Sb199411

Sant Bani Magazine No". 1994

The Voice of the Saints

VOI.19 - 5

The Wealth Which Can't Be Robbed

Sant Bani Magazine The Voice of the Saints November 1994 - Volume 19, Number 5

The Wealth Which Can't Be Robbed Sant Ajaib Singh Ji a Satsang frorrz Ahmedabad, India September 15, 1994

The One Tme Pilgrimage Randy Budington - a personal account

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He Is Always Here Sant Ajaib Singh Ji a n ruzderground room talk March 1983

Dipped in His Beauty Danae Shanti - a personal account

The Voice of the Master Sant Ajaib Singh Ji q z m t i o m a d ansri~ers February 2,1983

COOKING WITH LIGHT Favorite Vegetarian Recipes has been reprinted and is once again available. This cookbook contains a collection of "tried and true" recipes of the Sant Bani Sangat, and is illustrated by children from the Sant Bani School. Now in its third printing, the book has been popular both with initiates and as gifts from initiates to family and friends. It has over 200 pages, plus an index. Proceeds benefit the Sant Bani School. Price $10.00. It may be ordered from: Sant Bani Ashram, Sanbornton, N.H. 03269.

Photo credits: Front cover. Carlo Massarini; p. 1 (both), Gurmel Singh; p. 2, Bobbe Baker; p. 9. Richard Shannon; p. 17, Charlie Boynton; pp. 21,28, Jonas Gerard; others unknown.

SANT BANI/The Voice of the Saints is published periodically by Sant Bani Ashram, Inc., Sanbornton, N.H., U.S.A., for the purpose of disseminating the teachings of the living Master, Sant Ajaib Singh Ji, of His Master, Param Sant Kirpal Singh Ji, and of the Masters who preceded them. Editor Emeritus: Russell Perkins. Editor: Richard Shannon, with kind assistance from: Randy Budington, Marsha Fader, Edythe Grant, Phyllis Roy, and Susan Shannon.

Annual subscription rate in the US. is $30.00. Individual and back issues $2.50.

Foreign and special mailing rates available o n request. All checks and money orders should be made payable to Sant Bani Ashram, and all payments from outside the U.S. should be on an International Money Order or a check drawn on a New York bank (with a micro-encoded number). Correspondence should be addressed to Sant Bani Ashram, Sanbonton, N.H. D3269, U.S.A. Articles, including stories and poems, o n the theory and practice of Sant Mat, are most welcome.

Views expressed in individual articles are not necessarily the views of the journal. Articles are edited for clarity and may be cut to fit available space.

The Wealth Which Can't Be Robbed Sant Ajaib Singh Ji

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alutations onto the Feet of Supreme Gracious Lord Almighty Sawan and Kirpal. It is all due to Their grace that day and night we are singing Their glory. So thanks to Them for giving us this opportunity of singing Their glory. Every moment, every second spent in the remembrance, in the devotion, of Lord Almighty is counted in our devotion.

Our soul is of the same essence as that of Sat Purush. She is the drop of the Ocean of Sat Naam. Forgetting her Reality, her Real Home, she has come into this material world and she is stuck in this plane of mind and matter.

Saints and Mahatmas do not come into this world to form any new religion nor do They come into this world to break the earlier formed religions and communities. They tell us, "God Almighty has given you this precious opportunity of the human birth and, while attending to your worldly responsibilities, you should make the best use of this opportunity, of this human body." How can we make the best use of this

opportunity of the human body? We can make the best use of the opportunity of the human body only by doing the devotion of God Almighty.

Who knows, after this human birth, whether we will get another birth or not, so if we do the devotion of God Almighty in this human birth, only then are we making the best use of it.

Our soul has forgotten her Real Home, her origin, Sat Naam, Sach Khand. That is why Saints and Mahatmas lovingly teach us, They tell us about the means and about the practice doing which we can return to our home. They not only teach us but They accompany us. They make us make our soul return to its origin.

Lord Almighty is stainless, He is pure and holy. Our soul also was stainless, pure and holy; but she took the company of the mind and matter and became dirty. The mind is in the company of the sense organs, and the sense organs are involved in the dirty things; that is why the mind has become dirty and our soul has also become dirty because of the company of the mind.

It is like this: suppose someone This Satsang was given September 15, comes from America to India and 1994, in Ahmedabad, India. kidnaps an infant. That infant is tak-

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en to America and grows up over there. He understands that the parents who are taking care of him are his real parents. He understands that America is his country and he understands the place where he grows up as his origin, as his own home.

Later when he grows up, he gets married, he settles down in that country, and he thinks that it is his home and that these are his parents.

He doesn't have any awareness that he does not belong to that place.

Suppose that someone from India who knows about that boy goes to America and talks to him and tells him, "You have other parents and they are waiting for you; they are yearning for you, back at your home in India."

In the beginning he is not ready to listen to that person because he doesn't know the truth. But if the person from India is patient and if the boy goes on spending time in his company, because of the day-today company, somehow he becomes convinced that what the person from India is saying is true. A person always wants to return to his origin so when he learns about his country through that person, then the desire to return to his homeland is created within him. And when he finally realizes that the place where he was living is not his home; the parents with whom he was living are not his parents; the brothers and sisters, who he used to think were his brothers and sisters, are not really his broth4

ers and sisters because his brothers and sisters are in India; He gives up everything, whatever he might have over there, and he returns to his homeland, India.

In the same way our soul, after getting separated from God Almighty, came to this plane of the mind; she was trapped by the Negative Power and she is living here.

She has forgotten her origin and she understands that this world, this plane where she is living now, is her home. But then she realizes that this is not her home, this is the Negative Power's domain. (The meaning of "the domain of Negative Power" is that Kal was also created by God Almighty only to maintain this creation which has been created by God. Otherwise the Negative Power can neither create any soul nor destroy any soul; He can only look after the existing creation.*) So when the soul realizes that this is not her home, she also returns to her home.

Saints, who are the dear children of Sat Purush, are sent into this world

by God Almighty Himself. They tell us how the Negative Power did the devotion of God Almighty, the Sat Purush, and pleased Him. Because of that we souls were given into the care of the Negative Power. They lovingly tell us that this is not your

* See The Ocean of love: the Anurag Sagar of Kahir for a complete explanation of thc relationship between the Negative Power, Almighty God. the souls, and the Saints who come down to rescue us.

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home, the children whom you understand as your very own are not your children. The wealth you have in this world is not going to go with you, because it does not belong to you [to your soul], it is not going to go with you. You know, when our end time comes, even though we may have children, they may be sitting right next to us, but at that time not even our children are capable of helping us - because when they do not know from which direction the Angel of Death comes to take us, how can they help us? In the same way, Masters lovingly tell us that all the wealth and all the things of this world will remain here. You understand them as your very own, but they will not go with you, and they will not help you when your time to leave this world comes.

Saints and Mahatmas lovingly explain to us that just as on a stage someone plays the role of the king, someone plays the role of the queen, someone plays the role of the daughter, someone plays the role of the servant etc., but those roles are temporary. When the drama or the play is over, then they all get down from the stage and go their own ways, because nobody is really anyone's king or queen or daughter or son.

In the same way, Saints tell us that this world is a very big stage and we all are playing our own part.

Someone is performing the part of the sister, someone is playing the part of the brother, someone is play-

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ing the part of the husband, someone is playing the part of the wife, and when our part ends, and we have performed our part in the play, then we all go our own way. We don't remember afterwards that who was whose sister and who was whose brother. When we don't remember who was our sister in our previous life, how can we expect to remember who was our sister in this present life?

Ever since our soul was separated from God Almighty we do not know how many times she has gotten the body of the birds, how many times she has been in the body of animals or the body of serpents and reptiles or other creatures. We do not know how many times we became husbands, how many times we became the wives, and the brothers and sisters. If we had gotten any beloved of God, if we had come in contact with any perfect Master, then we would not have come back into this world of suffering again and again.

We do not even know how many times we made the palaces and mansions and left them. Many times we have become kings and many times we have become the beggars.

Kabir Sahib says that, "We have gone into many different bodies of reptiles, animals and beasts; in many different colors we have assumed the body."

When we got separated from God Almighty, after that we have erected many houses like this.

When I took Baba Bishan Das, the Master from whom I later got initiation into the first two Words, to visit Baba Sawan Singh, He took with Him His friend who was a Muslim fakir named Pathi. Pathi had his ashram near where Baba Bishan Das lived. Since He loved Pathi a lot, Baba Bishan Das invited him to go meet Baba Sawan Singh also. So Pathi came along with us.

Baba Bishan Das and Master Sawan Singh were having their meeting and Master Sawan Singh was talking to Baba Bishan Das in a very loving way and Pathi, the Muslim fakir, was also there. He said, "Master, before you came in this body, in your previous birth you were born as the king of Faridkot."

Baba Sawan Singh laughed and He said, "Do you think that if I will go back to those palaces. will they let me in there?" He said, "I was going to get birth again in the same place, but because of certain reasons I was born in Ludhiana."

So this is why Saints and Mahatmas lovingly tell us, "Dear one, God Almighty has given you this human body; and you can do that work in this body which you are not able to do when you are given the bodies of birds and animals and that is the devotion of God Almighty." Kabir Sahib says, "Meditate on Gobind, on the Creator. Do not forget; this is the only advantage you can take from the human body."

Every day you sing this bhajan

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of Kabir Sahib which says, "There is no donor like the Guru." So the same bhajan, the same hymn is presented to you. Listen to it with much attention.

Guru Nanak Sahib says, "God Almighty, after creating all the Khands, all the worlds below, all the islands, and all different parts of the creation-He Himself has created all this and He Himself has given the charge of all this to the Negative Power."

He Himself remains different, He is above the three gunas and the gurumukh who realizes Him gets the glory.

Guru Nanak Sahib says, "God Almighty is indestructible, He is Immortal. The lower planes which He has created, one day they are going to be finished. One day they are going to be destroyed in the dissolution or the grand dissolution."

If we will do the devotion of the lower planes or those who are involved in the lower planes, how can we meet that Indestructible One? Because the lower planes and those who are involved in the lower planes are going to be finished one day.

Guru Nanak Sahib says, "My Satguru exists all the time. He neither comes nor goes. He is the Indestructible Being and He is All-pervading."

Master used to say, "One bulb fuses and the other bulb takes it's place, but from behind, the power is the same, the energy is the same."

SANT BANI

That Power always remains in this world, sometimes it works in one body, other times it works at another human pole.

What is the relationship of such Beloveds of God with God Almighty? Guru Nanak Sahib lovingly tells us, "The devotee or the disciple of the Lord is exactly like the Lord Himself. Do not understand even a little bit of difference between them."

Just as the wave rises from the water and once again gets absorbed in the water, in the same way, the devotee of God is like that with God. We know that the relationship of the wave and the ocean is like this: the wave is a part of the ocean, and if you try to separate the wave from the ocean it is never possible.

In the same way, if we say that we are going to separate the Beloveds of God from God Almighty, it is not possible, because They have mingled in God Almighty. They have absorbed themselves in God Almighty. They have mixed in and have become the true children of God Almighty.

Mira Bai said, "Just as you cannot separate the fragrance from the flower, in the same way you cannot separate the Beloveds of God from God Almighty Himself, because They both have become one."

But the question arises: what do those Masters come into this world to give us? What is the medicine, what is the thing which They give November 1994

us? Because one day all the world which we see with our own eyes is going to perish and be destroyed.

That God Almighty is the only thing which is going to remain always.

In the beginning I had said that our soul is the daughter of Sat Purush, she has forgotten her home and after coming here she has taken up the company of the mind.

It is like this: suppose in the evening we leave our home to go out for a walk and somehow it happens that we lose our way. We end up in a wilderness where we cannot see anything and we cannot find the direction from which we came and where we have to return. So what we usually do when we are lost like this, when we have lost our way in the wilderness, we just sit down there quietly and then we try to hear some voice, some sound. We try to hear the sound of a barking dog or some machine running, or some trains going or things like that. When we are able to hear one of those sounds then we can determine from what direction that is coming, and maybe that is the place where we came from.

Now you know that in the evening it is dark and since we have lost our way so there may be many ditches, many bushes and many obstacles on the way, and we cannot see which way to go. With the sound we know which direction to take but we don't know exactly what is the path. So to protect ourselves, in that case, if we have some source of light like some

battery-powered light, or things like that then it becomes very easy for us to find our way out of that wilderness. We can determine our direction through the sound which we hear and using that source of light which we may have in our hand we can easily get back to our home.

In the same way, God Almighty has also put His Light and Sound within us. When Saints and Mahatmas come into this world They connect us with that Sound and Light.

We hear the Sound and we know which direction to take and through the Light which God Almighty has put within us we can easily cross plane after plane and through the Light we can easily see how far we have come and how much more we have to travel. So God Almighty has kept both the Light and the Sound within us, and Saints and Mahatmas lovingly come into this world and tell us, "You have forgotten your Home." And through the Light and Sound and by doing the meditation of the Shabd Naam which the Master gives us we can easily return to our Home.

The question is of that Power because all the Masters who came in the past have described this Power of God, this Sound of God, in Their own language. in Their own ways.

The Muslim fakirs have called this as the Kalma. Guru Nanak Sahib has called it as the Voice of God. In the Vedas it is called as Devi Dhuni or the Eternal Sound. So all the Mas-

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ters who came into this world in the past have described the Sound and the Light in Their own ways. The question is that we have to catch hold of the Sound and we have to catch hold of that Light and by taking the help of the Light and Sound we have to return to our Home.

Now what do we do with the names we ourselves have kept of God? Like Allah or Ram or God? These are the names which we have given to that Power, to that God. All day long we go on repeating these words, but we do not make any effort to go and meet that Power which is being described by these words.

So Saints lovingly tell us that just by repeating, "Rock candy, rock candy," or "Sweet, sweet," we cannot feel the sweetness in our mouth.

In the same way just by repeating, "Money, money," we cannot become wealthy. In the same way, He who we have not seen, just by remembering Him, just by repeating His name how can we meet Him? This bhajan was composed for Dharam Das. Before Dharam Das came to the feet of Kabir Sahib, he performed rites and rituals. One day it so happened that Kabir Sahib came to him, he was worshipping the idols at that time. He had so many different sizes of idols with him and he was worshipping them so Kabir Sahib asked him, "This big idol is maybe of a pound, what are the small idols? Are they of the ounces?"

So Kabir Sahib lovingly exSANT BANI

because when he broke open the wood he saw that there were many ants that he was going to burn alive.

So he said to his wife, "If you had kept quiet, I would have talked with that Mahatma and I would have got some answers to my questions; I would have removed some of my doubts. But because you said that, that is why that Mahatma disappeared."

So Bibi Amina said, "Don't worry about that. Perform a yajna [an elaborate ritual feast] and you invite all the Sadhus, then he will come there and you can ask all your questions. Because where there is jaggery, [syrup made from sugar cane juice] many flies come there."

So Dharam Das who was very wealthy and was called by the name Dhuni Dharam Das which means "wealthy Dharam Das," at that time he was worth a hundred and fourteen million rupees in India, so that is why he was called wealthy Dharam Das. So he performed many yajnas just in the hope that the Mahatma (who was Kabir Sahib) would return and he would be able to ask him all his questions and get benefit from him. But Kabir Sahib never came to any of the yajnas which Dharam Das performed. In performing the yajnas he finished all the wealth which he had. In the end he did the final yajna in the city of Mathura where he spent every single penny which he had left. In that yajna, when Kabir Sahib did not 10

come, he felt very heart-broken and very disappointed. Then he thought, "What is the use of living when I did not get that Mahatma back, even after spending all that I had? Now what is the use of my living? Let me go and commit suicide."

Then Dharam Das thought, "If I commit suicide here, here every one knows me and they will start talking about me, they will say, 'Look at this man, he was attached to his money; now he has lost all his money that is why he is committing suicide.' " So he thought, "Let me go to some other place, some far-away place where no one recognizes me; over there I will commit suicide and in that way I will be saved from the public shame."

So he went a little bit away from Mathura, and when he was about to commit suicide the same Mahatma.

Kabir Sahib, appeared there. Dharam Das said, "Mahatma Ji, now I don't have anything left, not even a penny is left with me. If you had come to me earlier, if you had manifested yourself to me earlier, I would have given you everything which I had."

But Kabir Sahib was not one of those flies of which Bibi Amina had spoken. Because whenever Masters come into this world They earn Their own livelihood. They do not live on the money of Their disciples, because They are like the tiger. You know that the tiger never eats the dead body, he himself kills his prey and then he eats. In the same SANT BANI

way, when the Perfect Masters come into this world, They do not live on other people's money, They make Their own living, They make Their own livelihood, and They live Their life like that.

The tiger knows that if he will eat the dead body, he will bring a bad name, a bad reputation to his family. In the same way, the Masters also know that if They will live on the other people's money They will be bringing a bad reputation, a bad name, to Their family of the Saints. So that is why They would prefer to die but They will not take anyone's money, They will not live Their life on other people's money.

So although Bibi Amina, Dharam Das' wife had said, "You will find many flies attracted to the jaggery."

Kabir Sahib did not come because He was not one of them. When Kabir Sahib finally appeared, He told Dharam Das, "This was the right moment, this was the right opportunity of my meeting with you, and now I will give you the Initiation." After that Dharam Das got the Initiation from Kabir Sahib.

Kabir Sahib told Dharam Das very sweetly, in words as sweet as honey, "Dharam Das, the wealth and things of this world will not go with you. I will give you that thing which will always be with you." After that Kabir Sahib colored both Dharam Das and his wife Bibi Amina in the color of Naam and Kabir Sahib asked

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Dharam Das to guide the souls after He left.

There is no donor equal to the Guru in this world.

The Guru gives the unseen thing.

He tells you good things.

Only one who has tasted the rock candy can describe the sweetness of the rock candy. How can one who has not eaten the rock candy talk about its sweetness? In the same way only he who has got the Naam and has done the meditation of the Naam can sing the glory of the Naam. So here he says, "My Master has given me that unseen thing, that great thing. It is such a great thing, that I cannot describe it, and He has told me a great thing. He has told me about my Home and He has given me that secret through which I can go to my Home."

Lust and anger have been imprisoned.

Greed is also under his control.

Now He says, "With the grace of the Master, the lust and anger which were making me dance like a monkey, and the dog of greed who was always barking within me, all these forces have come in my control."

Dharam Das has written about his faith and determination in his writing, up to this extent he says, "0

Lord, I am so firm in my determination and I am confident in saying this, that not even in the state of dream do I ever have the desire of these forces or of these things, I swear by You that I don't have even a trace of these desires."

What you want to do tomorrow, do today.

You will not get this company again.

He says, "My Master has told me that life is very short and I have to do the meditation." So that is why He says, don't postpone the work of today until tomorrow. Do not say that you will meditate tomorrow, or the day after, or when your kids will get married, or when you get older, that then you will do the meditation.

You don't know when God Almighty is going to call you and when you will have to leave this world. So that is why the work you are supposed to do today, you must do it today, do not postpone it until tomorrow.

We are making our own plans but we do not have any awareness of the plans of Him who has sent us into this world. Guru Nanak Sahib says, "You plan to go in the west but who knows that in His planning, He will drag you to the east."

Then you will fall into the wheel of eighty-four.

Then you will sujfer day and night.

Shabd is proclaiming loudly: Have the company of the Saints.

All the Vedas and Shastras call this aloud, and all the Masters who came into this world have said the same thing, "You have come into this world; giving up the bad company do the devotion of Lord. You do not know when you will have to leave this world, so giving up the bad company, taking advantage of this human body, do the devotion of God."

Worship and remember the Master.

Then Kal will bow before you.

This ocean of the world, we do not know its breadth or length or depth.

That is why even the great Rishis and Munis trembled looking at the angels of death. That is why they went into the wilderness, to the forest. They did many austerities; they did a lot of meditation. Why? Only to save themselves from this terrible demonic snatch of the angels of death.

Since they did not meet any perfect Master, they did not get the Simran, that is why they got involved in the cycle of birth and death.

So Kabir lovingly says, "Sincerely, wholeheartedly, and with firm determination, do the Simran which the Master has given to you, and then no force of the Negative Power will bother you."

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Guru Nanak Sahib says, "Those forces of the Negative Power punish the worldly people, but they bow down to the devotees of God." Dharam Rai, or the Lord of Judgement, has been appointed by God Almighty Himself, and He doesn't come near the devotee of God Almighty.

Kabir says, "0 Dharaman, listen, obey my words.

Open the veil and meet the Guru, And come into the Divine Kingdom. "

Kabir Das says, "Look here, open the veil." How do we have to open the veil? We have to do the Simran, keeping our attention at the Eye Center. When we will fix our attention at the Eye Center and do the Simran, all our attention, and the consciousness from all over our body, will be concentrated at the Eye Center and then the veil will be opened. This is what it means by opening the veil.

At one place Kabir Sahib has said, "This world is a blind well. We do not know the Reality, we cannot see anything, but taking the lamp of knowledge from the Master, we can see the depth of this well. And we can easily come out of this well if we have the lamp of the knowledge of the Master with us."

So Kabir Sahib told us that the

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Master has given us that thing which will never be destroyed, which will never perish and that is the Sar Shabda. Because all the planes up to the Par Brahm fall under the dissolution or the grand dissolution, whereas the Saints come from Sach Khand and They bring that Naam from Sach Khand. Sach Khand does not fall in any dissolution or grand dissolution.

The Master gives us that wealth which can't be robbed by any robbers, it cannot be burned by any fire; no deceiver or thug can deceive us of that.

Even if the disciple wants to leave it, he cannot leave it, because he who has tasted the Naam once, even if he wants he can never leave it.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "My Beloved has connected me so tight that even if 1 want to break away, even if I want to leave Him, I cannot do that." Saints and Mahatmas connect us with Them in such a way that no matter how much effort we make still we cannot break away from Them.

So we should appreciate the time and we should do the Bhajan and Simran. Do not say, "Still there is a long night and we will meditate later on, or we will meditate tomorrow." Because tomorrow again the same mind is going to be with you and again he will advise you the same.

The One True Pilgrimage

BY RANDY BUDINGTON

a talk given September 25, 1994 This trip, for me, was about forgetting. Forgetting about the world, my work, and generally the thoughts which run around in my head.

It's so great being with the Master because basically you have carte blanche to do just that. I'm not saying that I'm successful at leaving the worldly thoughts, but the opportunity is there, for eleven days, to do so. That's pretty rare.

When I went to see Master Kirpal the first and only time in India, in 1973, I recall that I thought maybe I wouldn't come back. "Maybe I'll just go inside," and that would be that. Basically I sold everything I had to get there and left very little room for emotional error on my part.

Well, it turned out to be a fairly difficult time for me at first - culture shock - it was the first time that I was not able to retreat into familiar surroundings.

Master was a very imposing personality to me. I didn't quite know what to make of Him or the Path.

That was just before the Unity of Man Conference in 1974 and Master was often busy or not around for several days at a time. (I think now He might possibly have gone to see Sant Ji on some of those occasions; that's just a guess.) After three months there, I did settle down some

and now the memories of that time help me, and have helped me, to understand a little bit of the precious gift that a living Master is.

This is a prologue to my recent trip to Ahmedabad to see Master again, this time in His wonderfully charming form, Ajaib Singh. It's been ten years since my last visit a long enough time so that this trip felt somewhat like my first, but without the culture shock and the disorienting feelings of new surroundings.

I will mention that Russell was there in India for the first three weeks of my 1973 trip, and it helped a lot to take some cues from him so that I wouldn't be completely at sea in my approach to the Master and the Path. This time, before I left, I happened to be reading from The Impact of a Saint, and the section where Sant Ji basically teaches Russell how to physically sit for an extended period of time gave me a little cue as to what my focus would be on this trip.

For some reason I paid attention to Sant Ji a lot more than before. I think my mind didn't get in the way so much. By paying attention, I mean not just to what He said, but to having darshan. This time darshan became like a visual simran which I could sort of carry around with me SANT BANI

when He wasn't there. Coupling that with just sitting and forgetting made for a much more receptive and better time. Sant Ji said that the Radiant Form of the Master is behind a very thin veil; if we can just forget about the past and the future and stay attentive we'll have it. He said this with so much love and caring that it definitely inspired this group.

This was a time when I felt and saw somewhat the mystery of the Master as God talking to us. It's like a game the Master is very good at.

He has to play by Kal's rules while instructing us, but if you're attentive He just shines right through.

With each passing question and answer session o r Satsang Sant Ji seemed to be reaching out to us, con-

fiding in us very intimate, personal experiences of what it's like to be a Master interacting with His disciples.

I've never been in His presence when He made Himself so accessible. All of us will remember the last Satsang for the Westerners, where He revealed so much of His nature; we were praying that it just wouldn't end.

Since this is Kal's realm of course it did end, but maya seemed to have lost some of its grip on our attention and all of us in the group were definitely drawn toward the Master without and within. Even though the trip over and back is grueling, the mind has to admit, that in the end, this is the one true pilgrimage in this world - to see the Master.

He is Always Here Sant Ajaib Singh Ji

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they have more pain also. It is said that the head which wears crowns pains also more than other people.

If there is any peace or happiness, that is only when we go back to our Real Home. The real happiness lies in our Real Home.

It becomes our duty to obey His commandments wholeheartedly, because He has showered all His grace on us with all His heart and He has liberated us. We were the souls who were dirty because of the worldly dirts. So as He has showered all His grace on us and He has been gracious on us, in the same way, it becomes our duty to do His meditation and obey His commandments. If we obey His commandments and will have faith in Him, He will be more gracious on us.

The day before yesterday, in the question and answer session, I said that no matter how many times we visit the place where the grace of Almighty Lord has been showered in abundance, it is always worth visiting such a place. We should always play homage and always have respect for that place because at such This underground room talk was giv- a place, the grace of the Almighty en in early March 1983, at Sant Bani Lord has been showered, and at such Ashram, 16 PS, Rajasthan, India. places, some devotee of soul has be-

lessed are those souls who have been given the knowledge of their Real Home by that Almighty Supreme Father, Who came, leaving all the comforts of His Home, and assumed the body of dirt.

Whatever opportunities we have been given to do the devotion of Almighty - it was not within our efforts; it was not within our control to get that opportunity. It was not within our approach to do this. It was all the grace of Supreme Father Kirpal that graciously He gave us the opportunity to sit together in His remembrance and do the devotion in His Name.

In this world there is nobody who is happy because of his children.

There are many people who have many children, but they don't have any happiness from those children.

In the same way, there is no one in this world who can be called a happy man because of his wealth, no matter if he may have a lot of wealth.

In the same way, no one is happy because of his high position. In fact, those who have more of this world,

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come one with God, and has gotten the grace of God in that sense.

Fourteen hundred years back, Prophet Mohammed used to live in Mecca. People still understand that by going and visiting the place where Prophet Mohammed used to live, they will get liberation. That is why the Muslim people, those who believe in Prophet Mohammed, from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and from other distant countries, don't understand any trouble if they get the opportunity of visiting that place.

What do they do there? They go around the place where they have made a memorial to Prophet Mohammed, and they understand that they have gotten the liberation. They believe that because they have faith in Prophet Mohammed, because they love Prophet Mohammed, even though they don't see any perfect Master there, they don't see Prophet Mohammed there. But because they have faith in it, that is why they understand that they have gotten liberation.

In the same way, the place where Guru Nanak was born in Nankana Sahib is now in Pakistan after the partition. The government of Pakistan sometimes allows the people to go there, sometimes is doesn't. But whenever it allows, whenever the people in India get the opportunity, the Sikh people understand that by visiting that place they will get the liberation.

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Why do they do so? And why do they have so much faith? ~ e c a u s e ' a t that place the Mahatma did the meditation of Naam, and we know that peace is only in Naam. So the place where the Mahatma had obtained the peace, the place where the Mahatma opened His inner vision and became one with God, that place becomes worth worshiping.

In the same way, you know that the place where Jesus Christ was born, many of the Christians go there. And they understand that by visiting that place, they are obeying a very holy book, and that they will get the liberation.

But in order to go to all these holy places, people spend a lot of money like you people do, because we also understand that this is a holy trip. So all of those places where the perfect Masters had meditated, had lived, or were born, and the places where They became one with God, have become worth worshiping.

So like that, with the order of our Supreme Father Kirpal, this place has also become holy; because at this place, as He Himself has said, at this place some soul, a devotee of Almighty Lord, did his meditation, giving up all the worldly things. And at this place, the blessed feet of our Supreme Father have also been here.

Physically He came here, and spiritually you know He is always here.

So that is why this place is also worth worshiping.

SANT BANI

Dipped in His Beauty

BY DANAE SHANTI

a talk given September 25, 1994 I'd like to share with you my position in going on this trip. I've never seen the Master before; I got initiated last August. So I'm someone who has not been initiated real long and 1 may also have been one of the chronologically youngest. Master was very kind by providing me a family who just knew that. I was shepherded along, here and there, and given all the tips - how to be in His Presence, the way you focus your eyes, and how to handle it when the darshan starts really pouring out.

I tend to be innocent in my love for God Who's been the strongest thing in my life, so this Path has been teaching me how to understand that it's one and the same - Master and God - it's the same love. When 1 feel that on the inside it's strong, but when I'm in front of the presence of the Master, it's a mindblower. His body is flawless -there are no wrinkles - it's like a baby's body, fresh-born from heaven and I was fascinated by His hands and feet. I would just stare at His hands and feet and I would think - we were there for His birthday - I think He just turned 68 - here's this 68-year-old body-form but it's a baby body and God is peeking out through those Eyes at me - what an incredible thing to be sitting in November 1994

front of - and then He'd wipe my mind and I would sit there empty as He filled me.

I think the sweetest thing that I was aware of was that His grace carried us from the moment we got here [Sant Bani Ashram], piled into the van and took off - all the way to the end of the program. His grace was very blatantly present every instant, no matter what anyone was going through, no matter how physically taxing it was, no matter what level of survival you would get to.

His energy was there, just making it okay.

He's very, very sweet and one of the things that I was aware of, never having seen the Master in person, is that I didn't have that glazed-over in-love look on my face that all the other devotees had. I noticed as I looked around at my family that everyone was totally in love, completely and utterly in love and I felt like I was missing something there was something that I wasn't getting.

One of my joys is to do videotaping, so I volunteered to help with that. A couple of people who became very close and dear friends were aware of how I was feeling. I was feeling a little separate from everybody, definitely feeling un-

worthy - (thinking), "there's just no purpose for me to be here" - I wasn't as good a devotee as everyone else and I certainly am too ignorant to understand the Path yet, but in my heart the love is there.

So these friends were kind of sitting watching me video the Master and I had not yet had that glazedover in-love look and by the end of the sitting the camera was running and my mouth was hanging open and my eyes were glazed over and I had that in-love look. And they said, "He got her. Now she's His totally."

And from that moment on the program changed for me and I realized I had to make a choice. I was there with many levels of my being, but I wasn't ready to make a commitment to be absolutely devoted, until He got me. And then I realized that the only way through the program was going to be to make a choice, and that He would carry me no matter what my choke was - the choice was definitely to commit one-hundred per cent to loving this Being with every fiber of my soul. And once I made that choice, the darshan and sweetness just poured in like a waterfall, and the power radiating through Him was unmistakable as well.

There was one evening - the evening Satsangs are in Hindi and you just don't understand what He's saying. My experience was that my soul understood what He was saying. I would be gazing at His Third

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Eye and just receiving the waves of His grace coming through and He'd be talking away - realizations would dawn on me - understandings would begin to come to me about so many things I've questioned and I haven't had answers to and I began to understand that the Master speaks to us on every level simultaneously - in every language He's that present. He's that in touch with our individual little ideas about our questions.

After I had that experience I realized that each evening we had a special opportunity to move beyond the seeming limitation of language and form and really receive Him within while we were sitting with Him without, and to finally unify that place of separation because a lot of us have trouble with that. We see Him out there and we see Him in here, but to do it at the same time, He really shows you how fully present He is. So that was very sweet.

And then He got on a roll. He was definitely on a roll. He was funny and His darshan was very great.

Up to that moment I had not experienced the Power - I had experienced His sweetness - it was like He removed a veil and the darshan started pouring out. It was a Tuesday evening and the next day we didn't have a structured program. I remember for about ten straight minutes I thought I was going insane.

Whatever shreds of my mind were SANT BANI

left holding on were just being pulled right out of me. I was shaking in my cells. in my physical body, sitting there before Him, shaking.

My mind was shattering and I thought, "I'm going crazy, really I'm losing it, and there's no way out. I can't run. I can't physically get away from His Light and His Power. I'm surrendered here and I'm in His IIands. And I really don't want to be cracking up in front of all these people right now, because it's kind of scary to go insane in public." And there was nothing to do but be in it - and just surrender to Him and be at His Feet, physically and symbolically and understand that we could trust Master that much - that we

November I994

could just place our minds completely in His gentle Hands and all He'll do is stroke it and take us home with Him. Well, that was a cracking point for me and again I had a major shift in how I experienced His presence in the program after that.

The awesomeness of His Power is unspeakable. It's unspeakable and the sweetness is just as profound. So I also felt that He, as others have said. was letting veils go and letting more of the God Power peek through His Form each day - He was more personally available, and the gifts that it puts out really goes deep and i t really continues whether you're in His Presence or not.

He told a lot of funny stories.

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There's something about wanting so much to look into His eyes without His glasses just to see His eyes and He told a funny story about that. An initiate many years ago had a question about once when He appeared in the within and He didn't have His glasses on. So the disciple wanted to know, "was he really seeing the True Form of the Master or not? because Master wears glasses." And at this point Sant Ji was laughing so hard He was just rolling on the dais, you know, trying to get His words out. When He laughs it just takes your soul right up, it's instant darshan. You're laughing hysterically and you don't even know what you're laughing at, but you're just caught in His laughter.

He was saying, He was expressing, that He's present [outside] and within. He was really trying to bring the point home for us not to get so caught and distracted by formthat's not what it's about. God is Omnipresent and the Master is that vehicle and so He was trying to have us understand that.

That was really special for me because in my interview I actually - and this may have been inappropriate, but I'm still learning what is appropriate - I asked Him if it would be possible to see His eyes without His glasses on, and that was lovingly ignored. So I really appreciated the humor coming back around two days later for Him to say, "Well, you see me in the within 22

without my glasses on, and that's the way it is. Or maybe I just forgot to put them on." We all appreciated that.

The other major point He was trying to make is - different Satsangis from around the world have been writing Him, saying, "I don't understand Master, You come and You talk to me in my own language all day long - You talk to me in the within - how is this possible?" And Master was explaining that Masters and Saints do have supernatural powers and that it's natural and that we can all have the ability to do that.

It's just a place of mind and it's easy to get to. But that it's not God's Will that it be used. So even though He appears to not be able to speak in all of our native languages, in the within He can.

Pappu, of course, was translating away as Sant Ji was saying this, and then Sant Ji looked at Pappu, and looked up at us, and starting chuckling again, He said, "Well, of course, the one thing is you won't have Pappu on the inside to translate." We really appreciated that sweetness.

There's one story, very short, I just have to tell because something that was really emphasized for me was the community and the family.

You know, we're a family here and I have felt really separate since I first got initiated because I just feel, I don't know, so unlearned, not really with the program yet. I finally got that we really are family, whethSANT BANI

er we know each other at a personality level or not. And as family, you're on this trip and you're in survival mode a lot, emotionally and physically, and we also did great team work.

There were three bus loads of us with all of our luggage, and the women got really good at getting to the airport and getting the carts out.

The men got real good at unloading the bus and loading the bus. We started this nickname, some of us, we called ourselves the Bani Amoeba Convoy, because we moved like an amoeba from Sant Bani. It was definitely a convoy.

Finally we got to one airport where we had it down. We were so proud of ourselves. We got off the buses, got the things, got the luggage; we were all set up and we turned to our Group Leaders and we were at the wrong location! Then we had to put all that stuff back on the bus, and it just happened in record time and there was never any anger about it. There were never bad feelings about it. It was always fun and funny and sweet; and the feeling of His grace carrying us through every moment was always there, so, I appreciated that.

I didn't think I'd be able to say anything so I wrote this poem and

November 1994

now that I've spoken, I'd like to just end with this.

When we came back I had the gift to be able stay here overnight into the next morning. I was sitting beside the house -I thought I could never really ever express what it's like to be in His Presence but I just knew that everyone would really have a great blessing if they would just go and be with Him at least once, especially over in India - and this is what came to me.

It is not about my words It is about my silence He is listening still to each of us It is not about what I can tell It is about the warmth emanating from my soul He has lit the well of love within me It is not about the detail of it all No, words can never say what it was He has poured His Naam into my life It is not for me to know, or to say, Just how His Grace is working here He has dipped me in His Beauty . . . and left me quietly soaking Thank you.

The Voice of the Master Sant Ajaib Singh Ji In Bombay, You said, some days ago, that Sant Mat starts where the mind or the intellect ends. If that is the case it seems that using the mind and the intellect, we can't understand the writings of the Saints; we can't understand the Satsang. We can't even understand the bhajans which we sing. Now, speaking personally, for me and for those whose eyes whose are not opened, it seems to be a very desperate condition. [much laughter] What to do? It will be a memorable day when our eyes would be opened so we can understand what You say. In fact, it seems that I won't even understand the answer which you're going to give me. [more laughter]

I am very pleased to hear this question, but would like you to know that even in this group there are so many dear ones whom I have seen in the interviews. They have told me about the progress in their meditation ever since they came here. And I was very pleased to know that there are some people in this group who have progressed.

This question and answer talk was given in Rajasthan, on February 2, 1983.

Satguru connects you with the Shabd Naam after making you rise above the mind and the intellect. On the very first day He does that.

The thing is that, if the disciple maintains the devotion and yearning which he had before taking the Initiation, if he maintains that yearning, if he maintains his devotion and love for the Master, instead of coming down, he may go upwards very soon.

Kabir Sahib said that if the devotion and yearning which was [with us] before taking the initiation and which was [with us] even on the day of initiation, if that devotion and yearning could be maintained what is the question of one's own liberation? Such a person who has maintained his devotion and yearning can liberate millions of other souls.

But it is a pity that some dear ones, instead of maintaining and increasing their yearning and devotion, start decreasing and losing their devotion and yearning. And that is why they always remain stuck at the place where they had gone on the day of initiation. And they remain content with whatever little capital Master gave them at the time of Initiation.

SANT BANI

This is not the case with many dear ones. Only some dear ones do this.

Even if the disciple has not done the meditation, even if he does not rise above the mind and intellect, but still as far as understanding the writings of the Masters or as far as understanding the Satsang is concerned, Master helps the disciple from behind the veil to understand His writings and to understand the Satsang. And the disciple makes the mistakes or obeys his mind and intellect only when he goes away from the Satsang. As soon as he leaves the Satsang and the company of the Master, at once the mind brings lust, anger, laziness, attachment and other things; and he tries to entangle the disciple in all those passions.

This happens only when the disciple goes away from the Satsang and the Master.

I have often said that it is worse to surrender than to be defeated.

Keep trying, do Simran, do meditation. Because He who is going to help you is sitting within you in the Form of the Shabd. At least you try, have the courage to go within and ask for the help from Him. And if you will ask for help from Him, He will at once come to help you.

Only those who do not meditate and those who don't have the faith in the Master, become toys in the hands of mind and intellect.

ber 1994 Sant Bani Magazine], You said that a lot of Saints had taken birth in Rajasthan and also that the Eastern and Western cultures are becoming mixed. In thefuture, will Perfect Saints be taking birth in the West?

I had also said that the place where many people do the meditation and where there are many souls who are chosen by God, that now they have to go back to Sach Khand, at such places only, most of the Mahatmas, most of the Saints take birth.

There is no definite time for this, and Saints never make any prophecies. But I have said this, that the place where there are fewer people who eat meat and drink wine, and where there are more people who are righteous and inclined towards the devotion of God, where there are many souls who are pure and ready to do the devotion of God, there God Almighty sends His Beloveds, the Saints, to that place. He tells Them to go to that place and bring the souls back to their Real Home, because now the souls of that particular place are ready to come back to their Real Home.

The grace which the souls are getting nowadays cannot be described in words. This is only because of the grace which the souls are getting that Supreme Fathers Kirpal and Sawan went so far, and that, because Sant Ji, at the last question and an- of Their grace, the souls are able to swer session [printed in the Septem- come here and take advantage. The November 1994

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Saints put Their lives in danger and went to many places far and near around the world, and They told us that They are sitting within us and in fact They are calling us and waiting for us, "Come back to us. Come back to your Real Home." This is all because of the grace which we, the souls, are getting nowadays from Almighty Lord.

Paltu Sahib had said, "What interest do the Saints have? Why do They suffer so much? Only for liberating the souls, They go everywhere in the world."

Saints and Mahatmas do not go into the world for getting any fame, They do not go into the world for collecting any wealth. They do not go for any sight-seeing; They go only to search for Their lost souls. When They go, and when They reach Their lost souls, They tell them, "We have come with the message from Almighty Lord. We have come with the message from the place from which you are separated. Why don't you come back?" They see us suffering and They tell us, "Why are you suffering so much in this world?

Nothing is going to go with you, not even the body in which you are living and of which you are proud is going to go with you. This will be made useless either by some accident or by some sickness. The only thing which you can do with this body is the devotion of God. Why don't you go back to the Real Home from where you were separated. This

place does not belong to you; this is not your home. Your home is a very beautiful place. At your home, there is no birth, no death. There are no sufferings, no pains, over there. It is the home of complete happiness.

Why don't you come with us? Come with us, and we will show you how to go back there. In fact, God has sent us with this message to bring you back to His Real Home."

Kabir Sahib said, "If anyone has visited my place, my country, only he can know the beauty of my beautiful country. The Vedas and the other holy scriptures cannot comprehend the glory of my beautiful country."

Sant Ji, the other day before meditation you said there were two things we should always remember before we go into meditation. Would you kindly repeat those two things?

I said that the two things are: first that you should make your mind quiet. Making the mind quiet means that you should not have any worldly thoughts coming up in your mind.

When you have no thoughts, your mind will become quiet by itself.

The other thing I said is that you should not understand meditation as a burden; you should do it lovingly.

Because whatever work we do lovingly pleases our Beloved, pleases our Master. When we can please even a worldly person by doing his work lovingly, can we not please our SANT BANI

Master if we do His work lovingly?

If we will do His work without understanding it as a burden, and if we will do it lovingly, He will definitely be pleased with us.

The other thing which I always say is that, while you are meditating you should not let your mind wander outside. You should always concentrate him at the Eye Center, at the Tisra Til,because the Tisra Ti1 is the place from where our journey starts. It is the place where the door to our Real Home exists.

Also I had said that, when you go back to your homes, even then you should remember these couple of things, which will help you in the meditation. If you will remember these things, you will definitely get help in meditation. Because when you sit for meditation, you know that mind is such an obstinate enemy that if you will try to stop him from doing one thing, he will always make you do those things which you will not want to do. And if you will listen to your mind even for a moment, even for one second, if you will listen even to one thought, then he will at once open his office and he will start bringing so many thoughts in you, and you will forget that you are sitting for meditation.

At the end of the hour, you may feel that you have done the meditation, but he will not even let you realize that, in that hour, you did not do any Simran, you did not do any meditation, and you were doing November 1994

the work of the mind. And then you will put in the diary that you did the meditation for one hour. But still he will not let you realize, he will not let you realize that the time that you were sitting was not the meditation, it was just doing the work of the mind.

The matter of the diary which our Supreme Father gave us is one of the best things, one of the best gifts of His life. But we are not understanding its reality, we are not understanding the real way of using it.

We do not realize when we fill up the diary, we do not think, that in the hour which we are reporting, which we are noting down that we meditated, how much time we spent going around the world, how much time we spent in the Simran, how much time we spent in the talks of the mind. We never introspect our mind; we just go on writing in the diary, as if it were a custom.

My mother had a brother in faith.

And he had the Initiation into the first Two Words. But at that time, I was very young and I did not know about the Words and I did not know that he had the Initiation. But we knew that he was doing some sort of devotion. And my mother would give him very good foods and a good place and everything because she was very devoted to the devotion.

And she always used to love those people who were involved in the devotion.

He used to live in our house, and 27

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every night, he would stay up and do his devotion. Whenever we would wake up, we would go and look in his room. We would always find him staying up and doing his devotion.

Sometimes we would hear him saying, "Yes, you have come. Come and sit with me. So you have also come.

Okay, you also come and sit, I will deal with you, I will kill you." And then sometimes he would say, "Oh yes, now all of you have come. Wait a minute; I'll deal with all of you."

We were surprised to hear him saying all these things, and we could not figure out what he was saying.

Sometimes we would think that either he had gone mad, or that some spirits were coming to him in the nighttime, and he was talking with them. But we did not know with whom he was talking or what he meant by that.

In the morning, when he would come for tea, all the kids would go and play and joke with him, saying, "Uncle, will you kill us? Will you beat us? We have come to you."

They did not know what he was saying. Then he would say, "Yes, you will know about all those things when you grow up. And if, fortunately, you will get involved in the devotion, then you will know what I was talking about."

When we grew up, and when I started doing the devotion, only then I realized that no spirit was coming to that uncle, and there was nothing which was bothering him except the November 1994

thoughts. And whenever any thought would come, he would say, "Okay, you have come; I will kill you."

When he would have the streams or flow of thoughts, then he would say, "Okay, now all you have come? I will deal with you." So he was replying to the thoughts. When one starts doing the devotion, then he has to deal with the thoughts, because thoughts are very potent. And when they come at once, when they attack the devotee, then he has to deal with all these things. I did not come to realize this until I myself started doing the devotion.

Once a Maulvi, a Muslim priest, asked Master Kirpal, "Which Simran is the best?" Master Kirpal replied, "The Simran which can open our Path." Then he again asked Him the question, "Which path is the best?"

Master Kirpal replied, "The path which leads us to Sach Khand is the best Path."

Then he asked one question further. He said, "If anyone's Beloved is lost, where can one find him?"

Master replied, "He should come to the Eye Center, and he should concentrate there, and he will find his Beloved there."

Master, chastity is one of the hardest things to me on the Path. Through being unchaste I left my wife, I left You; through Your grace and Your love I came back to both. Could You speak a little to us about the importance of being chaste?

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You see, always I have said that you should never remember, or you should never think about lust. This is the only medicine of removing the lust. Always forget the lust, and you will become successful.

You yourself will know the value of chastity, if you maintain it; you will note how beneficial it is. Kabir Sahib laid a lot of emphasis on remaining loyal to one's partner in the married life, because it is a very important factor which helps us make progress in the Path of the Masters.

One should never think of leaving his wife, or no woman should ever think of leaving her husband. They should not get separated until the death separates them.

Because the mind which is making you hate one person now, and which is taking you away from one person now, can do the same thing with the other person tomorrow. It is very difficult to maintain love.

One can do that only with one person throughout his life, with efforts all his life long. And if we cannot maintain the love with one person, how can we expect to maintain love with so many people? It will always create problems.

Guru Nanak Sahib said, "Don't call them husband and wife who only sit together physically; call them as the husband and wife who are working as one soul in two different bodies.

Mind is the root cause of all the evil. It is the mind which brings us

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closer, it is the mind which takes us away, which separates us. And since we all have become the toys in the hand of mind, that is why our condition is like this.

In America, the citizens vote on the issue of capital punishment. There is controversy over whether the state has the right to take life, in what crimes it is justified, and whether in fact it is a deterrent to crime. In your talk the other day [printed in the September 1994 Sant Bani Magazine], about the king in Rajasthan, You seem to be saying that capital punishment is the deterrent. Would you comment on whether it is karmicly or morally right for the state to take life? And if so, for which crimes? Also, on whom does the karma rest if an innocent person is wrongly convicted and then executed?

Since it is a legal question, I would advise that if you could ask some legal person, it will be better for you to ask any legal person about this question.

The other day, when I was talking about that king of Rajasthan, the purpose of my saying was that he did not find any difference between his people and his own son. He used to say, "I will not forgive any corrupt person, no matter if he is my son." He was a dictator, and that is why he was using this type of law and that is why he used to say, "I SANT BANI

weigh the justice, and then solve the problems of the people. I weigh the justice and give the justice to the people."

Before we ask any question, we should think about it thoroughly. We people don't pay attention to the answer which was given to us, and we don't [think about] in what context or on what subject that answer was given. And we make up a new question from the answer.

King Gunga Singh was a just ruler; he did not use any money from the treasury for his own livelihood.

He used to do his farming to maintain his family and himself. Do you think that there is any leader in your country who is earning his livelihood by doing such a work, by making the hats or by making anything, or by working wholeheartedly or honestly? Is there anyone like that?

So the reason why I gave his example was that he was alike for everyone, whether it was his son or whether it was the other people in his kingdom. He did not hesitate in shooting his own son, because his justice was equal for everyone. He did not bother the innocent people.

There is the difference between the democratic way of ruling and the way the dictators rule.

I think that it will be better for you if, going back to your country, if you can contact any lawyer. He will be able to explain to you about all this in a much better way. Because you know that this is Satsang,

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and if you have any spiritual question, you can ask [it here].

In meditation, I find this symphony of thoughts coming back again, back again, back again, like music - very sweet. Then I Jnd I am thinking I should do the Simran lovingly, yet I find I'm shouting the words to get rid of the thoughts. Of course, the hour is over sometimes. But what's the solution in the long run?

Saints have given us this Simran only to remove the weakness of our mind which we are having. Because you know that we have been in the habit of doing the simran or the repetition of thinking of the [worldly] things in every lifetime. We have had this habit from ages and ages, from birth after birth. And this habit is even bothering us in this lifetime, in this birth also. That is why Saints have given us the Simran which They have meditated upon, which They have earned Themselves. They have not given us the Simran from the books or from hearsay. They have given us the Simran on which They have perfected Their life, on which They have molded Their life. And if we do the Simran of the Master lovingly, without understanding it as a burden, if we do it sweetly, if we keep trying to do the Simran, then definitely we can get rid of the thoughts. And in our within, only the Simran of the Master will go on happening, and no thought will 31

bother us. We people don't have the habit of doing the Simran continuously and constantly. That is why we lack in doing the Simran. You know when you are traveling in the bus or when you are flying in the airplane, or when you are doing any other thing, you have all sorts of worldly thoughts coming in your mind without making any effort. If, instead of all those worldly thoughts, which are of no use at that time, if you can do Simran, if you can have the Simran go on happening in your mind, then you can perfect the Simran in no time. And if you do it lovingly, then you will not have such problems in the meditation.

Here all the dear ones are sitting in love and lovingly they are looking into my eyes. No doubt, everybody is looking at me and their eyes are towards me. But even here, you will find many people who have [mentally] gone across the oceans and who are back in their homes taking care of their children and like that [laughter]. Even here also not everyone who is present here is here with his mind. There are some dear ones here, those who are sitting here looking into my eyes, but have still gone across the ocean.

Kabir Sahib said, "You have given your mind to some other place and you have given your body to the

Saint. 0 Kabir, how can you get your body dyed in the color of the Saint when your mind is not present along with your body?"

Master Kirpal has written that you should listen to the voice of the Master within, which is your own voice.

Some of the dear ones in our Sangat have become involved in listening to the voice of the Master within to guide their activities throughout the day and just generally speaking with Him. I would like you to comment on if we should do this? And how do we distinguish between the voice of the Master within from the voice of our mind?

In the voice of the Master, there is attraction, there is sweetness; it is a very loving voice. And at that time, you will have the loving thoughts coming within you. And that voice will always lnspire you to sit for meditation. Whereas in the voice of mind there will be confusion. He will always inspire you to do the worldly things, and he will always create problems for you.

The dear ones who are listening to the voice of the Master in the within, or those who are even trying to listen to the voice of the Master in the within, they are doing a very good thing. We all should do that.

SANT BANI

Sant Bani Ashram Publications

by Sant Ajaib Singh Ji In the Palace of Love: the Asa di Vars of Guru Nanak The Two Ways: the Gauri Vars of Guru Ramdas The Jewel of Happiness: the Sukhmani of Guru Arjan The Ocean of Love: the Anurag Sugar of Kabir Streams in the Desert: Discourses & Conversations 1976-1980 Sing the Praises of the Satguru (booklet)

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by Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Naam or Word (a study of the Sound Current) The Crown of Life: A Study in Yoga The Light of Kirpal 15.00 The Way of the Saints: Sant Mat Prayer 5.00 Godman The Night is a Jungle 11.OO Morning Talks Spirituality: What It Is 4.50 Spiritual Elixir Baba Jaimal Singh: the story of a great Saint The Jap Ji: The Message of Guru Nanak Life and Death: (The Wheel of Life & The Mystery of Death) The Teachings of firpal Singh (selected writings by subject matter) Seven Paths to Perfection (booklet) How to Develop Receptivity (booklet) God Power, Christ Power, Guru Power (booklet)

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What you want to do tomorrow, do today.

You will not get this company again.

He says, "My Master has told me that life is very short and I have to do the meditation." So that is why He says, don't postpone the work of today until tomorrow. Do not say that you will meditate tomorrow, or the day after, or when your kids will get married, or when you get older, that then you will do the meditation. You don't know when God Almighty is going to call you and when you will have to leave this world. So that is why the work you are supposed to do today, you must do it today, do not postpone it until tomorrow. . . .

So we should appreciate the time and we should do the Bhajan and Simran. Do not say, "Still there is a long night and we will meditate later on, or we will meditate tomorrow." Because tomorrow again the same mind is going to be with you and again he will advise you the same.

September 15, 1994