EXCERPTS FROM DISCOURSE
1. In this world of boubt and delusion, of darkness. Pain and Grief, nobody ever knows the results of his action; nor does he knows his beginning or end. Wearly does he go down the scale of creation and find peace nowhere. Swami Ji says that Masters alone reveal the secret of the inaccesible Lord and it is through realizine him that hte soul gets rid of mind and matter and untold misery caused by them. Intense yearning for the lord is the primary prerequisite, for it is this that purifies and strengthens the mind so that it begin to appreciate the futility of religious observance and rituals. Through his immerse grace does one escape the cycle of birth and death. By completeng and stopping all the attention of the eye center and and stopping all the nine outlets does one gain complete control over one’s mind and sense. No longer does one depend on merely reading scripture and holy books. But attains perfect Bliss by traversing the Path within.
He throws to the winds the worldly name and fame and likewise all rites and rituals. At the altar of devotion to Nam, does he obtain real knowledge. Priceless is Nam but only real Saints knows its true worth the limitless, the Everlasting or the unfathomable is realized by end the Three Worlds only when the soul contact Shabd or Nam. This technique which converts vile sinners into Saints is known as Surat Shabd Yoga. Overflowing love for the Master and complete surrender to Him are the essential for success.
2. Only in the human form can realize God and
it is only within, that he can be realized. This in turn, is only possible with
the help of a perfect Adept, the main obstruction to God-realization is our own
mind. It is fond of pleasures and , in running after them during countlss age
it has become extremely fickle.
The
soul is dominated by the mind and the
latter in its turn is ruled by the sense. Thus wherever the mind goes, the
soul perforce has to go with it if the mind were to cease running after the
ghings of this world and become motionless, the soul would immediately fly its
true Home Sat Lok. It is the mind that has tied human being to this world and,
through its good and bad action keeps them treading the eternal wheel to reap
their consequenses. Thus the Satsang and Discourse on Nam and Satguru are
especifically directed to the mind. On listening to them it may turn away from
sensual pleasure and find refuge at the eye center, from where it s upward
journey begins. Then the Nam which is constantly, reverberating above this
center pulls up both mind and soul. Hearing this Celestial Melody, the
mind spontaneously exclaims: “Here is the bliss that i have been hankering
after all this time,” it now needs nothing else and all the wordly pleasures
turn insipid and tasteless, thus the only way to control the mind and end its
misery is to attach it to Nam. Nam alone can restrain and satisfy the Nam. All
other practices are utterly futile for even when apparently successful they not
infrequently let a person down badly. These practise are like a snake in a
basket. Nam is beond the Sphere of Mind.
His omniscience become clear for ever.
3.
God can be realized by human being alone. It is their exclusive privelege. No
other creature has this gift. Even by man, this can be done only by
concentrating one’s attention at the third
eye focus and listening to the sound
that revebetes there day and nights. This sound is called is called Nam, word or shabd. Everybody lives
within the confinest of the nine apertures viz. Two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the mount and the two lower outlets. This “door” of the body establish connection
of the mind and the soul with the outer world while the Tenth “gate” that lies hidden at the eye center connects the soul with the God. So long as the mind
dwells in illusion, which made up of the three gunas. The latter are robbers
that steal all our treasure and make us completely forgot our true self. The three gunas are Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.
Tamas lead completely to negative
action and destrucion. Rajas binds
one to the worlds through various snares and allurements, and keep him ever
restless. Sattva, on the other hand,
produces virtues like compassion, righteousness and devotion. Next to its the
roof. None can realize God unless he transcends. The three gunas, beyond them
lies the “Sehaj” state which begin
in Par Brahm and end in Sat Lok. This is a state of utmost tranquillity and
everlasting bliss. “Sehaj” cannot be
attained in the three gunas for the three “Gunas” are in delusion. It is only met within the fourth realm and is found by the
devotion of a guru. Guru Sahid Explains thus:
“He who attain “SEHAJ” attain God. Neither
doth he die, nor tread the eternal wheel”
When a
person reaches this Realm, he ends the Cycle of Birth ad Death and
becomes the chosen of God “He who sent you, call you back; come home with the
bliss of “SEHAJ (Nanak)
The
way to attain this stage is by constant devotion to Nam, as revealed by a true
Master, and complete surender to his will. “We are not to question why, ours is
but to do and die.” Our own horizon of the vision is limited while that of the
Master is boundless. The so called intellect and reasoning are powerless, the Master’s
command are for the disciples lasting good.
4.
In their Spiritual research all the sages and saint have come to the same
conclusion; namely
a.
There is one God
b.
He can be realized by Human being alone, and the essential prerequisites are
life of piety contentment, chastity and forgiveness.
c.
Human being can find Him only within and not outside.
d.
One way to find Him is to contact Shadb
by completely concentrating the attention at the eye center and making the Mind
Motionless.
e.
This, However, happens only when God wills the soul to return to its true Home Shabd realization in the company of the Mystics is the highest
of all action; but “only he attains it, O Nanak, who hath it already imprented
in his destiny.”
f.
then, a person seeks a perfect Adept, learns from Him the technique of retiring
within and by His grace and guidance attains the Name that merge him with the
Lord. “wihout Satguru one cannot have devotion, nor attachment to Nam”. If we
do not adopt this course, we inevitably fall into the hands of angels of death
and nothing but utter misery and pain engulf us. Nothing avails one save
devotion to Nam, which is the only Reality. It therefore behoves us all to
cease running outside and to remain merged in the Sound Current all the time. For in this way alone shall we obtain
permanent release from continuous bondage.
The
true Adept is in essence God Himself. Outwardly he has human form but inwardly
he is Lord Divine.
He
lives in the world but is not of the world. He is completely absorbed in the Shabd. His soul is united with God. He
is an Ocean of mercy. He is the greatest benefactor of all the gift of Nam He
bestows on people and takes them out of the realm of duality and relativity.
“He has turned man into a Divine Being and no
time has he taken to do so.”(Granth
Sahib)
5.
It is the desires that create Karmas and the Karmas lead to rounds of birth and
death. Saints therefore exhort us to cut at their very root and to ask for
Nothing save the Lord Himself, for when one owns, the very source of the bounty
there is no dearth of his gift.
“Nam is True Nectar but how can we
describe it? He alone that drinketh it, knoweth it.”
6.
Swami Ji further says “The Master
bestowed upon me the Secret of Shabd. By concentrating my attention at the eye
center. I come into contact with the sound current. Ther i behenld the Radiant
form of my Master.
The
Astral form of the Master is so brilliant and magnetic that the soul cannot but
shed its gross matler and ultimately merge in the ocean of which it is a drop.
9.
After creating human being and others in the Universe, Brahm attachmed to each soul hi agent in the shape of Mind, to confine the soul to his
domain. The specific commands to the mind are, “Never let the soul go near Shabd nor reveal to it the Secret thereof.”
When
the hour of destiny strikes, everyone must leave this theater of action and his
eartly remains are buried or cremates. Every
soul must essentially close its eye upon the scene of action and take a new
birth called for by its karmas the law of karma is universal. It is the fixed and immutable law of
Nature.
Matter and Mind so wholly engross the individual attention that one remain
ignorant of the “Royal Road” leading
Sat Lok, the “Pure Spiritual Region”.
“Without Shabd the soul is blind it findeth not but fallenth into delusion
again and again”.
Victory over the negative power and the
complete surrender of the mind can
be achieved only by contacting Nam with the help of a True Master. “Hearing the celestial melody, he breaketh
the fetters of illusion and attaineth Eternal Bliss.”
10.
The soul cannot ascend until the “NIRAT”
or the power of seeing is devloped within. The two faculties – one of hearing and the other of seeing – are utilized by the
soul for its mystic Transport some
disciples devote their attention to hearing the sound but do not try fix thier “NIRAT” inside this a mistake, for unless the
attention is fixed at the EYE CENTER,
the mind does not become motionless, and there is little pleasure in the
practice.
When
the “NIRAT” or the innver vision if
sully developed, the sond that seemingly emanates from within it becomes
increasingly distinct. The soul, However, must catch the finest note: by means
of which it will ascent to higher region. When it reaches “Daswandwar” – an important stage in his spiritual path, it will go
beyond the meshes of illusion the negative powers.
11.
All Saint stress the need of loving devotion to the Master for spiritual
advancement. It is theis devotion that enables us to contact Nam and Listen to the Sweet Melody resounding
within at the Eye Center. This alone
is Guru Mat (Teaching of the Saints). All else is deception and illusion,
utterly follow Man Mat (dictates of
Mind and Sense) Bhakti Marg (Path of
Love and Devotion) is the Royal Road
Leading to our Eternal Home, and once we commence our Journey on it, no matter
where we go or the stage we reach, the protecting and guiding hand of the
Satguru is ever there to escort us onwards.
They
are the tree inseparables in Guru Mat the patch of the Master, the essential
ingredients of True Bhakti. All the rest are innovations of the trinity of
God, soul and Satguru is indeed one long chain of Infinite Love. The devotee of
the Lord also manifests the same love. The individual soul is the drop, the
Satguru the Stream and God the Vast
Ocean. Just as a drop of rain gets polluted with coarse matter during its
fall on the earth, so does the soul, in its descents to the physical world
obtain covering of Mind and Matter and lose its lustre. Nothing
save pure love is Sach Khand, the abode of the ultimate reality. Illusion
has no place there.
Man
is verily a mine of the Nectar of
Immortality “In thine own self is the Nectar full to the brim; but wihtout
Guru thou gettest not its taste, just as the deer knoweth not its must bet
keepeth wandring hither and thither in search of it. Without Shabd ever man is
mad, and wasteth away his life in vain “Shabd”
is the real nectar; and Guru’s devotee alone findeth it O Nanak.” It is through
loving devotion to the Master that we get the Secret of Nam “In the union of
the soul with Shabd is Happines, in the realization of God is Bliss.”
12.
Whoever wishes to treat the path od devotion has essentially to fulfill certain
condiation. He has to rise above position, prestige and social status; has to
turn deaf ears to slander, criticism and
ridicule and has to completely ignore calumny, taunt and censure of society.
“Censure and rebuke of the world act as guards in the market of love and
devotion they remove a person’s dirt and clease him.” He has to face resolutely
the opposition his near and dear one’s has to shunn rituals that take his
attention “OUTSIDE”, has to give up cunning and deceit as well as lust and
greed “DEVOTION” is impossible fo the lustful, the ill – tempered and
covetous.” “Truly brave is the person who for this purpose, is ready to give up
caste and family.?
Worry
can only deflect and debar Spiritual Progress.
Practice
maketh a perfect. Even though he starts with misgivings, in due course,
perseverance and sincere effort enable him to develop strong fervor and prety.
Mere show can lead him nowhere and antidote for lack of devotion is more and
more steadfast devotion. With unwavering faith in the Master, devotion
unfailingly leads to realization of “NAM” – the Elixir against all suffering in
the world. Swami Ji says Stress on “BHAKTI”. There is no other way to realize
Him and to free the soul forever.
13.
Guru Arjan Sahib present a vivid picture of the world as he sees it. Both spiritually and physically almost the
whole of mankind is sick at heart and in ire distress. The five passion virtually mad. Not a man escapes from their venom. In addition to a deplorable
mental and spiritual plight, physical ills take a heavy toll and make men
utterly wary and worn. The young grow to old age in the vain guest for peace.
The greater the indulgence, the more disased the bodies and the keener the misery
and suffering. An instant of pleasant sensation, a brief delirium of power, a mad moment of passion – all end in intense
pain and sorrow and yet man constantly them. He turns his back on “Nam” which alone can release him form
untold privation and lead him to Eternal Bliss.
The
Soul, an escape of the Supreme Being
is her dominated by the mind and the
latter. In turn is led by the senses with the result
that the whole creation is running wild and out of control, under the impulse
of one or more of the five passions. Thus the mind goes astray and it its never
– ending pursuits. Find little repose or respite continually does it come to
grief but if dows not seem to heed the lesson of its bittere experiences. Mind is an excellent servant but a very bad
Master. The right course should have
been for the soulto control the mind and
the mind to guide the senses and thus reverse the grim
situation where men have forgotten their high origin the purpose of their sojourn on this planet and their real
destination. The more they attach themselves to the things of the world, the
father they move away from their home. The only remedy lies in seeking a true
adept and following the Path of Nam – an absolute “Must” for ending the rounds
of birth and death.
It
is the Lord’s Grace that can save an individual from its operation. The Lord is
onmipotent and omniscient, and no one can question his doing he may, if he so
like involve us deeply in the charms of this transitory world or make us rise
above them and take to the path of the Master the “Harijans” devotees of the Lord cross this vast Ocean with his
help. They concentrate at the eye
center, go within and contact “Nam”,
while in the Eternal Attaction. The
function of Maya is the draw our attention outward and downward and that of
“Nam” inward and upward.
