By serving Whom, one can get nine treasures-The fool does not attach his mind to Him.

By serving such a Master, and by doing the devotion of the Lo rd , weget all the treasures of Naam, and we can get liberation. It is a pitythat we are not taking our minds into the devotion and the service ofsuch a Master.




Suppose that we do sit for meditation; then we feel that we are do-

ing a favor to somebody. There are only a few people who sit for medi-tation with a real yearning for God within themselves. Otherwise mostpeople sit for meditation understanding that it is just a rite or ritualfor them to perform. One Saint used to say that when a man is young,he takes the animals into the fields and takes care of them; and whenhe is old enough he works in the fields himself; and when he becomesold, then he moves the rosary, and thinks that he is doing a favor toGod.

God, Who is ever and ever present-The blind human thinks that He is far away.

Who is nearest to man? God is the One Who is the nearest to a person,because He sees his every need and want, and He satisfies them all.But still, Guru Arjan Dev Ji says, "I am very sorry to say that eventhough God is nearer than the nearest, still people think that God is

residing either on the top of the Himalayas or somewhere at the bot-tom of the sea, or somewhere else." He doesn't realize that God is resid-ing within the human body; and sitting within us, He is taking careof the body.

He, by going in Whose company one gets honor in theCourt of the Lord-

The foolish and ignorant one forgets Him.

We forget the Satguru, by serving Whom we get much praise and famein the court of God; and since we forget Him, Guru Arjan calls us thefoolish ones.

Man ever and ever forgets;Nanak says, 'The Limitless God is the Protector."

Once again Guru Arjan is making a request on our behalf to the Lord:0 Lord, this man has been forgetting You -life after life he has been

forgetting You. Ever since he was separated from You, he has forgot-ten You, and unless You shower grace on him, and make him remem-ber You, he cannot come back to You; so, 0 Lord, please shower graceon the poor souls."

Man, giving up jewels, plays with shells;Renouncing the Truth, he goes after the false.



NO PAIN, NO GAIN 99

Naam is a precious jewel, and worldly name and fame a re useless shells.It is a pity th at, giving up the precious jewel, man collects shells. H edoesn't realize that worldly pleasures and name and fam e are no t go-ing to help him a t the time of de ath ,and he will not carry anything fromthis world except the precious jewel of Na am ; he does no t collect thatwea lth, bu t wastes his time in collecting useless things. Truth is God ,W ho is never destroyed , and this world is false- this world is garbage,because one day it will dissolve and come to an en d, but God will nevercome to an en d. It is a pity that , forgetting the T ruth Which is G od ,man is running after the false things in this world.

He takes to be permanent that which he must leave;He thinks the inevitable is far away.

We understand as permanent tha t which we must leave one da y; thisworld is not permanent. When our time comes, we will have to leavethis world, or this world will leave us; because neither we nor this worldis permanent and neither will exist forever. Guru Nanak says, "Thatwhich has been created will be destroyed one dayv -th is is true. So thatis why Nanak says, "Give up the attachments o f the world, an d d o thedevotion."

Guru Teg Bahadur also says, "Even Lord Rama had to leave thiswo rld, and even Ravan a, who had a very big family- e also had toleave this world. Nanak says, Nothing is permanent in this world. Itis all a dream."

Masters have described this world as a dream. Why? W hen we drea m,although it may continue for some time, when we wake up we knowthe dream is not true. In the same way, life in this world is also likea dream ; it may continue for a long time -maybe twenty years, maybefifty years -bu t when it is all ove r, we realize that it was false, andnothing was true in it. Tha t is why G uru Sahib says, "The foolish oneis attached to the d ream; all his time is passing and he doesn't get any-thing, but still he is attached to this world."

Baba Bishan Das used to compare life in this world to the parshadwhich people make o n the festival ofHoli. n India , some wealthy peo-ple make parshad which looks very beautiful but it is not tasty at all;and those people who eat that wish they hadn't, because once they eatit, the taste in their m outh goes ba d. O n the other ha nd, those w hodidn't get any, they wish tha t they had come earlier an d gotten som e.So Baba Bishan Das Ji used to say that this world is like tha t pa rshad,because those who a re in it, they repent after tasting it, a nd those w ho

have not yet tasted worldly pleasures, they also repent because they




think th at m aybe there is som ething very special in the m . S o tha t is

why this world is like that pa rshad: those who en joy it are un happ y,an d those who are not enjoying i t are also unhappy.

He works hard for what he must leave here;He spurns Him Who always helps and lives with him.

The things which we must leave some da y-o ur family, ou r children,ou r property and wealth, worldly nam e an d fam e- for all these thingswe have great concern, and we say,"I am the servant of my com mu-nity; I am the servant of my religion; I a m the o ne who takes care ofmy family," etc. We are concerned for all the things which we haveto leave one day, and we know that we are going to leave them; butwe have no concern for God, Who is going to help us at the time ofour death . We are not even concerned abo ut w hat will happen t o uswhen we will have to leave this world . W hen we have to leave this world,if we have no t done the meditation a nd devotion of G od , the NegativePow er will give us a lot of trou ble, an d since we will not be in the pro -tection of M aster, we will have to suffer a lo t; but still we have n o con-cern or w orry for those m oments in which we have to suffer so muchpain. Instead, we are concerned for the things in this world which wehave to leave one day; that is why He says that we are foolish.

Like the donkey, he loves the ashes,And he washes away the sandalwood coat.

Sup pose you put a sandalwood coat o n a donkey's body . Since hedoesn't appreciate sandalwood, and he is in love with ashes and dirtythings, you may put a coat of sandalwood on him, but after you aredone he will go and put ashes o n his body an d remove the sandalw ood.In the sam e way, ou r cond ition is like that donkey's: when the M asterscom e, they try to dye us in the color of N aam , a nd they may even suc-ceed in doing it; but when they put the coat of Na am o n us, becausewe are very much attracted to the worldly pleasures- he ashes- wetry to remove th at color of N aam by going and indulging in those ashes.

Bab a Bishan Das J i used to tell a story abou t on e donkey : tha t onceone do nkey was in a hem p field, but he w as not eating any hem p leaves.So one m an came there an d asked him,0 , Mister Donkey, why areyou not eating the hemp? It is so valuable to many people that theyare even ready to sacrifice everything for enjoying it W hy are you n ottaking advantage of being in the hemp field?" That donkey replied,"I have heard that those who use hemp become donkeys, and as youcan see, I am already a donkey "



NO PAIN, NO GAIN 101

The sinner has fallen into a terrible blind well.Nanak says, 0 racious Lord, take him out."

Guru Arjan is once again making a request on our behalf to the Al-mighty Lord : 0 Timeless Lord,0 Almighty Lord,0 M aster, all thesouls are drowned in the da rk well of this wor ld, and they have no light.They are blind and they cannot see. You are the gracious One, Youare the Giver, so You lower Your hand into this dark well of the wor ld,and - iving them the s upport of Your hand- raciously take ou t thesouls." As G uru A rja n is making this request on the behalf of the soulsto the Almighty Lord t o shower grace on them, in the same way, weshould also request the Almighty Lo rd, the Master,0 Master, we havelost hold of You and we are feeble; we have no strength of our own;we don't even know how to reach You, so please shower Your graceon us, and giving us Your hand, take us out from this world."

As long as the child is sleeping, the mother has no worry a bo ut him,but when the child gets up and starts weeping, the mother goes there

at once, leaving everything else behind- whatever she was doing - an dshe goes and gives the child whatever it needs. In the same way, as longas we are involved in the worldly pleasures, God also has become worry-less toward us-because we are not worried ab ou t our ow n Self. Butwhen we start begging Him to com e down a nd help us, when we startweeping in His love and in His yearning, then also God canno t remainaway; just as the mother comes, leaving everything else behind, andattends to her child, in the same way, God also leaves all His work

an d comes down to help us. So we should become like tha t child, an dcry for the help of God.

The sinner is man only in appearance.His deeds are of the animals: day and night he cheats

others.

Since we have become separated from God we have changed a lot.We have changed so much that the deeds which we are doing noware not deeds which a man should do; they are deeds of animals.Outwardly our appearance is that of a man, but our deeds are thoseof animals.

Kabir Sahib also said that when God was making the animals, bymistake He created man; instead of tail and horns He put the beardand mustache. But even though the outward appearance is that of ma n,still, the deeds and qualities are those of animals.




Outwardly he wears religious garb, but within him he has

the dirt of Maya:No matter how much he tries, he cannot hide his sin.

No matter if one wears saffron-colored clothes, or puts on any out-ward appearance and pretends to be a Mahatma, he won't be able tomaintain that forever: because whatever you have within you will oneday come out, and people will know what you have inside. That is whyit does not matter if outwardly one takes up the form of a Sadhu; he

cannot be a Sadhu, because he will act according to whatever he haswithin him. Guru Nanak says that the false gold remains true as longas it doesn't come to the goldsmith. When it is brought to the gold-smith, he can easily tell whether the gold is really gold, or if it has some-thing else in it. Just as you cannot get oil out of false mustard (whichlooks like mustard outwardly, but really is not mustard) you cannotget anything from the imperfect or false Master. When a disciple whowants to realize Truth comes to an imperfect Master, the imperfect Mas-

ter will run away, because he knows that now one has come who isgoing to ask something of him. So when you have nothing inside, whenyou are imperfect within, you cannot act as a perfect one outwardlyfor a long time. One day, whatever you have inside will be revealedin your acts and behavior.

Outwardly he has knowledge and contemplation, and hebathes in holy waters;

Within him, the dog of greed is there.

Outwardly a man may meditate and contemplate, and do many goodthings, and teach many good things; but within him the dog of greedis barking and he is always expecting things from this place and thatplace and everywhere.

In the olden days in India, in almost every village, there used to bea so-called "competent manH- the clever one of the village. If the peo-ple were not able to understand something, or if they wanted t o know

any special thing, they would ask him. Once it so happened that some-body was carrying an oil mill through that village; before that nobodyhad ever seen a machine for extracting oil from seeds. So people startedguessing what it might be. Some people said it was this and some peo-ple said it was that. When they couldn't come to any conclusion aboutit, they decided to call that so-called "competent one" of the village.When he came and saw that machine he started laughing; then aftersome time he started crying. The people were surprised and asked him,



N O PAIN, N O GAIN 103

"Why is it that first you started laughing and now you are crying? What

was the reason?" So he said,"I started weeping because I am worriedabout you people. When I leave this world, who will come to tell youall these good things, and who will give you all this knowledge? AndI started laughing because this is that rod which God is using to putsoot in His eyes*; and un fortunately , in the Will of G od , it has fallendown from the skies to the earth." People believed him. H e didn't know;bu t the people d idn't know e ither, so they accepted whatever that so-called "competent one" said.

What is our condition? We go to so-called "competent masters," andthey- who have never seen Light within, and have no understandingor knowledge of the Pa th , but who imitate the perfect M asters -tellus to close our eyes and meditate, and they try to show us that theyknow everything about the Path and abou t Go d. But when they them-selves have not seen the Light, what can they teach us? W hat can theygive us? Because only the One W ho has seen Light within-the On eW ho has manifested Light within- only He can show us the Light, and

only He can manifest the Light within us.Master used to say that not even a child is born without sufferingpain. Th e mother who is giving birth t o the child definitely has to su f-fer pain a t the time of giving birth . If you want t o accomplish or achieveanything in this world, you definitely have to su ffer and you definitelyhave to go through pain; unless you suffer pain, you cannot d o any-thing. You can know fro m reading the story of Gu ru Nanak how H emeditated an d worked hard for realizing G od . Fo r eleven years H e saton cushions m ade of stones; in that way He did His meditations. Cou ldHe not get comfortable cushions to sit on? Yes, He had everything;but still He sat on stones, because you cannot find God if you don'tsuffer pain. You have to work very hard t o realize G od . That's whyGu ru N anak had t o suffer so much pa in. It was the same in the livesof Guru Angad and Guru Amardas. W hen Guru Am ardas was seventy-two, H e came to G uru Angad; and after that, until the age of eighty-four- or twelve years continuously in His old age- He served His Mas-ter, working very hard for Him , bringing water from the langar andother menial duties. Similarly, you can read in the story of Baba Sa-wan Singh, how hard He worked to realize God and to become theperfect Master. You already know the story of our beloved Master Kir-pal: how hard He worked in meditation so as to become the perfectOne. Unless you work as hard as ou r Masters have done, you cannotbecome perfect in your meditations, and you cannot realize God.

* Lamp black, to improve the appearance-a prevalent customin India.




Kabir Sahib says that we are the people of the world who eat and

m ake m erry and sleep, but unha ppy is the servan t, Kabir, w ho alwaysremains awake in the remembrance of God, and weeps for Him.

Within him is fire, and outwardly he puts ashes on hisbody.

He has stones around his neck-how can he swim acrossthe bottomless?

Many people leave their homes, give up their families, and even giveup their clothes and pu t ashes on their b ody ; but inside, the fire of allthe desires- he fire of th e five evils- s burning . H ow can they realizeGo d th at way? T hey are wearing a garland of stones arou nd their neck,an d a re trying to swim across this ocean of the w orld. H ow is that pos-sible?

He in whose heart God resides,

Nanak says, "Such a one will be absorbed in Sahaj."

Th e one within whom Go d comes and dwells- within whom G od H im-self m anifests-only he gets such a position. You cann ot ob tain theposition of Sa ha j just by talking, because the position o f S ah aj doesno t lie in the three qu alities(rajagun, tamagun,a n d satogun). If youare involved in these things, you cann ot obtain the position of Sa ha j.But if you rise above and go to the fou rth plane, a nd if yo u meet aperfect Master Who has reached Sach Khand, only He can give youthis Saha j. If you a re not doing what you have read- f you a re alwaysgoing in the opposite direction-then how can you obtain this posi-tion? Y ou c an o btain this position only after going to the fou rth plane,an d only after meeting the perfect Master W ho ha s seen Sach Khand.Only He Who has Himself obtained it can give you this position ofSahaj .

How can a blind man find the way only by being told?

If you take him by his hand, only then can he reach thegoal.

If a blind m an comes to you an d asks you, "Where is such and sucha place?" an d you just tell him, "You g o in this direction a n d you willget there," he won't be able to get to his destination because he is blindand cannot see where to go. Even though you may try your best totell him an d t o explain to him where this path goes and where this street




goes, still he won't be able to find his way. But if you kindly catch hold

of his fingers and take him where he wants to go, only then can heget to his destination; otherwise he will get lost on the way.

In the same way, in this path of spirituality we are blind. W e m ayhave read many books, and from the books we may know that thisis the true path of God, and that by practicing this path of God wecan realize Him an d get to Sach Khand, and all these thingswe mayhave all the knowledge abou t it- ut we cannot get to Sach Khand justby reading books. Only if some perfect Master comes, and we go in

His company, and He catches hold of our hand and puts us on thatpath which we know abo ut from the books, and H e Himself graciouslytakes us to Sach Khand, only then can we reach our destination.

How can the deaf man solve riddles?If you tell him it is night, he will think that you are talk-

ing about day.

No matter how many questions and problems you put before a deafm an , he won't be able to solve any of them: because he won't be ableto hear you. In the same way, if we are not having the company ofthe perfect Master, and if we are not getting any guidance from Him,how can we solve the problem of God?

Gu ru A rjan says that the worldly people, those who are attached t omind and maya, are blind and deaf and dumb. He says that we areblind because, although God is within us, we are not ab le to see Him;

and we are deaf, because God is calling us from within, and H e is sound-ing His sound , but still we are not able to hear H im . This is why GuruSahib is calling us blind and deaf.

How can a dumb man sing the songs?Even if he tries, his voice will break.

No matter how much a dumb man tries to sing, he won't be able to

do it. H e won't be able to get his voice ou t correctly, his voice will breakdown, because he doesn't have the power of speech or the power ofsinging.

How can a cripple wander over the mountains?He can never reach there.

If a crippled one wants to reach the top of the mountain and makea house there, he can never do it- ecause he doesn't have legs o r the




power of walking. On the path of spirituality, we have to go above,

an d we are crippled ones on this path w ithout the guidance of the per-fect Master. So how can we dream of going to Sach Khand a nd mak -ing our a bo de there? Unless we have the guidance and p rotection a ndhelp of th e perfect Master we can never reach the t op of this pat h ofspirituality; an d unless Master admits us into H is Ho m e, we can neverreach there.

The poor one prays to the Merciful Creator:

Nanak says, "Such ones can swim only by Your Grace."

Now Gu ru A rjan Dev Ji says, "Humbly I am making a request to You,th at You shower grace on all these souls: because the souls ca n get liber-ation only by Your Grace."

He Who is the helper and always accompanies him, is notremembered by him.

He loves those who are his enemies.

We d o not have love and affection for the Lo rd, W ho is helping usat every mom ent, an d in our every work. W e do n ot have love for H im,but we have love for ou r dear one s-ou r children, who are alwayscriticizing us, a nd w ho co m e to us only when they need us. W hen theirpurpo se is served, then they d o not care abo ut us. But still , we havemuch love for them , and we don't have love for G od , W ho is ou r pro-

tector at every moment.

He dwells in the house of sand,And indulges in numerous pleasures of Maya.

O ur body is just like a house made of san d. You cann ot say how longtha t hou se of sand will survive, because a ho use of sa nd is no t perm a-nent o r stable; wh o know s when it will be turned i nto du st? It is thesame with ou r body. W e cann ot rely upo n it; we cannot say how longwe are going to live in this wo rld. W ho knows w hen this breath ing willstop a nd we will have to leave this world empty-handed? T ha t is whyHe says that we cannot rely upon our own self.

W e are intoxicated by the worldly pleasures, an d we have forgo ttentha t o ur body is just like a house of sand , an d we do not know w henwe will have to leave this world. Farid Sah ib says th at a c rane was play-ing with the fishes, a nd af ter catching them , he was throwing th em i nt othe air, and then again catching them and eating them. He was very




happy playing like tha t. Suddenly a hawk came from the sky, and caught

hold of the crane ; and when the crane saw that the hawk was coming,he forgot abou t his enjoym ent-he forgot abo ut playing with thefishes-he was worried abou t his own self. Bu t, in the Will of God ,the hawk came and took that crane, and the crane also lost his life.

In the same way, we are intoxicated by Maya, and we are playingwith all the things in this world, enjoying the worldly pleasures. Wehave forgotten that there is some power higher th an us which can com eat any moment and take hold of us; and that is death. Who knows

when death might come, and who knows at that time what we mightbe doing? When death comes, we forget all the happiness and enjoy-ments of this world, because at tha t time we are always anxious to saveour own life. But we cannot postpone that; death can never be post-poned.

In his mind he believes in having determination,But he never remembers death.

If you want to practice this Path of the Masters, you need to have strongdetermination. If you have strong determination an d faith in the Mas-ter and the P at h, only then will you be able to save yourself fro m theNegative Power. The Negative Power cannot harm those who are strongin their devotion.

Enmity, opposition, lust, anger, attachment, falsehoodBad deeds, greed, and deceit are loved by him.

Now the question is, why do we not meet God? It is because we havemany faults within us: we are jealous of o thers , we have enm ity to-wards others; we have lust; we have ange r, greed, attachment, egoism.We are deceitful; we have every bad quality. Because of those bad qual-ities, God does not give us His darshan.We complain that we havebeen initiated for a long time, but still we are not able to see Him within.Sometimes we lose faith in the Master also . But we never question o urown self; we never ask ourselves if we have ever tried to give up thesethings. Have we ever tried to get rid of all these evils? Have we evertried to maintain chastity and purity within? When we do not try tomaintain chastity and purity within, when we do not try to get rid ofthe evils which we have within, how can we expect the pure God tocome and reside within us?

Tulsi Sahib said, 0 dear ones, if you want to see God, you mustremove all these things from within yourselves. You must remove gam-




bling, looking at other people's wives, lust, anger, and all the five evils.

Only if you will remove all these, can you have His darshan."

In this way he has lived in many births-Nanak says, 0 Lord, save him by Your Grace."

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji says that all this enmity, antagonism, deceit-fulness, lust, anger-all these evils which we are suffering now-wedo not have all this only in the human body. We had these evils in our

previous bodies also; ever since we got separated from Him, we havebeen suffering from all this. But up till now, we never got the opportu-nity to understand these things, and to get rid of them. That is whyGuru Arjan is making a request on our behalf to the Lord: "Oh Lord,now that we realize that we have all these things within us, You shouldshower Grace on us so that we can get rid of all this, and be able tomeet You. Without Your Grace, we can never become free of all thesethings .

You are the Lord and I pray to You-The soul and body are Your Creation.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji is praying to the Almighty Lord; He says, 0Lord, whatever we see in this world, that is all Yours-the body, andall that has been created in this world, has been made by Your Will.Whatever comes in this world, comes in Your Will, and whatever goes

from this world, that also happens in Your Will. All this creation isin Your Will."

You are our Mother and Father, and we are Your children.With Your grace, we have great happiness.

0 Lord, You are our Father, You are our Mother, and we are Yourchildren. And only by Your Grace can we have happiness on this planeof the world."

No one knows Your limits, 0 God;You are greater than the greatest.

0 Lord, no one can know Your limits, and no one can sing Yourpraise, because You are the only One Who knows about Your glory.Those upon whom you shower Your grace, only they can understand.Your glory, and only they can sing Your praise." And then He says,



N O PAIN, N O GAIN 109

0 Lo rd, You a re the greatest of all. You are greater than all the gods

and goddesses, and You are everything."

Everything is in Your string:All that happens is under Your orders.

Whatever has been c reated, whatever we see in this world, is "sewn inYour thread ." T ha t means, "All these things are attached to Y ou, an dYou have control over them."

You alone know Your glory and limits;Nanak says, 'Your slave ever sacrifices to You."

Gu ru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says,0 Lord, only You can understandYour intelligence; only You can understand Your P at h. ButI sacrificemyself on You a ndI lay down my life before Y ou." K abir Sahib says,"Only God knows the glory of God, Who has created this creation;

or those o n whom God showers grace, or those who become the slavesof God; only they know the real glory of God."

Masters come into this world as benefactors, and they always workfor the benefit of the souls. Once there was a holy ma n who was calledby the people as a benefactor, because he was always thinking aboutthe benefit of the people. It once happened that there were some thievesin that are a, and they thought, "Let us go and see tha t Master, whetherHe will work for our benefit or not; because people say that he is a

benefactor who always works for the benefit of the people. Let us goan d see whether he will help us o r not." So they went to him , a nd said ,"M ahatm a Ji , one of our companions is sick today , a nd we would likeyou to help us; we need you to come with us, because we are goingto steal something from somebody's house." So he thought, "On theon e han d, the work which they are going to d o is not good"; but hethought, since they were also people, he should go and work for theirbenefit also. Anyw ay, he thought of something, an d he took a conch

with him, and he went with them.So the thieves went to one person's house, an d they collected all thewealth. As soon as they were ready to leave that house with all thosethings, that Mahatma blew the conch; when people heard that sound,everybody woke up, and when the thieves saw that, they ran away.When the people of the house saw the "benefactor," the "sadhu," the"Mahatma," they wondered what he was doing there with all that wealthwhich the thieves were just going to take; and if he had come therefor stealing, why did he blow the conch? So he told the whole story




of why he was doing that. H e said, "My w ork is to w ork fo r the bene-

fit of the people; I am a b enefac tor. In the first place, I w orked f orthe benefit of the thieves; they wanted me to come with them and Idid. On the other hand, when I saw that these people were going totake things fr om your house, I was concerned a bo ut you, a nd I workedfor you; soI blew the conc h. It may so und silly an d foolish, b ut still,since I am a benefactor S ad hu , and I always work for the benefit ofpeople, that's why I did this." And he said, "I can tell you the placewhere the thieves stay, an d if you w ant, y ou ca n take the police there,

an d the police can capture the thieves." So the police did, an d o n thenext day when th at benefactor came near th e thieves, th e thieves be-came very angry with him and said, "We had heard that you were abenefactor. But what did you do? You didn't work for our benefitInstead you worked for the benefit of other people, and because oftha t we ar e in jail. T ha t is no t just." But he said, "No, w ait Ju st thin kit over. I worked for your benefit, and that is why I agreed to comewith you; you w anted m e to come with you, a nd I did. But on the other

han d, whenI was in the house, my working for you r benefit w as over;after that I worked for the benefit of othe rs, and th at is why you arein jail."

So whenever the M asters come, they always work for the benefit ofour souls. Outwardly, many times when the Masters are working forour benefit, people don't understand that, and they think that theM asters are silly o r foolish. But they d o not realize that a lthough tha tM aster is outw ardly working like other hu m an beings- H e ea ts, sleeps

an d does all the other things which h um an beings do-

within H e is al-ways working for the benefit of the souls. H e continually works to-ward the union of the souls with the O versoul; tha t is His m ain pur-pose and mission in coming into this world; H e has n o othe r.



Givingup God,who i j thc Giver, thosewhoget atlrached t oothr thing5-

N a n a k smp, f '~uchne5 wiUnew= e

~ b r g e n % gen things,he ymres the~z,Andfor one tbng he 10.m his aith.Jt i edzd not;giveow thing, m d ook

away thetmW ~ W o d tb ooLdo ?

7 h s e who are mad& o obey hi5 o r h r ~Nanuk says, 7hey964 d hifigs.




W h at,, drtd'4 and with great: -

t doewtget tvujtedmymh.?/e who place5 ~hlizgjefare the owner,

-God makej himjiurfaldhappyNgnrak jay(, G D ~j w f i y ~ g r a ~ ~ o u ~ .

h ca~achment j f7t4nya are 4 nr-

ioU J iadi ;

now thL+uure ; h ~hey are d.U.temporary.

7he mangets attached t o the ihgdowof th tree -



ASHTAPADI FIVE 113

Hewho love, a traveler will

gettwth~izg;

Don't h e t t r a v f i l e ~ .ohmy m~nd, h ovefor theWaam 4

God j ive5 happiimqX & a k says,jra~iousLyGod a~aches

m w o ~ i t n ~ e y.Tm~hablerb the body, wealth,afid en-

t irt fWLily;

Pevi,hable n n ego, a ~ ~ h 1 / ~ . e f i 4lnd mayn.Tenj hcrbleare kingdomi,youtlz,w d t h

w d property;3eviihabLew e u j t ~ n dveadfirlflyer.?eriihable are char~ots, l ephmt j ,horm,

~ L e a s b d .3evishablem md m * worldlyl o wand




Vain are theC M ~ Vwh&chee the b e m u

food.

ward~ t h ~ wealth.vain is thebody whc~hoe, r t o ~

workfor t h ebenefit-afothn-Vol;n25 the noje whzch ~ d slearum.

AU is vain wzthom~ mdentondhg Uim.Warn/' iay5,a ody whzchrewmberi

theNamm theCord 25 ~ ~ c c e s $ i l .tr,eless is tht: Lfe 4 he world1 p s o n ;



ASHTAPADI FIVE 115

yow mn he home a ?u OM without.the 3 w t h

W k a k ,a&, I m c v f i ~ ey k yon them.He whoteachesone th'ng b ~ t foes.SOW-




reridu-3 Hi, e a c h i i s the worldget/Ltb-



ASHTAPADI FIVE 117

ge ir beyond aU wifdomand ckverneq



Chapter 5

On Truth and Vanity

Giving up God, Who is the Giver, those who get attachedto other things-

Nanak says, "Such ones will never be successful, and with-out Naam they will lose their honor."

In this sloka Gu ru A rjan Dev Ji is lovingly telling us tha t G od is thegiver to everybody an d H e is the Em peror to all the creatures in thiscreation. And He has given us all the things which we are enjoying.He says, "You see how He is giving food to everybody; how He hasgiven all things to everybody. H e is the only Giver. H e has given usthese trees, and He has given us the fire to use and He has givenus this earth to live on and He has given us this sky to live un-der, and in this way, He has given us all things. It is a pity thatwe forget the O ne W ho h as given us all things, a nd we are in a verysorrowful state. We go and waste our time in worldly pleasures andin that way we are not appreciating the things which God has givenus. T hat is why the Gu ru says that those who forget Go d W ho has givenus all these things, and forgetting Him indulge in the worldly plea-sures, their hon or is lost: because they do not find peace here, and more-over, a fter they leave this world, the angels of th e Negative Pow er givethem a very hard tim e. Tha t is why Gur u N anak says,0 , Nanak, wewill not be set free if we d o not have the N aam , a nd only this truthwill take you across this world."

W hen M asters come in this world, they always tell us, "You shouldnever lie- you sho uld always be truthful," because tru th , aft er all, istrut h; t ha t is why they tell us, "Always be truth ful; d o the meditationon Shabd Naam, and always make your mind si t for meditation,whether he likes it or not." M editation o n Naa m is the only tru th , andthat will always exist.



O N T R U T H AND VANITY 119

In the olden days there was a perfect M aha tma W ho was once in-

vited by some dear ones to visit them. Since in those days they didn'thave any good means of transportation, that M aha tma started to walk.There was one greedy man who thought that he could get somethingfrom the Mahatma, so he accompanied Him. That Mahatma had takenthree stuffed chapatis with him, to eat on the way. When they cameto a resting place, the Mahatma told that greedy man to watch hisclothes because he wanted to bathe in the pond . W hile the Mahatm awas bathing, that greedy man thought that the Mahatma might have

some things in His clothes. So he searched in the clothes but he couldn'tfind anyth ing, because there was nothing there; bu t when he saw thatthere were three chapatis, he ate one of them and left the other two.

When the M ahatm a came back, he was surprised to see only two cha-patis there, because he knew that there were three chapatis when hestarted. So he asked him, "Did you eat the chapati?" He said, "No.I didn't eat the chapati.I didn't even know w hat you had in your bag."The M aha tma said, "All right." H e gave one chapati to the m an, andHe ate the other one . Again they started walking, and as they were walk-ing, they came to a river. Both of them were crossing it, when sud-denly that greedy ma n fo und himself drow ning and cried for help. T heM aha tma said, "You should remember God, W ho has created you. Ifyou will remember Him, He will definitely help you, and He willdefinitely make you cross this river." Because that greedy man had hada little bit of the influence of tha t Master, he obeyed H im , and startedremembering and praying to God. So God helped him across that river.When both of them had crossed, the Mahatma said, "All right, youshould be grateful to G od W ho has saved your life, and W ho has madeyou cross this river. Now you should swear by Him , and tell me if youate that chapati which was missing." He said, "No. I swear by GodI didn't eat any chapati.I ate only the one which You gave me .I don'tknow about that missing chapati." The Mahatm a kept quiet, becauseHe was very patient, and he said, "All right."

Again they started walking a nd they cam e to one forest which wasburning. And again it was very difficult to cross that burning forestwithout the help of God. So the Mahatma told that man, "You see,again we are caught up in a situation where we need God's help. Remem-ber Him Who has created you and Who saved you from that river;and if you remember Him , He will definitely help you in crossing thisfire." Because there was no substitute, that greedy man again startedremembering G od and praying for help. So God again started helpinghim, and he crossed through the fire of that burning fo rest. When they




were safe, the M ah atm a said, "Now you should be even mo re grateful

to G od , because H e has saved you twice-once in the river an d oncein crossing this fire. You tell me now if you a te that chapati. You shou ldremember Him, and understanding Him as before you, you shouldswear by Him ." H e said, "No, I swear by Him ,I never ate tha t chap ati.I am telling you truly tha tI ate only that chap ati which you gave me."Th at M ah atm a kept quiet, because H e was still very patient. T he M a-hatm a w anted to be gracious on him, an d H e knew that unless he wouldspeak the tru th , he wouldn't be able to knock o n the doo r of G od ; if

he would not give up speaking lies, he would not be able to enter thehom e of G od . I t was because H e wanted to be gracious on him tha the was doing this.

They again started walking, a nd the M ah atm a was trying His bestto m ake tha t person speak the truth, bu t he would no t. So at one point,the M aha tm a created some maya; he mad e some gold and other valu-able things, an d divided them into three pa rts. H e said, "You see, dearone , G od has given us these valuable things; bu t they a re in three p arts.On e part is for me, another o ne is for you, and the third o ne is fortha t de ar on e who has eaten the chapa ti. So now also there is a chance.Tell me the truth: W hat happened t o that missing chap ati? You shouldswear by God, and remembering Him, and being grateful to Him be-cause He saved you many times, you should tell me."

You know tha t we, the worldly people, can change very soo n. W henwe see th at we get som e ma terial help o r things, we are ready t o sacri-fice ou r principles a nd everything. M any people use the nam e of G odonly for swearing by Him, and for taking promises. It is said in onehymn that even though God is the creator, and He is the giver of allthings, still people put God to tests, and, although the name of Godis the only thing which will liberate souls, still people use that nameof G od only fo r swearing by Him . So that greedy m an , because he sawthat he would get a lot of wealth just by telling the truth, finally didtell the truth: "Master, Mahatma Ji, beforeI said tha t I didn't eat thechapati , but now, remembering Him Who has created me, Who hasgiven me H is protection, an d saved my life m any times,I swear by Him

that I am the on e who ate that chap ati ." And by tell ing that truth hegot that extra wealth.

On e day you will have to speak the truth . You may g o on lying, butyou can't lie forever. Jus t t o hide one lie, you will have to say manylies. But if you speak truth in the beginning, then you won't have tolie. So that is why we should always remain true to our own self; be-cause the truth always wins.




After getting ten things, he ignores them,And for one thing he loses his faith.

Now you see tha t G od h as given ma ny things- umerous things- othe soul. Ever since the soul got birth in to this w orld, G od has beengiving man y things to th e soul. As soo n as he gets birth, G o d startsthe source of milk for him. He brings the milk into the breastsof the mother, and in that way, He is taking care of the soul . Andwhen we get a little older, in our childhood, God provides us with

our brothers and sisters, and they give us love and affection. Andwhen we grow a little bit older, in our youth, God gives us the un-derstanding of how we have to deal with things in this world, howwe have to work in this world, and how to be comfortable, etc.He gives us understanding and knowledge of all these things. Infact, He is the only one who gives us all the things of this world;all the things for our comfort, etc. And even after getting all these,we sti ll complain to Hi m . W hen we do not get even on e thing th at we

want , we blame H im. W e say that G od is not jus t, and H e has notgiven us this thing. W hen H e doesn't give us som ething we wa nt, evenif it is just one thing, we forget all the things that we have receivedfro m H im , just for the sake of that one lit tle thing, and say that H eis not just. We d o not appreciate the ten things -or the ma ny things-

which H e has given t o us, an d instead of ap preciating them , we blameHim for just one little thing.

If He did not give one thing, and took away the ten,What could the fool do?

G o d is almighty, and H e can do anything He wants. Fo r one little thing,a person blames God because He has not given it to him; if, insteado f giving that l it tle thing to the man , if God-because H e can d oeverything- if G o d were to tak e back all the things which H e has givento us, then what would this foolish man do?

Always bow down before Him,In front of Whom no force works.

In f ron t of G od your force can d o nothing. T here is n o court whereyou can go a nd file a complaint against Go d. There is nobo dy in thisworld who is equal to G od o r who is higher th an H im w here you cango an d say that G od is not just to you. So when your force cannot d oanything against H im , an d there is no place where you can go an d com -




plain against Him -in fron t of such a Go d, the only thing which you

can do is to remain in His refuge. By offering your prayers to Him,you ca n get that which you ca nno t get by applying force to H im. You rforce will d o nothing to H im .

Those who find the Lord to be sweet in their hearts,Get all the happiness.

O ne who meditates o n Shabd Naa m a nd w ho does not unders tand that

meditat ion as a burden but always enjoys doing i t , and who alwaysfeels the sweetness of it- ecause Naam is the sweetest thing in thisworld-one who is med itat ing o n Shabd Na am in this way ca n easilymanifest the Master within him, an d daily he ca n have His darsh an.

T h e needle is in search o f iro n. S he doesn't realize tha t she herselfis mad e o ut of iron, but sti ll goes o n searching for iron. In th e sam eway the fish remains in the water, b ut still she can not quench her thirst.She doesn't know tha t just by open ing her mo uth , she will be able to

drink the water in which she is living. We are like the fish, and likethe needle which is in search of iro n. G o d is within us, bu t instead o flooking within and contacting Him within, we understand H im as resid-ing in some holy books, or l iving somewhere on top of a mountain,or somewhere in the forest .

As a m atter of fact , Go d is in search of a m an . Master used to saythat God is always searching for a man. If anyone would become ama n, G od would come there to see him. W e have not yet become m an .If we would become m an , Go d would come an d f ind us, because Go dis within us, a nd we just need t o look within t o see H im .

Those who are made to obey His orders-Nanak says, They get all things.

Now H e says tha t all the powers in this world bow their head s in frontof those who meditate on Sha bd Naam , who manifest the Shabd Naamwithin them . Master Saw an Singh Ji used to say that if by doing ou rpractices we get all the powers of this wo rld, it is not g oo d th at , usingthose supernatural powers, we pe rform miracles such as drinking allthe water of the sea , e tc . H e used t o say that a l l the beloveds of G odare very near t o Go d- ruly they are on e with G od- u t t hey d o no tgive their secret to others. Even tho ugh they have become on e with Go d,still when they live in this world, they always say th at they ar e the lowone s, a nd they always present themselves as the lowest creatures o f thisworld.



O N TRUTH AND VANITY 123

He gives His countless capital to man,Who eats, drinks, and with great pleasure and joy uses it.

To whom God is gracious, He gives all His capital; He gives a lot tothem. He gives them so much that even if they go o n spending it dayand night, it will never end. His treasure is limitless.

If He takes back some of what He has given,The ignorant one feels angry.

We receive only accord ing to what we have done in the pas t. Whateverkarma s o r whatever actions we have done, we get their reaction only.Whatever we have sown in the past, we are reaping that now, and weget only those things to eat and to enjoy. But still we blame God ifwe do not get anything fro m Him . W e say, "God is no t just to u s, H eis not gracious on us, because He is not giving us that thing w hich Heis giving to som eone else." But we do not realize tha t whatever we get,

that is all the reaction of our own past karmas. God doesn't give usany thing - we get whatever we have sown in ou r past. But being con-trolled by ignorance, we say all these things and blame God.

Now he himself loses his reputation, and he doesn't gettrusted again.

If we do not keep our promise, we lose our reputation. Suppose wehave borrowed some money from someone, on the promise to repayhim after a certain time.If we do no t d o that, we lose ou r reputationbecause we have not kept our promise. Then if we want to borrowmoney fr om the sam e person, and we go and ask him t o give us thatmoney, he will never give it to us, because now he doesn't believe in us.

In the same way, every time the soul is in the womb of the mo ther ,she promises to G od , 0 God , take me ou t from this painful place, andI will always tithe in Your Nam e.I will always do the meditation onYour Name. I will not develop any bad karmas during this life." G odhears that prayer, and H e always takes the soul ou t of that painful place;but w hen the soul gets ou t, she forgets abou t Go d, an d never remem -bers to do His devotion.

We have broken the promise many times. Life after life we have beenbreaking the promise tha t we made to Go d, an d in tha t way we havelost ou r repu tation. Tha t is why He says here, "Once the soul has losther reputa tion, who will believe in her?" But still, God is gracious: eventhou gh we break the promises we have made to H im m any times, still




G od knows that we are poor an d helpless, and H e is gracious. Th at

is why H e always showers grace on us, a nd H e always helps us in do -ing our meditation.

He who places things before the Owner, and obeys His or-der, surrendering to Him-

Now lovingly H e tells us tha t we should sacrifice to G od all the thing swhich we have received from H im , an d always remain in His Will. Gu ru

Gobind Singh had four sons, and all four were killed by the Mogularm y. W hen H e heard that all of his sons had been killed, H e did no tbecome sad. H e became grateful to M aster and to G od, and said, "Youhave given me these fou r sons t o take care of , an d I have been doingtha t. Now , w hen You have taken them back, I am worryless, and to-night I will sleep without worries, because I no longer have to take careof the sons which Y ou ha d given to m e." H e didn't have even a singletrace of sadness. W hen H e met His fam ily, He saw everybody else ex-

cept the fo ur son s, an d all the dear ones told H im th at everybody elsehad come back but the four sons had been killed. The other peopleof the family started weeping because they had lost them, but GuruGo bind Singh didn't weep. H e said, "What if fou r sons are sacrificedfor the sa ke of all the sons? All the Sang at are my children; they areall my sons."

-God makes him fourfold happy;Nanak says, God is always gracious.

If we always remain in the will of God, if we always accept His willan d H is orders, and always remain happ y in His will, then G od givesus much more.

The attachments of Maya are of various kinds;Know this for sure; that they are all temporary.

This May a in which m an is entangled has been created in man y fo rm s.Th e only way to get ou t of it is by taking the hu m an body an d takingNaam; only with the help of Naam can we get out of this Maya. Aslong as we d o not get N aam an d utilize this hum an bod y, we will haveto come back to this Maya, and remain in i t .

The man gets attached to the shadow of the tree-When it vanishes, he repents in his heart.




Those who are attached to the things of Maya, their condition is just

like those who love the shadow of a tree. You know that the shadowof a tree is not permanent; when night comes, the shadow of the treegoes away. So the one who is in love with that shadow of a tree, herepents when tha t shadow goes away. In the same way, those who areattached to the things of Maya also repent, because these things areperishable, and one day they will be destroyed.

Whatever is seen is perishable;

Still the blind man is attached to it.Whatever you see with your eyes- our son , daughter, wife, property-all these things mus t leave this world on e day; nothing can remain inthis world forever. And even when we see all these things leaving, stillwe are blind and do not realize the truth . We see tha t our companionsare not pe rmanent, one day they all must leave; but still we think t ha tdeath is only for other people, and we are never going to die.

He who loves a traveler will get nothing;Don't love a traveler.

Those who love travelers will repent in the end; what c an you get fr oma traveler? One day the traveler has t o leave, so if you have love andaffection for him, it will be of no use. One day he has to go. In thesame way, we ar e all like travelers in this world, an d if we are in love

with each o the r, o r if we have love for the things of the world, we willnot get anything fro m that love; one day either we have to go or thethings have to go. Even if we have love for our kin and folk, still wewon't be ab le to m aintain tha t love afte r we have left this world. Thereis nothing which can go with us except Naam. Naam is our onlycom pan ion. E ither the mother will leave the so n, o r the son will leavethe mother; o r the father will have to leave the daughter, or the daugh -ter will have to leave the father; the husband will leave the wife, orthe wife will leave the husb and. On e day everybody will leave the o the rcom panions ; only Naam is our real com panion. Tha t is why, if we arehaving love and affection for the travelers-all the things in thisworld -i t is useless.

Oh my mind, the love for the Naam of God gives hap-piness;

Nanak says, graciously God attaches man to Himself.




Out of all the loves and affections, which is the love which gives us

eternal hap piness? O nly our love with Go d gives us eternal happiness;only tha t love gives us peace. But this love which we have for G od can -not be grown in the fields, and we canno t get that from any me rchant'ssho p. Gu ru N anak says, "Only they can get that love on w hom H e isgracious."

Perishable are the body, wealth, and entire family;Perishable are ego, attachment, and maya.

W hatever you see-b ody , m ind, wealth, family-all is perishable.Whatever egotism or pride you feel, that also is perishable.

Perishable are kingdoms, ~ o u t h , wealth, and property;Perishable are lust and dreadful anger.

Power, praise, wealth, lust, anger- ll these things- hey also areperishable.

Perishable are chariots, elephants, horses, and clothes;Perishable is Maya-by getting himself attached to which,

man becomes pleased.

Even if we have elephants, horses, an d all sorts of wealth an d pro p-erty, still it is all perishable.

Perishable are deceit, worldly love, and pride;Perishable is the pride of one's own self.

T o deceive others, an d to love others- xcept for the love of G od- fyou love others, and are proud of your position, a nd say, "I a m thesupreme one v-all these things are also perishable.

The shelter of the Master and the devotion of the Lord areimperishable;

Nanak says, 0 man, live by meditating upon God's feet.

W ha t is th a t which is stable , which will always rem ain, w hich will neverbe destroyed? If you can get the company of any perfect Ma ha tm a an dget Naam fro m H im , those ar e the only things which will always re-m ain in this wo rld. K abir Sa hib says, "If y ou see an y Saint passing by,follow H im. If H e looks at you, He will make you pu re, a nd if youspend some time in His com pany , He will make you m editate o n Naa m."




Vain are the ears which listen to others' criticism,

Vain are the hands which steal others' wealth.

Once a Mahatm a went to a king, whose nam e was Ajassa r, to ask fo ra donation for his langar. But tha t king played a joke on Him ; insteadof giving Him something useful for His langar, he gave Him some horsedung: he was making a fool of Him. But the Mahatma was very pa-tient, and H e accepted whatever donation was given to Him , and wenthome. It is the law that any donation we give goes on increasing and

increasing unless it is used. At the time of donation, it grows by ten-fold. And if it is not used it goes on increasing and increasing untilit is used in some cause. So because nobody was using th at horse du ng ,it went o n increasing and increasing. After some time there was a bigpile of horse dung near the Ashram of the Mahatma.

A long time passed, and one day when King Ajassar was passing bythe Ashram , he noticed a lot of horse dung. "Let m e go and see howmany horses this person has," he thoug ht. But he foun d the same M a-

hatma there and no horses, nor any other animals. He was very sur-prised, and asked the Mahatma, "Mahatma Ji, tell me why you haveso much horse du ng, even though you don't have any animals- can-not see any horses here." The Mahatma said, "Yes, one of my dearones has given me this donation, and sinceI have not used i t, it is grow-ing and growing. A nd it will go on growing until tha t dear one findssome way to use it. If he will not find some way to reduce it, he willhave to ea t it up , an d in that way he will get the fruits of donat ing this

horse du ng to me."Then King Ajassar realized that it was he who had done this. Thenhe understood how bad it was to play a joke on the M ahatm a. H e fellat His feet and asked for forgiveness, and he asked Him if there wasany way to get rid of that karma. So the Mahatma said, "Yes, thereare two ways: either you eat this horse dung and finish it, or makepeople criticize you. This horse dung will go an d fall in the mo uth ofthose w ho criticize you. When this is finished you will become free fromthis bad karma which you have done."

So King Ajassar tho ught , "Who is going to criticize me?I am a goodking; I am a just king. Everybody praises me and many people wor-ship me. What canI d o to ma ke people criticize me?" A fter thinkinga lot he did this: Although he was an old man, he forced one younggirl to com e an d live with him in the palace. So people started criticiz-ing him: "Look a t our king He used to be very just an d noble, andthe father of all the people in his kingdom. But look what he has doneHe has forced a young girl to live with him, and he is enjoying with her "




But in the palace the king was not doing an ything like tha t. H e was

respecting th at young girl as a daughter a nd he treated her as his daugh-ter . But still the people were criticizing him, an d as they w ent o n criticiz-ing him, the horse dung went on reducing. Almost everybody in hiskingdom criticized him, so almost all the ho rse dun g was finished. Th eking came to the M ahatma's place and he saw tha t there was still som edun g left there. He asked why, and the M ahatm a said, "There is onecarpen ter who has not tak en p art in the criticism against you. If youcan make him criticize you, only then this will be finished; otherwise

you will have to eat this dung."So the king changed his form. He wore some torn clothes and hedisguised himself as a paup er. H e went to meet tha t carpenter late atnight, when he was working. T he king said, "Do you know what o urking has do ne? H e has forced a young girl to com e and live with himin the palace an d he is enjoying with her " As soo n as he spo ke thosewords, the carpenter too k on e stick an d said, "Do you see wh atI havein my han d? I have a stick.I don't want to take part in the criticismof the king; what he has d on e he will have to suffer for, a nd what wear e doing we will have t o suffer for. So why shou ld we criticize oth ers?If you will not stop criticizing him, I will give you a good beating."

So the king came back d isappointed, because he was not able to m akethe carpenter crit icize him. So he came back t o the M aha tm a a nd re-quested him to find some other way. So the M ah atm a replied, "Sincethe carpenter was the only one who didn't criticize you, his share isstill here. Y ou didn't succeed in persuad ing him , s o now it is your tu rn .You mu st eat this dung a nd finish it, otherwise it will go o n increasingand increasing, unless it is used. And1 am not going to use it ;I don'thave any place to use it. So you eat it." Then King Ajassar realizedhow bad i t was for him to play a joke o n the M aha tma . H e ate thathorse dung, and in that way he became free of that karma.

So regarding King A jassar, G uru N anak Sahib has written tha t KingAjassar realized how bad a deed he had done and he saw that if hewould no t finish the dung , he would get much punishment in the courtof the Lord.

Vain are the eyes which see the beauty of another man'swife,

Vain is the tongue which tastes forbidden food.

Useless are those eyes who see other women with lust; useless is thetongu e which is eating meat an d othe r bad things. O ne should neverlook at an othe r man's wife with lust in his eyes, but should always re-main in the company of the Master.



ON TRUTH A N D VA NIT Y 129

Vain are the legs which run after sins;

Vain is the mind which tempts us toward others' wealth,

Those legs are useless which lead us to sins. And useless is our mindwhich leads us to usurp othe r people's rights. This is called greed; a ndit is useless.

Vain is the body which does not work for the benefit ofothers;

Vain is the nose which smells pleasures.

If afte r having such a good body, we do not use it for the sake of o thers,then our body is also useless. And in the same way, our nose is forsmelling the od or of the N aam . A nd if, instead of smelling N aa m , weare smelling worldly pleasures an d other bad smells, that is also useless.

Master Sawan Singh used to tell His own story: once in the monthof April He was going some place when suddenly He started feeling

a beautiful smell coming from one direction. At once He felt much hap -piness within H imself. He thought in His mind th at H e was not goingto get any increment in His job, nor any son, nor any other worldlyhappiness, so why should He be so hap py? T he smell was increasingan d increasing. After walking for some time, H e cam e to a place whereone intoxicated devotee of God was sitting; then Master Sawan Singhrealized that the smell was coming from his body ; an d tha t devotee toldHim, "Few are the noses who can really smell the smell of God."

All is vain without understanding Him.Nanak says, The body which remembers the Naam of the

Lord is successful.

Useless is the body in which God is not manifested. Which is the bestbody , an d which is the body which can be called useful? Only tha t bodywithin which the meditation of Naam is going on ; the body of one whois having the rem em brance of Master with every single bre ath . If w henthey are breathing in they are remembering G od , and when they arebreathing out then also they are having the remembrance of God-only such a body can be called useful.

Useless is the life of the worldly person;How can he become a True One without the Truth?

T he life of the worldly people-those who do not d o the devotion ofthe Lo rd- is not counted in any good place; whatever time they live




in this world is a11 useless. Kabir Sahib says that the worldly person

who doesn't do the devotion of G od , or is against God- is con ditionis like a store of garlic: Even thoug h it may be very f ar awa y fro m y ou ,still you will smell the fragrance of it. In the same way, even if theworldly person who is against God is living far away from you, stillyou can tell that he is present in that area.

Kabir Sahib says that you should not go in the company of such aworldly person w ho doesn't believe in G od , an d if you see him, youshould run away fr om him ; because even if you do n't touch his bod y,

there are many chances that you m ay get a stain from his body . K abirSahib says, "What is there to say about going in the company of aworldly person? You should never go in his company, and moreoveryou should never let him come in your company. If you see him com-ing, you should run away from him, because your whole generationcan be stained -only by his fragra nce."

Useless is the body of the blind without Naam.From his mouth comes foul smell.

Those who do not have the light of Naam within them are blind andtheir body is useless; and a bad smell comes from their mouth.

Without Sirnran his days and nights pass away in vain,As the crop perishes without rain.

Now the M aster lovingly explains to us by giving us a bea utiful e xam -ple: Jus t as, if it doesn't r ain, all the plants a re dried u p an d we can no thave a good cro p-in the same way, if we are not doing Sim ran, ourdays a nd nights a re passing like those of tha t field which is no t gettingrain.

Without the meditation of the Lord all worship is useless,As the wealth of the miser remains useless.

Th e worship an d the practices performed by the worldly ma n who isno t doing the dev otion of N aam ar e all useless, just like the w ealth ofthe m iser is useless. Th e wealth of th e miser is useless because he do esnot spend it , nor does he allow his children to spend it .

Once a Rajasthani farmer went into an Arabian country, and sawmany date trees. He had never seen them before, because they don'thave them in R ajasthan. SO he climbed one tree an d a te some dates.Jus t as he was going to com e dow n, he was very surprised to see tha t



O N TRUTH A N D VANITY 131

the date tree was very tall-when he looked down he was very afraid .He was not sure whether he would be able to reach the bottom safelyor n ot. So he requested to his Master,0 Master, if You will take medown safely, I will donate one hundred bedsheets to Your Ashram."Then he started down. When he was halfway down, he looked downand he felt a little bit relieved because the distance was decreased. Sohe thoug ht in his mind: "One hundred bed sheets are too many.I thinkfifty will be enough for the Ashram." He again started down. Whenhe got a little bit farther down, he saw that the distance was still decreas-

ing, so he said, "Well, fifty also seems a lot, because Master doesn'tneed much. I think twenty-five will do." He con tinued coming down,and thinking like tha t, until he cam e to five bedsheets. At last he camedown safely; but when he went into the market t o buy those five bed-sheets, and saw that it was going to cost him a lot, he thought, "I don'tthink Master needs all these bedsheets-I think one will do, becauseHe only needs one. There a re many other people w ho will donate bed-sheets, soI think one is enough." So he bought one bedsheet and went

to the Master. When Master saw him with one bedsheet He said, "Youknow th at in this Ashram God is very gracious, andI have everythinghere. Why did you bother to bring this one bedsheet to me? You musthave spent a lot of money; you should take it back." So that dear onesaid, "Master, I am telling you the truth: WhenI was needing Yourhelp, I promised thatI would give one hundred bedsheets, and as myfear went on decreasing, the donation also went on decreasing; andat last I have got only one, instead of one hundred. And if You willnot accept this,I think that I will take it back to my home; so Youhad better accept it." This is the condition of the misers.

Hail, Hail those within whom the Naam of the Lord ismanifested:

Nanak says, I sacrifice myself on them.

Blessed is the devotee who is doing the devotion of the Lord day andnight. The Guru says, "I sacrifice myself on him who is involved indoing the devotion of the Lord day and night." You should never thinktha t whatever meditation you are doing regularly, or whatever effortsyou are trying to make to please Him, that all that is useless and no-body is keeping account of it. Master is keeping account in His trea-sury of all your meditation, and one day you will get the benefit of it.Even i f we attend to that Shabd and hear the Sound Curren t for onesecond, then also ou r attendance is marked in Sach Khand. Gu ru G o-bind Singh Ji says, "One who wholeheartedly remembers Him even forone moment doesn't fall in the noose of the Negative Power."




He who teaches one thing but does something else-

He has fragrant words on his tongue, but no love in hisheart.

Those whose outward appearance is very good, and who are outwardlyvery loving and very sweet in talking, but who have deception in theirmind- they are not what they appear. In their mind they have decep-tion, but on their face they show love and humility, and say very goodand sweet things. We can deceive people, but we cannot deceive Him

Who is residing within us; we cannot deceive the Almighty Perfect GodWho is residing within us, and Who knows our every single action.

God Who knows everything is competent;We cannot please Him by putting on outward garbs.

God resides within you, and He knows your every single thought. Evenbefore you think, He knows about your thoughts; you cannot deceiveHim by acting and posing. Kabir Sahib says, "The Lord, sitting at theterrace - he eye center - ees our every single deed. And whatever ser-vice we have done for Him, we get its fruit."

He who teaches others but does not himself practice,Continues to come and go and take birth and die.

What is the condition of him who preaches to others to meditate onNaam, and preaches to others to maintain chastity, and not to be in-

volved in the worldly pleasures - ut he himself is not doing the medi-tation of Naam, and he is involved in criticism and the worldly plea-sures and all these things; what happens to him and what is his condi-tion? Such a person is punished very harshly by the Negative Power:his skin is taken off and his coming and going from this world nevercomes to an end. He continually comes to this world, and always, af-ter suffering, he has to go back from this world.

He within Whom the Formless One resides-By His teachings the world gets liberation.

Now Guru Arjan says, "He within Whom God resides, and He withinWhom God has manifested- by obeying His teachings, all the worldcan get liberation."

Only those on whom He is pleased can realize Him-Nanak says, "I lay myself down at their feet."




Now the M aster says, "I touch Their feet, andI lay myself d ow n be-

fore those whom You have liked- because those whom You have liked,have realized Y ou. Guru Arjan Dev Ji M aharaj says, "Who a re They,looking at Whom all bad thoughts go away? They are our true friends;but if we go and search for them, we will find only few in this world."

I pray to the Alqighty Who knows everything;He Himself approves what He Himself does.

Guru A rjan Dev Ji says, "Now I pray to the Almighty Lo rd , and I laymyself down before the Almighty One, because He knows what Heis doing."

He Himself decides this-To whom He will show Himself near and far.

God has kept everything in His own hands. If H e wants, H e can giveHis darsh an very near; even in the hum an body, He can give His da r-shan . If He doesn't want, H e can lead the people into the forest, an deven after leading them into the fores t, He may not give them His dar -shan. It is all in the hands of God; and it is all in His hands to decideto whom He should give His darshan, and to whom He should not.Those o n whom He is gracious, He brings them very near to H im, andHe gives them His darshan, in their body. But those on whom He isnot gracious, He makes them think in their m ind tha t God can be hadonly by going to the forest, and only after running away f rom this world.But even when they run away from the world, and go in the forest,since God is not gracious on them, they do not get His darshan. Soit is all in the hands of God.

He is beyond all wisdom and cleverness;He knows everything of the hearts.

We canno t achieve Go d without the help and guidance of the M aster.No matter how m uch wisdom we may use, still we cannot be success-ful in realizing Him, because without N aam there is no way by whichwe can realize Him.

To whom He wants, He attaches him to Himself;He is present at every place.

God , W ho is the dweller of Sach Khand, is sitting within us; and H eknows within whom the yearning is there, and within whom it is not.




I t is jus t l ike the person who is s tanding on to p of the m oun tain -he

knows where the f i re is burning. In the sam e way, G od knows w i thinwhose heart the f ire-the yearning t o realize H im -is existing, an dwithin whose heart i t is not.

He becomes the servant on whom He is gracious.Nanak says, Remember Hari with every single breath.

Only he can be H is servant o n who m H e is gracious , a nd such a ser-vant remem bers H im with his every single breath . Keeping quiet , weshould a lways remem ber ou r Beloved mom ent af ter mom ent ; becausethe inner t ru th is, except for o u r Beloved, all ou r relations in this worldare false.



By ~ h o ~ er~lceou eat delt'ciouskind,i f f o o d ,:

xeep t h a ~ ~ o v dn your mind.i3y whose qraxe you pfirperjime,on

your body :

Remenzberinj +in, y o u j e t the h@hex~jtatus.

tempLe

Alwayj ~memberqiin inyour mind.'By whose Grace you live in comfort. w i h

yourfmnily:




3 who56 Grace youeyoy the world1yplmsu.~es

Nhmk jays, Remember Him Whaisworthyofveunernbvma.

why~houldo~forget YL&nd be ac-tuched t oa t h u ?

SLY 3jb Pmire w k h your mmith and

o mind,always remember that ~ m v b r h ni3y repeatiy the Mameofthe Lord,one

9 ts honor i~ ai court;



ASHTAPADI SIX 137

i5ywhose Grace your beuuttb1body ve-maimhealthy :

Get youueqconnected

wz'th thath-ableLord.

3 Whose Grme your ev i hremainunknown:

O mind, ~ c the happinejsby~ingglgthepra~jef the ~ u r d

0 miad, take thfi shelter

ofmcha

Lord.;S y whose q r a c e mnt can mathyo~ :O-mind, wwith every ~ h ge b r e ~ h ,

vemembwthat hghe.st ~ o L

'By whose Gruce you have obtained t h i ~prec&ousbody:

Wi7nuk sgys, do ~ i , wotion.By ~ h o j e race you wear orngment s :




o mind, why Jve you lazy in dozy theh m r m?

3~ whole Gruce you ride on h o v ~ e ~d

O miid,never f o r j e tthat ~ o d .%ywhojeGrme youowngwdenr,pop-

erQ, mnd wmlth;

S w that ~ o dnta your mind.% who hh> imildeyour mtd mu' body:Alwayjremeder H L ~hether jtmd-

ing or 5i&'vtg .~emmbsr i i n ho is invisiblem d

Winmilksays, +he w i dpvote~ tou bo~hhere ~ n d hw.

'By ~ h j e rate you domany ryhtmujdfifidsand donat ia lor:

o mind, remmbw dnyo d n t g h ~ .%ywhose ~ v g c eou do your dsding~:~ ~ r n r n b t whg t . COYw i t hyour evwy



ASHTAPADI SIX 139

'BY.whose ~ v a wou hnve a bmvt$iL

30 heSimvanofthmtLorddcryandnight.

'ByWhoseGrace yvur honor ~j w e d :N a n g k says, S h y 'ftzjp i j e withhe

@ m e ofMmt-er.

'By who; Grace you see wmtderf;lI .

thzngr-I y whose Grace ybu utter nectarfil

wmd, witlzyour tongue,3 whose Grace you / i ~ 1 r t eaieund




3y who$& r mou wcceedwmphtely3 whose Grace yougct the hyhej-t.s t m u ,

3 ~ h o f erace happimxs dwell5with-

LiZyou em~i ywhydoyou nttach youv,e$f t oanyo t i j y m i y S U G ~I God?

Wonmk rays, Awakenyour mind

w tth the@um 4 he G u r ~ .



ASHTAPADI SIX 141

0 ord,a11the

~ 6 ~ 4 t h,s YourMaya :

T o ne c m a b t a ~ nmythingby hisr f

own ef lovt~ .1

o o v d ,hcrevcr you keepuj, wfi rtwnain



Chapter 6

On the Grace of God

God Make lust, anger, greed and attachment be de-stroyed from within -

Nanak says, 0 Lord, I have taken refuge in You-0Gurudev, shower Grace on us

In this hymn, Guru Arjan Dev Ji is praying to His Master, GuruRamdas Ji, because within us there are five dacoits or bandits - ust,anger, greed, attachment and egoism. There is nobody in this worldwho can save and protect us from these five dacoits: Neither friendsnor relatives can help us against them. There is only one Thing Whichcan save us, and that is the Naam of the Satguru: Master Himself. Thatis why the Guru is praying t o His Master: "You are the only One Whocan save us, so please shower Grace on us, and be merciful on us, sothat we can be protected from these five dacoits."

By Whose Grace you eat delicious kinds of foods:Keep that Lord in your mind.

Guru Arjan says: 0 man, see how much Grace God has showered onyou - ow He has given you different kinds of food to eat, and so manyother things - o you should be grateful for everything which you havereceived from God. In other words, you should do His Simran.

By Whose Grace you put perfumes on your body:Remembering Him, you get the highest status.

See, by the Grace of God, we put oil and scent and many other thingson our body to beautify it, and as long as that God is within us, aslong as that Power is working within us, our body looks beautiful and



ON THE GRACE OF GOD 143

people like it an d praise it and care abo ut it. But when God w ithdraws

His Power from the body, after that you may put any oil or scent orcosmetic you like on it, but still it will no t beautify it: because the realthing which was beautifying the body was the God Power Which wasworking, an d when that Power is withdrawn by Go d nobody will careabo ut the body after that. So that is why Gu ru A rjan Dev says, G odhas given you th e Light; because of His presence your body is respectedand people care about it; why don't you remember Him?

By Whose Grace you live happily in this temple:Always remember Him in your mind.

By the G race of G od we are living in this body , so we should be grate -ful to Him for keeping us in it, and we should do Simran.

By Whose Grace you live in comfort with your family:Do His Sirnran with your tongue day and night.

Only because of the Grace of God are we living happily with ourbrothe rs and sisters in comfortable places. S o day an d night we shouldgo o n singing His praises, an d we should always be grateful to HimW ho has given us all these things. The best way to be grateful t o H imis to remember Him and to do Simran.

By Whose Grace you enjoy the worldly pleasures:Nanak says, Remember Him who is worthy of remem-

brance.

It is only because of the presence of God in your body that you likethis world an d are enjoying this world. T ha t is why you should alwaysremember God: He is the only thing worth meditating upon, and Heis the only thing worth worshiping. So always worship Him and alwaysremember Him .

By Whose Grace you wear beautiful clothes:Why should you forget Him and be attached to others?

Only because of the presence of G od in our body a re we taking suchgood care of our body that we put good clothes on it. We should begrateful to God for giving us all these things, including our beautifulbody: We should always remember Him, by doing His Simran.




By Whose Grace we sleep in a comfortable bed:0 mind Sing His praises day and night.

You see, it is only because G od is gracious on you tha t you are ableto sleep on this com fortable bed and are gett ing all sorts of co m fort .Be grateful for the comfort , and do Simran.

By Whose Grace everyone is honoring you:Sing His Praise with your mouth and tongue.

It is only because G od is gracious on us th at p eople respect us an d giveus nam e an d fam e. S o be grateful for His grace and always rememberHim.

By Whose Kindness your religion is maintained:0 mind, always remember that ParbrahmBy repeating the Name of the Lord, one gets honor in His

court,Nanak says, one goes to his home with respect.

W hat is the benefit of doing the meditation on Naam ? W hat d o youget after meditating o n Naam ? By meditating on Na am , you get backto your Real Ho m e; and when you get there, you are given much hono rand respect.

By Whose Grace your beautiful body remains healthy:

Get yourself connected with that lovable Lord.

O ur goo d health exists only because of the Grac e of G od . So when wehave good health we should take advantage of it , and we should begrateful to G od for giving us good health. W e should tak e advantageof it by using it for meditation and remembrance of God.

By Whose Grace your evils remain unknown:

mind, get the happiness by singing the praise of theLord.

Now G uru A rjan says, O m an, you see how many bad deeds you do .But still G od is keeping them all hidden, an d all your evils rema in un -know n, only because of the G race of G od . So you should be gratefulto Him and d o His Simran day an d night, to express your grati tude.



O N T H E GRACE OF G O D 145

By Whose Grace all your holes get sealed:

0 mind, take the shelter of such a Lord.By Whose Grace none can reach you:0 mind, with every single breath, remember that highest

God.

Only because of the Grace of G od , the Negative Power cannot approachus, or harm us. S o we should always remain grateful to H im , for HisGrace, and we should always do His Simran, whether we are awake

or sleeping, walking or sitting, eating or drinking. We should alwaysgo on remembering Him and we should always go on doing His Sim ran.

By Whose Grace you have obtained this precious body:Nanak says, do His devotion.

We have got this human body only because of the Grace of God ; wecannot make even one part of our body by ourselves. God has given

us this huma n bo dy only to do His devotion. So we should be gratefulto G od because He has given us this hum an body; an d we should takeadvantage of it and fulfill the purpose for which it was given to us:to d o the devotion of G od .

By Whose Grace you wear ornaments:0 mind, why are you lazy in doing the Simran?

Why are you becoming lazy in remembering G o d , Wh o is protectingyou at every place and helping you at every place? All day long a ma ngoes on doing work, but when the time of meditation comes he feelsas if somebody has put a stone on his head.

By Whose Grace you ride on horses and elephants:0 mind, never forget that God.

Only because of the Grace of God are we able to ride on elephants or

horses, drive in cars, fly on planes and enjoy all these things. So weshould never forget God Who has given us all this comfort, and dayand night we should always go on remembering Him.

By Whose Grace you own gardens, property, and wealth:Sew that God into your mind.

In this hymn G ur u Arjan Dev Ji Ma ha raj is singing the praise of A l-mighty God: Ho w much has God arranged for the hum an being Ho w




m any things H e has created for the hum an being- H e has made gardens

and orchards, a nd H e is growing food an d m any other things for man.An d only because of H is Grace are we able to en joy these things whichH e has created f or us, so we should always remain g rateful to H im-we should never forget Him- we should always go on rememberingHim.

He who has made your mind and body:Always remember Him whether standing or sitting.

Now the G uru says:0 m an, you see how G od turned one dr op of l iq-uid into a good body, how H e protected you when you were in the wom bof your mother, how He supplied your needs when you were still inthe womb, an d, after you came out from there, how God has been pro-tecting you everywhere. So we should also remember Him day andnight, we should always be grateful t o H im , a nd we should always keepHim in our mind.

Remember Him Who is invisible and one:Nanak says, He will protect you both here and there.

W hose devotion should you d o? T he devotion of the Invisible O ne W hoprotects you here, an d the O ne W ho will come to help you when youleave this world-you should d o His devotion. Go d is the only O neWho helps and protects us when we are in this world, and when wego in to the other world, the re also G od alone helps us. S o we shouldd o the devotion of such an Invisible Go d W hom we cannot see withour outer eyes.

By Whose Grace you do many righteous deeds and donatea lot:

0 mind, remember Him day and night.

Now the Guru says:0 m an, see how much grace Go d has showered

on you It is only because of the Grace of God th at you are able toshare your belongings with other people and give donations. Becauseof G od's will you were gifted with this ability, an d because of H is Graceyou a re able to give your belongings to othe r people as donation s s otha t you get benefit f rom their life. You should be grateful to G odbe-cause H e has given you all this so tha t you ca n share it with othe r peo-ple. A nd the only way you ca n be grateful to H im is by doing His Sim-ran and remembering Him always.



ON THE GRACE OF GOD 147

By Whose Grace you do your dealings:

Remember that Lord with your every single breath.By Whose Grace you have a beautiful body:Remember that most beautiful God always.

Now Guru Arjan Dev says:0 man, see how much Grace God hasshowered on you He has given you a beautiful body, and you are themost beautiful am ong the beings he has created. You a re more beau ti-ful tha n the animals. And after creating your beautiful body, God has

pu t his Light in yo u, an d H e Himself is residing w ithin you. A nd youknow that as long as that Light of God is within us, our body looksvery beautiful and attracts many other people, but when God withdrawsthat Light from our body bad smells start coming from it, and evenou r very dear ones, those who have m uch love for us, they also wantto get rid of ou r body , because the Light of G od is not there. So ourbody looks beautiful an d is cared fo r, only because of the presence ofthe Light of G od . We should be grateful to God th at H e has kept His

Light in us, and we should always do His Simran.By Whose Grace you have got the highest caste:Do the Sirnran of that Lord day and night.

Only because of the Grace of G od , we become the highest -even thoughwe may have been born in a low caste. Kabir was born into aJulahafamily of weavers who were considered very low caste people, but be-cause he did the devotion of God and became one with God , even greatkings came and got initiation from him. So only because of the graceof God can we become the highest from the low.

By Whose Grace your honor is saved:Nanak says, Sing His praise with the Grace of Master.

Only because of the Grace of Go d is the hon or of the soul safe. Th atis why we should always go on singing the praise of G od, W ho is withinus, and we should always go o n remembering Him , and do Simran.

By Whose Grace you hear the sound with your ears,By Whose Grace you see wonderful things-

Only by the Grace of G od are we able to know the inner secret of Godwhich is within us, and only by His Grace are we able to hear His Soundwhich is within us, an d only by His Grace are we able to see His L ightwhich is within us. All these things are the gift of God to the soul.




By Whose Grace you utter nectarful words with your

tongue,By Whose Grace you live in ease and happiness-

Only by the G race of Go d are we able to speak sweet words w ith o urtongue, and only because H e is gracious on us, are we able to d o H isSim ran with this tongue. A nd only because of His grace are we livingin this world happily. So we should be grateful t o Him an d we shouldalways remember Him.

By Whose Grace your hands do their work,By Whose Grace you succeed completely,By Whose Grace you get the highest status,By Whose Grace happiness dwells within you easily-

Only by the G race of G od are we able to achieve high statu s. An d onlybecause of the G race of G od are we able to come into the com panyof a Saint. And only if H e is gracious o n us ca n we d o His devotionand reach our Real Home.

Why do you attach yourself to any other, forgetting sucha God?

Nanak says, Awaken your mind with the Grace of theGuru.

Should we forget God W ho has given us this hum an body, and W hohas given us all these things in the w orld? N o, we should never forgetHim. And we are able never to forget Him only when our Mastershowers Grace on us. The souls on whom the Master showers Gracestart sleeping in respect to the world, and awake in respect to God.

By Whose Grace you are known in the world:Don't forget that God even a little bit in your mind.

We a re manifested into this world only by the G race of G od . W e arehono red in this world only because Go d is gracious on us, a nd we areloved in this world only because of the G race of G od . So we shouldnever forget G od W ho has given us all these gifts, all this blessing. W ithou r every single breath we should remem ber H im , an d we should al-ways do His Simran. We should never forget Him.

By Whose Grace you have this Glory:

0 oolish mind, repeat His Name.



O N THE G R A C E OF GOD 149

We are well known in this world, and we are glorified in this world,

only by the Grace of God. Otherwise, who would know us in this world?So that is why, o foolish mind , you should always remember G od byWhose Grace you are known in this world and by Whose Grace youare glorified.

By Whose Grace your works are done:Always understand Him as present within you.

Whatever work you start doing, God always showers His Grace on you;and He always helps you in achieving that thing which you want. F rombehind the curtain He is always helping you in all your work. Neverthink tha t He is far away from you. He is always near you and helpingyou, an d H e is showering all His Grace on every work you are doing.

The Masters Whose eyes are open know how much Grace God isshowering on the souls; They know how much Grace He is showeringon each soul. And They know that if God had not been gracious onthe souls, they would have no life in this world; the life of the souls

would be empty without the Grace of God.

By Whose Grace you have got the Truth:0 my mind, remain imbued with Him.By Whose Grace, all are liberated:Nanak says, Always remember Him.

Only by the Grace of God is anybody protected; only because of theGrace of God is anybody helped. So we should be grateful to G od foreverything which He has given to us. With our every single breath weshould be grateful to Him -by remembering Him , always.

He w ho m He m akes repeat the Naam, repeats the Naam;He whom He makes sing God's praises, sings God's

praises.

In this Ashtapadi Guru Arjan Dev has sung the glory of God and He

has praised God in many ways. Now he talks furth er abou t the Graceof G od . He says, If God were not gracious on us, could we have donethe devotion of G od? Could we get initiation if God were not graciouson us? No. Until we have the Grace of God and until He is graciouson us, we cannot come to the Master and we cannot get initiation. IfHe is not gracious on us, we cannot d o the devotion of God . We doall these things only by His Grace. And if He had not been graciouson us, we would not have achieved all these things.




Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say, "People say that they are 'going

to the Master.' But who says this? Only those whose eyes are notopened." Only they say that they are "going to the Masters." But thosewhose eyes are opened know that Master is directing them towards Him;that Master is in fact pulling them towards Him. They are not the oneswho are going to the Master; Master is the one Who is pulling themtowards him. And people say, "We do the meditation on Naam." Whosays this? Only those whose eyes are not yet open. But those whoseeyes are opened, they know that there is some other Power Which ismaking them meditate on Naam. It is not within our reach that we maymeditate on Naam: It is all His Grace and, in fact, He is the only OneWho is making us do all these things.

Guru Arjan Dev says, If it were in our control, why would we havegotten separated from You? And why have we got all this suffering?0 God, if it were in our control, why didn't we always remain with You?

With the Grace of God the Light is manifested;With the Grace of God the lotus blooms.

People should not think, "What is the need of going to the Master andbecoming grateful to God? We can also manifest the Light within usby practicing the meditation as the satsangis do." That can never hap-pen. No matter if you sit, and try to get that Light, you will not beable to get It unless you are guided by a perfect Master. Unless Godshowers Grace on you and you get initiation from the Master, no mat-ter how much you try to experience the Light by yourself, you won't

be able to do it. The experience of Light can be had only if God is gra-cious on us.

When God is pleased, He resides in the mind;With the Grace of God, one becomes wise.

Only because of His Grace, God comes and resides within us. Our in-tellect becomes the highest only when we manifest God within us, onlywhen we feel Him all the time: whether we are walking, sitting, or do-

ing any other thing. When we have such a state of feeling for Him,only then can our intellect become the highest.

0 Lord, all the wealth is Your Maya:No one can obtain anything by his own efforts.

The Guru says, 0 Lord, You are the only owner of the wealth and richesof this material world. Nobody can have this by himself. Only when



O N THE GRACE OF GOD 151

You are gracious on anyone, and only if You want someone to have

this wealth, only then does tha t person receive. Nobo dy can obta in thewealth and riches of this world by himself.

0 Lord, wherever you keep us, we remain there;Nanak says, The created ones have nothing in their hands.

At the end of this Ashtapadi Guru Arjan Dev says, It is all the playof G od , and God Himself has put the people in the places. H e has putone person in the Satsang, He has put a nothe r with the wine. H e hasput another worshiping idols, He has put another in good company,He has put another in bad com pany. It is all in the Ha nds of G od a ndthe souls cannot do anything. Wherever the souls are, they are onlythere because of the Grace of God. It all depends upon the amountof Grace they receive.Those who have much Grace are in the goodplaces, whereas those who have little Grace are not. It is all becauseof the Grace of God that we are in a good place.

Guru Arjan Dev has sung the praise of God and told us: Only be-cause of the presence of God within us are we respected in this worldand do we have anything in this world; so we should be grateful toGo d fo r giving us what we have and we should always remember H im.Day and night we should go on doing His Simran.



'3 ygo~hg n t h ecompany$ he Sfiintr,hepride wntshes

?$going int h e

compafiyoJ

thehints, t%zc

k"rz0wledyeof~ o dmntfesteed .

'Bygoing in the companyaftht Smhts, God25 seen marb y ;

Bygoing in the company $ theJlZtntj,everythcng is soLved.

'Bygo~'ngn the compay $the 5ai i . t~ne-gets thejewel mm ;

153



ASHTAPADI SEVEN 161

N i n d tc~.ys, rothers, t hm z;i no d$-fennce btwm theSP.L'IZ.~Snd God.



Chapter 7

In the Company of the Saints

The Par Brahm is Inaccessible and Unfathomable;Whosoever repeats His Name gets liberation.

God is inaccessible and unfathomable and His Glory cannot be de-scribed. Whoever remem bers H im can get liberation. It doesn't m atterwhether a person of low caste is reme mb ering Him or a person of high

caste is remembering Him- whoever does His devotion always getsliberation. It doesn't even matter if those wh o d o the devotion of G odare born in India or in America. No particular caste or country hasany right to claim the possession of G od . Those w ho ever d o the devo-tion of God, all have the right to get liberation.

Nanak requests: Listen, 0 riendDo this wonderful story of the Saints.

In this section of Suk hm ani Sa hib, the glory of the Saints is described-an d the glory of the Sa ints is also indescribable. As we cann ot describethe greatness or glory of G od , in the same way, the greatness of theSaints cannot be described, because that is also indescribable.

By going in the company of the Saints, the face becomesbright;

By going in the company of the Saints, one loses all impu-rities.

By going in the comp any of the Saints, what d o we get? O ur face be-comes bright and we become pure. Whatever dirt our soul has fromages an d ages, from birth after birth, tha t all goes away when we gointo the association of a Saint.



IN THE C OM PANY OF THE SAINTS 163

In order to remove the dirt of sins, people bathe in many holyplaces-in rivers, ponds, etc.; but G uru Arja n says tha t whether thewater is of a pond or of a river, it ca n remove only the dirt of the bodyand not the dirt of our soul. Only the Naa m, or the company of a S aint,can remove the dirt of our soul.

Kab ir Sahib says, "When you meet the Saint, all the dir t of your sinsis washed aw ay, and so is the fear of the Negative Power; because whenyou bow to the Saint, all the burden of the sins which you have onyour head falls at the feet of the Master."

By going in the company of the Saints, the pride vanishes;By going in the company of the Saints, the knowledge of

God is manifested.

What is the benefit of the association with a Saint? By going in thecompany of a Saint, the pride and ego vanish from within. Becauseof the company of the Saint, the Light, the Rad iance, manifests withinUS.

By going in the company of the Saints, God is seen nearby;By going in the company of the Saints, everything is solved.

Ordinarily people think of God as residing in some big church o r goldentemple; or they think He is living on the top of a high mountain orin the depths of an ocean. But when we give up all our searches forG od a nd go in the company of the M aster, Master m akes us see G odnearby; he makes us see God within our own selves. When we go inthe com pany of a Saint, all the accounts of our ka rma are settled an dwe become free from them.

By going in the company of the Saints, one gets the jewelof Naam;

By going in the company of the Saints, only one effort isleft.

By going t o the Saint we get the Precious Jewel of N aa m , which wecan not o btain in this world, even if we are ready to pay any price; be-cause it is a priceless jewel. We can get it only when we go in the com-pany of the Sa ints. An d when we go in their com pan y, we give up allour o ther efforts to realize God and we startmaking those efforts ofwhich the Master tells us.




Which soul can describe the glory of the Saints?Nanak says, The Glory of the Saints is merged in the Glory

of God.

No one can ever describe the glory of the Saint, because the glory ofthe Saint has merged in the Glory of God. The people of this worldhave no meter by which they can measure how much the Saint hasmerged in God. Tulsi Sahib says, "If anyone claims that he has recog-nized the Saint, or if anyone says that he has known about the Saint,God forbid - touch my ears - ecause no one can do that . If peoplehad understood the glory of the Saint, do you think they would everhave put Christ on the cross? People made Guru Arjan Dev- Whosebani we are reading now-sit on the hot coals and they put hot sandon His head. Would they have done that if they had understood hisglory?

Bulleh Shah has said, "Oh Bulleh, we live in the country of the blind.Nobody sees us and nobody appreciates our being here."

By going in the company of the Saints, one gets the Un-seen God;

By going in the company of the Saints, man ever flourishes.

What do we get after going in the company of a Saint? We get thatwhich we cannot see with these outer eyes, and which we cannot ob-tain by ourselves. Whenever we go in the company of a Saint, we al-ways gain.

By going in the company of the Saints, the five come un-der control;

By going in the company of the Saints, one tastes theNectar.

What is the benefit of keeping the company of the Saint? Lust , anger,greed, attachment and egoism come under our control. Kabir Sahibsays, "By drinking the mercury of Naam, our mind (which he calls'mouth')-has become motionless, with no power in it."

By going in the company of the Saints, one becomes thedust of everyone's feet;

By going in the company of the Saints, one's speech be-comes likeable.



I N THE COMPANY OF THE SAINTS 165

By going in the company of Saints, our mind becomes low, and ourbitter words, which had no humility or sweetness in them , become sweet.

By going in the company of the Saints, one does not runanywhere;

By going in the company of the Saints, the mind gets a sta-ble position.

Whatever time we spend in the com pany of the Sain t, tha t is coun tedin our devotion. And when we go in His company, our mind whichis wandering here and there like a deer comes under our control.

By going in the company of the Saints, one becomes differ-ent from Maya;

Nanak says, By going in the company of the Saints, Godis pleased.

By going in the com pany of the Sain t, the dru nkard will stop drink ingwine and the meat-eater will give up eating meat. And when those who aredoing bad deeds go in the company of Saints, they promise that theywill give them up . When we go in the company of Saints, Go d becomespleased with us because He knows that now we will definitely remem-ber Him.

By going in the company of the Saints, all enemies become

friends;By going in the company of the Saints, one becomes very

pure.

W hat is the use of going in the com pany of the Sa int? All ou r enemiesbecome our friends and we see God everywhere. The company of theSaint is purer than the purest.

By going in the company of the Saints, one does not feelenmity with anyone;

By going in the company of the Saints, one does not goaway from the good path.

Saints don't come in this world to teach us enmity. They come herein this world to d o the devotion of G od , and to m ake us do the devo-tion of G od . Saints are always withou t enmity, and They have no ene-mies. Kabir Sahib says, "Many people come to the Saints with bad




thoug hts, an d m any com e with good thou ghts; but Saints always wel-com e both w ith the same love and respect, and T hey don't bother a bo utthe good and bad thoughts which people have for Them."

By going in the company of the Saints, no one is seen asbad;

By going in the company of the Saints, one gets Supreme

joy.

Whenever we go in the company of Saints, whatever time we spendthere, all th at time we gain; we never lose. Only because we go in Theircom pany , God knows us and recognizes us. In the R am ayan a it is said,"If one tries to do the devotion of L ord R am a without the com panyof a Saint and without getting Naam, Lord Rama doesn't accept thatdevotee."

By going in the company of the Saints, one does not get

the fever (of ego);By going in the company of the Saints, one leaves egoism.

The diseases which we have within ourselves go away when we havethe com pany of Saints. W e a re all suffering from the sweet disease ofegoism, and even that goes away in the company of Saints.

He Himself knows the greatness of Saints;Nanak says, There is close friendship between God and

Saints.

People of this world c annot understand the greatness of the Sa int. Onlya Saint can understand His own greatness. The people of the worldcan only say that the Master is a pure m an, a good m an,a holy man;they cannot describe Him m ore than th at because they don't know m oreabo ut H im. They cannot understand H is glory. Only the Master Him -self can know His own glory, as only God Himself knows His own

Glory. Truly speaking, God Himself takes the form of a M aster, andH e comes an d dwells amo ng us. And that is why only H e knows Hisown greatness.

One should not run away from the company of the Saints;One always gets happiness in the company of the Saints.

We should not give up the company of the Master, even in the stateof forgetfulness; because, in His company, we get only happiness.



IN THE COMPANY OF THE SAINTS 167

One finds the Unseen things in the company of the Saints;One bears the unbearable in the company of the Saints;By going in the company of the Saints, one dwells in the

highest place;By going in the company of the Saints, one reaches the

palace.

When we go in the company of the Master, He tells us abou t our RealHo m e, Sach Kh and , and he tells us to do the devotion of the L ord ofSach Khand. And when we go in His company, wedo the devotionof the Lord of Sach Khand, and we go back there.

By going in the company of the Saints, one recognizes allreligions;

In the company of the Saints there is only Par Brahm.

What do we learn after going in the company of a Saint? We under-stan d that all religions are one; we start loving all the religions an d allthe people in this world. We understand that every religion has lovefor God and devotion for God as its root. We know that when Saintscome in this world, They always understand all religions as Their ownreligion and all castes as Their own caste , and tha t They love all religionsand all castes.

In the company of the Saints, one gets the treasure of Naam;

Nanak says, I sacrifice myself on the Saints.

What is the most precious thing which we get after going in the com-pany of the Master? The most precious gift of Naam. Which Naam?Th at Naam Which has created the entire creation. So the Gu ru says,"I sacrifice myself on that Saint Who has kept that Naam within."

By going in the company of the Saints, the whole familyis liberated;

By going in the company of the Saints, friends and familyrelations get liberation.

W hat is the use of keeping the compan y of a Sa int? First we ourselvesget liberation; then our family gets liberation; and those who love us,they also get liberation. All those who are attached to us get liberation.

Kab ir Sahib says, "What is the question of getting liberation for ourow n self? He who is attached t o the Saint can liberate millions of o ther

people."




By going in the company of the Saints, one gets that wealthWhich can be distributed to everyone without coming to

an end.

W ha t wealth d o we get after going in the com pany of a Saint? W e getthe wealth o f N aam , which can never com e to a n end; we can give oftha t w ealth t o the entire world, a nd still , it will never c om e t o a n end .That is the wealth we get from the Saint.

Kabir Sahib says, 0 Ka bir, only he is po or w ho doesn't have Naa m

in his heart.

By going in the company of the Saints, even Dharam Rajdoes seva;

By going in the company of the Saints, even the gods andangels sing His praises.

When we go with the Master, and reach Heaven, even Dharam Raj,

the Lo rd of Judgm ent, praises us, an d respects us, and serves us. H esays, "Here is the blessed one w ho obeyed th e Saint an d w ho did Hisdevo tion, an d th at is why he is able to a ttain this position." M oreover,the god of gods, Lo rd In dra , also becomes pleased, also pays hom ageto the soul who goes in the company of the Saint.

By going in the company of the Saints, the sins disappear;By going in the company of the Saints, one sings the praise

of the Nectar.

By going in the com pan y of the Saint, all of o ur sins are finished an dremoved. Kabir Sahib says, "When the Na am is m ade to dwell in theheart, all the sins are finished, just as a heap of dry grass is burnedby one spark of fire."

By going in the company of the Saints, one goes every-where;

Nanak says, By going in the company of the Saints, thehuman birth becomes successful.

By going in the com pan y of the Saint we begin t o like an d hav e respectfor all the places in this world. And only by going in the company ofthe Saint is ou r birth co unted a nd o ur life ma de successful. G ur u Na-nak says, "The life which is lived without the company of the Saintis useless."



IN THE CO MPANY OF THE SAINTS 169

In the company of the Saints, one does not have to workhard;

By meeting and seeing Him, one becomes happy.

When we go to the temple to d o the ritual prayer, we take many thingswith us: bells, incense, offerings- nd sometimes we even have to in-vite priests or chanters to chant for us-but when we go to be in thecom pany of the Saints, we don't need to take anything. We just needto go there and have darshan. Ju st the darshan of the Saint can makeour devotion successful.

By going in the company of the Saints, the evil NegativePower gets defeated;

By going in the company of the Saints, hell is avoided.

By going in the company of the Saint, the fear which we have of theNegative Po wer , Kal, goes away, and the fear of hell is also avoided.

When King Janak left the body on his way to his Real Home, Hemet the Lord of Judgment and saw many souls suffering in the fireof hell, and he asked "Why are those souls in such a bad condition?"Th e Lo rd of Judg ment replied, "These souls did very bad deeds whenthey were sent in the world, and they are now being punished." KingJanak told the Lord of Judgment to release them, bu t the Lord of Judg-ment said,"I can release them only if someone pays fo r them- or thebad karmas which they have done." So King Janak said, "All right;

I will pay you - with my S imran. O n one side of the balanceI will putmy Simran and on the other side you put the souls; and you shouldrelease these souls according to whatever SimranI give you." So KingJa na k gave the benefit of the Simran which he had done for two anda half seconds, and when the souls were weighed, all the souls fromthe fire of hell were released. They were all released. The Mahatmashave written of this event: "Hail, hail King Jana k -W hodid Simranwith discrimination, and by whose Simran of one moment many sin-ners were liberated "

By going in the company of the Saints, one lives in easeand peace in this world as well as in the other world;

By going in the company of the Saints, one gets united withthe God from Whom he is separated.

The company of Saints will give happiness in this world because theSaint will tell us to refrain from bad deeds and He will inspire us to




d o med itation. And the compan y of the Saint will also be useful a ndwill give us happiness w hen we leave this world an d g o int o the ne xt.

Whatever one desires, he gets;The company of the Saints does not go useless.

Whatever desires or worldly wishes we have, they all get fulfilled-provided that we go in the comp any of a Saint and that we model ou rlife according to w hat the Saint tells us to do . If we mainta in purity

an d d o all the things H e tells us, then all ou r desires an d wishes canbe fulfilled. The Sa int gives us all we desire for. W hatever time we spendin His compan y never goes useless. We always get some benefit ou t of it.

The Par Brahm lives in the heart of the Saints;Nanak says, One gets liberation by hearing the Words of

the Saints.

God resides in the Saint; that is why the souls get liberated only byHis company . Kabir Sahib says, "Once my mind becam e a bird, a ndflew to the heavens, butI didn't find Go d there, because G od w as liv-ing with the Saints."

Make me hear the Naam of the Lord in the company of theSaints;

In the company of the Saints, 1 may sing the praise of theLord.

W hy d o we have to go in the compan y of Saints? S o that we can hearthe Shabd which is coming from Sach Khand and which is soundingin our forehead.

In the company of the Saints, He cannot be forgotten;In the company of the Saints, one will definitely be

liberated.

W e don't have to forget the company of the Saint. We should not m akeuse of His com pan y in such a way tha t when we go near H im , and sitin His presence, we abso rb His darsha n, but when we go away fr omHim we forget Him. We don' t have to do that . We shouldalwaysremember the com pany of the M aster. With every single breath we haveto remem ber the time which we have spent with Him , a nd we have tomake His form reside in our heart .



IN THE COMPANY O F THE SAINTS 171

In the company of the Saints, God looks very sweet;In the company of the Saints, He is seen in every heart.

G od , W ho we thoug ht was very far away; G od , W ho m we didn't love;G od , Who m we never remembered- when we went in the compan y ofthe S aint, we started feeling that th at sam e God was very sweet. Nowou r condition has become such that we do not want to leave G o d , andwe always want to be with Him.

After keeping the company of the S aint, we come to know this also:that God resides everywhere. He resides even in the animals, even inthe birds, in man , and in all creatures. Guru Nanak said, "If anyb odyelse had created this world, then we would have said, 'This is some-body else's.' But when only You have created all the crea tures, an d YouYourself are residing everywhere, how can we say that th is one is good ,and this one is not?"

By go ing in the company of the Saints, one becomes obe-

dient;In the company of the Saints is our liberation.

By going in the company of the S aint, we develop the habit of obeyingthe com man dm ents and the habit of remaining in discipline. We learna lot fro m H is comp any. We learn that we don't have to eat meat, wedon't have to look at anybo dy else's wife, and we don't have to d o anyother bad things. Wh en we develop the habit of obeying the com ma nd-

ments of the Master, and when we always understand that Master isthe Suprem e One an d we have to obey Him , then we get the real un-derstanding. And when we get the real understanding and follow ourMaster, then we get the real peace and liberation.

By going in the company of the Saints, all diseases arehealed;

Nanak says, One meets the Saints if it is preordained.

By going in the company of the Saint ou r sins fro m birth after birth -for many , many births -ar e all removed an d we get liberation . But wecannot go in the company of the Saint until God writes it in our for-tune; until it is destined. As God has written six things in our fate-happiness and pain, poverty and richness, good health and badhealth- n the same way if G od has written in o ur fate that we are des-tined to go in the company of the Saint, only then can wego in Hiscompany and benefit from Him. If it is not written in our fate that




we should meet Him, then no matter if He is born in our own houseor if He is living in our neighborhood, we will not be able to go in Hiscompany or get any benefit out of it. So, unless the Almighty Godshowers grace on us, and unless He Himself writes in our fate, "thecompany of a Saint,"-we cannot have it.

Not even the Vedas know the greatness of the Saints;Whatever they have heard, they describe that.

Not even the Vedas can describe the glory of the Saint. They only de-scribe up to the Third Plane, up through Brahmand or Trikuti. Theydo not know anything about the things beyond that, and the Saintscome from Beyond, so how can the Vedas know their glory? How canthe person who is standing on the floor know the greatness of the per-son who is standing on the roof? That is why the Vedas cannot knowthe glory of the Saints-they don't have access to the place from wherethe Saints come.

Many pundits or Vedic scholars come to debate, and say, "We be-lieve that the planes up to the Brahm exist, but we don't believe in theplanes which you say exist beyond Brahm." So the Masters tell them,"That is all right. At least you believe in the existence of the planesup to Brahm. If you want to experience more, you should go in thecompany of a Saint Who will take you above Brahm."

The Glory of the Saints is above the three qualities;The Glory of the Saints pervades everywhere.

A little bit of the greatness of the Saint is known when we rise abovethe three gunas or qualities - amogun, rajogun, satogun - nd the com-pany of the Saint is always profitable.

There is no end to the glory of the Saints;The glory of the Saints is always limitless.

We cannot describe the glory of the Saint; there is no limit to the great-

ness of the Saint. Guru Arjan Dev says, "Even if we call You the Em-peror of the Emperor of the Emperors, still we will not be praising Youenough."

The glory of the Saints is the highest of the high;The glory of the Saints is the greatest of the great;The glory of the Saints is known by Them alone;Nanak says, Brothers, there is no difference between the

Saints and God.



IN THE COMPANY OF THE SAINTS 173

Only the Saint knows the greatness of the Saint, and there is no d iffer-ence between Him and God. Guru Gobind Singh said, "There is nodifference between G od and the beloved of G od . It is just like a d ro pof water and the water itself." Gu ru Nanak says, "The devotee of Godis exactly like God H imself; you should not unde rstand H im as a hu -man being, as there is no difference between God and His devotees."Just as the waves rise from the ocean and merge back in the ocean,in the same way the devotee comes forth and goes back to God.

In this section Gu ru A rjan has described the glory of the Saint by

beautifully giving many examples; we should try to understand this,and we should also take advantage of His company.



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ASHTAPADI EIGHT 177

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ASHTAPADI EIGHT 179




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ASHTAPADI EIGHT 181

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Chapter 8

The Knowers of God

He whose mind is true and face is true,And who does not look at any other,Nanak says, These are the qualities of the Brahm gyani.

This is the eighth Ash tapa di of Sukh man i Sahib. In this section G ur uArjan Dev J i will tell us about theBrahm gyani or knower of God.H e says that such a knower expresses the same thing o n his face as hehas in his heart . H e is t rue in his mind an d he never worships anyoneother th an his Master.

The Brahm gyani is always unaffected,Just as the lotus remains unaffected in the water.

T he B rahm gyani always remains unaffected by the worldly things, injust th e sam e way as the lotus is unaffected by the m udd y water i t re-mains in.

The Brahm gyani is always free from sinsAs the sun burns up the impurities of others.

T he B rahm gyani lives in this world l ike the sun. You know that t hesun a bsorbs the im puri ty of the impure water as well a s drying u p thepure w ater. Th e sun is not affected by th e impuri ty of the im pure wa-

ter, an d in the same way the knower of G od is not affected by the im-puri t ies of the world, and remains unaffected by them.

The Brahm gyani's sight is the same for all,As the wind blows on the king and the pauper alike.



THE K N O W E R S OF GOD 183

In the sight of the Brahm gyani, the poor an d the rich a re both alike,

and for him, the m an and the wom an are also alike. Whether one isrich or po or, or whether one is man or w oman , all are looked o n thesame by the knower of God.

The Brahm gyani remains amazingly patientLike the earth, whether one digs it or puts sandalwood on

it.

The Brahm gyani has amazing patience in him. H e is just like the earth :whether one removes earth, o r dump s it, or puts sandalwood o n it, stillthe earth doesn't curse him; she doesn't d o any bad thing to tho se peo-ple who are doing bad things to her. In the same way, no matter w hatone does to the knower of God, he always remains patient.

These are the qualities of the Brahm gyani,Nanak says, like the nature of fire.

No ma tter if a n old man or a young man sits near the fire, or if anyanim al sits near it , the work of the fire is to give warm th t o everybody.In the same way, whether a friend or an enemy or anyone comes tothe Brahm gyani, his work is to give love to all the people who cometo h im. And they all receive according to the feelings they have fo r theknower of God.

The Brahm gyani is the purest of the pure,Just as the water cannot be affected by dirt.

Th e mind of the Brahm gyani is pure like the ocean water is pure. Wa-ter removes the impurities of things, but the ocean still remains pure.The mind of the knower of God is like that.

Within the Brahm gyani the light is manifested,

As it is between the earth and sky.Within the B rahm gyani there exists so much light, it is as the su n il-lumining the earth. It makes no difference to him whether it is day ornight. Once Guru Na nak said to his son, "Now th e sun has risen, yougo and watch the sheep." But at that time it was night outside. Andso his son said, "You are not in your senses: it is not yet dawn andyou a re telling us to go and w atch the sheep." But when Guru Nanaktold it to Bhai Lena (later called Guru Angad) and asked him to do



184 T H E JEWEL OF HAPPINESS

that work, he said, "Yes, Master, the sun has risen and it is already

midday." Because within him the sun used to rise, and he knew theinner secret of Guru Nanak. And that is why he said, "Yes, Master,it is midday and I will go and watch the sheep."

So within the knower of God there is always light, as there is alwayssunlight on the earth.

In his last days, Master Sawan Singh also said, "Now the sun hasrisen - re the people of Jullundur seeing that?" Master Kirpal replied,"What t o speak of the people in Jullundur -all the people who have

Your Grace, they have all seen that the sun has risen."

To the Brahm gyani, friends and enemies are alike;The knower of God does not have any pride.

In the sight of the Brahm gyani both enemies and friends are alike andhe looks at both of them with the same eyes and same feeling. Andafter getting something, the Brahm gyani is not proud of that. Prideor vanity doesn't come within him. You know that if a Satsangi isrespected by some people, he starts thinking, "I have something withinme; that's why people are respecting me." He becomes proud of hisbeing a Satsangi.

The Brahm gyani is the highest of the highest;Yet in his mind he is the lowest of all.

The Brahm gyani is so high that he is higher than the gods and god-desses, and he has become the form of God. But in his mind he alwaysunderstands himself as the lowest one. Humility is the ornament of theSaints, and that's why Saints never want praise. Whenever Saints arepraised, They say that it is all the grace of Their Master. They cail them-selves the servants or the sevadars of the Sangat.

Those people become Brahm gyanisWhom God Himself makes-so says Nanak.

Who can become the Brahm gyani? Other people cannot make anyonea Brahm gyani. No party can establish a knower of God, nor can hebe brought into existence by a handful of people. Only he on whomGod showers mercy, and only h e whom God makes His knower, canbecome so.

If some people call a horse an elephant, the horse will not turn intothe elephant. And if some people say that an elephant is a horse, the




Knowledge of God is the food of the knower of God;

Nanak says, the Brahm gyani's contemplation is the Su-preme Lord.

Even if he doesn't eat fo od , he doesn't feel hun gry like the worldly peo-ple do . You kn ow w hen worldly people feel hungry an d they don't getfoo d, how b ad they feel. But it makes n o difference to the know er ofGod, even if he doesn't eat food for many days; because his food isthe In ner Knowledge an d his attention is always diverted tow ard G od .

The Brahm gyani hopes only from Him;The Brahm gyani never perishes.

Th e knower of Go d relies only o n the one G od ; he doesn't rely on any-bod y in this world. A nd th e knower of G od never dies: he is never bo rn,and he remains immortal. Master never dies, Master is never born.Tho se wh o say tha t their M aster has died, they should be brough t into

court an d asked, "Why did you take someone as the M aster w ho wasgoing to die?"Kabir Sa hib says tha t people have taken the bo dy a s the M aster, but

they have no t realized the real Satguru who is working in that body .An d because they have not realized H im , they will continu e to wanderin the cycle of births and deaths. What we recognize is the body ofthe Sain t, but we d o not recognize the Pow er W hich is working in theSaint and Which is above births and deaths.

G uru Na nak says, "My Satgu ru always exists. H e never comes an dnever goes. He is indestructible."Shabd takes up the hum an body an d comes and dwells am ong us.

A nd as long as it is in the Will of G od an d as long as He has the ord erof G od , H e remains am ong us and gives us the knowledge of Naam .A nd when the time comes H e withdraws from tha t body a nd goes intoanother body. But the Pow er Which is working in the bod y of the Saint,T ha t is never gone an d T ha t never dies; It only changes the body . That'swhy the Saints always say, "Your Master is Shabd, your Master isNaam," and They always connect us with Shabd Naam.

The Brahm gyani is dressed in humility;The Brahm gyani lives for the benefit of others.

Now he says that the knower of God is poor in spirit . Even thoughhe has m any things outside, he is always poo r in spirit, a nd he alwaysworks for the benefit of other people. The one who is the friend of




G od, he eats half of the food he has, an d the other half he shares withthose who want it.

The Brahm gyani does not have any worldly business;The Brahm gyani controls the wandering mind.

Th e knower of G od doesn't have any worldly business; he doesn't runany business in this world, because his only business is to do Sa tsang,to give Naam , and to meditate o n Naam .

The Brahm gyani always does good for others;The Brahm gyani always gets the fruits.

Whenever the knower of G od works, he always works for the benefitof other people. He will never work for their harm.

Master Sawan Singh asked for one boon from Baba Jaimal Singh:"My work should always prove a boon to the people and not a curse."

All are saved in the company of the Brahm gyani;Nanak says, All the world meditates on the Brahm gyani.

All the world can get liberation through the company of the knowerof G od . No one should ever think that the Brahm gyani can only takeone thousand souls, or ten thousand, or five million, or more than tha t;all the world can go with him if they go in his company , because Go dhas given him full power. If he wants to liberate all this world a t once,he can do tha t. G uru N anak says that once God has given him the keyto the store of Naa m, then after that H e doesn't ask for the acc ount.He can give to the people whatever he wants. Those who don 't believein the knower of God when they come into this world, and those whodon't get initiation into Naam from him, only those souls stay back.

The Brahm gyani has always one color:God lives with His knower.

Always the mind of the knower of God is colored in the color of G od .He doesn't remain in the color of God for a while, and then leave it:the color of God never leaves his mind. He always remains dyed in it .God resides with the Brahm gyani like the shadow lives with the pe r-son. God is always with His Knower.

The Naam of God is the support of the Brahm gyani;The Naam of God is the family of the Brahm gyani;




Th e Brahm gyani always has the supp ort of N aam and he always un-

derstands Naam as his family.

The Brahm gyani is always wakeful;The Brahm gyani renounces egoism.

The Brahm gyani doesn't sleep. He is not controlled by sleep, and heis not bothere d by sleep. He always remains awa ke in respect to G od ,and he sleeps in respect to the world. And from within himself the

knower of God renounces egoism.

In the mind of the Brahm gyani dwells the Supreme Joy;In the house of the Brahm gyani there is always happiness.

G od always dwells within the B rahm gyani. T he Su prem e Jo y alwaysresides within the knower of God, and he always remains happy andblossoms as the flower of the rose blossoms.

The Brahm gyani lives easily and in happiness.Nanak says, The Brahm gyani never perishes.The Brahm gyani is the Son of the Supreme Lord.The Brahm gyani loves only God.

The knower of God knows God; he is always attached to the love ofG o d .

The Brahm gyani becomes worryless.The mantra of the knower of God is pure.

Th e Brahm gyani doesn't have any worries in his mind a bo ut wh at ishappening or what will happen. The mantra, or the charged wordswhich the Brah m gyani gives, is pure; a nd tho se who repeat th at m an-tra get liberation.

H azr at B ahu has said tha t if you wa nt to die while living, then youshould take u p the form of the faqirs. If an yone throws dirt on you,you should becom e like the place w here people throw dirt . An d evenif people call you names or a buse you, you should be very patient a ndloving with them. Fo r the sak e of the Beloved, on e should always bearthe abuse and bad words of people.

He becomes Brahm gyani whom God makes so;The glory of the knower of God is very great.




Only one on whom God is gracious becomes the Brahm gyani. God

Himself makes H is Knower, and the glory of His Knower is very great.Because of that glory, many sinners even got liberation.

The darshan of Brahm gyani is obtained by good luck;Always sacrifice to the knower of God.

Now he says that one who has great good fortune and Karma, onlyhe gets the darshan of the Brahm gyani. That's why we should always

sacrifice ourselves on him. Guru Nanak says, "Blessed is the familyin which the Satguru was born, and blessed is the mother who gavebirth to the Satguru , and blessed is the Satguru who did the meditationof Naam Himself and who made others meditate on Naam.

Mahesh and others search for the Brahm gyani.Nanak says, The knower of God is God Himself.

What can the souls of this world understand about the Brahm gyaniwhen even the gods and goddesses- Brahm a, Vishnu, Mahesh and allof the m-are searching for the knower of God? God Himself is HisKnow er. The Brahm gyani is the one in whom God is manifested; an dwhen God is manifested in someone, that someone becomes Go d . Thereis no difference between the Brahm gyani and God. If rock candy orsugar is mixed in milk, the color of the milk doesn't change but the

taste changes. In the same way, he within whom God exists doesn'tchange from outside, but from within he is changed. And that's whythere is no difference between G od a nd the one within whom God hasmanifested.

Once someone asked Master Sawan Singh, "What is the sign of theBrahm gyani? How can we recognize that he is the Master?" MasterSawan Singh said, "What do you want? Do you want the Masters totie a bow a rou nd their neck tha t they a re the Masters, o r should they

carry a sign?" The m ost trustwo rthy sign of the Brahm gyani is the dayand night meditations which he has done . You will find tha t the knowerof G od will have done the meditation. This is the greatest sign of theBrahm gyani which one can see.

One who has not done the meditation but who is called "Brahm gyani"by othe r people, and on e who is talking abo ut the med itation and ex-perience of othe r people- their condition is just as Master Sawan SinghJi used to say: "How can we know the taste of getting married, if weourselves are not married?"




The Brahm gyani is priceless;

Everything resides within the knower of God.

W e can never accurately value the B rahm gyani because he has com ein this world to liberate souls from this world and he has love for allthe souls in this world.

Who can know the secret of the Brahm gyani?Ever bow before the Brahm gyani.

H ow c an on e know the secret of the B rahm gyani? W e can only payour homage and respect to him. Hazur Maharaj Ji used to say thatthe blind m an cann ot com e to the person who can see; he cann ot catchthe finger of the person w ho ca n see, an d follow him. Unless the per-son w ho can see calls the blind person an d m akes him c atch his finger,the blind person can not com e to the person who c an see. In the sameway, no m atter if the Brahm gyani is living right next to us- f he does

not ma ke us catch his finger, how can we follow him? W e are the blindones an d the Brahm gyani is the one wh o can see everything- G od seeseverything w hereas the souls ar e blind. So unless God Himself ma kesthe soul follow His Path, how can the soul follow the Path?

The Mahatma Guru Arjan Dev, Whose bani we are reading now,was tortured by the orth od ox people: H e was mad e to sit on hot coalsand hot sand was thrown on his head. In the end He was stoned tode ath . If the people w ho were torturing H im had known th e glory ofthe B rahm gyani- f they had unde rstood the greatness of the knowerof Go d- hey would never have done tha t. They would have taken a d-vantage of Him and made their lives successful. But because theycouldn't see or un derstand the glory of the knower of G od , they tor-tured him to death.

Mian M ir was a dear one of G uru A rjan Dev, and when he saw thatH e was being tortured to d eat h, he came there an d said, "Master, ifyou will allow m eI will raze the grounds of L ahore to sand." But Gu ruA rjan Dev Ji smiled and said, "Mian M ir,I can also d o that , but thisis not in the will of G o d. Y our will,0 Lo rd, is sweet, and I a m pleasedto be in tha t will. A nd N anak always asks for the bo on of N aam ." Ifthose who were responsible for His death had known that He was aBrahm gyani, they would no t have don e what they did: they would havetaken advan tage of H is being there. But people cann ot know the gloryof the B rahm gyani until H e Himself makes them understand His glory.

Th e condition of this world is like the fa rme r wh o saw a swan com ean d sit in his farm . H e at once too k a stick and w ent to save his field.



THE KNOWERS OF GOD 191

He didn't know tha t the swan doesn't eat his foo d- she only eats pearls.

So this is the condition of the world.Saints come to liberate us but we give them suffering. We cannot

write even half a word in the glory of the Brahm gyani; He is the Lordof everyone.

Even half a letter cannot be written in praise of the Brahmgyani;

The knower of God is Lord of all.

Who can know the limits of the Brahm gyani?Only a Brahm gyani knows the glory of the Brahm gyani.There are no limits of the Brahm gyani,Nanak always salutes the Brahm gyani.

The people of this world cannot understand the knower of God; Hecan be understood only by a knower of G od . We cannot know the limitsof the Brahm gyani because he is limitless. The only thing we can do

is to always salute him; we can always pay our respect to him.

The Brahm gyani is the creator of all creation.The Brahm gyani lives forever; He never dies.

Now how can we understand this as long as we think that Master isjust the hum an body? How can this human being, this man, create thewhole universe, creation, and how is it possible that this man has the

control over the births and deaths of everyone? But the Mahatmaswhose inner eyes are opened, they know that this human being is a polein whom that Pow er is working that is responsible for the births an ddeaths of all the souls, of all the crea tion; and He Himself has createdthe whole creation. He only changes the body; but the Power Whichis working in that body never comes to an end.

The Brahm gyani is the giver of the practice of liberation

of the soul;The Brahm gyani is the perfect Lord.

Th e knower of G od has the means by which he can liberate the world.And he is the perfect man; he is the Lord himself. Mahatmas say , "Yougo within yourself, and climb the stairs to the top, and you will seethe beautiful things there. And G od , who is the Lo rd of all Creatio n-you go within and see Him."




The Brahm gyani is the Lord of the orphan;

The knower of God puts His hand on all.

The Brahm gyani is the Lo rd of all the orpha ns and H e puts His hando n the head of all the orph an s. Whether o ne is poor o r rich, H e is theLord of everybody and He showers His Grace on everybody.

Everything is the creation of Brahm gyani.Brahm gyani Himself is the Formless One.

All this play is of the know er of G od ; the L ord Himself is His Knower.Th e Lord Himself is manifesting in the B rahm gyan i. Kabir Sah ib says,"My Beloved is very humble, and He is called Saint."

The glory of the knower of God is understood by Himself;Nanak says, The Brahm gyani is the Lord of all.

Only the knower of G od ca n understand the glory or the greatness ofthe know er of G od . An d only He has the real wealth an d is the giverto everyone. He has thereal wealth of Naam which never comes toa n en d. W hen death comes we leave all the m aterial of this world here;we cannot take anything with us. What is that which can go with uswhen we leave this world? T ha t is Naa m . N aam is the only thing whichwill accompany us. The one who has Naam with him, he is the Em-pero r. Ka bir Sahib says, "He w ho doesn't have Naam in his heart, heis poor." So , like the B rahm gy ani, we should also meditate on N aa m ,we should also meditate on Shabd.



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ASHTAPADI NINE 197

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ASHTAPADI NINE 199



Chapter 9

Only Three Things Matter

He who keeps the Naam within himself,He who sees God in everybody,He who bows to the Lord moment after moment,He is Aparas [pure or true] who liberates all, says Nanak.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj asks, Which Mahatma can liberate thesouls? Which M aha tm a can liberate the world? W hat a re the qualitiesof that M ahatma an d what are His signs? The Mah atma W ho sees God'spresence everywhere, within Whom God Himself is manifested, andthe M ahatm a W ho Himself meditates on N aam and makes other peo-ple meditate o n Naam -only H e can liberate the whole world, by giv-ing a little spark of the Naam on which He has meditated.

They come from all the gods, and They have love for everybody,even for the animals and the birds. Why? Because They see Godeverywhere-in man and in animals as well.

He whose tongue does not touch falsehood,He who has the love for the darshan of the Lord always-

Th e Ma hatm a does not speak useless words. In H is heart H e alwayshas love for God, and He always sees God.

He whose eyes do not see the beauty of others' women,

He who serves the Sadh and loves the Saint-

If any younger woman comes to Him , the M ahatm a understands heras His daughter; if a ny older woman comes to H im , H e understandsher as His mother; if a wo man of the same age comes to see Him , thenH e understands her as a sister. In H is eyes, all women are alike and




He with whom God is pleased is VaishnavAnd He is unaffected by the influence of Maya.

We people form a religion or a community - ike the Sikhs have andthe Muslims have and the Christians have-and we think that by join-ing that community or becoming a member of that religion we are do-ing something for the devotion of God, and because we belong to thatcommunity or religion, we will meet God. In the time of Guru ArjanDev Who wrote these words there were those in the community who

were called the Vaishnav or the Pure Ones. But Guru Arjan says, Whois the real Vaishnav? Only he who lives in this world and still is un-affected by the mud of the world; who is pure in his heart, on whomGod is gracious, and who always remains happy in the will of God,only he is a Vaishnav.

He who does the good karmas, but remains detached:The religion of such Vaishnav is true.

What kind of Vaishnav is good? He who is working selflessly with noulterior motive, and who does the devotion of God for its own sakewith no thought of reward.

He who has no desire for the fruits or rewards,He who is attached only to devotion and singing praises

of God-

The devotee of God has no desire within him; he has only the desirefor meditation. Day and night he is involved in hearing the Sound ofGod which is resounding within him. But what is our condition? Whenwe do meditation, we bring all of our desires and our needs and thecomforts of our body and we put all that in front of the Master to ful-fill it. We meditate for ten minutes but we spend half an hour in pray-ing for all the things which we desire. Just think: who is bringing allthese desires? That is your mind. Your mind is creating desires for get-ting worldly things. And from whom are you trying to get your desiresfulfilled? That is from the Satguru. I t means you are not doing the de-votion of the Satguru, but you are doing the devotion of the mind;instead of understanding the Master as the Husband, Master as the Lordof everything, you are understanding your mind as the lord. That iswhy you pray for whatever the mind wants in front of the Master. Youdo not do the devotion of God; you do the devotion of mind. Insteadof getting understanding ourselves, we are trying to make God under-stand; we are trying to make God work as we want.




Which devotee's intellect, or understanding, is good? He who comesin the company of the Master and who has removed the dirt of sinsfrom his soul- nly that devotee's intellect is good. What is the placewhere we can remove the dirt of our sins? Satsang, or the companyof the M aster, is the only place where we can d o that. Satsan g is theonly place w here the d run ka rd gives up his wine an d the m eat-eatersgive up their m eat. Satsang is the only place where people com e andgive up their bad habits. G ur u Ram das Ji said,0 proud man No mat-ter how ma ny deeds you d o, w ithout Satsang, whatever you are doing

is taking pure water and putting it in the dirt."

He who always serves the Lord,He who sacrifices mind and body for the love of God-

T he devotee is always in the devotion of G o d- he is always in the com -pany of G od -a nd tha t is why he has sacrificed his mind and his body,and whatever he has, he understands that it is all of God.

He who makes the Feet of the Lord dwell in his heart-Such a devotee realizes God, says Nanak.

Th e devotee who m anifests the Feet of M aster, the Feet of G od , in hisheart -only such a devotee gets glory an d respect in the court of G od .

G od resides in the hu ma n being, an d H is Feet are at the eye center.S o when we collect our a ttention a nd get to the eye center, w hen we

bow d ow n at the Feet of G od which a re within, then G od holds us andembraces us.

He who awakens his mind is the pundit,And He searches for the Naam of the Lord within.

Now when G uru Sahib wrote this writing, there were many learned peo-ple, or pund its, in In dia, a nd they used t o be the priests at th e temples.

An d they used to say that w ithout them nobo dy co uld d o the devotionof G od a nd no body could read the sacred writings, etc. So G ur u Arjandescribes the quality of the pundit: Who is the real pundit? Only heis the real pundit who makes his soul free from the clutches of mind,and who takes his soul to God.

He who drinks the nectar of Naam-The world lives by the teachings of such a pundit.



O N LY THREE THINGS MATTER 205

The teaching of the pundit who always makes his soul drink the Nec-

tar of Naam is always beneficial. What is the teaching of such a pun-dit? His teaching is that your soul is thirsty for the Nectar of Naamfrom birth after birth, and you should make your soul drink tha t Nec-tar of Naam.

He who makes the Story of God dwell in his heart-Such a pundit does not come back in the body.

Guru Nanak has called that Po we r by different words in His writings:at some places He has called It Shabd o r Naam; sometimes He has calledIt Hari Kirtan, or the Song of God; sometimes He has called It theH ar i Katha, the Story of G od. So here Gu ru Arja n says that the p un-dit who tells the Story of G od- ne who does the devotion of G od andwho merges himself in God- oesn't have to come back in this world,because he becomes one with God.

He who understands the essence of the Vedas, Puranas and

Smritis,And understands that the physical is in the astral-

No m atter if the Master is illiterate and doesn't know about books; stillH e knows what is the real thing to grasp in all the holy scriptures writ-ten by the past Masters. H e knows that only three things matte r in theholy books, and only three things are talked abo ut : that is, Naa m , Per-fect Master, and Satsang. All the other things in the holy scripturesare written only to ma ke us understand how to ta ke adv antage of Sa t-sang , Naa m , and Sa tguru . So it doesn't matter if t he Master is illiter-ate; H e knows what is the real thing in the holy bo oks . H e knows th atwithout Satsang we cannot introspect ourselves and come into the goodcom pany; and without coming into Satsang, we canno t get to th e Per-fect Master; and without meeting the Perfect Master, we cannot getthe N aam. He is fully aware of the essence of the holy books, and that'swhy it is said that it makes no difference whether the Master is illiter-ate, o r learned.

G ur u Nanak used to call the intellectual people as "the businessmenof the Vedas," o r the businessmen of the holy book s. H e used to say,0 Nanak, all these businessmen of the books will not carry any of

those books with them when they go."Kabir Sahib says, 0 ma dm an, you have come to me quoting from

books. You are taking something from this book a nd som ething fromthat boo k. H ow long are you going to survive, eating from other peo-ple's dishes?"




Man is the mother of all knowledge; and all the knowledge and all

book s have come ou t from m an . But instead of reading his ow n Self,this book of six feet which he himself is carrying, he is reading the othe rboo ks. But it is a pity that he is not looking within himself, a t his ownbook.

He who gives teachings to all the four castes-Nanak says, Always bow to such a pundit.

Only he is a pundit who manifests that Naam within him. And onlyhe can be called a pundit wh o gives his knowledge t o people o f all fo urcastes- o everyone in this world; whether a m an o r a wo m an, rich per-son or poor person, whether fro m India or fro m America or Africa.On ly if he gives the knowledge to everyone c an he be called a p und it.In front of such a pundit I lay down my mind andI bow down.

Everyone can have the knowledge-Anyone in any caste who meditates on Naam.

Everyone in this creation has a right to m editate o n the Na am of Love.People of all four castes can meditate on Na am . The N aam of Lovecan be med i ta t ed upon by man o r wom an-o ld o r young-any one who wants can do the meditat ion of Naam .

Those who meditate get liberation;Rare are the souls who get the company of the Sadh.

Here there is no qu estion of an y particular co untr y, ca ste, or religion.Those who come in the company of the Master and meditate on N aamcan get liberated.

It can be a man belonging to any religion, it can be a sinner or agood man; but one who meditates on Naam will definitely get liber-ate d. Kabir Sah ib says, "When the Na am is made t o dwell in the h eart,it wo rks like a fire." As fire bur ns dry grass, the N aam in one's hea rt

burns all his sins.

Graciously He puts Naam within us;He liberates animals, ghosts, fools and even stones.

When God showers His grace, and the Master puts His Naam inanyo ne-w hether it is anim al or m an -h e gets liberated. If Masterwants, he can even liberate the stones.



ONLY THREE THINGSMATTER 207

Bhai Gurdas has said, "My Satguru has liberated animals, ghosts,

and even the stones: How can the man who comes to the M aster notget liberation?"

Naam is the medicine for all the diseases.It is the form of benefit, happiness and the praise of God,

Naam is the remedy for all diseases, and Naam is the Power which worksfor our benefit. The king who rules over the entire world can be un-

happy; but one who meditates on Naam is always happy.We cannot achieve it by any practice or religion;Nanak says, He in whose fate it is written gets it.

If it is not written in someone's fate to get Naam, he will not get Naam,no matter which religion he enters or what he does. Just as happiness,pain, poverty and wealth are written in our fate, in the same way, ifNaam is written in ou r fate , only then we can get it. If it is not writtenin our fate, we will never get it.

Within whose mind Parbrahm dwells,His name is truly Ramdas.

Now G uru A rjan Dev praises his Master. He says, "The name o f theone within whom God has manifested right now, is Ramdas. Trulyspeak ing, God is now called Ram das." If we call our M aster Kirpal as

our God, there is no harm in doing that because Master and God areone an d the sam e thing. All the Saints who have reached Sach Khandsee no difference between their Master and God.

He has seen the Lord of the Souls;He achieves Him by becoming the servant of servants.

"My Lord R amdas has seen the Lord o f the souls, and he is so humbledthat he calls himself the servant of the servants." Guru Ramdas was veryhumble, and he had a long beard, and when Sri Chand, son of GuruNa nak, came to him in Am ritsar he asked him,0 m an , why have yougrow n such a long beard?" At that time Gu ru Ramdas didn't get upsetbecause he was very hum ble. H e replied,"I have grown this beard on lyto w ipe the shoes of dear souls like you," and started wiping the shoesof Sri Chand. Sri Chand began to weep and said, "Only because ofthis humility have you people taken thegaddi [the successorship] fromus."




He who understands the Lord as always near him-

Such a servant is accepted in the court of the Lord.

Who is accepted in the court of God? Only he who has faith that Mas-ter is always present near him, and Master is doing everything in him.Only the one who has this much faith is accepted in the court of God.No matter if Master is always present with the disciple and from be-hind the curtain He is always helping and working for the disciple; un-til we have complete faith and love for the Master, we cannot see Him

working for us. So those who have this faith in Master-that He is al-ways with them-only they are accepted in the Court of God.

He Himself showers grace on his servant.Such a servant becomes aware of everything.

Master has everything in His hand. And the one on whom Master isgracious, he becomes aware of all things: he knows what is good forhim and what is bad for him, what is happening now and what is goingto happen. The one on whom God is gracious, he gets the awarenessof everything.

Even in the company of everything one remains sad-Such is the practice of Nanak and Ramdas.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "The practice of my Master,

Ramdas, is such that even after living in this world and doing every-thing in the world, still, the person who is practicing the practice ofmy Master remains sad. Why? Because he cannot be happy with any-thing of this world and he always wants to go and see his Master, hisGod.

He who abides with the orders of God,Is called the one who has liberation while living.

Who can get liberation while living? Only he who accepts everythingwhich comes in the will of God. Whether happiness or pain comes,whether people criticize or praise him, no matter what comes to him-only he who gladly accepts the will of God can get liberation while living.

As is the happiness, so is the pain-He is always happy and never has any separation.



O N LY THREE THINGS MAT T E R 209

For the M ah atm a, it makes no difference whether w hat comes is pain

or happiness; he treats pain as he treats happiness. And that is whyhe always remains happy. A Master does not get nervous when a fewpeople come up and start criticizing Him, and He doesn't give up hismeditation when a few people com e and start praising H im . H e nevergives up the P at h; H e never weeps and goes away from the P at h whenHe is criticized and people talk against Him. It makes no differenceto H im whether pain o r happiness comes, because H e always has thesup port of God . In all cond itions he catches hold of God , so he is never

unhappy.As is God, so is the dust;As is nectar, so is the bitter poison.

In the eyes of the Mahatma, gold and dust are alike. He doesn't getexcited and happy when he gets gold an d he doesn't become sad whenhe gets dust or sand . In the same way, for Him nectar and po ison a realike: it makes no difference to Him whether he gets one or the o the r.When M irabai was given the cup of poison and was told it was nectar,even though there was one attendant who told her that it was not nec-tar but poison, still she said, "Since they have called it nectar, thenmaybe it is nectar." She didn't worry if it was poison; she drank it.It makes no difference to the Saints if it is nectar or poison.

As is glory, so is criticism;As is the poor man, so is the King.

In the eyes of the Master, kings and the poo r a re alike; and the criticsand those who love Him are also alike. He loves all of them.

He who practices all these things-Nanak says, Such a person is called 'The one Who has

achieved liberation while living."

Whatever happens in the life of the Master, whether people slanderhim o r people praise him, he unders tands it as the will of God. He takesthat , thinking, "Whatever is happening is the best fo r me, and it is GodW ho is doing all these things to m e." So the M aha tma W ho has m adeup his mind like this and who has this attitude- we should understan dHim as the one liberated while living.

Everywhere is the place for Parbrahm to reside,The soul is named according to the place where it is kept.



210 THE J E W E L OF HA PPIN E SS

God is residing in everybody, in enemies as well as in friends. He even

resides in the animals. Wherever the soul gets birth, he is called that:if the soul takes birth as a cat or dog, it gets the name of dog, or cat ,according to the body it has received. But truly speaking, it is God Whois present everywhere.

He Himself is the doer and does all things,Only what He wills happens.

All this is the play of God, and all happens in the Will of God. Heknows and He Himself brings some people to meditate on Naam; andHe knows and He doesn't bring other people to the path of Naam; HeHimself makes people criticize and He Himself makes people do goodthings. He knows about everything, and He Himself is responsible forall happenings. Sitting within everyone, He is making them do all things.

He Himself expanded, becoming different waves;No one can understand the ways of Parbrahm.

How can the poor souls understand God? We are all like bubbles whichform on the surface of the water of the ocean: when air comes andfills the bubble, the bubble remains there, but as soon as the air is with-drawn the bubbles are gone, and they again become the water. In thesame way, as long as it is the Will of God we remain in this world,and when He withdraws Himself from within us, we again become onewith God.

Guru Sahib says that we have one Father, and we are the childrenof the same Father. But because we obey our minds, we fight with eachother and we say that one person is bad and another is good. But trulyspeaking, we are all children of the same Father. I will say that thechildren who fight with each other are not pleasing their fathers. Andif we people are fighting with each other, we are not gaining the plea-sure of our Master.

People get enlightened according to the understanding Hegives to them.

Parbrahm is the doer who is indestructable.

God gives understanding to the people in whatever way or degree Hewants. His light is everywhere.

Kabir Sahib says that some people get understanding from God, somepeople ask for understanding from the Master, and some people don't



ONLY THREE THINGS MATTER 21 1

take u nderstanding even when they a re given it. They are just like thestones in the water. Some people are born with understanding aboutG od - they are godly-minded; some people come to the Masters andask for knowledge a bo ut God a nd get it from H im; and some peopledo no t become receptive to th e knowledge which th e M aster is givingto them. Master gives them Naam, but still they are not receptive towhat He is trying to give them. They are like a stone, which doesn'tbecome wet no matter how much water you pour on it.

Ever, ever, ever, He is gracious:Nanak says, Do His Simran and flourish.

Go d has always remained gracious. H e was gracious in the Golden Age,in the Silver Age, in the Copper Age, and now in the Iron Age alsoHe is gracious. So Guru Nanak says, "Those who do the Simran ofGo d W ho is always gracious, we sacrifice ourselves o n them"- nd weare also happy because we are doing the Simran of G od . So you should

also do the Simran of God and become happy.



limit r :

W&ak say$,Gad credced theCreMion ilz

any mzlliomaxethe fidwzceof&Yedfis.

M y I ' u w mh'iul: 0% their own




Wwy millzoniare withtwttheknowledgeof their own,ad.

celz 'bf i t~~nd yogis.



ASHTAPADI TEN 215

trees.6 cvefitfidmany miUions~ J O ~ Snd

aad planets.

72/ecvea&d m w y miUion5Dfgadsandk m o n i , Land Lord 7ndm whoz'i tbGod afgodr.

Xe keepse veryth~ng ogether

7Vanalc says, ge L ~ ' b e r ~ e ~ -homeverJji




Wany miLlzoniwho live,for longhaine-%taw mountainsof gold-

many mCUz;onj Iivt in the worldbelow;

'Many m&8ns fire the resz'dsnbs 4 heand hewem

W w y milhionram born, they liveand



ASHTAPADI TEN 217

W a n d my,,? vwything ij zh theLord7 hsndr .

%e y w es$wh2.'njjk ?av Brahmwith-z ntheirSOMLS.

'Many mill ton ask for J a t w ~ gmnd theyare dyed in thecolw of ?wB ahm .



ASHTAPADI TEN 21 9

brconwtinmortpil, and w 6 W~IZJfore v w .

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Fasz'Zyt h yabiarb th Li-~ouLn the ha+?-



Chapter 10

Many Millions

Many praise Him, but no one knows His limits:Nanak says, God created the Creation in different ways and

many forms.

All the creatures in this Creation , whether they ar e insects o r animalso r m an, are trying t o praise the Almighty W ho has created this world;

but nobody has known the limits of the Almighty G od . God has createddifferent types of creatures; He has created four types of species-animals, insects, man, a nd m any othe r beings. D o you know th at eventhe animals, when they wake up in the morning, in their ow n languageexpress their gratitude and become thankful to God?

Kabir Sahib says,"I sacrifice myself on those birds who live in theforest and eat the thrown-away food but still do not give up theirremembrance of God."

Many millions became worshipers.Many millions became righteous and of good conduct.

There are millions of priests in this world who are worshiping God;an d similarly there have been millions of guru mu khs - those who haveachieved Go d.

Many millions became the residents of places of pil-grimage.

Many millions became sad and in illusion wandered in theforest.

M any millions go and residein the places of pilgrimage, thinking tha tthey will get liberation just by being at the places of p ilgrimage. And



M A N Y MILLIONS 22 1

ma ny millions go and spend their life in the fo rest, thinking t ha t they

will achieve God by living that type of life.

Many millions are the audience of the Vedas.Many millions perform austerities.

Many millions are interested in hearing the stories of the Vedas andhearing the holy scriptures, and many millions are interested in goinginto the forest in the secluded places and performing austerities.

Many millions contemplate on their own self.Many millions think on their ow n writings.

M any millions are contemplating o n their own self, and in that waythey are trying to get liberation; a nd there are many millions w ho areinterested in reciting their own poetry, their own writings abo ut G od .

Many millions meditate on the new names of the Lord.N ana k says, But they do not get to know the lim it of theCreator.

Many millions are giving many new names of the Timeless Lord, butthey are not achieving God just by calling God in different types ofnames.

Many millions have become egotists.Many millions are blind and ignorant.

Now G ur u Sah ib is describing the cond ition of the world. He says thereare millions of peo ple-those wh o are intoxicated by the ego, bypride- who say tha t nobody else is like them . And there are ma ny mil-lions of illiterate people in this world who have no knowledge.

Many millions are misers and stone-hearted.Many millions are without the knowledge of their ownsoul.

There are many millions of people who are living as misers in this world ,and there are many millions of people- hose who never com e to thePa th of Naa m -an d no matter what, still the color of Naam is notreaching them.




Many millions are stealing the wealth of others.

Many millions are jealous of others.

There are many millions of people who are always trying to steal fromothers; and there are many millions of people who are always feelingjealous, looking at other people's progress and other people's reputa-tion in this world; and they are always becoming envious of them andbothered about them.

Many millions work hard for Maya.Many millions wander i n foreign countries.

There are many millions of people who don't feel ashamed even to domean work for collecting wealth, and many millions of people who wan-der in foreign countries just to collect wealth.

Wherever He attaches people, there they remain attached.Nanak says, Only the Creator Himself knows about His

creation.

Now Guru Sahib says that everyone is attached to the world, and allthis is done by God Himself. God knows at which place He has to sendeach person and who is fit for what work. And He does all these thingsfrom behind the curtain, but nobody can know that.

Many millions are Siddhas [seers], celibates and yogis.Many millions are kings who enjoy the pleasures.

Now he says there are millions of seers, celibates and yogis living inthis world, and there are millions of kings, and important people, whoare enjoying the world and are sleeping towards God.

He created many millions af birds and snakes.

He created many millions of stones and trees.

Guru Sahib says God has created many million types of trees on thisplane, and He has created many million types of birds and other crea-tures.

He created many millions of gods and goddesses.He created many millions of countries and planes.



M A N Y MILLIONS 223

He has created many millions of gods and goddesses; and H e has createdmany millions of divisions and grand divisions of this world.

He created many millions of moons, suns and planets.He created many millions of gods and demons, and Lord

Indra who is God of gods.

Now he says God h as made many m illions of suns, He has m ade manymillions of mo ons a nd stars and planets, an d H e Himself has created

many millions of gods and goddesses; and even Lord Indra, who iscalled God of the gods and goddesses, is created by Him.

He keeps everything together;Nanak says, He liberates whomever He wants.

God has created all these creatures- nsects, animals, etc. -and H e haspu t them all together, like we put the beads in a rosary, and H e know s

to whom He h as to give liberation, and according to th at H e liberatesthem . H e decides which soul has to go in how man y bodies, a nd onlyHe is responsible for the liberation of the souls.

[He created] many millions of Rajsic, Tamsic, and Satvicpeople-

Many millions of Vedas, Puranas, Smritis and Shastras-

H e has created many millions of satvic, tamsic and rajsic people whohave these three different kinds of qualities, and many millions of Vedasand other books have been created by Him.

Many millions of pearls in the ocean-Many millions of different kinds of creatures-

H e has created oceans with many m illionsof pearls in them, and Hehas created many millions of kinds of creatures in them. We believetha t the science of today has progressed and reached m any places, b utup until now no scientist has reached the place where the science ofthe Saints -the science of soul- as reached.

Guru Nanak Sahib says, "God has created man, the human bodyof five elements: no o ne else can m ake a h um an bo dy or even a bodywith three or four elements in it."

Many millions who live for a long time-Many mountains of gold-




There are many millions of people who live long lives in this world;

and God has created many millions of mountains, and many of themof gold.

Many millions of demons, ghosts, evil spirits-Many millions of animals who devour other animals.

He has created many millions of ghosts, demons, and angels; and Hehas created many millions of animals: deer, and tigers and other animals

who eat the deer.

He is near to all, He is away from all.Nanak says, He remains within everyone but is still unique.

God is far from the manmukhs, or those who obey their mind; He isvery near to the gurumukhs. And even though He is present withineveryone, still He is unique.

Many millions live in the world below;Many millions are the residents of hells and heavens.

God has created many millions of souls who are living in the worldbelow, and He has made many millions of souls live in the heavens.

Many millions are born, they live and die;Many millions wander in many bodies.

There are millions of souls who get birth, and there are millions of soulswho die. And there are many millions of souls who wander from onebody to another -sometimes they become man, sometimes bird, some-times animal- and in that way they wander continually from one bodyto another.

Many millions eat and enjoy while sitting;Many millions get exhausted working hard.

Now Guru Sahib says that there are many millions of people who justsit and enjoy and eat and who do not have to work for their livelihood,and those poor people don't get the opportunity even to move theirhands; but there are many millions of other people who work very hardduring the daytime and at the end of the day are exhausted, and theydo all that to make their living.



MANY MILLIONS 225

Guru Nanak Sahib has said that there are many people who enjoysleeping on comfortable beds (like the one M other M illie had), and thereare many people who just stand there to attend those who sleep o n thosebeds.

He created many millions of wealthy people-Many millions who are anxious for wealth.

Go d has created many millions of rich people, who h ave so much they

don't have any idea of how much wealth they have; but H e has createdmany millions of poo r people who are always worrying abo ut m akingtheir living, and w ho do n't have any fo od t o ea t, any house to sleepin, or any clothes to wear.

Whatever is His Will, according to that He keeps thepeople;

Nanak says, Everything is in the Lord's hands.

Nobody can become rich by himself, and nobody becomes poor by him-self. It is all in the Will of G od ; and w hatever G od wishes for an yone,H e gives to him according to th at.

Many millions have become bairagis, whose attention is attunedto the Name of God.

There a re many millions ofbairagis (those who are yearning in the de-

votion of Go d), an d there are many millions of souls who are attune dto God .

Many millions search for God;They are searching for Par Brahm within their souls.

Now he says there a re many millions of people who are searching fo rG od , and there are many millions w ho ar e trying to m ake their soulsfree from the clutches of mind.

Many millions who have the thirst for the darshan of GodFind that indestructible God.

There ar e many millions of people who a re thirsty for having the d ar -sha n of Go d; a nd those w ho ar e always get it. As M aster Kirpal usedto say: "This is the law of natu re: there is food for the hungry a nd wa-ter for the thirsty.




Many millions ask for Satsang and they are dyed in thecolor of Par Brahm.

Th ere are many millions of people who day a nd night request the A l-mighty Lord: 0 Lo rd, give us Satsang, bring us in Satsang." And thosewho are praying for that are dyed in the color of Glory from within.

One with whom He becomes pleasedIs always a blessed one, says Nanak.

Tho se with whom G od becomes pleased, they are always involved inthanking and being grateful to God.

Many millions of species and divisions of creation,Many millions of skies and Brahmands-

H e has created m any millions of species, and H e has created m any m il-

lions of skies, and many millions of divisions of His creation.

Many millions of incarnations were created,Who spread their work in many different ways.

There w ere millions of incarnations wh o cam e in this world a nd spreadtheir work.

Many times the creation was created,But every time He, only He, the Ek Onkar, remained.

M any times this world has been renov ated , ma ny times this world h ascome t o a n e nd, a nd many times it has been dissolved and again created,an d this world has gone on changing; but G od W ho created this worldhasn't changed. And many times it has happened that only God re-m ained existing in H is Will, and no o ther c reatu re was existing in thisworld.

He created many millions of creatures,Who are created from God and at the end dissolve in God.

H e has created many m illions of creatures: you see how H e has m adethe body of the cat , how He has made the mouse, and how He hasma de the different parts of the body of the hum an being. After m ak-ing all these bodies, He is residing within them; and He has done allthis by Himself.



MANY MILLIONS 227

No one knows His limits;Nanak says, The Lord Himself knows them.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "Nobody can know His bounds,His limits; only He knows His limits an d I bow down to such a God ."

Many millions are servants of Par Brahm;Within them the Light is manifested.

There a re many millions who are slaves of G od and there ar e manymillions within whom God is manifested; and in whom God ismanifested, there is the Light of God.

Many millions are knowers of Truth.They always see Him with their one eye.

There have been many millions of people who knew about God; and

there are many millions of people who know abou t God now , and withtheir open eyes are seeing Him everywhere.

Many millions have dru nk the nectar of Naam,And become immortal, and are living forever.

There are many millions of souls who d rank the Nectar of Naam andhave become imm ortal; the souls who d rink the Nectar of N aam never

die.

Many millions sing the qualities of Naam;Easily they absorb their soulin the happiness of the nectar.

Many millions are doing the meditation on Shabd Naam and a re mak -ing their soul drink that Nectar of Naam.

Those wh o remember their Beloved with their every sin-gle breath are the beloveds of God, says Nanak.

Those who remember their Master, those who love their Master withevery single breath, are the beloveds of God . As Guru Sahib has praisedGod an d has expressed his thankfulness to G od in this chapter of Sukh -mani Sahib, we should also be grateful to Him and thank Him.



3% a moment:Fle can creue and de,tryj%ere 25 no Limit ta Ui5 poweu.



ASHTAPADI ELEVEN 23 1




Only tht whichp h s e 5 GO hqpen,.

sometimxfall, t o the woddbelow.5omtima he obtains divine nowl ledge.Wanak 5a y ~ :he Lord Hirnseq ZJ th

One Who m i t e 5 w wzch ?lime



ASHTAPADI ELEVEN 233

Jomfitiine, he . a t 5 out the t h r m a5 agreat king;

S a m e t i m 5he wear5 th d r w $ a bfigga~

N a n a k sag5 thz5 t m ~ h i t h graceofthe Master.

elephane o r a moth,dnd wautder~in m m y bodies.As a mimic h o w 5 hi5 many fo~mj ,




S o m e t i k mhe dae, ot cumt back to h a t



Chapter 11

God is the Doer

God alone is the doer, there is no one else;Nanak says, I sacrifice myself on Him Who is present in

water, on land and everywhere.

He himself is the Doer, He Himself is the Creator, and He Himselfis the One Who sustains it. He Himself is present in the sky, He Him -

self is present in the world below, and He is everywhere.I sacrifice my-self on Him Who has created this creation.

The Creator alone is competent to do everything;Whatever He wishes, that happens.

God Himself does everything and, residing within the people, H e makesthem work. He is the only One Who can do anything. Whatever Hewishes, only that happens. When the disciples asked Guru Nanak,"When it is said tha t everything th at happens, happens in the Will ofGod , and God Himself does all the things which happen, then why arethe souls blamed that they are doing good or bad?" Guru Nanak re-plied, "As long as the souls really understand tha t it is all Go d work-ing, they are not blamed." But when they think that it is"I" who isdoing an d when the sense of egoism comes, then they are held respon -sible.

In a moment He can create and destroy;There is no limit to His Powers.

He can create this creation in one second, and if He wants, He candestroy this creation in one second. And when He works in this way,how can one know His limits?




He creates and sustains the creation by His Will:

By His Will all is created and by His Will all is absorbedin Him.

G od creates this creation by His Will, by His N aa m ; and w ith the sup-port of Naam He sustains it , and everywhere His Naam pervades.

By His Will high and low (good and bad) work;By His Will are performed many different things.

Peop le do good o r bad deeds only in the Will of G o d , an d only in theWill of God people enjoy many different things.

After creating He sees His greatness;Nanak says, He is present in all.

Residing within everybody and making them work according to His

Will, He feels His Greatness and, in a very unique way, He is All-Pervading.

If God wishes, man gets liberation.If God wishes, He can make even the stones swim across.

If it is God's Will, and if He wishes, only then can a man get libera-tion. And if He wishes, and if it is in His Will, only then, can even

the stones swim across.In a place called S aha ran pu r there used to live one trader w ho w asvery miserly. He never came in the sangat and he never did anythingto d o with G od . H e had two sons and both of them were m arried. Allhis life long his sons told him t o sit in the com pan y of so m e Saint an dd o devotio n, but he never did th at because he was very miserly. Youknow t hat death never waits for anyo ne and old age also never waitsfor anyo ne. So when he became old and was not able to move his bod y,he was put o n a bed. All day long he would go on talking an d cursinghis daugh ters-in-law and his son s. H e was so miserly he wouldn't givethem anything, and his sons and daughters-in-law didn't like him.

So he would act like tha t an d he would suffer mu ch. A fter sufferingfor som e time, his sons came t o him, saying, "Father, you have grownvery old a nd in your lifetime, when you were in good health, you didn'tgo in the com pany of any M aster or S aint. But we will be very happyto take you to H ardw ar, because in Ha rdw ar many M asters and Saintsan d Sadh us an d religious people get together. So there is a chance th at



GOD is THE DOER 237

you will find some Master there, some Mahatma there, who will give

you Satsang. And in that way you will be able to do a little bit of devo-tion of God. So you come with us."

But since he was very miserly, he said, "No,I don't want t o go there."His sons requested him in many ways but he didn't believe and he didn'tobey them. A fter some time, when the sons were not able to tak e him,they told their relatives to tell him that he should accompany them.They wanted very much tha t their fa ther should do som e devotion an dthat he should spend his last days in some holy place so tha t when he

would leave this world he might go to Heaven. But their father wasnot interested in doing tha t. Even when some relatives told him , "Yoursons are very good and they are thinking very well of you. When theyare willing to take you t o the holy place, why are you not going?" H ewas still not interested and he said,"I know that in Hardwar all thedeceivers get togethe r, because all the Saints or whatever, all the peo-ple who go there, they are all deceivers. AndI don't like'the air arou ndthe River Ganges.I won't be able to maintain good health there, so

I don't want to go in that area." He made many excuses.When he died, his sons tho ught, "Our f ather didn't go to Ha rdw aror any other holy place when he was alive. Now let us take his bodyto Hardwar and cremate him there. H e will get some benefitif we cre-ma te his body on the bank of the River Ganges. M aybe he will go toHeaven or some good place." So they made a sor t of coffin and theyput his body in it, and some other relatives also came to help carryit; and they started for Hardwar.

They were walking, so when the night came they had to spend thenight in some place on the way. All the people had so much respectfor that dead man that they put the coffin in the room and they allslept ou tside. In the place where they were sleeping there was one leper,who had been living at that place for a long time, but was unable toget any foo d or any good things because no t many people came thereand he was not getting many dona tions.So he thought, "Let me takeout this dead body from this coffin andI will take its place. T hey won'tknow the difference and in that wayI will get to Hardwar. There aremany people there and I can get a lot of money begging, and spendmy days more easily." So he did that: he removed the dead body andin place of it he lay down in the coffin.

The next morning, when all those people got up, they didn't knowany of this, so they took the coffin, thinking that the dead body oftheir father was still there. When they came to Hardwar and openedthe co ffin , they saw some movement. At first they thought th at maybetheir father had com e back t o life, and they became very happy . But




when they saw that it was the leper, and he told them the whole story,

they all became very sad. So some of them stayed at Hardwar whileothers returned to that place where they had spent the night to bringthe dead body. They tied the body on a horse and again set out forHardwar.

After traveling for some time, something happened and the horsewent wild and ran away. Instead of going to Hardwar, he went backto Saharanpur where that old man used to live. When the people ofthat city saw that this was the same old man who had been taken by

his sons to Hardwar for cremation, they were very surprised. The rela-tives and sons were informed that the body was back in Saharanpur,so they all came back from Hardwar. Although they wanted to cre-mate the body in Hardwar, they couldn't because the body wouldn'treach Hardwar. So they cremated it in Saharanpur.

People in India believe that if you put the ashes of the dead bodyin the River Ganges, the soul goes to Heaven or some good place. Soaccording to that, they called one pundit and told him to take the ashes

and put them in the River Ganges. He was given a lot of money andhe was told to go to Hardwar and put the ashes in the holy River Ganges.He thought, "I should first go to my home and put all the money andgold that I have received in my home. If I take it along with me maybesome dacoits will plunder me." But he did not take the bones and ashesof the old man with him. Instead he tied the bag to a tree and wenthome.

Someone saw the bag: a very poor man who earned his living by cut-

ting wood in the forest. And when he saw a very good piece of cloth,he was attracted and he took it; he dumped out its contents on theground and gave that piece of cloth to his wife. When the pundit cameback, he saw that there was no bag there, and no bones or ashes. Buthe went to Hardwar anyway and told the pundits there, "You writeto the sons of that old man that I came here with the ashes and weperformed all the ceremonies and now the ashes have been put in theRiver Ganges and he will get liberation and all those things like that,

so that they may be convinced that I have done my job. But truthfullyI don't know where the ashes went. So you write this false letter tothem." And they did.

After some time, the wood cutter's wife made a dress from that pieceof cloth, and when she wore it, one of the sons of that old man sawit and recognized it. So he called her and asked her where she had got-ten it. First she didn't help him, but later on she confessed: "It is thesame piece of cloth which you gave to the pundit; my husband stole it."

So the family called the pundit and asked him, "How did all this hap-



GOD IS THE DOER 239

pen? We received letters from the other pundits that you went there

an d you did all the ceremonies and everything, an d threw the ashes inthe Ganges. But what is this? How is this piece of c loth still in this city?Does this mean the ashes didn't get to the Ganges -n ot even one pa rtof the body of our father went to the Ganges? W hat d o you have tosay?"

He said, "When all of you didn't succeed in taking your fath er, aliveor dead, to the River Ganges, how couldI take him t o the Ganges?I was all alone, whereas you were all the family and you all tried yo ur

best, but you were not able to d o that How could you expect me todo it by myself?"So the meaning of this story is, that if it is in God's Will only then

ca n one come in the com pany of the Master. If it is in God's W ill, onlythen can one go to a holy place. If it is not in God's Will he will neverget the company of good people, and he will never visit holy places.So whatever happens in this world, happens only if it is in the Willof God.

If God wishes He can sustain one without breathing;If God wishes man can sing His praise.

If it is in God's Will, one can live even without breathing. And if itis in God's Will, only then can we do the meditation on Shab d Na am ,and progress on the Path.

If God wishes He liberates the sinners;He Himself does whatever He thinks.

If G od w ants, many great sinners get liberation, a nd many bad peopleget improved.

He is the Lord of both (sinners and good people);The All-Conscious God plays and enjoys His creation.

He is the only Savior fo r sinners as well as for good people and , resid-ing within everybody, He sees everything. And as fo r requesting Him-"Do this thing for us," or "Give us that thingH-only those who d o notunderstand H im d o that . Those who know Him and understand H imdo not make these requests.

He gets done whatever He wishes for;Nanak says, No one else like Him is seen.




W hatever H e wants, H e makes us d o that . If He w ants us to meditate

on N aam , H e makes us meditate on Naam , and if H e wants us to d osatsang, He brings us into satsang and we are able to do th at . A nd si t-ting b ehind th e veil, H e is doing all the things by Him self. Th at is whythe Masters say, "We do not see anyone else except Him."

Tell me, what can a man do?What He wishes, He makes him do that.

W ha t can a m an d o? A m an ha s very little power, very little strength .An d whatever a m an is doing , it is God W ho is making him d o it, sit-ting within him.

If it were in the hands of man, he would have taken every-thing;

But whatever He wishes, that happens.

If it were in the control of a ny m an , then he would never allow anyo neelse to have any wealth, o r to ma ke use of th e resources which we seein this wo rld. H e would w ant t o have al l those things for himself . Butthe G ur u says it is all in the ha nds of G od- W hatever H e wishes, tha thappens."

On ce there was an i l li terate farmer wh o did the devotion of G od .An d when G od became pleased w ith h im, H e asked him to ask for any-thing he w anted. So the farmer replied, "Lo rd,I don't have much foodor possessions; You should give me something." So God gave him alittle bell and told him , "Whenever you w ant an yth ing , just ring thebell and I will appear there, and whatever you will ask for,I will giveyou . But w hatever you ask for , your neighbor will get double- oublewh at you get." W hen G od gave him th at bell he was very pleased, butwhen he heard tha t his neighbor would get dou ble what he would get,he didn't like that . S o he went hom e an d told his wife,"I have got thisbell. But the condition is that whatever we get, our neighbor will getdouble. A nd th at is whyI don't wa nt to ring this bell andI don't want

to get anything from God ." M any days passed, and he went on becom-ing poor er a nd p oo rer, bu t still he didn't ring th e bell because he didn'twant tha t his neighbor should prosper a nd get more than he got. Sohe didn't ring the bell and he didn't get anything.

M an y times his wife said t o him, "Why should you bo ther a bo ut theneighbors? If they get, with the grace of G od , double w hat we get, letthem have it; they are also hum an beings. But let us at least have wha twe need " But he said, "Why should they get anything ?I did the devo-



GOD IS THE DOER 24 1

tion, I pleased G od an d He has given me this boon Why shou ldI use

the boo n an d let them take advantage of it?I don't want to do that."God put him thro ugh many tests, and he became poorer an d poo rer,but he preferred no t to ring the bell because he was afraid th at his neigh-bors would get more. At one point things got so bad that he had toleave his home to find work because there was nothing in the houseto eat, but still he didn't take advantage of tha t bell. S o he left his home,looking for work, leaving his wife behind. After he left, and his wifehad nothing to ea t, she thought of ringing that bell and asking fo r things

fro m God . She had a different attitude from her husband's; she thought,"What's wrong if the neighbors get something? They are also hum anThey should also have what we have." So she rang the bell and Godappeared there; and whatever she asked for, she got it all, and the neigh-bors got it double. Many days passed an d she became p rospero us, a ndthe neighbors became twice as prosperous. People started talking ab outthem: that it was curious that when the man was still at home therewas nothing there to eat, but once he left, everything came there.

It was not written in the fate of that man to enjoy all those things.It was not until he left that the family could get them.

After some time that m an came back, an d he was told that his fam -ily was living very happily a nd prosperou sly and that as soon as he'dleft they had gotten all their things, and tha t it was all the grace of G od .But he said, "No, it's not the grace of Go d It's my bell She has rungmy bell and has made God appear and she received the things fromHim." An d he became upset. An d when he saw that the neighbors hadtwice as much as his family, he didn't like that . S o he at once rang thebell, and said, "God,I want one well in fro nt of my ho me." So he gotone well and the neighbors got two. And then again he rang the belland said, "God, I ask you to mak e me one-eyed-to take one eye."So when he said that, he became one-eyed an d the neighbors becameblind. S o after that, when the neighbors came ou t of their hom e, theyfell in the wells and died, and he was contented.

So the meaning of this story is, tha t if it were in the hands of m an ,whoever was in control would never allow other people to enjoy the

blessings of Go d . H e would always keep everything-all the blessingsfro m Go d- to himself. But God has not done tha t. God has kept every-thing with Him an d if H e wants, only then H e gives to people. W ha t-ever amount H e wants to give to people, H e gives. And H e has no tgiven the control of this to man; He has kept it in His hands.

Because of his ignorance man is involved in poison;If he were wise, he would have saved himself.




Man doesn't know that he will have to pay for all the good and bad

deeds which he is doing. And, in ignorance, after committing bad deeds,he is putting the snare about his own neck.

Lost in illusion, he runs in all ten directions;In the twinkling of an eye he comes back after wandering

in the four corners.

He has fallen in illusion. What is illusion? Whatever we see with our

eyes is all illusion. Whatever we see in this world is all illusion. Whenwe leave this world, nothing will go with us; so when nothing goes withus, it means that all that we see is illusion. Man has fallen in the illu-sion and he is not aware of good and bad things. By his thoughts, manis wandering here and there in all ten directions. Climbing on the horseof thought, sometimes he goes to Germany, sometimes he goes toAmerica, he goes and wanders here and there, everywhere in the world.His body sits still at one place, but his mind takes him all over the world.

Upon whom He showers grace, He gives devotion,Nanak says, Such a one gets the Naam.

Only such souls can swim across the ocean of the world on whom Godshowers Grace, and gives His Naam.

In a moment He gives a Kingdom to a low worm;

Par Brahm is merciful to the poor ones.

If He wants, in one second He can give the whole Kingdom to a pau-per, and He showers grace on the poor ones. That's why Master Kirpalused to say, "When you come to the Master, you should come as apoor one, as a humble beggar."

He who is not seen anywhere,In a moment God makes him famous in all ten directions.

If God wants, He can write in all the worlds the name of that soul whichis not counted anywhere, about whom not even his family membersor relatives know or care. God can make him famous throughout theworld, if He wants. "The low one who is not recognized or known byanyone, if he meditates on Naam, becomes famous in all the fourcorners of the world."



GOD IS THE DOER 243

He upon whom He showers His gift,

(Of such a one) The Lord does not ask for accounts.

When God showers His Grace on a Master, and the Master gives itall away, God doesn't ask the Master , "Why did you spend this muchGrace?" O nce He has given Grace to any M aster or S aint, H e doesn'task for the account of it.

The soul and body are His creation;

The perfect Light of God is manifested within all.

He is within everybody. The soul is His, and the body is also His.

He Himself has made Himself;Nanak lives looking at his greatness.

No one created G od . No one has made God . God has made Himself,and Gu ru Nanak Sahib says, "Looking a t this Glory and Greatness ofGod, we are surprised."

Man's strength is not in his own hands;The Lord is the Doer of everything.

God Himself is the Doer of everything in this world, and the poo r soulshave no strength; they have no power. Our bodyis like a n engine inwhich different parts ar e fitted. If you don't supply the fuel or the cur -

rent, the parts of the engine will not move, and the engine will not work .It is the same way with our body. In our body we have hands, feet,mouth, eyes and all those things; but if God doesn't put His currentin this body, not even one part of our body can move-we can not liftup our hand , we cannot open our eyes, we cannot speak-we can donothing if the Power of God is not working in our body. So, "Thisis all in the hands of God," means tha t God is the Doer of everything.

The helpless soul is obedient:Only that which pleases God, happens.

This poor soul is obedient, and wherever God wants, this poor soulfollows Him.

Sometimes a man is high, sometimes low;Sometimes he is colored in depression and sometimes in

happiness-




Som etimes the po or soul has anxiety, sometimes he is hap py , some-

times he becom es depressed, sometimes he is born in the lower bo dy,sometimes he is born in the higher body-

Sometimes he criticizes and thinks of others' business;Sometimes he rises up in the sky and sometimes falls to

the world below-

Sometimes this poo r o ne criticizes the w orld, som etimes this poo r o ne

praises the world, sometimes, using thought, he flies in the air, andsometimes, using thought, he travels in the world below-

Sometimes he obtains divine Knowledge.Nanak says: The Lord Himself is the One Who unites us

with Him.

A nd sometimes he becomes the knower of G od . G od has kept all these

things in His hands. Gu ru S ahib says, "God Himself is the O ne W hounites us all with Him."

Sometimes he dances in different ways;Sometimes he sleeps day and night.

Sometimes he dances an d plays musical instruments; a nd sometimeshe is interested only in sleeping.

Sometimes he looks terrible because of mighty anger;Sometimes he becomes the dust of the feet of all.

Sometimes he shows an aspect of such terrible ang er that he troublesthe people living with him; an d sometimes he calls himself an d con-siders himself the dus t of oth er people's feet an d says, "Wha t canI takefrom this world?"

Sometimes he sits on the throne as a great king;Sometimes he wears the dress of a beggar.

Sometimes he becomes worse than the beggar, a nd som etimes he con-siders himself asa king.

Sometimes he is defamed;Sometimes he makes people praise him.



GOD IS THE DOER 245

Sometimes he says, "All the people in this world should praise me, an d

wherever I go I should always get praise."

He lives as God wants him to live:Nanak says this truth with the grace of the Master.

Guru Sahib says,"We are telling you all these things by the Grace ofthe Master." In whatever way, or in whatever condition, God wantsthe soul to live, it happens.

Sometimes he becomes a pundit and gives discourses;Sometimes he keeps quiet and contemplates on Him.

Sometimes he becomes a learned one, and comm ents on the Shastrasand the holy scriptures; and sometimes he becomes the one who keepsquiet and doesn't speak.

Sometimes he takes baths at places of pilgrimage;Sometimes as a seer or meditator he preaches knowledge.

Sometimes he goes to the places of pilgrimage, sometimes he becomesa seer, and sometimes he goes deep into meditation.

Sometimes he lives becoming an ant, an elephant or a moth,And wanders in many bodies.

Sometimes he goes in the body o f an insect, sometimes in the body ofan elephant, sometimes in the body of a horse. He wanders fr om hereto there, from one place to another. He wanders in many other bodiesalso.

As a mimic shows his many forms,As God pleases, so He makes him dance.

As the mimic takes up many different forms and imitates people, inthe same way, God makes a man work like a mimic, and He makeshim work according to His wishes. Gurumukhs know th at in whateverway God wants, He makes the people dance.

What pleases God, happens.Nanak says, There is no one other than Him.




Only tha t happens, which pleases Go d; whatever is in the Will of G od ,

only tha t happens. G uru Sahib says, "We d o not see anyone else. W hois doing all these things from behind the curtain except God?"

Sometimes he gets the company of Saints;Sometimes he does not come back to that place.

Sometimes this poo r one, after wandering a lot, comes in the com panyof the Master. And sometimes when he is tricked by the mind, he goesaway from the company of the Master for many, m any years. Whatto speak of coming near the Master: he doesn't even think ab ou t H im .

From within, the Light of Knowledge illuminates;Then that place never perishes.

When Light is manifested within one, after coming into Satsang, thedarkness never returns; once the Light is manifested it always remainsthere.

The body and soul are dyed in one color of Naam;They always reside with Par Brahm.

Those w ho come in the company of the Master are always colored inthe Name of the Lord, and God resides within them.

As water blends with water,So the light merges in the Light.

As the dirty water after mixing with the water of the River Ganges,becomes the holy water of the River Ganges, in the sam e way our light,when blended with the Supreme Light, becomes that Light.

Transmigration is finished and he gets rest;Nanak says, I am ever a sacrifice to God.

Now th e Gu ru asks, "What benefit have we got from doing the medi-tation o n Naam , fr om doing the devotion of G od , and from comingin the company of the Master?" And He answers, "By coming in thecompany of the Master and doing the meditation on Naam and thedevotion of G od, o ur going and com ing t o this world has com e to a nend , an d God has given us a place near H im; and we have got this onlyby the grace of our M aster, only by the grace of G od . An d G od , W hohas given us all this- W ho gave us Naam and W ho m ade us meditateon Naam-on HimI sacrifice myself."



He who ir humbleand remover h r reglives h p p i ly.

Wmmk ,a y5 Gre& proud m sare

c o n ~ m w dy their prde.Mi in whole hearc l&s the prde 4ktitgdom

75 a dog mdgo&s o hell.He who thinks, f i 7 mmbeawifkL,'''Becomer the worm6 irb.%ie who c& h i m ~ e ~ ~ v t r ~ w s7&s b$rt;ha d d i a a g a t ~ .ind again,

wfivtdwi.~/jM. m n y boditv.g e who ts proud o hi5 wefilchand hd ,7s an idwt; blindm d @WLIM.

Jhowving Hi.sgracfiwi th inh m nwhose hmt e cau5e:5 hwmhj to



248 T H E J E W E L OF HAPPINESS

a who b ~ m qedthy is proud 4

W O Even so ml z uj a stit-aw w i l l ~ ~ ~wzth him.

w ~ U fih ~ n p d u t a m e .He whothinks 4 hzmsef m the strangejt-

of m1L

7hfip u d onewho doem* care or anyone-Dhorauvt Rai t r a ~ b l e ,im a lot.S e w h ~z d e iqL&td by the

graa ofthe Wmtev,7s u c e p d i ~O& GOWL M a d



ASHTAPADI T W E LV E 249

~f he witttin2j y h w d bymakzym n y t$orfij,

N o wmn o m g ot o the court.ofGod ?g e who cuU5 h.itn,e$f vtrntaw ,Goodness5 U o t evencome w r hun .3/e w h e mind 25 the dwtdth e tdaU,Nan& rays, Ne obcmhs ther d lory

m d a m .As bng ar man thinlo, " I can do

50 bay a5 he thinksmypersonhis enemyor fri8nd,

Wi e t s punishm&ff.m theLord4J u d j m f i t ' .

w&h the pee $God tha muchment,

j e t brob lz . ;




&d himreLf i5 & doer mdgeo things

don&;wflnuk sgy5, Evernndever repeat .The Lreatiir zs rheDoer and deem -



ASHTAPADI TWELVE 25 1

expmdfidNi, reat:.r;onZ vevythzagzi gzs, Me is the creutoc%U w ua &re bfimytlting ather

thmn N i k m ?

%fi Om Gad z s preftm u every p h



Chapter 12

The Ornament of the Saints

He who is humble and removes his self, lives happily.Nanak says, Great proud ones are consumed by their pride.

Once a Seeker came to Gur u Arjan Dev asking for Initiation, and theMaster told him, "I will give you Initiation, but first you will have todo som ething. I have written a letter to .o ne of my disciples; tak e it

to him and bring back the reply." That dear one obeyed the Masterand took the letter to the disciple. Now that disciple was very devotedto Guru Ar jan Dev, and he was very poor. The Master was testing him,and he had told that seeker, "Give him this letter only if he gives youone hundred rupees. Otherwise, you should not give it to him."

So then the dear one came to the disciple of G uru A rjan Dev andtold him that he had brought him a message from the Master but hewould get that message only if he gave one hundred rupees. He had

no money in his home. But he sold all his ornaments and whatever pos-sessions he ha d, and somehow he collected one hundred rupees. So hegave the one hundred rupees, and he got the message from G uru A r-jan Dev; but when he opened that letter and read it, he found tha t GuruAr jan had ordered him to send five hund red rupees for the langar Be-fore reading that, it had been very difficult for him to collect onehundred rupees; and now, when he received that message, not onlydidn't he have any money, he didn't have any belongings left to sellSo he said , "It's all right.I will obey my Master." He didn't get upsetat the Master because he had so much faith and devotion for H im . Sohe told that messenger, that dear one who had gone to Guru ArjanDev for Initiation, "You wait here; I am going ou t and I will earn thismuch money and bring tha t to you. Please wait for me fo r some time."

So tha t dear one who had been sent by G uru A rjan Dev waited forthat disciple of Guru Arjan Dev. When that disciple went out to search




fo r a job so that he could e arn f ive hundred rupees , he heard a n an -

nounc em ent in which i t was said that anyon e who would f ight with thewrest ler M uskinya w ould be rewarded o ne thou san d rupees if he couldbeat h im. But even if he was defeated by Mu skin ya, h e would still getf ive hun dre d rupees. Now Muskinya th e wrest ler was very strong a ndvery popular and nob ody h ad enoug h strength to f ight with him , be-cause they knew they would be killed if they did.

But this disciple of Gu ru A rja n Dev, because he had so much fai than d love for the Master, and he wanted to get that m oney for H im ,

thought, "No matter i fI have to die; stil l I will go and fight withMu skinya the wrest ler, because anywayI will get five hundred rupeesan d I will give tha t for the langar." S o he didn' t worry a bo ut his l ifeor his body, an d he thoug ht only of f ighting with Muskiny a the wrest-ler. O n the way to M uskinya's place he went t o a well , where m an ypeople were gathered a nd they were all waiting t o drink w ater. B ecausethis dear o ne was so excited and he wanted t o go t o Muskinya a nd f ightwi th him as soon a s possible t o get that money, he to ld the o ther peo-

ple, "Please, let me drink water first becauseI am in a hurry."M uskin ya t he wrestler was also present by th at well, but th is discipleof G ur u Arja n Dev didn't know th at because he had never seen himbefore. So Muskinya asked him, "Why d o you want t o dr ink water sosoon ? W here are you going?" SO he sa id , "I am an in it ia te of G uruAr jan Dev a nd he has sent me the order that I should send him f ivehundred rupees for the langar very soon, and sinceI don' t have anymoney I am going to that tow n where Muskinya lives and I'm goingt o fight him . N o m atter if he kills me, still I will fight him beca useIwan t f ive hu ndr ed rupees t o give to my Master." So Muskinya he ardth at , an d he was s o impressed by the fai th an d love tha t the disciplehad fo r Gu ru Arjan Dev that he to ld him, "You see ,I am Muskinya ,the wrest ler who m you ar e going to f ight . You c an see that you a reno t strong enough for this , because you a re just a skeleton an d youwon't be able t o conqu er me. B ut, looking at your fai th and dev otion,I a m so impressed tha tI will pretend tha t you have defeated m e, an din that way you will get one thousa nd rupees fro m which you ca n sendfive hund red rupees to your Master an d f ive hundred you can keep fo ryourself. But the re is one condition," the wrestler said. "After you de-feat me, o r af ter the show is over, you should take me t o your Master,because I also want to see tha t great M aster for whom you are readyto sacrifice your life."

S o when M uskinya an d that disciple of G uru A rja n Dev started wres-tling in fron t of all the people, a t that time kings an d queens an d every-one was present there. In the f irst few rou nds M uskinya was w inning,



THE O R N A M E N T OF THE SAINTS 2 5 5

but after a few minutes Muskinya pretended that he was defeatedby the disciple of G uru Ar jan Dev. And when people saw that M uskinyawas defeated, the dear one was given one thousand rupees.

So af ter the show was over, M uskinya accom panied tha t disciple ofGu ru A rjan Dev to A mritsar where the Master was living, and at tha ttime Gur u A rjan was composing this particular hymn of Su khm ani Sa-hib. So when He came to know about Muskinya, how much he hadhelped His disciple, how much he had effaced his egoism and removedhis pride, how he had become the low and humble one, Guru Arjan

Dev wrote his name in this bani. H e wrote, "Muskinya the wrestler ef-faced his egoism and thu s gets mu ch respect from me. But tho se whoare proud of their wealth will have a hard time in the womb of them other." So, those who give up their egoism get mu ch ho nor and re-spect in the court of God; whereas the proud people, those who areproud of their worldly property, always have a ha rd time in the wombof the mother. Sometimes they have to lose their existence before time,and sometimes they have to suffer great hardships. That's why Guru

Arjan Dev Ji says, "Those who remove their egoism, they get muchhonor; and those who are proud of worldly possessions have pain."Th e dear one who, with the Master's ord er, had brou ght tha t letter,

was very impressed with the faith and devotion of Guru Arjan Dev'sdisciple; he got Initiation fro m G uru Arjan Dev, and so did Muskinya.

He in whose heart lies the pride of kingdomIs a dog and goes to hell.

Now Gu ru A rjan Dev Ji is addressing Muskinya the wrestler, saying,"Those who are proud of their kingdom, what happens to them? W hatprize do they get if they are proud of the kingdom which they got f romGod?" He says that they go into hell and they are even liable to be-come dogs.

He who thinks, "I am beautiful,"Becomes the worm of dirt.

W hat does God give to those who are proud of their beauty, w ho areproud of their youth? They become insects of dirt.

He who calls himself "virtuous"Takes birth and dies again and again, wandering in many

bodies.




After doing good deeds, those who become proud of them and those

who think that theyhave done these good deeds, what happens to them?They are made to wander in many different bodies.

He who is proud of his wealth and land,Is an idiot, blind and ignorant.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says that those who are proud of

much wealth, those who are proud of possessing a lot of property, areblind fools.

Showering His grace within him in whose heart He causeshumility to reside,

Nanak says, He is liberated here and gets happiness in thebeyond.

If anyone has a kingdom, he has gotten that only by the grace of God;God has given him that. If anyone has good health, that also is fromGod; God has given him that. If we become proud of the things whichare given to us by God, we will find no place in this world, and in theworld beyond we will find no honor. Those who recognize that king-doms and good health, and all other bounties, are of God- becauseGod has given them to us - hose who always remember that whateverthey have is from God, those who have developed humility within them-selves, and, living in this world and enjoying all the things of the worldwhich are given by God, remember God and do His devotion-GuruArjan Dev Ji says that they are liberated while living; because thosewho remember that all the things they have are of God have no bond-age or attachment in this world and they are the truly liberated ones.

Even after achieving God, becoming the form of God, and becom-ing One with God, Saints and Mahatmas always understand Themselvesas lowly ones; They always call Themselves the servants of the sangat,the sweepers of the sangat, because they have so much humility in them.Guru Nanak Sahib said, "Poor Nanak is the lowly one who has cometo Your door, and this is Your greatness-that You should unite mewith God." Humility is the ornament of the Saints.

Hazur Maharaj Ji used to say that you should come to God carryinghumility, because He is the All-Owner, and He doesn't need to becomehumble before anyone- He has everything except humility. That is whyHe loves those who are humble in their heart.



THE ORNAMENT OFTHE SAINTS 257

He who becoming wealthy is proud of his riches, shouldknow:

Not even so much as a straw will go with him.

Th ose who are prou d of the wealth which is given by God should thinkabout death. Not even one straw or needle will go with us when weleave the body.

King Karu had collected a lot of wea lth. In those days all the m oneywhich his people had, all that money was taken away by the people

of King Karu, and he didn't leave even a single penny for the peopleof his kingdom. It is said that he wanted to make sure that nobodyelse except him had any money. So he sent out an elephant with hisme n, and announced tha t anyone could buy that elephant for a penny.There was a young boy who wanted t o buy that elepha nt, but he didn'thave any money. He asked his mother to give him a penny. But shereplied, "The king hasn't left us a single penny; how canI give youanything? " But that boy wanted very much to buy the elephant. So

his mother finally told him, "Go a nd dig up the grave of your fath er."In those days when the M uslim people left the body and were buried ,one silver rupee was put in their mou th first. So that boy's mother to ldhim to go and t ake ou t the silver coin from the m outh of the dead bodyof his father.

So that boy went to the graveyard, found the rupee, an d bought th eelepha nt. When Karu came to know th at there was someone who hadone rupee, he called him before him and asked him where he got thatmoney from, because he thought he had plundered it all. And whenhe came to know where he had fo und th at rupee, he ordered his peopleto dig up all the graveyards and take ou t the silver coins from the mo uthsof the corpses. The King was not satisfied with the wealth he had; hewanted to collect every single penny on this earth. And he collectedforty billion.

In those days Gu ru N anak Sahib was living o n this earthly plane,an d when H e came to know abou t King Karu, how m uch trouble hewas giving to his people and how he was collecting the wealth, Guru

Nanak came to his palace. And when King Karu cam e to know abo utthe fam e of Guru N anak, he came to have His darshan and asked H imif he could do any seva. So Guru Nanak gave him a needle and toldhim to keep it until the next life, telling him, "I will come and takethis from you in your next life."

Karu didn't have any knowledge. He didn't know that not even thebod y would go with him when he left. So he at once accepted tha t nee-dle fr om G uru Na nak . But the king's wife was very intelligent. She told




him, "You are not even sure that you will take your body with you

when you leave. Then how can you be sure that you can give this nee-dle back to the Saint in your next lifetime? You should think this over;because up until now, I have seen that those who leave their bodies,and go away from this world, they leave even their bodies in thisworld-they don't take anything with them."

King Karu realized the truth of it and he told Guru Nanak that hecould not do that seva; he should be given some other seva. Guru Na-nak asked him, "Why don't you want to do this seva?" Karu replied,

"Because not even my body will be going with me when I leave thisworld, so how can I carry your needle and give it back to you in mynext life?" Guru Nanak Sahib asked him, "Are you sure that nothingwill go with you?" Karu replied, "Yes, I am sure." So Guru Nanak Sa-hib asked him, "Since you are sure that nothing will go with you, whyhave you collected so much wealth and why are you troubling your peo-ple? You should share all the wealth you have with the people; youshould give it all to the poor and needy." So Karu gave out all his wealthand gave back everything he had collected from the people.

So that is why Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "Why are you proudof this wealth which you have collected, when not even a single penny,not even one needle, will go with you when you leave this world?" Thatis why you should not be proud of the wealth you have collected; trulyspeaking, whatever wealth or property you have, that is all given byGod. So why should you be proud of such things which are given byGod?

He who relies on his large army and many men,Will be destroyed in a moment.

Now He says that a man may become the owner of many armies, andhe may rely on those armies to protect him. But Guru Arjan Dev saysthat the experience of the Master is that the time comes when such amighty man who owns armies turns to ashes in a minute when the Nega-tive Power comes and takes him over from within.

He who thinks of himself as the strongest of allWill become ashes in a moment.

One who considers himself the most mighty one, if it comes in the Willof God , in just one minute that mighty man becomes a heap of ashes.

The proud one who doesn't care for anyone-Dharam Rai troubles him a lot.



THE O R N A M E N TOF THE SAINTS 259

Those who don't care abou t others, those who think, "Who is like me?I can smash the wo rldn-they are troubled by the Lord of Judgm entwho sends them in to many different bodies and m akes them suffer a lot.

Kabir Sahib says that this body is just like a piece of pa pe r: if wa teris drop ped on paper it will lose its existence. And Kab ir says tha t w ith-out Naam and the Master, we will repentin the end.

He whose pride is finished by the grace of the Master,Is accepted in God's court-Nanak says so.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says that those on whom Mastersare gracious, who meditate on Naam and who live in this world butare not affected by its dirt, only such souls are accepted in the Courtof God.

Masters do not tell us to leave our daughters and sons; they don'ttell us to throw away what property and wealth we have; they don'teven tell us to give up the honor and respect we have in this world.

But they do tell us: "Whatever you have been given by Go d, you shou ldbe grateful for th at ; you should think that all the things which you havereceived are of G od , and you should be grateful to H im . A nd , recog-nizing that these things are of God, you should use them and neverlet egoism come in your mind."

Haz ur M aha raj Ji used to say tha t the world a nd the worldly thingsare not bad, but you should not understand them as your own.

He who performs millions of religious deeds and is proudof it,

Does only hard work bearing no fruit.

No matter i f a man performs austerities and does recitation, and nomatter how much worship and reading of the holy scriptures he does,no m atter how many good deeds he does- f af ter doing all these thingshe is proud of what he has done, he gets nothing except embarrass-ment in the end . Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say tha t if after doing

many good deeds one becomes proud of them, it is just like makinga good m eal and then spreading ashes on it. That is why Master S aw anSingh Ji used to say, "When you are doing good deeds with your righthand , you should do it in such a way that not even your left hand shouldknow th at you have done it. Guru Nanak says, "If one becomes proudaf te r dona ting a lot, after going on m any pilgrimages and after d oingmany good deeds, all the fruit which he has earned by doing all thiswill be gone." It is just like the bathing of an elephan t. The elephant




goes and bathes; then he covers himself with sand and dirt. In the sameway, if one becomes proud of the good deeds he has done, all the fruitsof those deeds are gone astray.

He who is proud of his many austeritiesWill be incarnated in hells and heavens again and again.

If one is proud of the meditation he is doing and of the austerities whichhe has performed, what happens to him? He continually wanders back

and forth from hell.There is a very famous story in Rajasthan which tells of four sadhus

who came to an old woman's house to ask for some food. Even thirtyor fifty years back this land was not very fertile because there was notmuch water here; but now, since the government canal has come, peo-ple can grow a lot of food and they are prosperous. But in the old dayswhen there was not much water here, people did not have much foodto eat, and it was a rare thing to find good food in some houses.

So when the four sadhus came to the old woman's house they werevery hungry. So the old woman, because she was a very good woman,prepared food for them and served them, and they became very happyand were very pleased. Those sadhus were able to go to Heaven, sothey told that old woman, "Sit on the bed, close your eyes and we willtake you to Heaven." So the old woman sat on the bed and closed hereyes, and after some time she was in Heaven, with her bed. She wassitting on the bed and had been brought to Heaven by those four sadhus.

So when the souls who were already present in Heaven saw that thisold woman had been brought there by those four sadhus, they said toher, "You must have done some very good karma for these four sadhusto have brought you here; because it is a rare thing to reach Heaven."But that old woman wasn't grateful to the sadhus for carrying her there;instead she became proud of the good deeds she had done, and said,"They have not brought me here out of any grace or any pity. I gavethem each four chapattis to eat, that's why they have brought me here "When she became proud of the good deed she had done, those foursadhus started losing the strength they had and they were not able tocarry that bed; so they told the old woman, "Close your eyes." Andwhen she closed her eyes she was brought back from Heaven to earth.

So the meaning of this story is that if we become proud of the gooddeeds we are doing, then even if we get to Heaven by doing good deeds,that pride, that egoism, can bring us back to earth.

If the within is softened by making many efforts,

How can one go to the court of God?



THE O R N A M E N T OF THE SAINTS 26 1

No m atter how many practices we d o , no m atter how many efforts wema ke for realizing God , if we are not devoting ou r time in the m edita-tion of Shabd N aam , we can never get to G od a nd we can never realizeHim, no matter how many other practices we do.

He who calls himself virtuous,Goodness shall not even come near him.

Now G uru A rjan Dev Ji Ma haraj talks about those people who all day

long waste their time in proving themselves the good ones and the tru eones , an d w ho a re always criticizing and blaming others a nd trying t oprove that the other people are bad. Guru Arjan Dev says that thosewho are involved in criticism of others and who are trying to provethemselves tr ue , goodness is millions of m iles away from th em . Theycannot be called good people, because whatever good qualities they haveare all transferred in to the accounts of those whom they ar e criticizingand blaming.

Masters have so much humility in them that they call themselves sin-ners even after attaining Sach Kh and . Farid Sah ib says, "Black are myclothes, and black a re my deeds.I am fallen in illusion, but people callme the messenger of God."

He whose mind is the dust of the feet of all,Nanak says, He obtains the real glory and fame,

Those who are humble in the com pany of the M aster, who surrenderthemselves completely to the M aster and who u nderstan d th at all tha tthey have is from the Master, onlythey get real fame, onlythey aretruly glorified, onlythey are the real bani of the Master.

As long as man thinks, I can do something,"He has no happiness.

So long as one thinks tha t he is the doe r, he is millions of miles aw ayfr om happiness. A m an cann ot find peace afte r getting worldly riches,kingdoms, worldly property. Peace is in Naam, and resides in theunion with God.

As long as he thinks, "I do something,"He wanders in wombs and bodies.

So long as one is intoxicated by the though t tha t whatever respect a nd

hon or he has got,he has earned that, an d whatever wealth he has, tha t




is all created by him - o long as he is intoxicated by egoism or I-hood -

he wanders here and there in different bodies and in the wombs ofmothers.

So long as he thinks any person his enemy or friend,He does not have a pure, stable mind.

So long as one thinks that one is an "enemy" and another is a "friend,"so long as one is involved in duality like this, he can never become pure

or holy. All the souls who have come into this world are of God; soulis the essence of God. Masters have equal respect and love for menand women, for rich and poor; and for all the castes and creeds theyhave equal respect - ecause they love the souls, understanding themas souls, and not as rich or poor or low or high caste.

We call people "good" or "bad" as long as we are away from God.When we become one with God we do not call people "good" or "bad"because we see that God is residing everywhere and God is within every-

body, and therefore if we call anyone "bad," it means that we are call-ing God "bad" and not that person.

As long as he is intoxicated by maya and attachment,He gets punishment from the Lord of Judgment.

As long as he is involved in maya, as long as he is absorbed in the at-tachments of the world, what happens to him? The Lord of Judgmentpunishes him.

With the grace of God the attachments get broken;Nanak says, By the grace of the Master the egoism is re-

moved.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says that those whom God wantsto forgive, and those on whom God wants to shower His grace, Hebrings them into the company of the Master. And when we come incontact with the Master, Master gives us the Initiation into Naam. Andwhen we do the meditation of Shabd Naam, even though we live inthis world we become free from the attachments of this world; we be-come free from the bonds of the maya of the material world, and ego-ism also goes away from within us. The veil of egoism is the only veilbetween us and God, so when we come into the company of the Mas-ter, get the Initiation from Him, and do the meditation of Shabd Naam,and when that veil of egoism is lifted, we become one with God.



THE ORNAMENT OFTHE SAINTS 263

If a man earns thousands, he runs after lakhs,He is never satisfied and keeps running after Maya.

If a man collects a thousand rupees, the desire for acquiring alakhor a hundred thousand rupees arises within him; and if he somehowcollects a hundred thousand rupees, the desire for m ore comes to h im.

He enjoys many evil pleasures,But gets no satisfaction, and dies by working hard.

For peace of mind man collects different materials for enjoying thepleasures of the world, but there is no peace in the pleasures of theworld and there is no satisfaction in the materials of the world. So inthe end , after enjoying the materials and pleasures of the w orld, m anfinishes his existence in the material.

No one can be satisfied without contentment,

All his works are useless like dreams.

Once in the court of King Bhoj, a m an came to ask one question: "Whatis that well from which, if a man goes into it, he cannot come out?"King Bhoj was a great scholar of Sanskrit literature and language, a ndhe had many good scholars in his court , so he asked everybody the an -swer. But the answers he got were not satisfactory. There was one punditin his court who was a great scholar and who was honored many

times Now by King Bhoj for his answers and judgments. So King Bhojasked him the question, but he told him ,"I am giving you on e week'stime , and you have to give me a satisfactory answer; if you don't, what-ever honors you have received in this court will be taken back an d youwill be thrown out -you will not remain in the service of the kinganymore."

That scholar became very worried, and he went into the forest tosearch for the answer to that question. He was wandering here and there

in the forest, worried because he couldn't find the answer, when he meta shepherd who was an initiate of a Perfect Master. The shepherd sawtha t this scholar from the king's court was very worried an d un happ y,and he asked him, "Pundit Ji, why are you unhappy? You look veryworried." So the pun dit told him tha t he was searching for the answerto a question which had been asked by a ma n in the king's cou rt. Th eshepherd sa id, "MaybeI can help you. But let me tell you som ething:I have a philosopher's stone, andif I give it to y ou, you can tur n anypiece of iron into gold, and in that way you can change all the iron




in this world in to gold, a nd you will become very rich. S o why d o you

need to be in the service of the king? But- f you w ant to get tha t phi-losopher's stone you will have t o obey me; w hatever I tell yo u, you hav eto d o it ." T he pundit said, "All right, w hatever you tell me I will do ,bu t please give me that philosopher's stone." S o th e shepherd said, "Allright, I 'll give you this philosopher's stone; bu t you have to und erstandme as your Master."

Now the pundit thought, "He is just a shepherd and I am a greatpundit . I t is not good fo r me to take someone wh o is lower than me

as my Master." So he said, "No,I can't d o that." But then he remem -bered that he had to get that philosopher's stone, so he said, "All right,"an d tho ugh t that h e would repent later, according to the H indu reli-gion, for taking a low-caste m an as his Master. So just for his greed,he belittled himself in ord er to become the disciple of that sheph erd.

But the shepherd said, "No. You should have said 'Yes' as soon asI told y ou ; n ow t he time is go ne. But I will still give you the p hiloso-pher's stone, if you drink the milk of a sheep."

Now that pundit thought that drinking the milk of a sheep is notgo od according t o the Hin du religion. Because he was a great pundithe said, "No. Th at is against my religion." So then the shep herd said,"Okay, whatever you want." Then the pundit remembered that to getthe philosopher's stone he had t o d o anything the shepherd asked; "Yes,I 'm ready to drink the milk of a sheep."

But the sheph erd replied, "No, the time is gon e. No w, if you w antto get the philosopher's stone , you will have to drink the milk of a sheep

from the same cup in which I drink the sheep's milk." The shepherdwas of low-caste an d the pu ndit was high-caste, an d again he said, "N o,I don't wan t to d o that ; it will be a sinful thing. '' But then he at on ceremembered that he had to get the philosopher 's stone at any co st , sohe said, "All right, I 'm ready." But the shepherd said, "No. Again thetime has gone. Now, if you want to get the philosopher's stone, youwill have to d rink the sheep's milk from my c up , except first my d ogwill drink milk from th at cup . If you are ready to drink contam inatedmilk, you will get the philosopher's stone."

Now th at pundit felt very strange, and he tho ug ht, "W hat is this m andoing? He wants me to drink the milk from his cup aftera dog hasdru nk fro m it?'' H e said, "No, that's to o much.I can't d o that ." Butat once he remembered th at he had t o get the philosopher's stone , sohe should d o whatever the shepherd said. So he said, "Okay, I'm ready."

But the shepherd said, "No. Again your opportunity has gone. Ifyou w ant to get the philosopher's ston e now , you will have to drinkthe milk f rom my cup af ter the dog has drunk from i t; an d thenI will



THE O R N A M E N T OF THE SAINTS 265

put some dirt in the milk, and the n I will pour tha t milk in to the skullof a human being, and you will have to drink from that skull."

By now th at pundit had learned the lesson. He wanted to get the phi-losopher's ston e, so he said, "All right, whatever you say I will d o it."So then the shepherd fixed the milk and heated it all, and gave it tothe pundit to d rink, but when he was just abo ut to drink it, the shep-herd said, "Wait. Listen to whatI say. This is the well. Desire is thewell from which a man can never com e out. If a m an jumps into thewell of desire, he can never come out of it. You see? Just to get the

philosopher's stone, just to turn iron into gold, just to become wealthy,how much you ar e ready to sacrifice It is only because you desiredto get it. Desire is that well from which a m an cann ot com e ou t, oncehe has jumped in."

G ur u Nanak says, "Never rely on the greedy man. Even a t his finalhour he will go to any place from where he might get wealth."

Gu ru Arjan Dev Ji M ahara j says that without contentment, nobo dycan get satisfaction. And one who is contented m ay no t have anything,

but still he is satisfied. Master Saw an Singh Ji also used to say, "Onewho doesn't want anything, he is the true emperor."

All comforts and happiness come by the color of Naam;But all these are obtained by rare fortunate ones.

If there is any peace, it is in Naam; if there is any satisfaction, thatalso is in Naam . Only they get this peace and satisfaction within w homthe Naam is manifested; and only they get Naam on whom God has

showered grace and on whom Master is gracious.

God Himself is the doer and gets things done;Nanak says, Ever and ever repeat His Naam.

God Himself does everything. He Himself plans for all the souls. Heknows which souls are ready for liberation an d which souls must comein His contact. That is why we should always devote ourselves in themeditationof that Go d, and why we should always worship H im. W hat-ever is happen ing is happen ing in the Will of G od , because everythingis in His Will, and He Himself has kept all things in His hands.

The Creator is the Doer and accomplishes all things;There is nothing in the hands of man.

This is the bani of that Master Whose inner eye was opened, and thatis why He says, "Man has nothing in his han ds. G od does everything.




He is the Perfect Doer." He Himself is doing all things, and there is

nothing which a man can do.

Man becomes such as God casts His sight upon him.God Himself is everything.

W hen the Perfect Go d casts His Gracious Eyes on an yone , accordingto H is Gra ce, that person begins to d o good o r bad things. Wh en G odinspires men from within themselves fo r His devotion , they a re inspired

from w ithin a nd they come to the P ath of N aam and start meditatingon N aam. W hereas those who are not inspired by Go d-o n whom Godhas not cast His Gracious Eyes- hey do not come to the Pa th of De-votion.

Whatever He has done is according to His own wish.He is far from all, yet He is with all.

Whatever has happened has all happened in the Will of Go d; God Him -self has done everything. He resides very near to thegurumukhs; infact , H e lives within th e guru m uk hs. W hereas for themanmukhs, Godis far aw ay, because the m anm ukh s never believe th at G od lives withinthem ; they don't kn ow w here G od resides. T ha t is why Go d resides fa raway from them.

He Himself understands, sees and discriminates;He Himself is One, yet He is many.

G od H imself decides which so ul is ready to be brought to Sach K han d;H e resides within everybody in the form of the S hab d, and H e Himselfcomes in the form of the M aster and m akes the soul understand ab ou tHim.

He neither dies, perishes nor comes and goes;Nanak says, He is ever absorbed in the creation.

G od is never bo rn , H e never dies, H e never perishes, H e never come s,He never goes. He always remains present in everybody. In this crea-tion, there are only two P ow ers Which are always present and are neverdestroyed- one is Go d an d the other is Satguru. When Satguru comesin this wo rld, H e comes for the benefit of oth er people, and H e is abovebirth a nd de ath. G uru A rjan Dev Ji says that M asters come into thisworld for the benefit of other people. Giving the donation of Theirown life, They make the souls unite with God.



THE ORNAMENTOF THE SAINTS 267

He Himself instructs, He Himself understands,He Himself is blended with all.

Now he says that G od Himself comes as the Master and preaches thePat h, and He Himself becomes the disciple and understands that P ath .It means that cotton is in the thread as well as in the piece of cloth.Everywhere there is cotton . G od comes as the Master and teaches thePath , and He Himself comes as the disciples and understands the P at h.The only difference is that we can d o the devotion of G od th rou gh theMaster; but truly speaking, it is God W ho is functioning at every place.

He Himself created, He Himself expanded His creation;Everything is His, He is the creator.

No one advised Go d that He should create sixteen powers; no on e ad-vised Him to create the Negative Power and tell the Negative Powerto create this Crea tion; no one advised Him th at H e should inspire the

Negative Power to do His devotion so that He might give the boonto the Negative Power to create this world. Whatever has happened,it has all happened in the Will of God , and G od Himself has done allthe expanse of this creation without anyone's counsel or advice.

Tell me, can there be anything other than Him?The One God is present at every place.

There is no power other than God which is functioning in this world.Death comes in His Will, in His ord ers, an d a person gets birth in Hisorders. He is functioning in the crow, He is functioning in the man;in the people living in India, He is working, and for the people inAmerica or Africa or other places, the same God is working.

He Himself is the player of His own dramas;He exhibits limitless kinds of dramas.

God Himself plays all the dramas which He has created; He Himselfperforms all the actions which He is doing, and there is no one whocan give advice to G od . Kabir Sahib says that n o one can know thesecret of Go d. O nly the Saint Wh o has become the slave of G od knowsHis secret. Kabir Sahib says that the people of this world can neverknow the secret of God, how God is arranging for all this. Only theMaster Saints, Tho se W ho have become one with G od , can know . Butthe thing is, when the Saints become One with G od, there is no differ -




ence between Them and God. That's why it is said that no one can knowthe secret of God.

Kabir Sahib says, "A piece of salt went into the ocean to find outthe place of its origin, but when she was dissolved in the ocean, shecouldn't come back and tell people her origin."

He is in mind and the mind is in Him.Nanak says, His value cannot be measured.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says: It is God within you by Whosepresence you are glorified and people love you and care about you-and as soon as that God goes away from your body nobody pays anyattention to it, and the same people who used to love you, start hatingyou just a moment after God has left. Once God has withdrawn fromthe body, the bad smell starts coming from it and our dear ones don'trecognize any connection with it. So that's why Guru Sahib says thatyou should thank and be very grateful to God by Whose Presence youare glorified and cared about.

When God withdraws Himself from our body, our eyes and otherparts of the body are still present there, but our eyes, hands, etc., stopfunctioning. The condition of our body becomes like an engine whichhas all its parts but doesn't have any current or fuel to make it work.

True-True-True is the Lord-By the grace of Master rare ones can describe this.

The Guru says that God is true - He never perishes.* But only the rareones, rare gurumukhs who have the grace of their Master and who haverealized God, can know this secret. And only those rare, great person-alities came and told us that there is one Power Which exists in thisworld always, Which never perishes, and is never destroyed. And thatis God.

Truth-Truth-Truth; all He has created-Some rare person out of millions recognizes this.

God is always present - He is never destroyed. He is above birth anddeath. But rare are the Mahatmas who come into contact with God,and rare are those who become one with God. Kabir Sahib says thatlions are not found in groups; nor are swans. As you cannot find bagsfull of gems, in the same way you cannot find groups of saints.

* Sat mean s both "true" an d "that whichexists."



THE O R N A M E N T O F THE SAINTS 269

Bhalla-Bhalla-Bhalla is Your form:

Exquisitely beautiful, limitless glory.

The Master of Gu ru Arja n Dev, Gur u R amda s, belonged to the Bhallafamily, and bhalla also means "beautiful" or "noble"; and that is whyGuru Arjan says, "The form of God has come to the Bhalla familyand H e is the most beautiful One; there is nobody more beau tiful thanHe ." Th e dear one always considers his Master the most beautiful; t ohim nobody looks more beautiful than his Master.

Swami Ji Maha raj has written a bo ut his Master: "If anyone sees theform of my Master, he will even forget the beauty of the fairies." Nodo ub t the fairies are very beautiful; but if anyone sees the form of theMaster he will forget them.

Pure - Pure - Pure is Your Bani,Which purifies those who hear it within.

Now the Master is singing the praise of God. He says,0 Go d, Youare pure , sacred, holy; and Yourbani which is coming from Sach Khandis also pure, sacred and holy. And those who hear that bani Whichis coming from Sach Khand, they also become pure and holy.

Holy -Holy -Holy -Most Holy OneNanak says, Those who have love in their mind meditate

on Naam.

God is holy. If we call anything "Holy" three times, it is because it ismost holy. So here he says tha t only the most holy one can d o the medi-tation on Naam, and only those who are pure in heart can come tothe devotion of God and do meditation.

W hen we do m editation o n Naam we are not doing a favor to any-body ; we are doing that for our own sake . Tha t is why we shou ld neverbecome lazy in doing the meditation; we should never feel that it isa burden to do meditation. In order to do meditation on Naam and

the devotion of G o d , we must have love for God and love fo r Master.When we have that love, we will definitely get up in the morning fordoing meditation; because if we love the Maste r, we will d o anyth ingto please H im . We will become pure because we know that G od is pureand ou r Master is pure, and we know tha t if we refuse to meditate onNaam or d o any bad thing, and become im pure, our M aster will be-come displeased with us. S o, if we have love for the Master w ithin us,only then will we be afraid of Him, and only then will we be able todo the devotion of God.




Masters say that , mom ent after mom ent, one should remem ber God

within himself, and keeping quiet within himself, he shou ld remain inthe remem brance of Go d, because, except for the remembrance of Mas-ter, every other thing is false.

"The M aster has em braced m e, and there is n o distance between meand the M aster. After mixing with the sugar,I have also become su gar.There is no difference between me and my Master."



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ASHTAPADI THIRTEEN 273




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W n .



Chapter 13

The Unforgivable Sin

He who gets the refuge of the Saints will be liberated:Nanak says, The critic of the saints will be incarnated again

and again.

Whatever the Masters say is all true. Because Masters have lived a lifeof experience and they speak from that experience, whatever they sayis weighed and correct. Always the words which are spoken by the Mas-ter come true. Those who make the Master's words the base of theirlife, they live happily and easily; and it is easy to take their soul backto Sach Khand, their Real Home. Those who mold their lives accord-ing to the words of the Master get the Supreme Bliss and eternal hap-piness. Whatever stories the Masters tell, if people take those storiesto their heart, and work according to the Master's words, they canachieve the great happiness.

EDITOR'S NOTE: In this discourse, Sant Ajaib Singh discusses two kindsof criticism-criticism of othe rs in general, and criticism of th e Saints. Th eformer is dealt with by a kind of transference of karma from the person criti-cized to th e critic, but the latter ca nno t be dealt with in this way as the Saintshave no bad karma to transfer. That is why criticism of the Saints is called"unforgivable," and why it is dealt with at such length in theSukhmani andthe other hymns: because it is so dangero us. Jesus makes the sam e distinctionin Matthew 12:30-31: "All m anner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven u nt omen: but the blasphemy against the Holy Gho st shall not be forgiven u nto m en.

A nd whosoever speaketh a w ord against the son of ma n, it shall be forgivenhim: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgivenhim, neither in this world, nor in the world to come." The Saints are "Wordmad e flesh," a nd when we criticize Them we are criticizing the Wo rd o r Ho lyGh ost working through T hem . Of course, They have the option to forgive thecritics and They may o r may not exercise it; the point is th at there is no no rm alprovision in the Karmic Law t o work off th at particular sin.



THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN 279

So Guru Ar jan Dev J i Mah araj says that one who takes refuge at

the feet of the Saint gets liberated. What is the meaning of liberation?Liberation means that He takes his soul back to the place from whereit was separated, back to Sach Khand.

Whereas, "the critic of the Saints will be incarnated again and again"means that many times he will take birth in this world a nd m any timeshe will die and go back from this world.

By criticizing the Saint, life is shortened;

By criticizing the Saint, one does not escape from the an-gels of death.

In this ashtapa di, G uru A rjan Dev is describing the con dition of thecritic of the Saint. Later on he will tell us more about what happensto the critic of the Saint.

Once there was a king who had no children. Somebody told him tha tif he would perform ayajna or Hindu ritual, he might get a son. So

he performed a bigyajna and invited many rishis an d munis a nd otherreligious people. But it so happened tha t a snake cam e and left its poi-son in the food which was cooked for all the people who were invitedthere. And when they ate the food, they all died.

The king was very sorry for them, and he became very sad. Hethought, "I am the cause of the death of all these people; it is betterfor me now to give up this kingdom and go into the wilderness andd o the devotion of Go d, so that I may become free from the sin oftheir deaths." So he went into the forest.

O n the way he stopped in a village to spend the n ight. I n tha t villagethere was a widow who was not respected by the other people in thevillage. So when the king came there and asked the villagers if therewas any place where he could spend the night, they told him, "Yes,there is one hom e here in which lives a widow; you can spend the nightthere." The people thought thatif this m an , who was very young, spentthe night with her, they would have more excuses for criticizing thewidow whom they were already giving such a hard time.

So the king went there , and he did not know' that she was notrespected. When the widow saw tha t someone was coming towards herhom e, she became very surprised and happy, because nobody liked her.Everybody thought that she was a bad woman a nd nob ody paid anyattention to her.

So when the king came and asked her to allow him to spend the nightthere, she said, "Yes, you are welcome, my brother." And she calledhim her brother and he called her his sister, and he spent the night there ;



THE UNFORGIVABLESIN 281

ality; it cuts the root of your med itation." The person whom you a re

criticizing will get the benefit of the meditation w hich you are doing,and all his sins will be transferred into your account."

Th at is why G uru A rjan Dev Ji Mahara j says, "The life of the criticof a Sa int is shortened a nd he can never become free fro m the clutchesof the angel of death."

By critizing the Saint, all happiness goes away.By criticizing the Saint, one falls into hell.

Saints never curse anyone. But it is a law of nature that if anyone iscriticizing the Sain ts, it affects the happiness of tha t person. Guru Ar-jan is saying that those who criticize the Sa ints, all their happiness goesaway. And afterwards, the Negative Power does not spare them; healso punishes them.

By criticizing the Saint, one's wisdom becomes clouded;By criticizing the Saint, one is deprived of Glory.

By criticizing the Saints, the intellect, or wisdom, gets clouded and dirtyand goes bad, and that person, the critic of the Saints, starts talkingnonsense. Eventually his glory, his respect in the world, gradua lly goesaway and he is left alone.

Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say that one who is criticizing is mak-ing the means to become a mean person.

He who is cursed by the Saint is kept by none;By criticizing the Saint, all places [touched by the critic]become polluted.

Now he says tha t those who are accursed of Saints and those who a redoing criticism of Saints, nobody keeps their com pany and nob ody wel-comes them; and places touchedby them become polluted.

If the merciful Saint showers grace,Only then the critic gets liberated with the company of

Saints, says Nanak.

By criticizing the Saints, one becomes so corrupt that he becomes thefood of the Negative Power and there is no way fo r his libe ration. Ex-cept one: if the Saint Whom he was criticizing showers grace on thatcritic an d forgives him, only then can he get liberation an d become freefrom the sin of criticizing the Saints. There is no other way.




By criticizing the Saint one's face becomes ugly.

By criticizing the Saint one croaks like a crow.

Th e person w ho criticizes the Saint affects other s as the crow does. Yousee, when the crow com es and sits o n the d oo r and starts croaking,nobody likes his voice. But no matter if a cuckoo is sitting far away,still everyone likes to hear its voice; but no bod y likes to hear t he c row .In the same way, nobody likes to hear the voice of the critic, and ifthat critic does find some people in front of whom he may criticize,

later on they also tell him t o go aw ay. Nobod y is ready t o listen to him .By criticizing the Saint, one gets the body of a snake;By criticizing the Saint, one gets birth as creeping worms.

The critic of a Saint goes in the bo dy of snakes, scorpions, a nd creep-ing worms; he goes in many different bodies.

By criticizing the Saint one burns in the fire of desire;By criticizing the Saint one cheats all.

N o m atter where the critic of the Saint goes an d takes birth, still heis never satiated; his desires are never satisfied, no matter how muchhe gets. An d h e deceives people whenever he talks, because wheneverhe is criticizing the Saints, he allows his ulterior motives full sway. Even-tually he becomes unable to stop deceiving people.

By criticizing the Saint all glory goes away;By criticizing the Saint one becomes the meanest of the

mean.

W hatever virtues or glory the critic of Saints has-it is reduced dailyan d o ne day it is gone. A nd then the critic of Saints becomes the m eanestof the mean and takes birth in low bodies.

In the Third or Cop per Age, L ord Krishna was born into theyadavcaste. Once som eyadavs took a young boy whose name was Sam bha ,an d they t ied some clothes and things on his stomach a nd cam e to aSaint called D urvasa M uni to play a joke o n H im. They had dressedtha t boy u p as a girl an d were pretending he was pregnant, so they cam eand asked D urvasa M uni ,"If you are a perfect Master, tell us whatshe will hav e-a boy or a girl."

Durvasa M uni knew everything, and H e said, "That will come outfro m her stom ach which will finish your lineage, your com munity , your




family." So when they returned hom e, they opened all the clothes an d

found an iron-like ball there. They realized that it was a curse by theSaint. So they came to Lord Krishna and asked him what to d o. H ereplied, "Well, whatever curse he has given, that will definitely cometrue. But you should go and bury this on the bank of some river."

They buried it on a river ban k, bu t it sprouted a nd some wild bushesgrew up fro m it. Once it so happened th at in the course of a celebra-tion in which they were all drinking wine, they all came to the riverbank where that wild bush was, and after enjoying and dancing for

a little while they started fighting with each othe r, using the b ranchesof the wild bush as swords. They fought until nobody was left alive,and the words which the Saint had spoken came true.

So this is what happens to the critics of the Saints. Whatever the Sainttells them always comes true.

The critic washes others' dirt from birth after birth;And then gets the suffering according to his own deeds.*

Now Gu ru Arjan Dev Ji M aha raj says that by criticizing someone, weare no t removing his dirt only of this lifetime, b ut of his previous life-times also: we purify his karmas of m any lifetimes. Whatever the criticsows here, he eats the fruit of that when he goes into the C ourt of theLord.

He has neither happiness here nor any support in the Court ofthe Lord;

He goes to the co un ty of the angels of death.

The re is no happiness fo r the critic in this world, and the Lo rd neverallows him to enter His Kingdom, either. When the angels of deathcome and pull the critic out of his body, then he repents. But whatis the use of repenting then?

The critic loses his birth in useless things.

M an came into this world to d o the devotion of N aam; bu t instead ofdoing that, he started criticizing the Saints. He came into this worldto improve his life by doing meditation; but instead he is defiling itby criticizing.

* The hymn starting with this verse is not partof Sukhmani, but is another hymn byGuru Arjan, on the same subject , from the Granth Sahib, AsaM . 5.




He cannot reach Him by talking;

He does not get any place in the beyond.

The critic cannot achieve God by talking about Him and by criticizingthe Saint and other people. One who criticizes others, he doesn't getany place.

It is the karma of the critic;What can the poor one do?

Now Guru Arjan feels very sorry for the critic and has pity on him;He says, "What can the poor critic do? It is not in his control to stopcriticizing because it is written in his fate." No matter how much hetries to remain aloof from criticism, still he has to do it. Even thoughhe may say that criticism is bad, still, because it is written in his fateand he is supposed to do that, he is involved in it.

He, the bad one, is not accepted by anyone;Where can he pray?

The Negative Power throws the critic into such a place from where hecannot call anyone or pray to anyone. There is justice in the kingdomof Kal, and whatever karma one does, according to that he definitelygets the punishment.

There is no liberation for the critic;Th is is the Will of God.

Every sinner gets liberation. But there is no liberation for the critic,because that is the Will of God.

As people go on criticizing the sadhus,The sadhus go on becoming happier.

As people go on criticizing sadhus, they become more happy, becausethe critic is washing away the sadhu's sins and the sadhu becomes freefrom the burden of the sin. In that way he becomes light and free ofthe burden of his sins in his journey toward God. The true sadhu al-ways says, "Criticize me, criticize me, because I want to realize God."

0 Lord, the Saints have Your support.You are Their helper.




Saints live in this world having the supp ort of G od , an d G od alwayshelps the Saint at all places and in all circumstances.

Nanak says, God protects the Saints;Whereas the critics get thrown away.

God has protected the Saints in all ages; He has helped Them in allages; and He has glorified Them in all ages. Whereas He has throw nthe critics as we throw a ball.

The critic of the Saint has no place;Nanak says, If the Saint wants, he also can get liberation.*

There is no destination for the critic; he doesn't know where to go; thereis no place for him to go and reside. Only if the Saint Whom he iscriticizing showers grace on him can he get liberation.

The critic of the Saint is a terrible evil doer;The critic of the Saint gets no rest even for a moment.

If someone puts a house on fire in which people a re sleeping; if some-on e gives poison t o anyone withou t his knowledge; if he takes over theproperty or land of anyone with deception; or if anyone takes awaythe wife of anyone without his knowledge and with force; if anyonekills another person when he is sleeping; if anyone deceives another

person an d in tha t way takes all his wealth and kills him: the one whodoes all these six sins is called the greatest sinner. But here the Mastersays that the critic of a Saint is worse even than the great sinner whohas committed these six sins, because the sin of criticizing the Saintis worse than these sins.

The critic of the Saint is the worst criminal;The critic of the Saint is accursed of God.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says that the critic of Saints is thegreatest of the great sinners and he is accursed of God. Many peoplecriticized Kabir Sahib, an d Sikander Lodhi, the king of tha t time, triedmany times to kill Him: once by tying his hands an d feet with a chainan d throwing him in fron t of the mad elephant; once by throwing H im,all tied up, into the water of the Ganges; and once by burying Him

* With this verse, the Master returns to the text ofSukhmani.




Saints see God in bo th enemies and friends, and tha t is why they never

criticize anyon e, nor do They even allow their disciples to criticize any-one. So Kabir says that if we criticize someone who doesn't see anydifference between enemies and friends, who sees God in both, thenhis heart becomes pure and ours is defiled.

He who criticizes us is our friend;My attention is always in the critic.

Kabir Sahib says, "Those who criticize me are my friends, and I'm al-ways worried about them.I don't want my critic to get sick, or to haveany problems; because if he does, he will not criticize me, and thatmeans he will stop doing my work."

He who removes our criticism is the critic;The critic wishes our long life.

The improver of our life is our critic.Our criticism is our love;Criticism liberates us.

We love to hear the words of the critic, because criticism is the thingwhich liberates us.

Kabir says, How is the criticism good?The critic is drowned and we go across,

Now he asks, "How does criticism help us?" By criticism, our critictakes the burden of our sins, so that we are able to cross this Oceanof Life easily; but the critic, who takes on the burden of ou r sins bycriticizing us, is drowned in the Ocean of Life.

The critic of the Saint is without the Kingdom;The critic of the Saint becomes miserable and poor.*

Once there were two people who daily visited a Saint. One used to bringHim milk, and the other used to stone Him. It went on like this fora long time. Once it so happened that the person who was bringingthe milk stepped on a thorn. On the same day, the person who was

* Here the text of Sukhmani s resumed.




stoning the Saint dug in the earth a nd fou nd a chest full of ashes, with

one gold coin. S o he said to the first ma n, "You see? DailyI throwa stone at that Saint , andI haven't ha d any problem s-I didn't stepon a thorn-whereas you are taking the milk for Him , and you arehaving a problem. An dI dig up this gold coin. You see? I am betterthan you. That Saint is giving me more than He is giving you."

So the person w ho was bringing milk was disappointed. W hen heremoved that thorn , he went to the Saint and asked him, "Baba J i, whatwas the reason that the person who throws stones at You got a gold

coin and has no problems, whereas I stepped on the thorn an d ha d m uchpain and I couldn't even bring the milk for you today? What is thereason?"

Th e Ma ha tm a replied, "It was your destiny t o be hanged toda y. Butbecause of your d evotion and service, tha t heavy karm a w as reducedto this little thorn-prick. A nd th at chest which the oth er person f ou ndwas once full of gold coins which were meant for him. But each timehe threw a sto ne at me, som e of tha t gold was reduced t o ashes. On e

was left only to show him wh at he could have gotten." So tha t is whyG ur u A rja n says that if we criticize the Saints, we can lose all ou r p rop -erty and wealth, even a kingdom, and become paupers.

The critic of the Saint suffers all diseases;The critic of the Saint is separated forever.

W henever the critic of the S aints takes birth , he suffers fro m disease;

he is always separated from God, and beset by many problems.

Criticism of the Saint is one of the biggest sins;Nanak says: If the Saint wishes, the critic can also get liber-

ation.

If the critic of the Saints is having any suffering or any pain it is in-creased because he is criticizing the S aints. B ut if the Sa int W h o is be-

ing criticized wishes, a n d if H e show ers grace o n the critic, then evenhe can get liberated.

The critic of the Saint is always impure;The critic of the Saint is no one's friend.

T he critic of the saint is im pure a nd is nobody's frien d, because he de-ceives everyone.




If he bathes in sixty-eight placesof pilgrimage;I f he worships twelve rocks-*

Mahatma Ravidas was born as a cobbler, and in those days the cob-blers were considered as the low-caste people, and n obo dy wanted t ohave any relations with them. But the Queen of Chittor, whose namewas Mirabai, wanted to realize God, and when she asked the punditsand scholars of her kingdom about God-realization, nobody couldquench her thirst. S o she came to Kashi to get Initiation from R avidas

the cobbler, because He was a perfect Saint of that time. When shetook Initiation from Him, people started criticizing Mirabai becauseof her low-caste guru; the people of her kingdom also started criticiz-ing her, and while Mirabai was still in Kashi, they slandered M irabaito her husband.

S o when Mirabai came back to her kingdom and heard that every-one was criticizing her and her Master, because he was a cobbler bycaste, she thought of inviting Ravidas to her home and having food

there. She tho ug ht tha t if she would invite all the pundits also, maybethey would stop criticizing him. So M aha tma Ravidas was invited an dthe food was cook ed, but the pundits who came there said, "If Ravi-das is going to sit with us and eat with us, we are not going to eat,because it will pollute all the food. This Queen has done a very badthin g- first she took a cobbler as her Master, and now she has invitedhim to ea t food with us, pundits of high caste." So they refused to eatfood with Ravidas.

The Master said to Mirabai, "Daughter, don't worry about it, be-cause I have com e here to glorify you and not to d efame you. If theywant tha t I should sit apart from them t o eat foo d, I'll d o it. Whateverthey want, I'll do it." So Ravidas sat in one corner and ate His food,and the pundits were eating food just by themselves; nevertheless allof them saw Ravidas sitting with them and having fo od . It was a mira-cle. When everybody saw that there were man y Ravidases, an d every-body was eating with Him, they all stood up and stopped eating, say-ing, "This is no t go od . We told M irabai not to let him sit with us andeat food, but now we see that he is sitting everywhere and eating foo d."So they started criticizing Ravidas. S o that is why in this hymn Rav i-das is teaching the critics.

In India there are sixty-eight places of pilgrimage, and people thinkthat if they go to all of them they are doing very virtuous deeds. Andthere a re twelve mountains (called by Ravidas "rocks") which have re-

* Sant Ji is now taking a hymn of Ravidas, from the Granth Sahib -Raga Gond Ravidas.




ligious significance, and people think that if they go and visit thosemountains they are doing very good deeds. But Ravidas says that nomatter if you go and visit those places, whatever fruit you will get fromthat, you will lose it if you are criticizing.

He may construct a well for others' benefit.But if he criticizes it all goes in vain.

Suppose there is a place where there is no water and people are dying

of thirst: if someone graciously digs a well there and brings water outof it and saves people, and then if the same person later on starts criticiz-ing others, he loses whatever fruit he had earned by digging out thatwell.

How can the critic ofa Saint get liberated?Understand: over his head the hell is hovering.

Now Ravidas Ji Maharaj says, "By no means can the critic of Saintsget liberation." There is no way. Hell is hovering over his head, anddefinitely, after his death he will go there.

If he donates a lot at the time of Eclipse-even his wife with allher ornaments-and hears all the Simritis wi th his own ears;

If he criticizes, he loses all the fruit.

The place called Kurukshetra is a holy place, and it is believed in Indiathat at the time of an eclipse, solar or lunar, anyone who donates whilestanding on that place gets many fruits. So Ravidas says that if at thetime of eclipse one goes to Kurukshetra and donates his wife, with allher ornaments and everything, and hears the holy scriptures with hisears, whatever fruit he gets from that he will lose by criticizing.

I f he feeds many hun gr y people,

Donates land and gets a temple constructed-

He may feed the hungry, donate land, make shelters for homelesspeople and build temples - ut if he is criticizing he will lose the bene-fit of all these good deeds.

Losing his own he gives to others-But if he criticizes he wanders in many bodies.




H e may help others and do good fo r them at his own expense, bu t ifhe is criticizing, he will not get any benefit from his good deeds, andwill no doubt go to hell.

0 people of the world, w hy do you criticize?The condition of the critic is obvious to all.

Ravidas says that we should not criticize anyone, because criticism isneither bitter, nor sweet, nor sour. Can we not see the condition ofthe critics-how much they are suffering?

The Saints know the fate of the critics;Ravidas says, The sinnergoes to hell.

Now Ravidas Ji Maharaj says that the Saints and Mahatmas knowab ou t the critics-what happens to them. And th at is why They alwayswant that anyone meditating on Naam should never criticize others.

Because hell and the cycle of eighty-four lakhs birth and death are readyfor critics, and anyone who is criticizing will definitely go into bothafter he leaves the body.

The critic of the Saint gets punishment;The critic of the Saint is abandoned by all.*

Now he says tha t the critic of Saints gets punished in the co ur t of G od ,and one by one, everyone leaves his company.

The critic of the Saint is the great egoist;The critic of the Saint cannot stop doing evil.

The critic ofa Saint is full of egoism, and thinks that nobody else isgreater thanhim. He goes from place to place and does the work ofcriticism, and gradually the temptations and bad qualities of the worldcome to him and surround him.

The critic of the Saint takes birth and dies.The criticism of the Saints destroys all happiness.

T he critic of a Saint is always involved in birth and death , and his criti-cism costs him his happiness.

* The text of Sukhmani resumes here.




Kabir Sahib says, 0 Kabir No one should criticize my Saint," be-cause it accomplishes nothing. No matter how much dirt you may throwat the moon, it will not affect it. In the same way, the Saint is not af-fccted by your criticism.

The critic of the Saint has no place to dwell;Nanak says, If the Saint wants, He may make him united

with the Lord.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says that there is no place for thecritic to dwell; but, if the Master wants, He can take that critic to theCourt of the Lord.

The critic of the Saint breaks down midway;The critic of the Saint does not succeed in anything.

This is the bani of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, and He says that the critic ofthe Saint never gets any work done; he cannot accomplish anythingnor can he achieve anything. Whatever work he may start, he doesn'treach his destination but is always lost midway; whatever work he hasstarted is never finished. In this way he neither accomplishes anythingin this world or in the world beyond.

This is the teaching for the critic of the Saint: Hazur Maharaj Sa-wan Singh Ji used to say, "Criticism is a tasteless sin." By committingother sins or mistakes, you may get some enjoyment, some taste. Butnot by criticizing, because criticism itself is a tasteless thingit tastesneither bitter nor sweet -it has no taste; but still, everybody is involvedin doing it.

The critic of the Saint wanders in the wilderness;The critic of the Saint is led on the wrong path.

What punishment does the critic of a Saint get? He gets birth and thendeath; that is his punishment.

The critic of the Saint is hollow from within,Like the body of a dead man, without breath.

Nothing remains within the critic of a Saint. He becomes void of spiritu-ality, and his body becomes hollow. His soul always blames him andcurses him, "You are the sinner, you are the sinner," and he becomeshollow like a dead body with no life in it.




The critic of the Saint has no determination:

He himself sows, he himself eats.

The critic of a Saint has no determination; and whatever he sows, hehimself has to eat tha t. The Emp eror Jehangir made G uru A rjan DevJi M ahar aj sit on hot coals, and ordered people to throw burning sandon His head; he thought that G uru Ar jan Dev was just a hypocrite whowas misleading the people. Time has proven though, tha t now no o neremembers Jehangir o r takes care of his tomb ; whereas there are man y

gurdwaras or temples in the name of Gu ru Arja n Dev, an d m any peo-ple who visit those gurdwaras and remember the nam e of G uru A rjanDev with m uch love. People celebrate the day of G uru A rjan's deathby distributing sweet water to othe r people, because they remember thaton tha t day H e was tortured to d eath, and they remember H im withmuch love and af fect ion. But nobod y remembers Jehangir o r visits histomb, except the pigeons who make it dirty.

The point is that the name of the M ahatm a, or the Master W ho has

done the meditation, always remains in this world as long as the N ameof God is remembered in this world. Y ou see how people still remem-ber Christ, Gu ru Nanak and Prophet M oham med. This is only becauseThey were doing the devotion of God ; because of tha t devotion of Godpeople still remember Them . Whereas, the critic of a Saint is forg ottenwhile he is in this world and nobody remembers him when he leaves.

In Punjab there is a village named Sanghu; it is a very old village,five or six hundred years old, andI had the opp ortunity to visit it. It's

very small, really. Five hundred years ago this village was also verysmall, with few people and seven or eight homes. Once it so happenedthat the people of that village made a for t, and they wanted t o put oneof the walls at a place where there was a cottage of a perfect M ah atm a.They told the M aha tm a to leave that place so they could build the wallof the fo rt. H e said, "Well, if you want to m ake the wall, why not leavemy co ttage alone and m ake it just a few yards back?" But they didn'tdo th at, and instead they tied th at M ahatma's hands behind his backand tortured Him to death. Before leaving, that M ahatm a prophesied,"You will never prosper. Your families will always remain like this."So now also you can see that there are only eight houses in tha t village.Sometimes there are seven families living there, but never have evennine families lived there . WhenI went there 1 asked people why the rewere only a few houses there, even though this village is very old andtheir families are very big. They told me that their ancestors had tor-tured a Sadhu to death, and that he had cursed them.

Whatever words the devotees of G od sp eak, always come true. Peo-




When the farm ers are harvesting sesame, they don't touch tha t plant

because its fruit is useless. G uru Nanak Sahib says tha t those w ho d onot get awakened by the Master, those who feel tha t they are awakenedby themselves and don't seek the company of the Masters, they willbe separated by Go d as the farmer separates tha t stalk of sesame whichbears useless fruit.

Gu ru N anak Sahib means that the critic of a Saint, no d ou bt, hassons, daughters, w ealth, good health, an d everything which good peo-ple have. But since he has done criticism, nothing is left with him; an d

no matter how many good deeds he has done, no matter how manyausterities he has performed, how many religious deeds he has done,still he will not get the fruit of any of it, because by criticizing he haslost all the fruit of his good deeds.

The critic of the Saint is devoid of religion;The critic of the Saint always speaks untruth.

The virtues of the critic of a Saint, all his virtues, get destroyed and

he has no morals left: wherever he goes he always lies.

The work of the critic is determined from the very be-ginning;

Nanak says: Whatever pleases God happens.

God has written in the fate of a critic of a Saint to do criticism, andthat is why he can not do anything else except criticism. No matte r howmuch time he spends in the company of the Master, the habit of criticiz-ing will not leave. The crane cannot change his habit of searching forfish; even if he goes an d lives in the M ansarovar, the P oo l of N ectar,he will search for fish even there because it is his habit.

Regarding the critic of a Sain t, Ha zra t Bahu also shares his thoughtswith us: He says, "No matter if you take a bitter squash on the pil-grimage to Mecca, you cannot turn it into a watermelon. A nd n o ma t-ter if you pu t a hu ndred pounds of sugar in a stagnan t well, you can -not make the water sweet."

The critic of the Saint becomes deformed;The critic of the Saint gets punished in the court of the Lord.

Th e critic of a Saint gets a bad reputa tion an d is punished in the C ou rtof the Lord. Why is he punished? Because he went to the Saint formeditating on Naam and doing the devotion of God, but instead ofthat he became His critic; that's why he is punished.




The critic of the Saints is always grasping at birth and

death;The critic of the Saint is neither dead nor alive.

T he critic of a Saint falls into the cycle of births an d deaths. W hereverhe goes he takes birth and then has to die, and again he has to takebirth and again he has to die. No matter in which body he goes, heis always subjected to births and deaths.

No desire of the critic of the Saint is fulfilled;The critic of the Saint leaves disappointed.

W e people criticize the S aint because we are envious of H is popularity.W e think th at if we criticize and slander a S aint, those w ho a re follow-ing Him will leave Him and start following us. But when we are notsuccessful in that , when we ca nno t m ake people follow us,, the n we be-com e sad and dis app ointe d, because our desire is no t fulfilled. In this

world we become disappo inted as our desire is not fulfilled, an d whenwe go into the world beyond, the L ord of Judg ment also gives us punish-m ent. H e says, "You were sent to the M aster for doing the devotion ,but instead of th at you started criticizing Him." Th at is why nob odyprotects tha t kind of critic of a S aint except the Saint W h o wa s criti-cized. W hen we leave the body at the time o f de ath , Master is respon-sible for us-$ we obey His com ma ndm ents.

By criticizing the Saint no one will be satiated.The man becomes as He wishes him to become.No one can remove what is written in his fate.Nanak says: Only the True One knows this.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says that whatever is written withthe pen of the destiny writer in the fa te of a m an , he will have to wo rkaccording to that .If it is written in his fate t o d o criticism, he will criti-cize. It doesn't matter how much time he spends in the company ofthe M aster a nd listening to H im ; still he will contin ue doing his work.

The re was a dear one of G uru G obind Singh whose nam e was Gung uBrahmin. H e lived for twenty-one years with G uru Go bind Singh, cook-ing his fo od . You can imagine how m any Satsangs he must have at-tended an d how much he m ust have heard of th e Master's teachings-

because twen ty-one years is a long time. B ut that G ung u B rahm in, justt o get a little reward, gave the two innocent sons of G uru G obind Singht o the Mogul Em pero r, and in tha t way he betrayed his Master. W hen




Gu ru G obind Singh was surrounded by the Moguls, and he had t o leave

An and pur and go to a village called M urun da, that Gangu Brahmintook the two sons of Guru Gobind Singh and their mother into hishom e; and when he heard the announcement by the Mogul people tha tthey would give a reward for them, just for that little prize he gavethose two innocent boys into the hands of the Mogul Emperor whoburied them alive.

The association of twenty-one years with the Master didn't changehim, because whatever kar m a he was supposed to d o , he did tha t, even

thoug h he had spent twenty-one years with Gu ru Go bind Singh. Th en ,after two hundred and fifty years, the same Gungu Brahmin wasbrou ght in to the sangat of M aster Sawan Singh Ji. You ca n imagine,in two hundred an d fifty years, how many bodies of suffering he wouldhave undergone After tha t, when he again got the hu m an body , hewas brought in to the company of Master Sawan Singh. An d there also,his habits were of backbiting and criticizing other people.

Sunder Das, wh o used t o live with m e, was very close to Master Sa-wan Singh; and he told me that G ungu Brahmin had the habit of back-biting an d criticizing so much that o ther people were upset at him , an dthey complained to Master Sawan Singh. The Master asked them,"Don't you recognize him? W ho is he? H e is the sam e Gungu Brahm inwho, after living with G uru Go bind Singh for twenty-one years, gavehis two innocen t sons to the Mogul Em pero r. Now he is just criticizingand backbiting, and that is a lesser sin than what he did with GuruGobind Singh."

Because Saints care ab ou t the souls whom They have initiated, thatis why, no matter w hat the disciple does -even the worst sinner- fhe is the disciple of a Master he is liberated sooner or later; becauseMasters care abou t their initiates, and They always maintain the repu-tation of Their Mastership.

An d regarding the critic of a Saint, Paltu Sahib also has written som e-thing which shallbe presented to you now:

Long live the critic, so that our work maybe done-Our work maybe done, as he is the unpaid servant.*

If we criticize the Saints, They do not imitate us -They d o not respon dto ou r criticism. M ean persons always present excuses to justify them-selves and to prove that they are true, but wise men always wait for

* With this verse, the Masterleaves the text of Sukhmani and begins commentingon a hymn of Paltu Sahib.




time to p rove tha t they are true. Saints always wait for time, because

they know that time will tell people what is the truth.You m ay attend the satsang of any perfect Master o r read His writ-

ing, a nd you will not find even on e single line of criticism of oth er peo-ple; T hey don 't criticize oth ers because They have love an d respect forall.

Paltu Sahib says, "May the critic live for ages and ages," becauseou r critic is doing our work . Peo ple com e asking for employm ent; bu twithout getting any payment, the critic is doing our work.

He travels, becoming alert, and glorifiesus in the three worlds.

If someone's back has pain and he wants to be alert, he ties a pieceof cloth tightly arou nd his waist. So here H e says tha t the critic hastied tha t piece of cloth aro un d his waist, an d he is always alert. G oin gin all the three worlds, he is glorifying our name. He tells whomeverhe meets that that Saint is not good, He has bad qualities, etc. And

in that way, when he talks ab out the Saint to other people, those whodon't know abou t Him also come to know abou t Him . And the dearsouls, those who have love for the Ma ster, think, "Let us go a nd seewh at that S aint looks like, whom he is mentioning." W hen they com e,as they are dear on es, they get the benefit from the criticism of th e S aint.

Once M aster Sawan Singh went to a place called Ebta ba d, an d theAkalis, tho se who were oppo sing M aster Sa wa n Singh, started criticiz-ing H im. Th e dear ones who had arranged for Master Saw an Singh'svisit there came to Him and asked if they could d o any advertising o rat least ann oun ce that H e had come there. So Master Sawan Singh said,"Why are you worried abo ut that? Th ose who are supposed to d o thatwork, you will see that very soon they will start."

So after some time, the Akalis, who were opposing Master SawanSingh, put speakers on a jeep and went all arou nd the city, saying, "TheG uru of Radhaswami has come, and you should no t go to see him be-cause he has such an attraction in his eyes that h e will perform magicon you."

W hen people heard that announcem ent they thou ght, "Let us go andsee how that man can perform magic with his eyes and how he canattract people." Master Saw an Singh was standing on the roof of a build-ing with the dear ones who had arranged for his visit there. He sawth at this publicity was going o n an d H e told the m , "You see, they aredoing your work. Are they doing it or not?"

So many people cam e into the satsang tha t the tent which they hadmade wasn't big enough and many people had to sit outside. After-



T H E UNFORGIVABLE SIN 299

wards, it was heard tha t many said, "We thank the Akali brothers whotold us about such a great Master." If they had not criticized such aMaster, they would no t have come to meet Him . So this is what hap-pens when the Saint is criticized: those who are criticizing the Saintsare n ot'a ctu ally criticizing, but they ar e glorifying the Saints' nam e.

M ahatm a Chatterdas says,"I don't know what happens, but whenone goes to the hom e of the Satguru he never wants to come back, be-cause in the home of the Satguru all the problems are solved an d allthe differences of caste and religions are removed. Further, He says,

"Ranjha gets Hir ; hat is, "the lover gets the Beloved."

The critic is wom'ed for us, not even for a moment does he forget us;Day and night he keeps working and lovingly abuses us.

Now He says, "We are less concerned about ourselves than our criticis concerned about us; day and night with much love, he is abusingus, he is criticizing us, and he's telling people about us."

Saints speak with determination and make people leave the illusion;The critic is our Master who makes us unite with Naam.

Saints come into this world with a strong de termin ation, and They arenot afraid of the critics. That is why They always respect the critic:They know that if there were no critics They would never have becomefree of sins. Only the critic takes the burden of the sins without getting

paid, and relieves the devotee of God of his burden.

Hearing this - that the critic has died-Paltu wept.Long live the critic so that our work may be done

Saints do not weep, no m atter how m uch They lose in this world. ButThey weep when They hear th at t ha t critic has d ied, because only bythe grace of the critic, ar e They able to manifest Naam ; and They know

tha t now tha t the critic has gone, who is there left to carry the burd enof the Saints?

I f you find someone criticizing the Saint,Plug your ears-otherwise you will be sinning.

If anyone is criticizing th e Saint an d someone is listening to tha t criti-cism, the one who listens is also coun ted as a sinner. Pa ltu Sahib saysthat first of all you should not visit any place where people are criticiz-




ing the Saints, but if you should go t o such a place, you shou ld plugyour ears.

Once one de ar one came t o M aster Kirpal whenI was also presentthere. He asked Master Kirpal why he was not having good medita-tions. So Master asked him if he was having the problem of lust. Hesaid, "No." Master said, "Maybe you are having the problem of an-ger?" H e said, "No,I don't have that problem." So M aster asked himabout many basic problems, but none of them applied. Finally, Mas-ter asked him, "Perhaps you are doing criticism?" H e said, "No,I don't

do that." Then Master said, "Well, maybe you arehearing criticism;d o you do that?" H e said, "Yes,I d o that. I have this habit of hearingcriticism." So M aster said tha t the one w ho criticizes and th e on e whohears criticism are both sinners and they both lose.

By committing sin you will go to hell;Beware of it and run away.

If you are hearing the criticism of a Saint, you will be a sinner, andyou will go into hell. So whenever you hear the criticism of a Saint,run away from that place.

If the critic is your friend, understand him as an evil person.R un away from the place where the Saint is criticized.

If we have any friend, a nd he turns in to a critic of the Sain t, we shouldleave his com pany, understand ing him as an evil person, a nd b reak o urfriendship with him.

Slave Paltu says: Those who criticize or hear criticism, will begin hell.

Tho se w ho either criticize th e Saints or hear the criticism of th e Saints,they go into hell and there they live the life of a beggar.

Looking at the critic,I bow down to him:"Blessed are you who washed m y devotee."

Now, Paltu Sahib says tha t even G od folds His hands in fro nt of thecritic and says, "You a re the blessed on e who has washed awa y the sinsof m y devotee, and you a re the blessed one w ho has purified my devo-tee. Because of you, my devotee has come to me." Even G od pays hom -age to the critic.



ogood p~ople,ive up cleverm~sm dremember God, the True King .

Xeeponly oneb p e in your heart=

Namk says: Allth

pains and

And doktf el thirsty agaivt .7he om ~ o dirnxe$fm i e ideath m d

7Vothq ii in th hand5ofmfi-^Byuderstmdhg gi5 Willhupine,,

Keep is ~ u n mwong wzkhznyou.Remember,remember, reinember&

a God;



the ,ins are erused.~ I t ho wh a d do de~dr r the L W ~ ,

wzthyoureon b a r & tory o d .

P a m k SO 5:

h55 w~ty ourfDYeheadlyi& bebryhtenedzizthe h r t 4 he~ o r d .



ASHTAPADI FOURTEEN 305




of whum d m c h a dz~ctplee afmd ?~ o dppemna5 He iytf CE is ;

He him~ebfzi within cueam%.



ASHTAPADI FOURTEEN 307




as the deal.7 ~ h a c e v e re doe,, hz does ZLin the~ z l l

of ~ o d ;



Chapter 14

On the Will of God

0 ood people, give up cleverness and remember God, theTrue King.

Keep only one hope in your heart. Nanak says: All thepains and illusions will go away.

Gu ru Arja n Dev Ji Mah araj says,0 good people Rely on Go d an dd o the devotion of G od." Because if we do devotion of G od , the painof birth and dea th will go away an d real peace will be manifested withinus. And with that real peace will come the radiance of God.

Understand that reliance on man is useless.God alone is the Giver.

Man is in illusion, and because of that he is relying on relatives andfriends and seeks support fro m other men. But he doesn't realize thatGod is the only Giver, and relying on others is useless.

By Whose gifts we remain content and don't feel thirstyagain.

To whomever God gives the wealth of Naam, he becomes satisfied,and after that he has no desire for the world. Where the Naam ismanifested, non-desire of the world comes, because when God givesthe wealth of Naam the person to whom He gives it becomes satisfied.Master Saw an Singh Ji used t o say tha t the desires of m an keep hima pauper, but when the Naam is manifested he doesn't remain a pau-per because he no longer has an y desire. Those who a re desireless arethe real emperors.




The One God Himself causes death and saves;

Nothing is in the hands of man.

God is the One Who causes death, and He is the only One Who savesus. To destroy or save is all in His hands. There is nothing in the handsof man; everything is kept by God Himself. We think that we are theones who are nourishing ourselves and we are the ones who are takingcare of ourselves, but the Mahatmas whose inner eyes are opened knowthat there is Somebody Else, Whom they call God, Who takes care of

them and Who nourishes them. They see clearly that they do not doanything; it is all done by Him.

By understanding His Will happiness comes;Keep His Naam strong within you.

The understanding of the Hukam or Will of God can bring real happi-ness to man. If one understands that Will, then day and night, awake

or asleep, that Naam will reverberate within him, and he will get realpeace.

Remember, remember, remember such a God;Nanak says: No obstacle will come.

While sitting, while standing, whether asleep or awake, whether dayor night - ne should go on doing Simran. Even when he is asleep, in

his dreams also he should do Simran. Those who develop the habit ofdoing Simran in this way, all their pains and troubles vanish, nothingcomes in their way, and all their obstacles are removed.

Kabir Sahib says of those who do the Simran of God even whilesleeping-those who repeat the Simran in their dreams: "I am readyto make shoes out of my skin for their feet."

Praise the Formless One in your heart;

0 my mind, do true acts.

We should always sing the glory of God, because God has given manygood things for our benefit. What is left which He has not done forus? He has done everything for us; He has given us this human birthand He has made us the leader of the eighty-four lakhs species of Cre-ation. What else can He do for us? When He has done everything forus, we should also become grateful to Him.



O N THE WILL OF GOD 311

Drink the nectar with your pure tongue;

Always make your soul comfortable.

Simran is a broom for purifying our soul. You know when we sweepa floor it becomes clean. In the same way, when we go on repeatingthe Sim ran it purifies our soul. W hen ou r soul becomes pure and holyit becomes one with God . So if we want to purify ourself an d join withG od , it is very im portan t to do Simran. Simran is the only means bywhich we can unite with God.

See the colors of the Lord with your eyes.In the company of Sadhus, the effect of others' company

vanishes.

With o ur ow n eyes we have to see God . When we go into the com panyof the Saints, the effect of the bad company of the world goes away.If we come near the fire, all our cold gradually goes away; in the sam e

way, in the world we are affected by bad company, but when we com ein the good company of the Master, that has a stronger effect.

Walk with your feet on the path of God;By remembering God even for a moment, the sins are

erased.

If there is any medicine by which we can remove the sins, that is the

meditation on Shabd N aam. Gu ru Nanak Sahib says that Naam is theonly medicine for removing all disease.

With your hands do the deeds for the Lord, with your ears hearthe Story of God.

Nanak says: This way your forehead will be brightened inthe Court of the Lord.

With our hands we have to do the service of the Master an d the san-gat; with our ears we have to hear the Shabd which is coming fromSach Khand and is reverberating within us. When we will listen dayand night to that Shabd , what will happen? Eventually our countenancewill become radiant and we will get honor in the Court of God.

They are the very fortunate ones in this world,Who sing the praise of God always.




Who are the most fortunate ones? Who have good fate? Only those

who are doing the meditation of Shabd Naam and who are going inthe good company of the Master and the sangat; they are the fortunateones. Tulsi Sahib says, "Even the sinners have wealth - aughters, sons,and family. Tulsi says, The company of the Saints and the discoursesabout God are very precious, and only the fortunate ones get the op-portunity to attend them."

Those who meditate on the Naam of the LordAre the true rich ones in the world.

All the material of this wealth is connected with our body, and whenour soul leaves the body it is all left behind in this world; not even ourbody goes with us. That is why Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "Whoare the truly rich ones? Only they who do the meditation of ShabdNaam." Those who have worldly riches cannot be called truly rich, be-cause when they leave this world they go empty-handed. Kabir Sahibsays, 0 Kabir Only they are the poor ones who don't have Naam intheir hearts."

They who speak the Naam of the Lord with their mind andbody;

Know them to be ever and ever happy.

Peace is in Naam. Only they are peaceful who have Naam within themand who have manifested that Naam. Their mind is at peace, and more-

over, their body is also at peace. They always remain in a state of peace-fulness in this world because they have manifested Naam within. SehjoBai says that rich people are very unhappy, and the poor people arealso the form of unhappiness. Sehjo Bai says that only the Sadhus orMaster Saints are happy - hose who have knowledge of the Inaccessi-ble Plane.

He who recognizes only one GodComes to know about this world and that.

Those who recognize that One God, that unique God, have the knowl-edge of this world as well as the world beyond. One foot is in this world,and the other foot is in Sach Khand; if they want, they can go to SachKhand in a moment and come back into this world.

He whose mind is attached to the NaamRealizes the Pure God, says Nanak.



ON THE WILL OF GOD 313

Tho se who have contacted th at Naam and manifested it within them -selves, they have realized God and have recognized G od , because Naamis Go d and God is Naam . Naam is the Power of G od , and Naam Him -self is God.

W ith the grace of the M aster one com es to realize his o w nSelf.

Understand that his thirst is quenched.

We canno t achieve the Power of N aam by ourselves, by ou r ow n ef-forts. We can do it only by the grace of the Master. He says that ifwe get any Perfect Master, and if He showers grace on us, only thencan we have the understanding and recognition of Naam.

In the company of Sadhus one sings the praise of God.Such a beloved of God becomes free from all diseases.

Only after meeting some Sadh o r Master can we sing the glory of G od ,and only then can we do the meditation on Naam and realize It.

He w ho sings and hears the unceasing music day and night,Becomes liberated while living with his family.

W ho becomes liberated, even while living the househo lders life? On lyhe who is hearing the Sound Current day and night.

He who puts all his hopes in God alone,His noose of death will be cut.

Those who have hope only in one Satguru, and who always remainhappy in the will of the Satguru whether happiness comesor pain,whether they are rich or poor, to them not even the Angel of Deathwill come. Master used to say tha t we should no t become d evoted to

one place and then change our devotion when we change our place.W hen we have come in the P ath of the M asters and become the disci-ple of one M aster, we should be very strong in ou r devotion to Hi m ;no m atter what hap pens, whether happiness comes or p ain, we shouldremain strong and determined in ou r devotion t o the sam e Master.

H e w ho has the hunger for Par BrahmWill have no suffering, says Nanak.




Tho se who have the hunge r, thirst an d desire for realizing G od , will

not have the fear of birth and death.

He who remembers the Lord in his mind and heart,Is a true Saint and He never wavers.

W e should always remain strong, no m atter what happens. W e shouldalways remain h app y in the Will of G od , whether happiness comes o rpain. Only those w ho d o tha t can be called real disciples. It is very dif-

ficult to do this. It is very easy to say it, but it is very difficult to doit. W hen the sto rm com es, even strong trees get upro oted. So in life,when ups a nd dow ns come, i t is very diff icult for on e to remain steadyin his devot ion. Only a M ahatm a can d o that .

W hen we are praised by a few people, we become very hap py, a ndG od , W ho is residing within us, sees tha t. T he n if H e puts us to thetest an d ma kes som e people criticize us, som etimes we even leave thePa th. But the M ahatmas know tha t the sam e Go d resides in the fr iend

an d in the enem y. Th at is why they don't mind when they a re criticizedor when they are praised- they always remain steady in their goal. Thisis the way of the Saints.

He on whom God is gracious,Of whom will such a disciple be afraid?

How can the one on whom God is gracious be afraid of the world?H e will never becom e afraid of the w orld, because he knows that G odis grea ter th an the world. T he world is a little thing in com parison toG o d. T hat is why the o ne who has Go d as his protector will never beafraid of an yon e. H e will always go on giving the message of G od nomatter how many problems the worldly people put in front of him.You know that Christ was not afraid of the world, because He hadrealized G od a nd H e knew tha t G od is greater than the world. Evenwhen He was crucified, happily He climbed the cross and He neverminded that . In the same way, G uru A rjan Dev, Whose writ ings weare reading now , was m ade to sit on hot coals an d hot sand was pouredon H is head, an d H e was tortured to death in that way; but still Hedidn't mind because H e knew that G od was on His side an d H e hadthe protection of God. Those who have God's protection are neverafraid of the world.

God appears as He in fact is;He Himself is within His creation.



ON THE WILL OF GOD 3 1 5

God is seen in the Form as He is, and He is within everybody.

By thinking, thinking, thinking one succeeds;With the grace of Master one realizes everything.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji says, "We have thought ab out this very clearly,and we have considered all aspects of it, and we have gone throughthis very thoroughly, and we have come to this conclusion: that we can-not achieve anything except by the grace of the Master. Whatever under-standing we have achieved is all due to the grace of my Master, GuruRamdas."

When I see, I find Him the root cause of everything;Nanak says: He Himself is in the subtle form, He Himself

is in the physical form.

In the waters G od resides, and in the land also God resides: He resides

in all the creation H e has made. Even in the creations which we canno tsee with our eyes- he astral planes, etc. -the re also the same Go d isresiding.

No one takes birth, no one dies;God Himself plays His drama.

Th e soul is never bo rn , and the soul never dies. Soul just changes bod -

ies as we change our clothes. God has made this play in which the soulchanges the body, but in fact the soul never dies nor is she ever created.

The coming and the going, the visible and the invisible,Are supported and controlled by Him.

The coming and the going of the souls in this world is like a play whichis created by God; everywhere God's sight is pervading and He seeseverything tha t happens. He is looking even at those Creations whichwe cannot see with our eyes. God has created all this Creation in HisWill, and all the happenings in this world are happening in the Willof God. He Himself is the Doer of all of this.

He Himself is within everything.In many ways He makes and unmakes the things.

Go d is everywhere. In the a nt, G od is present, and in the elephant, the




same God is present. All that we see is the play created by God, and

God is present everywhere in the play which He has created.

He is indestructible and Indivisible;He creates the whole Creation.

God is indestructible, and He is never destroyed. Nor can the Crea-tions which He has created be destroyed if it is not in His Will. Noone can destroy that which God has created; it is destroyed only if God

Himself does so.

He is the Unseen, Unfathomable and Glorious.Nanak says: If He makes one repeat His Naam, only then

can one repeat His Naam.

God is unfathomable, and we cannot fathom him. W e cannot under-stand God if we don't get a Perfect Master, and if that Perfect Master

doesn't shower grace on us we cannot realize God and we cannot haveany knowledge of Him. It is not in the control of a blind man to goand catch hold of the person who has eyes; unless the person who haseyes calls the blind man, he cannot catch hold of him. In the same way,unless God showers grace on us we cannot do His devotion and wecannot have any knowledge of Him, because we are the blind ones andHe has the eyes.

Dadu Sahib said that there is clarified butter in the milk, but unlesswe churn it, we cannot get butter from it, and unless we heat up thatbutter, we cannot get the clarified butter. In the same way, God is withinus, but unless we analyze ourself we cannot realize Him.

Those who have manifested God are Glorious;The whole world will be saved by Their mantra.

Those who have manifested God within themselves are glorified in thisworld. Even when they leave this world, still they are glorified and hon-

ored. The entire Creation can be liberated by taking the mantra orcharged words of those Mahatmas who have manifested God withinthemselves. Guru Nanak Sahib says that just by giving one particle ofhis Naam, a Gurumukh can liberate millions of souls. Swami Ji Ma-haraj also says that the glory of the Gurumukh is very high, becausejust by one particle of his Naam he liberates millions.

Saints and Mahatmas do not give the mantra from hearsay. Theydo not learn the mantra by reading books. They give the holy words,



ON THE WILL OF GOD 317

the sacred words, which they have earned, and which they have medi-tated upon. And behind the words which the Master gives, works Hischarging.

The servants of God liberate aI1.The servants of G od remove the pain.

Those who become the servants of G od , the devotees of God , and man-ifest God within themselves, come into this world for the benefit of

other people; they come into the world t o liberate us. Only those whohave good fo rtune can come in contact with them and take advantageof them; otherwise it is not in our hands. Only the most fo rtun ate onescontact them . There is no law tha t only a few people can come to them,or th at they can liberate only so many people; God has given them th egreat treasure of Naam and told them t o bring as many souls as theycan, as many souls as will come to them . Th at is why all the for tun atesouls-those who come in contac t with them-get liberation.

Once Narada went to God and requested Him, "The people of theworld are in much suffering and in miserable conditions -Yo u shouldlet them come and reside in Your Heavens where there is so much h ap -piness." God told him, "All right,I will give a place to all those whowill come with you. You go and bring as many as you can." So Narad awent to one shopkeeper who was very old. He was coughing and hewas in a very miserable condition. His sons were at their homes andhe was taking care of his shop and doing his business. So Narada

thoug ht, He is suffering m uch, let me tell him ab ou t Heaven andI amsure that he will get ready and come with me.So Narada told him, 0 old man, do you want to go to heaven?I

see that you are suffering very much; you should g o to heaven. I havecome to take you." The old man asked him, "Who are you?" He re-plied, "I am N arad a, the devotee of God." You know how the worldlypeople are always against the devotees of God because they don't under-stan d them as good people, because mostly the devotees of God don'tdeal in the worldly things and they always remain in the remembranceof G od and they always inspire people towards God . Tha t is why mostof the worldly people don't like the devotees of God. So the old mansaid, "Right now I canno t leave this shop because my children are no there, a nd I can't leave without having a responsible person take overfor me. I don't want to go to heaven right now, but maybe somedayI will think about going there." So Narada became very sad becausethat old man was not ready to go with him.

Then he went to one very old farmer who was also in a very ,misera-




ble con dition, and he was plowing his fields. N ara da had pity o n him

and told him, 0 old ma n, com e on with me to the heavens." But thatold man said, "No,I can't go to the heavens now because my childrenare very young, an d they cannot take care of the land, an dI am doingthis work because they are not able to d o it .I don't want to go to theheavens."

So again Na rada became very sad. And then he thou ght, s ince noman is ready to go to heaven, let me go to the animals. So he wentto the pigs, who live in a very m iserable con dition , eating garb age an d

dirt. H e thought because of that they would be very unhap py a nd w ouldwa nt to leave this world an d go t o heaven. So he asked on e pig, "Doyou w ant to come t o heaven?" Th e pig asked, "Will1 get any garbag eto e at in heaven?" Na rada said, "What is the use of going to heavenif you still have to eat garbage?" Then the pig asked him, "WillI getas many children in heaven, a sI have here?" So Narada said, "Whatis the use of going to heaven if you still have to d eal with children an dproblem s like that? " So the pig said, "Well,I don't think tha t any wiseperson will go with you t o hea ven.If there is no garbage an d n o chil-dre n there , w hat is the use of it? O nly foolish persons will go with y ou.I don't want to go."

So Narad a became very sad, and w hen he went back to G od , Go dasked him why he was sad . Na rada replied, "L ord,I have seen in theworld that everybody is suffering and they are wailing like anything;but when I tell them to c ome to heaven an d d o the devotion of G od ,nobody will do it ."

The Merciful One Himself unites the souls with Him;Those who meditate on the Shabd of the Master become

happy.

W hen G od showers grace on mank ind, H e comes in the body of a m anand H e comes and dwells among m en. And H e tells them in which Formtha t G od is residing within them , a nd H e tells them to d o the practicesby which they can realize G od . And those who obey H im a nd practice

the P at h according to H is teachings, they get the real Peace and H ap -piness because they get united with God.

Only those do their seva,On whom God showers His grace. They are most fortunate

ones.

W hen G od showers grace on people, H e comes in the body of the M as-




resides everywhere; in all the p articles, in all the c reatures in this world

H e resides. T ha t is why we should always d o His devotion. On ly theyare the ideal people, who d o the meditat ion on S habd N aam . G uru N a-nak says,"If we want t o find the ideal ones in this world, we will findonly a few."



Him




A, the Lyhr 4 GO h z w swzthtaevwybody.whydwuIdone become proud i fhe L$

diver o fall.d J

g e whoxedi5eu5e4 fgotjm i5 removedby thegram $ he Master

75 ulwayjf vee from diseufe,say5 ~ a m k . .



ASHTAPADI FIFTEEN 323

7he divinel y h 5 wfife5t:edby'oin&g the5~7ygt. L d h u ~ .I

7 wnutt. thed ~ 5 ~f t h ee e t pfmchs-flints.

o ~ o d ,i@Uthzidesire,says h /~nu /c .0 fodzjh mid , whydo you weep?




8 with the Saints.And abandon aU other dfiadlyevil

ertcmyltvnents.z V C Y ~ O ~i11h a w you

Avtdyourf aw w;IIbebvyhtenedimt-h O U Y ~ .$ he ~ o u d

Juch m d e 25 done by rare traders.

(.GY@ YOMYSOUt o &fi Guru.3 the yourse$F in the love d w tofthe

fadh,~.



ASHTAPADI FIFTEEN 325

my d&i&ies.And t h y taste the w a r by ~ L ' Y Z ~Y

praises ofGod.g e who take5 zut dte Saint,obtain5dl say1 ad.Gad is

I I

rtvtoreL@t o the

in their ~ f i .

~ v e rthzng bebngr t o tlim and He zir

omnipotenK7her-8 ne&zer h s em nor will cver be

anyone excepr U i n.




o man, repeat thijNium dway5 day

I3ewmer pure, say5 ~c7yu.t.k.'Me in whose hearc dwellsfaith in the

masterg e remembwx~ o dn hi5hewr.He L onored a5 a devoteeh the hree



Chapter 15

The Love Dust of the Sadhu

God has all power and He knows the pains of all.By remembering Him, one gets liberated.I sacrifice myself for Him, says Nanak.

In H is teachings, Guru A rjan Dev Ji Mah araj tells us that Go d is Al-mighty, and He is full of all qualities; He doesn't lack anything; Heis the Owner of all things. Only by doing H is Simran can we swim acrossthis ocean of the world. Guru Nanak Sahib also says, "Those who arespending their days and nights in the sweet remembrance of God ,I amready to sacrifice myself for the dust of their feet."

The Lord joins the broken strings;He Himself nourishes all the souls.

Go d is the only One W ho is nourishing the Creation a nd all the crea-tures of the creation; He is the only One Who knows the pains andsufferings of all the souls; and H e is the only One W ho takes care ofthem.

In His heart there is concern for all;No one is rejected by Him.

God is concerned for everyone, whether one is a creature living on land,or a creature living in water. There is nothing in this world withoutGod, as God is present everywhere; and God resides in a11 creatures.Those who say that they protect themselves, tha t they take care of them-selves, only those whose inner eye is not open say that. But the Ma-hatmas whose inner eyes are opened, they know that they are not theones who are protecting themselves, and they are not the ones who a re




taking care of them. There is Someone else, some other Power Who

is protecting them and taking care of them. They know that whatevermoving illusion we see in front of us, there is some Power working be-hind it, and there is some Power taking care of this whole creation.And Saints and Mahatmas call that hidden Power the Almighty Lord.

0, y mind, always remember the Lord;He is the imperishable One and all in all.

You should do the devotion of that Lord Who is indestructible andimmortal. And when we do the devotion of that immortal God andwhen we become one with that immortal God, we will also become im-mortal. As God is immortal - He never takes birth, He never dies - nthe same way, when we go and meet with Him, our soul will also be-come immortal; we will never take birth, we will never die. We willbecome free from the pains of birth and death.

Nothing happens by one's own efforts,Although he may desire it hundreds of times.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj narrates from His own experience.He says that no doubt we all desire the devotion of God, and weall desire that we will meet God. And we all are trying to do that; butunless God showers His grace on us, we cannot come in the companyof the Master, and we cannot do His devotion. No doubt everybodyis making an effort to meet God; but unless God is gracious on us,we cannot come in the company of the Master, and cannot meet Him.

Nothing will be of any use to you except Him;Nanak says, One gets liberation by meditating on One

Naam.

No matter how many repetitions you perform, or how many austeri-ties you may do , no matter how many donations you give, or virtuous

deeds you do, the benefit which you will get from doing all these gooddeeds will not make you realize God, because realization lies only inthe devotion and meditation of Shabd Naam. It is not that all thesegood deeds will not bear any fruit to you; they will definitely bear somefruit, but they will not help you in realizing God. If you are doing gooddeeds, if you are generously giving donations, o r if you are repeatingthe Name of the Lord, if you are performing austerities, or visiting tem-ples, you may get a better birth in the next lifetime; and if you are poor



THE LOVE DUST OF THE SADHU 329

in this lifetime, it is possible th at because of your good deeds, you may

get birth in a rich family in the next lifetime. If you are a beggar inthis lifetime, you may come as a donor, and if you are a sweeper inthis lifetime, you may even come as a ruler of that place. Whateverdeeds you are doing, good or bad, you will definitely get their fruit.But the fruit of these good deeds we are doing will definitely not beGod-rea lization. The only way to realize God is by doing the medita-tion on Shabd Naam. Th at is why He says, "Meditate on Shabd Naamif you want to realize God."

If one is handsome, he should not be proud of it,As the light of God Shines within everybody.

If anyone thinks tha t by becoming more handsome he will attrac t theattention of G od , or by becoming more beautiful he will control G od ,this is not possible. By the Light of God within us, we are beautifuland handsome, and if we didn't have the Light of God within us we

would not have been so handsome or beautiful.Why should one become proud if he is wealthy?-Since all the wealth is given by Him.

No one shou ld ever think tha t because he is rich he could realize G od.And no one should be proud of the wealth he has, because all the wealthis given by God Himself.

If one is called a brave man,What can he do without the power of God?

No one should be proud of his bravery; no one should ever think thathe is a great hero o r a very brave m an. All the bravery an d heroismhe has is all because of the Lightof God working in his body. If Godwithdraws His Light from our body , our body becomes just like sand.We are running here and there and doing these heroic deeds only be-cause of the presence of the Light of God in our body. If we didn'thave the Light of God, our body would not be useful.

If One becomes a donorThat soul should know that God is the giver of all.

If anyone becomes a donor and gives things to other people, beforebecoming proud of being a donor, he should first think, "Who has given




me all the things I am giving to other people?" Everyone should

always think, "Did I bring knowledge with me when I came into thisworld? Did I bring wealth when I came into this world? Did I bringthe power which I have now into this world? Who has given me allthese things? Only God Who brought me into this world has given meall these things which 1 am giving to other people. So why be proudof that? Why be proud of the things which are given by God?"

He whose disease of Egoism is removed by the grace of the

MasterIs always free from all disease, says Nanak.

We cannot do anything if God is not gracious on us. Without the helpof God, we cannot achieve anything. Those who remove the egoismfrom within them, only they become one with God within. Those whoare free from ego, they are not envious of others; they have no jeal-ousy within them.

As a pillar supports the floor of a houseThe Shabda of Master supports the mind.

Here Guru Sahib sings the glory of the Guru Shabda. He says that ifwe want to make our house strong, we put in very strong pillars. Inthe same way, what is the power which will make our mind steady,which will control our mind and slow it down? That is the Shabda ofthe Master. The Naam of the Master will make our mind slow downand keep it steady and keep it in control.

As a stone put into a boat swims across,A man gets liberated by clinging to Master's feet.

Just as a stone cannot float on the surface of the water by itself, butif it is put in a boat, it can easily float on the water-in the same way,no matter how many bad deeds we have done, if we come and take

shelter in the Master, and request Him, "Whatever we have done inthe past, please forgive us for that, and now for the future, please takeus in the shelter of Your company and liberate us"- when we make thistype of request from Master, He takes us in His shelter, and forgivingall our past sins and deeds, He puts us on the way of the Truth, onthe way back to God. Because of our bad deeds, we are not able to swimacross the ocean of this world. But when we cling to the feet of theMaster, we can easily swim across the ocean of the world with His grace.



THE LOVE DUST O F THE SADHU 33 1

As a lamp brings light in the darknessA man gets brightened on having the darshan of Master.

If there is a dark room , and we burn a lam p there, tha t room becomesfull of light, and we become very happy. In the same way, if there isany darkness within any dear one, when he sees the Light, when hehas the darshan of His Master within, he also becomes very happy,as if the room has become full of light.

Guru Nanak Sahib says, "The happiness which one gets from the

darshan of the Master cannot be described in words."

As one finds his way in a great wildernessThe divine light is manifested by joining the Sangat of

Sadhus.

If anyone goes into the forest and loses his way there, but if he comesacross any person who knows the way, and if he is put on the way by

tha t person, he can easily get to his destination. In the sam e way, weare also lost ones in this world, and we don't have any knowledge abo utthe Light of G od . But Masters, because they have come f rom the Lightand they know about Light, when they make us acquainted with theLight and put us o n the way of the L ight, we can easily get to ou r des-tination. But we cannot get the knowledge of tha t Light unless we comein the company of the Master.

I want the dust of the feet of such Saints.0 God, fulfill this desire, says Nanak.

Guru Nanak Sahib says, "Fortunate am I to get such Saints by meetingWhom one can get the Light manifested within; I always have the de-sire that if I meet such Saints, I will wash Their feet and drink thatwater; and I am always ready to sacrifice myself on such Saints."

0 oolish mind, why do you weep?We get things according to our destiny.

Now Guru Arjan DevJ i Maharaj says, 0 foolish mind, why ar e youworrying fo r yourself day and nigh t; why are you involved in anxiety?You will get only what is written in your fa te. W hatever is in the Willof God, you will obtain only that."

Saints do not mean to say that you should throw away all your toolsand not work, as you will only get what is written in your fate . They




m ean t o say tha t w hatever is written in the W ill of G od an d whatever

is written in your fate, you will get that. But even to obtain that, youhave to work hard; you should always mak e efforts from yo ur side.

God is the giver of pains and happiness.Abandon others and remember Him.

If pain com es, tha t is in the Will of G od ; if happ iness comes, th at alsois in the Will of God. So we should rise above pains and happiness

and do the devot ion of God.

Take it with joy, whatever He does.0 gnorant man, why do you wander astray?

W hatever is happening in the W ill of G od , you sho uld be happy in that ;you should always accept all happenings as the Will of G od . Wh y areyou blam ing Go d for whatever H e is doing to you? W hatever is hap-

pening, th at all is happening within the Will of G od . And whatever G odis doing , that is all for the good of the souls; because only Go d knowswhat is goo d o r bad for the souls, and whatever H e does for any ofus is ult imately good. S o why are you blaming H im ?

G uru A rjan Dev Ji M ahara j , W hose writings we are reading now ,was tortured t o death by the ortho dox people; in La hore H e was mad eto si t o n hot coals while ho t sand was throw n o n his head. W hen M ianM ir, one of His disciples, came to know th at G uru A rjan Dev, a real

Saint, was being tortured in Lahore, he went there. An d w hen he sawthat G uru A rjan Dev was being m ade to sit on the ho t coals, he askedHim, "Guru Dev, what is this? What is happening? Allow me, andIwill raze the city of Lahore to the ground." But Guru Arjan Dev re-plied, "Mian Mir,I also can d o that. But this is all happening in theWill of Go d. AndI like the Will of G od ; it is very sweet for me." T he nHe said, 0 Lord, Your Will is sweet, andI like it . And Nanak al-ways requests and prays for the gift of Naam ." G uru A rjan Dev wasthe abode of peace, and that is why He did not do anything againstthe Will of G od . Even though H e was tortured t o death , still H e ac-cepted it as the Will of God.

What things came with you,That you are attached to them like a greedy moth?

Jus t think, when you cam e into this world, when you were bo rn, whatcame with you? D id your mother com e with you? O r did your father



THE LOVE DUST OF T H E SADHU 333

come with you? Did your relatives come with you? Wealth, pride,

honor- ll these things which you have now, d id all these things comewith you? And the things to which you are attached now , did they comewith you when you were born? What will go with you when you leavethis world? Just think what will help you when you leave this world.

In your heart repeat the Naam of the Lord.And go to the real Home with honor, says Nanak.

If you want to be honored, do the meditation on Shabd Naam; be-cause this is the only thing which will go with us when we leave thisworld an d go back to ou r Hom e. Nothing else from this world will ac-compan y us.

The merchandise which you came into this world toobtain

Is the Naam of the Lord which can be found in the homeof Saints.

The merchandise for which you have come into this world is the mer-chandise of Naam. W here will you get tha t? You will get that only fromthe shops of the Saints; only from the Saints will you get the wealthof Naam.

Give up egoism and trade your mind for God's Naam.And then weigh the Naam of the Lord in your heart.

If you want to get benefit from the Saints, you can get that only byhaving humility within, and only by becoming poor (humble) in frontof T hem . There is no other way that you can gain Their pleasure andget benefit from T hem . If you don't have humility within, if you don'talways go and request Them and if you don't obey Them , you will no tbe able to get any benefit from Them, as humility is the only way bywhich you can gain the pleasure of the M aster an d then get benefitedfrom Him.

Kabir Sahib says, "One should never give up the company of theSaint. We should always walk on the Path which is shown to us bythe Saint; because as soon as we see the Saint, we become holy, andwhen we accompany Him on the Pa th, He m akes us meditate on Naamand get liberation."

Load the merchandise of Naam and go with the SaintsAnd abandon all other deadly evil entanglements.




What is the merchandise or wealth which will liberate you from this

world? The merchandise or wealth of Naam is the only thing whichwill liberate you from this world . So give up the com pan y of the w orldlypleasures, and d o the devotion of Sh abd N aam.

Everyone will honor youAnd your face will be brightened in the court of the Lord.

If we d o the meditation on Shab d Naa m, no t only d o we get glorified

an d hon ore d in this world, but we also get honored in the cour t of G odwhen we go there.

Such trade is done by rare traders.Nanak Says, I sacrifice myself to Him.

O ne Saint says tha t even if o ne does the devotion of the L ord in theworld below, he will not remain hidden; he will get manifested in allthe three worlds.

Rare are those who d o the merchandise of Na am- s only a few peo-ple d o the business o f dia m on ds and gems. But you will find m any peo-ple doing the business of shells and useless things. In the same way,you will find many people who are dealing in the worldly pleasures,but you will find only a few who are dealing in the merchandise ofNaam.

Wash the feet of the Guru and drink that water.Sacrifice your soul to the Guru.

Now in this section G uru A rjan Dev Ji M ah ara j talks abou t the im-portance of the Sadhu or the S aint. He says that we should always haverespect and appreciation f or the Sa dhu, a nd whenever we com e acrossany S adhu we should sacrifice ou r mind a nd body a nd wealth and every-thing for H im- ecause one who has sacrificed himself for the Sa dh u,he has sacrificed himself for God.

Saints d o not let anyb ody wash their feet and drink tha t w ater, butGu ru Arja n Dev Ji M aha raj says that if we get the opportunity o f do-ing that, we should take advantage of it . When I went to Bombay, acouple came to me, bringing a silver plate, and they wanted to washmy feet and have tha t water. ButI lovingly told them No.I appreciatedtheir love, butI didn' t al low them that. But Guru Arjan Dev Ji Ma-har aj says tha t if, by chance, we get the opp ortunity of doin g tha t, weshould no t let that o pp ortu nity go by without utilizing it; we should



THE LOVE DUST OF THE SADHU 3 3 5

definitely take advantage of it, because it will bring a lot of good to

us if we can do that.In Bombay the dear ones are so very loving tha t whenever they com eto see me they lie down flat on the ground and try to kiss my feet orthey rub their forehead on my feet and things like tha t. They ar e ex-pressing their love for G od . You see, there are hundreds of tho usandsof people in Bom bay, but not everybody is doing tha t. Only a few peo-ple have the opportun ity to do tha t because that is the grace of G od .Go d has given them the opportunity to share their love which they havefor God. But not many people have that opportunity.

Bathe yourself in the love dust of the Sadhu.Become a sacrifice to the Sadhu.

If we get the dust on which the Saint or the Sadh has walked, we shou ldmix that in our bathing water and bathe with that water. And if wedo that, millions of our sins are removed, just by doing that. Kabir

Sahib says tha t when we go to see the Sadhu we should not look behindand not worry about the things behind (the past). Whatever is goingto happ en, that will happen, but we should go and m ake ou r future.That is why Guru Sahib says, "Sacrifice yourself on the Sadhu. Thatis good for you."

The seva of Sadhu is obtained through good luck.Sing the praise of the Lord in the company of Sadhus.

We can serve the Sadhu only if we are very fo rtuna te ones, o r if G odis gracious on us. If we don't have good for tune and if G od is no t gra -cious on us, no m atter how much we try, still we cannot serve the Sadhu.If God is not gracious on us but still we come in the service of the Sadhu ,then what happens? Later on Negative Power sits within us and startsbringing evil, and then we start thinking, "The work of this Master isgoing on only becauseI am here a nd only becauseI am working forHim ; otherwise He canno t do His work." Instead of being grate ful fortha t oppo rtunity an d praying fo r more grace of G od , we start thinkinglike that and in that way, whatever benefit we have gained from serv-ing the M aster, we lose all. Guru Nanak Sahib says, "The w ealth whichwe can earn by serving the Maste r, that cannot be earned by perform -ing austerities an d repeating the Names and going on pilgrimages anddoing all those good deeds. I have taken refuge in the Master an d,0Lord, always grant me the company of the Saint."




The Sadhu protects the devotees from many difficulties.

And they taste the nectar by singing praises of God.

Many problems come in life, and many pains, but if we are in the com-pany, the refuge, of the Saint, the Saint always casts His gracious sighton us, and He always extends physical help. Master Power always helpsup to a certain extent, whatever is necessary, in the pains and prob-lems of the disciples. In the Bhajan I usually sing, 0 Master KirpalI will not find even one like You, but You will find thousands like me."Because thousands of people cannot make one Master, but one Mastercan make thousands of people in his Sangat. Wherever a Master will goand live, He will form the Sangat, but a Sangat cannot make a Master.

He who takes refuge in the SaintsObtains all comforts, says Nanak.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "After abandoning all the supportof the world, now I have taken the support of the Master, I have comein His refuge. And because I have taken refuge in the Master I havegot this supreme joy, supreme happiness." And the supreme joy is whenour soul becomes happy.

God is competent to restore life to the dead.He gives the Lord's support to the hungry ones.

Now in this hymn, Guru Arjan Dev Ji sings the glory of God. He says,"See how God is protecting us everywhere." Before a child is born, heis just a piece of flesh in the mother's womb. He is not able to movehimself, he is not able to do any job, he is not able to do anything.But when God puts His soul in that piece of flesh, that piece of fleshstarts moving. And see how God has arranged to supply food andeverything there, even in the mother's womb, and how He nourishesthat baby in the mother's womb.

All treasures are in His sight.But all men obtain only what is written in their fate.

All the riches and pleasures of this world are in God's control and GodHimself owns all things. But we cannot get more than what is writtenin our fate. Whatever is written in our fate according to our past deeds,we will get only that much from the treasure which God has.



T H E LOVE DUST OF THE SADHU 337

Everything belongs to Him and He is Omnipotent.

There neither has been nor will ever be anyone except Him.

There is only one God Who has created all Creation, and there is noother power that we can say is equal to God or like God. God is theunique One and He is the only One Who has created this Creation.

Right now in this present age, science has progressed a lot, butupto now nobody has made a human being, whether fr om four elementsor from six elements. God has made the hum an body of five elements

but the scientists have not been able to make the human form of anynum ber of elements. You see how much doctors have progressed, howmuch com for t they give to the person who is suffering: But when thetime of death comes, at that time even the doctors cannot help; eventhe doctors say, "Now this is not in our hands." Kabir Sahib says thatthe doctor tells us,"I can give only medicine, but life and death arein the hands of God. This life is God's; whenever He wants, He cantake it. I cannot do anything in that." Whenever the end time comes,even the doctors give up and go away.

0 man, repeat this Naam always day and night.This is the most sacred and high deed.

He says tha t, whether walking or sitting, standing or lying down, talk-ing or doing anything, you should do the meditation of Shab d Naam ;because this is the highest and purest of all actions.

He to whom God graciously gave His NaamBecomes pure, says Nanak.

Those to whom the Masters have graciously given Initiation into ShabdNaam , only those souls are pure and high souls, and only those peopleare able to take their souls and make them one with God.

He in whose heart dwells faith in the MasterHe remembers God in his heart.

When we get Initiation, after that , if faith for the M aster comes within,then such a dear one can easily realize God, because there is no differ -ence between the Master and G od , they both are one and the same thing.And when a dear one has that faith, then he can easily realize God.




He is honored as a devotee in the three worlds

In whose heart resides the One God.

He says, "In whose heart that one unique God resides and in whoseheart lies devotion for only one Master, he gets honor in all the threeworlds." And even after they leave this world, they are honored andrespected by the people, and are called true Saints and true devoteesof God.

His deeds are TrueTruth resides in His heart as he speaks Truth.

Such a Mahatma within whom Naam is manifested, whatever Hespeaks, that is truth, and whatever He does, that also is truth. What-ever are His words, His deeds are also like them. Whatever He is fromoutside, from inside also He is like that. This means that He is alwaysdoing good to the people, and however He is seen from outside, Heis also like that within.

His sight becomes True and He sees only one True formin everyone.

He believes Truth pervades everywhere.

In His sight, as He has respect and appreciation for the man, in thesame way He has the same type of appreciation and respect for thewoman. He has no sense of duality; for Him, everybody is alike. What-ever He says, from within also, He is living that. He doesn't do goodand true things only for showing to the people; whatever He does, thatall comes from His heart. His way is Truth.

He who understands that the Supreme One is TrueWill be absorbed in Him, says Nanak.

He says that the one who meets the Mahatma and after getting knowl-

edge from Him, does the devotion of God, who realizes God and seesHim manifested everywhere, and who has complete faith in the Mas-ter and God, only he becomes one with God, and only he a tso rbs him-self into God. So according to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj's saying,we also should develop faith for the Master within, and after takingInitiation into Naam, should meditate on It. And giving up the false,unreal things, we should cleave to the truth, and always be truthful,and in that way make our lives successful.



God ha5 no form, outbwor cob^He zr

Keep th zYzwuwrml G o d zn yourmind.Give up the i ~uchmef i twith mm.

He 5hx.6prafaund gad mp5E S~YWUS.

He ii ? a r b r ~ h m ,hef ~ r m eord,and Gobid,

mind.God is thejbL)iLhrofd e j i r e yand is

able to help0 h r 5 ~




No one except Him knows Hz5 inner

mzd joy.n 5 heard tht; ll thiy5 or8 pre5ed

by remembermy ffzm .Namk xays, N O ne ha5 known the

All thegod5 have became aped warchiyf o r &.



ASHTAPADI SIXTEEN 341

Wowcan a Son kmw aboufithe birth$h25 fflther ?

Onlywfihservuntjcan meditate onNmm-

?hose h m od deludes in three filmmj




L ~heartis are His and all place5 be loyt o Him;

ata aukh e 5 by repeatzhj hz3 Naam.AU crcaturfis are mjtained by theNaam

7he world and regwnj am supportedbythe Ngam.

7he hmvitir,the ~eda5,he ?ur~nus arercu~ported by N m n .

7he healing ofDivine~ n o w h d g eoazs supportedby N w m .

vky and the world below are ,up-~ o r t e dy Naam;

AIL the bodiejare supporfied by N ~ a m .

3 y hearzy the Naam w i h eur5 onecan get lzberatid.




?he 7me Naam ofthe Lord25 the giverOhappimss;

'Nanuk5a yj, this tru8 Tuith i o b t a i dfvom the Giver.7he t e a c h z / i ~ the hdhu are &ue W O Y ~ S ~

7hdy in whoreh a r t 5 theie ewr mi alsot w e.




Anyom w h ome, t o kww t rue

Gets the itberatzbn by medztitmg onNmm.

~ o dj 7rue aud all Hz'scremtwnis ?uej

muker ofzixDon't dunk $anybody elje t obe the

surtenutueo the creatzo~z.Onecmat&dby Godcannorknow4

Hisgrea?uw.~ a m k. s, whutwer- plemej~ z r n

wond vow bLzss.7hey remain dyed in the co/or4 God;7hey obtainweryth iy through Master5

wo~ds.




7hy are Given and ar8 cowyeKen&t o

~~~~oy mirery;7n theira5sociation the entire worIdget5

1iberm:ion.Tortunme are thexodswho serve the

servmts $ God.7n their companyonedevelapr devotwn

wi thHim.

7he ervaat 4God a1my.5 s y the



Chapter 16

The Givers of Naam

God has no form, outline or color. He is different than thethree gunas.

He makes those with whom He is pleased realize Him, saysNanak.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj describes God by saying, "God has nocolor, has no fo rm , has no outl ine. H e has no mark o r sign by whichone can recognize that He is God." He is different than the threegunas-rajogun, satogun and tarnogun. H e is above them , an d He isformless an d colorless. C an we meet such a G o d, with our efforts ? Justby ourselves, can we realize Him? He says, No. We can realize Himonly if He showers grace on us. When He showers grace on us, Hemakes us meet the Perfect M aster, and when the Perfect M aster tellsus in which for m G od is residing within us, an d by doing wha t practicewe can realize G od -un til he tells us all these things, we cann ot realizeHim.

Keep the immortal God in your mind:Give up the attachment with men.

Giving up the love and attachm ent fo r the world, we have to love an dbe attached to G od , W ho will never come to an end a nd W ho is Inde-structible.

There is no one beyond Him.He exists continuously in all living beings.

"There is no on e above G od," means there is no one greater than G od .G o d resides everywhere. H e resides in m an , H e resides in the d em ons ,



THE GIVER S OF NAAM 347

He resides in the animals, in the birds, everywhere. He is the Giver of

everyone and He is King of everybody. Whether one is man or demon ,whether one is bird or animal, God is the only One Who sustainseverybody.

He himself is sensible and wise;He is deep, profound and most serious.

Go d Himself is the Owner of all Creation, and He does everything byHimself. He doesn't have any counsellor-whatever he wants to do ,He does that by Himself because He is All-in-all.

He is Parbrahm, the Supreme Lord, and Gobind,The Treasure of Mercy, the Kind Forgiver.

The Almighty God is Gracious and Merciful, and He is continuallyshowering grace and having pity on the souls.

May I get the feet of your Sadh -Nanak says, this is the desire of my mind.

Gu ru Arjan Dev Ji Maha raj says now,"I have always the desire in myheart that I may remain forever at the feet of Your Sadh." Becausewhenever G od showers grace and mercy on the souls and whenever H egives His Knowledge to the souls, H e gives that through the Sadh andHe puts His Power in tha t Sadh and He brings the souls back thro ughtha t S adh. That is why he says here,"I always have the desire to re-main a t the feet of Your Sadh ." As Kabir Sah ib also says, "God speaksthrough the body of a Sadh. How can God even speak without thebody?" Guru Nanak says, "God Himself has taken up the form ofSadh." Tulsi Sahib also says, "God says that if you want to feed me,feed Me through the mouths of Saints. If you will feed them,I willbe fed."

God is the fulfiller of desires and is able to help others;What He has written, that must happen.

He saves the honor of all those who take refuge in H im , an d H e con-tinually showers grace on those who take refuge in H im. M aster alsoused to say that it is the law of Nature that "Nature provides food forthe hungry , and water for the thirsty;" in the same way, those who takerefuge in the Saints, their honor is saved by them and Saints showergrace o n them.




In the twinkling of an eye He can destroy or create;

No one except Him knows His inner secret.

In the twinkling of an eye He can destroy the Creation and in the twin-kling of an eye He can create it. For Him, it is nothing to destroy theCreation in one moment, and in the same way it is not hard for Himto create it in just one moment. And no one can know His inner secret.Only the Saints, only the Sadhs within whom His Power is working,only they know the inner secret of God, and only they know how onecan realize God. And if God wants to shower His Grace on the souls,He puts His Power, His strength, in the Saints, and He puts His un-derstanding, His Knowledge, in the Saints, which is given to the people.

In His palace are present happiness and joy.It is heard that all things are present in His home.

In the Home of that God there are the treasures o i happiness, and inthe Home of God sweet and melodious Sounds are always going on.

All the riches and happiness of this world are in His Home. There isnothing lacking in the Home of God.

Among the kings He is the King, among the yogis He isthe Yogi.

Among the renunciates He is the Renunciate and amonghouseholders He is the Householder.

God becomes King and enjoys kingship, living among kings. In the sameway He becomes a householder and enjoys household life, living amonghouseholders. Living among renunciates He is enjoying the life of renun-ciation. Still He is unaffected by it all- He is enjoying everything, Heis doing everything, but He is not affected by the surroundings.

The devotees have obtained happiness by rememberingHim.

Nanak says, No one has known the limits of such a Being.

His beloveds and His dear ones have achieved peace and happiness bydoing His Simran. The other people in the world have not understoodHis secret, and they have not realized Him. Kabir Sahib says, "No onecan know the glory of the Creator." Even though He has created thewhole Creation, still nobody is able to understand His Glory. He Him-self knows His Glory; and the one who is made to walk on His Pathby Him, knows His Glory.



T H E GIVERS OF N A A M 349

There is no limit to His plays.

All the gods have become tired searching for it.

Now he asks, "Who can value His Glory and who can value His Crea-tion?" Even the gods and goddesses have tried to comprehend His Glory,the Glory of His Creation, but still they have not been successful indoing that.

How can a son know about the birth of his father?God has strung all of His own string.

The son canno t know ab ou t when his father was born- e doesn't haveany knowledge about the birth of his father. But the father knows aboutwhen the son was bo rn- on which da y, on which date and in whichyear he was born. In the same way, since God has created this Crea-tion and He is our Father, we cannot know how He was born, howHe was created. He knows how we were created, because He has createdus. We are all His children a nd H e is our Real Father, He is ou r TrueFather. So how can we know about the birth, about the creation, ofour Father? Only those on whom He is gracious, an d only those whodo His devotion can know about when God was created and what isthe Will of God. Otherwise, not everybody can know the secret of G od.

Whom God gives the wisdom, knowledge and meditationOnly such servants can meditate on Naam.

Only they can do the devotion of God and achieve Naam on whomGod showers His grace and mercy and to whom God gives the rightunderstanding.

Those whom God deludes in three gunasAre born and then die and come again and again.

Now G uru Sahib says tha t those on whom God doesn't shower his graceand mercy, they are involved in all three gunas- n raja-, tama-, sata-

gun, and they are continually involved in taking birth and dying.

High and low status are His creationNanak says, He whom He makes to understand, can un-

derstand this.

Even in the animals He is present, and in man, andat other places alsoHe is present. This means that all places are His and everywhere He




is present. There is no place where He is not present. But this under-

standing can come only to those on whom He is gracious, and onlyHe knows to whom He has to give this understanding, and up to whatextent. And, because of that, only a few souls can understand this se-cret. He knows who He still has to keep in birth and death, and whoHe has to liberate.

Kabir Sahib says that there are some souls who come into this worldprepared from the Home of God and they have the knowledge of Godfrom the very beginning. And there are some souls who go in the com-

pany of such high souls, such developed souls, and after going in theircompany, gradually they also get the same status, they also becomelike them. But there is another type of souls, those who come in thisworld that don't want to go in the company of the high souls, the de-veloped souls, and no matter how much you teach them, how muchyou please them, still they will not get any effect of it, they will notunderstand anything. Their condition is just like putting water on astone: that stone will not absorb that water. No matter how much youput on it, all that water will run away and the stone will not be affected.In the same way, there are some souls who come in this world and don'tget affected by the company of the Saints.

He has different colors and different forms.He assumes different guises and yet is unique.

Even after creating different kinds of creations, He is still the uniqueOne.

In many ways He has expanded the creation;God is immortal and is One.

He has made different kinds of creations. If He wants, He can liberatethe old man, and if He wants, He can liberate even the young man-itis all in His hands. Souls get birth in the world and they die, they comeand go. But God is the only thing Which never takes birth and Whichnever dies - He is always present.

In a moment He performs many plays;The perfect One has filled up all the places.He has created the creation in many ways;He alone knows His own worth.

Very cleverly God has created this Creation. You know how beauti-fully He has made animals, human beings, birds, and all those things,



THE GIVERS OF NAAM 35 1

an d how on the exact time the sun comes out, the m oon comes out,

the days and nights happen. Births and deaths also take place at theexact time. S o, very cleverly He has created, and ma de all the ar range-ments of this world. And that is why nobody can say how valuableGod is. No scholars, no mathematicians, can calculate the value ofGod - nly God knows H is value- r the one who has lost himself o nthe Way of G od , the one who is doing His devotion- he can know howprecious God is.

All hearts are His and all places belong to Him;Nanak lives by repeating His Naam.

Now Guru Sahib says, "God is present in all bodies, God is presentin all places, an d all places are His. I am living by repeating H is Na ambecause the support of my life is in His Naam."

All creatures are sustained by the Naam;The world and regions are supported by the Naam.

In this section G uru Sahib is describing the G lory of N aam , the im por-tance of Naam . H e says that the worlds, and the divisions of the wo rld,are existing only because of the supp ort of Na am , a nd all the creaturesare moving here and there only because of the support of Naam.

The Simritis, the Vedas, the Puranas are supported byNaam.

The hearing of Divine Knowledge too is supported byNaam.

H e says that even the Vedas a nd Shastras are having the sup port ofNa am and those who a re reading the scriptures an d hearing th e scrip-tures, they also have the support of Naam. Guru Sahib is sayingthroug hou t this section that, everywhere, Naam is present, a nd wh at-ever we see moving, whatever creation we are seeing, exists only be-cause of Naam.

The sky and the world below are supported by Naam;All the bodies are supported by Naam.The three worlds are supported by Naam.By hearing the Naam with ears one can get liberated.

All these worlds of the Lo rd s-the world of Lord In dr a, the world ofLo rd Krishna, the world of Lord Sh iva- all these are existing because



T H E GIVER S OF NAAM 3 5 3

The root is true, and true is what springs from it.His doings are purest of allHe whom He makes understand is True.

Now he says, His Creation is True, and His deeds are true. And shower-ing His grace, to whomever God gives the understanding of His C rea-tion, that personality is also true.

The True Naam of the Lord is the giver of happiness;

Nanak says, this true Faith is obtained from the Giver.

In this section Guru Sahib describes His Creation, he describes theNaam. He says Naam is the Peace-Giver and only by Naam can wehave the real happiness and real peace. Now the thing is, can we achievethat Naam by ourself? He says, No . We cannot get tha t Naam by our-self because Naam is not words. We can get that Naam only if Godis gracious on us. He says that when ou r past karmas bear good fru it,

only then are we made to come in the company of the Saint. And whenwe come in the company of a Saint, he makes us devote ourselves tothe service and the P ath of the Surat Shabd. When we come in the com-pany of a Saint because of our past good karm as, the Master makesus do the devotion of Shabd Naam, which is the means of liberation.

The teachings of the Sadhu are true words;They in whose hearts these enter are also true.

Now Guru Sahib talks abo ut the Sadhu of G od . He says that as Godis Truth and whatever God does is all true, and whatever God speaksis all true, in the same way, the Sadhu of God doesn't speak any falsewords. Whatever he speaks, that always comes true. T he divisions ofthis world may be overturned but the word of the Sadhu will alwaysprove true- it will never be overturned. Guru Nanak Sah ib says, "Giveup the false, and have that Truth in your within." Make the habit ofspeaking truth and you will see God in your within, because God isnot far from you, He is in your within. He is in the Truth.

Once there was a mahatma who went on a pilgrimage. While on pil-grimage he went to one householder's home who prepared treats ofchapattis for him on the way for his journey. And when he left thatplace, one greedy man accompanied him, thinking that the mahatmawould have some wealth, and by accompanying him he would get some-thing from him. So when both of them were walking and after sometime the mah atm a had t o go to attend the call of nature, while he was



THE GIVERS O F NAAM 3 5 5

they passed ou t of that forest the mahatm a said, "Well, now you shouldbe very grateful to God because He has saved you two times, so youshould swear by Him and tell me the truth , whether you ate tha t chapattior not." The man answered, "No, M ahatma Ji,I didn't eat that chapatti.I don't even know about it. How canI eat it when I don't even knowabo ut it? I swear by H im th atI have not even touched tha t chap atti."So the m ahatm a again felt very bad . H e thought, Something shouldbe don e to teach him a lesson, and something done so that he may speakthe tru th . Because when m ahatm as come in this world, they always wantthat their disciples, their followers, should always speak the t ru th , be-cause truth is above all.

So the mahatma asked him, "Tell me, oh man, why did you leaveyour home?" The m an answered, "Mahatma Ji, becauseI am very poor.I don't have any money in my family andI have left my home, andmy family, in search of money so that I can go back and give it to them."The m aha tm a said, "Well, I have done a lot of devotion to G od andI am sure that Go d will help you in some way throu gh m e. Collect some

pebbles and some stones, andI will remember God and touch thosepebbles and stones with my hand. And I am sure that they will turnin to gold an d you can have that w ealth." So he collected some stones,and the m ah atm a put a piece of cloth over them, and remembering G od ,he touched them and they were turned into gold. Then the mahatmamade three piles of them, and he said to the man, "You see, one pileis for you and anoth er is for me, an d the third one is for the on e whoate the chap atti. So now it is time- tell me who ate the chap atti." Then

the man said, "MahatmaJi , whether you kill me or forgive me, butnow let me tell you the truth -I am the one who ate tha t chapatti."So very cleverly, the mahatm a m ade him speak the tru th . Whenever

mahatmas and Masters come in this world, they always work hard inthis direction. They always say you should give up lies and speakthe truth, because lying pollutes our soul. It brings a black coveringo n ou r soul and we cannot realize G od , since God is Tru th .If we arealways grateful and always sincere, only then can we achieve God.

Anyone who comes to know the true vision gets the liber-ation by meditating on Naam.

If there is any liberation, it is in the Na am , an d we get that Naam fro many Mahatma.

God is True and all His creation is True;He Himself knows His own limits.




He, whose creation is this, also is the maker of it.

Don't think of anybody else to be the sustenance of the cre-ation.

Go d Himself knows abou t Himself. He Himself knows H is value andHe Himself recognizes Himself by sending one of His devotees intothis world w ho recognizes Him(se1f). A nd , since G od has created thisworld He is the only one Who is taking care of this Creation, He isthe only One Who resides everywhere. And residing within all of the

creatures, He is taking care of them and He is keeping the accountsof their good and bad deeds.

One created by God cannot know of His greatness.Nanak says, whatever pleases Him must happen.Whoever has understood the greatness of God has become

wonderstruck.He who has realized God has got wondrous bliss.

Those who did the devotion of Shabd Naam, giving up the worldlypleasures, and those who have manifested tha t Tru e God within the m-selves, only they have received true happiness and true intoxication.

They remain dyed in the color of God;They obtain everything through Master's words.

Such souls always remain dyed in the color of G od w hether pain com esor happiness. They always remain happ y in that a nd they always abidein the words of the Master.

They are Givers and are competent to destroy misery;In their association the entire world gets liberation.

G o d ha s sent th e M a ste rs i nt o th is w orld a s th e G ivers. A s ~ o divesand gives and H e removes the pains of everybody, in the sa me way,the M asters also remove the pains of everybody by making th em medi-

tate on N aam. W hat m edicine do they have to remove the pains andthe sufferings of man? They have the medicine of Naam with them,an d by making the people mediate on N aam , they remove their painsan d sufferings. Naa m is the m edicine for all disease an d N aam is theonly thing which re-makes what is spoiled.

Fortunate are the souls who serve the servants of God.In their company one develops devotion with Him.



THE GIVERS O F NAAM 357

Fo rtuna te are the souls who become disciples of the Masters who havebeen sent in this world by God as the Givers; only such disciples a rein tune with God, and only they remember God.

The servant of God always sings the praises of God;Nanak says, He gets the reward with the grace of the

Master.

They do the meditation of Naam by meeting the Maha tmas, and M a-

hatmas also become receptive to the grace of God by meeting theirMasters.In this chapter G uru A rjan Dev Ji M ahara j sang the glory of N aam ,

he sang the glory of the M ahatma. A nd he said that very fo rtun ate arethe souls who become the disciples of such Mahatmas. As a piece ofstone cannot cross the river by itself unless it goes in the com pany ofthe bo at and then it easily crosses the river, in the sam e way, n o matterhow m any bad deeds we have done which prevent us f rom crossing the

Ocea n of the World by ourself, if we go in the com pany of th e Saintsan d the M ahatmas we can easily swim across this Ocean of the W orld.



Adztapadz 177we God wus in thebegLimh~,rue

One wasafter the creatwa wa5 created7he True OM s now d s o . ~ a m kays,

7he 7v~e ne willd.50 be in t h e j b t w e -Go&+t are %vie, and True are those

w h o touch thtvn.7he wordtip $ ~ o ds %ue, and

~ e v n d ~ 7 r ~rc ah0 Tue .7he d g r s h n n o God ir %& m d 5ue

ur8 tho58 who obitiahit.7he Naam ofG o d zs Pe, nd we

are h o s ewho meditotiupon zC:

~ o di m s e f f5 True, mnd d l chat He.wpportsis ' 3 3 ~ .

G o d is agood qualzty snd He t i imdfi s fLIUDfgood q u a L i t 2 ~ .

The 5hubdu i j True and the uttever ott i also True.




evevythiy a5 True.Namk says, God ir ever True and

7 r u .

He 'Nhobeliewd the7rue @m 4 o din hi5 HearK

/

ha5 manifested,



ASHTAPADI SEVENTEEN 361

Wuytok 5g y ~ , u n mixes with God

7he seuvm&ofGod vealiztvthepre.5emof God.




Suchm v u m become5 knownziz thetert dirazbyts, 5ays ~ u m k

The 5 m U a n t in which He put5 ~ $ 5

C m educe the arm& ofmikwmWYt t o u 5 h 5 .

He whom He doesnot WUM to be



ASHTAPADI SEVENTEEN 363

' D a y m d wight sLy the p r - 6 5 ~ 54God 1~6th our tonye.

God husy tpd his~ ~ Y V U M Yith this~ Z f t

7 h ydo the devotwnaf~ o d f o r+wfi 4 sir ownsod,

0 my mhd, tuk&r$ge zin t h m .J u r r t n d ~ our mhd and body to them.7he devotee who hm recomizdhz3 GO^




~ n d@ach You~~e$fo theseva fruch



Chapter 17

The True King

True God was in the beginning, True One was after thecreation was created.

The True One is now also. Nanak says, The True One willalso be in the future.

In this chapter, Gu ru Arjan Sahib tells us that by our meditating it hascome in our experience that there is one thing which has always re-mained: Truth. Ever since the Creation was created, and even beforetha t, tha t particular thing has remained: T ruth . Before this Crea tionwas created, that very Tru th existed, and when the Ages started com -ing into existence- when the world was created -in the Golden AgeTruth was there, in the Copper Age it was there, in the Silver Age italso was there, and in the Iron Age Tru th continues. T ruth means tha twhich always remains and which never comes to a n end, which is neverdestroyed. That which is always permanent and is never destroyed, thatcan be called the T ruth . G od is the only thing Which can be called asthe real Tru th , because H e never ceases, He has never come to an end,and He will never come to an end. Before this Creation was createdthat G od was present in this world, H e existed, and now also the sameGod is existing. It is not that before, somebody else was ruling asGod - somebody else was working as God- nd now there is somebodyelse who is working as God. God has always remained the same, Hehas never changed, and H e will never change. No one can ma ke G od ,

but G od can make the Creation. As G od has made the Creation, noone can establish or form God, because God can establish and formthe people.

God's feet are True, and True are those who touch them.The worship of God is True, and the sevadars are also True.



THE T R U E K I N G 367

son is not ready to listen to him because he has lost his identity living

with the gypsies for so long. He doesn't remember to which hom e an dto which family he belongs. So his father changes his form and takesup the form of a gypsy and comes and dwells among the gypsies. Hetells his son who he is and where he belongs, and gradually he createsthe desire within him to go back to his home. And one day, when theson obeys the father, he goes back to his home. Who are called thegypsies? Gypsies are the ones who don't have any permanent house.Today they may have a hut here, and the next day they will go andlive at some other place; they always change their places. They alwayschange their occupation; they don't have any permanent occupation,they don't have any permanent residence. Our condition is also likethe gypsies' because sometimes we are taking b irth at this place, some-times we are in this body and sometimes in another body. And becauseour soul doesn't have a permanent place, and our soul has forgottenits real abode, that is, Sach Khand, our condition is like the gypsies'(condition). So our Fathe r, that Shab d, Almighty G od , comes in thehuman form and dwells among us, and He tells us, "This is not yourhome, this is not your community, this is not your religion- our Homeis Sach Khand an d your com munity is of Sat Naa m. Why are you limit-ing yourself in these little tribes and religions? Leave off the companyof these gypsies and go back to your Home."

When we go in the company of our Father, gradually the desire togo back to our Home, Sach Khand, is created within us. And God,W ho has taken up the form of a man and comes as the Master, whenHe tells us about our Home, when He initiates us on the Path whichleads us back Home, then gradually, by obeying Him and followingHis commandments, we also go back Home. When Masters come inthis world, they come to take the lost souls back. They not only showthe Pa th t o Ho me , but they also guide the souls back Home a nd theyare responsible for taking the souls back. So right from the beginning,they come and protect the souls and, teaching them how to go backHome, take them back.

One who realizes God also realizes everything as True.Nanak says, God is ever True and True.

The one who recognizes God and manifests that God within him, hebelieves and he is convinced that there is some Personality, there is somePower, Wh o has always remained the Tru th . And ever since this Crea-tion began, or even before that, that same Truth was existing.




He who believed the True form of God in his HeartHas come to know the root of all and Doer of all.

Now he says that those who have manifested God within them and thosewh o have recognized H im , and those w ho have unders tood the Gloryof G od , they have seen God as we are seeing the world w ith o ur openeyes. Fo r the m , they don't need t o close their eyes to see G od , becausewith their open eyes they see G od . Kabir Sah ib says, "NowI don't needt o close my eyes, and neither d oI have to close my ears, because withmy open eyesI am seeing the beautiful form of my Beloved."

In Canada, one Akali came to me in an interview and asked me ifI had seen G od.I said , "Yes, I have seen God andI can show God towhoever wants to see Him." But since he was not a fortunate one-because from where may the poor souls bring good fortune?-hecouldn't say, "Show me God." G uru N anak said, "Understand the sto-ries which the Saints are telling to be true, because they speak only ofwhat they see with their eyes." Sad hus all say, "People talk ab ou t Go dfrom hearsay, but I have seen God with my eyes."

He in whose heart the faith in God has manifested,The True Divine Knowledge is revealed in his mind.

W ho can see God and w ho can reach near to G od? T hose who are do-ing the meditat ion on N aam , they should have a heart made of iron.Because first of all the faith in the Master is very important and it isrequired. Tho se who believe in the Master a nd those w ho have faithin the Master, those who believe that their Master is God, and thosewho have this much faith in the M aster, only they ar e able to manifestGod within them.

It is only because we have faith in the pilot and the engineers whoma de the airplane that we surrender ou r precious life to them , an d wego and sit in the airplane: because we believe, and we have faith thatthey have done a good job an d the flight will tak e off correctly andm oreover it will also land easily and simp ly, and we will not have any

problem. Only because we have faith in them, we surrender our lifeto the m . When in the world we cannot achieve anything without hav-ing faith in worldly peop le, then how ca n we expect tha t we will realizeGod without having faith in our Master?

He lives free from all fearAnd gets absorbed in Him from Whom he came.



THE TRUE KING 369

Those who do the devotion of God become fearless of the world be-

cause they always understand that God is greater than the world, andthe world is not greater than God. This is why they are never afraidof anything and they become fearless. Those who are doing the devo-tion in such a way that they don't understand the world to be greaterthan God , where d o they go and reside? They go an d reside in the placefro m where the soul was separated -they go back to Sach Kh and -and become One there.

As one thing is mixed in another thingIt cannot be called separate from the other.

When the soul returns to God, she blends herself with God and be-comes One with God. After that, she cannot be separated from Godand there is no difference between the soul and G od . Ju st as when wa-ter is mixed with other water it cannot be separated; in the same way,the light is blended with the Light, and both of them become One andcannot be separated. When you mix raw sugar candy with milk, thecolor of the milk doesn't change but the taste of it changes; in the sameway, when the soul becomes One with God its outward appearancedoesn't change, but from within, that soul is changed.

Only He who has discrimination can understand this.Nanak says, Man mixes with God and becomes one w ith

Him.

Go d also searches for the m an who has the desire to realize God , andis searching for God. As Master used to say, "Nature provides foodfor the hungry and water for the thirsty." So, when we have the desirefor realizing God , God showers grace on us a nd brings us in the com-pany of a Pe rfect M aster; He gives us the knowledge of how to realizeG od , and when we do the practices of realizing God , we become On ewith God. So whenever we have any desire, that is always fulfilled.

The servant of God obeys His orders.The servant of God ever worships Him.

The servant of God who does the devotion of God always accepts allhappenings as the Will of Go d, whether pain comes or happiness. H eis always conten t in whatever God gives him. And the servant of G od ,the devotee of God, always does his devotion to God as a priest per-forms his duty well in the temple. As a priest understands his duty,




that he has to regularly burn the incense and light the lamp and do

all the rites and rituals in the temple, and he never misses his work,in the same way the devotee of God, the servant of God, also does hisdevotions regularly, without fail and without missing even a day. Thedevotee of God doesn't meditate for one day and then give up for manydays. The devotee of God meditates constantly and without missing it.

The servant of God has faith (in Him) in his mind.The ways of doings of the servant of God are pure.

Now he says that the servant of God has a firm belief and faith in God,that whatever is happening in this world, that all is happening in theWill of God, and not even a leaf can turn without the Will of God.So whatever happens, he always accepts that as the Will of God. Andthe speech of a servant of God and his manner of living and whateverhe is doing - whatever dealings he has with the world- that all is verypure. Even in his discourses, in his satsangs, there is no adulteration;it is always pure.

The servant of God realizes the presence of God.The servant of God is dyed in the Naam of God.

The servant of God always understands that God is ever present withhim and he is always dyed in the color of God.

God nourishes His servants.The formless One saves the honor of His servants.

As the mother brings up her children very lovingly, in the same wayGod also fulfills all the needs of His disciple. As the mother loves thechildren, in the same way God loves all the disciples.

He on whom God showers His grace is His servant.Nanak says, God protects such servants with His every

breath.

Who is the servant of God? Only he is the servant of God who remem-bers God with his every single breath and who always remains in Hissweet remembrance. And God also protects such a servant with everysingle breath. We people think that we are the ones who are protectingourselves and we are the ones who are taking care of ourselves, butthe Mahatmas whose inner eyes are opened know that they are not the



THE T R U E KING 371

ones who are protecting themselves and taking care of themselves. G od

is the only One Who protects us and takes care of us.

God covers His servant with a veil.He certainly protects his honor.

God always saves the honor of his servant and protects him. You seehow Dhru and Prahlad were protected by God when they were trou-bled and bothered by their parents. How Prahlad was once thrown from

a mountain so that he would be killed, but still he was protected byG od . And how he was made to sit in the fire and was told to em bracethe burning pillar, but in all these places God came and protected him.God always protects the ones who do His devotion.

He glorifies His servant.He makes His servant meditate on Naam.

God honors His servant and He honors His devotee. What is this honor?The greatest ho nor which one can have is when the devotee unites him-self with Go d. You know that all the hono r and praise and name a ndfame of this world will remain here and nothing will go with us. Thatis why God always gives the greatest honor to His devotee, to Hisservant- hat is, by inspiring him to d o the meditation on Shabd Naamwhich blends the devotee with God. By allowing him to do this, Heis giving him the greatest honor.

There is faith in Naa m, there is satisfaction in Naam, because thereis no o the r thing in this world which will go with us except Naam. G uruNanak Sahib says, "Without Naam, you have no other companion."Th at is why you should meditate on Naam to get liberation. Guru mukhstake advantage of Naam and they take the gift of Naam with them,but the manm ukh s waste their hum an birth here, since they don't havethe Naam.

He Himself preserves the honor of His servant.

No one knows His condition and limits.

God always saves the reputation and the honor of his disciples at allplaces, and only such a devotee, only such a servant of God, can un-derstand the conditions and limits of God.

No one comes up to God's servant.The servants of God are the highest of the high.




If anyone imitates the devotee, the servant of God, he always gets

defeated, because the position of a devotee of God is very high; he isthe highest of all, he is higher than the highest, and he resides in SachKhand. That is why, if anyone imitates him, that person is always de-feated because he has not yet become a devotee of God, and he is notable to understand His real glory. Guru Nanak Sahib also says thatpeople imitate those who have reached Sach Khand, and in that waythey always see defeat. We people imitate those who have reached SachKhand, but since we have not yet become the devotee of God, we donot do all the things which the devotees of God are doing.

Once a street dancer went to a mosque, and there he saw that fivepeople were performing the worship of God. He asked them, "Whatis the advantage of doing this namaz?" So they replied that by doingthis in the mosque, by worshiping God, one gets the radiance of Godon the face. So they told him how to do that practice, and they toldhim that before doing it, he should either wash his hands and feet withwater or if water is not available he could do that with sand.

That street dancer had the habit of using alcohol, so late in the nighthe became drunk, and he slept. Next morning when he got up, it wasvery cold and he didn't want to use any water because he was afraidthat his intoxication would go away, and moreover it was cold. So heremembered that if he could not wash with water he should wash hishands and feet with sand, so he rubbed his hand on the ground. Butthere was a chapatti pan which was upturned there. So instead of get-ting the sand on his hand, all the soot of that chapatti pan got on hishand, and he put that on his face and on his hands. And after per-

forming that worship, he went back to sleep.When he got up in the morning, he asked his wife, "Look at my face

and tell me- has the radiance of God come here or not?" So she re-plied, "I don't know what the radiance of God looks like, but if it isblack, it has come in abundance. If it is not black, it means that theradiance which you had of yourself, that also has gone."

So our condition is also like that. We don't know how to get the radi-ance of God, and we think that by enjoying the worldly pleasures, by

drinking wine and doing all the bad things which we are doing, we willstill realize God and get His radiance on our face. And that is why weimitate those who have realized God. But God cannot be achieved likethis. For achieving God, one has to give up all the bad things, one hasto give up all the worldly pleasures, and do the meditation of ShabdNaam. Shabd Naam is the only means by which we can realize God.

He whom God makes do His seva,




Such servant becomes known in the ten directions, says

Nanak.

By showering His grace, whom does God m ake His devo tee, His ser-vant, and make him do the meditation? No matter in which commu-nity or religion he is born, by doing the meditation on the Name ofGod , he becomes popu lar, he becomes known, in all the ten directions.In all the world he is glorified and everybody knows that he is the devo-tee of God.

Christ did the devotion of G od . And now, even though he was bo rntwo thousand years back, still, all people in every corner of the worldare remembering his name with love and devotion. In the same way,Prophet M oham med , no matter that he was bor n in Arabia long ago ,still, people remember him an d know his name throughout the world.In the same way, Guru Nanak and K abir, even though they were bornin a very small place (the area was not very well known at that tim e,and in those days there were no good means of transportation) still,

how m any people remember their Names with sweet love and devotionfor them. In the same way, our M aster Sawan and M aster Kirpal, eventhough they were born in India , is there any place where people don'tremember them? Is there any place where people don't know aboutthem? Everybody is singing, "Sat Guru Sawan Shah, You are rulingover my heart "

Whenever the Saints and Mahatmas come in this world, they don'trule over any particular place, they rule in the hearts of the devotees.

They always rule in the hearts of the devotees, and that is why, no m atterif they leave the body, after leaving the body, as long as this worldis here, their name will always be remembered, because they put sucha mark of love on the hearts of the people.

Kabir Sahib was born in a very low caste of weaver, and in thosedays in India there was the problem of untouchability and of the lowand high caste system. That is why, in the Iro n Age when Kabir cameinto this world, he didn't go to many places, he didn't visit many places.He spent his time only in Kashi, were he was born, and in his sur rou nd-ings. The king who was ruling in India at that time, Sikander Lodi,ruled over the whole of India. Now no one remembers him , but K abirSahib is remembered everywhere, even though he didn't visit manyplaces, and people are remembering him even in the West.

The small ant in which He puts His powersCan reduce the armies of millions of men to ashes.




If God puts His Power even in an ant, a little ant, that can (also) re-

duce to ashes millions of armies. If God puts His Power in any man,he can do anything. Because everything is in the hands of God and Godcan do anything He wants. Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say thatwithin the Saint some Power is working. Then he used to say that wecannot call that thing a "power," because a power can be measured andpower can be spoken of in quantities, but the thing which works inthe Saints, that is beyond any measurement and cannot be called"power." It is more than "power."

He whom He does not want to be deprived of life,He protects him by holding out His hands to him.

Even if the whole world is the enemy, and even if the whole world ishating you and wants to kill you, if God has His hand on you, no onecan do any harm to you.

Day and Night sing the praises of God with your tongue.God has gifted his servants with this gift.

God has given you a tongue by which you can tell your pains and joyto others. And God has given you a tongue by which you can sing thepraise of God. Animals and birds don't have the ability to express theirjoy and happiness to others and, moreover, they don't have the tonguewith which they can sing the glory of God. But we have a tongue. Thatis why Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, 0 man, you have got that

tongue by which you can sing the praise of God." We should use thattongue only for the remembrance of God, for singing the glory of God.Don't criticize others; don't speak bad words from this tongue. If any-one is making any mistake, if anyone is doing any bad deed, God willpunish him. Don't worry about him, and don't criticize him. If anyoneis doing good deeds, you should not worry about him either. You shoulduse this tongue only for doing the repetition of Naam, and only forsinging the glory of the Lord. Don't misuse this tongue. God has given

you this for a special purpose, and you should utilize it only for that.

They do the devotion of God for the sake of their own soul,And remain absorbed in their Lord.

Why should we do the devotion of Lord? Is it for getting wealth andproperty? Is it for getting name and fame and honor in this world?Is it for getting the kingdom and ruling power in this world? No; we




yourself, it is as if sand is coming out of your mouth. While you are

trying to protect other people's field, your own courtyard is being plun-dered because you are not paying attention there."

The servant of God knows what has happened and whatis going to happen.

He recognizes the Will of God.

Whatever has happened, or is happening, don't think that God is notaware of that. After creating this whole big creation, don't think thatHe is sitting idle and not paying any attention to it . He is sitting withinus, and whatever we are doing, or whatever is happening to us, He isfully aware of it.

How can I describe His glory?I cannot narrate even one of His qualities.

What can we say in the glory and praise of God? What can we say whenwe don't recognize Him? What can we say when we don't understandHim? Unless He showers grace on us, we can't understand or recog-nize Him. When He wants to shower His grace on someone, He putsHis power in him, and only such a personality is able to recognize andunderstand God in His true or full meaning. Only he can sing the praiseof God.

Those within whom God lives for twenty-four hours a day

Are the perfect servants of God, says Nanak.

Guru Sahib says, "Within whom God is manifested, only they are theperfect ones. Otherwise we are all imperfect." That is why Hazur usedto say, "People should become human beings because God is in searchof human beings." God is always searching for them. But we don't havethose qualities of human beings. Kabir Sahib says, "God was makingthe animal, but by mistake He created man, and instead of putting the

tail and horns, on that body he fixed the beard and moustache. Butman has the intellect and wisdom of the animal only."

0 my mind, take refuge in them.Surrender your mind and body to them.

If we cannot manifest God within us, we can at least go in the com-pany of Those Who have manifested God within Them. And by living




in their company, and by obeying them, and by practising the Path

according t o their instructions, we can also easily swim across this oceanof the world, and become receptive to God's grace.Guru G obind Singh says, "God a nd the devotee of G od bo th a re one

and the same thing." There is no difference between them. It is justlike a wave of water which is created in the water, and then loses itsexistence in the water; in the same way, God and the devotee of Godare the same. 0 man, you don't see any difference between them."There are many different drops of water, but when they go and mix

themselves with the w ater, there is no difference between them a nd thewater. In the same way, there is no difference between God and thedevotee of God.

The devotee who has recognized his GodBecomes the giver of all things.

Suppose someone has a lot of wealth in his house, but doesn't know

where that wealth is, or how to take it ou t, an d because he doesn't haveany knowledge of that wealth, he goes and begs for things outside. Andhe is dying of poverty. And then suppose there is someone who knowsabo ut that secret and how to take ou t that w ealth, and he comes andtells him, "Brother, you have a lot of wealth in your house, and thereis a way you can get it ou t." An d he helps him t o get out th at w ealth;and in using that wealth that person who was once dying of povertybecomes a king an d wealthy. Just imagine: to whom will he be tha nk -ful? Will he thank the wealth which was already in his house but whichhe did not know about? Or will he be grateful to the one who helpedhim get out that wealth? He will definitely express his grati tude to th eperson who helped him in getting that wealth. T he wealth was alreadythere, but he did not have the knowledge of it. But because tha t m ancame a nd told him the wealth was there and how t o get it ou t, he wasable to get that wealth and become wealthy.

In the same way, God , from Whom we were separated long ago, andmany ages have passed, is lost fo r us. Even though H e is within us wedon't know th at H e is there, and how we can go and contact H im. A ndwho helps us in finding tha t God ? Who tells us that Go d is within us?Our Sa tguru tells us. O ur Sa tguru helps us to go within, and meet H im.So when we meditate and go within, when we become one a nd realizeGod, whom should we thank? We will definitely thank our Master,because God was already within us, but only because of the grace ofour Master were we able to realize Him. And when we become onewith G od , after meditating and manifesting Him within, such a person




who has manifested God within, will never remain a beggar because

when one has discovered the divine wealth within he doesn't need togo outside and beg for his needs, because he is getting everything withinwithout asking. Because he has God, he wants nothing; where God ismanifested, every other thing also comes there.

All find happiness in His shelter;By having His darshan all the sins are removed.

The Mahatma within whom God is manifested becomes the owner ofall the wealth, all the riches, and God appoints him as a storekeeper;he gives wealth to everyone who comes to him. But we can have thedarshan of such a personality only when God showers grace on us. Itis not in our hands to go there. Unless God wants us to go there andshowers His grace on us, we cannot go and have His darshan. The un-fortunate ones cannot have the Master, even if they are sitting with Him.

Leave all other clevernessAnd attach yourself to the seva of such a Mahatma.

The subject of God realization is not of the mind or intellect. It is thesubject of love and affection. That is why,"O man, give up all yourwisdom and intellect," because when one comes in the court of the Ma-hatma, even if he has a master's degree, still he has to behave like achild of five years old, because in the Path of spirituality, worldly wis-dom and intellect have no place.

When a child comes to school, from the very first day the child hasto accept what the teacher tells him. And when he accepts and has faithin the teacher, gradually the teacher tells'him more; and when the childis entrusted with all that and is paying attention to what the teacheris teaching, then the teacher puts more of his attention into teachingthe child. And gradually after many years - ifteen or sixteen years -gradually the child learns everything about education and gets manydegrees. On the very first day, the teacher does not reveal his whole

competence in front of the child because if the child knows he has tolearn all these books, all these subjects, he will be confused and notbe able to learn even a single word. So, since the child has no knowl-edge of education, he is taught the basic things first and gradually heis taught the more complex things, and gradually he learns everything.But he is not told everything on the first day. On the first day the teacherhas to become as a child, and he doesn't reveal his whole competence.

In the same way, when we come to the Master, we have no knowl-



THE TRUE KING 379

edge of the Path of spirituality, and we have to behave as if we are

a child of five years old who ha s just com e, has just joined the school,and knows nothing about the Path. And this is true: when we cometo the Master we don't have any knowledge of God. And on the firstday, Master tells us about God and reveals a little bit of His compe-tence to us. If he revealed all of his competence to us, we would beafraid to achieve that position, we would be confused about how todo all these things. S o gradually he tells us to take one step at a timeand progress upward. And gradually through going to His Satsang,

and being in His company , He tells us how to remove our f aults . Andwhen we attend the Satsang and hear His discourses, we become awareof our faults and shortcomings. And gradually, by going in His com-pany, we are able to give up those shortcomings and faults. And oneday , when we are taking a deep interest in the Pa th of Spirituality, andwhen Master sees we are obeying His instructions, H e also puts moreof His attention towards us, and eventually He makes us perfect, andthen He reveals His whole competence to us. As the child has n o knowl-

edge in the beginning of the school, and has to accept what the teachertells him, in the sam e way, when we come to the Pa th of Spirituality,and when we come to Satsang, we have to accept what Master says,because we have no knowledge of the Path.

But gradually when we remain in His company and attend the Sat-sang and start to meditate, we start getting the knowledge of every-thing. And eventually, when we become perfec t, we see the competenceof the Master working in front of us. And when we come to the S at-sang, we become aware of our faults and shortcomings, and we givethem up. Up until now, if anyone has improved his life, he has doneso only by attending the Satsang. If anyone has given up drinking wineor eating meat, he has done so only by attending the Satsang. In theSatsang our shortcomings and faults are pointed ou t and we are toldto remove them. And when our mind is blamed and we realize thatwe have these faults, then we work in the direction of giving them up.

So only afte r coming and attending Satsang ar e we able to remo;eour faults and shortcomings.

Then there will be no coming and going.Nanak says, Ever worship His Feet.

When we go in the company of the Mah atm a who is perfect and hasmeditated o n Shabd N aam, by going in His company the pain of ou rbirths an d dea ths goes away forever. Th at is why we should go in thecompany of the perfect Master and meditate on Shabd Naam and makeour life successful.




Th e Shah of Balkh Bokhara had the desire to realize G od , an d as

that desire grew, he gave up the throne of Balkh Bokhara, and wentin the wilderness for doing the devotion of the Lord. A few monthsafter he left, his son came to him a nd said, "Father, today we are go-ing to have a big feast an d you should also com e and attend there."S o when he went there he saw tha t m any go od things were prepare d,and halvah was also prepared. So he took some halvah an d put it onthe mirro r an d bro ugh t his son and said to him, '"ear so n, you see,before I put this halvah o n this mirror, this mirror was very clear an d

you could see anything in it . Whatever you would bring in front ofit, you would see th at . But since I have put this halvah o n it, now youca nn ot see yo ur face, you can not see anything in it, because it has be-com e dirty, unclean. In the same way, o ur soul was very pure, but eversince we cam e in this world a nd starte d enjoying the worldly pleasures,the dirt of the worldly pleasures has m ade the m irror of ou r soul dirty,an d we are not able to remember wh o we are. T he soul has forgottenits real ho m e, the soul has forg otten its origin, the soul has forgo tten

its ow n shape an d radiance, a nd she is wandering here and there in thewilderness. A s long as we are involved in the w orldly pleasures we won'tbe able to purify our soul and look within ourselves and realize ourimage. T ha t is why it is very im portant for those w ho w ant t o realizeGod to give up the worldly pleasures."

W hen the King of Balkh Bo khara left his kingdom, he came to In-dia because India has been the land of rishis an d mu nis even since thebeginning. S o he came to India and met m any sadh us and Saints, be-cause he was hungry for G od realization. But when his thirst was notquenched, he was told by someone to go a nd m eet Kabir Sahib, whowas then living in Kashi. H e was told th at H e was a perfect Saint oftha t time an d only He w ould be able to q uenc h his thirst for spiritual-ity. So the King of Balkh Bo khara went to Kabir Sahib an d requestedhim, 0 Master, give me some knowledge of Spirituality, teach mesomething ab ou t God . I have come from so far looking for you." KabirSahib said, "I am a weaver, a poor man.I won't be able to give youanything since you ar e a king." H e said, "Master,I have not co me hereto y ou as a king.I have come a s a beggar.I will do whatever you w antme to do, and moreover whatever you will give me to eat, I will beconten t with it and I won't have any com plaints. But please keep mein your refuge and teach me ab ou t G od a nd how to realize Him." SOKabir Sahib said,"All right."

The King of B alkh Bok hara lived with Kabir S ahib for six years. KabirSahib was a weaver; he wove cloth. The king always helped him in weav-ing the cloth and doing all his work. After six years, Mata Loi, who



THE T R U E KING 381

also used to live with Kabir S ahib, though t, "Now Kabir Sa hib should

give initiation to the King of Balkh Bokhara because it has been sixyears since he has lived with Kabir Sahib doing all his work. Now heshould be rewarded." So she requested Kabir Sahib to give the kingInitia tion . But Kabir Sahib said, "No, the vessel is not ready; he is notyet prepared for getting Initiation." But Mata Loi said, "But he hasbeen serving you fo r the past six years You shou ld consider tha t hewas a king and even though he had been a king, still he served youlike anything. So you should please reward him ; you should give him

Initiation."So Kabir Sahib said, "Okay, I will test him. And if he passes thistest, only then will he get the Initiation." Kabir Sahib told Mata Loi,"When I call him into the room , when he comes throug h the d oo r youshould th row some vegetable peelings on him a nd then we'll see howhe reacts." So according to the p lan, Kabir Sah ib called the king in tothe room, saying, "Come here with my coat." When he was comingM ata Loi threw some vegetable peels on him, and when he got those

peels on his head , he became very upset an d sa id, "Had this happenedin Balkh Bokhara I would have punished you for this thing " He stillremembered that he was king of Balkh Bokhara. When he got so an-gry and upset with Mata Loi, she was very confused because she hadhad the impression that the king had changed and did not rememberthat he was king, and that now he was a very humble person and wouldnot mind that. But instead of showing his humility, he was upset andvery ang ry. So Ma ta Loi was very confused. A nd the king did no t get

Initiation at that time.Six more years passed; and Kabir Sahib told Mata Loi, "Now he isready for Initiation." M ata Loi replied, "How can I know that? T o mehe appears as he appeared six years back." Since M ata Loi did no t haveany inner secret, any inner knowledge, she was not able to know whetherthe king was ready or no t. But Kabir Sahib knew. S o Kabir S ahib said,"Okay , aga in I will test him. And this time you will see how he reacts."He told her, "This time, like last time , you should take some rubbishand throw it on him when he comes through the door to my room,an d let us see how he reacts." So when it was done, instead of gettingupset, this time he felt very grateful to the person who was throwingthis rubbish, and said, "I am very grateful to you for throwing this rub-bish on me because I am even worse tha n this rubbish. This is the onlymedicine for this spoiled mind." He was very humble. So when KabirSahib and Mata Loi saw that, Kabir Sahib said, "Now he is ready,"and Mata Loi was convinced.

So after twelve years Kabir Sahib gave him In itiation. And when H e




was giving him Initiation, because the King of Balkh Bokhara had pre-

pared himself by serving Kabir Sahib for twelve years and was fullyprepared for the Initiation, as Kabir Sahib was telling him about theinner planes, his soul was progressing towards Sach Khand. And if theMaster is like Kabir Sahib, the perfect Master, and if the disciple islike the king of Balkh Bokhara, you can imagine how that disciple canbecome receptive to the grace of the Master and progress right fromthe time of Initiation.

So the King of Balkh Bokhara progressed very much in meditationright from the time of his Initiation. After that, once when he was sit-ting on the bank of a river, sewing his old cushion, his prime ministercame there, begging him to come back to his kingdom and take careof the kingdom. The minister said: "It would be better if you wouldcome back and take care of all your kingdom. Up until now I havebeen doing that , but now I want you to be our king and that we shouldwork for you as your followers." The king wanted him to know thatnow he did not need any worldly kingdom, so he threw his needle intothe water, and said, "If you will bring me that needle which I havethrown into the water, only then will I go with you." The prime minis-ter said, "That is impossible. How can I go into the water and findyour needle? If you like I can get you other needles, as many as youwant. But I can't get that one." The king said, "When you can't dothat much for me, even though you are now in possession of manypowers, what is the use of getting those powers?" After that, he gavehis attention to a fish that was in the water, and the fish brought outthe needle; in other words the king possessed that power. He was rul-

ing over all creatures, and because he had done the meditation of Naamand was perfect, even the birds and animals were at his service. Andthis is true: that those who are meditating and those who are the per-fect ones, all the creatures are in their service and if they want, any-body will do anything for them. So then the King of Balkh Bokahratold the prime minister to go back and let him do the devotion. "Be-cause," he said, "I don't want that type of power which doesn't enableme even to get this little needle out of the water. It is better that I pos-

sess the power which can make even this fish to work for me."So that is why Guru Arjan Sahib says here, "Those who havemanifested God within, we should go and surrender to them, and weshould go in their company, because by going in their company we canalso know how to realize God. And when we surrender to them we candefinitely realize and manifest God within us.



H s c o ~ m n yy s iy ng God3praire.Satguru p ~ o k c t ,he disciple.

Satguru cuc5 the b d 9 5 ofh d z i c ~ l e ,7/re discipb4 he ~ a m r r e ~ i l i f / ~ m

evd deeds.(uhyru gl;ves the weak. of~ n a n zo

the d&sc~ple.




who 5eU5 hts mind t o tkw I a t q u r ~ ,



ASHTAPADI EIGHTEEN 385

Hc and God Om them 65 nu d o h

.'aJclever deed,

N m ~ kay4 Juclt a 7Mmtw ti o b t a i ~ d



ASHTAPADI EIGHTEEN

7 am a1wu ys a ~ u c ~ t f u aomy W j u r u ,3 whmfiyrm the N a a mW h

~ o ds repcabed, 5a ys ~ u m k .T o mram one o b t a h such a divine

He who drinks thir nectar bewmi

5uch 0 being never ~erishex,withiyt whuse h a r ~hir q ~ f a l i t yJ-

the t rd k mafitfemd.




3 a h r , ay come,und pai iufhe away7he terrors afb ~ r h xnd dfiahsa m

Y ~ Y I Z M / ~ ~

By the p @ ~ t 8achy5 o the7hefmr hm yone and om live5 w&ho~t;



ASHTAPADI EIGHTEEN 389

are O W

By i z s f i e q o pruzsfioJ~ o diththeeurj, sia y~~ i m k

Gad ; ~withut : guokt:t&s,yet He isjb11

He 6s c m a i m din ad forms und ~olor5~

7he edhjhtenrnnfi corn5by the C P ~ U I Z ~of the Sudhu,

2,- 6 ~ ~ e h k Jt.

W a n d ruy5, 7 PUCY@ rny5df on Hiin



Chapter 18

Who is the Satguru?

Satguru is the name of Him Who has known Sat Purush,Nanak says, The disciples are saved in His company by

singing God's praise.

Gu ru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj is describing the glory of the perfect M as-ter. He is asking, "What is the greatness of the Master? Who is theMaster?" And He Himself replies, "He who manifests the Almighty

Lord within him is called a Satguru." It is a law of nature, made byGod H imself, that no soul can reach the country of the Almighty L ordby himself. If we are fortunate ones and, according to our fate, wecome across a perfect Master, then- after spending some time with Himand taking Naam from Him- we can achieve libera tion. In no way cananybody get liberation or improve his life without going into the com-pany of the perfect Master. Master used to say that what a man hasdone , a man can do . God Himself comes into this world as a hum an

being, and He lives among us; and by spending time in His companyand by doing all that H e tells us to do , we also improve our life andbecome like Him, andgo back to our real Home, Sach Khand.

So here Guru Sahib says that H e Who has understood the Sat Purushis Satguru; and all the disciples who remain in His company get liber-ation.

Satguru protects the disciple.The Master is always gracious on the disciple.

Now He says, "What is the relation between the Master and the disci-ple? The Master always remains gracious on the disciple and He al-ways protects the disciple." After giving us the initiation, the Masterdoes not stop worrying about us -H e never forgets us until H e takes




us back to Sach K hand. M aster has to decide our fut ure even after weleave this world. It is in the hands of the Master, and it is He Whodecides whether H e has to keep our soul in the higher planes, a nd afterpurifying us there, tak e us back t o our real Hom e; or whether H e wantsto give us one more birth. Everything is in the hands of the Master;bir th and death are in the hands of the Master.

The Master removes all the dirt and bad qualities of thedisciple.

Through the words of the Master, the disciple repeats the

Naam of the Lord.

If the disciple is doing the meditation of Shabd Naam, according tothe instructions of the M aste r, Master removes all the bad qualities ofthe disciple.

Satguru cuts the bindings of the disciple;The disciple of the Master recoils from evil deeds.

What does Satguru do? Satguru cuts all the bindings, all the attach-ments of the disciples. B ut when does H e do that ? H e does that onlywhen th e disciple turns his back o n all the worldly pleasures a nd co me sto the M aster. O n our sou l, first of all , is the attachm ent of the physi-cal body, and then there is the attachm ent of t he astral and causal bod-ies. It is like one case within another one. S atguru comes in to this world,and after making us meditate on S habd Naa m , H e makes us free fromthese cages and takes us back to our real H om e. W e know tha t if ou r

body becomes pure, our mind will also become pure, and the purerour mind is, the purer our soul will become. And when our soul be-comes as pure as the Shabd is, because the Shabd is all-pure, it willtake no t ime for ou r soul to wi thdraw from this body and go back t othe real Ho m e; because the Sha bd is always present there in the body ,and when the soul becomes as pure as the Shabd is, then the ShabdHimself pulls the soul up. When our soul becomes pure, there is nopower in this world that can keep our soul in this body.

Satguru gives the wealth of Naam to the disciple.The disciple of the Master is the fortunate one.

Only those souls who have good fortune come to the M aster, a nd Mastergives them the wealth of N aam . T he wealth of Na am is such a wealththa t can not be stolen by any thief, burned by any fire, o r drowned inany wa ter.



Satguru improves this and the next world of the disciple.

Nanak says, Satguru remembers the disciple with everysingle breath.

The Master improves the life of the disciple in this world, an d H e im-proves it in the other world also. He always remembers the disciple.Af ter giving initiation, no t even for one second does H e forget the dis-ciple.

The disciple who lives in the house of the MasterAnd obeys the orders of the Master,Who after doing seva regards himself as nothing,Who ever remembers the Naam of the Lord in his heart-

If the disciple comes and lives in the house of the M aster, always abidesby the com ma ndm ents of the Master, a nd fulfills his duty to d o Bha-jan and Simran and does all the other things which the Master tells

him to d o -even after doing all this seva, he should never become a negotist or think t ha t he is doing this; instead he should become grate-ful to his Master that he has been given this opportunity to d o this seva.

Who sells his mind to the Satguru,Such a servant gets all his work accomplished.

W hat is the obstacle between us and the Satguru? O ur m ind is the only

thing which is coming in between us and the Sa tguru, and if we sacri-fice our mind to the Master- f we surrender our mind to the Master- fwe sell our mind to the Master, then all the works of such a discipleare taken care of ; when the disciple removes the obstacle of the mind,he becomes one with the M aster. If we sacrifice ou r m ind to the M as-ter, then there is nothing left which can bother us. Everything comesto us if we sacrifice our mind t o the M aster. Then ou r meditations alsobecome fruitful because we are not obeying our mind any more andall our other works are also taken care of.

He, who while doing seva becomes selfless,Achieves the Lord.

When we are doing seva, we must do it selflessly. If we are do ing sevawithout expecting anything in return , M aster gives us a lot. M aster al-ways gives a lot to all the disciples; but to those who do seva in thisway, He gives the highest status.




He, on whom God showers grace,

Such a servant obeys the instructions of the Master, saysNanak.

This is a matter of great understanding. It is not in our hands to sellou r mind o r sacrifice our m ind, to the M aster. It is not in ou r hand sto obey the commandments of the Master; i t is not in our hands tod o anything. It is all kept in the hands of the M aster. Only M aster knowswhich one He has to take back Home in this lifetime, or who has to

be given one more birth in this world, an d who has to d o what. Every-thing is in the hands of the M aster, an d only H e knows w hat is goingto happen in His Will. Master used to say that until our inner veil islifted, we may say that we ar e doing seva, we are coming to Satsan g,we are sitting for meditation, etc. But w hen ou r inner veil is lifted a ndwe start seeing clearly, then we know that we were not the one thatwas coming to Satsang, or doing seva, or sitting for m editation; it wasSom ebod y else w ho was pulling us to the Satsang, m aking us d o themeditation, making us do the seva. Then, in the true sense, we startbecoming grateful to Master- we start thanking Master, saying,0 ,Master, You were very gracious on us and we are thankful to You."Swam i Ji M ah ara j said, "Everything is in the Will of the M aster, an dwhomever H e wants, H e makes a G urum ukh . Everybody is tired, iswo rking very ha rd; b ut w hat ca n anyo ne d o if it is not in the Will ofthe Master?"

The disciple who understands his mind as the Master's onehundred per cent

Comes to know the glory of the Supreme Lord.

It is the duty of the disciple to surrender his mind completely to theM aster; he should always understand th at the m ind belongs to the M as-ter and he has no right t o use it . W hen we do this, then we get the trueunde rstanding of doing devotion to the M aster, an d there is no obsta-cle between us an d H im . Th en we get the real understanding of doing

devotion.He in whose heart dwells the Naam of the Lord is Satguru.Many times I sacrifice myself on such a Master.

The Guru says that only He is Satguru within Whom the Naam ismanifested; and further H e says,"I sacrifice myself many times o n sucha Satguru within W hom the Naam is manifested a nd , graciously, W hohas manifested that Naam within me also."



He is the giver of all treasures in life;

He is absorbed in the color of Parbrahm always.

Satguru is the owner of the treasure of Naam; He holds such a trea-sure tha t never comes to an en d. H e is very gracious- He never stopsgiving His wealth to those who come to H im -a nd He is always ab -sorbed in Go d; all the time H e is one with God . Whenever H e opensHis eyes He is functioning in the world; and when He closes His eyes,He is with God . At one and the same time He is in the world and with

God.He is in God. God is in Him;He and God are One-there is no doubt in this.

Saints have no doubts regarding G od and their Master, because Theyare absorbed in G od ; They are one with Go d. They are one with G odas sugar is in rock candy and the rock candy is in the sugar. "The dearone became one with the Beloved as the sugar has become one withthe rock candy."

He cannot be achieved by thousands of clever deeds;Nanak says, Such a Master is obtained by good fortune.

No matter how much wisdom we have or how much cleverness we have,we cannot meet such a Master Who has manifested God within Him,with the grace ofHis Master Wh o has manifested Naam withinHim -

we cann ot meet Him , we cann ot get any advantage fr om Him , unlesswe have the grace of God on us. If we are fortunate ones, if God isgracious on us, only then can we come across such a Master and getbenefit from such a Master.

Lovingly, G uru Sahib explains to us th at when the seeds of ou r pastgood karm as sprou t ou t, then we come across such a holy renunciatesoul. Nanak says, "After meeting such a great renunciate soul-sucha Master- he darkness of ignorance is removed and we awake from

the slumber of ages and ages. Those souls who com e to the feet of theMaster are very for tun ate ones." No matter how m uch one runs afterthe Master, unless he is fortunate, he cannot get Him.

The darshan is successful; having it, one becomes pure.By touching His feet, the purest deed is conducted.

We are successful only if we are successful in getting the darshan ofsuch a Satguru-su ch a Master. To bow down to such a Master is the



with Him, no matter how they are. Guru Nanak Sahib said, "When

God gives the treasures of His devotion to any Mahatma, He neverasks Him the account. He never asks Him, 'Why did you bring thisone and why didn't you bring that one?' He never says, 'This one isa sinner,' or 'This one is a good man.'" All those who go with the Masterare accepted by God and they are all forgiven. Masters lovingly explainto us: "You should not look at your bad qualities; you should no t lookat your past sins, and don't think that you are not worthy of takinginitiation. Ignoring all that , you should come to the M aster and take

initiation. But once you have taken initiation and stepped on to thePath, then you should not do those bad things which you have beendoing before. Improve your life, and then you can go back to yourreal Hom e. Once you get initiation, don't look back and don't do w hatyou have done before."

Tongue is one, praises are many:He is the True Being with perfect faculty of discrimination.

We have only one tongue , and the greatness of the Master is such th atwe canno t describe all His glory with this one tongue. Because H e islimitless and His glory is very high, we cannot describe Him in Hisfullness.

The mortal one cannot reach Him by any words.He is Agam, Agochar, and free from all desires.

We cannot reach the Almighty L ord by ourselves even if we have sweetwords or even if we are a learned or intellectual man . We cannot seeHim because He is unseen, and we cannot reach Him because He isunfathom able. There is only one way of going to G od , and th at is, ifwe are fo rtunate ones- f it is written in our fate- we may come acrossthe M aster, and if Master is gracious on us, He m ay give us the Naam .And by doing the meditation of Naam, and with the grace and the helpof the Master, we can reach the Almighty Lord.

He does not live by food, He is the enemy of none-He is the giver of happiness,No one has assessed His value.

Now H e says, "How is God? G od does not destroy anything. H e doesnot have enmity for anybody. He has only love for people; He giveshappiness, He gives peace, to people- and if we also become like Him ,




if we also develop the attitudes and qualities which God has, then we

can also receive all the happiness and peace which God gives. We canalso become without enmity for others; we can also have the qualityof not destroying anybody and having only love."

Many devotees do the devotion,And worship His lotus feet in their hearts.

Many devotees do the devotion of the Lord; many people perform onepractice, many people do another practice, many people just go on pray-ing to Him, and many people offer many other kinds of worship. Thereis no reckoning how many, so that we can say, "This many people dothe devotion of the Lord." Many people in this world are doing Hisdevotion in one way or another.

I am always a sacrifice to my Satguru,By Whose grace the Naam of such a God is repeated, says

Nanak.

Now He says that we can meet such a God Who does not destroy any-body, Who does not have any enmity for anybody, and Who gives onlyhappiness and peace to the people-but we cannot get Him withoutthe help of the Master. "And that is why I sacrifice myself on my Mas-ter, because He has made me meet such a God, and He has helped mein realizing such a God."

Some rare one obtains such a divine taste:He who drinks this nectar becomes immortal.

Rare are the souls who get this nectar of immortality, but those whodo get it - his nectar of the Shabd- become immortal. Guru AmardasJi says, "The nectar that the gods, demons, man, and others are long-ing fo r- I have achieved that with the grace of the Master."

Such a being never perishes,

Within whose heart this quality of the Lord is manifested.

He who drinks that nectar of Shabd Naam becomes immortal; thereis nothing which can destroy him.

He meditates on the Naam of the Lord twenty-four hoursa day;

He gives the true teachings to His disciples.



Such Mahatm as ar e continually engaged in the devotion of the Lo rd;

day and night They remain in H is remembrance, and a re always ab -sorbed in Him. They Themselves are doing the devotion of the Lord,and that is why They tell their disciples also to do the devotion of theLord day and night, and t o remain in His remembrance: because thereis nothing which can go with us when we leave this world except theNaam.

He is not affected by maya and attachment;He keeps one God in His heart.

Now H e says tha t such Satgurus have no attachm ent in this world. Theyare not attached t o anything in this world, because their attachm entis with their Master.

(Within whom) in the darkness the Light manifests-Nanak says, His illusions, attachment and pains vanish.

When we keep a lamp in a dark room , all the darkness goes away andany doubts which we had about the things in the room go away; wecan see clearly because of tha t light. In the same way, when th at Lightgets manifested within us, then all our doub ts and illusions are clearedup . God is sitting within us in the fo rm of Light and Sound, an d Mas-ter lights the lamp of Naam within us; and when He does that, ourinner path is opened for us, our inner world becomes clear to us andwe can see everything clearly- f we have manifested th e Master withinus. M asters never tell us to believe in them because of blind fai th. T heynever give us any blind faith. They say, "Come, do, and see " GuruNanak says, "Within our body there is Light, and from that Light theSound is coming; and those who contact tha t Light and Sound, theycommune with the Almighty Lord."

In the midst of heat the coolness has been bestowed;Brother, joy comes and pains flee away.

Ou r heart was burning in the fire of lust, anger, greed, attachment a ndegoism. And ou r Master graciously showered the rain of Naam on thisburning heart and cooled it down; and now peace, happiness an d con-tentment have come.

The terrors of births and deaths are removedBy the perfect teachings of the Master.




When a Master gives initiation, our doubts and fears of birth and death

are removed. We never knew whether we would come back into thisworld or not; but now, because the Master has given us initiation, weare sure tha t we are not to come back to this world, and we know thatone day we will definitely go back to our real Home. A new hope hasbeen developed within us since we got initiation from the Master.

The fear has gone and one lives without any terror;All the trouble and pain vanish from the mind.

By doing the meditation of Naam, the soul gets strength; the soul be-comes powerful and fearless, and the fear which we had of the Angelof Death goes away; our soul becomes strong enough to prevent anyfear from coming to us. When the worldly people leave the body theysuffer a lot; they suffer a great deal of pain, and they always say atthe time of death, "Call Him, call Him, for help " because they arehaving a great deal of pain. But when an initiate leaves the body hedoes not experience pain. Even when the animal of a satsangi leavesthe body, he leaves peacefully. And if a relative of a disciple leavesthe body with the satsangi near him, then he also does not experiencemuch pain, because whenever and wherever the satsangi is, the Mas-ter also is present there. Master always helps even the animals of thedisciples to leave the body without having any pain.

The Master whose souls we are, has showered His grace:Remember the Naam of God in the company of the Sadhu.

God, whose souls we are, showered grace on us, and He has becomevery merciful to us.

Stillness is obtained and the illusions are goneBy listening to the praise of God with the ears, says Nanak.

Now we are still, we have developed faith, and we are devoted to theMaster; when did all those things happen? Only when we started doingthe meditation of Shabd Naam.

God is without qualities, yet He is full of qualities.His power has fascinated the whole world.

He is without qualities, He is full of qualities, and-sitt ing withineveryone - He has attracted everybody and He is controlling everybody.



This moving creation which we see with our eyes was not made by it-

self. There is Som eone, there is some Power, W ho has created this cre-ation. And the things which are happening in this creation are not hap-pening by themselves. There is Someone Who is controlling it.M ahatm as call that Power the Naam or the Almighty Lord, a nd Theycome into this world only to unite us with that Power.

God Himself performs His plays;He Himself knows His value.

We see many things happening in this world. There are many plays;there are many creatures . God Himself has created all these creatures,He Himself has created all these plays and happenings . All the thingswhich are happening in this world are being done by Him. And HeHimself comes down into this world becoming the Gurum ukh . He Him-self comes down, becoming the Maha tma. Sitting within the M ahatm a,He Himself tells us, "There is some Power within you Who is waitingfor yo u, an d W ho is the main cause of all this creation, and if you willobey Me, if you will follow Me,I can make you go within yourself,and make you see the One Who has created you, and then you willunderstand the purpose of your coming into this world." He is absorbed;H e is present in every single thing in this creation, in the same way thatthere is cotton in the thread and at the same time there is cotton inthe cloth also. You cannot separate the thread from the cloth; you can-not separate the cotton from the cloth. I n the same way, you cannotseparate God from the creatures and the creatures from God . God ispresent everywhere.

There is nothing other than God;The one God pervades and is present in all.

Satguru sees God in both enemies and friends, because God createdeverybody.

He is contained in all forms and colors;The enlightenment comes by the company of the Sadhu.

When did we realize this: That God is present in both enemies andfriends? The Guru says, "We realized it only when we went into thecompany of the M ahatma." There was one disciple of Baba Sawan Singhwhom I saw many times embracing buffaloes, saying, "Sawan is withinthis buffalo " Many times he would embrace a tree and say, "Sawan




is present here, also." He used to say, "My Master Sawan is present

everywhere." Many great Masters had great meditator disciples whosaw their Masters in every single thing.

He infused His Power in the creation after creating it.Nanak says, I sacrifice myself on Him many times.

Now the Master says, "I sacrifice myself on such a God Who has createdall these creatures: insects, birds, animals, human beings, demons; andafter creating all these bodies, He has kept His own Power - he Powerof Shabd - within each of them. And only because of the presence ofthat Power, are all those bodies moving. I sacrifice myself on such aGod Who has done such a thing."

In this section of the Sukhmani Sahib, Guru Arjan Dev Ji has lov-ingly explained to us Who the Master is; what the qualities of the Mas-ter are; and how we can improve our lives and liberate ourselves fromthis world. Iron can float on the water if it is accompanied by wood(for example, in a boat); in the same way, no matter how bad we are,if we go into the company of the Master, we can also get liberationfrom this world. Lovingly, He has explained to us how the Master pro-tects the disciple, how the Master remembers the disciple every singlemoment, and how the Master showers His grace on the disciples. ThenHe has said that we can come to such a Master only if we have goodfortune; only if it is written in our fate. And, in the end, after creatingall the creation, He has put His own Power within them: Nanak says,"I sacrifice myself on such a God Who has created such a creation."




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ASHTAPADI NINETEEN 407

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ASHTAPADI NINETEEN 409



Chapter 19

The Noose of Death is Cut

Except meditation, nothing will accompany us; all otherthings are ashes.

Nanak says: The Naam of the Lord is the only worthywealth.

In the opening couplet of this Ashtapadi, Guru Arjan Dev Ji is de-scribing the glory o f Naa m. H e explains to us tha t not even the bodyin which we are now sitting is going t o go w ith us, nor is the m aterialwealth which we are collecting so lovingly.

Emperor Karu had collected a lot of wealth; he even dug graves tocollect the money. He collected forty billion rupees, but still, in theend, he went empty-handed.

It is not necessary tha t the countries that are rich n ow, o r the coun-tries which have progressed a lo t, have always been like th at . You willfind in history tha t the countries that have been very po or in the pastare now progressing an d ar e rich. A nd those countries w hich w ere veryrich an d progressive, in the olden days, are very po or now . T here wasonce a time when Ind ia was called the "Bird of G old n- the golden bird-because there was so much gold in this coun try. A nd in order t o plun-der Ind ia, M ahm ud Ghazni fro m Kabul invaded India seventeen times,an d he plundered many temples and m any places where they had gold,an d he collected a lot of gold , silver an d othe r valuables from India.But at the time of his death, he thought of looking at all the things

which he had collected from India, so he told his people t o spread o utall the things which he had plundered from India, that he wanted togo an d see the m . W hen he saw all those things, an d w hen he realizedthat all those things were going to be left in this world, and that hewould be going empty-ha nded, he repented and he felt very sorry abo uthis own self. He said, 0 , plundered thousands of people; I made



THE NOOSE O F DEATH IS CUT 41 1

many women widows, andI made children orphans- nly for collect-

ing all this wealth. And now it is a pitiful thing thatI cannot take evena single thing of this with me;I will be going empty-handed." H e toldhis people that when he left the body they should leave his hands ou tof the coffin, and they should tell people that he was going empty-handed; he was not taking anything with him. And people should shoutthe slogan that he was going empty-handed, and he was getting the fru itof all the bad deeds which he had done. He said, "Whatever will hap-pen to m e, I will suffer that, butI want people to know tha t no ma tter

how m uch they collect in this world , noth ing will go with them. Every-thing will be left here. Only the bad deeds which you have done willgo with you."

So here G uru A rjan Dev J i M aha raj says that nothing will go withyou , except me ditation. All other things are useless. Nanak says, "Mo-ment after moment you go on doing the meditation of Naam. Thosethat have Naam with them, they are the emperor. Naam is the medi-cine for all disease, and Naam perfects all works."

In the company of Saints think about this:Do the simran of the Lord and take refuge in Naam.

So here Guru Arj an Dev says, "What is the work which we should d ofirst of all? First, we should go in the company of the Masters, we shouldobey what They are saying, and we should do all tha t They are tellingus to do. And we should do the meditation of Shabd Naam day andnight; whether we are sleeping or whether we are walking or talking,

we should always go on doing the Simran."

Dear ones, forget all other efforts,Keep the Lotus feet of God in your heart.

If you want to have mercy on your soul-if you want your soul to beunited with the Lord , He says, "My dear ones, you don't need to d oanything else but just keep on doing one thing: just keep doing the medi-tation of Shabd Na am , and always remain attached t o the feet of Sa t-guru."

God is the perfect doer of everything and gets work doneAcquire the wealth of Naam of the Lord with firm deter-

mination.

Why do we have to do the devotion of Almighty Lord? Because Heis Almighty; He is Omnipotent; and H e is Perfect. Whatever He w ants




He can do. Meditate with love and faith in your heart; always go on

doing the devotion to the Master, because Naam is the only thing thatwill go with us-that will accompany us from this world.

Gather this wealth and become fortunate ones.This is the true teaching of the Saints.

If you want to collect any wealth from this world, the wealth of Naamis the only wealth which you should collect. This is why the Masters

always say, "Collect the wealth of Naam, because this is the only wealthwhich will come to your rescue, which will help you, which will go withyou. This is the true teaching of the Masters: that we should collectthe wealth of Naam while we are in this world." Masters do not comeinto this world to make it a country of happiness. This is not their pur-pose of coming here. If this were their purpose in coming here, thenmany great Mahatmas, many great Masters who have come into thisworld, would have made it that. But this is not possible, because this

world can never become the world of happiness, and this is not thepurpose of the Masters' coming.

Keep only one hope in your heart.Nanak says: All disease will end.

This means that you should always have only one desire, only one wishin your heart, and that is always to have the company of the Master.

Always have this desire and the wish that you may always go on doingthe devotion, so that you may not have to come back into this suffer-ing world again. Where you are attached, there you will go. Whateverdesires we have, we will get our next body according to that. If we havelove and affection for the Master, where will we go at the time of death?We will definitely go to the Master, and since Masters are absorbedin God, so, through the Masters, we will also be absorbed in God, ifwe have love for the Master.

The wealth after which one runs in four directionsThat wealth is obtained by serving the Lord.

Now He says that if we do the devotion of the Lord, if we do the devo-tion of Satguru, then we can easily find that wealth which we are search-ing for North, East, South and West. We can easily get this wealth sit-ting in one place, if we are doing the devotion of the Master.



THE NOOSE OF DEATH IS CUT 415

tent , and in it it is written that those who are meditating on Naam don't

have to work hard doing other practices. Their faces will be bright-ened , and they will reach the court of the Lord easily; thus says Nanak.

No obstacles come to himIn whose heart God resides.

If we, the worldly people, are doing some repetitions, o r some austeri-ties or some othe r type of practices, then we always think , "What day

is good fo r doing this practice?"- whether the day is auspicious or not ;whether it is a bad omen or not. But here Guru Sahib says that thosewho ar e doing the meditation of S habd Naam are not bothered by allthese things. They don't know what is auspicious, or w hat is inauspi-cious, because for them everything is auspicious, and those who aredoing the m editation of the Shabd Naam rise above all these illusions.Those who have forgotten Go d, they are bothered by these om ens-bad omens and good omens. Paltu Sahib says that all these ideas ofauspicious and inauspicious are useless. They spoil the works. So hereGu ru Arj an Dev J i Maharaj says that those who a re doing the medita-tion of Shabd Naam, they are not bothered by anything because, asthe child is dear to the mothe r, the disciple is dear to the Maste r, andthe Master takes care of him.

In a place called N oshera there was one great meditato r whose namewas Jallan Jat. No doubt he was going very high in meditation, andhe was perfect. But his wife told him- ecause he had one daughter- ogo to the pundit, t o one astrologer, and ask him when was an auspi-cious day when they should get their daughter married. N o do ub t Jal-Ian Jat was a great meditator and he was perfect, but still, you knowtha t in the married life one has to obey the suggestion of the o ther part-ner also, so for tha t Jallan J at went to the astrologer. O n the way therehe saw tha t some people were mourning in the doctor's home. He askedwhy the people were crying-why they were mourn ing; and they re-plied, "The doc tor has lost his son-his son has left the body." S o heasked them, "Why didn't the doctor give him some medicine?" They

replied, "He tried his best, but whatever was in the will of God, thathappened; no medicine works when it is not in the will of God."

After that, when Jallan Jat came to the astrologer he saw that peo-ple were mourn ing and crying in his house also. And he asked, "W hathappened?" So they replied that the son-in-law of the astrologer hadleft the body, and now the daughter of the astrologer was a widow.So he said, "Why didn't the pundithe astrologer- see whether it wasauspicious for his daughter to marry w ith that boy o r not?" So'they




replied, "No matter how much one sees whether it is auspicious or not,

no matter how much they count the stars and things like that, still, what-ever is going to happen in the will of God will happen." So hearingthat, Jallan Jat said, "When the doctors can lose their sons, and thepundits can lose their sons-in-law, then how is it going to matter if 1see whether it is auspicious or inauspicious? Why not go back home,and do whatever is in the will of God? When it is said that everythingwill happen in the will of God, then why bother about these things?"So he returned home, and he told his wife, "There is no need to seewhether it is auspicious or not." And gladly, after some time, they gottheir daughter married.

The Iron Age is hot; the Naam of God is cool.Remember and remember it and always obtain happiness.

The practices in the Iron Age produce a lot of heat. There are so manyfires in this world. There is the fire of lust, anger, greed, attachmentand egoism, in which the soul is burning. And Naam is the only thingwhich can cool down the heat in which the souls are being burned up .Guru Nanak has described this Iron Age as the chariot of fire. Masterscome into this world, and giving the medicine of the Naam, They cooldown the heat of the souls.

Fear vanishes and hopes get fulfilledWithin the devotee the Light gets manifested.

By doing the meditation of Naam, the fear of the Angel of Death goesaway, and those who do the meditation of Naam, in their soul the Lightgets manifested and the darkness of ignorance goes away.

The soul goes to the indestructible home and resides there.Nanak says, the noose of death is cut.

The soul goes to that place- that Home- from which she was sepa-rated once, and she goes and becomes one with God , and becomes im-mortal. That place, that Home, Sach Khand, is not perishable; it isnever destroyed; and as God is also immortal, when the soul becomesone with God- when the soul reaches Sach Khand - he also becomesimmortal, she never dies. Those who take refuge in the Masters, theirbonds are cut down. The refuge of the Master - he company of theMaster - s the only thing which can make us remove the bonds of theAngel of Death, the fear of the Angel of Death.



THE NOOSE OF DEATH IS C U T 417

The men who think of the Divine Essence are True.

Those who do not utter Divine Naam are false and are en-gaged in birth and death.

Those who think a bo ut the real Tr uth , and those who get the knowl-edge of God , are the only true peop le-the only solid people-in theworld. And those who do not think abo ut Go d- those who do not real-ize God , but instead think abo ut the world and the things of the world,are not perfect; and they always remain imperfect.

By serving God, coming and going will end.Abandon yourself and go in the refuge of Gurudev.

By doing the devotion of the Lo rd, our coming and going in this worldis ended; so here He says, "Giving up our own self, we should startdoing the devotion of the Master. This is the only way by which wecan cross the ocean of life."

In this way the fruit of the gem of this birth will be obtained;Remember God, Who is the support of soul.

This life is a precious gem. You know that if we ask anyone to giveus an eye, or a n arm o r a leg, no matter how m uch we offer him, hewill not accept that; he will not be ready to give us even one part ofhis body. But you see how graciously Go d has given all these parts ofou r body to us, w ithout taking anything fro m us. He has given us thisprecious gem free of charge. But the pity of it is th at we are losing thisprecious gem in exchange for useless things, useless pebbles. T hose use-less things are lust, ang er and the o ther passions in which we a re wast-ing this precious gem. So here Gur u A rjan Dev J i M aha raj says, "Dayand night, the meditation of Naam is the only way by which we canrealize the value of ou r precious gem- y which we can make o ur pre-cious life successful. If we are not do ing th at , it means tha t we are notutilizing this precious gem for the purpose for which it was given us,tha t we are misusing it. Kabir Sahib says, "You have spen t your n ightssleeping, and you have spen t your days playing; this life was like a pre-cious gem which you wasted for nothing."

By many methods one does not get liberatedNor by studying Simritis, Shastras and Vedas.

In the H indu religion there are twenty-seven Simritis, six Shastras, andfou r Vedas, a nd m any other religious scriptures. But H e says tha t even




if you re ad the m w holehe artedly and lovingly, still you can no t liberate

your ow n selves. You can not liberate any bod y, and you can not get anyliberation, even if you read them lovingly and wholeheartedly.

Sincerely do the devotion of Lord;Nanak says, you will get the fruit which your heart desires.

Now Gu ru A rjan Dev J i M aharaj says that you should no t d o thedevotion, you should not d o the m editat ion, unde rstanding it as

a burde n; because if we d o the meditation understan ding it as a burden,then we will find no go od in it. But if we do the devo tion of th eLo rd lovingly and a ffectionately, a nd if we do the me ditation havingonly the desire of realizing God within, then definitely we willachieve Him.

Wealth will not go with you.Then, 0 oolish mind, why are you wrapped up in it?

Now Gu ru Sah ib is saying to His mind, "Why are you absorbed, whyare you involved in the worldly things, when you kn ow t ha t n ot evena single penn y will g o with you fro m this world?" B ut wh at is the co n-dit ion of o ur m ind? M aster Sawan Singh used t o tell a story abou t on eman who was carrying two bags of wheat on one side of the horse,an d two bags of sand o n the other. So one person asked him why hewas carrying the s and o n o ne side. H e said, "BecauseI want to keepthe balance equal. That is why I have loaded these two bags of sando n one side." Th at person replied, "You could have do ne that by car-rying one bag of w heat o n each side of the horse, an d in tha t way alsoyou w ould have kept the balance." H e said, "Well,I could have don etha t, bu t first you tell me: are you a rich person?" An d he said, "No ,I am not a rich person.I am a very poor person." So the person wh oowned tha t horse said,"I don't want to obey you,I don't want t o be-lieve in what you ar e saying o r d o what yo u are saying, becau seI a m

afraid that if I do what you are sayingI will also become poor iikeyou." So when M asters tell us, "No t even your bod y will go with you ,so why a re you wasting time in collecting the w ealth of this world?"-when they tell us no t to be attached to the w ordly thingswe first seewhether or not the Masters have all those things which we have andthen we are afr aid tha t if we obey the M asters we also will become po orlike them -we will also becom e detached fro m the world like the m .



THE NOOSE OF DEATH IS CUT 419

So what to talk ab ou t obeying what they tell us to d o , we are no t even

ready to listen to what they have for us.Once I told a servant to take my horse to the farm, and he knewthat I would no t like it if he put any load- ny burden- n my horse.So what did he do? W hile coming back from the fa rm he had t o carrysome grass. He put that on his head and he sat on the horse; becausehe wanted the horse to be com fortable. WhenI saw him, I asked whyhe was doing that, and he said, "I didn't want to put any burden onthe horse."

Sons, friends, family and wifeTell me, who out of them will accompany you after death?

Now G uru Arjan Dev Ji Mahara j says, "Up until now , has anyone got-ten any happiness, any contentment from sons, wife, grand-children- from the family mem bers?" We know tha t when we are firstmarried, at that time our joy knows no limit and we are very happywith o ur p artne r; but later on if we have some problem s with o ur com -

panion, then the same house, the same life, becomes like a hell, andwe find no peace anywhere.

Kingdom, worldly joys and immense wealth;Tell me, who got liberation by having all these?

Now He talks abou t the kings and emperors. H e says tha t even afterbecoming the king or emperor of the whole world, one canno t removethis pain of birth an d death- ne cann ot get liberation. If you see any-one who has gotten liberation just by ruling over the world, you cantell me, but this is not the case. You will find n o on e who has g ottenliberation just by ruling over the world. Up until now , all those whohave gotten liberation have done so only by doing the meditation ofShabd Naam, and in the future also, it will be the same.

Horses, elephants, chariots and other thingsAre false shows and displays of false man.

Now H e says that for our com fort, for our glory, for our nam e andfam e, we collect horses, elephants, cars, cha riots-many things. Butall these things are false, because they will not accompany us-theywill not go with us. W e will have to leave all these things in this world.

The foolish man does not recognize the Giver;Nanak says, forgetting God's Naam one will have to repent.




Man does not remember God, who has given him the fruit of his good

karmas of the past. In the fruit He has given him-the cars, and thegood comfortable things of this world - man does not remember Him.And he is intoxicated, he is finding happiness in all these things. Butat the time of death, when the Angel of Death comes, and catches himby his neck, only then he realizes, "Why was I not grateful to the Al-mighty God Who gave me those things? Why didn't I do the medita-tion of the Shabd Naam?" Because at the time of death, if we havenot done the meditation of the Shabd Naam, if we don't have the Mas-

ter, then we have to face the Angel of Death, which is very painful."He Who gave you all those things, you madman, you didn't realizeHim, you didn't remember Him." Nanak says, "You didn't understandHim as your own. You understood every other person as your own,and that is why in the end you are repenting."

0 gnorant man, take the Path of the MasterWithout devotion many clever ones have been drowned.

Now Guru Sahib says that what you should do is to walk on the pathof the Masters. You should forget the path of your mind. You shouldnot listen to your mind, because listening to the mind, many cleverpeople - many wise people - were drowned in this ocean of life. So giveup the intellect, give up listening to the mind, and obey the Master;only then can you cross the ocean of life. Whether one is learned orilliterate, if he remembers Almighty Lord, he gets liberation.

0 dear mind, do the devotion of the LordSo that you may become pure within.

Making your mind your friend, do the devotion of the Lord; by doingthe devotion of the Lord, your mind will become your friend; your mindand soul will become pure.

Keep the lotus feet of God in your mind,In this way the sins of many births will vanish.

Always remain connected and attached to the feet of the Satguru; bydoing that the sins and bad deeds of our past - o matter how manythey are-will all get finished, if we remain attached to the feet of theMaster.



THE NOOSE OF DEATH IS CUT 42 1

Meditate on Naam and make others do so;

Get the liberation by hearing It, saying It and obeying It.

Gu ru Sahib says that you should do the meditation of Shabd Naa m,and moreover, make other people also meditate on the Shab d N aam .You should sing the glory of the Shabd Naam, and you listen to theglory of the Shabd Naam. You attend the Satsang, and make otherpeople attend the Satsang . Nanak says, "I long fo r the dust of the feetof such a Person Who Himself does the meditation of Shabd Naam,

and makes other people also meditate on Naam."The Naam of God is the essence and the true property;Nanak says: Sing His glories spontaneously.

If there is any true thing, that is N aam . An d if we remember the L or d,by Naam, even for a fraction of a moment, then also our attendanceis mark ed in Sach Khan d. You shou ld never think th at if you have satfor five minutes, o r a couple of seconds, your attendance is not marked .No m atter how m uch time you devote in meditation, th at is all cou ntedin the Court of the Lord; and you will definitely get the payment forit. If anybody goes to work for any other person, at the end of theday he always gets paid. In the same way, if anyone is working forthe Master, don't think tha t the Master is unjust an d will not pay youfor all the things you have done for Him. He will definitely pay youfor all the work you have done for H im. Bulleh S hah has said that o urLo rd is ou r friend, but we have become misers in respect to doing seva.We do not serve Him as much as we should.

By singing His praises your dirt will be removed,And the poison of ego which spreads over you will be re-

moved.

Now He says tha t by doing the meditation of Naam , the sweet diseaseof egoism- he incurable disease of egoism which we all have- will get

removed.

You will become worryless and will live happilyRemember the Naam of the Lord with every single breath.

Now H e says tha t when we merge with the Sh abd N aam , when by d o-ing Simran we reach the Tisra Til, and become one with the Light there,an d when we meet the Master within-after that ou r duty comes to




an end. After that, the job of the Master starts. That is why all the

time, moment after moment, we should go on doing Simran so thatwe can reach that place as soon as possible.

0 , mind, leave all cleverness.In the company of the Sadh you will get the true wealth.

Even the graduates have to behave like five-year-old children when theycome to the Masters. We know that in childhood, when we go to theteachers in the school, because we don't know anything, we behave likeignorant ones. And when we surrender to the teacher, then graduallythe teacher teaches us, and in the end we get the degrees of Bachelorsand Masters, and we become graduates and Doctors. In the same way,we are very ignorant ones in the path of spirituality. We know nothingabout it, and Masters know everything about it; so when we completelysurrender ourselves to the Master, then He takes us gradually, one byone, through the planes and finally takes us before the Almighty Lord,and tells Him, "This is Your soul who had forgotten You, but nowhe has come to apologize to You, and You should forgive him." Upuntil now, all the Saints who have done the meditation of Shabd Naamand have gone within, have said, "We have not come here by our ownefforts. If it were not for the Grace of the Master we would never havedone this." All the Masters who have gone within have sung the gloryof the Masters.

Collect the capital of the Lord's Naam and cany on the

true business.You will get happiness here, and honor in the court of the

Lord.

Now Guru Sahib says to collect the capital-collect the wealth of theNaam here; and if you have the wealth of the Naam with you whenyou leave this world, in whatever plane you go, you will be honoredand you will be welcomed.

See One God present in all.But only those can see Him on whose forehead such good

destiny is written, says Nanak.

God is within everyone, but we can know this for sure only after wesee God working within our own selves. When we see that God is withinus, only then can we know for sure that He is within everyone. But



THE NOOSE OF DEATH IS C U T 423

who ca n do this? O nly those who are very fortu nate ones and in whosefate it is written from the very beginning from G od- t has been decidedby G od th at he is going to meet the M aster and he is going to see Go din his own self and then in everyone. And those who are the for tun ateone s, and in whose fate all these things are written, only they are ableto d o these things. Nobody can see G od in his own self and then G odin everyone by his own efforts and merits. It is all in the Will and inthe Hands of God.

Repeat the Naam of one God, Praise one God,Remember the One God, and have the desire for one God

in your mind.

H e says, "Do the devotion of one G od , praise that one G od only, an dalways sing the glory of that same God."

Sing the limitless glories of One God,Repeat the Naam of One God with your mind and body.

He says, "Sing the praise of the Lord, and with your mind and bodyd o His devo tion. G od has limitless qualities, and His G lory is very high.We cannot sing His Glory with this tongue."

God Himself is the only, only and only One.The perfect God pervades all.

God is present everywhere, and He is working within everyone. Andsince H e is present everywhere, we shou ld d o the devotion of o nly tha tG o d .

From the One God many creations have been created.By worshiping One God all sins go away.

Now H e says th at all this creation-all these creatures we see- whetherit is m an o r anim al, insects, vegetables, trees or plan ts-all these are

created by God Himself, and all this is His play. And all those whowithdraw their attention from all these things, and from this world even ,and who become one with God- hose who keep their atten tion alwayswith G od- they become one with God and always remain absorbedin that Almighty God from whom they were separated.

One God is present in all bodies and minds.Nanak says: By the grace of Master I realized this.



424 THE JEWEL O F HAPPINESS

Now H e says, "When did we come to know tha t G od is present every-where and all this creation is the play of God?" He says, "I came toknow ab ou t all this only whenI went to my Master." G uru A rjan DevJi is singing the praise of H is Master, G uru Ra md as. H e says, "WhenI came to the Master, only then He told m e-no t only told me, butH e also ma de me experience- tha t Go d is present everywhere, an d allthat we see with our eyes is the creation of God." In this Ashtapadior section of the Sukhman i Sahib, Guru Arja n Dev Ji Ma haraj lovinglysings the glory of N aam to us, an d H e explains to us that fro m thisworld Naam is the only thing which will go with us; there is no otherthing from this world which we can claim-w hich we ca n tak e withus. On ly Naam will go with u s. And H e tells us that we should d o themeditat ion of Naam. Lovingly He explains to us that Naam cannotbe received fro m reading any boo k o r scripture; that N aam is with theSaints or Masters.

So first of all, go in the com pany of the M aster and request the N aam .And after taking the Na am , meditate o n i t; only by doing that c an youmake you r life successful. So we should also d o the m editation of Sha bd

Naam according to the instructions of G uru Sahib, and ma ke o u r lifesuccessful.



0 Lord, aher w a ~ d e r i y Lot 1 have come

7 may ev8rrh.g your praiser,

7 am L o ww i h your Lotusf e e t7 w i l ldo your d ~ o t i ~ n ,L O Y ~lways.




7hey become perfectand never wa VK



ASHTAPADI T W E N T Y 427

His b i r c k > d d m h , Bd~ad drrilon,

also coma t o a* find,

One zii uniced w& God WAw is evw

present.w i t hhim.

why o Ye t J W nwho dotv not a&the abor t o j o f 7 M t t k?

H i m who r e c o ~ y t i z e ~is

dotu?

whyfigct- Him whognve evwythiy?o r e t H i mWhogives ltfe fro a11,f s

b u y s 7



ASHTAPADI T W E N T Y 429

W Z & M ~ . twot.ion& ody w& ~ B M Wash5 .

7n th msnd m d bodyom ha, dm.



Chapter 20

Why Forget Him?

0 Lord, after wandering a lot I have come to Your refuge,This is the request of Nanak, 0 Lord, attach me to Your

devotion.

H azu r Ma ha raj Ji used to say that G od has everything with Him , ex-cept humility. Since He is Almighty, since H e is Om nipo tent, w ith whomshould H e be humble? Th at is why H e does not have hum ility; other-wise, He has all other things. If we want to please God, if we wantto meet G od , first of all we need to develop real hum ility within. W henwill we develop real humility in ourselves? Only when we rise aboveour m ind an d sense organs. And a fter making ou r soul free from theclutches of mind, when we connect her with the Sh abd N aa m , only thenwill real humility be developed within us. All the Mahatmas who gotthe oppo rtunity of becoming on e with G od , always mentioned the graceof the Ma ster- the grace of G o d. They never said that it was becauseof their merit or their effort th at they were able to fulfill their task .

They always said tha t it was the grace of the M aster, the grace of G od ,that they met Him.So here H e says, "After being separated fro m Y ou,I have wandered

a lot, an d after w andering a lotI have come to You.I am requestingof You - am offering a prayer to Y ou- o please graciously give methe opportunity of doing Your devotion.0 Lord, after wandering alot , I have come and taken refuge in You. This is the request of Na-na k: T o graciously m ake me d o Your devotion." "We have been sepa-rated from Y ou because of our deeds and k arma s;0 Lo rd, shower graceo n us an d unite us with You ." "We have wande red in all the f ou r direc-tions, and in all the other places also; now we are tired and we havetaken refuge in You ,0 Lord ." "Our cond ition was like tha t of the cowwh o was no t giving any m ilk." The cow w ho doesn't give any milk isnot taken care of by anyb ody-n obod y keeps her with him. "He who



does not have the Lord as his companion is useless, like the cow whodoes not give any milk."

0 Lord, I the beggar, beg for a gift from You;Graciously give me the Naam of the Lord.

In this hymn, the disciple has made himself like tha t beggar who is stand -ing in fron t of a householder. He is like a beggar in fro nt of his Lord,his Master, and- ike the beggar- e does not leave the door withoutgetting a dona tion from the householder. No matter if the householderabuses him, calls him names, or beats him, still he remains there, andinsists on receiving a donation from the householder. It is up to thehouseholder to give him the do nation sooner o r later, o r if he doesn'twant to give to him, he won't. But it is the job of the beggar t o remainthere at the doo r until he gets something. So like tha t beggar, we shouldalso make our mind stand in front of our M aster, and we should alsoremain at His doo r doing our Sim ran; and we should go on requestingour Almighty Master to give us some donation, and we should neverleave that doo r without taking something from that Master.

"I have come to Your door as a beggar. What do I beg for? I amnot asking for any worldly thing. I don't want any sons or daughtersor any worldly things.I am asking for the don ation -I am asking onlyfor Naam."

I beg for the dust of the Saint's feet;0 Par Brahm, fulfill my hope.

"I have come to your doo r,0 Lo rd, having this faith in You, and a sk-ing from You the dust of the feet of your Sadhus- f your dear ones-because my liberation will happen only if I get Their dust . 0 ,AlmightyLo rd, Who is present everywhere and knows everything, Nanak is mak-ing one prayer to you: Make me the dust of the feet of Your Saintsso that I may be liberated."

I may ever sing Your praises,I may meditate on You at every single breath.

"If You will shower grace on me, if You will become merciful on me,an d if You will give me Your Na am , da y and night I will go on rem em-bering You , and doing Your Sim ran, andI will no t let even one singlebreath go without doing Your Simran, without remembering You, andall the time I will have the remembrance of You in my heart."

Once upon a time, Moses became proud of his love for God, andhe said to G od : "Is there anyone who is dearer to you , o r who lovesYou more than I do?" God replied, "Moses, what to speak about




humans - here are many people who love Me and remember Me morethan you do. Even many birds love Me more than you do." Then Mosesasked God, "How can I become convinced of this?" So God told Mosesto go and talk to one bird who was sitting on one tree. Moses repliedthat he could not speak and understand the language of the birds. SoGod gave him that power, and told him, "When you go and talk tothat bird, you will understand him and be able to communicate withhim." So when Moses went to the bird and asked him if he had anyproblem -if he could do anything for him - hat bird replied, "Moses,you know that I do the Simran of the Lord. I remember Him with ev-ery single breath. The only problem I have is that when I have to flyfor drinking water, you know that the pond is very far from here, andthe time I spend in flying to that pond is wasted, and I cannot do theSimran of the Lord at that time. So if you want to do something forme, please bring that pond closer so that I don't have to waste so muchtime flying there, and in that way I won't be disturbed in my Simran."

When Moses heard that, he was surprised to hear that the bird lovedGod so much that he didn't want to give up his Simran even for the

second required to fly to that pond. When he compared his conditionwith the condition of that bird, he realized that he was forgetting theSimran of the Lord for many hours and still was not having any resent-ment. But the bird was giving up Simran only for a second, but stillwas very sorry for his condition. Then the pride of Moses was broken,and he realized that there were many other souls in this world who hadfar more love for God than he did. Sant Farid says, "I sacrifice myselfto those birds who live in the forest and who live outside on the earth

and eat only natural things, but not even for one second forget God."I am in love with Your lotus feet,I will do Your devotion, 0 Lord, always.

Now He says, "With Your grace, now I am in love with Your feet.*I am always attached to them, I am devoted to them; and daily, allthe time, I am doing your devotion. This is all because of Your grace."

You are my only shelter and only support;Nanak craves for the essence of Naam of the Lord.

There is the support of only one God, and only one God is our Saviour.Here Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj is requesting to that Almighty One,God: 0 Lord, I am begging You for Naam only: please give me thegift of that Naam."

* This refers primarily to the Lotus Feetof the inner Radiant Formof the Master,or to the (figurative) Feet of God. See Kirpal Singh,Naarn or Word, pp. 299-327.



Supreme joy comes through the glance of God;

Only some rare ones get the Nectar of the Lord.For tuna te are those souls on whom the Gracious Light of the AlmightyLord is cast. This nectar of devotion is shared by only fo rtu na te souls,and rare are the souls that get this nectar.

Those who taste it are satiated,They become perfect and never waver.

Those who have tasted this nectar of devo tion- his nectar of Naam-such people never become unstable; they never go here and there f romthe Path; they become perfect men.

They are filled to the brim with the sweetness and joy oflove;

In the company of Sadhus, the yearning is created.They are the oceans of love, and the oceans of love are filled to thebrim. When we go in Their company, the desire for bathing in thatocean of love is created within us. And then we also, afte r taking Naamfrom Them, think about going within and drinking that nectar. Thisis the only benefit of coming in the company of the Saints: that whenwe come in Their com pany , the desire for going within and tasting thatnectar of love arises within us and we also swim in and absorb our-selves in that nectar.

They give up everything and take refuge in God;The Light gets manifested within Them and day and nigh t

They remain connected.

We have to go to the Master, giving up our own self, and when wedo that, Master will connect us with God; and then we will be con-nected with God as that Mahatm a is. By doing the meditation of Naam,the Light equal to many suns gets manifested within us, and the dark-ness of ignorance is dispelled.

Very fortunate ones meditate on the Lord;Nanak says, happiness comes by being dyed in Naam.

If there is anyone in this world who is the most f or tun ate , it is the onewho meditates on N aam , becomes one with N aam , and absorbs him-self in Naam. Those people who do the meditation of Naam get thereal respect, the real happiness an d the real contentm ent. Blessed is theday when we met the Master. The day when we came in contact withthe M aster W ho is One with the Naam was a blessed one, a nd we sacri-fice ourselves on that day, because we met the Master then.




The desires of the devotee are fulfilledWhen he obtains the pure teachings from the Master.

W hen the colors of the world leave us, an d the color of Na am comesupon us, then that desire or wish with which we took Naam initiation-the desire of G od realization-is fulfilled, an d we manifest th at Na am ,tha t G od , within ourselves. W ere we able to d o all these things by ou row n efforts? W as all this because of us? No . T his was not because ofus. It was all because of the grace of o ur M aster. Because M aster wasgracious on us, He gave us Naam init iat ion; an d after that , H e m ade

us d o the meditation, a nd H e made us travel on the path of the M asters;and later on, with His grace, He manifested Naam within us. It wasall due to His kindness and grace.

God is gracious on His people;He makes His devotee happy.

G od gives happiness, a nd H e always makes him prosperous w ith whomHe is pleased. "If Satguru looks at you with gracious Eyes, you getmillion-fold happiness and kingdoms."

After cutting the attachments the devotee gets liberated;His birth and death, pain and illusion, also come to an end.

Graciously the S atguru cuts down all the attachm ents which the soulshad - he a ttachm ents of physical, astral and causal bodies- nd afterremoving them and making the soul free from the clutches of mind,He gives liberation. Swami Ji Maharaj says, "First of all there is thebinding of the body, an d then the binding of the wife comes, a nd later

on the attachme nt or binding of the son comes, and then the grand-sons come; an d in that way the attachm ents- he bindings- o o n in-creasing, and in the end one does not learn anything from them."

One's desires are fulfilled and the faith bears fruit;One is united with God Who is ever present with him.

T he desire which we had of realizing G od w as fulfilled. Wh en did tha thapp en? W hen we did the devotion of L ord , having all faith an d lovein Him . After th at, H e fulfilled our desire of realizing H im . Now whatis the condition? Always God is with us, whether we are sitting in aroo m or traveling; H e is always with us. W e are always accom paniedby God: even if we are sitting in a closed room and it is a dark nightand nobody can come to us, still God is with us. Whether we talk tosomeon e or wego here or there, everywhere G od is accom panying us.

God has united him who belongs to Him with Himself:Nanak says, He is absorbed in the devotion of Naam.



Ou r soul is the essence of Go d, an d tha t very God to ok pity on us a nd

came into this world, taking up the hum an body, an d graciously gaveus initiation; and the n, graciously and lovingly H e ma de us unite withHim . You go where you are attached . When the attachm ent of the dis-ciple is with the Naam, and with the devotion of Naam, then Nanaksays, "According to your attachment to the devotion of Naam, yougot attached to the Naam."

Why forget Him Who does not allow the labor to gofruitless?

Why forget Him Who recognizes whatever is done?

When his eyes are opened, the disciple comes to know that Master, God,is with him , accom panying him like a shadow. N ot even for o ne mo-ment does God leave him alone. Then the disciple realizes that Godwas not far from him, that God was always with him. So here GuruArja n Dev Ji Mah araj says, "Why do you forget such a God W ho al-ways accompanied you like a shadow, and W ho always gave you thefruit of your every single moment's devo tion? All the good deeds youdid, all the times you spent in His remembrance, you were paid for,so why forget such a God Who does such good things for you?"

Why forget Him Who gave everything?Why forget Him Who gives life to all beings?

Why forget such a God W ho has given you everything? First of all Hegave us the body, and then He Himself came in the human body andgraciously gave us His secret. And there are many other things whichHe gave us. So why forget such a G od ? He has given us the Light, an dif H e had no t put His power in our body , we would not be able to func-tion in it. You know that, at the time of death, when He withdrawsHis power, when He withdraws the ray of the Shabd from our body,then n o dou bt all the parts of the body are still there, but they d o no tfunction. Our eyes do not blink, we cannot speak , we cannot take evenone step, we cannot move our hands; we cann ot do anything. So whatis that by Whose presence we are functioning? That is the Power ofthe Sh abd , that is the ray of the S hab d, and when Go d withdraws Hisray of Shabd from the body, then this body becomes useless. So whyforget Him W ho has given us so much? M ahatmas say that you shouldremember Him W ho is sitting within you and W ho is working for you,sitting within you.

Why forget Him Who saves the child in the fire of thewomb?

Some rare one understands this with the grace of Master.




Guru Arjan says that in the womb of the mother, when the bones are

being made, it is very hot , and it is unbearable. Why forget such a GodWho saved you when it was so hot in the womb of the mother? Rareare the souls who, with the grace of the Master, understand that Godis taking care of them. Masters do not mean to say that you shouldgive up all your duties and sit idle. No; it is your duty to work. Therewas one disciple of Mohammed who thought like this when ProphetMohammed said, "Everything happens in the Will of God." That dearone used to do the seva of taking care of the camels. It was a very hardjob for him because it used to take a lot of time to tie the ropes tothe camels; and when he heard Prophet Mohammed say that "Every-thing happens in the Will of God," he thought, "When everything isgoing to happen in the Will of God, then what is the use of tying ropesto the camels and taking care of them? If it is the Will of God thatthe camels should be stolen, then they will be stolen no matter whetherI put the ropes around their necks or whether I take care of them or not."

But Prophet Mohammed replied, "No, that is not true. It is yourduty to tie the ropes and take care of them, and if, after all that, stillthey are stolen, then you can say that it was the Will of God. Whenyou do not succeed even after trying hard, then you should understandthat it is the Will of God; otherwise you should always try your best;you should always perform your duty."

Why forget Him, Who protects us from the poisonAnd unites that which was broken for birth after birth?

The soul is affected by the poison of pleasure, and she is wandering

here and there without any understanding. Why forget such a God Whotakes the soul out from the poison of pleasure, and connects the soulback to God, from Whom she was separated-from whom she wasbroken-for so many ages? Why forget such a God Who brings herback home?

The perfect Master has made the devotees realize thisreality:

Nanak says, The devotees meditate on their Lord.

Since our Masters have told us this reality, this fact -that meditationof the Naam is the only thing that will go with us, and that it is theonly successful thing in this age-that is why giving up our own in-tellect, giving up our thoughts, we have taken up the Path of theMasters, and with Their grace we have done the devotion of the Lord.With Their grace, we have become one with the Lord. So that is whywe will always say that meditation on Naam is the only thing that willgo with us, and we should do that.



0 Friends, Saints do this work:

Leave all else and repeat the Naam of the Lord.Saints come to this world and say,0 dear ones,0 friends, giving upthe enjoyment of pleasure, what should you do? You should do themeditation of Naam, because this is the only thing which will cometo your rescue; this is the only thing that will be counted."

Do Simran, Do Simran, and by doing Simran get hap-piness.

Meditate on Naam yourself and make others meditate on it.Whether you are sleeping or awake, whether you are sitting or stand-ing, do the Simran of the Lord . You yourself should d o the Sim ranof the Lord, and if anyone comes to you, inspire him to also do theSim ran of the Lo rd. Lovingly you c an tell him, "Dear one , by doingthe Simran of the Lord,I have got this, and if you understand this,and you want this, you should also do Simran and get its benefit."

By loving the devotees one can swim across the world;Without devotion the body will become ashes.

We can cross the ocean of life by loving the devotees of the L ord, andif af ter getting the hum an body , we do not utilize it in doing the devo-tion of the Lord, if we do not cross the ocean of life, what will hap-pen? W e will make ashes out of this body, an d go empty-handed fromthis world. G uru R am das Ji says, "He within whose heart N aam is notmanifested, it would have been better for his mother not to give birth

to him. Because without the Naam, his body is empty, and he is wan-dering here and there like a useless man."

The Naam is the treasure of good fortune and happiness,The drowning mortal obtains support.

Up until now, all those who have got benefit-all those who have gotliberation - have done so only by doing the meditation of Naam . Theywere able to meet God only by doing the meditation of N aam. If any-one is drowning in the ocean or in a river, and is picked up by a bo at ,he becomes very happy; because then he is sure that he will definitelycross that ocean and be saved, and not drown. In the same way, wedon't know how m any ages have passed since we have been drowningin this ocean of life. When we get Naam, Naam is like that ship onwhich we can cross this ocean of life. So when we get Naam , becausewe are suffering a lot afte r drowning in this ocean of life for ages andages, our soul becomes happy, and we know for sure that now , sincewe have got Naam, we will cross this ocean of life easily and safely.




All the pains get destroyed:

Nanak says: Meditate on Naam, which is the treasure ofvirtues.

What are the qualities of Naam? You know that whenever we take birth,whether we take birth as a bird or an animal, or even as a human be-ing, there are always pains and problems. The only way to avoid thesepains and problems is the meditation of Naam, because the meditationof Naam is the only cure for all the pains and problems.

The love is created, and the yearning to taste the love iscreated within;

In the mind and body one has this.

Within us, love for God has been created, and day and night we havethis happiness: that God has given us this opportunity to do His de-votion.



7hen w h o u l dave pmiua d gppim5$?



440 T H E J E W E L OF H A P P I N E S S



A S H TA PA D I T W E N T Y- O N E 441

God ~I*;lifi$ L$ wondfirjh and m i m y .Nflnak 5 1 7 ~ 5 , e f l ~ h ~ ~ fa5 cr6flti?d




W ~ N . o dI r n 5 o y j l o-2f ed Hi5 ownseLf,

w h m ~c ti c o r n p t m ~& all 5kzUs,

W ~ Y , tm the ~ e h sr K a~eb5

who wa5 chm w think ofgood o r

bad omen, ?



ASHTAPADI TWENTY-ONE 443



ASHTAPADI T W E N T Y- O N E 445

He m k e s w h o e v e r Hfidasitm playth world1y plays.



Chapter 21

The Performer of His Play

God Himself is Sargun [one who has all qualities], Nir-gun [one who is not affected by the gunasl, The Form-less One, and is in deep Samadhi,

He has created all the creation Himself and He Himselfremembers Himself.

One disciple came to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj and asked Him thisquestion: "Who creates this creation? And how is creation created? Andwhen this creation is dissolved who does that? And when creation isdissolved where do the souls living in the creation a t that time go? Andwhat does God do when there is no soul living in the creation? Wheneverything is dissolved then what happens to the souls and what hap-pens to God? And how is the creation created once again after beingdissolved?"

So in the first six paragraphs of this section, Guru Arjan Dev is tell-ing him how the creation is dissolved, and in the last two paragraphs

of the section he will tell the disciple how the creation is created afterthe dissolution. He says that God Himself is the creator of this crea-tion and He is the only One who dissolves the creation. His work isdone by Him and not by anyone else but Him. He is the Doer, He cre-ates the creation, and whenever He wants He dissolves the creation.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says that when this creation is dissolved,at that time, the earth is dissolved in the water and the water is driedup by the fire and the fire is carried away by the air, and then the air

is absorbed by the sky and sky is absorbed by the Maya, and then Mayagoes and absorbs in Brahm. God goes into His meditation and in thisworld nothing remains in existence except void. That formless Lordis full of all the qualities, He does not have any bad qualities, He isthe formless One. Nanak says, "He is the only One who creates anddissolves the Creation."



THE PERFORMER OFHIS PLAY

When the world did not have any form,

Then how could sins and good deeds be found?

When this world did not have any form, at that time, there was notanything like sins and virtuous deeds, and nobody had this awarenessor knowledge of good and bad deeds. Because at the time of dissolu-tion all the souls go back Home, they all become one with God. Sowhere are the sins and virtuous deeds going to exist?

When He went into deep samadhi,Then with whom could anyone be unfriendly or haveenmity?

When G od goes into His deep samadhi when He dissolves the Crea-tion , no one is left in this world who has enmity to others, no one re-mains in this world who has ill thoughts for others.

When there was no color or sign of His creationThen who could have pains and happiness?

When this creation does not have any form, any sign, then how canwe want to be happy or sad in this Creation?

When the Supreme Being alone was there,Then where was the attachment and illusion?

When the Almighty Lord exists by Himself, and when H e Himself dis-solves this creation, then who is going to have the illusion? W ho is go-ing to have doubts about Him? Who is going to have attachments?

God Himself has created His play.Nanak says, There is no other Doer.

In replying to the questions of the disciples, Guru Arjan Dev Ji Ma-

haraj is saying, "Look here,0 brother, God Himself is the Creator,He is the only one who dissolves this creation. There is nobody elsewho can do this job , because nobody else can d o this job except GodHim self. And sitting within all the creatures which H e has created H eperforms this play, and whenever He wants, He stops performing thisplay. This play can be perform ed only by Him'and nobody else hasthe right to do th at. God does not have any friends, He does not haveany equal, He does not have any community, He does not have any




religion. He exists everywhere by His own power, and whenever Hewants He can withdraw from it."

When only God Himself was the Owner,Who could be called free or entangled?

When Go d alone is the owner of the whole creation then nobod y hasany liberation, nobody has any imprisonment.

When there was only One God, Inaccessible and Limitless,

Who was making hells and heavens?

Almighty L ord is limitless; n o on e can reach H im and when H e existsand everything exists by Him, then no other incarnation comes, no-body else makes the heavens and hells. Whatever is done is done byHimself.

When the Nirgun God was in the state of Samaj,Where was the place of Shiva and Shakti?

When God, Who is not involved in any gunas, exists in this creationthere is no other power equal to Him. Not even Shiva, or any otherpowers that exist, are equal to Him. When the creation is dissolved,all these lower realms like Ind ra Pu ri o r Brahm Pu ri o r Shiv P ur i, allthese lower regions, even the heavens a nd hells, a re dissolved becausethey are not stable.

When He Himself holds His own Light,Who could be called either fearless or afraid?

W hen G od m ixes His Light with His ow n Light, then no bod y has anyfear and no one is fearless.

God Himself i s the performer of His own plays:Nanak says, The Lord is Inaccessible and Limitless.

God Himself is doing all these plays and happenings which are hap-pening in this world. N obody can comprehend Him because H e is limit-less, He is unfathomable.

When the Imperishable One was seated on His ownThrone of happiness,

Where were birth, death and destruction?



THE PERFORMER O F HIS PLAY 449

He says that God is not subjected to destruction. God is never destroyed,God is immortal and He lives in the Anami place which also is neverdestroyed. In that place there is nobody else who sets up his throneand sits beside God. God is the only One who resides there.

When there was only One God, the perfect creator,Who could be afraid of Yama's tortures?

When Almighty Lord Himself is taking care of all creation, then atthat place nobody has to be afraid of the Angel of Death.

When there was only the Invisible and IncomprehensibleGod,

Then from whom could the Lord of Judgment ask the ac-counts?

When G od Himself knows about everything and when God W ho isun-seen but sees everything, is the owner of the whole creation, then howcan the Lord of Judgment keep account of the souls when creation isdestroyed?

When there was only the Lord, Who is not affected byMaya and is unseen, and unfathomable,

Who was free or bound in fetters?

When the Lord, who is limitless and unseen, and Lord of all the or-phans, is present, who can bind anyone, who can attach anyone? Heis the only One who can do all these things.

God Himself is wonderful and strange.Nanak says, He Himself has created His own form.

At that place all the glory is of Almighty God.

When there was the Only the Pure Being, Who was Him-self the Lord of all Beings,

Who else could wash the impurities?

God is pure, sinless, holy. W ho is there to remove the sins or the impu-rity of God?




When there was only the Niranjan [unaffected by Maya],Formless, and Undisturbed One,

Who was there to honor or disgrace?

When the Lord who is not affected by Maya is the Almighty Ownerof the Creation, then who is there to honor Him or disgrace Him?

When there existed only the Lord of the world,Who could be deceived or swindled?

When the glory of God exists everywhere, then there is nobody whocan deceive anyone and nobody is deceived.

When the Form of Light absorbs Himself in the Light,Who could feel hunger or satisfaction?

When the Light becomes one with the Light and God is sitting in Hisdeep meditation then at that place and time, who can satisfy hungerby eating and who wants to eat food there?

The Creator Himself is the Doer of everything and makesothers do.

Nanak says, No one can estimate God's Glory.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says that God Himself is the Doerof all these things and everywhere there is the glory of God and no-body can reach Him. When He is limitless no one can know His limits,

no one can describe H'is glory. Kabir Sahib says, "No one can knowthe glory of the Creator of this Creation. If anyone speaks, he will say,'He has showered a lot of Grace on me and He is Great.' Nobody cansing the glory of God in its full sense."

When God Himself glorified His own Self,Who was then mother, father, son or brother?

God has made His own importance and His own glory by Himself. He

does not have any mother, he does not have any father, he does nothave any brother or sister. He does not live in any community, thereis no one there who can make the glory of God. Whatever is done isdone by God Himself.

When He is competent with all skills,Where were the Vedas or Katebs [Muslim scriptures] read?



THE PERFORMER OF HIS PLAY 45 1

God has all knowledge and all skills; so at that place nobody listens

to or reads the Vedas, Shastras or other Holy Scriptures. Kabir Sahibsays tha t a t the place where God resides neither day o r night exist, noteven the Vedas and Shastras have any importance there. Kabir says,

0 mad ma n, why are you wandering here and there? W hy don't youremember that Formless One?"

When He Himself was containing His own qualities,Who was there to think of good or bad omens?

Now H e says tha t when G od Himself is present, nobod y thinks aboutauspicious or unauspicious things.

When He Himself was high and close to Himself,Who was the Lord and who was the disciple?

Only God is present there; He is the only one who can be called as thehighest human. There is no disciple there, there is no Master. Thereis no deity there, and no worshiper there, since God is the only onepresent.

He Himself is astonished and surprised.Nanak says, You alone know your limits.

God is pleased with Himself within H is own Self, and He is the onlyOne Who knows about His Glory.

When the Undeceivable, ~m~enetrable nd InscrutableOne was absorbed in Himself,

Who could be influenced by Maya?

Nobody can deceive Go d; nobody can make a fool of G od . Where Godresides, Maya cannot have any effect because Maya cannot reach there .

When He ordered Himself,Then these three gunas could not enter.

H e Himself com mands His own Self and there is nobody else who cangive Him orders. He is the only one who can d o that. And at that place,the three gunas- ajogun, tamogun and satogun- annot find any en-trance.




When One God alone existed,Who was there worrying or free from worries?

When God is the only one present there, who can have any worriesand who can become worryless?

When God Himself was absorbed in His own self,Then who was there to speak and who was there to listen?

He is the only one present there, so who can be there to read to Himand who may listen to what is being read?

God is completely Endless and is Highest of all .Nanak says, He Himself alone can reach Himself.

God is limitless, He is the highest of all. He is higher than the highestgods and goddesses. He is the complete owner of this Creation and sinceHe is limitless He is the only One who knows His limit. Guru Arjan

Dev Ji Maharaj in these six paragraphs replied to the question of hisdisciple: that in the home of the Lord there is no enmity, there is noone who can be an enemy toward others, and there is no enemy, thereis no sadness, there are no days or nights, nothing is auspicious or un-auspicious, there are no Vedas or Shastras, there is no one who wor-ries about anything, and there is nobody who can be called worryless;because God is the only One present there.

In the next two paragraphs, Guru Arjan Dev Ji is telling His disci-

ples about the Creation, how the Creation was created and when Godcreates the creation. Again He is the only one who does it.

When God created this world in its form,He spread the three gunas in it.

Now He says that when He wanted to create the creation, at that timeHe expanded these three gunas: raja, tama and sata gun.

Then the talks of sins and virtues started.Some suffered hell and some desired the heaven.

When the Creation was created, the same Power, God, sent the rishisand munis in this world to tell people about good and bad deeds. Rishisand munis told people, "If you will do good deeds, they will be countedas your virtue and you will be rewarded for them and if you will do



THE PERFORMER OF HIS PLAY 453

bad deeds they will be counted as your sins and you will be punishedfor them. If you will do good deeds you will get heaven and if you dobad deeds you will go to hell. So rishis and munis came in this worldand they wrote all these stories and everything in the Vedas and Shas-tras, the holy books. And they came in this world to give the knowl-edge of good and bad to people, to all those souls who were sent inthis plane. The soul was an ignorant one, she did not have any knowl-edge because when she was born into this world, she was just a pieceof clay and she did not have any awareness of who is father, m othe r,brother or sister. So those rishis and munis, those holy people, gavethe knowledge to the souls: who was who to them and how they hadto deal with them. And in that way when the people grew old they gotthe knowledge of all the surroundings and all the things. And after thatthis practice was going on, the souls knew abo ut their relation and theywere involved in it.

Snares and Traps of Maya came into existence.Egoism, Attachment, Illusions, Fear and Duality.

When the soul came in this world Maya had so many traps. Somewherethere was the trap of bro ther , somewhere there was the trap of sister,and the soul was attached to that. Somewhere there was the trap ofsociety, the com munity. And in tha t way the soul did no t find any es-cape out of the traps which were made by Maya.

Pain, happiness, honor and disgrace

And talk of different kinds stalked.

In this world pain and happiness, honor and dishonor, have been spreadeverywhere. In the snares of all these things the souls are trapped. Thesouls are wandering here and there because they want happiness andthey are fed up of pain. And because they don't want dishonor theyare searching fo r honor and they are trying their best. So in tha t waythey are spending their energy, they are making all efforts andin theend they always remain here.

God Himself performs His play and sees it.And when He withdraws His power, alone He remains,

says Nanak.

God creates this play and He wants to play this play. And wheneverHe plays this play He becomes very happy. And whenever He wants



THE PERFORMER OF HIS PLAY 4 5 5

to kill Kabir Sahib, but H e was never killed. He was tortured, He wasgiven a very hard time, but still Kabir Sahib never stopped giving Hismessage of truth.

People used to call Guru Nanak "the one who misleads from thePa th. " And people used to say, "Do not go to him because he will no tgive you good teachings." He was opposed so much that once whenhe went to d o Satsang in one village, the villagers would no t allow himto enter the village and H e had t o spend the night in the hu t of a leper.

In the same way, Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj, whose bani we arereading, was tortured very much by Emperor Jahang ir, the Mogul Em-peror. He was made to sit on hot coals and burning sand was thro wna t his head . H e was made to stan d in the boiling water up to the neck,meaning he was also given a lot of torture; and they tried their bestto kill him but he resisted it.

No m atter how much manm ukhs work against the Masters, no mat-ter how much they torture T hem , they can never decrease the glory ofthe Masters.

The M ogul Emperor Aurangzeb invited Guru Teg Bahadur, to Delhi,

and then he killed Him. Now what is their condition? Nobody goesto pay any homage to the tomb of Aurangzeb, and the pigeons m aketha t place dirty. Nobody takes care of that tom b. But the place whereGuru Teg Bahadur was killed- obody knows for sure whether that wasthe place where he was killed o r whether it was ten feet away fro m theplace where they are worshiping now- ut they have made a templethere and all day long they go on watching tha t place and they lay pa r-shad there and they always sing the glory of that g reat Master who was

killed a t that place. Even though the Mogul Em pero r tried his best a ndkilled that great Saint, even after three hundred years people are remem-bering Him and in no way can you say that His glory was decreased.

Guru Nanak says that as the critics go o n criticizing the Sain ts, theglory of the Saints goes on increasing. And the critics lose a lot bycriticizing the Saints whereas the Saints gain a lot when they are criti-cized.

He Himself performs plays and amusements.He H imself en joys the pleasures, yet remains unattached

by them.

God Himself does His own miracles. Sitting within everyone H e Him -self is enjoying. Guru Sahib says, "Within everyone my Lord is pres-ent; there is no one who is without Him. I sacrifice myself on that personwithin whom the Gurumukh gets manifested."




He attaches to His Naam, whomsoever He wishes.He makes whomsoever He desires play the worldly plays.

And now Guru Sahib says that is a very surprising play of God, thatif G od is pleased with anyone, H e makes him d o the med itation of Sh abdN aam . But if Heis not pleased with som eone, H e does no t ma ke himdo the meditation of Shabd N aam and H e lets him go and play in theworldly plays and remain there.

0 , ncalculable, Unfathomable, Unaccountable, Immea-

surable Lord.As you make your servant Nanak speak, so he speaks.

T ha t G od is limitless, nobod y can reach H is limits. God is bottomless;G od c annot be measured. The re is no balance in this world w hich c anmeasure the glory, the power, of L ord. H ere G uru S ahib says that how-ever God wants him to say the devotee speaks in that way.

Gu ru A rjan Dev Ji M aha raj sings the glory of G od . He says,0 Lord,

I did not understand w hat you did fo r m e, but you united me with G od .I d o not have any goo d qualities, it was Your G race, that you felt mercyand you had pity on me. When you had mercy on me you made mecome in the company of the fr iend of my Satguru, and now Nanaksays that I will survive only w henI get the Na am . W hen I get the Naammy body and mind will become alive again."

The things of the M ahatm as are not from their hearsay. W hateverthey say they say from their ow n experience and from what they haveseen with their ow n eyes. M aha tm as say,0 man, you are talking fromwh at you have read in the boo ks, but we ar e talking fro m wha t we haveseen."

M ahatm as have seen G od a nd after seeing Him they have told peo-ple, "There is only on e Pow er; thereis one P lane w here there is all hap -piness and all peace. And if you try an d reach that Place, you can alsohave tha t . God showered a lot of G race o n us that H e made us d o themeditation of Shabd Na am , and H e chose us for His devotion. S o nowit is our duty to be grateful to Him , to be thankful to H im , and to

do Bhajan and Simran daily."



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ASHTAPADI T W E N T Y- T W O 459




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ASHTAPADI T W E N T Y- T W O 46 1

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ASHTAPADI T W E N T Y- T W O 463

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Chapter 22

On the Protection of God

0 , Lord of men and other living beings You are presenteverywhere.

The One God Himself prevades, and no other can be seen,says Nanak.

In today's Ash tapadi, G uru A rjan Dev is singing the glory and praiseof Almighty Lo rd by saying,0 Lo rd , you a re present everywhere, You

have created everyone, and you are protecting and nourishing every-one." All the Mahatmas- hose who have done the meditation and haverealized Him - have always said,0 Lo rd , there is nob ody else exceptYou a nd there is no on e else whose devotion we can d o. So when onlyYou are present everywhere and when You are the One W ho does every-thing , we cannot describe Your glory because there is n o one else equ alto You. So how can we compare You with anyone and how can wesing Your glory?"

When we see God within ourselves and when we manifest Him, Hebecomes o ur personal experience. Wherever we look, we see God every-where, in enemies, in friends, whether it is human, animal, whetherit is bird o r any thing else, wherever we look we always see G od present.

He Himself speaks and hears HimselfHe is one and He Himself is many.

0 Lord, You Yourself sit down and read from the Holy Scriptures,

and You Yourself sit down and listen to what is being read.0 Lord, You are One, and whenever it comes in Your Will, Youbecome many from one and You spread, You expand Yourself.

When it came in Your Will You created the creation.And absorbed it in Yourself in Your Will.



O N THE PROTECTION OF GOD 465

When it came in Your Will you created this creation and when it comes

in Your Will You dissolve this creation and make it one with You.

There is nothing without You.You have strung everyone in Your String.

There is no creature- othing- without You. You are present withineveryone and You have tied all the souls, all the crea tures in Your rope.God is in the soul and the soul is in G od . But you can know this secret

only with the Grace of Master.

He, whom God Himself gives the understanding,Gets the gift of True Naam.

Go d makes those souls meditate on S habd Naam to whom H e wantst o show His play, to show tha t H e is residing everywhere. By the medi-tation of Naam one comes to know that everything happens because

of Naam, and without Naam nobody can do anything.He, who looks on all men with an equal eye, realizes the

Reality.He conquers the whole universe, says Nanak.

W hat happens by doing the meditation of Shab d Naam ? W e acquirethe qualities of G od , and as God looks a t everybody with equal sightin the same way we also become like Him ; and we become the knowerof the ultimate Truth, which is God. One becomes the knower of allthe things in the world and one becomes the conqueror of the world.Conq uering the world does not mean t o fight with the world and con-trol it using arms an d weapons. H e means tha t when one conquers hismind he becomes the con que ror of the whole world. When we controlou r mind , we become the Owner of the One wh o has created this Crea -tion, because when you have eliminated mind from within yourself,then nothing stands between you and Almighty God and you becomeone with God.

All men and other living beings are in His hand;He is kind to the poor and is Lord of the orphans.

The strings of all the creatures are in the hands of Alm ighty God a ndH e is the F ather of all the orph ans.




No one can destroy those whom He protects;

Whoever forgets God is dead.

N o power in this world can destroy the one protected by G od . W hodies? W ho is destroyed? O nly those who forget God and only who there-fore do not get His love and protection.

On ce a pregn ant deer was sleeping, an d seeing her sleeping a hu ntertrapped her on all four sides. O n one side he put a tra p a nd o n anotherside he lit a fire. O n the third side he had his do g standing there, ando n the fo urth side he stood with his bow and arrow. Th e deer was sleep-ing and she did not know what was going on around her. But whenshe felt the heat of the fire and heard all the noise, she saw that shewas trappe d in all fou r directions and there was no way to escape fro mthis hunter. A t that time she prayed t o Almighty G od ,0 Lord, saveme from all these problems." You know th at even the birds an d animalsremember G od and d o His devotion in their own way. An d i t is natu-ral to pray to God whenever you are trapped in any danger. This isthe na ture of all creatures: w hether they believe in the existence of Go dor no t, whenever they face any danger o r any problem, it is naturalfor th em to remember G od because H e has created all the -creatures.So when that deer prayed t o Almighty Go d, w hat did H e do? Suddenlythere was a big storm and the fire spread wide and burned the trap,an d the hunte r thoug ht the deer was trying t o escape but he couldn'tsee correctly an d he shot his dog instead of th e deer; and a t the sam etime a snak e bit the hunter a nd he was also killed. Whether o ne is ma no r animal, whether one is bird o r any othe r creature, if he remembers

Go d with a true heart and if he prays t o G od , G od will always comethere to help him.

Where can one go after leaving Him?One God, Who is unaffected by Maya, is the need of all.

I t is a pity th at people-giving up such a Go d W ho protects everyoneand gives life to everyone, nourishes everyone and brings help to

everyone-go and worship other things. Is there anyone who can helpus, is there anyone w orth being devoted t o, t o worship, except that G odWho has given life to everyone?

The re is one very fam ous story in the Hin du scriptures ab ou t twobrothers. Onewas called H ota and the oth er was called B rahm a. Theywere both very learned pundits. Once it so happened that they wereinvited by some householders to attend a feast, and they were servedvery good food, they were given some money for the wear and tear



ON THE PROTECTION OF GOD 467

of their teeth, because it was a custom in the olden days that when

learned people were invited by householders, after being given foodthey were also given some money. It so happened that Brahma, whowas less learned than Hota, got less money. Now Brahma was veryclever and when he saw that H ota was getting more m oney tha n him ,he thought, I should get some money from his share also. So he said,"Listen brother, no matter if they have given us more or less money,we should collect this money and share it equally." Now Hota said,"Well, they gave me more an d gave you less. It was all written in our

fate tha t we should get tha t mu ch, so there is no question of sharingit equally; we bo th got separate money; I shouldn't bother ab ou t tha t."But Brahma said "No, you should definitely share, because you aremy brother," and things like that. But Ho ta didn't d o what he wanted.So Brahma got angry an d said, "You are very egotistical an d you areno t listening to m e. I am giving you this curse: tha t in you r next life-time you will become an elephant." Now H ot a was also a pundit an dhe also had the power of cursing others; so he said, "You have cursed

me, th at in my next lifetime I will become a n elephan t. Well I curseyo u-th at in your next lifetime you will become an octopus, and youwill always remain in the water and have many problems."

In the olden days when these learned pundits were giving curses toeach other, they meant it: they also had some powers. So in their nextlife both brothe rs according to their curses got the bodies of the ele-ph an t an d the octopus . And it is written that once tha t elephant cameto d rink the w ater a nd the octopus was there living in the water, an dsuddenly the octopus came out an d caught hold of the elephant. Theother elephants who came to the water tried their best to release theelephant, H ot a, but they were no t successful. And he also resisted-the octopus wanted to pull him into the water but the elephant wasresisting. It is said that it went on for thousands of years, and duringtha t time the elephants brought foo d for H ota , and the o ctopus didn'thave to go far for food because he was an animal of the water andhe was getting his food from the w ater. It is said tha t after thousandsof years, when the elephants stopped bringing the food, and the ele-phant H ot a started losing his strength , it so happened th at the oc topuswas able to pull the elephant into the water, an d when only his trun kremained o ut H ot a requested the Lord,0 Lord , now I have only yoursup port: I am praying to you t o save me from this calamity."

So it is said that the Lord came down a nd cut the bindings, the arm s,of the octop us, an d released the elephant. This is a very fam ous sto ryan d Gu ru Nanak has mentioned it in his writings. H e says,0 Lord,save us in the same way that you protected tha t elephant fro m the oc-topus."




He in whose hands are the ways of all living beings-

Understand Him to be internally as well as outwardly withyou.

G od has the schedule of all the souls. H e knows when th e souls shouldbe sent in the world a nd w hen they should be brought back . An d sit-ting w ithin, H e protects and nourishes the soul and w hen the night-time comes H e brings that soul back. W hen we manifest that G od w ithinwe can easily see that the same God Who was helping and protectingus within was helping us outside also, an d H e is always accom panyingus like a sha do w . In all vegetation there is life; there is curd in a ll typesof milk; in the same way God resides in everyone.

God is the treasure of all qualities and is without anylimits.

Servant Nanak is ever a sacrifice to you.The Perfect One remains gracious forever.He is merciful to all.

G od is perfect, H e is gracious, H e is merciful on all, an d H e protectsall. And it is not true that He is pleased only with those who do Hisdevotion and H e is not pleased with those w ho d o not d o His devo-tion. H e says, "Whether som eone does Your devotion or n ot , You ar epleased w ith them , You ar e gracious o n them . Even if o ne abuses You,then also You are gracious o n them." It is not true th at G od gives painand unhappiness to those who d o not d o His devotion and those who

abuse Him . W e suffer pain only because of o ur ow n karma; G od doesnot give any pain, because H e is gracious on all.

He Himself knows His plays.The all conscious One is present everywhere.

God Himself knows about His plays. He is all-conscious, He is all-pervading, H e is almighty. H e knows everything without your saying,

then why pray to H im ? No do ub t we become happy and we please o urmind by praying t o Lord, b ut there is noneed for it because G od knowseverything about us even without our asking.

He protects and nourishes everyone in different ways.Whatever He has created, meditate upon Him.

H e protects all the creatures who H e has created an d they a re allex-pressing their gra titude toward s Him in their own language.




To whomsoever He likes, He blends him with Himself.

Such ones do His devotion and sing His praise.Now H e says tha t no doubt God is within everyone and we all are ex-pressing our gratitude toward Him in our ways an d our o wn languages.But who becomes one with God? W ho manifests tha t God within them?First of all God brings those whom H e has to m ake one with H im in tothe human body. Then He gives them the knowledge of the ShabdNa am . And after making them d o the meditation of the Shabd N aamHe makes them one with Him.

"Those who forget the Path of the Naam, in the end they repent.Nan ak says, This is the truest statement of all: without Naam nobo dycan get liberation."

He who believes in the reality of God with firm faith inhis mind

Realizes the Doer, says Nanak.

In order t o do devotion, first of all we need faith . Only if we have faithcan we do devotion, only then will God open His door to us. SinceH e is sitting within us He does not open His doo r to us if we are no tfaithful to H im , if o ur faith is shaky . He is sitting within us and H eknows everything. Kabir Sahib says, "Sitting within us, God is lookinga t the service we are doing to H im. And He gives the prize accordingto the amount of service we are doing for Him."

He who is attached with the One Naam of God;His hopes never go in vain.

W hen those who start doing the devotion of Shabd Naam have the de-sire of realizing Go d, of seeing Go d, definitely they d o it. We c anno tbecome successful if we go on doing the old practices which we didbefore we started doing the devotion of Shabd Naam . If we do the prac-tice of Sh abd Naam along with ou r old practices, we can never becom e

successful.Swami Ji says, "When a soul comes and takes refuge in the Saint

H e should give up all rites and religions, all other religions. W hateverPa th Master shows to the disciple, tha t practice becomes his religionand his everything."

Before taking Naam initiation, no matter how many deeds we dothey a re all counted in ou r search, because we are still searching forthe Naam . But after we get Naam fro m the Satguru, whatever H e tells

us to do, we should do it with firm determination.




It becomes the Seva for the servant.By understanding the Will, one gets the highest status.

The disciple should do his Bhajan and Simran, his meditation, under-standing it as a service to the Master. And he should meditate withoutmissing it. If lovingly we do our meditation without missing it, thenwhat do we get from the Master? Master gives us the highest statusfor our service, for our meditation for Him. Up until now all thosewho have done the meditation of Shabd Naam, all those who have donethe service of the Master, have not returned empty-handed from Hiscourt.

There is no thought above itFor those within whom the formless One resides.

There is no one above the Naam of God. And when there is no oneabove God, then the disciple should not have any other understand-ing. When he has got the way of doing devotion t o God, when he hasgot the Naam, then he should not look here and there and for any otherthing.

Many times I have said that once in a Satsang like this, Master saidthat if anyone wanted to see God they should close their eyes. Every-body did that except me. So one dear one complained to Master, say-ing that I was not closing my eyes. And when Master came and askedme, I said, "Well, you have said that those who want to see God shouldclose their eyes. But I am seeing God with my open eyes, God whois six foot tall, and has two legs, and Who is moving here and there.

Why d o I need to close my eyes to see something else? Because I don'twant to see any other God except You; I don't want to believe in anyother God except you; and when I am able to see You without closingmy eyes, then what is the use of closing my eyes?"

Guru Nanak says, "Understand the Lord and Master as One. What-ever is in the will of the Master, only that happens."

Kabir Sahib says, "Both Master and Lord are standing in front ofme. To whom should I pay homage? I will definitely pay homage and

respect to my Master Who made it possible for me to meet the Lord."0 y mind, go on repeating Master, Master, because without HimI am nothing. Day and night have the support of the Master Whosegift cannot be destroyed by anyone. Master is the Creator, Master isPerfect, and Master is the Almighty Lord."

Their fetters are broken and they become free fromenmity;

They worship the feet of the Master day and night.



ON THE PROTECTION OF GOD 47 1

Master has cut dow n all the attachm ents so we don't have any attach-ments with anyone. W e don't have any enmity for anyon e because nowwe know tha t G od is present in everyone. N obo dy is our enemy, a ndnow w ith the grace of the Master we have come to know this. And Na-nak says, "There is no one except God."

They are happy in this world and the world beyond;Nanak says, God Himself unites them with Himself.

The soul has gpt peace. When we are at peace in this world, our lifebecomes successful. When we leave this world, in the o ther p lane alsowe will remain peaceful because M aster is the O ne who is going to tak eus. It was not within ou r reach o r ou r power to obtain this peace; itwas the Grace of Almighty Go d W ho came in this world in the fo rmof our Master and gave us the knowledge of the Shabd Naam. Aftermaking us do the devotion of Sha bd Naam He will take us back H om e.It was because of His Grace tha t we were able to ob tain all these things.

Get joy in the company of the Sadhus;Sing the praises of the Lord, Who is Supreme Joy.

If you want real happiness, what should you do ? You should g o in thecomp any of som e Sadhu W ho has do ne meditation. Wh at will be theuse of going in the company of the Perfect Sadhu W ho has d one themeditation? You will get the bliss of G od an d that M aha tm a will mak eyou d o the devotion of the Almighty Lo rd.

Kabir Sahib says that even if you don't get good food to eat, youshou ld still remain in the company of the S adhu . It is much better tha nbeing in the company of worldly people who can provide you with go odfood. Kabir Sahib says, "Don't leave the Path on which the Saint iscoming, because when you see Him you will become pure. And whenyou meet Him, you will start doing the meditation of Naam."

Meditate and ponder over the Naam of Lord and Its es-sence.

Make the precious body successful.

Once you are in the com pany of the S adh u, don't waste your time insleeping or in criticizing others. Utilize it in doing the meditation ofShabd Naam , and make the precious gem which G od h as given to you,this hum an bo dy, successful, an d utilize it for the p urpo se fo r whichit was given.




Sing the nectar-full words of God's Praises:This is the method of liberating the soul.

Mahatmas are full of nectar; their words are full of nectar. If thereis any way by which you can get liberation, it is by obeying the nectar-full words of the Master, molding your life according to the instruc-tions of the Masters.

See God near you for all the eight watches of day,Then the ignorance and darkness will be removed.

What is the use of going in the company of the Master? When we goin His company, Master creates the desire within us to d o meditation,and removing the darkness of ignorance from within us, He lights thelamp of knowledge.

Hear and absorb the teachings into your heart.Nanak says, then you will get the fruit according to your

desires.

Whatever the Master says, make that dwell in your heart, and alwayskeep it there. If you draw a line on a stone, it stays there. In the sameway, whatever Master says, keep that in your heart. If you do it, thenthe desire you have of realizing God will definitely be fulfilled, andyou will be successful in that.

We should not become like the stone in the water when we come to

the Satsang. As Swami Ji says, "The stone remains in the water butdoes not absorb any water from it." When we come into the Satsangwe should not make our hearts like stone, so that when we are sittingin front of the Master we receive the impression and the effect of allthat He is saying, but when we leave the Satsang we don't have anyeffect. We should always keep all the Master's words in our heart andwe should always obey. Whenever the Masters say anything, their wordsare full of nectar and in their words is real happiness. Drinking thenectar of the words of the Master, you can satisfy your thirst.

Once Guru Gobind Singh went in the village of some thieves in theMalwa region. Guru Gobind Singh asked them what their purpose was.They answered that they were thieves. Guru Gobind Singh said, "Youshould not continue doing this because nobody is going to come andrescue you; nobody will help you if you continue doing this." They re-plied that they could not leave that business. The Guru replied, "Well,if you cannot leave this business, at least you can keep an account of




how many times you have stolen things from other people's houses.

An d you should know tha t as many times as you have stolen, you willbe punished." So when they started counting the times they had sto-len they were terrified, looking at the number, and they thought it wouldbe terrible for them t o face the L ord a nd H is court when they left theworld. So they all decided and promised tha t they would never d o tha tbusiness of stealing things again. When once again Gu ru Gobin d Singhwent in to their village, he asked how they were doing . So they repliedtha t they had left that business completely because once they countedhow many times they were doing bad deeds, they were a fraid th at inthe C ourt of the Lo rd n obody was going to help them, an d they werecollecting a lot of sins. "Now since we have left our old business andwe are no t stealing things anym ore , You will be the O ne who will res-cue us and You wilI have to help us." So that was the way in whichGu ru G obind Singh told them to stop doing their bad deeds: by count-ing how many times they had done them.

In the same way, ou r beloved Master Kirpal was very gracious onus and He invented this way, in this age, of keeping the accounts ofour deeds: he invented the procedure of keeping the diary, and it isthe best way to know our faults. It is very good to keep account ofou r faults because when we do so we can tell our m ind, "Look here,how many times you have done this bad deed " It is a very good wayof making your mind ashamed of your bad deeds. Keeping the diaryis like a cashbook so we can know for sure where we stand a nd howmany times we have committed bad deeds. So we should wholeheart-edly keep the diaries, and once we do any bad deed we should neverrepeat it.

Improve your life in this world and in the world beyondBy keeping the Naam of the Lord within your heart.

If we manifest the Naam in our within, we improve in this world aswell as in the other.

The teachings of the Perfect Master are perfect.

He in whose heart these teachings dwell, realize the Truth.

Th e Initiation of the perfect Maste r, the Naam of the perfect M aster,is perfect. And those who get tha t, and practice it with faith, they them -selves know this for sure: they can test the N aam initiation of t he M as-ter. When the Saints give Naam initiation they don't leave room fordoubt in their disciples, because They connect the souls with the realhome.




Repeat the Naam with mind and bodyThen the pains, grief and fear will leave the heart.

Master never dies; even if He leaves the body right aft er giving initia-tion , H e is always living fo r those disciples who have received th e initi-ation from Him. If the disciples have any problem, any difficulty inmeditation, they can go fo r guidance to the spiritual successor of theMaster, who will be very happy to guide them and help them in anyspiritual problem. When the Master leaves the body, His initiates donot have the benefit of His physical da rsha n. But tha t is the only thingthey miss; every inner thing remains the same, and He works on theinner planes as usual. New people can become initiated only by thespiritual successor of the Master.

0 Trader, do the trading of Truth:Your cargo will be valued in the court of the Lord.

If you a re a businessman you shou ld know tha t Naam is the only com-modity in which you should deal. T he merchandise of Naam is the onlything which is accepted by God; and God is pleased with those whod o this business. Many timesI have said that the receiving of Naamis like getting a passport o r visa to enter into ano ther cou ntry. If ou rdocum ents ar e not properly stamped o r written n obo dy will allow usto enter into a foreign country . In the same way if we don't have thestam p of Naam o n us they they will not let us enter ou r real H om e.When th e Satguru gives us Naam H e puts H is stam p on us and n obodyasks for anything from those souls who have got the stam p of the Sa t-guru o n them. And those who have got the stam p of the Satguru arewelcome and accepted in the court of Lord without any problem.

Keep only one support in your heart.Then you will not come and go again, says Nanak.

Now H e says that on e should have faith in the Masters, one shouldhave love fo r the Masters, one should understand only the suppo rt ofthe M aster. Such a disciple does not have t o com e back in this worldagain and again; all his coming and going from this world comes toan end.

Where can one go away from Him?One is saved by meditating on the Preserver.




If anyone says that he has left the Maste r, it is his misunderstanding ,because where can he g o when the M aster is sitting within him? Andeven if he leaves the Master outwardly, he c anno t leave the M aster in-wardly: no t only is Master sitting within him , H e is protecting h im fromwithin.

Master used t o say tha t it is very possible that the Master might leavethe rop e very loose for the disciple a nd that H e might wait fo r the dis-ciple for a long time. But after all, the one end of the rope is still inthe hands of the Master and he can pull it back any time He wants.

All the fears vanish by meditating on the Fearless One.Man gets liberation with the grace of the Lord.

To do the devotion of the Lord we cannot be afraid of anyone: wehave to become fearless. When we do the devotion of the Lord fear-lessly, we will become o ne with H im ; we will also becom e the FearlessOne and we will not have to be afraid of anyone.

He who is protected by God doesn't have any suffering.By meditating on Naam he gets happiness within.

He who has accepted the support of the Lord, he who has done thedevotion of the Lord, may live in the world, but still he does not be-come dirty with the dirt of the world. Because the souls of those whod o the devotion of the Lord get the strength to face the pain and suffer-ing of this world.

Kabir Sahib says, "Everybody gets the punishment because he hasgot the body. The one who has the knowledge abou t it bears the painhappily, a nd the ignorant one who does no t have this knowledge bearsit unhappily and complaining."

The worries go away and egoism vanishes.None can reach such a devotee.

By doing the devotion of N aam worry goes away. Then you do n't haveto w orry what is going to happen next, tomo rrow, and like that. A ndby doing the devotion of N aam egoism also goes away, an d the devo-tee wh o does the devotion of Naam cann ot be reached by anyone: no-body can become equal to him.

The Brave Master is watching over his head;His affairs get completed, says Nanak.




After giving us initiation the Master does not become worryless; Heis always concerned about us. He says, "My Almighty Master Who isPerfect is always on my head and He is always protecting me. And Heis helping me in every single thing." The only difference is that unlesswe have complete faith and love for Him, we cannot see Him workingfor us; but He is still always with us.

Many dear ones come and tell me about those people who have neverseen me, but still they felt and experienced the Grace of the Master.I have told you the story of Harnam Singh many times: that how hehad the darshan of the Master while he was driving in the car. He wasnot initiated but still when he left the body Master came there to pro-tect him.

He whose wisdom is superb and whose glance is full ofnectar:

By whose mere glimpse the entire creation is liberated.

The teachings of the Master are perfect for the disciple. In the darshan

of the Master is Nectar, and if the Master wants He can liberate thewhole world just by looking at them. Hazrat Bahu has said, "If theMaster looks at hundreds and billions with just one loving glance Hecan liberate them all. But even if millions of learned men look at theworld, they cannot liberate anyone."

That is why Bhai Nand Lal, a devoted disciple of Guru Gobind Singh,told Him, 0 Lord, on Your side it is the question of one glance; buton my side it is the question of my whole life."

Once Master Sawan Singh was traveling and He met a sadhu whowas wearing colored robes. Looking at him that sadhu said, "Well, af-ter all, you have come here." And Master Sawan Singh replied, "Yes,I have come." Then they talked about many things, and the discipleswho were with Master Sawan Singh couldn't understand what was hap-pening. After the meeting was over the disciples asked Master SawanSingh if He knew that sadhu. Master Sawan Singh replied, "Yes, Heis a great meditator sadhu and he has done so much meditation thatif he wants, looking at anyone, he could take them to Sach Khand.But he is not showering his grace on people." There are so many Ma-hatmas, so many meditators in this world who have attained that posi-tion and have become perfect; but they are not showering grace, theyare not spreading their will in this world.

He whose lotus feet are unique-Whose darshan is successful and whose form is beautiful.



O N THE PROTECTIONOF GOD 477

His Feet are very beautiful and we cannot describe the beauty of his

form.Guru N anak describes the beauty of the Master; H e says,0 Mas-ter, having Your darshan I live my life. WheneverI look at You, myobject in coming in this world is fulfilled."

Swami Ji Mah araj also describes the beauty of the F or m of the Mas-ter by saying, "If anyone looks at the beauty of my Master, he maybecome astonished and surprised."

Gu ru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says,"I wish I could look at my Masterall the time , because wheneverI look at HimI feel a t peace. WheneverI don't look at Him, whenever I am away from Hi m ,I wander hereand there like a madman."

I also requested the sam e thing of my beloved M aste r. Once we weresitting on the same dais and there were so many people there an d M as-ter asked me to sing something and say something. SoI told Him , "Ohmy B eautiful One, O h my Beloved, I wish tha tI could go o n lookinga t You, making You sit in front of m e." Master never let me sit in fron tof Him, and I always wanted to sit in front of Him so that I couldhave His darshan. But H e never let me do that. A lways H e would haveme sit on H is side, an d H e never let me sit in fron t of H im a nd haveHis darshan.

Blessed is His Seva and His servant who does it.He is the Supreme Being, the All-Conscious One.

Blessed is that disciple who does the seva of the Master. Don't thinktha t M aster is not aw are of your seva, H e is the all-conscious O ne an dHe knows everything. If you donate in His Name, or if you d o the medi-tation of Shabd Na am , whatever you d o in His Nam e, H e accepts thatand keeps account of it.

Those within Whom He dwells become blessed.Kal cannot come near them.

He within whom He dwells, day or night, whether he is sleeping orawake, whether he is standing or sitting, Kal cannot come near himand Kal cannot d o anything.

They become Immortal and attain the status of Immor-tality.

Nanak says, They meditate upon Him in the company ofSadhus.




God is immortal and Master is sent by God to bring the souls back.He works like the bridge between God and the souls. Since God is im-mortal the Master also is immortal, and the place where Master takesthe souls back, the Home of God, that also is immortal. Guru Nanaksays, "By going in the company of the Masters we have also becomeimmortal, because of their grace, and because of doing what they havetold us to do." Guru Nanak says again, "After searching a lot and go-ing within, we have come to one conclusion: 0 brother, there is nodifference between Master and God. Master is Lord, and Lord is Mas-ter. M y Satguru is always present; He never comes, He never goes. Heis all-conscious, all-pervading and He is always present."

Earlier, Guru Arjan Dev told us the glory of the Lord and that theLord is present everywhere, the owner of all Creation, the creator ofall creation, and sitting within everyone, He protects them. Later hetold us of the glory of the Master Who makes it possible for us to meetthe Lord, what the point is of going in the company of the Masters,and what Master does. Like God Master is also immortal and He takesus to His immortal Home. He takes us to the Anami place which does

not fall in dissolution or Grand Dissolution.



when che mastergivtusomom thema5~aru Ji~twwledgfi,he du~knmafyrwramx -ir remowd.

h h w k says-, H e who w 6 5 dte 5azw

are within 9




outside.

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und th mr5.5 p d he Bani o G o d



ASHTAPADI TWENTY-THREE

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prfisfincfi w i t k i n -NU& $fly$,% 70hfit: God Him-



Chapter 23

"Where Will All the GarbageBe?"

When the Master gives som eone the mascara of Knowledge,the darkness of ignorance is removed.

Nanak says, He who meets the Saint with the grace of theMaster gets enlightened within.

In this Ashtapadi G uru A rjan Dev Ji M aha raj describes the glory ofthe Master. He asks, "What does the M aster give to the disciple? W ha tis the benefit t o the disciple in using wha t the Master has given him?"Because we are stuck in the darkness of ignorance very badly, we needsome light which will clear our way. Master gives us thatointment- ampblack o r mascara- by putting which in our eyes we canremove the disease and see the inner thing. W hen anyb ody has a prob -lem with his eyes, he goes to a doctor and the d octor gives him som emedicine to put in his eye and that removes whatever is blocking thevision. G uru Arjan Dev is calling that m edicine "mascara." H e says,"My Master gave me the mascara of the Tru th ; by putting it in my eyesthe darkness of ignorance was removed a ndI was able to see what washappening within." When the M aster gives His N aam an d we use it,when we apply that medicine of the Master to ourself, when we mani-fest that Naam within, then the darkness of ignorance is cleared upand we see Light within. Then we are able to see the arrangem ents whichare made by G od , and our inner path becomes open to us, a s clear asan open book, and we know for sure what is happening within.

So here the Master is saying that we have got that lampblack ofKnowledge from the M aster. H e says,W eare not able to achieve thatlampblack,we are not able to remove the darkness of ignorance fromwithin. By our m erits, we could not d o anything; it was the G race ofthe Master, Who made the inner Path clear to us."




In the company of the Saints God is seen within.

The Naam of Lord tastes sweet.

W hat did we get after going in the com pany of th e Saints an d the M a-hatm as? H e says that by going in their com pany we were able to seeG od within us. W e were looking for H im outside but w hen we mani-fested the Lo rd an d we saw H im within, His Na am was so delicioustha t we did no t want t o taste the worldly pleasures because they weretasteless in front of the Naam.

Guru Ramdas Ji says,"In our within is the desire to realize God,now whatever words of the Master we hear, they pierce in our heartlike an arrow."

All that exists is only within One:All the different colors and forms.

Before going to the Masters perhaps so me of us used to think that peo-ple of different races and different countries were made by differentgods. We might have thought that people from America were madeby one god an d people fro m Ind ia by another. But when we went intothe com pan y of the Masters and ou r inner veil was lifted an d we sawG od within, we understo od, we realized, tha t Go d is the only Creato rof all the creatures. Before this creation was created all souls were on ewith Him; when this creation is dissolved, then all the souls have togo back and become one with God .

On e Ma hatm a says, "Whatever exists in the Bra hm and , exists in yo ur

body also. Those who search for it, realize it."

The nectarful Naam of Lord is the Nine Treasures.It dwells within the human body.

Na am is the owner of all treasures, and H e is the Em pero r of all Peace.Na am is the greatest Peace-giver in this creation. An d it is no t a w ordof a ny language: it is neither written in P un jab i nor Hin di no r English;it is not in any language. Where is that Naam? It is within our body;an d M asters come in this world t o connect us with that N aam .

The sunna samadhi and the Sound are within;The wondrous ecstasy cannot be described.

W hen we cross Daswan D war, after shaking off o ur physical, astraland causal covers from our body, we come to thesunnaplane and there



the pure sound, theSar Shabd, is coming. H e says, "The glory of SarShabd cannot be described, it can be experienced by the soul; hearingthat Shabd the soul becomes intoxicated."

Only the one to whom He shows it sees itAnd realizes Him, says Nanak.

Can you solve this problem by yourself? Can we see God by readingbooks and other things? N o. Only that one can see God t o whom Godis gracious, whom God wants to see Himself, an d whom Go d makesrealize Hiin.

The Limitless One exists inside and outside.God pervades everything.

When we see Go d within, and when we manifest H im in ou r ow n self,we know for sure tha t He is limitless and nobody can reach H is limits.But only when we have seen Him within can we say outside, also, th atHis glory cannot be described. He is limitless but still He is presentin every individual soul.

He is present on the earth, sky, and the world below water.He is the sustenance in all regions.

The creatures who are living on earth are protected by God and Hegives food t o them . T he creatures who are living in the sky ar e alsoprotected and nourished by H im. A nd the creatures who are living inthe world below are also nourished and protected by the same God .

In the forests, in the grass and in mountains is present theSupreme Being.

As He orders, so they act.

The same God is present in the fields, in the forest and even in the moun-tains.

In wind, water and fire:He is present in all four quarters and ten directions.

God is in the a ir, God is in the fire, G od is in the water, G od is every-where. H is power is extended, H e is working in all the f ou r directions.




There is no place without Him.Nanak says, One gets happiness with the grace of Master.

There is no creature without the presence of God within, but when canwe understand this? When can we reach that country of peace? Onlywhen Master showers Grace on us and we go into the company of thePerfect Master.

He is seen in Vedas, Puranas, Sirnritis;God alone is present in the moon, sun and the stars.

His importance is written in the Vedas and Puranas, also in the holyscriptures. And they all say that in the moon and sun His Light ismanifested. Even in the stars His Light is twinkling.

All speak the Bani of God;He is stable and never wavers.

He is sitting within each of us and from there He is calling all the soulsto come back. Guru Nanak says, "The Lord is stable-He is notshaky-and those who do His devotion become as stable as God is."

Through all His powers He plays the play.His qualities are Invaluable, their worth cannot be as-

sessed.

God is perfect and competent in all powers. If anyone says that he canbuy God, that is not possible: He is priceless. One Mahatma says, "IfGad could be achieved by bathing in the water, then the frogs and fisheswould have realized Him. If God could be achieved only by clevernessand wisdom, the ignorant would have remained without Him. If Godcould be achieved by riches, then the poor people would not have anychance to realize Him." He says, "God cannot be realized by wisdom,cleverness or riches, He can be realized by one attachment, and thatis Love: which we can get from the Masters."

His light is within all the lights.He supports all, like warp and weft in the cloth.

In all life His Life is present, in all creatures His Light is working. Heis present in everything in this world, as the thread is in the piece ofcloth, and the cloth is in the thread. He is present everywhere like that.



By the grace of the Master the illusion is destroyed.

They develop this firm faith, says Nanak.

Now He says tha t with M aster's Grace, with Master's He lp, an d by do -ing the meditation of Naam which was given to us by the Master, theillusion which we have is removed, an d now we have fa ith in this judg-ment: that God is the only Creator and Protector and Nourisher ofall the souls, and H e is present everywhere. The soul will get peace onlyby meeting God and by becoming one with God; ever since the soul

was separated from God she has never experienced any happiness.0brothe rs, w ithout the M asters, you can never have any knowledge. Ifyou don't believe us, go and ask Ved Vyas, Brahma and Narada."

The Saints have the vision that God is present everywhere;Within the heart of Saints are all religions.

With which kind of glance do the Masters help? Wherever the Masters

look they see God present in everyone. T ha t is why they respect all thereligions. Saints d o not criticize a ny religion, any faith o r co mm unity,an d they d o not even criticize any person. Th at is why they always re-spect every religion and every person. The only difference between theirpractice and the practice of the religions is that they d o no t get involvedin the rites and rituals which most of the religions practice; and theynever tell their disciples to get involved in those rites and rituals.

If a woman's husband goes to a foreign land, but she continues todress up and m ake herself beautiful a s if he were there, what will peo-ple say? They will say that she does no t have a good character -"whyis she dressing up, and who is she trying to please when her husbandis gone?"

In the same way, when we do rites and rituals in the n ame of G od ,we say we are trying to please G od . But G od is not present there, an dwe have not seen God. Guru Nanak says, "Doing rites and rituals islike a wo ma n dressing up when her husband is away. She does not getany honor in this world, an d her husband does not accept her devotion."

Whenever Saints and Mahatmas come into this world they empha-size the practice of S ura t Shabd Yoga. They teach the message of S hab dNa am . You can read any scripture, any holy book w ritten by any M a-hatma, and you will find that he has practiced and taught the samething. A nd always people from different religions come to the PerfectSaints and become Their disciples.

When the Saints and Mahatmas leave this world, what happens?Their disciples collect the teachings of the M asters an d d o not read the




teachings of the Masters to the people. Instead of that they start preach-

ing their own things, and they color the spiritual teachings of the Mastersin the color of religion, and make the teachings of the Masters as prin-ciples of that religion. In that way the teachings of the Masters, whichonce belonged to the whole universe, are limited only to a certain groupof people. And in that way they do not d o many spiritual practices af-ter the Master leaves the body. Only a few people are left who can becalled "practical"; the other people, the intellectual or learned peoplewho have the knowledge of those teachings, remain and they do not

practice and they do not preach the teachings in their right sense. I willsay that those who act like this after their Master has left the body aredoing a grave sin.

The Saints have the virtuous words.They remain absorbed in the All-Pervading Lord.

Saints themselves utter the precious words, and they tell the disciplesalso to deal lovingly with all. Saints are themselves absorbed with God,they are one with God. That is why they tell the disciples also to riseabove the level of mind and the organs of senses and to become onewith the all-pervading God Who is present everywhere.

He who has realized the truth lives like this:That the Saints utter true words only.

This bani is written by that Mahatma Who had appreciation of theSadhus. He says that Sadhus never say from hearsay; they mention onlywhat they have seen with their own eyes.

Whatever happens, he accepts that as happiness:He understands that God is the Doer and One Who makes

others do.

Mahatmas do not become equal with God; they are the dear children

of God. Whether they get good food or bad food, whether they getpain o r happiness, they accept that as the Will of God: they never com-plain, they never turn against the Will of God, they accept it happily.

When Guru Arjan Dev Ji, whose bani we are reading, was being tor-tured in the city of Lahore, He was made to sit on the hot coals. Atthat time Mian Mir, a Muslim friend of Guru Arjan who was very de-voted to him, came, and he saw that Guru Arjan Dev's body was burn-ing- he had burns all over his body and he was sitting on hot coals -



an d he said, 0 Gurudev, what is your condition? If you will let me d o

it, I will raze the city of L ahore to the ground." Gu ru A rjan Dev re-plied, "Mian Mir,I can also do that ; but it is a very good thing to re-main happy in the Will of God." Then he said,0 Lord, I like yourWill; the Will of G od is very sweet for m e. Nanak always asks fo r thegift of Naam."

God lives within all and outside also;All those who have His darshan are fascinated, says Nanak.

God, W ho lives within us, is present everywhere outside also. Wher-ever we look we see the same G od . An d M ahatmas say tha t Go d hasattracted all the world by His da rshan. Maha tmas see Him everywhere.

Gu ru Nanak says, 0 Lord, if You had any equal, if there was someother God, only then could it be said that there are two."

He Himself is the Truth, whatever He has done is Truth;The entire creation is made by God alone.

Whatever Go d has done, it is Tr uth -H e Himself is Tr uth . Whatever.we see with ou r eyes- all this crea tionwas created by God Himself.He didn't have anybody else to create it.

If He wishes, He expands;If He wishes, He becomes One again.

If Go d wishes, H e expands into the creation, a nd when it comes in theWill of God, He brings back everything and only He remains.

He has countless powers, no one can estimate them.Whomsoever He wishes, He unites with Himself.

No one can estimate the Power of God; no one can say how manypowers God has. But when He is pleased with someone, it does not

make any difference to which caste or religion tha t person belongs, G odunites him to Himself.

There is no question as to whether one is man or woman; all thosewho do His devotion, and with whom God is pleased, a re accepted byGod.

Who can be called close or farWhen He is all pervading?




God is within everyone; so how can we say that God is nearer to this

one and farther from that one? Water is everywhere in the earth underthe ground. But only those who dig out a well can get that water. Inthe same way, those who manifest God, those who see God within,only they can become one with God.

The one whom He makes realize His presence within-Nanak says, To that one God Himself gives the realization.

God Himself inspires the soul, and tells her, "I am sitting within youin this form, and if you want to meet Me, do this and you will cometo Me." It is God Who inspires the souls, and brings the soul in contactwith the Master; and Master connects her with Naam.

God works in all beings;He is the watcher through everyone's eyes.

God is the owner of all creation, and He sees through the eyes of every-

one. This means that in the eyes of everyone the Light of God isworking.

The whole creation is His body.He Himself hears His praises.

All bodies are made by Him; He glorifies His own Self, and He Him-self listens to it. It means that on the tongue also His power is work-ing, and in the ears also His power is working, and He is listening towhat is said.

He made coming and going as a playIn which He cast Maya as his servant.

The coming and going- births and deaths - his is all a play which Hehas made, and in order to continue this play, He made Maya as a ser-vant; and He told Maya and the other gods - he other powers - You

will have to d o this work." Whatever is happening in this world is hap-pening with the orders of the Almighty Lord.

He lives in all and yet remains detached from all:Whatever He wants to say, He Himself says.

In a very beautiful way He is sitting within everyone, and whatever Hewants to have said, He Himself says-sitting within the people.



The soul comes in His orders, goes in His orders;

Nanak says, He merges the one with whom He is pleasedinto His Own Self.

Th e soul comes to this world with the orders of the L ord , an d the soulgoes from this world with the orders of the Lo rd. If God wishes, th esoul goes back into God.

Nothing bad is done by Him;

Who else can do this?

Whatever Go d does, H e does for good. He never does anything bad ;whatever He does, He does for the benefit of the people.

He is noble; His deeds are noble;He Himself knows about His Soul.

God is noble; He is good; and He knows about the requirements ofthe soul. H e knows who w ants what. If we have the burning desire torealize God, God will bring us into the contact of the Master, even ifthe M aster is living thousands of miles away from us; bu t if we don'thave the burning desire to realize G od , then n o matte r if Master is liv-ing right in our neighborhood, we will never com e t o H im o r ask fo rNaam-initiation.

He has adopted Truth, He is All Truth;

He has blended Himself with His creation.His conditions and limits cannot be described;It would be possible to understand only if someone else

were like Him.

We cannot describe the glory of God. He is perfect by Himself: Hedoes not have any equal. He does not have any brother or any rela-tives, so how can we go and ask an yone about H is glory? Since there

is no o ne equal to H im; since there is nobody else like Him , how canwe pray t o anyo ne except Him? We should pray only to the AlmightyLord.

All His doings are acceptable;By the grace of Master one understands this, says Nanak.

Whatever God has done is done for good, and it is all true. This un-derstanding has come to us only with the Grace of our Master.




The one who knows Him ever remains in Happiness;

God unites him with Himself.

Those who learn about God, and who get some understanding of God,they catch peace and happiness forever, and the pain of the births anddeaths which they have always had is now removed; and they have noother pain.

The one in whose heart the Lord resides is truly wealthy:He is of high family and honorable, and is liberated while

living.

In this world, only the one within whom God is manifested is the richone, the one belonging to a high family. He is the only one who hasthe honor of the world. He is liberated while living, and his cominginto this world was worthwhile. Blessed is his coming into this world;He got liberation for His own self, and helped others also to get it.Blessed is the disciple who goes to the feet of the Master and surrendershimself to Him. Blessed is the Satguru who meditated on the Naam.Those who saw Him got liberation. He Himself was liberated, and thosewho saw Him also got liberation. Blessed is the family, blessed is themother, who gives birth to such a Master. Blessed is the Satguru whodid the devotion of Naam and those who saw Him, they also got liber-ation.

Blessed, Blessed, Blessed is that Person

By whose grace the whole world is liberated.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "Hail, hail, to that person whocame into this world by Whose Grace the whole world gets liberation."Mahatmas do not come in this world for a few people or for some com-munities. If all the world goes with the Mahatma, God is not goingto question Him, "Why did you bring all these souls with you?" If thewhole world stands in front of the Master, saying that they want to

go back, then He can take them, and nobody will ask Him why. Butthe Negative Power does not let this happen. That is why only a fewpeople, which we can count on our fingertips, come to the Master.Once Narada told Lord Krishna, 0 Lord, if people from the mortalworld come and live in your heavens, it is not going to be crowded.Why don't You let them come? They are suffering so much, and Youshould shower your Grace on them." Lord Krishna smiled and said,"Well, Narada, I give you the authority that all those who come with




should obey Them, in order t o get released from the suffering world-

what to speak about doing what they are saying We are not even readyto listen to them. That is why, like Narada, the Masters feel sadnesswhen the people from this world are not ready to go to Them.

Many times I have told this story about Sunder Das, an initiate ofBaba Sawan Singh, who used t o live with me. When he left the body,all three Masters - Baba Sawan Singh, Baba Jaimal Singh and MasterKirpal Singh-came to take his soul, and many people were presentwhen he left the body. When he was about to leave the body, I wascalled, because he was in another room. When I went to him, I askedhim if he had any worldly desires. (Six months before this, he had toldme that he was going to leave on a certain day, and I should preparehis coffin beforehand. So I had bought all the things and they werewith him.) So, when he was about to leave the body, I asked him, "Sun-der Das, do you have any desire of the world? Do you want anything?"He said, "No, I don't have any desire, I don't want anything-exceptone thing: that my sister should also be taken at the same time thatI am." He had one sister that was older than him; he was ninety yearsold when he left the body, and his sister was a little bit older. She wasvery much in pain, suffering a lot because of her old age; she didn'thave Naam initiation, and she had become so weak that she was notable to walk without the support of a stick. So when Sunder Das wasabout to leave the body he told me, "It will not make any differenceto the Master to shower grace on my sister, but if she can also be releasedat the same time, I will leave peacefully: I am worried about her." Sowhen he said this, I looked at that old woman and asked her "Are you

ready to go?" When she heard that I was asking her whether she wasready to go with Sunder Das or not, whether she was ready to leavethis world or not, she at once-with a lot of pain-got up somehow,and tried to stop Sunder Das from requesting me about taking her, andshe left the room, because she didn't want to leave. And after that,Sunder Das left the body peacefully.

That old lady spent the rest of her time in great pain, and she leftthe body with a lot of pain. At that time when Sunder Das was askingfor his sister's liberation, she was also in pain, but she was not readyto leave this world.

Once there was an old woman whose daughter became sick, and thatold woman always used to pray, 0 Lord, take me from this worldinstead of my daughter, because I am old, and I have seen this worlda lot, and I don't have any interest in living," and things like that. Onceit so happened that one cow wandered into the house and was lookingfor food. Somehow she got her head stuck in one big pot with a black



bo ttom . W hen the cow's head was in the po t, she could not see any-

thing, an d she rushed here and there frantically; she was afra id. Whenthat old woman saw her, she thought that it was the angel of death,and she at once said, "No, no,I am no t the person whom you shouldtake-she is lying in tha t bed " Fr om outside we may say tha t we areready to go, but when the time comes, it is seen that nobody is readyto go.

The object of the coming of such a person is

That in His company one remembers Naam.W hat is the point of o ur going to the beloved of G od? By going in thecom pany of the beloved of G od , we, the wandering ones, also remem-ber God, and we also start doing His devotion. As the iron floats onthe surface of the water, being accompanied by wood, in the same way,when we go in the company of the Master, we also get liberation.

He Himself is liberated, He liberates the world.Nanak says, I always bow to such a person.

The M ahatm a is a liberated one, and those who go to Him , they alsobecome liberated ones. Mahatmas make them do the meditation ofShabd Naam, and liberate them. That is why Guru Nanak says,

0 , eloveds of G od , your coming in this world was worth it; you arethe blessed ones because, giving one particle of Naam, you liberatedthe whole world." Master Saw an Singh used t o say that one genera tionof an initiate gets liberation, and many generations of those initiateswho d o meditation, get liberated; and one hundred and one genera-tions of G urumukh s get liberation; and the P ar am Sants- he PerfectMasters who come in to this world- iberate many generations as wellas everyone in their Sangat.



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ASHTAPADI TWENTY-FOUR 50 1

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ASHTAPADI TWENTY-FOUR

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wr&m by God



ASHTAPADI T W E N T Y- F O U R 505

Came t o t k ~e b g c dw Sadhu,say5Nmak.

He w2 t:hi.n whom it- dweh and wholz'itenst o it w i t h ove-

Juch a one always rern~mbtw God.



Chapter 24

Conclusion

I worshipped the Perfect Master, whose Naam isPerfect;

And I got the Perfect One-Nanak says, Sing Hispraise.

Once a disciple came to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj, and asked Him,"How did you get the perfect God? How did you get the perfect

Master?" We know that if anyone doesn't work really hard, even inhis worldly work, he cannot become successful. In this world there isno work, which-if someone wants to do it-cannot be done. If westart doing any work with strong determination, with strong faith inour own selves, with confidence, and we go on doing it lovingly, nodoubt it will take some time, but definitely the day will come when wewill be successful. I t is like an ant who tries to climb a wall. She reachesso high and she falls down; again she tries, and again she falls down.

She does not lose heart, she keeps on trying, and the time comes whenshe reaches the top.

Why do we go on saying all day long, "My mind is not still, I cannotkeep my mind still, I cannot take my soul up . . . " Why do we go oncomplaining all day long? Only because we do not meditate; we havebecome thieves of meditation. Read the history of any Mahatma whohas come into this world and you will find that They spent many nightsremaining awake; They suffered a lot, and after working so hard, They

were able to realize God. By reading the histories of the Mahatmas wecome to know how much love and faith They had for their Mastersand how, for Their Masters, They sacrificed many things, understand-ing them as little mean things.

Even though Kabir Sahib was a Param Sant, and He had come fromabove, He was already a Saint when He came into this world - till He



CONCLUSION 507

worked very hard a nd stayed up late in the night. In H is Bani H e has

written that, "Happy are the people of the world who eat and sleep,but unhappy is the slave Kabir, who remains up and weeps in the sepa-ration of God."

In the same way, Swami Ji Maharaj did meditation for seventeenyears, sitting in a secluded dark room, beginning at a very young age.

Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Ma ha raj also worked very hard in meditation .Even when H e was in the Army , an d ha d to fight on the battlefield,then also He continued doing His meditations.

In the same way, Baba Saw an Singh Ji M aha raj worked very h ard.H e stayed up all night many times, and for many days He would n otcome out of the meditation hall.

Master Kirpal Singh also worked very h ard . You know how He usedt o go and stand in the water of the River Ravi, an d all night long H ewould meditate in that place.

Mastana Ji used to say that those who wanted to see the result ofmeditation, they should see Kirpal Singh.

In the same way, Guru Nanak Dev Ji M ahara j also worked very hardfor eleven years. He did not sleep on a com fortable bed; H e used t osit on dry hay an d grass and m edita te.on that.

Regarding myself, you already know how I meditated for seventeenor eighteen years o n the first two words, and it was very hard wo rk,sitting underground. During that time I did not have any connectionwith the world and I bore the thirst and hunger. Those who were watch-ing me doing that work were saying that I was mad, or some ghost

had control of me. When Hazur Maharaj Kirpal showered grace onme a nd gave me the knowledge of the planes beyond the second plane,again I meditated for five or six years continuously, eventually in theunderground cave in16 PS . At th at time I had only one sevadar withme, whom I had told, "You should eat food whenever you w ant, a ndnot wait for me. Whenever I want, I will come out and eat food."

Why do Saints and Mahatmas work hard in meditation? This is ama tter of great understanding:if They are sent in this world by G od ,

and They are already perfected before coming into this world, why d oThey have to work so hard a nd m editate, and suffer many hardships?They d o all these things only because They want t o d em onstrate to peo-ple that nothing can be achieved in this world without working hard.Jus t as the melon changes color when it is in the com pany of the othe rripe melons, in the same way, when people come in the company ofthe Mahatmas and know that They have worked very hard in orderto achieve Go d, they realize tha t they also should meditate- ecausenothing can be achieved without working hard.




O ur soul is the essence of G od . W e have got this body only to pay

off o u r Ka rm a. Right now we ar e living in the physical bod y, an d wehave a physical mind and physical org ans of senses, which are not let-ting us go within . In this physical plane, M aya is manifested everywherean d B rahm , or the all-consciousness, is no t manifested. In Sahans-da lKanw al both M aya and B rahm a re equally manifested, an d in Triku tithe M aya is latent and the B rahm is manifested. So when o ur soul goesbeyond Trikuti, beyond the limits of the mind, then our soul is notaffected by Maya, because Maya does not exist beyond the second

plane. Usually the yogis do practices which enable them to reach upto th e second p lane, an d w hat they experience there, they und erstandas the Almighty One. In the beginning, Baba Bishan Das gave meknowledge only u p to th e Brahm , the second plane. A nd in the begin-ning he also used t o say tha t there was nothing beyond the B rahm , andthat Brahm was the Almighty Lord, the Creator.

So G uru A rjan Dev is here replying to the questions of th e disciple.H e is telling him, "Brother, I have meditated on the perfect N aam givento me by the perfect Master. And that is how I got the opportunityto do the devotion of the perfect God, and that is why I am singingHis Glory.

W hen Masters talk abo ut perfect Na am and perfect Masters, it natu -rally implies that there is som e imperfect m aster, o r imperfect Na am .Th e Perfect G od is sitting in theAnami place above Sach Kh and, a ndwhen it came in His Will, H e created Sach Khand and then H e camedown and He created Bhanwar Gupha, Daswan Dwar, Trikuti , andthen H e created Sahans-dal Kanwal, a nd even this world was createdby Him. He created the astral planes in which He put the gods andgoddesses. H e mad e the Negative Power a s the owner of all the astralplanes, an d H e gave all th e arrangemen ts of these planes to the N ega-tive Power. G uru N anak says tha t the kingdom of the divisions of thisworld, the world below, were given to the Negative Power by GodHimself.

The Gurumukh who is not affected by the three gunas is the realone, and H e gets the highest glory. So the Perfect Naam of G od can

be received from the Perfect Master, and Perfect Masters connect uswith that Perfect N aam . They have worked h ard , and th at is why theyinspire us to work har d, because we cann ot get anything in this worldwithout working hard . Sw ami Ji Ma haraj says that those who a re thethieves of meditation always remain in illusion. They get all kinds ofpain, they remain in laziness and sleep, they get kicked and knockedby lust and anger, and they drown in the river of greed.

Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say that mind may agree to stand



CONCLUSION 509

in front of a cannon, but he will not agree to sit for meditation. We

should not listen to our mind; we should not meditate understandingit as a burden, we should do it lovingly. Because the devotion of theAlm ighty Lo rd is a precious thing; it is the giver of real happiness an dcontentment; it is the destroyer of lust, anger, greed, attachm ent a ndegoism. It is the giver of real honor. Those who do the devotion ofthe Lord with their true heart- hose who search for God with theirtrue heart- hey definitely realize Him.

The devotees of the Lord are the dear children of God; we cannot

get this wealth of devotion of the Lord by ourselves, unless we go tothe Perfect Masters and get initiation into Naam from T hem . N aamis not a word. If it was a word, then why go to a Saint? We could haveeasily got it from some book . N aam is not a w ord:Naam is the atten-tion. Mahatmas give us the Naam which They have earned, and be-hind the Naam given to us by the Mahatmas, Their charging, Theirpower, is working.

Listen to the teachings of the Perfect Master

And see the Parbrahm as near.Listen to the teachings of the Perfect Master. If you do that, you willbe able to see the Almighty Lord within you , as nearer tha n the nearest.

Remember God with your every breathSo that the worries of your mind may go away.

Which k ind of Sim ran should we do? When we breathe in, we shoulddo Simra n; when we breathe ou t, then also ou r Simran should be go-

ing on; when we are sleeping, we should be doing Simran; when weare in the state of wakefulness, then also we should be doing Sim ran.No matter what we are doing, with every single breath the Simran shouldgo on happening with us.

Master Sawan Singh used to say tha t our m ind never has to d o any-thing, because we work in the world with our hands a nd feet. He usedto say tha t ou r hearts should always be towards ou r Beloved, no m at-ter what our hand s and feet are working at. G uru N anak says that the

devotee of God talks to the people with his tongue, but in his hearthe is always one with his Beloved. If we get the hab it of doing S imran ,then it does not make any difference if we are in crowded places, be-cause the de ar ones can do their Simran even in the crowded places."Wherever your mind is stilled, no matter if you a re in a crowded place,for you it is a secluded one."

Give up the bad desires and waves of the mind.0 mind, long for the dust of the Saints.




W e should have yearning- we should have longing- or realizing G od

within. A nd we should remove all the waves and fantasies of the w orldwhich are going on in our mind. Just as we use a broom to removedirt from a roo m , in the same way, we should use the broo m of Sim-ran to remove the rubbish, the waves and fantasies, from our mind.A nd if you want to ask anything from G od , you should ask only forthe du st of the feet of the M aster. G uru Sahib says, "Bathe in the du stof the Sadhu's feet, and sacrifice yourself on the Sadhu."

Give up the ego and pray;

And swim across the Ocean of Life in the Sadhu'scompany.

If there is any obstacle between us an d G od , that is the obstacle of ego-ism. S o eliminating your ow n self, m ake this request t o the AlmightyLo rd : that yo u will do His meditation an d always keep yourself in thecom pany of the Sadhu s. Because if we wan t to swim across the oceanof life, we can d o that o nly by keeping the com pany of th e M asters.

If an unkn ow n person comes to any city where he has never been,an d if he wants t o reach his destination, he will ask directions a t everysingle crossing . Even the n he will not be sure ab ou t reaching his desti-nation until he finally gets there. But if he has som eone with him w hoknows th at city, then h e will no t have to hesitate ab ou t anything; hewill not have to ask people where to go . H e will drive his car an d n otbe afr aid; he will no t have an y worries as to whether h e will reach hisdestination o r not. He has someone in his car who knows a bo ut theways and the directions in that city.

In the same way, we know nothing abou t the inner Pa th; we knownothing abo ut spirituality. Therefore it is very dangerou s fo r us to gowithin, unless we have a guide with us who knows about the inner P ath .If we have someone Who has travelled on that Path, Who has mani-fested that Path within Him, then we don't need to worry abou t anything.We know that He is with us, and He will take us to our destinationan d save us fro m all dangers. We don't have to worry a bo ut pitfalls,or anything which might come in our way.

Collect the wealth of God and fill up your store.Nanak bows down to the Perfect Master.

Whatever meditation we are doing from day to day is counted, andwe are collecting a big store of meditation. All the remembrance ofGo d which we have done- ven one moment's remem brance- s coun t-ed in ou r devotion. Don't ever think th at w hatever time you are devot-ing is no t being coun ted. Master knows ab ou t ou r devotion; He know s



CONCLUSION 511

how much we have done. He is perfecting ou r path of meditation, and

when the time com es, He hands it over to us. S o here H e says, "Youcollect the wealth of the devotion of Lord." Guru Nanak says,I

sacrifice myself o n the Perfect Master, becauseI have been able to d othis only with the Grace of the Master."

Well being, happiness, comfort and joy-In the company of the Sadhus remember the

Supreme Joy.

Master will take you t o your real home. Happily, lovingly, and aftersaving you from all types of dangers, he will take you to that placewhere there is complete and supreme bliss. Kabir Sah ib says,0 Kabir,in the company of the Saint, the Lord is remembered. Only the mo-ments which are spent in the com pany of the Master are counted. Allother moments are useless, because we don't remember God in thosemoments."

Thereby save your soul from the fires of hell.

Drink the nectar of the Praise of God.W hat is the use of doing the meditation of N aam? By meditating o nNaa m, you will be having pity on your own Se lf, and you will be sav-ing your soul from hell. Guru Nanak says, " 0 , Nanak, nobody willescape without the protection of Naam."

Meditate upon One God alone in your heart.He has one Form but many manifestations.

No matter w hat we are doing, Go d should dwellin our h eart an d weshould always go on remembering Him , because whatever we are see-ing with our eyes is all His play, all His Glory.

He is the Sustainer, the Holder of Maya and He ismerciful to the suffering ones.

He is the destroyer of miseries and the perfect Gra-cious One.

God always showers grace on everyone, and He always removes thepain of the people, an d in His home, H e gives a place to all wh o reachthere. And He is merciful; He always showers His Grace and Mercyo n the people.

Do Simran of Naam again and again.Nanak says, This is the only support of the Soul.

Now the Master says, "Don't think that you have done enough Sim-ran." H e says, "No, you can never do enough Simran. Again and again




go on doing Simran, because if there is any medicine which can liber-

ate our soul and remove our pain, that is the medicine of Simran; themedicine of Naam and Shabd."

The words of the Sadhu are the best hymns.These are priceless rubies and gems.

The words of the Saints and the Mahatmas are precious. You cannotbuy them at any cost; they are priceless. And they are the best words.Whatever They say is for the benefit of the dear ones, for the benefitof the whole creation.

He who listens to and acts upon them is liberated.He swims across and makes others swim across.

Those who listen to the words of the Master, and who practice the wordsof the Master, do get liberation for their own self; but they liberateand improve the condition of other people, also. Kabir Sahib says thatif the love for the Master is maintained throughout one's lifetime, thenwhat to speak about one's own liberation - uch a person can liberate

millions of other souls.Successful is His life and successful is His company.The one whose mind is dyed in the color of God.

Such a Mahatma's life is successful, and so is the time which we spendin His company because He is always dyed in the color of the devotionof the Lord. Day and night, He is in the remembrance of AlmightyGod. Guru Nanak says, "Blessed is that day when I met the Sadhu."

The limitless Shabd within Him sings His victory.He hears it and happily glorifies God.,God is manifested i n the forehead of the Saint.Nanak says, Many people are saved in His company.

Where in the body of the Mahatma is the Lord manifested? In the fore-head of the Mahatma, and by remaining in the company of such a One,we can get liberation.

Those who are worthy of taking refuge in Him, cometo Him-

Lord, shower grace and unite us.

Now Guru Arjan Dev is telling His disciple that those who are worthyof coming in the refuge of the Masters-that is, those who will makeuse of what they are given-only they are brought by God into therefuge of the Masters. And God Himself makes all those arrangementsfor them.



CONCLUSION 513

Our enmities vanish and we are dust under every-

one's feet,Uttering the nectarful Naam in the company of theSaints.

When Naam manifests within us, then we no longer think, Whomshould we criticize? W ho should be ou r enemy? W ho is not o urs? andso forth. Because when we see God sitting in everyone, if we criticizeanyone , it means tha t we are criticizing God ; if we think of him as ourenemy, an d we see that G od is sitting within him, it means tha t we aremaking God our enemy. So when God is sitting within everyone, andwe see Him sitting everywhere, we make ourselves very humble. Pa ltuSahib says, "You should make your m ind thin. When you mak e yourmind thin, the n you start doing the real devotion. W hen you s tart do -ing the real devotion, you will consider yourself as the most humbleone. So give up discriminating and finding fault with people, an d don'tcomp lain." Guru Nanak also says, "Don't think ill of other s. In tha tway you will not have any bad reaction."

The Gurudev has now been pleased.The Seva of the servants is accepted.

If we adopt humility within, if we give up egoism, and if we see andthink that all people are the children of G od - when we have such anattitude, only then our M aster is pleased with us, an d opens His d oo rfor us. He accepts the seva of only such disciples.

They remain free from entanglements and sins;They hear and repeat the Naam of Lord with onetongue.

Such people always remain unaffected by the entanglements and theproblems of the world. Whenever they open their mo uth , they will speakthe G lory of G od . We will see tha t whenever any beloved of God saysanything, he will be praising God.

God has kindly showered His grace;Nanak says, One cargo has been accepted.

It was not within our ability to love all; it was not within our effortsto understand all as the children of Go d. It was the Grace of o ur M asterthat we have maintained this, and made our lives successful.

Once there was a Sadhu who was taunted by a wom an. T hat w omanwould ask him, "Do you have a beard on your face or a bush?" Buttha t Sadhu always kept quiet. When his end-time came, he told the peo-



CONCLUSION 515

such a person becomes the highest one in this world and H e gets honor ;

He becomes the owner of all creation.He gets to the Highest Place;He no more comes and goes.

H e goes back to theAnami place which is the highest plane, and Godmakes Him one with Him . When G od brings back any soul from thesuffering world, that soul never comes back into the suffering worldagain.

He leaves this world with the well-earned wealth ofNaam-

He who has obtained the gift of the Sukhmani, saysNanak.

H e knows that the Naam is the only thing that will go with H im , an dH e takes only the meditation of N aam with Him . But who carries thewealth of Naam with him? Only those who are chosen by God-on

whom God is gracious; and w ho are sent in this world to do the devo-tion of Lord.

Well-being, peace, the supernatural powers, the ninetreasures,

Wisdom, knowledge, all spiritual powers,

Mahatmas d o not exhibit their supernatur al powers, a nd they d o notmake prophesies. If they want, they can, because they have thosepowers- they have got them without working for them. The supernatu-ral powers are the slaves of those who do meditation. Mahatmas donot allow their disciples to perfo rm miracles or to use their supernaturalpowers. That is why they say, "Whenever you get any experiences,whenever you see anything, don't tell the people and don't misuse them."Kabir says, "Like chemicals are absorbed in the bones, we should a b-sorb the Naam within ourselves."

Learning, austerities, yoga, contemplation of Lord.

The best knowledge and the most purifying baths,They a re aware of all kinds of knowledge, and they know every yogasystem. Yoga means the union with G od . They know everything, andfor them it is not difficult to talk with a disciple in the language ofthe disciple. But they do no t do such surprising, such miracle-like things,in this world. W ithin, where the soul talks with the Shabd , there is nolanguage as such, there is no speech; when the soul talks with theAlmighty Lord , they talk like we are talking outside. Hazrat Bahu has




said, "Within, nobody teaches, nobody learns, and n o stories o r state-

ments are given there." G uru Nanak says, "The soul who doe s the de-votio n of the L or d, n o m atter if she is learned o r illiterate, she realizesHim."

Four boons, the enlightenment of the soul,Detachment while living amidst all,

The Lotus, the heart , of such a Mahatma always remains in bloom,an d H e does not have any sadness. H e has all the fo ur bounties(Kama,

Artha, Dharma, Moksha) in his power, and even though He is livingin this world, H e is not affected by its dirt. H is attention is always onHis destination. His attitude is like that traveler who does not getstopped by a ny hindrances or obstacles, and keeps on moving towardHis destination.

Beauty, intelligence, the knowledge of reality,The quality of looking at everyone alike.

H e is beautiful; H e looks at everyone alike, and H e is very wise. H edoes not become the equal of Go d; H e understands Himself as a dearSon of God.

All these blessings are bestowed upon One whorecites

And hears the Naam of the Master with concentratedmind, says Nanak.

W ho gets all these qualities? Only those who obey the instructions ofthe Master, and those who accept the very word of the Master as acommandment- hose who d o their devotion an d serve their M asterwith love and faith for H im. If we do no t have faith in H im , we can-not travel on the inner path.If we do not have love for H im, we can-no t see Him , even though H e is sitting within us. But H e knows howmuch love and faith we have in Him. If we do not have enough loveand faith in Him, He will not open His door for us.

This is a Treasure: whosoever repeats it in his mindIs liberated in all the Ages.

Go lden Age, Silver Age, Cop per Age, an d this present Iro n Age- Thereare just four ages, an d on e comes after the oth er. In all the fou r ages,Naam is the only way of getting liberation. But who gets the wealthof Naam?

The Praises of the Lord and the constant listening toNaam



CONCLUSION 517

Are also described in the Simritis, Shastras and

Vedas.By repeating the words, "Govind, Govind," or "God, God," we can-not get God . We have tolisten to G od. G uru Nanak says that repeat-ing the word "Govind" is useless for listening to H im , we have to g oto the perfect Master W ho makes us listen to the So und. Guru Nanakhas described that very power, using the words, "The Sound of theLord," "The Voice of God." The Muslim fakirs also described tha t sam epower as "The Sound of God; the sound coming from the other world."All the Vedas and Shastras describe the glory of that Naam, which iscoming from Sach Khand and is sounding in our forehead. Guru Na -nak has said that the Bani of the Perfec t M aster resides within every-one. The perfect Master listens to that Bani Himself and makes thosewho come to Him also listen.

The Naam of Lord is the fundamental teaching ofreligions.

It resides in the devotee of Lord.

Hundreds of wise people have the same thing to offe r; foolish peoplewill each have their own thing. You can read the writing of any Ma-hatma, and you will find that in all the scriptures, there is a descrip-tion of the meditation of Shabd Naam.

Millions of sins are erased in the company of theSadhu.

With the grace of the Saint one becomes free fromYama.

N o matter how bad o ur sins, our karmas, are, we should not be afraidof them ; we should come in the company of the M aster. But when wecome to the Masters, after that we should not do them again. Whenwe go to the M asters and repent for o ur sins, then the Masters do notgive us to the Angels of Death. If we have to face the Angels of Deatheven afte r going to the M aha tma , and if we still have to suffer the pains

of the Angels of Dea th-if at the time of death the Satguru does no tcome to take us- then what is the use of going to such a Mahatm a?But what can the poor Master do , if the disciples keep on making th emistakes -if they do not listen to what the Master is saying, and if theircondition is like tha t blowpipe which does not absorb any wind in it?Then what can the Master do?

We people take Na am initiation, and we continue indulging in lust,anger, greed, attachment and egoism. Whatever we were doing before




coming to th e path, we continue doing that. H ow can we gain any-

thing f rom th e Naam initiation? I have said man y times that wheneverany initiated person does any bad thing that is against the teachingsof th e Master, the Negative Pow er laughs at the Master and says, "Looka t him You gave initiation to him and look at wh at he is doing " ButMasters are very patient, they have a very big h eart; they always say,"No, he will com e back an d he will understand his mistake." Wheneverwe come in the com pany of the Masters, we sto p doing the b ad things.But when we have to face the world, again we forget ou r promises an d

become one with the world and start doing them again.The gracious sight (the darshan) that we get of the Master is usedup in washing our sins an d again we make o ur soul dirty with the d irtof lust, anger- nd when we go to the M aster, H is Grace, His gracioussight, is again used for our purification. If we work hard, and keepourselves pure, then the gracious sight of the Master, which we nowuse for purifying ourselves over an d over again, co uld be used fo r up-lifting our soul. In that way, we could be successful in no time.

Those on whose forehead such fate is written by GodCome to the refuge of the Sadhu, says Nanak.

Again and again Guru Sahib is emphasizing this point: The ones inwhose fate Go d writes this line-that they are supposed to meet theMaster, that they are supposed to do devotion, and g o back to theirreal home-only such chosen souls come in the company of the Master,n o matter if H e is living thousands of miles away fro m them ; they come

to the Master anyway, and get the knowledge of Naa m, an d d o thedevotion an d go back t o their ho me. But the ones in whose fate thisline is no t written by the Almighty L or d- no matter how hard theytry, they can never com e in the com pany of the M aster, get initiation,and go back t o their real home. No other rite and ritual- o oth er prac-tice of religion-is equal to Naam . Nan ak says that, "Those who havegot the Naam are the mo st blessed ones, because they are entitled tothe right to go back to their real home."

He, within whom it dwells and who listens to it withlove -

Such a one always remembers God.

God starts dwelling within the heart of such a devotee who does thedevotion of Shabd Naam with all his faith, with all his love, whole-heartedly. Heart talks to heart. When you are remembering anyone,at the same time he is remembering you.



CONCLUSION 519

God removes his pains of birth and death.

The Priceless human body is made successful in amoment.

He gets rid of the pain, the disease, of this birth and death, and Hemakes the precious human body come into its true worth. He makesit successful.

Rabia Basri was a famous meditator M ahatma among the Muslims.She was a woman Saint, and once it happened that She didn't get upfor m editation early in the morning. O n that day, all He r disciples had

the experience that She had died. But when they came t o see the deadbody of the Master, they saw that Rabia was still living there. So theysaid , "We had this experience tha t You had left the body." T hen R abiaconfessed, "Yes, my condition was like tha t- hat I had left- ecauseI didn't get up for meditation." Whenever you wake up in anyone'sremembrance, whenever you sit in meditation in the remembrance ofthe Master, He also comes there; He also sits with you. A nd when theMaster does no t get up - when He does not meditate- it means tha t

He is no more in this world.He earns pure glory, His words are full of Nectar;God's Naam alone is absorbed in his mind.

Master's Glory is true; His Glory is pure; His Glory is high. And inthe words spoken by the Maste r-the Nectar is flowing.

Pains, diseases, fear and illusions, all these areremoved.

His Name is Sadhu, His deeds are pure.Unhappiness, sadness, pain, and bad Karmas are removed, and theybecome of pure karma. Of whom is this true? "Of the ones we call'Sadhus'- who are doing the meditation of Shabd Naam, who becomepure in their heart and w ho take their souls back to Sach Khand, Onlythey should be called 'Sadhus'." SwamiJi M ahara j says, 0 , brother,I call them Saints who take their souls to Sat Lok."

I have said that Saints have one foo t in the world a nd the other onein Sach Khand. Whenever He closes His eyes, He is with God; He isin Sach Khand; and whenever He opens His eyes he is back in the world.

His glory becomes the highest of all;Nanak says, Through this quality the Naam of the

Lord is called SUKHMANI.

Th e Glory of that M aha tma is very high; He w ho does the devotion,His Glory becomes very high. Nanak says that, "This is the quality of




the Suk hm ani." Th is is th e Bani which gives happiness; like th at jewel,

it brightens us w ithin. In this Bani, w hatever subject Gur u A rja n D evJi M aha raj touched, H e clarified t hat subject a great deal.If He tookthe subject of Simran, H e said a lot abo ut doing Sim ran. H e told usthe benefits of Simran, and how we should do it. If He was talkingabout love for the Master and faith in Him, He said a lot about it;how we should love Him, and what kind of love we should have forH im . If H e commented on th at which is the m ain hindrance betweenus an d G od , H e said a lot abo ut it: criticism. H e said tha t criticismis the sweet disease from which everybody is suffering. And when Hetalked abou t the devotion of the Lord, an d how we should remain happyin the W ill of G od , H e told us a lot; H e emphasized all these subjects.

The Jewel of Happiness

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