Guru Nanak's father bought a shop for his son in the hope that he would become a businessman. One day, Guru Nanak was weighing something and when the scales reached thirteen, he was struck by the thought, ‘What is mine? What did I bring with me when I came into this world?' Other philosophers have also said, “You came into this world with clenched fists and you will leave it with your hands outstretched.”
Guru Nanak thought, ‘Nothing belongs to me, everything is yours, Lord' and he gave away everything in the store. Although he was not a good businessman in the worldly sense, he was so successful in the ‘business' of Holy Name that his name is still glorified. We celebrate the annual festival of Vaisakhi on April 13 th and behind this festival is a spirit of dedication, because without surrender nothing has any value for us. One should not feel vanity with God, but surrender. A saint called Swami Ram lived in the Tehri Mountains . One day the King of Tehri came to know that a recluse resided there. He asked who this recluse was and was told that he is Swami Ram, a great philosopher. The King was inspired to go and see him. He said, “Sir, you are a saint. You have surrendered your life to God. I am a king and I perform religious duties and give charity, but sometimes it seems to me that there is no such thing as God or a Holy Name, even though we have been taught and it has been impressed upon us that this is the basis of our religion.” Swami Ram laughed and said, “Okay, what you say is correct. I will try to explain it to you.” He asked for a pen, saying, “I want to write something.” The King took a pen out of his pocket and gave it to him. Swami Ram asked, “Whose pen is this?” The King of Tehri said, “It is mine.”
Swami Ram said, “Understand the question and tell me again, to whom does this pen belong?” The King answered, “It is mine.”
Swami Ram said, “But this pen is not you.” The King replied, “The pen is mine, but I am not this pen.” Then Swami Ram lifted the King's hand and asked, “Whose hand is this?” The King said, “This is my hand.” Swami Ram replied, “Okay. This is your hand, but you are not this hand.” The King said, “Correct. This is only my hand, my limb. How can a limb be me?”
So Swami Ram came to the point of his argument and said, “This is your eye, but you are not this eye. This is your hair, but you are not this hair. This is your skin, but you are not this skin. All these things are yours, but you are not these things. So what are ‘you'?”
An intellectual cannot answer this question because that thing, which can only be seen by spiritual insight, is extremely subtle. It is so subtle that it cannot be seen with these mortal eyes. If a person has a blood disorder the doctor takes a sample of his blood and places it under a microscope. The sample is magnified to such an extent that, by seeing the corpuscles, the doctor can tell what is wrong with that blood. In the same way, Knowledge ‘magnifies' God, it brings God so close that we can experience Him in every speck of creation. So it is most essential to bring the Knowledge of the Holy Name into your life.
Only a spiritual master can give this Knowledge. It is said, “Water holds the pitcher together; without water you can't make a pitcher. The mind can be contained by the Knowledge of the Holy Name, but you cannot get this Knowledge without Guru.” A potter takes earth, pounds it, adds water and then makes the pot. Without water he cannot make a pot. In the same way, you can't have Knowledge of the Name without a realised master. A saint can bring a devotee close to God. But today people go on pilgrimages, see some shrines and then go home. Why do they put God so far away? If He is omnipresent, why do they think that He is in a certain place and that if they go there they will see Him? The meaning of the word ‘Rama' is, “that which pervades everything”. So if the Lord is omnipresent, if He is the indwelling Reality who is the doer of everything, why have we enshrined Him so far away? Why don't we keep Him close to us? The saints gave that Knowledge which brought devotees close to God and manifested Him.
Now I want to ask you, what is the Name of God? It is said, “There are thousands of names for God but they won't liberate you. Only a rare person knows the primordial Name which is remembered silently within.”
There are thousands of names. Everyone has his or her own name. We speak someone's name to call him, to remember him or to keep his memory fresh in our minds. However, these names are given after we are born, so what was our name before we were born, which is beyond language and all vocal sounds? What is that primordial name which is remembered secretly, which is known by only a rare soul?
In the Old Testament there is the story of the Tower of Babel . A lot of people started building this Tower and it grew very tall and would at some time reach Heaven. God decided that He had to do something to prevent this. So, one night, when all the workers were asleep, He changed their single language into many languages. When they woke up the next morning they all began speaking different languages and no one could understand the others.
The idea behind this story is that people are limited and divided by language. I speak Hindi, but if I go to France no one will understand me. If I want to make myself understood I will have to speak French. If I go to any country at all I will not be understood until I speak the local language. Every country has borders within which people use a particular language. If the Knowledge, if the Holy Name of God were limited by language, it would also be confined to a certain area. But the True Name, the Holy Name, breaks the bonds of language. It is omnipresent and can be ‘spoken' in all lands. It exists within everything and cannot be confined by the limitations of language.
There is a story in Hindu mythology that Parvati used to recite a thousand names of God before eating her meals. One day she was delayed so Lord Shiva said, “Parvati, you're going to be late. If you have to chant all thousand names, when will you eat? I can tell you a shortcut. I'll tell you a Name which is more powerful than even thousands of other names and which is beyond language.” Parvati eagerly asked to be shown this easy way. Then Lord Shiva explained that the Divine Name, which dwells within every heart and in which the Yogis dwell through meditation, is more powerful than thousands of other names.
If God dwells in the hearts of all, if He is omnipresent, can He be confined to any language? The holy Name is described as being beyond mind, speech and intellect. It has nothing to do with words. It is a transcendental knowledge that you have to receive from a living Spiritual Master. However, someone cannot be benefitted by the Master until he opens his heart and becomes receptive to the words of the saints. Arjuna surrendered to Lord Krishna, saying, “Please tell me what is best for me. Show me the best way.” Then the Lord said, “I am pleased with you because you have a special quality – you don't see faults or evil in anybody. Therefore I will reveal to you this secret, eternal and supreme Knowledge.”
This Knowledge has the capacity to change society, to transform mankind. If I turn on a light here, I will have light, but it won't be strong enough to light up every home in this town. Everyone has to switch on the lights in his own home. But sunlight is so powerful that all lights fade before it. When the sun rises, not only this town but the whole country is lit up. However, I am talking about experiencing the sun which, if it rises in your life, will not only illuminate you but your society and country as well. The Gayatri Mantra says, “O God, You are Light and I meditate on You!”
Now, to do meditation you have to concentrate your mind – meditation has nothing to do with speech. Just by saying, “Water, water, or “Food, food” my hunger and thirst will not be satiated. Thirst is quenched only by drinking water. By saying ‘water' I can have it brought to me, but I will have to drink it myself.
So we have to realise this practical spiritual Knowledge, this supreme light which is beyond words. All scriptures talk about it. Moses, on top of Mount Sinai , saw God within a burning bush and talked with Him. Jesus Christ said, “God is Light and in Him there is no darkness.” Lord Krishna also talked about this Light of lights, saying, “Even the light of a thousand suns cannot compare with my Light, which is indescribable and powerful in every way.” So what is this Light?
Scientists say that light is invisible. You may wonder then how are we seeing this stage and everyone present? You are seeing me but you are not seeing light itself. Light travels from a bulb to me and lights up my clothes, skin and so on. You can see this, but you cannot see the travelling light. When light falls on an object, we see that object, but we cannot see light itself. We cannot see light with these two eyes but we definitely see objects illuminated by light. The moon is illuminated by the sun. We see the moon, but we cannot see those rays of light which make it shine. Similarly, we cannot see the divine Light with these mortal eyes. It is experienced within oneself, not outside, but everyone is wandering around in the external world. You may go to the moon or Mars, but even after doing all this will you know what is the origin of life? No one knows. Scientists cannot solve the riddle of death. They can transfuse blood or transplant hearts and eyes. They can replace broken bones with artificial ones, but about this breath saints have said, “Your precious breath, which is worth all the wealth of the three worlds, is being wasted and all the wealth of the three worlds cannot buy you another breath”.
There is no doctor or scientist who can transplant this vital energy. A creature's life force cannot be transplanted. All creatures, no matter how they are born, are dependent on this vital energy. It is the very foundation of life. Everything is sustained by it, but we have forgotten all about it. So come to the saints and realise this power within the breath, this foundation of life.
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