Satsang

Just before the start of the Mahabharata War, depression overcame Arjuna. Lord Krishna instructed him, “Arjuna, first know yourself. If you know yourself, if you become a spiritual man, then you have won not only the battle of Mahabharata but also the continuous fight going on within your mind.” They who have conquered their mind have won not only the ‘battle of Kurukshetra' but the great battle being fought in their lives. Those who win over enemies are called victors ( “Vir”) while those who win over their minds are called champions (“ Mahavir”) .
www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

When grief befalls us, we say, “If God exists, would we have to suffer like this?” Like the sweet fruit inside the skin of oranges, we do not want to think ahead. St. Kabir says “ Sukh me sumiran na kiya, dukh me kiya yad. Kahe Kabir ta das ki, koun sune fariyad .” If there is no urge within for devotion to God, then how can we get connected? If the flame of a lamp flickers in the wind, we say that it will be extinguished, so to keep the flame alive we put a glass shield around it so that the wind doesn't disturb it. The flame of devotion is like this. If it is disrupted, the devotee will not be benefited. We have to guard it so that our thread of devotion doesn't break, our single-pointed devotion to God doesn't break. It also needs a shield; we have to protect it from delusion and multiple worldly attachments. It means that under all circumstances, in pleasure and grief, in all the ups and downs in life, our devotion to God should be single-pointed, constant and continuous. By doing so, a man is redeemed from all worldly bondage and finally gets salvation.
www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

This world has been created out of living as well as nonliving things, both good and bad. In our scriptures it is said that if you mix water in milk (milk represents the essence and water is non-essence) and it is placed before a swan, then the swan will extract all the milk leaving aside the water. Only a swan has this special characteristic. Similarly, people who adopt this characteristic are able to segregate the useful from the useless and they invariably accept the useful. This means that they will practise spiritual knowledge in their lives.
www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

We know through satsang what is Truth, how we should surrender to Truth. It is said-“ Jar chetan gun dosh may, Vishwa kinha kartar. Sant hans gun gahahin paya parihari vari vikar .”
www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

we should do service as well as practise meditation. We wander here and there in search of peace and God like a musk deer which thinks that the fragrance is coming from somewhere in the jungle, whereas the truth is that it is emanating from his own navel. So, we should strive to know the spiritual Knowledge and do a lot of meditation for our own upliftment as well as of others.
www.manavdharam.org

KNOWLEDGE PURIFIES THE MIND

Once some people from a nearby village came to St. Kabir and said that they were going on a pilgrimage to the four most sacred places and asked him to accompany them.St. Kabir said that he was unable to go as he had other jobs to do, but he gave them a bitter gourd and asked them to dip it in all the sacred rivers when they took their holy bath.

After some months the pilgrims returned and told St. Kabir that they had completed their pilgrimage to all four holy places. He asked them whether they had dipped his gourd in all the sacred rivers. They replied, “Yes, we dipped it in all the rivers as you instructed.”
St. Kabir crushed the gourd and turned it into powder. He then gave a portion to each pilgrim to taste. They tasted it and said that it was very bitter. Then he said, “You did a pilgrimage of all four sacred places and you dipped my gourd in all the sacred rivers but still it has retained its bitter taste. So how could this pilgrimage have purified your mind of all its bitterness, dirtiness, malice and jealousy?”

People like to think that they will get peace by going on pilgrimage to sacred places, but they are like a bird sitting on a ship at sea. When the bird feels bored from sitting so long on the ship, it thinks of flying to some island. But when it does not find an island even after flying for hours, it comes back to the same ship. Similar is the condition of a worldly person. He thinks that he will get peace from doing pilgrimages or rituals, but when he does not get peace after doing all these things, he feels disappointed. But when we go to the shelter of Guru Maharaj Ji (the Spiritual Master) and serve Him with our mind, words and actions then the Master will be pleased and will impart the treasure of Spiritual Knowledge to us.
People nowadays want to see God without putting in any labour or effort, but it is not possible. We switch on the electricity so that the light bulbs in our house produce light. Those bulbs and tube lights will produce light only when connected through an electric wire to a powerhouse. If they are not connected to the powerhouse, they cannot produce any light. Likewise, we also have to connect our soul to the powerhouse of the Almighty and then only will we experience light within.
When a person acquires Spiritual Knowledge he experiences light within. But if he develops some doubts, his mind starts fluctuating. Again, when he listens to satsang, the negativity in his mind is eradicated and then he experiences God within. During the summer when there is no rain, a lot of dust accumulates on the leaves of trees and the weather becomes suffocating. When rain comes, all the dust is washed away and the environment becomes all clean and green. Likewise, layers of dirt go on accumulating in our mind day by day, but when we see the Spiritual Master and listen to his nectar-like words, our mind becomes pure and our confusion and doubts are wiped away.
Lakshman drew a line around Sita to protect her and told her not to cross that line. But Sita was so naive that she was trapped by Ravana's net of illusion and stepped beyond the line. You know how much trouble she then had to face. Similarly, Guru Maharaj Ji has drawn the line of Spiritual Knowledge around us. Those who remain inside this line will be protected, but others who cross it will be put to numerous troubles. So, we should do a lot of meditation day and night.
www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

 The secret is that you should be fond of satsang: ‘ Sangat se guna upje, sangat se guna jay. Bans fans aur mishri, ek hi bhav bikay .' It means that we grow like the company we keep. If we associate with saintly people, we will accumulate merits and if we associate with devilish people, we will accumulate negative tendencies. Satsang is of great importance and so is service. It is written in the Ramayana, “ Sewak sebya bhaw binu, bhaw na tariya urgari. Bhajahu Rampad pankaj, as siddhant vichari .” It means that without service one cannot still his mind. As such, one should do as much devotion and meditation as possible. Without service one cannot be a servant. Taking initiation and simply bowing your head is not enough to make you a servant. Service means to obey the instructions of the Master, to behave as commanded by the Master. So, service is very essential and also spiritual discourse.

www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

Lord Krishna says that the thing which you remember the most throughout your life comes to your memory at the time of death. When you do not remember God during your lifetime, how will you do so at the time of death? This is many people's question. People take initiation but only very few of them practise regularly, though the seed of knowledge is not destroyed. Only rare people take initiation keeping in mind that they must practise Knowledge to experience and realize God. Some people take initiation if they are in trouble, knowing that the Name of God works miracles. St Kabir has said, “J aki ganthi Naam hai, taki hai sab siddhi. Kar jore thari rahen, ashta siddhi nav niddhi.”
www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

You must have heard about Prahlad and his great faith and devotion. Once he saw kittens playing inside a pitcher which had just been fired in a kiln and this firmed his belief in a power even greater than his father, the king. He remembered this power of God and meditated upon divine light. This angered his father Hiranyakashyap and he asked his wife to tell Prahlad not to remember God. Prahlad's mother told him, “Son, do not antagonise your father. Stop remembering the Name of God.” Prahlad replied, “I'm willing to abandon the Name, but that Name does not abandon me!” So let us ask what is it that cannot be abandoned. It is that Name which is within everyone's heart and it cannot be abandoned.
www.manavdharam.org