THE JEWEL OF HAPPINESS

                        The Sukhmani of Guru Arjan


                             a commentary by

                               AJAIB SINGH



                                Chapter 4

                            NO PAIN, NO GAIN

 
            Oh ignorant and virtueless man, always remember God.
            Keep the Creator in your heart.
            Nanak says, "He will always accompany you."

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj in this sloka is telling us, "O man, you
should remember God, Who has given you life, and from a drop of
liquid has given you the body. You should remember that God, and
dwell on Him in your heart. In the end He is the only one Who is going
to help you; because when we leave this world, nobody will help us
except God." That is why He says, "Why should we not remember Him
Who has given us life and everything that we have? Nobody will
accompany us in the end except Him and His Naam - that is why we
should remember Him."

            Oh soul, remember the qualities of the Lord:
            Remember what you were and what you are.

Now this is the fourth Ashtapadi of this Sukhmani Sahib, in which Guru
Arjan Dev Ji lovingly tells us that we should remember God, Who has
given us life. He says, "O man, you should remember God Who has
given you this beautiful body and Who fashioned your beautiful body
out of a drop of liquid; you should remember how He has given you
all the things which you need. Remember how He sustained you when
you were in the womb of your Mother and how He attached your eyes,
nose, and all the other parts of your body at the places where they
were needed; and how He grew your hair wherever it was needed. He does
all these things in such a way that not even the mother within whom all
these things happen, knows when He comes and creates all this within
her womb. Without anyone's help, God Himself does all these things."
That is why He says, "O man, you should remember Him."

            He Who made you, adorned you, and beautified you,
            Who saved you from the fire of the womb -

Guru Arjan says, "O man, you see how God preserved you and protected
you in the fire of the womb: and how, at that place where no one
else could reach, He supplied food and everything you needed."
Guru Arjan says that in the womb of mother, the body is curled up,
the hands and legs are here and there, and the body of the soul is very
much in pain. Why should such a God be forgotten Who was remembered
when the soul was in the womb of the mother in such a painful state?

    In order to form the bones, the body has to be heated in the fire
of the womb for ninety days; only then do the bones become strong.

            - Who gave you milk in your childhood
            And food, happiness and awareness in the fullness
              of youth -

When you came out from the womb of your mother, you were an infant;
have you forgotten how God arranged for your nourishment then? How
He brought milk in the breasts of your mother, and how, when you
grew into youth, He arranged for your comforts and pleasures, and
for the food and other things you required? This was God's gift to
you; you were not able to do anything on your own. It was all His
Grace and gift, that He gave you whatever you needed at the
appropriate time.

    It is said in the history of Kabir Sahib that He used to see daily
one old man, who was always involved in his worldly work. Even though
that man was very old and near his death, he was not interested in
doing the devotion of God; and whenever Kabir Sahib would tell him,
"O old man, you should do the devotion of the Lord!" he would always
present one or another excuse. Sometimes he would say, "My children
are not yet grown up, and they cannot take responsibility for the
family, so I have to take care of them," and sometimes he would
present one excuse and sometimes another one; he just wanted to avoid
doing the devotion of the Lord. You know that death never waits for
us to accomplish or complete all the works which we desire to do.
Whenever we leave the body, one or another work always remains
incomplete, because no one has ever completed all his work; and
whatever we desire, at the time of death, in order to fulfill that
(or to pay off our debts) we have to come back into this world.
Wherever we are attached, there we go, because that is the rule of
attachment. So, because that old man was very much attached to his
animals and to his family, when he left the body, he came back in
the body of a bullock in that same family.

    When Kabir Sahib passed through that place and saw that bullock,
He easily recognized that it was the same old man, and when He saw
the condition of that soul, He felt much pity for him. And Kabir Sahib
saw that when that bullock was young he was fully utilized by his sons
and the other family members, who plowed the fields with him; then He
saw that after using him, they sold him to another person who used him
for pulling a cart. And when that bullock became so old that he was
useless to the other man, he sold him to an oil merchant, who blind-
folded him and put him on a treadmill and he had to go round and round
in the same house to move the oil mill. And when he became so old that
he became useless even for the oil merchant, he was sold to the butcher,
who slaughtered him and sold his flesh, and even sold his skin. The
people who bought his skin from the butcher took it and made a drum out
of it and sold it to a temple, where it was played twice a day, in the
morning and in the evening.

    When Kabir Sahib saw all this, He felt much pity for him, and said:
"O old man, since you didn't do the devotion of the Lord, you became
a bullock and had to serve the same family who served you in your
previous life; when you became useless to them, they sold you with no
pity or mercy. When the other man also found that you were useless
to him, he sold you to the oil merchant, who used you further; and
when you became useless even to him, you were sold to the butcher,
who slaughtered you, and sold your flesh. People ate it; and your skin
also was sold and you became a drum. Whatever karmas you have left,
you are paying for them by getting a beating every morning and evening.
Because you didn't utilize the human body which you were given
graciously by God, and you wasted it unnecessarily in all the false
attachments and relations of this world - that is why you have to suffer
all this."

            - Who gave you relatives and friends in your old age,
                who fed you while you were just sitting -

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "When you reached old age, after
passing your youth, and you were not able to do anything and you were
sitting in your courtyard, and you were not even able to move your
body, God arranged to take care of you at that time also. He has given
you your wife, your children, your relatives and friends who come and
serve you wholeheartedly. You were not even able to eat by yourself,
but still God has provided you with all these people - all your dear
ones - all your relatives and children; and without your moving your
hand, still you are being fed. This is all the gift of God, which He
has given to you. And even after getting all these things, if you do
not remember God, that is not good; you should remember Him."

            This virtueless one does not know of it!
            Nanak says, "Forgive him so that he may understand."

Guru Arjan is making a request on our behalf to the Almighty Lord.
He is saying, "O, Lord, these poor souls cannot comprehend Your
Glory, and they cannot even understand Who You are; and since they
cannot understand You, they cannot sing Your praise. Only if You will
shower grace upon them will they be liberated; there is no other means
for their liberation."

    We say that we are attending Satsang, and we are doing the
meditation on Naam, as long as our eyes are not open. But once our eyes
are open, we see that we are not the ones who are coming into Satsang,
and we are not the ones who are doing the meditation: it is He Who
is bringing us into Satsang, and it is because of His grace that we are
able to sit in His remembrance and do meditation. It is not within the
reach of the blind man to go and catch hold of the one who has eyes.
Unless the person who has eyes calls to the blind man, and gives him
his fingers, the blind man cannot catch hold of him. In the same way,
unless God showers grace on us, we cannot come in to His Satsang,
and we cannot meditate upon Naam. If He is not gracious on us, we
cannot even have the company of the Master, what to speak of doing
the meditation on Naam. Everything is dependent upon His grace. We
cannot do a thing unless He is gracious on us. That is why Masters
always make requests to the Almighty Lord: because Their eyes are
opened and They see that They are not the doers, that soul cannot do
anything, and that everything is being caused by the Grace of the
Master. He Himself is doing everything, and that is why the Masters,
Whose eyes are opened, always make this request to the Almighty Lord:
"O Lord, shower grace on these poor souls because they do not know Your
glory - they cannot understand You; and if You do not shower grace
upon them, they will not be able to come into your Satsang and they
will not be able to remember You." Unless God showers grace on us,
there is no possibility for us to come into the Satsang and to remember
Him.

            He, by Whose Grace you live happily on the earth,
            And laugh with your son, brother, friend and wife -

Guru Arjan says, "O man, consider how much God has given you in this
world! And by the Grace of God and the power of God, how many comforts
you have! He has given you wife, children, friends and relatives: just
to keep you happy here, how much He has arranged for you."

            By whose Grace you drink cool water,
            And the pleasant winds and precious fire serve you -

Now the Guru says, "O man, consider how by the Grace of God you are
drinking the cold water which He is supplying for you, and how you are
enjoying the breeze which He is giving to you - and how you don't have
to pay anything for that breeze. Consider how you are using the fire,
which He has created for you." All these things are the gift of God,
which He has given to mankind.

            By Whose Grace you enjoy all pleasures,
            And get all the material things -

Now consider how much more He has given you. That God has given all
the material of the world to you, and He has made you the leader of
all creatures in this world.

            Who gave you hands, feet, ears, eyes, and tongue -
            Why have you left Him, and attached yourself with others?

Guru Arjan says, "O man, don't you see that God has given you eyes,
ears, a tongue to speak, hands, feet, and He has given you the power
to move on this earth? He has given you all sorts of comforts and things
in this world. But it is a pity that you have forgotten the One Who has
given you all these things, and instead of turning your attention toward
Him, and becoming attached to Him, you are attached to the worldly
pleasures; and you are ruining your life."

            Such foolish and blind men are entangled in sins!
            Nanak says, "O Lord, You Yourself take them out."

Now the Guru once again makes a request on our behalf: "O Lord,
man is foolish and has no understanding. He doesn't even remember
why he has come down into this world. So You should shower grace on
him, so that he may not have to go again in the cycle of eighty-four
lakhs births and deaths, and so that he may become liberated from the
ocean of this world. This can happen only if You are gracious on him."

    Guru Arjan says in another place, "I didn't appreciate what You
were doing for me; You are the One Who has united me with God. I have
no good qualities; it is only because of Your Grace that I have been
united with God. You were merciful upon me, and You showered grace
on me, and then I met my beloved Satguru. Nanak says, I survive only
by getting Your Naam; when I get Your Naam, my body and soul are
filled with delight."

            He Who is the protector from the beginning to the end -
            The ignorant one does not love Him.

When a man is born, he is just like a piece of flesh; he cannot even
remove the flies by himself, and he cannot nourish himself. It is only
because of God, residing within the mother, Who creates the love within
the mother for the baby, that the baby is nourished, and the mother
takes care of the baby. In the end also, when we become old and all
the parts of our body become useless, and our family members have
no interest in us, because of our old body - it is because God resides
within our children, our relatives and our friends, and works through
them, that they come to serve us, and give us all sorts of comforts
with whatever they have.

    So in the beginning, when we were born in this world, and we were
nothing, it was God Who supported us and gave us everything; and
in the end also, when we cannot do anything by ourselves - when we
are again like a piece of flesh - it is because of God that people are
taking care of us and giving us everything. So God, Who is supporting
us every moment and at every step, Who is guiding us and leading us -
why should we not remember such a God, Who has given us our very life?
When we know that He is the only one Who is sustaining our life; why
should we not remember Him? Guru Arjan says, "O God, the man is foolish.
Even though You are the One Who supported him in the beginning, and in
the end You will also take care of him, still he is foolish, and he
cannot understand what You are doing for him. That is why You must have
pity on him, and shower grace on him - because he is foolish and cannot
sing Your glory."

            By serving Whom, one can get nine treasures -
            The fool does not attach his mind to Him.

By serving such a Master, and by doing the devotion of the Lord, we
get all the treasures of Naam, and we can get liberation. It is a pity
that we are not taking our minds into the devotion and the service of
such a Master.

    Suppose that we do sit for meditation; then we feel that we are
doing a favor to somebody. There are only a few people who sit for
meditation with a real yearning for God within themselves. Otherwise most
people sit for meditation understanding that it is just a rite or ritual
for them to perform. One Saint used to say that when a man is young,
he takes the animals into the fields and takes care of them; and when
he is old enough he works in the fields himself; and when he becomes
old, then he moves the rosary, and thinks that he is doing a favor to
God.

            God, Who is ever and ever present -
            The blind human thinks that He is far away.

Who is nearest to man? God is the One Who is the nearest to a person,
because He sees his every need and want, and He satisfies them all.
But still, Guru Arjan Dev Ji says, "I am very sorry to say that even
though God is nearer than the nearest, still people think that God is
residing either on the top of the Himalayas or somewhere at the bottom
of the sea, or somewhere else." He doesn't realize that God is residing
within the human body; and sitting within us, He is taking care of the
body.

            He, by going in Whose company one gets honor in the
               Court of the Lord -
            The foolish and ignorant one forgets Him.

We forget the Satguru, by serving Whom we get much praise and fame
in the court of God; and since we forget Him, Guru Arjan calls us the
foolish ones.

            Man ever and ever forgets;
            Nanak says, "The Limitless God is the Protector."

Once again Guru Arjan is making a request on our behalf to the Lord:
"O Lord, this man has been forgetting You - life after life he has been
forgetting You. Ever since he was separated from You, he has forgotten
You, and unless You shower grace on him, and make him remember You, he
cannot come back to You; so, O Lord, please shower grace on the poor
souls."

            Man, giving up jewels, plays with shells;
            Renouncing the Truth, he goes after the false.

Naam is a precious jewel, and worldly name and fame are useless shells.
It is a pity that, giving up the precious jewel, man collects shells. He
doesn't realize that worldly pleasures and name and fame are not going
to help him at the time of death,and he will not carry anything from
this world except the precious jewel of Naam; he does not collect that
wealth, but wastes his time in collecting useless things. Truth is God,
Who is never destroyed, and this world is false - this world is garbage,
because one day it will dissolve and come to an end, but God will never
come to an end. It is a pity that, forgetting the Truth Which is God,
man is running after the false things in this world.

            He takes to be permanent that which he must leave;
            He thinks the inevitable is far away.

We understand as permanent that which we must leave one day; this world
is not permanent. When our time comes, we will have to leave this world,
or this world will leave us; because neither we nor this world is
permanent and neither will exist forever. Guru Nanak says, "That which
has been created will be destroyed one day" - this is true. So that
is why Nanak says, "Give up the attachments of the world, and do the
devotion."

    Guru Teg Bahadur also says, "Even Lord Rama had to leave this
world, and even Ravana, who had a very big family - he also had to
leave this world. Nanak says, Nothing is permanent in this world. It
is all a dream."

    Masters have described this world as a dream. Why? When we dream,
although it may continue for some time, when we wake up we know
the dream is not true. In the same way, life in this world is also like
a dream; it may continue for a long time - maybe twenty years, maybe
fifty years - but when it is all over, we realize that it was false, and
nothing was true in it. That is why Guru Sahib says, "The foolish one
is attached to the dream; all his time is passing and he doesn't get
anything, but still he is attached to this world."

    Baba Bishan Das used to compare life in this world to the parshad
which people make on the festival of Holi. In India, some wealthy people
make parshad which looks very beautiful but it is not tasty at all;
and those people who eat that wish they hadn't, because once they eat
it, the taste in their mouth goes bad. On the other hand, those who
didn't get any, they wish that they had come earlier and gotten some.
So Baba Bishan Das Ji used to say that this world is like that parshad,
because those who are in it, they repent after tasting it, and those who
have not yet tasted worldly pleasures, they also repent because they
think that maybe there is something very special in them. So that is
why this world is like that parshad: those who enjoy it are unhappy,
and those who are not enjoying it are also unhappy.

            He works hard for what he must leave here;
            He spurns Him Who always helps and lives with him.

The things which we must leave some day - our family, our children,
our property and wealth, worldly name and fame - for all these things
we have great concern, and we say, "I am the servant of my community;
I am the servant of my religion; I am the one who takes care of my
family," etc. We are concerned for all the things which we have to
leave one day, and we know that we are going to leave them; but we
have no concern for God, Who is going to help us at the time of our
death. We are not even concerned about what will happen to us when we
will have to leave this world. When we have to leave this world, if
we have not done the meditation and devotion of God, the Negative
Power will give us a lot of trouble, and since we will not be in the
protection of Master, we will have to suffer a lot; but still we have
no concern or worry for those moments in which we have to suffer so much
pain. Instead, we are concerned for the things in this world which we
have to leave one day; that is why He says that we are foolish.

            Like the donkey, he loves the ashes,
            And he washes away the sandalwood coat.

Suppose you put a sandalwood coat on a donkey's body. Since he
doesn't appreciate sandalwood, and he is in love with ashes and dirty
things, you may put a coat of sandalwood on him, but after you are
done he will go and put ashes on his body and remove the sandalwood.
In the same way, our condition is like that donkey's: when the Masters
come, they try to dye us in the color of Naam, and they may even
succeed in doing it; but when they put the coat of Naam on us, because
we are very much attracted to the worldly pleasures - the ashes - we
try to remove that color of Naam by going and indulging in those ashes.

    Baba Bishan Das Ji used to tell a story about one donkey: that once
one donkey was in a hemp field, but he was not eating any hemp leaves.
So one man came there and asked him, "O, Mister Donkey, why are
you not eating the hemp? It is so valuable to many people that they
are even ready to sacrifice everything for enjoying it! Why are you not
taking advantage of being in the hemp field?" That donkey replied,
"I have heard that those who use hemp become donkeys, and as you can see,
I am already a donkey!"

            The sinner has fallen into a terrible blind well.
            Nanak says, "O gracious Lord, take him out."

Guru Arjan is once again making a request on our behalf to the Almighty
Lord: "O Timeless Lord, O Almighty Lord, O Master, all the souls are
drowned in the dark well of this world, and they have no light. They are
blind and they cannot see. You are the gracious One, You are the Giver,
so You lower Your hand into this dark well of the world, and - giving
them the support of Your hand - graciously take out the souls." As Guru
Arjan is making this request on the behalf of the souls to the Almighty
Lord to shower grace on them, in the same way, we should also request
the Almighty Lord, the Master, "O Master, we have lost hold of You and
we are feeble; we have no strength of our own; we don't even know how
to reach You, so please shower Your grace on us, and giving us Your hand,
take us out from this world."

	As long as the child is sleeping, the mother has no worry about 
him, but when the child gets up and starts weeping, the mother goes there
at once, leaving everything else behind - whatever she was doing - and
she goes and gives the child whatever it needs. In the same way, as long
as we are involved in the worldly pleasures, God also has become worry-
less toward us - because we are not worried about our own Self. But
when we start begging Him to come down and help us, when we start
weeping in His love and in His yearning, then also God cannot remain
away; just as the mother comes, leaving everything else behind, and
attends to her child, in the same way, God also leaves all His work
and comes down to help us. So we should become like that child, and
cry for the help of God.

            The sinner is man only in appearance.
            His deeds are of the animals: day and night
              he cheats others.

Since we have become separated from God we have changed a lot.
We have changed so much that the deeds which we are doing now
are not deeds which a man should do; they are deeds of animals.
Outwardly our appearance is that of a man, but our deeds are those
of animals.

    Kabir Sahib also said that when God was making the animals, by
mistake He created man; instead of tail and horns He put the beard
and mustache. But even though the outward appearance is that of man,
still, the deeds and qualities are those of animals.

            Outwardly he wears religious garb, but within him
              he has the dirt of Maya:
            No matter how much he tries, he cannot hide his sin.

No matter if one wears saffron-colored clothes, or puts on any outward
appearance and pretends to be a Mahatma, he won't be able to maintain
that forever: because whatever you have within you will one day come
out, and people will know what you have inside. That is why it does not
matter if outwardly one takes up the form of a Sadhu; he cannot be a
Sadhu, because he will act according to whatever he has within him. Guru
Nanak says that the false gold remains true as long as it doesn't come
to the goldsmith. When it is brought to the goldsmith, he can easily
tell whether the gold is really gold, or if it has something else in
it. Just as you cannot get oil out of false mustard (which looks like
mustard outwardly, but really is not mustard) you cannot get anything
from the imperfect or false Master. When a disciple who wants to realize
Truth comes to an imperfect Master, the imperfect Master will run away,
because he knows that now one has come who is going to ask something
of him. So when you have nothing inside, when you are imperfect within,
you cannot act as a perfect one outwardly for a long time. One day,
whatever you have inside will be revealed in your acts and behavior.

            Outwardly he has knowledge and contemplation,
              and he bathes in holy waters;
            Within him, the dog of greed is there.

Outwardly a man may meditate and contemplate, and do many good
things, and teach many good things; but within him the dog of greed
is barking and he is always expecting things from this place and that
place and everywhere.

    In the olden days in India, in almost every village, there used to be
a so-called "competent man" - the clever one of the village. If the people
were not able to understand something, or if they wanted to know any
special thing, they would ask him. Once it so happened that somebody was
carrying an oil mill through that village; before that nobody had ever
seen a machine for extracting oil from seeds. So people started guessing
what it might be. Some people said it was this and some people said it
was that. When they couldn't come to any conclusion about it, they
decided to call that so-called "competent one" of the village. When he
came and saw that machine he started laughing; then after some time he
started crying. The people were surprised and asked him, "Why is it
that first you started laughing and now you are crying? What was the
reason?" So he said, "I started weeping because I am worried about you
people. When I leave this world, who will come to tell you all these
good things, and who will give you all this knowledge? And I started
laughing because this is that rod which God is using to put soot in
His eyes*; and unfortunately, in the Will of God, it has fallen down
from the skies to the earth." People believed him. He didn't know; but
the people didn't know either, so they accepted whatever that so-called
"competent one" said.

(* Lampblack, to improve the appearance
   - a prevalent custom in India.)

	What is our condition? We go to so-called "competent masters," and
they- who have never seen Light within, and have no understanding or
knowledge of the Path, but who imitate the perfect Masters - tell us
to close our eyes and meditate, and they try to show us that they know
everything about the Path and about God. But when they themselves have
not seen the Light, what can they teach us? What can they give us?
Because only the One Who has seen Light within - the One Who has
manifested Light within - only He can show us the Light, and only He
can manifest the Light within us.

	Master used to say that not even a child is born without suffering
pain. The mother who is giving birth to the child definitely has to
suffer pain at the time of giving birth. If you want to accomplish or
achieve anything in this world, you definitely have to suffer and you
definitely have to go through pain; unless you suffer pain, you cannot
do anything. You can know from reading the story of Guru Nanak how He
meditated and worked hard for realizing God. For eleven years He sat
on cushions made of stones; in that way He did His meditations. Could
He not get comfortable cushions to sit on? Yes, He had everything;
but still He sat on stones, because you cannot find God if you don't
suffer pain. You have to work very hard to realize God. That's why
Guru Nanak had to suffer so much pain. It was the same in the lives
of Guru Angad and Guru Amardas. When Guru Amardas was seventy-two, He
came to Guru Angad; and after that, until the age of eighty-four -
for twelve years continuously in His old age - He served His Master,
working very hard for Him, bringing water from the langar and other
menial duties. Similarly, you can read in the story of Baba Sawan
Singh, how hard He worked to realize God and to become the perfect
Master. You already know the story of our beloved Master Kirpal: how
hard He worked in meditation so as to become the perfect One. Unless
you work as hard as our Masters have done, you cannot become perfect
in your meditations, and you cannot realize God.

            How can a blind man find the way only by being told?
            If you take him by his hand, only then can he reach
              the goal.

    Kabir Sahib says that we are the people of the world who eat and
make merry and sleep, but unhappy is the servant, Kabir, who always
remains awake in the remembrance of God, and weeps for Him.

            Within him is fire, and outwardly he puts ashes
              on his body.
            He has stones around his neck - how can he swim
              across the bottomless?

Many people leave their homes, give up their families, and even give
up their clothes and put ashes on their body; but inside, the fire of
all the desires - the fire of the five evils - is burning. How can they
realize God that way? They are wearing a garland of stones around their
neck, and are trying to swim across this ocean of the world. How is that
possible?

            He in whose heart God resides,
            Nanak says, "Such a one will be absorbed in Sahaj."

The one within whom God comes and dwells - within whom God Himself
manifests - only he gets such a position. You cannot obtain the
position of Sahaj just by talking, because the position of Sahaj does
not lie in the three qualities (rajagun, tamagun, and satogun). If you
are involved in these things, you cannot obtain the position of Sahaj.
But if you rise above and go to the fourth plane, and if you meet a
perfect Master Who has reached Sach Khand, only He can give you this
Sahaj. If you are not doing what you have read - if you are always
going in the opposite direction-then how can you obtain this position?
You can obtain this position only after going to the fourth plane, and
only after meeting the perfect Master Who has seen Sach Khand. Only
He Who has Himself obtained it can give you this position of Sahaj.

    If a blind man comes to you and asks you, "Where is such and such
a place?" and you just tell him, "You go in this direction and you will
get there," he won't be able to get to his destination because he is
blind and cannot see where to go. Even though you may try your best to
tell him and to explain to him where this path goes and where this street
goes, still he won't be able to find his way. But if you kindly catch hold
of his fingers and take him where he wants to go, only then can he get
to his destination; otherwise he will get lost on the way.

    In the same way, in this path of spirituality we are blind. We may
have read many books, and from the books we may know that this is the
true path of God, and that by practicing this path of God we can realize
Him and get to Sach Khand, and all these things - we may have all the
knowledge about it - but we cannot get to Sach Khand just by reading
books. Only if some perfect Master comes, and we go in His company, and
He catches hold of our hand and puts us on that path which we know about
from the books, and He Himself graciously takes us to Sach Khand, only
then can we reach our destination.

            How can the deaf man solve riddles?
            If you tell him it is night, he will think
              that you are talking about day.

No matter how many questions and problems you put before a deaf
man, he won't be able to solve any of them: because he won't be able
to hear you. In the same way, if we are not having the company of the
perfect Master, and if we are not getting any guidance from Him, how
can we solve the problem of God?

    Guru Arjan says that the worldly people, those who are attached to
mind and maya, are blind and deaf and dumb. He says that we are blind
because, although God is within us, we are not able to see Him; and we
are deaf, because God is calling us from within, and He is sounding
His sound, but still we are not able to hear Him. This is why Guru
Sahib is calling us blind and deaf.

            How can a dumb man sing the songs?
            Even if he tries, his voice will break.

No matter how much a dumb man tries to sing, he won't be able to do it.
He won't be able to get his voice out correctly, his voice will break
down, because he doesn't have the power of speech or the power of singing.

            How can a cripple wander over the mountains?
            He can never reach there.

If a crippled one wants to reach the top of the mountain and make a
house there, he can never do it - because he doesn't have legs or the
power of walking. On the path of spirituality, we have to go above,
and we are crippled ones on this path without the guidance of the
perfect Master. So how can we dream of going to Sach Khand and making
our abode there? Unless we have the guidance and protection and help
of the perfect Master we can never reach the top of this path of
spirituality; and unless Master admits us into His Home, we can never
reach there.

            The poor one prays to the Merciful Creator:
            Nanak says, "Such ones can swim only by Your Grace."

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji says, "Humbly I am making a request to You,
that You shower grace on all these souls: because the souls can get
liberation only by Your Grace."

            He Who is the helper and always accompanies him,
              is not remembered by him.
            He loves those who are his enemies.

We do not have love and affection for the Lord, Who is helping us
at every moment, and in our every work. We do not have love for Him,
but we have love for our dear ones - our children, who - are always
criticizing us, and who come to us only when they need us. When their
purpose is served, then they do not care about us. But still, we have
much love for them, and we don't have love for God, Who is our
protector at every moment.

            He dwells in the house of sand,
            And indulges in numerous pleasures of Maya.

Our body is just like a house made of sand. You cannot say how long
that house of sand will survive, because a house of sand is not
permanent or stable; who knows when it will be turned into dust? It is
the same with our body. We cannot rely upon it; we cannot say how long
we are going to live in this world. Who knows when this breathing will
stop and we will have to leave this world empty-handed? That is why
He says that we cannot rely upon our own self.

    We are intoxicated by the worldly pleasures, and we have forgotten
that our body is just like a house of sand, and we do not know when
we will have to leave this world. Farid Sahib says that a crane was
playing with the fishes, and after catching them, he was throwing them
into the air, and then again catching them and eating them. He was very
happy playing like that. Suddenly a hawk came from the sky, and caught
hold of the crane; and when the crane saw that the hawk was coming,
he forgot about his enjoyment-he forgot about playing with the fishes
- he was worried about his own sellf. BBBut, in the Will of God, the hawk
came and took that crane, and the crane also lost his life.

    In the same way, we are intoxicated by Maya, and we are playing
with all the things in this world, enjoying the worldly pleasures. We
have forgotten that there is some power higher than us which can come
at any moment and take hold of us; and that is death. Who knows when
death might come, and who knows at that time what we might be doing?
When death comes, we forget all the happiness and enjoyments of this
world, because at that time we are always anxious to save our own
life. But we cannot postpone that; death can never be postponed.

            In his mind he believes in having determination,
            But he never remembers death.

If you want to practice this Path of the Masters, you need to have
strong determination. if you have strong determination and faith in
the Master and the Path, only then will you be able to save yourself
from the Negative Power. The Negative Power cannot harm those who are
strong in their devotion.

            Enmity, opposition, lust, anger, attachment, falsehood
            Bad deeds, greed, and deceit are loved by him.

Now the question is, why do we not meet God? It is because we have
many faults within us: we are jealous of others, we have enmity towards
others; we have lust; we have anger, greed, attachment, egoism. We are
deceitful; we have every bad quality. Because of those bad qualities,
God does not give us His darshan. We complain that we have been initiated
for a long time, but still we are not able to see Him within. Sometimes
we lose faith in the Master also. But we never question our own self;
we never ask ourselves if we have ever tried to give up these things.
Have we ever tried to get rid of all these evils? Have we ever tried to
maintain chastity and purity within? When we do not try to maintain
chastity and purity within, when we do not try to get rid of the evils
which we have within, how can we expect the pure God to come and reside
within us?

    Tulsi Sahib said, "O dear ones, if you want to see God, you must
remove all these things from within yourselves. You must remove gambling,
looking at other people's wives, lust, anger, and all the five evils.
Only if you will remove all these, can you have His darshan."

            In this way he has lived in many births -
            Nanak says, "O Lord, save him by Your Grace."

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji says that all this enmity, antagonism,
deceitfulness, lust, anger - all these evils which we are suffering now
- we do not have all this only in  the   human body. We had these evils in
our previous bodies also; ever since we got separated from Him, we have
been suffering from all this. But up till now, we never got the
opportunity to understand these things, and to get rid of them. That is
why Guru Arjan is making a request on our behalf to the Lord: "Oh Lord,
now that we realize that we have all these things within us, You should
shower Grace on us so that we can get rid of all this, and be able to
meet You. Without Your Grace, we can never become free of all these
things."

            You are the Lord and I pray to You -
            The soul and body are Your Creation.

Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji is praying to the Almighty Lord; He says, "O
Lord, whatever we see in this world, that is all Yours - the body, and
all that has been created in this world, has been made by Your Will.
Whatever comes in this world, comes in Your Will, and whatever goes
from this world, that also happens in Your Will. All this creation is
in Your Will."

            You are our Mother and Father, and we are Your children.
            With Your grace, we have great happiness.

"O Lord, You are our Father, You are our Mother, and we are Your
children. And only by Your Grace can we have happiness on this plane
of the world."

            No one knows Your limits, O God;
            You are greater than the greatest.

"O Lord, no one can know Your limits, and no one can sing Your
praise, because You are the only One Who knows about Your glory.
Those upon whom you shower Your grace, only they can understand
Your glory, and only they can sing Your praise." And then He says,
"O Lord, You are the greatest of all. You are greater than all the
gods and goddesses, and You are everything."

            Everything is in Your string:
            All that happens is under Your orders.

Whatever has been created, whatever we see in this world, is "sewn in
Your thread." That means, "All these things are attached to You, and
You have control over them."

            You alone know Your glory and limits;
            Nanak says, "Your slave ever sacrifices to You."

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "O Lord, only You can understand
Your intelligence; only You can understand Your Path. But I sacrifice
myself on You and I lay down my life before You." Kabir Sahib says,
"Only God knows the glory of God, Who has created this creation;
or those on whom God showers grace, or those who become the slaves
of God; only they know the real glory of God."

    Masters come into this world as benefactors, and they always work
for the benefit of the souls. Once there was a holy man who was called
by the people as a benefactor, because he was always thinking about
the benefit of the people. It once happened that there were some thieves
in that area, and they thought, "Let us go and see that Master, whether
He will work for our benefit or not; because people say that he is a
benefactor who always works for the benefit of the people. Let us go
and see whether he will help us or not." So they went to him, and said,
"Mahatma Ji, one of our companions is sick today, and we would like you
to help us; we need you to come with us, because we are going to steal
something from somebody's house." So he thought, "On the one hand, the
work which they are going to do is not good"; but he thought, since they
were also people, he should go and work for their benefit also. Anyway,
he thought of something, and he took a conch with him, and he went with
them.

    So the thieves went to one person's house, and they collected all
the wealth. As soon as they were ready to leave that house with all
those things, that Mahatma blew the conch; when people heard that sound,
everybody woke up, and when the thieves saw that, they ran away. When
the people of the house saw the "benefactor," the "sadhu, "the "Mahatma,"
they wondered what he was doing there with all that wealth which the
thieves were just going to take; and if he had come there for stealing,
why did he blow the conch? So he told the whole story of why he was doing
that. He said, "My work is to work for the benefit of the people; I am
a benefactor. In the first place, I worked for the benefit of the thieves;
they wanted me to come with them and I did. On the other hand, when I saw
that these people were going to take things from your house, I was
concerned about you, and I worked for you; so I blew the conch. It may
sound silly and foolish, but still, since I am a benefactor Sadhu, and
I always work for the benefit of people, that's why I did this." And he
said, "I can tell you the place where the thieves stay, and if you want,
you can take the police there, and the police can capture the thieves."
So the police did, and on the next day when that benefactor came near
the thieves, the thieves became very angry with him and said, "We had
heard that you were a benefactor. But what did you do? You didn't work
for our benefit! Instead you worked for the benefit of other people, and
because of that we are in jail. That is not just." But he said, "No,
wait! Just think it over. I worked for your benefit, and that is why I
agreed to come with you; you wanted me to come with you, and I did. But
on the other hand, when I was in the house, my working for your benefit
was over; after that I worked for the benefit of others, and that is why
you are in jail."

    So whenever the Masters come, they always work for the benefit of
our souls. Outwardly, many times when the Masters are working for our
benefit, people don't understand that, and they think that the Masters
are silly or foolish. But they do not realize that although that Master
is outwardly working like other human beings - He eats, sleeps and does
all the other things which human beings do - within He is always working
for the benefit of the souls. He continually works toward the union of
the souls with the Oversoul; that is His main purpose and mission in
coming into this world; He has no other.


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