It
has been said that a river does not drink its own water, a tree does
not eat its own fruit and saints come only for the sake of others.
Kabir, the Indian mystic poet, describes the greatness of saints in
these words: “God is like the ocean, and saints are the rainclouds; God
is the sandalwood tree and saints are the breeze which carries the
fragrance.” God is within every heart, but is experienced only by the
grace of a living enlightened saint. Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was one such
saint, who dedicated his life to making available to one and all the
paravidya–the practical spiritual Knowledge which leads to liberation.
www.manavdharam.org
The
sage of the Taittirya Upanishad praises the paravidya, saying, “The
Knowledge which I have transmitted to you is my commandment. This is the
essence of the Vedas and is the sovereign secret. This is the
injunction of the Vedas and other scriptures. Practice this Knowledge
and live according to it” (11-6). For four decades, Shri Maharaj Ji
worked tirelessly to offer this path, which had well-nigh vanished from India,
to all aspirants irrespective of caste or creed. Undoubtedly history
will testify that this unique spiritual personality cleansed religion of
the dross of ritual and superstition that had obscured it, and
broadened the spiritual horizon of millions of people. He revealed to
all aspirants their living, conscious spiritual core. He revealed the
foundation which underlies all religions and which is their common
factor. He claimed that the ritualistic and ceremonial aspects of
religions which make them seem different are merely the outer robes.
www.manavdharam.org
This
human life is a very rare and precious thing. Effort can give you
anything - except birth as a human being, which is given by the grace of
God. In the Gita (11:25-26, 54) Lord Krishna says, "This Knowledge is
not attained by sacrificial rituals, religious ceremonies, reciting
scriptures, studying the Vedas or through strenuous austerities - it is
found only through unbroken devotion."
www.manavdharam.org
Religion
has become almost a non-entity, and, more alarmingly, is being used to
motivate and rationalize violent behavior. The mushrooming of sects is
due to the ignorance of the Truth. But a religion which cannot save us
is no religion at all. What is called religion these days is
destructive, divisive and spreads confusion rather than enlightenment.
www.manavdharam.org
what
is continuous devotion? Unbroken means non-stop. As St. Kabir said,
"You turn a rosary between your fingers and your tongue around in your
mouth, but your mind goes in all directions. This is not remembrance."
Non-stop remembrance or meditation is that which can be practiced all
the time. Guru Nanak Dev Ji also talked about it. He said, " Remember
the Name while sitting, standing, sleeping or awake and everything you
do will be perfect."
www.manavdharam.org
Krishna
also explained (in the Gita). "If a person remembers Me as he dies he
will surely come to me." But if you don't even know yet what it is you
have to be aware of as you die, how will you do it when the time comes?
Think about it.
www.manavdharam.org
Lord
Rama explained that one is most fortunate if born as a human being,
because the human form is just right for meditation and is the doorway
to liberation. If, having got such an opportunity one fails to realize
his Self, he will bitterly regret it, wrongly blaming circumstances,
karma, and God.
www.manavdharam.org
God
is omnipresent, and is in you too. Meditating on God is devotion.
Anything else you may do is not. For instance, you throw water at the
sun and call that devotion. But it is devotion to the sun. How can it be
called devotion to God? The saints and sages meditated within
themselves - "Remembrance is through focusing your attention, it is not
verbal. Close the outer doors and open the inner..."
www.manavdharam.org
Unbroken
devotion to God happens through the heart, not through the senses. His
form is beautiful Light that frees from all sorrow. "Devotion is like a
beautiful crown-jewel. The Divine Light shines day and night, needing
neither lamp, oil, nor wick." When you know this devotion, you will be
purified, you will cross the ocean of existence. It is written in the
Ramayana, "Rama gathered an army and built a bridge with great effort,
whereas simply remembering the Name dries up the ocean of birth and
death. The wise should think about this." It also says, "How can the
Name be glorified adequately? Even Rama couldn't praise it enough."
www.manavdharam.org
What Name could dry up the ocean of life and death? .
It cannot be expressed in alphabetical letters: "O Nanak, remember the
Name which sustains earth and water. Why remember another which has a
beginning and end?"
www.manavdharam.org
Whatever
people do - business, a job, even stealing or cheating - they do to
make a profit, they do it in their own interest. Likewise, devotion is
in your own interest, but what you call devotion won't profit you at
all: "There are thousands of names in this world but they won't liberate
you and only a rare person knows the Original Name which is remembered
in silence within," and "Tantras and mantras are not the real thing, so
don't be fooled. You cannot cross the ocean of life if you don't know
the Name which is the Universal Essence."
www.manavdharam.org
"If
your mind is running all over the place, what you are doing is not
meditation." As you are breathing your last, you won't be able to
perform rites and rituals or go on a pilgrimage, etc. Your mouth will be
shut tight and your hands and feet rigid. You will no longer hear nor
see. Before we were born, what did we do in the way of devotion? We have
forgotten our original devotion and involved ourselves in artificial
methods. So know what genuine devotion is and remember God non-stop. You
ask how it is possible to continually meditate and yet do your daily
tasks. But for example, while you are riding a bicycle or driving a car,
you do other things at the same time. Animals can wiggle their ears or
wag their tail while they do other things and you are human beings! But
until you focus your mind in the real devotion (remembering the Name)
you will not get salvation.
www.manavdharam.org
Satsang
tells us about Knowledge. Satsang is the medium for determining what
Truth is. So, dear friends, God is your Eternal Companion. Know Him.
www.manavdharam.org
People
say they have a guru but they don't see Light. If you aren't seeing
Light then what good is such a guru? The definition of Guru is, "the one
who reveals Light." As Tulsidas said, "I offer my obeisance to my Guru,
who is an ocean of mercy and God in human form. His word, like
sunbeams, has dispelled the darkness of ignorance and attachment for
me." If you want True Knowledge, then you will have to find Satguru and
take shelter in him.
www.manavdharam.org
Meditate
on the Guru, Have faith in his Name.Keep his lotus feet in your heart.
Always regard him as God incarnate. Make no mistake about it, Without
Guru there is no salvation.
www.manavdharam.org
`Actually,
the real greatness of Guru Maharaj Ji cannot be expressed in words.
Merely by remembering Guru, countless obstacles are removed. That is why
saints remember him before starting to do anything.'
www.manavdharam.org
'The toenails of the Master's feet are lustrous and concentrating on them opens up one's inner vision.' When
the nails of the Master's holy feet begin to shine within the devotee's
heart, he achieves divine insight, and there no more darkness for him.
However, only an extremely fortunate devotee achieves such a vision, and
he then begins to understand all facets of the Lord, both hidden and
manifested. In other words, by meditation on Guru, his eyes are opened.
This is the greatest of all benefits and there are no bad effects. A
piece of cloth which is only a little dirty can be easily cleaned, but a
cleaning rag which has not been washed for many days takes a long time
to come clean again and a lot of effort is needed to clean it, too.
Likewise, a devotee who immediately throws himself into satsang, service
and meditation is quickly cleaned. Otherwise it takes a long time and
who can say for sure how clean he'll be? That is why it is said that
`Guru is the washerman and the devotee is the cloth.' A washerman soaps
up the clothes and pounds them on a stone slab to clean them, and Guru
Maharaj Ji uses the soap of Holy Name on his disciple. The washerman
uses a stone slab, while Guru uses the washing stone of meditation. The
cloth becomes clean and shines with dazzling brightness.
www.manavdharam.org
"In
the river of bondage to maya, all are swept out to sea, Guru's boat is
the Holy Name. In seconds he has set us free. Religions harp their own
glory and call us to follow their path. The essence of all was revealed,
Guru sets us on the true Path.
Nectar from Satguru's feet
Is holy and cleans us from our sins.
When he speaks darkness flies away,
Doubts removed, a new life begins.
Dedicate your body, mind, wealth,
Dedicate your all at his holy feet and attain the Supreme Abode."
www.manavdharam.org
Guru's
omnipresent form is the Holy Name. He assumes human form only for the
sake of mankind and to teach. That is why he is said to be beyond
senses, mind and intellect. It is impossible to measure him by any
standard.
www.manavdharam.org
The
Ramayana glorifies the Name, saying, "Hanuman meditated on the Name and
had Lord Rama in the palm of his hand. Lord Shiva himself meditated on
the Name and initiated the people of Kashi so that they would be
liberated. Ganesh thoroughly understands the greatness of the Name,
which is why he is worshiped before the other gods."
www.manavdharam.org
Tulsidas
says, "Rama gathered an army of Vanaras and built a bridge to Lanka,
but remembering the Name dries up the ocean of mortality itself. Rama
himself redeemed only the sage's wife, whereas the Name has redeemed
countless sinners." Tulsidas asks, "How can someone like me hope to
adequately praise this Name, when even Lord Rama himself couldn't?"
www.manavdharam.org
"Lord
Shiva realized this Name, by whose effect poison didn't do him any
harm." When Draupadi was being disrobed in front of the entire Court and
realized that no one would defend her honor she remembered the Holy
Name and the wicked Duryodhana couldn't do anything to her.
www.manavdharam.org
You
have seen Shiva statues in temples. He is sitting with eyes closed, in
samadhi. He is neither twisting a rosary, nor going to a temple. Also
Guru Nanak is depicted as sitting in meditation, with eyes closed. So
what are they doing? St.
Kabir said, "Merge your mind in meditation, speaking is not necessary.
Close the outer doors and open the inner." He is telling us to put the
mind into the Holy Name. You may think that doing things with your eyes,
ears, hands and feet is devotion. Stop this and close them. Don't
direct your mind outwards. Become introspective. See God within.
www.manavdharam.org
The
house has several rooms. What will a sensible person do at night? He
will close the doors of the house. Then he can do whatever he likes
without a care and outsiders will not be able to bother him. Likewise,
when all senses are closed off, then anger, lust, attachment, greed,
etc. cannot disturb us. When our concentration is inwardly directed, we
see divine Light. Now, after that, do you think you need to fast, take
holy baths, go on pilgrimage, etc.? Won't your attention stay
introverted all the time? If we can keep our mind attuned to the True
Name 24 hours a day, then at the time of death we'll be able to remember
it also and we'll go to God. There's no telling when this body will be
vacated or how. You might get struck by lightening, or encounter a lion
in the jungle. You might slip and break your neck, or drown, or die in
an earthquake. If it is night time, tell me, what religious services,
rituals, pilgrimages, or recitations will you be able to do?
www.manavdharam.org
This
is why St. Kabir said, "What guarantee does this body have? It can be
finished off in a second. Remember the Holy Name with every breath.
There is no other way." This is the only way to reach God, because you
just don't know when your time will come. In the Gita, Lord Krishna
explains the same thing to Arjuna: "Remember me at all times and fight.
If you surrender yourself to me like this, without a doubt you will come
to me." This happens through practice and satsang.
www.manavdharam.org
In
the course of explaining the nine-fold path of devotion to Bhilni, Lord
Rama said, "The first step in devotion is keeping the company of
saints. The second is listening to satsang about me with love and
attention, and inwardly digesting what you hear. Just by hearing about
something, the desire to know it arises."
www.manavdharam.org
Many
saints have described the greatness of satsang. St. Kabir said, "Joy or
misery depends on the company you keep…...a perfumer may not give
anything to you, yet fragrance goes everywhere he does." When St. Kabir
was summoned to heaven he was sitting in satsang. He said, "God called
me and I wept, because all the joys of heaven can not compare to the joy
of satsang." He also said that satsang has instantaneous effects.
Persons with a crow-like nature become like cuckoos, whose voice is
pleasing to the ear. Crane-like people turn into swans, which can
separate milk and water. Only because of satsang did the bandit Ratnakar
become a sage.
www.manavdharam.org
Two
friends went to another town. One was rich so stayed at a hotel and
visited the entertainment spots. The other was poor, but he went to
satsang. Once he was returning from satsang and a long nail pierced his
foot and made him lame. The rich friend found a treasure chest, but when
he opened it he saw that only one golden coin was left and all the rest
had turned to dust. The rich one said, "I told you you'd get nothing
out of satsang but you wouldn't listen to me. Now look at you! You'd
have been better off if you'd stayed with me."
The
poor man told the whole story to his Guru, who explained, "You were to
be killed today, but due to the effect of satsang, all you got was that
nail. Your friend found a treasure chest, but because he criticized
satsang, all but one coin had turned to dust."
www.manavdharam.org
Even
the joy and blessedness of heaven cannot compare with satsang. That is
why you should hear satsang daily, serve Guru Maharaj with body and
mind, and remember the Holy Name. Then you will grow spiritually. It is
like a tripod. If one of the legs breaks it is useless. One realizes the
Master through meditation and detachment. Thus it is said, "The Guru is
generous and compassionate. He will be merciful to you sooner or
later." But only a worthy devotee can receive his mercy. The unworthy
cannot. That is why you must obey him. Do whatever he says. That will be
to your and everyone's advantage.
www.manavdharam.org
Motivated
by their own grace, the realized souls search for the means to save
mankind, and they show mankind the path of salvation in this world.
Mankind is crying, "We want peace, we want food, we want clothes," but
really, if they have faith in the words of the great souls and follow
their ideals, all their problems will be solved. See the history of our
saints. Siddhartha was a king's son and lacked nothing. A king's son
normally becomes the possessor of all riches, but this wasn't an
ordinary prince. After making observations, he wondered, `Is it
inevitable that we die?'
www.manavdharam.org
We
are also born and we die. We also see beggars and old people. What is
the difference between our perception and the Buddha's? Only the
reasoning was different, only the discrimination was different. He
reasoned and observed and thought over it, and he tried to know the
mystery. Guru Nanak also said, "People of the world, wake up! This is
your chance to awake. When you stretch out and sleep forever there will
be no chance to wake up."
www.manavdharam.org
