THE JEWEL OF HAPPINESS
The Sukhmani of Guru Arjan
a commentary by
AJAIB SINGH
Chapter 24
CONCLUSION
I worshipped the Perfect Master, whose Naam is
Perfect;
And I got the Perfect One - Nanak says,
Sing His praise.
Once a disciple came to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj, and asked Him, "How did
you get the perfect God? How did you get the perfect Master?" We know that
if anyone doesn't work really hard, even in his worldly work, he cannot
become successful. In this world there is no work, which - if someone wants
to do it - cannot be done. If we start doing any work with strong
determination, with strong faith in our own selves, with confidence, and we
go on doing it lovingly, no doubt it will take some time, but definitely
the day will come when we will be successful. It is like an ant who tries
to climb a wall. She reaches so high and she falls down; again she tries,
and again she falls down. She does not lose heart, she keeps on trying, and
the time comes when she reaches the top.
Why do we go on saying all day long, "My mind is not still, I cannot
keep my mind still, I cannot take my soul up ..." Why do we go on
complaining all day long? Only because we do not meditate; we have become
thieves of meditation. Read the history of any Mahatma who has come into
this world and you will find that They spent many nights remaining awake;
They suffered a lot, and after working so hard, They were able to realize
God. By reading the histories of the Mahatmas we come to know how much
love and faith They had for their Masters and how, for Their Masters, They
sacrificed many things, understanding them as little mean things.
Even though Kabir Sahib was a Param Sant, and He had come from above,
He was already a Saint when He came into this world - still He worked
very hard and stayed up late in the night. In His Bani He has written
that, "Happy are the people of the world who eat and sleep, but unhappy
is the slave Kabir, who remains up and weeps in the separation of God."
In the same way, Swami Ji Maharaj did meditation for seventeen years,
sitting in a secluded dark room, beginning at a very young age.
Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj also worked very hard in meditation. Even
when He was in the Army, and had to fight on the battlefield, then also He
continued doing His meditations.
In the same way, Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj worked very hard. He
stayed up all night many times, and for many days He would not come out of
the meditation hall.
Master Kirpal Singh also worked very hard. You know how He used to go
and stand in the water of the River Ravi, and all night long He would
meditate in that place.
Mastana Ji used to say that those who wanted to see the result of
meditation, they should see Kirpal Singh.
In the same way, Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj also worked very hard for
eleven years. He did not sleep on a comfortable bed; He used to sit on dry
hay and grass and meditate on that.
Regarding myself, you already know how I meditated for seventeen or
eighteen years on the first two words, and it was very hard work, sitting
underground. During that time I did not have any connection with the world
and I bore the thirst and hunger. Those who were watching me doing that
work were saying that I was mad, or some ghost had control of me. When
Hazur Maharaj Kirpal showered grace on me and gave me the knowledge of the
planes beyond the second plane, again I meditated for five or six years
continuously, eventually in the underground cave in 16 PS. At that time I
had only one sevadar with me, whom I had told, "You should eat food
whenever you want, and not wait for me. Whenever I want, I will come out
and eat food."
Why do Saints and Mahatmas work hard in meditation? This is a matter
of great understanding: if They are sent in this world by God, and They
are already perfected before coming into this world, why do They have to
work so hard and meditate, and suffer many hardships? They do all these
things only because They want to demonstrate to people that nothing can
be achieved in this world without working hard. Just as the melon changes
color when it is in the company of the other ripe melons, in the same way,
when people come in the company of the Mahatmas and know that They have
worked very hard in order to achieve God, they realize that they also
should meditate - because nothing can be achieved without working hard.
Our soul is the essence of God. We have got this body only to pay
off our Karma. Right now we are living in the physical body, and we
have a physical mind and physical organs of senses, which are not letting
us go within. In this physical plane, Maya is manifested everywhere and
Brahm, or the all-consciousness, is not manifested. In Sahans-dal Kanwal
both Maya and Brahm are equally manifested, and in Trikuti the Maya is
latent and the Brahm is manifested. So when our soul goes beyond Trikuti,
beyond the limits of the mind, then our soul is not affected by Maya,
because Maya does not exist beyond the second plane. Usually the yogis
do practices which enable them to reach up to the second plane, and what
they experience there, they understand as the Almighty One. In the
beginning, Baba Bishan Das gave me knowledge only up to the Brahm, the
second plane. And in the beginning he also used to say that there was
nothing beyond the Brahm, and that Brahm was the Almighty Lord, the Creator.
So Guru Arjan Dev is here replying to the questions of the disciple.
He is telling him, "Brother, I have meditated on the perfect Naam given
to me by the perfect Master. And that is how I got the opportunity to do
the devotion of the perfect God, and that is why I am singing His Glory."
When Masters talk about perfect Naam and perfect Masters, it naturally
implies that there is some imperfect master, or imperfect Naam. The Perfect
God is sitting in the Anami place above Sach Khand, and when it came in
His Will, He created Sach Khand and then He came down and He created
Bhanwar Gupha, Daswan Dwar, Trikuti, and then He created Sahans-dal Kanwal,
and even this world was created by Him. He created the astral planes in
which He put the gods and goddesses. He made the Negative Power as the
owner of all the astral planes, and He gave all the arrangements of these
planes to the Negative Power. Guru Nanak says that the kingdom of the
divisions of this world, the world below, were given to the Negative Power
by God Himself.
The Gurumukh who is not affected by the three gunas is the real one,
and He gets the highest glory. So the Perfect Naam of God can be received
from the Perfect Master, and Perfect Masters connect us with that Perfect
Naam. They have worked hard, and that is why they inspire us to work hard,
because we cannot get anything in this world without working hard. Swami Ji
Maharaj says that those who are the thieves of meditation always remain in
illusion. They get all kinds of pain, they remain in laziness and sleep,
they get kicked and knocked by lust and anger, and they drown in the river
of greed.
Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say that mind may agree to stand in front
of a cannon, but he will not agree to sit for meditation. We should not
listen to our mind; we should not meditate understanding it as a burden,
we should do it lovingly. Because the devotion of the Almighty Lord is a
precious thing; it is the giver of real happiness and contentment; it is
the destroyer of lust, anger, greed, attachment and egoism. It is the
giver of real honor. Those who do the devotion of the Lord with their true
heart - those who search for God with their true heart - they definitely
realize Him.
The devotees of the Lord are the dear children of God; we cannot get
this wealth of devotion of the Lord by ourselves, unless we go to the
Perfect Masters and get initiation into Naam from Them. Naam is not a word.
If it was a word, then why go to a Saint? We could have easily got it from
some book. Naam is not a word: Naam is the attention. Mahatmas give us the
Naam which They have earned, and behind the Naam given to us by the
Mahatmas, Their charging, Their power, is working.
Listen to the teachings of the Perfect Master
And see the Parbrahm as near.
Listen to the teachings of the Perfect Master. If you do that, you will
be able to see the Almighty Lord within you, as nearer than the nearest.
Remember God with your every breath
So that the worries of your mind may go away.
Which kind of Simran should we do? When we breathe in, we should do Simran;
when we breathe out, then also our Simran should be going on; when we are
sleeping, we should be doing Simran; when we are in the state of
wakefulness, then also we should be doing Simran. No matter what we are
doing, with every single breath the Simran should go on happening with us.
Master Sawan Singh used to say that our mind never has to do anything,
because we work in the world with our hands and feet. He used to say that
our hearts should always be towards our Beloved, no matter what our hands
and feet are working at. Guru Nanak says that the devotee of God talks to
the people with his tongue, but in his heart he is always one with his
Beloved. If we get the habit of doing Simran, then it does not make any
difference if we are in crowded places, because the dear ones can do their
Simran even in the crowded places. "Wherever your mind is stilled, no
matter if you are in a crowded place, for you it is a secluded one."
Give up the bad desires and waves of the mind.
O mind, long for the dust of the Saints.
We should have yearning - we should have longing - for realizing God within.
And we should remove all the waves and fantasies of the world which are
going on in our mind. Just as we use a broom to remove dirt from a room, in
the same way, we should use the broom of Simran to remove the rubbish, the
waves and fantasies, from our mind. And if you want to ask anything from
God, you should ask only for the dust of the feet of the Master. Guru Sahib
says, "Bathe in the dust of the Sadhu's feet, and sacrifice yourself on the
Sadhu."
Give up the ego and pray;
And swim across the Ocean of Life
in the Sadhu's company.
If there is any obstacle between us and God, that is the obstacle of egoism.
So eliminating your own self, make this request to the Almighty Lord: that
you will do His meditation and always keep yourself in the company of the
Sadhus. Because if we want to swim across the ocean of life; we can do that
only by keeping the company of the Masters.
If an unknown person comes to any city where he has never been, and if
he wants to reach his destination, he will ask directions at every single
crossing. Even then he will not be sure about reaching his destination until
he finally gets there. But if he has someone with him who knows that city,
then he will not have to hesitate about anything; he will not have to ask
people where to go. He will drive his car and not be afraid; he will not
have any worries as to whether he will reach his destination or not. He
has someone in his car who knows about the ways and the directions in that
city.
In the same way, we know nothing about the inner Path; we know nothing
about spirituality. Therefore it is very dangerous for us to go within,
unless we have a guide with us who knows about the inner Path. If we have
someone Who has travelled on that Path, Who has manifested that Path within
Him, then we don't need to worry about anything. We know that He is with us,
and He will take us to our destination and save us from all dangers. We
don't have to worry about pitfalls, or anything which might come in our way.
Collect the wealth of God and fill up your store.
Nanak bows down to the Perfect Master.
Whatever meditation we are doing from day to day is counted, and we are
collecting a big store of meditation. All the remembrance of God which we
have done - even one moment's remembrance - is counted in our devotion.
Don't ever think that whatever time you are devoting is not being counted.
Master knows about our devotion; He knows how much we have done. He is
perfecting our path of meditation, and when the time comes, He hands it
over to us. So here He says, "You collect the wealth of the devotion of
Lord." Guru Nanak says, "I sacrifice myself on the Perfect Master, because
I have been able to do this only with the Grace of the Master."
Well being, happiness, comfort and joy -
In the company of the Sadhus remember the
Supreme Joy.
Master will take you to your real home. Happily, lovingly, and after saving
you from all types of dangers, he will take you to that place where there
is complete and supreme bliss. Kabir Sahib says, "O Kabir, in the company
of the Saint, the Lord is remembered. Only the moments which are spent in
the company of the Master are counted. All other moments are useless,
because we don't remember God in those moments."
Thereby save your soul from the fires of hell.
Drink the nectar of the Praise of God.
What is the use of doing the meditation of Naam? By meditating on Naam, you
will be having pity on your own Self, and you will be saving your soul from
hell. Guru Nanak says, "O, Nanak, nobody will escape without the protection
of Naam."
Meditate upon One God alone in your heart.
He has one Form but many manifestations.
No matter what we are doing, God should dwell in our heart and we should
always go on remembering Him, because whatever we are seeing with our eyes
is all His play, all His Glory.
He is the Sustainer, the Holder of Maya and He is
merciful to the suffering ones.
He is the destroyer of miseries and the perfect
Gracious One.
God always showers grace on everyone, and He always removes the pain of the
people, and in His home, He gives a place to all who reach there. And He is
merciful; He always showers His Grace and Mercy on the people.
Do Simran of Naam again and again.
Nanak says, This is the only support of the Soul.
Now the Master says, "Don't think that you have done enough Simran." He says,
"No, you can never do enough Simran. Again and again go on doing Simran,
because if there is any medicine which can liberate our soul and remove our
pain, that is the medicine of Simran; the medicine of Naam and Shabd."
The words of the Sadhu are the best hymns.
These are priceless rubies and gems.
The words of the Saints and the Mahatmas are precious. You cannot buy them
at any cost; they are priceless. And they are the best words. Whatever They
say is for the benefit of the dear ones, for the benefit of the whole
creation.
He who listens to and acts upon them is liberated.
He swims across and makes others swim across.
Those who listen to the words of the Master, and who practice the words of
the Master, do get liberation for their own self; but they liberate and
improve the condition of other people, also. Kabir Sahib says that if the
love for the Master is maintained throughout one's lifetime, then what to
speak about one's own liberation - such a person can liberate millions of
other souls.
Successful is His life and successful is His company.
The one whose mind is dyed in the color of .God.
Such a Mahatma's life is successful, and so is the time which we spend in
His company because He is always dyed in the color of the devotion of the
Lord. Day and night, He is in the remembrance of Almighty God. Guru Nanak
says, "Blessed is that day when I met the Sadhu."
The limitless Shabd within Him sings His victory.
He hears it and happily glorifies God.
God is manifested in the forehead of the Saint.
Nanak says, Many people are saved in His company.
Where in the body of the Mahatma is the Lord manifested? In the forehead of
the Mahatma, and by remaining in the company of such a One, we can get
liberation.
Those who are worthy of taking refuge in Him,
come to Him -
Lord, shower grace and unite us.
Now Guru Arjan Dev is telling His disciple that those who are worthy of
coming in the refuge of the Masters - that is, those who will make use of
what they are given - only they are brought by God into the refuge of the
Masters. And God Himself makes all those arrangements for them.
Our enmities vanish and we are dust
under everyone's feet,
Uttering the nectarful Naam in the company
of the Saints.
When Naam manifests within us, then we no longer think, Whom should we
criticize? Who should be our enemy? Who is not ours? and so forth. Because
when we see God sitting in everyone, if we criticize anyone, it means that
we are criticizing God; if we think of him as our enemy, and we see that
God is sitting within him, it means that we are making God our enemy. So
when God is sitting within everyone, and we see Him sitting everywhere, we
make ourselves very humble. Paltu Sahib says, "You should make your mind
thin. When you make your mind thin, then you start doing the real devotion.
When you start doing the real devotion, you will consider yourself as the
most humble one. So give up discriminating and finding fault with people,
and don't complain." Guru Nanak also says, "Don't think ill of others. In
that way you will not have any bad reaction."
The Gurudev has now been pleased.
The Seva of the servants is accepted.
If we adopt humility within, if we give up egoism, and if we see and think
that all people are the children of God - when we have such an attitude,
only then our Master is pleased with us, and opens His door for us. He
accepts the seva of only such disciples.
They remain free from entanglements and sins;
They hear and repeat the Naam of Lord with one tongue.
Such people always remain unaffected by the entanglements and the problems
of the world. Whenever they open their mouth, they will speak the Glory of
God. We will see that whenever any beloved of God says anything, he will be
praising God.
God has kindly showered His grace;
Nanak says, One cargo has been accepted.
It was not within our ability to love all; it was not within our efforts
to understand all as the children of God. It was the Grace of our Master
that we have maintained this, and made our lives successful.
Once there was a Sadhu who was taunted by a woman. That woman would ask
him, "Do you have a beard on your face or a bush?" But that Sadhu always
kept quiet. When his end-time came, he told the people to call that woman;
and when she came, he told her to ask him the same question - whether He had
a bush or a beard. He answered, "Today I am about to leave - I am completing
My earthly life - and I can say that I have a beard on my face, and I am
taking it as I brought it." The woman asked, "Why didn't you say this
earlier?" He replied, "I was not sure about my mind. Nobody knows when his
mind is going to delude him. That is why I was not claiming the beard as a
beard; I didn't know whether I would retain the purity in my mind or not.
But today I am leaving, and I have done that, and I can say that I am
taking the beard back with me."
O Saint, friend, praise God -
With full attention and concentrated mind.
Now Guru Arjan Dev is summing up His teachings. He says, "Dear ones,
sleeping and waking, sing the songs of God; do His meditation. But when you
are doing all these things, you should be cautious about your mind. Don't
do like this: that when you are sitting for meditation, your body is
sitting, but your mind is sight-seeing and wandering here and there in the
market." "The meaning of what I say daily - `Make your mind quiet, as only
a quiet mind can meditate,' is that the fantasies and thoughts which come
in our mind bother us during our meditation; quiet them, remove them, and
in their place do Simran."
The Jewel of Happiness is in fact,
the Praise of God and His Naam.
He in whose heart it dwells, becomes full
of Naam virtues.
The Name of this bani is Sukhmani - the Jewel of Happiness - only because
this gives happiness to the mind, and those that take this bani to be that
jewel, by the light of which the snake searches for his food - who
understand this as a light-giving bani, then this bani helps manifest the
Light within them. In this Sukhmani, I have given the message of Shabd Naam,
and I have talked about those karmas which are an obstacle between us and
God, and how we can do the devotion of the Lord, and realize God.
Meditation of the Naam is the only way by which we can realize God.
All his desires are fulfilled
And he becomes a distinguished person,
renowned throughout the world.
All the desires of the person who does the meditation of Shabd Naam are
fulfilled. "All the desires" means the desire for realizing God, and such
a person becomes the highest one in this world and He gets honor; He
becomes the owner of all creation.
He gets to the Highest Place;
He no more comes and goes.
He goes back to the Anami place which is the highest plane, and God makes
Him one with Him. When God brings back any soul from the suffering world,
that soul never comes back into the suffering world again.
He leaves this world with the well-earned wealth of Naam -
He who has obtained the gift of the Sukhmani, says Nanak.
He knows that the Naam is the only thing that will go with Him, and He takes
only the meditation of Naam with Him. But who carries the wealth of Naam
with him? Only those who are chosen by God - on whom God is gracious; and
who are sent in this world to do the devotion of Lord.
Well-being, peace, the supernatural powers,
the nine treasures,
Wisdom, knowledge, all spiritual powers,
Mahatmas do not exhibit their supernatural powers, and they do not make
prophesies. If they want, they can, because they have those powers - they
have got them without working for them. The supernatural powers are the
slaves of those who do meditation. Mahatmas do not allow their disciples
to perform miracles or to use their supernatural powers. That is why they
say, "Whenever you get any experiences, whenever you see anything, don't
tell the people and don't misuse them." Kabir says, "Like chemicals are
absorbed in the bones, we should absorb the Naam within ourselves."
Learning, austerities, yoga, contemplation of Lord.
The best knowledge and the most purifying baths,
They are aware of all kinds of knowledge, and they know every yoga system.
Yoga means the union with God. They know everything, and for them it is
not difficult to talk with a disciple in the language of the disciple. But
they do not do such surprising, such miracle-like things, in this world.
Within, where the soul talks with the Shabd, there is no language as such,
there is no speech; when the soul talks with the Almighty Lord, they talk
like we are talking outside. Hazrat Bahu has said, "Within, nobody teaches,
nobody learns, and no stories or statements are given there." Guru Nanak
says, "The soul who does the devotion of the Lord, no matter if she is
learned or illiterate, she realizes Him."
Four boons, the enlightenment of the soul,
Detachment while living amidst all,
The Lotus, the heart, of such a Mahatma always remains in bloom, and He
does not have any sadness. He has all the four bounties (Kama, Artha,
Dharma, Moksha) in his power, and even though He is living in this world,
He is not affected by its dirt. His attention is always on His destination.
His attitude is like that traveler who does not get stopped by any
hindrances or obstacles, and keeps on moving toward His destination.
Beauty, intelligence, the knowledge of reality,
The quality of looking at everyone alike.
He is beautiful; He looks at everyone alike, and He is very wise. He does
not become the equal of God; He understands Himself as a dear Son of God.
All these blessings are bestowed upon One who recites
And hears the Naam of the Master with concentrated
mind, says Nanak.
Who gets all these qualities? Only those who obey the instructions of the
Master, and those who accept the very word of the Master as a commandment
- those who do their devotion and serveee their Master with love and faith
for Him. If we do not have faith in Him, we cannot travel on the inner path.
If we do not have love for Him, we cannot see Him, even though He is
sitting within us. But He knows how much love and faith we have in Him. If
we do not have enough love and faith in Him, He will not open His door for
us.
This is a Treasure: whosoever repeats it in his mind
Is liberated in all the Ages.
Golden Age, Silver Age, Copper Age, and this present Iron Age - There are
just four ages, and one comes after the other. In all the four ages, Naam
is the only way of getting liberation. But who gets the wealth of Naam?
The Praises of the Lord and the constant
listening to Naam
Are also described in the Simritis, Shastras
and Vedas.
By repeating the words, "Govind, Govind," or "God, God," we cannot get God.
We have to listen to God. Guru Nanak says that repeating the word "Govind"
is useless for listening to Him, we have to go to the perfect Master Who
makes us listen to the Sound. Guru Nanak has described that very power,
using the words, "The Sound of the Lord," "The Voice of God." The Muslim
fakirs also described that same power as "The Sound of God; the sound
coming from the other world." All the Vedas and Shastras describe the glory
of that Naam, which is coming from Sach Khand and is sounding in our
forehead. Guru Nanak has said that the Bani of the Perfect Master resides
within everyone. The perfect Master listens to that Bani Himself and makes
those who come to Him also listen.
The Naam of Lord is the fundamental teaching
of religions.
It resides in the devotee of Lord.
Hundreds of wise people have the same thing to offer; foolish people will
each have their own thing. You can read the writing of any Mahatma, and you
will find that in all the scriptures, there is a description of the
meditation of Shabd Naam.
Millions of sins are erased in the company of the Sadhu.
With the grace of the Saint one becomes free from Yama.
No matter how bad our sins, our karmas, are, we should not be afraid of
them; we should come in the company of the Master. But when we come to the
Masters, after that we should not do them again. When we go to the Masters
and repent for our sins, then the Masters do not give us to the Angels of
Death. If we have to face the Angels of Death even after going to the
Mahatma, and if we still have to suffer the pains of the Angels of Death
- if at the time of death the Satguru dddoes not come to take us - then what
is the use of going to such a Mahatma? But what can the poor Master do, if
the disciples keep on making the mistakes - if they do not listen to what
the Master is saying, and if their condition is like that blowpipe which
does not absorb any wind in it? Then what can the Master do?
We people take Naam initiation, and we continue indulging in lust,
anger, greed, attachment and egoism. Whatever we were doing before coming
to the path, we continue doing that. How can we gain anything from the Naam
initiation? I have said many times that whenever any initiated person does
any bad thing that is against the teachings of the Master, the Negative
Power laughs at the Master and says, "Look at him!! You gave initiation to
him and look at what he is doing!" But Masters are very patient, they have
a very big heart; they always say, "No, he will come back and he will
understand his mistake." Whenever we come in the company of the Masters,
we stop doing the bad things. But when we have to face the world, again we
forget our promises and become one with the world and start doing them
again.
The gracious sight (the darshan) that we get of the Master is used up
in washing our sins and again we make our soul dirty with the dirt of lust,
anger-and when we go to the Master, His Grace, His gracious sight, is again
used for our purification. If we work hard, and keep ourselves pure, then
the gracious sight of the Master, which we now use for purifying ourselves
over and over again, could be used for uplifting our soul. In that way, we
could be successful in no time.
Those on whose forehead such fate is written by God
Come to the refuge of the Sadhu, says Nanak.
Again and again Guru Sahib is emphasizing this point: The ones in whose fate
God writes this line - that they are supposed to meet the Master, that they
are supposed to do devotion, and go back to their real home - only such
chosen souls come in the company of the Master, no matter if He is living
thousands of miles away from them; they come to the Master anyway, and get
the knowledge of Naam, and do the devotion and go back to their home. But
the ones in whose fate this line is not written by the Almighty Lord - no
matter how hard they try, they can never come in the company of the Master,
get initiation, and go back to their real home. No other rite and ritual
- no other practice of religion - is eqqqual to Naam. Nanak says that, "Those
who have got the Naam are the most blessed ones, because they are entitled
to the right to go back to their real home."
He, within whom it dwells and who listens
to it with love -
Such a one always remembers God.
God starts dwelling within the heart of such a devotee who does the devotion
of Shabd Naam with all his faith, with all his love, wholeheartedly. Heart
talks to heart. When you are remembering anyone, at the same time he is
remembering you.
God removes his pains of birth and death.
The Priceless human body is made successful
in a moment.
He gets rid of the pain, the disease, of this birth and death, and He makes
the precious human body come into its true worth. He makes it successful.
Rabia Basri was a famous meditator Mahatma among the Muslims. She was a
woman Saint, and once it happened that She didn't get up for meditation
early in the morning. On that day, all Her disciples had the experience that
She had died. But when they came to see the dead body of the Master, they
saw that Rabia was still living there. So they said, "We had this experience
that You had left the body." Then Rabia confessed, "Yes, my condition was
like that - that I had left - because I didn't get up for meditation."
Whenever you wake up in anyone's remembrance, whenever you sit in meditation
in the remembrance of the Master, He also comes there; He also sits with
you. And when the Master does not get up - when He does not meditate - it
means that He is no more in this world.
He earns pure glory, His words are full of Nectar;
God's Naam alone is absorbed in his mind.
Master's Glory is true; His Glory is pure; His Glory is high. And in the
words spoken by the Master - the Nectar is flowing.
Pains, diseases, fear and illusions, all these
are removed.
His Name is Sadhu, His deeds are pure.
Unhappiness, sadness, pain, and bad Karmas are removed, and they become of
pure karma. Of whom is this true? "Of the ones we call `Sadhus' - who are
doing the meditation of Shabd Naam, who become pure in their heart and who
take their souls back to Sach Khand, Only they should be called `Sadhus'."
Swami Ji Maharaj says, "O, brother, I call them Saints who take their souls
to Sat Lok."
I have said that Saints have one foot in the world and the other one
in Sach Khand. Whenever He closes His eyes, He is with God; He is in Sach
Khand; and whenever He opens His eyes he is back in the world.
His glory becomes the highest of all;
Nanak says, Through this quality the Naam of the Lord
is called SUKHMANI.
The Glory of that Mahatma is very high; He who does the devotion, His Glory
becomes very high. Nanak says that, "This is the quality of the Sukhmani."
This is the Bani which gives happiness; like that jewel, it brightens us
within. In this Bani, whatever subject Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj touched,
He clarified that subject a great deal. If He took the subject of Simran,
He said a lot about doing Simran. He told us the benefits of Simran, and
how we should do it. If He was talking about love for the Master and faith
in Him, He said a lot about it; how we should love Him, and what kind of
love we should have for Him. If He commented on that which is the main
hindrance between us and God, He said a lot about it: criticism. He said
that criticism is the sweet disease from which everybody is suffering. And
when He talked about the devotion of the Lord, and how we should remain
happy in the Will of God, He told us a lot; He emphasized all these
subjects.
He even said, "How can the critic of the Sadhu get liberation? Because
on his head he is carrying the load of all the hells." He said, "The
liberation is in Naam, and Naam is with the perfect Masters. Masters are
sent into this world carrying a Naam from God, and we can get Naam only
from Them. Only those who please God get the Naam and come to the Master,
and only those who are chosen by God for the total liberation come to the
Masters and get the Naam!!
In this Bani He emphasized love for the Master, and doing the
meditation. And we should mold our lives according to these instructions,
and make it our experience.
This Bani is from Guru Granth Sahib, and it was a very long Bani.
You know that I have been commenting on this Sukhmani since last year and
I hope that Russell Perkins and dear ones from Sant Bani Ashram will try
hard to make this Bani very soon available to you in the form of a book;
as you all know, this commentary is being published in SANT BANI magazine,
and you might be reading that. But I hope that it will be available in the
form of a book also. I hope that you will read it and will take benefit
from it. Today I am pleased because this was a big work, and I am very
grateful to my beloved Master Kirpal, with Whose Grace this work was
completed.
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