THE JEWEL OF HAPPINESS

                        The Sukhmani of Guru Arjan


                              a commentary by

                                AJAIB SINGH

                        
                                Chapter 17

                               THE TRUE KING


            True God was in the beginning,
            True One was after the creation was created.
            The True One is now also. Nanak says,
            The True One will also be in the future.

In this chapter, Guru Arjan Sahib tells us that by our meditating it has
come in our experience that there is one thing which has always remained:
Truth. Ever since the Creation was created, and even before that, that
particular thing has remained: Truth. Before this Creation was created,
that very Truth existed, and when the Ages started coming into existence
- when the world was created - in the GGGolden Age Truth was there, in the
Copper Age it was there, in the Silver Age it also was there, and in the
Iron Age Truth continues. Truth means that which always remains and which
never comes to an end, which is never destroyed. That which is always
permanent and is never destroyed, that can be called the Truth. God is the
only thing Which can be called as the real Truth, because He never ceases,
He has never come to an end, and He will never come to an end. Before this
Creation was created that God was present in this world, He existed, and
now also the same God is existing. It is not that before, somebody else
was ruling as God - somebody else was working as God - and now there is
somebody else who is working as God. God has always remained the same, He
has never changed, and He will never change. No one can make God, but God
can make the Creation. As God has made the Creation, no one can establish
or form God, because God can establish and form the 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 feet of God are true, and those who reside at the feet of God in
their heart, they also are true. They remain permanent and are not
subjected to destruction; they also are indestructible. The glory of
the feet of God is very great; it cannot be described. In the bani of
Swami Ji Maharaj He says, "When the Feet of my Master came in my heart,
He awakened my sleeping karmas and He made me have good fortune."

            The darshan of God is True, and True are those
              who obtain it.
            The Naam of God is True, and True are those
             who meditate upon it.

The darshan of God is True, and those who are having the darshan
of that God, they also are true, they also blend with God. As a drop
of water dissolves in the ocean - it becomes ocean - in the same way,
those who go and have the darshan of that Truth, they also become
the True One. The Naam of God is also True, because the Naam of God
has created the divisions and the grand divisions of this Creation
and all this Creation is supported by Naam.

            God Himself is True, and all that He supports
              is True.
            God is a good quality and He Himself is full
              of good qualities.

Guru Arjan Dev says that God is the Owner of all the qualities and
He has taken on all the qualities. What is the quality which He doesn't
have? What is the good thing which He doesn't have? Everything belongs
to God and He is the Owner of all the qualities.

            The Shabda is True and the utterer of it
              is also True.
            The Surat is True and True are those
              who hear the Sound of God.

His Shabd never changes, It always remains the same. Coming from
Sach Khand, He is reverberating in our forehead, and It always remains
the same, It never changes. The soul, being of the same essence as that
of God, is also permanent; it also never changes. As God is immortal,
soul is also immortal.

    He, the Shabd Himself, takes on the human body and comes and
dwells among us. It is just as if somebody's son has been lost and has
gone in the company of the gypsies. If the father wants to bring back
the son who is lost, he goes and lives among the gypsies, because the
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 home and
to which family he belongs. So his father changes his form and takes
up the form of a gypsy and comes and dwells among the gypsies. He
tells his son who he is and where he belongs, and gradually he creates
the desire within him to go back to his home. And one day, when the
son obeys the father, he goes back to his home. Who are called the
gypsies? 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 and
live at some other place; they always change their places. They always
change their occupation; they don't have any permanent occupation,
they don't have any permanent residence. Our condition is also like
the gypsies'because sometimes we are taking birth at this place,
sometimes we are in this body and sometimes in another body. And because
our soul doesn't have a permanent place, and our soul has forgotten
its real abode, that is, Sach Khand, our condition is like the gypsies'
(condition). So our Father, that Shabd, Almighty God, comes in the
human form and dwells among us, and He tells us, "This is not your
home, this is not your community, this is not your religion - your Home
is Sach Khand and your community is of Sat Naam. Why are you limiting
yourself in these little tribes and religions? Leave off the company of
these gypsies and go back to your Home."

    When we go in the company of our Father, gradually the desire to
go back to our Home, Sach Khand, is created within us. And God, Who has
taken up the form of a man and comes as the Master, when He tells us
about our Home, when He initiates us on the Path which leads us back
Home, then gradually, by obeying Him and following His commandments, we
also go back Home. When Masters come in this world, they come to take
the lost souls back. They not only show the Path to Home, but they also
guide the souls back Home and they are responsible for taking the souls
back. So right from the beginning, they come and protect the souls and,
teaching them how to go back Home, 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, he believes
and he is convinced that there is some Personality, there is some Power,
Who has always remained the Truth. And ever since this Creation began, or
even before that, that same Truth was existing.

            He who believed the True form of God
              in his Heart
            Has come to know the root of all
              and Doer of all.

Now he says that those who have manifested God within them and those
who have recognized Him, and those who have understood the Glory
of God, they have seen God as we are seeing the world with our open
eyes. For them, they don't need to close their eyes to see God, because
with their open eyes they see God. Kabir Sahib says, "Now I don't need
to close my eyes, and neither do I have to close my ears, because with
my open eyes I am seeing the beautiful form of my Beloved."

    In Canada, one Akali came to me in an interview and asked me if
I had seen God. I said, "Yes, I have seen God and I can show God to
whoever wants to see Him." But since he was not a fortunate one -
because from where may the poor souls bring good fortune? - he couldn't
say, "Show me God." Guru Nanak said, "Understand the stories which the
Saints are telling to be true, because they speak only of what they see
with their eyes." Sadhus all say, "People talk about God from 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.

Who can see God and who can reach near to God? Those who are doing the
meditation on Naam, they should have a heart made of iron. Because first
of all the faith in the Master is very important and it is required. Those
who believe in the Master and those who have faith in the Master, those
who believe that their Master is God, and those who have this much faith
in the Master, only they are able to manifest God within them.

    It is only because we have faith in the pilot and the engineers who
made the airplane that we surrender our precious life to them, and we
go and sit in the airplane: because we believe, and we have faith that
they have done a good job and the flight will take off correctly and
moreover it will also land easily and simply, and we will not have any
problem. Only because we have faith in them, we surrender our life
to them. When in the world we cannot achieve anything without having
faith in worldly people, then how can we expect that we will realize
God without having faith in our Master?

            He lives free from all fear
            And gets absorbed in Him from Whom he came.

Those who do the devotion of God become fearless of the world because
they always understand that God is greater than the world, and the world
is not greater than God. This is why they are never afraid of anything
and they become fearless. Those who are doing the devotion in such a way
that they don't understand the world to be greater than God, where do
they go and reside? They go and reside in the place from where the soul
was separated - they go back to Sach Khand - and become One there.

            As one thing is mixed in another thing
            It cannot be called separate from the other.

When the soul returns to God, she blends herself with God and becomes
One with God. After that, she cannot be separated from God and there is
no difference between the soul and God. Just as when water 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 and cannot be separated. When
you mix raw sugar candy with milk, the color of the milk doesn't change
but the taste of it changes; in the same way, when the soul becomes One
with God its outward appearance doesn'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 with Him.

God also searches for the man who has the desire to realize God, and
is searching for God. As Master used to say, "Nature provides food
for the hungry and water for the thirsty." So, when we have the desire
for realizing God, God showers grace on us and brings us in the company
of a Perfect Master; He gives us the knowledge of how to realize God,
and when we do the practices of realizing God, we become One with 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 all
happenings as the Will of God, whether pain comes or happiness. He
is always content in whatever God gives him. And the servant of God,
the devotee of God, always does his devotion to God as a priest
performs 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 his
devotions regularly, without fail and without missing even a day. The
devotee of God doesn't meditate for one day and then give up for many
days. 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 the
Will 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. And
the speech of a servant of God and his manner of living and whatever
he is doing - whatever dealings he has with the world - that all is very
pure. 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 with
him 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 way
God also fulfills all the needs of His disciple. As the mother loves
the children, 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 remembers
God with his every single breath and who always remains in His sweet
remembrance. And God also protects such a servant with every single
breath. We people think that we are the ones who are protecting
ourselves and we are the ones who are taking care of ourselves, but
the Mahatmas whose inner eyes are opened know that they are not the
ones who are protecting themselves and taking care of themselves. God
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 see
how Dhru and Prahlad were protected by God when they were troubled and
bothered by their parents. How Prahlad was once thrown from a mountain
so that he would be killed, but still he was protected by God. And how
he was made to sit in the fire and was told to embrace the 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 honor which one can have is when the devotee unites himself
with God. You know that all the honor and praise and name and fame of
this world will remain here and nothing will go with us. That is why God
always gives the greatest honor to His devotee, to His servant - that is,
by inspiring him to do the meditation on Shabd Naam which blends the
devotee with God. By allowing him to do this, He is giving him the
greatest honor.

    There is faith in Naam, there is satisfaction in Naam, because there
is no other thing in this world which will go with us except Naam. Guru
Nanak Sahib says, "Without Naam, you have no other companion." That is
why you should meditate on Naam. to get liberation. Gurumukhs take
advantage of Naam and they take the gift of Naam with them, but the
manmukhs waste their human birth here, since they don't have the 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 all
places, and only such a devotee, only such a servant of God, can
understand 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 is
the highest of all, he is higher than the highest, and he resides in
Sach Khand. That is why, if anyone imitates him, that person is always
defeated because he has not yet become a devotee of God, and he is not
able to understand His real glory. Guru Nanak Sahib also says that
people imitate those who have reached Sach Khand, and in that way they
always see defeat. We people imitate those who have reached Sach Khand,
but since we have not yet become the devotee of God, we do not do all
the things which the devotees of God are doing.

    Once a street dancer went to a mosque, and there he saw that five
people were performing the worship of God. He asked them, "What is the
advantage of doing this namaz?" So they replied that by doing this in
the mosque, by worshiping God, one gets the radiance of God on the
face. So they told him how to do that practice, and they told him that
before doing it, he should either wash his hands and feet with water 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
night he became drunk, and he slept. Next morning when he got up, it
was very cold and he didn't want to use any water because he was afraid
that his intoxication would go away, and moreover it was cold. So he
remembered that if he could not wash with water he should wash his
hands and feet with sand, so he rubbed his hand on the ground. But
there was a chapatti pan which was upturned there. So instead of
getting the sand on his hand, all the soot of that chapatti pan got on
his hand, and he put that on his face and on his hands. And after
performing 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 replied,
"I don't know what the radiance of God looks like, but if it is black,
it has come in abundance. If it is not black, it means that the radiance
which you had of yourself, that also has gone."

    So our condition is also like that. We don't know how to get the
radiance 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 will
still realize God and get His radiance on our face. And that is why we
imitate those who have realized God. But God cannot be achieved like
this. For achieving God, one has to give up all the bad things, one has
to give up all the worldly pleasures, and do the meditation of Shabd
Naam. 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 make His devotee, His servant,
and make him do the meditation? No matter in which community or religion
he is born, by doing the meditation on the Name of God, he becomes
popular, he becomes known, in all the ten directions. In all the world
he is glorified and everybody knows that he is the devotee of God.

    Christ did the devotion of God. And now, even though he was born
two thousand years back, still, all people in every corner of the world
are remembering his name with love and devotion. In the same way,
Prophet Mohammed, no matter that he was born in Arabia long ago, still,
people remember him and know his name throughout the world. In the same
way, Guru Nanak and Kabir, even though they were born in a very small
place (the area was not very well known at that time, and in those days
there were no good means of transportation) still, how many people
remember their Names with sweet love and devotion for them. In the same
way, our Master Sawan and Master Kirpal, even though they were born in
India, is there any place where people don't remember them? Is there any
place where people don't know about them? Everybody is singing, "Sat Guru
Sawan Shah, You are ruling over my heart!"

    Whenever the Saints and Mahatmas come in this world, they don't
rule 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 matter
if they leave the body, after leaving the body, as long as this world
is here, their name will always be remembered, because they put such
a mark of love on the hearts of the people.

    Kabir Sahib was born in a very low caste of weaver, and in those
days in India there was the problem of untouchability and of the low
and high caste system. That is why, in the Iron Age when Kabir came
into 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 surroundings.
The king who was ruling in India at that time, Sikander Lodi, ruled over
the whole of India. Now no one remembers him, but Kabir Sahib is remembered
everywhere, even though he didn't visit many places, and people are
remembering him even in the West.

            The small ant in which He puts His powers
            Can reduce the armies of millions of men to ashes.

If God puts His Power even in an ant, a little ant, that can (also) reduce
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 God can do
anything He wants. Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say that within the Saint
some Power is working. Then he used to say that we cannot call that thing
a "power," because a power can be measured and power can be spoken of in
quantities, but the thing which works in the 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 is
hating you and wants to kill you, if God has His hand on you, no one
can 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 joy
to others. And God has given you a tongue by which you can sing the
praise of God. Animals and birds don't have the ability to express their
joy and happiness to others and, moreover, they don't have the tongue
with which they can sing the glory of God. But we have a tongue. That
is why Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "O man, you have got that
tongue by which you can sing the praise of God." We should use that
tongue 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
anyone is making any mistake, if anyone is doing any bad deed, God will
punish him. Don't worry about him, and don't criticize him. If anyone
is doing good deeds, you should not worry about him either. You should
use this tongue only for doing the repetition of Naam, and only for
singing 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 and
property? 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
don't have to do the devotion of Lord for getting material wealth, for
getting name and fame and ruling power in the world; because when
our death comes, neither our power will go with us, nor our wealth.
All the things that exist in this world, they are all connected with
our body. And when our soul withdraws from the body, when death comes,
then not even our body goes with us. So how can we expect the things
which were concerned with our body to go with us? We will not be able
to take anything, neither our ruling power, nor our wealth, nor our
name and fame and criticism. All these things will not go with us.
Only the name of God will go with us. So we don't have to do the
devotion of Lord for achieving material wealth, name and fame, and
ruling power. We have to do the devotion of Lord only for Him, because
He is the only One Who will help us when we leave this world.

    If we want to remove the thorns which are spread all over the world,
we won't be able to; if we want to remove all the bad things from the
world, we won't be able to. But if we wear strong shoes, then no matter
where we go, how many thorns, how many bad things are there, if we are
well protected and well covered, we will not be affected by them.

    We spend all our time in life criticizing and judging others, but we
have never looked within ourselves, and never seen what we are. Mahatmas
say that we should always look at the good qualities in others and we
should always look at our own faults. But what is our condition? We don't
look at our faults, but we look at the faults in other people, and we
always keep in front of us our good qualities. But it should not be like
that. We should always think about our faults, and pick up the good
qualities of others. Saints are the customers of the good qualities;
whenever they go and meet anyone, they never pay any attention to the
bad qualities of that person but they always look for any good qualities.
And if that person has any good qualities, they (think of) that and they
feel attracted towards him. But they never pay any attention to the bad
qualities.
    
    But what is the condition of man? People have the habit of looking
at the faults of others. But Mahatma says, "Looking at the faults of
others, you are laughing. But you are not looking at your own faults
which have no limits." So we should make a habit of looking at our
own faults and looking at the good qualities of other people. Mahatmas
even say, "First of all you should control your mind. Look within
yourself and look at your faults, and then try to teach others. You
should make a habit of not criticizing others and paying attention only
to the good qualities of others, and pointing out your own faults."
Kabir Sahib says, "When you are teaching others without teaching 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 plundered
because you are not paying attention there."

            The servant of God knows what has happened
              and what is going to happen.
            He recognizes the Will of God.

Whatever has happened, or is happening, don't think that God is not
aware of that. After creating this whole big creation, don't think that
He is sitting idle and not paying any attention to it. He is sitting
within us, and whatever we are doing, or whatever is happening to us,
He is fully 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 when
we don't recognize Him? What can we say when we don't understand Him?
Unless He showers grace on us, we can't understand or recognize Him.
When He wants to shower His grace on someone, He puts His power in him,
and only such a personality is able to recognize and understand God in
His true or full meaning. Only he can sing the praise of 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 the
perfect ones. Otherwise we are all imperfect." That is why Hazur used
to say, "People should become human beings because God is in search
of human beings." God is always searching for them. But we don't have
those qualities of human beings. Kabir Sahib says, "God was making
the animal, but by mistake He created man, and instead of putting the
tail and horns, on that body he fixed the beard and moustache. But
man has the intellect and wisdom of the animal only."

            O 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 company
of Those Who have manifested God within Them . And by living in their
company, and by obeying them, and by practising the Path according to
their instructions, we can also easily swim across this ocean of the
world, and become receptive to God's grace.

    Guru Gobind Singh says, "God and the devotee of God both are one
and the same thing." There is no difference between them. It is just
like a wave of water which is created in the water, and then loses its
existence in the water; in the same way, God and the devotee of God
are the same. "O 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 water, there is no difference between them and the
water. In the same way, there is no difference between God and the
devotee of God.

            The devotee who has recognized his God
            Becomes 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 out, and because he doesn't have
any knowledge of that wealth, he goes and begs for things outside. And
he is dying of poverty. And then suppose there is someone who knows
about that secret and how to take out that wealth, and he comes and
tells him, "Brother, you have a lot of wealth in your house, and there
is a way you can get it out." And he helps him to get out that wealth;
and in using that wealth that person who was once dying of poverty
becomes a king and wealthy. Just imagine: to whom will he be thankful?
Will he thank the wealth which was already in his house but which he
did not know about? Or will he be grateful to the one who helped him
get out that wealth? He will definitely express his gratitude to the
person who helped him in getting that wealth. The wealth was already
there, but he did not have the knowledge of it. But because that man
came and told him the wealth was there and how to get it out, he was
able to get that wealth and become wealthy.

    In the same way, God, from Whom we were separated long ago, and
many ages have passed, is lost for us. Even though He is within us we
don't know that He is there, and how we can go and contact Him. And
who helps us in finding that God? Who tells us that God is within us?
Our Satguru tells us. Our Satguru helps us to go within, and meet Him.
So when we meditate and go within, when we become one and realize
God, whom should we thank? We will definitely thank our Master, because
God was already within us, but only because of the grace of our Master
were we able to realize Him. And when we become one with God, 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 to go outside and beg for his
needs, because he is getting everything within without asking. Because
he has God, he wants nothing; where God is manifested, 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 of all 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 the darshan of such
a personality only when God showers grace on us. It is not in our hands
to go there. Unless God wants us to go there and showers His grace on us,
we cannot go and have His darshan. The unfortunate ones cannot have the
Master, even if they are sitting with Him.

            Leave all other cleverness
            And attach yourself to the seva of such a Mahatma.

The subject of God realization is not of the mind or intellect. It is
the subject of love and affection. That is why,"O man, give up all your
wisdom and intellect," because when one comes in the court of the Mahatma,
even if he has a master's degree, still he has to behave like a child of
five years old, because in the Path of spirituality, worldly wisdom and
intellect have no place.

    When a child comes to school, from the very first day the child has
to accept what the teacher tells him. And when he accepts and has faith
in the teacher, gradually the teacher tells him more; and when the child
is entrusted with all that and is paying attention to what the teacher
is teaching, then the teacher puts more of his attention into teaching
the child. And gradually after many years - fifteen or sixteen years -
gradually the child learns everything about education and gets many
degrees. 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 to
learn all these books, all these subjects, he will be confused and not
be able to learn even a single word. So, since the child has no knowledge
of education, he is taught the basic things first and gradually he is
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 teacher
has 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 knowledge
of the Path of spirituality, and we have to behave as if we are a child
of five years old who has just come, has just joined the school, and
knows nothing about the Path. And this is true: when we come to the
Master we don't have any knowledge of God. And on the first day, Master
tells us about God and reveals a little bit of His competence to us.
If he revealed all of his competence to us, we would be afraid to
achieve that position, we would be confused about how to do all these
things. So gradually he tells us to take one step at a time and
progress upward. And gradually through going to His Satsang, and being
in His company, He tells us how to remove our faults. And when we attend
the Satsang and hear His discourses, we become aware of our faults and
shortcomings. And gradually, by going in His company, we are able to
give up those shortcomings and faults. And one day, when we are taking
a deep interest in the Path of Spirituality, and when Master sees we
are obeying His instructions, He also puts more of His attention towards
us, and eventually He makes us perfect, and then He reveals His whole
competence to us. As the child has no knowledge in the beginning of the
school, and has to accept what the teacher tells him, in the same way,
when we come to the Path 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 Satsang
and start to meditate, we start getting the knowledge of everything. And
eventually, when we become perfect, we see the competence of the Master
working in front of us. And when we come to the Satsang, we become aware
of our faults and shortcomings, and we give them up. Up until now, if
anyone has improved his life, he has done so only by attending the
Satsang. If anyone has given up drinking wine or eating meat, he has
done so only by attending the Satsang. In the Satsang our shortcomings
and faults are pointed out and we are told to remove them. And when our
mind is blamed and we realize that we have these faults, then we work
in the direction of giving them up.

    So only after coming and attending Satsang are we able to remove
our 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 Mahatma who is perfect and has
meditated on Shabd Naam, by going in His company the pain of our
births and deaths goes away forever. That is why we should go in the
company of the perfect Master and meditate on Shabd Naam and make
our life successful.

    The Shah of Balkh Bokhara had the desire to realize God, and as
that desire grew, he gave up the throne of Balkh Bokhara, and went
in the wilderness for doing the devotion of the Lord. A few months
after he left, his son came to him and said, "Father, today we are
going to have a big feast and you should also come and attend there."
So when he went there he saw that many good things were prepared,
and halvah was also prepared. So he took some halvah and put it on
the mirror and brought his son and said to him, "Dear son, you see,
before I put this halvah on this mirror, this mirror was very clear
and you could see anything in it. Whatever you would bring in front
of it, you would see that. But since I have put this halvah on it,
now you cannot see your face, you cannot see anything in it, because
it has become dirty, unclean. In the same way, our soul was very pure,
but ever since we came in this world and started enjoying the worldly
pleasures, the dirt of the worldly pleasures has made the mirror of our
soul dirty, and we are not able to remember who we are. The soul has
forgotten its real home, the soul has forgotten its origin, the soul
has forgotten its own shape and radiance, and she is wandering here and
there in the wilderness. As long as we are involved in the worldly
pleasures we won't be able to purify our soul and look within ourselves
and realize our image. That is why it is very important for those who
want to realize God to give up the worldly pleasures."

    When the King of Balkh Bokhara left his kingdom, he came to India
because India has been the land of rishis and munis even since the
beginning. So he came to India and met many sadhus and Saints, because
he was hungry for God realization. But when his thirst was not quenched,
he was told by someone to go and meet Kabir Sahib, who was then living
in Kashi. He was told that He was a perfect Saint of that time and only
He would be able to quench his thirst for spirituality. So the King of
Balkh Bokhara went to Kabir Sahib and requested him, "O Master, give me
some knowledge of Spirituality, teach me something about God. I have
come from so far looking for you." Kabir Sahib said, "I am a weaver, a
poor man. I won't be able to give you anything since you are a king."
He said, "Master, I have not come here to you as a king. I have come as
a beggar. I will do whatever you want me to do, and moreover whatever
you will give me to eat, I will be content with it and I won't have any
complaints. But please keep me in your refuge and teach me about God and
how to realize Him." So Kabir Sahib said, "All right."

    The King of Balkh Bokhara lived with Kabir Sahib for six years. Kabir
Sahib was a weaver; he wove cloth. The king always helped him in weaving
the cloth and doing all his work. After six years, Mata Loi, who also used
to live with Kabir Sahib, thought, "Now Kabir Sahib should give initiation
to the King of Balkh Bokhara because it has been six years since he has
lived with Kabir Sahib doing all his work. Now he should be rewarded."
So she requested Kabir Sahib to give the king Initiation. But Kabir Sahib
said, "No, the vessel is not ready; he is not yet prepared for getting
Initiation." But Mata Loi said, "But he has been serving you for the past
six years! You should consider that he was a king and even though he had
been a king, still he served you like 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 this
test, only then will he get the Initiation." Kabir Sahib told Mata Loi,
"When I call him into the room, when he comes through the door you
should throw some vegetable peelings on him and then we'll see how
he reacts." So according to the plan, Kabir Sahib called the king into
the room, saying, "Come here with my coat." When he was coming Mata Loi
threw some vegetable peels on him, and when he got those peels on his
head, he became very upset and said, "Had this happened in Balkh Bokhara
I would have punished you for this thing!" He still remembered that he
was king of Balkh Bokhara. When he got so angry and upset with Mata Loi,
she was very confused because she had had the impression that the king
had changed and did not remember that he was king, and that now he was
a very humble person and would not mind that. But instead of showing
his humility, he was upset and very angry. So Mata Loi was very
confused. And the king did not get Initiation at that time.

    Six more years passed; and Kabir Sahib told Mata Loi, "Now he is
ready for Initiation." Mata Loi replied, "How can I know that? To me
he appears as he appeared six years back." Since Mata Loi did not have
any inner secret, any inner knowledge, she was not able to know whether
the king was ready or not. But Kabir Sahib knew. So Kabir Sahib said,
"Okay, again 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 rubbish
and throw it on him when he comes through the door to my room, and let
us see how he reacts." So when it was done, instead of getting upset,
this time he felt very grateful to the person who was throwing this
rubbish, and said, "I am very grateful to you for throwing this
rubbish on me because I am even worse than this rubbish. This is the
only medicine for this spoiled mind." He was very humble. So when Kabir
Sahib 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 Initiation. And when He
was giving him Initiation, because the King of Balkh Bokhara had prepared
himself by serving Kabir Sahib for twelve years and was fully prepared
for the Initiation, as Kabir Sahib was telling him about the inner
planes, his soul was progressing towards Sach Khand. And if the Master
is like Kabir Sahib, the perfect Master, and if the disciple is like
the king of Balkh Bokhara, you can imagine how that disciple can
become receptive to the grace of the Master and progress right from
the time of Initiation.

    So the King of Balkh Bokhara progressed very much in meditation
right from the time of his Initiation. After that, once when he was
sitting on the bank of a river, sewing his old cushion, his prime
minister came there, begging him to come back to his kingdom and take
care of the kingdom. The minister said: "It would be better if you
would come back and take care of all your kingdom. Up until now I have
been doing that, but now I want you to be our king and that we should
work for you as your followers." The king wanted him to know that now
he did not need any worldly kingdom, so he threw his needle into the
water, and said, "If you will bring me that needle which I have thrown
into the water, only then will I go with you." The prime minister said,
"That is impossible. How can I go into the water and find your needle?
If you like I can get you other needles, as many as you want. But I
can't get that one." The king said, "When you can't do that much for me,
even though you are now in possession of many powers, what is the use of
getting those powers?" After that, he gave his attention to a fish that
was in the water, and the fish brought out the needle; in other words
the king possessed that power. He was ruling over all creatures, and
because he had done the meditation of Naam and was perfect, even the
birds and animals were at his service. And this is true: that those who
are meditating and those who are the perfect ones, all the creatures
are in their service and if they want, anybody will do anything for
them. So then the King of Balkh Bokahra told the prime minister to go
back and let him do the devotion. "Because," he said, "I don't want that
type of power which doesn't enable me even to get this little needle out
of the water. It is better that I possess the power which can make even
this fish to work for me."

    So that is why Guru Arjan Sahib says here, "Those who have manifested
God within, we should go and surrender to them, and we should go in their
company, because by going in their company we can also know how to
realize God. And when we surrender to them we can definitely realize and
manifest God within us.

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