It is South India, Kajli forest, hermitage of an ascetic sect Nearby is a tree giving a dense shade, under which has come and is staying, the saviour of the world, to make people swim across the ocean of worldly fires. No throne is laid, no mattress is laid, no carpet is laid and no sheet is spread.
Here has come the true king, and his sitting on the barren ground, has made it sacred. But see, by the godly soul sitting there, radiance has spread all around. His handsome eyes, immersed in the love of the Lord, look towards the earth and the sky and are intoxicated in the ecstasy of the glimpse of the all-pervading Lord all around. The godly soul is immersed in the rapturous love of the Lord. The influence of the inner ecstasy and rapture is spreading all round. Like the warmth of the fire is felt up to a distance, similarly the influence of the godly shine can be felt all around.
It appears as if the God of love, the living God of love is showering delightful rays of love.
Seeing from a distance one feels attracted. One wants to go near, nearing further one feels delighted, one feels a love sensation. One wants to go and sit there and once you have sat, then one doesn't want to get up from there.
When you sit there, you get dyed in the love of the Lord and the feeling of 'where to go' 'sit here only' makes you sit there in content Then one feels one is getting a sacred touch of the Lord and says: This is the peace in this world of fires. This is the real peace.
The dewy night arrived to enjoy this peace, the heavenly stars winked to have this glimpse. The moon saw from a distance and was filled with praise. The sweet breeze blew to hug this ecstasy and become fortunate.
The householders are oblivious in sleep. The ascetics in the hermitage are drunk and intoxicated, unmindful of their own self. The animals and
beasts are running around fruitlessly, hungry for food.
Who is there to enjoy, the fragrance from the godly soul scented with the Lord's name, and his blossoming glance? The miracles of nature, the moon, the stars, the breeze, are enjoying the ecstasy, and the saintly souls of the unseen world are swarming around the godly soul, like the black bee hovering around a blossoming lotus. They are engrossed in the mystic music and are getting immersed in the love of the godly soul.
Yes, when the flowers blossom in the forest, then who should enjoy their fragrance?
But the prophet from the heavens, the Lotus-King, when it blossoms in the forest, then the world may sleep but the always awake saintly souls from the unseen world, who have knowledge of the soul, how can they keep themselves away from the fragrance that is spreading around? The men may remain unmindful, engrossed in worldly desires but the nightingales travel a distance to reach the blossoming roses and sing, and the black bees come from miles away and swarm around the blossoming lotuses.
Yes. The night passed. The godly soul immersed in the love of the Lord and engrossed in the Lord's name stayed on. The soul awakening drops showered. The saintly souls danced like peacocks. It became morning. The rain birds started singing. The sun came up. The sun rays spread. The light woke up the world. The darkness vanished.
The worldly chores that people had kept in their minds at night woke them up. The desires pushed the feet with speed. Everybody ran for his individual job or work.
Now, the door of the ascetic hermitage opened. Regular visitors to the hermitage started coming, but today a wonderful thing is happening. While passing near the godly soul sitting under the beautiful tree everybody's mind is attracted automatically, the head bows down. Some people sit down here, some people go to the hermitage and hurriedly come out and then sit here. In this way a gathering is formed.
Meanwhile, the head of the hermitage, the head ascetic, Bhartari came out He also walked in the same direction, where the ground has become fortunate. He saw from a distance and felt a pleasant touch of the gentle breeze, like in summer, in the cool early morning, the breeze is pleasant
He hesitated a little, then saw the godly soul, his eyes got charmed and he felt an ecstasy that went down, giving a sensation to his mind and settled down there. The ascetic practices, he had done, he had been meditating for hours together after drinking, but he had never experienced this sweet and lovely sensation. He came near, his eyes saw and wished to bow down, his forehead
also bowed down. The ascetic to whom the entire town bowed and who never bowed to anyone except one Lord, today he is bowing down helplessly to somebody whom he did not know earlier, nor had any inclination of his coming, or his address, nor sung his praises, nor exalted him in the eyes of anyone that he is the Light of the world.
His head bowed down fully. He said: 'Greetings to you'. He went nearer and again said: 'Greetings to you' and touched his forehead to the ground and sat down, the head of the hermitage, on the same barren but fortunate land, where the king of kings, the prophet of prophets was sitting. He did not notice his disciples who were sitting close to him.
In the ecstasy and in the wondrous feeling of the ecstasy, he sat down and his eyes got glued to the glimpse of Guru Ji.
Like, when one is thirsty, the lips get joined to 'both hands joined with palms up' and the 'both hands joined with palms up' get joined to the source of water. Similarly, the eyes drank the nectar of the glimpse and kept on drinking.
He is drinking the nectar of the glimpse and getting lost in the ecstasy. For quite a long time, the ascetic kept on sitting in this ecstasy. The intoxication of the drinks, that he had at night, had faded and he felt a hangover. After coming out of the hangover he got a cup of the Name nectar.
For the hangover from drinks the remedy is to have more drinks. Blessed, lucky, fortunate is the person who gets a drop of Name nectar after the hangover of the cheap intoxication of drinks.
When the drunkards drink, they throw a few drops on the ground. But here the bestowal of Name nectar has not thrown a few drops on the ground but has been showering the Name nectar since last night. The ascetic got drenched in the priceless shower of Name nectar unawares. His hangover is gone. He is in ecstasy. He is getting a sweet sensation. He is feeling light and is feeling an elevation like intoxication. The ascetic is not drunk. He is not unconscious. To be drunk, or be unconscious are not the signs of soul awakening. The ascetic is tranquil, feeling very light and his mind is in blossom, in elevation and in rapture. He is deeply absorbed in ecstasy.
In this state of mind he sat For a long time he kept sitting.
O dear yogi, this is meditation. But the practitioner of Hath yoga has not realized that this is the real meditation. However, without realizing, he is in wondrousness. Now, this marvel is taking the yogi into wondrousness and the wondrousness is giving rapture. His mind has stopped thinking, because the mind that does the thinking is busy in enjoying the ecstasy of the Name nectar.
Yes. Fortunate yogi, keep sitting till your mind is busy in enjoying the ecstasy and remains away from thinking. O dear fortunate, keep sitting. These are rare moments that you have got a glimpse of the godly soul, the master of Name, the bestowal of Name. You are lucky that you are having a glimpse of this godly soul with your earthly eyes. You are drinking the Name nectar with the earthly bowl of the eyes.
It is rare that this master of radiance comes and shows marvels to the earthly people that take people into wondrousness, sometimes, yes, sometimes only when no love remains and it is only darkness in the world.
But see yogi, this time he himself has come to save the people from the worldly ocean of fire, the prophet himself has come. Then his 'Ideal men' who are blessed by him keep coming for centuries to bless the people. The chain of his being a saviour does not break.
But O fortunate yogi, he himself has come now only. Fortunate are the eyes and blessed are the persons who have got a glimpse of this godly soul with their earthly eyes. You have got. You are fortunate.
The yogi kept on sitting for long but then his mind slipped into thinking.
How beautifully it has slipped? See, how it slips from the sphere of ecstasy to the sphere of thinking?
He thinks: This peace, this coolness, this beauty, this ecstasy, then a super consciousness, an awaken-ness, I had never felt an ecstasy in awaken-ness.
It is neither sleep, nor a deep sleep, nor like the intoxication of wine, nor unconsciousness, nor mesmerism, nor semi-consciousness of hypnotism. What is this? Then I have got it without effort
Then a second thought came that possibly this is the influence of the godly soul sitting in front. It is coming as a light from a lamp, a fragrance from blossoming flowers, coolness from a pond of water, a melody from an instrument being played or freshness from the softly blowing breeze.
Further the thought came: Who is he? I have not witnessed anybody like him or anybody with this unique influence. In meditation, I met many saints but I could not see such radiance emanating from anyone. Yes. I have no knowledge of Vishnu. I have not realized God. Maybe it is their influence. But they are not in human form. He is surely in human form.
Who is he? When I worshipped Narad, then he did give some indication but that time has yet to come. There is still time in that There is or there is not I do not remember. He had said that 'He has left for the earth'. That means this is the time.
Well, if I ask and find out who he is, then what's the harm? It is not disrespect. One does ask. I may ask.
Now, again an impulse came in the mind to enjoy the ecstasy and he thought Don't count the mangoes. Eat and enjoy. What is the need of enquiring? When you are getting ecstasy, then enjoy. This thinking got an upper hand and again he got immersed in the ecstasy. It was less deep but still he got immersed in it
He had made desperate efforts towards thoughtlessness. He controlled his thoughtlessness and got immersed in the ecstasy again.
O yogi, remain immersed. You are fortunate. He got immersed again but neither that deep nor long.
After sometime again a thought came: Maybe he is the same. While I am immersed, he may go away and then it may become waiting for decades.
With this fear, again the thought pinched: O Mind, go and ask, enquire, the indications are the same that I was told in my meditation.
Who's influence can be so heavenly? O Mind, go and ask. Even great men have been asking. Even Nachketa asked the god of death: Who is the God? You also go and ask: O Godly soul, who are you? Or I may ask one of the companions, who is he?
But the charm of the ecstasy again attracted the mind: Leave the thoughts for some moments and enjoy the ecstasy.
Again he went into ecstasy for a few moments. But then the fear that he may leave while my eyes are still closed made the scale of thought heavy and he became alert.
Then he looked hesitatingly, and softly went near and asked: O Godly soul, Which state? What name? How come?
Nearby sitting companion: "State is 'The Lord'. Name is 'From the Lord'. Has come to join the separated with the Lord. If you ask referring the body, then state is Lahore. Name is great Guru Nanak Dev Ji, sent by the Lord to see the world, to give a touch, to extinguish the worldly fires, to shower peace, to take out people from mistaken beliefs, to awaken the sleeping souls, to join the separated with the Lord and some miraculous work like this."
On listening the name, the yogi's eyes closed. He felt a sensation, a tremble that went into his body cells. He felt a sensation of exuberance in his body. Then there was an elevation in his mind.
Yogi: O how lucky I am. I have been waiting since long, since very long. Now, my endeavours will become fruitful. Now, I will know the true path. All efforts will become fruitful.
Then Guru Ji, with splendour in his eyes and on his forehead, opened his 'more delicate and beautiful than a rose' lips, smiled and said: How, dear yogi, how do you know? You say you have been waiting.
Yogi (with folded hands): O Godly soul ! some time while trying to get into thoughtlessness and controlling the breath I got some concentration, then in meditation I had a dim vision and saw Muni. Yes, he said: You need not practice yoga, this Hath yoga. You practice 'Love of the Lord'.
When I asked many questions, then Muni said: It is the Un-enlightened era (Kalyug). A prophet is born on earth to bless the people and allay their sufferings. You meet him, propitiate him and serve him. You will get the fruits. Then I asked the Name.
Muni said: He is a godly soul. Souls do not have names. But in human form the name of the 'eradicator of sufferings' is Nanak.
In this way, I got an indication of your coming and your name. Then I kept on waiting. Muni also said: He will meet you here is sure You sit with heart in love and pure You ask him anything He will tell you everything.
Bhartari yogi, the head of the ascetic hermitage, having bowed down to Guru Ji, people of the town saw with their own eyes.
So, the news spread in the town and nearby. People started coming for the glimpse of Guru Ji. Other ascetics living in the hermitage and other practitioners of Hath yoga were astonished: What has happened to the head of the hermitage Bhartari, that he is giving so much respect to an unknown stranger who is not even an ascetic? Many times individually, and many times in groups, they came for a discussion. But whenever they came, they went belittled.
This happened while the congregation was sitting. People saw the ascetics being belittled as a residue of a crushed lime.
People were astonished to see the ascetics doing ascetic practices, but consuming wine, opium and hashish and without 'love and devotion' for the Lord. On the other side, when they looked at the impressive face of the true Guru Ji, then they felt a grace being showered. They could feel a sweet drizzle of ecstasy being showered.
In this way, people lost faith in the ascetics and instead of going to the hermitage, people swarmed around Guru Ji. So much so, that the hermitage became a lonely place, not for the ascetics but for the seekers of the Lord.
Now the ascetics became more vindictive. They started trying their supernatural powers. Nevertheless, whatever methods they adopted, they were
disgraced. At last, when they were unable to do anything, they came and fell at Guru Ji's feet.
The failure of the ascetics is described in the book 'Hakikat Rah Mukam' as follows: 'The Bhatrian's house and Kajli forest is 60 kilometers. A woman is the ruler. There is a gurdwara of Guru Ji. The holy congregation assembles at Bhatrian's house. There, Guru Ji had discussions with the ascetics. Then the ascetics tried their supernatural powers but failed and then fell at Guru Ji's feet. The name of that place is Kajli forest. A woman is the ruler.
In this way, all ascetics became agreeable to Bhartari.
Then one day Bhartari asked Guru Ji regarding the path of 'Love of the Lord' and the yoga as preached by Guru Ji.
Bhartari: Is it that you absolutely do not approve the Hath yoga?
Guru Ji: O Bhartari yogi. It is the Un-enlightened era (Kalyug) now. People are away from truth and good character. Even, the body is not that healthy now.
People do not have the strength to do Hath yoga. The vices have made the people dull and in suffering. The sadhus have renounced the world for their practices. They have got away from the people. But now, by the grace of God, it has become easy.
So, the path that a few ascetics sit in meditation in the forest is not right. The need is that everybody should be a saint. This is more beneficial.
Bhartari: You mean family man also and saint also.
Guru Ji: Yes. There is difference in your yoga and my yoga. Firstly, your ascetics are in empty rituals only. Secondly, they try to control the body passions stubbornly. Then if you say Raj yoga, even that you practice for thoughtlessness of mind. The mind should stop wandering, the senses should be controlled and reach a stage of thoughtlessness. For this, you have to depend on your body strength and Hath yoga for which you get away from the people and become recluses and go to the hills or forests.
When you are not happy there, then you get into drinking to pass time.
Even if somebody reaches the stage of thoughtlessness he does not reach the Supreme power. He is still away from the goal. This again is a shortcoming.
Bhartari: A person who has reached the stage of thoughtlessness, is he still deficient?
Guru Ji: Yes, it is still being at a distance from the Supreme power. Our aim has to be realization of the Supreme power. So, from the beginning only, we should start with that aim .
Bhartari: By Supreme power you mean God, The Lord. We also believe in God. We are not atheists.
Guru Ji: You do believe, but the Hath yoga that you do, you get stuck in the supernatural powers and even if you go ahead you go up to thoughtlessness.
Bhartari: Yes, you are right. This is thoughtlessness. This is the result of internalized meditation.
Guru Ji: I say, that the devotion is complete only when you reach the Lord.
If, one does not reach the Lord, then just believing in the Lord is of no value.
Bhartari: O true Guru Ji, you are right. We only do Hath yoga by which we become free from body passions and we prolong our life. But a few of us go for Raj yoga.
Guru Ji: Your disciples who are practising Hath yoga mostly do it for supernatural powers so that they get fame and a following. There would be hardly any who will go for Raj yoga.
Bhartari: Maybe, you are right. What is the name of your yoga?
Guru Ji: You have asked the name of my yoga. There is no place for Hath yoga in my yoga, nor any place for artificiality. My practice is for ecstasy, that you get by meeting the Lord. I call it eternal happiness. When you are enjoying the eternal happiness then we say, we are immersed in the Lord's love, and this yoga I may call it Sahaj yoga. I may call it Raj yoga also. In your type of Raj yoga you renounce the wealth, family and house but in my Raj yoga, we live in the family with detached mind, but mind attached to the Lord, we call it Raj yoga. Our Raj yoga in steadiness is Sahaj yoga. It means we are immersed in the love of the Lord all the time without any effort and that has become our nature.
Bhartari: O true Guru Ji, you don't practice 'Breath control', yogic exercises for the body, 'exercise to clean intestines', burning of sacrificial fire, and other rituals of Hath yoga. You don't ask people to leave the family and the house. Then how do you preach your Sahaj yoga?
Guru Ji: As you wish that the mind should concentrate in itself and be away from passions that is why you ask the people to leave the house and leave the family.
We wish that we should remain engrossed in the ceaseless remembrance of the Almighty Lord. When one is engrossed in the ceaseless remembrance of the Lord, then automatically the mind is detached from the world. We don't have to make any effort to remain away from the world. We don't have to worry about it. Automatically, the mind remains detached from the world, so much so, that even while working and doing other worldly chores the mind remains unaffected. This is our Sahaj yoga.
Bhartari: But how? You give some easy example.
Guru Ji: Like, when a daughter is married, she starts loving her husband. When she gets married i.e. when she gets engrossed in the love of her husband, then she doesn't have to do any practice to detach herself from the parents. The attachment to the husband itself distances her from the parents. Similarly, when you start loving the Lord, or so to say, get attached to the Lord, you automatically get distanced from what is not the Lord.
Bhartari: What is the way to get engrossed with the Lord?
Guru Ji: Engrossment is the love for the Lord in your mind, all the time. For loving one doesn't require a way. But then you see, when we love someone we remember him always. So, 'Remembrance' is the form of love in our mind.
So, we have to remember the Lord with whom we wish to be engrossed in love all the time. We ha.ve to remember Him as a beloved 'my love'. If, one can remember the Lord incessantly then it is well and good, but if one is not able to remember Him all the time, then by recitation of His name the remembrance becomes incessant.
We recite the Name with love. By recitation of Name we remain in remembrance of the Lord. This remembrance gives a sensation of the presence of the Lord in our mind and body.
The Name that we recite is of the Lord. By recitation, the Name goes down in the sub-conscious mind. The sensation of the Name engrosses us with the Lord in the form of love. It settles deep in our mind and body, and keeps us immersed in the love of the Lord incessantly. All this is Name.
In this way, the body soul automatically becomes crystal and merges with the Supreme Soul.
Bhartari (after deep thoughts): Yes, remembrance and love, they are corelated. But, how does the mind become crystal and how does it concentrate?
Guru Ji: The outer mind and the intuitive mind of everybody are full of dirt, the dirt of the vices and worldly passions. This dirt is washed by Name only. When we recite the Name of the most sacred Lord, then our mind gets a feeling of 'He is there' and his sacred goodness. The thinking of the goodness of the Lord washes the dirt of the mind.
When a person thinks of vices then his mind becomes dirty. Similarly, when you remember the goodness of the Lord your mind becomes clean.
Bhartari: Won't you give some example?
Guru Ji: If a person keeps talking of ghosts, evil spirits, demons, snakes etc, then at night he gets terrifying dreams.
Bhartari: Yes, now I have understood correctly.
Guru Ji: See, the recitation of the Name of the most sacred Lord turns our mind towards His sacred presence and sacred goodness and by this sacred feeling the mind becomes crystal. By this sacred touch the mind becomes crystal. When we keep on reciting the most sacred Name and keep on thinking His sacred presence and His sacred praises, then these influences settle in our sub-conscious mind and our outer mind and intuitive mind become clean and pure.
The same Name becomes Name nectar and one starts enjoying the ecstasy from Name.
Bhartari: How is that?
Guru Ji: By recitation of the Name the mind starts feeling the presence of the Lord. The mind gets a sensation of the presence of the Lord and this sensation gets deep into the body cells and becomes incessant In this sensation, some touch comes from the Lord and the person feels the ecstasy incessantly. When there is ecstasy, then we call it Name nectar.
Incessant recitation keeps us in incessant touch of 'the Lord of rapture' and that keeps the mind full of rapture incessantly.
Bhartari: From where do we get the Name?
Guru Ji: We get the Name from Guru Ji by his blessings. Guru Ji's blessing is from the sensation of the Lord in Guru Ji's sacred mind that has been blessed by the Lord.
From Guru Ji, this sensation goes to Guru Ji disciples. These Ideal men then give it further to the seekers.
Ideal person is he, who has the sensation of the Lord in his mind and body, who follows Guru Ji's footsteps and not his own egoistic mind, and whose guide is the 'sensation of the Lord' that he has got from Guru Ji and the 'bless of the Lord'.
When Guru Ji explained this way of love to Bhartari yogi, who was quite knowledgeable, well versed in ascetic practices and had practised Hath yoga a lot, then the words of Guru Ji went deep into his mind and he got engrossed in the love of the Lord.
But his followers, although, they were not arrogant now and had started respecting Guru Ji, still had their minds trapped in artificialities and with folded hands asked questions but looked towards Bhartari.
So, Bhartari understood what they meant and then he prayed to Guru Ji: In your path that you have told, are there any symbols and emblems like signet, seal, trumpet, wand, etc?
Then Guru Ji said: Yes, dear. To act strictly on Guru Ji's teachings is our signet. We do not have any symbol of Hath yoga. Neither we pierce our
ears nor we wear any signet. To act on Guru Ji's teachings is our signet and this is our symbol.
One has to deal with the world and one gets distress. Forgiveness is the quilt that we wear. In this way, we do not get into anger and we do not feel dejected. Whatever happens, we feel it is God's will and we accept it as good. To accept the Lord's will is our wealth and treasure in our Sahaj yoga. You do 'breath control' to control the body and prolong your body life. We enjoy the sensation and ecstasy that comes with the recitation of the Lord's name.
You play the music by blowing a trumpet. We remain absorbed in the incessant remembrance of the Lord through Name. That gives us the incessant sensation of the Lord and we are always in ecstasy.
Our outer mind is controlled by the intuitive mind and the intuitive mind remains in the remembrance of the presence of the Lord. This is our wand. The bowl that we have is reasoning, from where we drink the water of coolness, so that our desires go away.
We consider the love of worldly things as dirt. That is, our rubbing the
ash.
Our other practice is, that we sing the praises of the Lord with music. Your sect is recluse. Our sect is Ideal Man.
You renounce your house and family. We renounce the ego in our mind and body.
Then whatever we see spread all over, we see the Lord everywhere, outside in nature and inside our body. These are our denotations.
Listening to this, Bhartari looked towards his followers with tears in his eyes and then towards Guru Ji.
Then on seeing his face Guru Ji said: O Bhartari yogi, have you listened?
The path is: 'To be engrossed in the love of the Lord'.
That is the Sahaj yoga.
Some think that by Hath yoga, when they will die, they will go to Shiva's town. But we renounce such thoughts and we live in Shiva's town just now.
How is it? We remain in the fourth and final stage of spiritual beatitude. We turn our mind from the fruitless wanderings that come even in dream in sleep, and remain engrossed in the love of the Lord. This Shiva's town is a place of ecstasy. We feel this in our mind. We do not look for a place after death or outside our body. Instead, now and inside our body we have the sensation of the Lord incessantly.
You understand that the awaken-ness that has come in our soul, that is giving ecstasy and eternal peace, this will not go after death. That has become our self and we will be in eternal peace even after death.
Then Bhartari bowed his head to the ground in reverence and his followers also said a respectful goodbye.
Ill
The above advice and the discourse that the true Guru Ji gave to Bhartari yogi, Guru Ji composed in Asa raga in the form of a hymn and was sung.
This hymn was included in the Holy Scripture by the graciousness of Guru Arjan Dev Ji and has reached us. The meaning of the hymn is given below:
O dear yogi, meaning O Bhartari, to love the Lord i.e. to get engrossed in the love of the Lord is becoming an ascetic for all times.
That means, one who is immersed in the love of the Lord is an ascetic always. The meaning is, that one who is engrossed in himself has reached a stage of thoughtlessness. He is in himself only. His self got caught in the worldly desires. He experienced that and did not like it. He has now gone into thoughtlessness so that he doesn't get trapped in worldly desires again.
But the passions are enticing and it cannot be taken for granted that the passions will not entice him again, they can play a trick again.
So, it is imperative that one goes further beyond and gets engrossed with the Almighty Lord, the Supreme soul. Then only, he will have eternal bliss.
Because the Supreme soul is eternal bliss, he will also be immersed in the Supreme soul.
One who gets immersed in the Supreme soul, we will call him 'a true ascetic always engrossed in the love of the Supreme Lord', says Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
To reach the Lord is not through Hath yoga but through the Lord's sacred Name.
Time passed by slowly. Guru Ji's following became large. The holy congregation assembled everyday.
One day, it became evening. Beautiful stars started shining in the sky. The silvery shining stars like fountains of light were shining and glittering in the blue sky giving ecstasy to the mind. Cool and gentle breeze was blowing and tiny drops of dew were giving a touch of splendour.
Guru Ji was immersed in the love of the all-pervading, Almighty beloved.
Today, Bhartari yogi came. He greeted Guru Ji, sat down and made a request Please, sometimes visit our hermitage. Put your sacred feet in our hermitage. Everybody wishes that
Guru Ji smiled and said: All right, King of yogis. I shall come some
day.
So, one day he went inside at night
At that time the ascetics were sitting in a gathering. The bottle of wine (and glasses) was making a round. Everybody was having according to his wishes, full or three-fourth or half or one-fourth and were drinking. When the bottle of wine completed a full round then it was presented to Guru Ji also.
Guru Ji looked towards the bottle of wine, then towards the sadhus and ascetics, then towards Bhartari and then he laughed and asked the server who was serving: What is this?
Server: This is the glass of the ascetics. You also have and enjoy.
Then Guru Ji had mercy in his eyes. He looked towards Bhartari and in a gracious tone said: O dear, the drink of Name nectar has engrossed my mind. It does not require this worthless drink.
Bhartari: Please, you have and try. After drinking this, if you sit in meditation of Name, your concentration will remain for twelve hours.
Guru Ji: When there is a hangover in the morning, then what will you offer to drink?
Bhartari: The diamond cuts the diamond. Another drink will overcome the hangover.
Guru Ji: Then when there is again a hangover after the morning drink, then?
Bhartari: Then another drink.
Guru Ji: Then you will be living for this worthless drink only.
Bhartari: Then what. Even if we are living for this drink, at least we are concentrating and meditating.
Guru Ji: This wine intoxicates. This intoxication makes you unconscious. This is undesirable. This is not a meditation of the soul or of the Lord. Unconsciousness or any tantric influence is not concentration. When one is not in senses one is mad. Madness is not concentration. These drinks are worldly pleasures only.
Bhartari: You had said that the Name is very high and praiseworthy. With this intoxication it becomes a constant remembrance. Is it not?
Guru Ji smiled: Dear yogi, Name nectar is sacred. Wine is intoxicating. The nectar is life giving. The intoxication of wine makes you unconscious and if you drink more it will kill.
This wine is pleasure in the beginning Half way is malady End is death.
The Name nectar is endeavor in the beginning Half way is Ecstasy
End is eternal happiness. You are the torch bearer for the Lord's nectar. You have misunderstood insentience as life.
Bhartari (Feeling a bit ashamed): O gracious Guru Ji, we drink it only for meditation. We don't drink for passions.
Guru Ji: You might be right. But you go and see the hermitages in general. This wine is the road to vices. See, whether drinking has brought vices in the hermitages or not
Bhartari: I do hear, but a few sips that I have taken gives concentration. It does not make me unconscious.
Guru Ji: See, in this gathering, you are the only one who had a few sips. The rest are guzzling glasses after glasses and see how they are lying flat and smelling awfully.
Come let us go to your hut.
They got up from there and both went and sat in Bhartari's hut.
Bhartari: O true Guru Ji, then do you permit me to drink a few sips. It has become a habit. One feels a little exhilaration and gets into meditation.
Guru Ji: Dear yogi, snakes are all right in the baskets of the Snake charmers.
Similarly, this snake of wine is all right in the bottles of the doctors. This is poison and for the seekers of the Lord this is first a poison. Secondly it is deception.
Bhartari: I have not understood 'secondly a deception'.
Guru Ji: One deception is the desire for riches and passions. The second deception is intoxication. That may be of liquor or opium or hashish.
So, this liquor is another deception. Under its influence the person does not really understand whether he is in a state of enlivenment of soul or is it a state of mind that is giving exhilaration but is taking him towards insentience or unconsciousness.
The consumption of wine or opium gives to the seeker of the Lord, an error of judgment whether it is meditation or loss of consciousness.
Bhartari: But the joy that you get and the exhilaration that you get, you do not get without drinking.
Guru Ji: If you go near the lamp you get the light. If you go near the fire you get warmth. The Lord, who is the life-giving Supreme Soul, if one goes near Him, one should get enlivenment rather than semi-consciousness, unconsciousness and then death.
Bhartari: What you say is true but how to get the joy?
Guru Ji: The seeker of the Lord wants nectar. Liquor is a poison. The seeker of the Lord wants the ecstasy that comes from the nectar. He wants the
rapture that comes and that turns the mind from worldly desires and gives a feeling of the presence of the Lord and keeps it immersed in the love of the Lord.
O Bhartari, what you have listened is that the Name nectar gives ecstasy but don't you ever think that it is just like the exhilaration of the liquor.
You are seeker of the sacred nectar. Search for the sacred nectar. Do away with the habit of worthless drinks. Be sure, the intoxication you get from liquor is not tranquillity. By stubborn ness or Hath yoga or by drinking liquor the happiness that you get is not tranquillity.
One who is in the love of the Lord is in tranquillity. His remembrance of the Lord is incessant.
Bhartari: What about the mystic music? We hear a lovely mystic music after a little drink.
Guru Ji: Dear yogi, how do you call it mystic? The sound that you hear when you press your ears increases if you eat dry fruits, etc, or you eat opium or drink liquor. This is a natural physical phenomenon.
Bhartari (scratched his head): Then? Then?
Guru Ji: Even according to the system of Hath yoga the mystic music knot is near the heart. When a yogi reaches that stage then he listens to the mystic music. The practitioners of Hath yoga call it mystic music. What you listen by plugging the ears or by drinking, that anybody can listen, even a criminal or a drunkard or a stupid person. The mystic music can be heard by a practitioner of Hath yoga or by a person who is in the recitation of Name when he reaches the tenth door. The practice for mystic music is also Name.
Bhartari: You have awakened me from a slumber.
Guru Ji: O dear yogi, everything has its own characteristics. Those who experience the mystic music do not live in anxiety and fear. They have a sensation of the Lord in them. Well, you are a practitioner of Hath yoga. You must know that anxiety and fear cause illness and suffering. So, whoever has experienced the mystic music should be without any illness or suffering. Now, you see by pressing fingers to the ears or by putting plugs in the ears or by drinking liquor and opium, whether they are out of anxiety and fear.
Then it is an attitude of the person who experiences the mystic music that his five vices i.e. sex, desire, anger, greed and pride are controlled.
Now, you see in your followers and other practitioners whether these characteristics are visible.
Bhartari: Everybody says that after drinking we listen. But no one has control over passions despite the Hath yoga practices that they are doing for control of passions. More than other vices anger is on the top.
Then when these characteristics are not there in recluses, then how can we expect these in the family people who are in the habit of telling lies and indulging in vices and full of anxieties and are trembling with fear. What they listen is not actually mystic music.
Guru Ji: The person who has really experienced the mystic music will be free from anxiety, fear and passions.
Bhartari: Yes. It is correct. In our Hath yoga is said there are six knots. The fourth knot is the mystic music knot. It is near the heart. When the practitioner of Hath yoga crosses the first three knots and settles in the fourth knot, there, is the twelve-petal lotus. Here he gets a sensation what they call is mystic music. One who reaches the fourth knot i.e. completes two-third path, this is for him to experience. This is written in our scripture. But we tell everyone to plug the ears and listen to the sound and call it mystic music.
O true Guru Ji, you are right. What should I do now?
Guru Ji: Discard the mistaken beliefs. To drink liquor and meditate is like trying to get rich by gambling. This human life is very precious. Don't waste it like that.
The truth is: Do good deeds. Try not to do any evil deeds.
Move forward and come to the praise of the Lord. While praising the Lord, you will automatically remain detached from the world.
Then you recite the Name. Remember the Name. Name will keep you away from vices. Then it will fill you with ecstasy.
Get into 'recitation of the Name with love'. Drink the Name nectar. Enjoy the ecstasy of this nectar.
Bhartari: Shall we thus reach the heavens and get salvation?
Guru Ji: Here lies the problem. O dear yogi, just think. Why do you do all this Hath yoga? Why are so many people doing all this practice? Why do they not understand from the very beginning? This causes all the confusion.
The aim should be to meet the Lord, the Lord of this creation or so to say, all practices and endeavors should be for the sole aim of reaching the Lord.
One who is hungry for the love of the Lord wishes to meet the Lord. Why should he want fulfillment of his worldly desires? Why should he want comforts? If he wants salvation, that means he is in suffering and wants to get away from the suffering. That also is seeking comforts. The efforts to bring comforts trap our mind and make us go astray from the real aim of meeting the Lord. Fortunate is the person who has the aim of meeting the Lord constant in his mind. He does not want comforts or salvation. Neither he requires ascetic practises nor he requires penances of Hath yoga.
He is in love to meet the Lord and the path to reach the Lord is 'recitation of the Lord's name with love' or remembrance of the Lord.
One who is in love to reach the Lord, his mind is automatically detached from the world. His sufferings automatically are gone. Comforts automatically come to him. But he keeps on treacling towards the goal in a carefree manner. The real mystic music is out of the reach of these ears. The real mystic music is all pervading. That he will experience in the form of sensation, but he will keep on treading steadfastly towards his goal of meeting the Lord.
The lover of the Lord, in his love, reaches the Lord's palace and meets the Lord. He does not forget that he has to meet the Lord. He is not enticed by any other desire.
When the lover of the Lord has renounced, even salvation, then what else can entice him?
Imbibe a wish to meet the Lord and to fulfill that wish live in the remembrance of the Lord. To keep the remembrance strong, get into recitation of His name and then stick to this one thing.
All fruits will follow automatically.
Two things are important.
One is 'love of Name' and second is 'wish to meet the Lord'. Bhartari: Then will I have a glimpse of the Lord?
Guru Ji: Don't misunderstand this again. You can't have a glimpse of the Lord with these eyes. These eyes can visualize the world only. These eyes are perishable. The Lord is imperishable. These eyes whether open or closed or in semi-consciousness, whatever will see, will be a worldly sight.
We can see the Lord when we see inwardly. While in remembrance, we will reach an end of the visible world. From there the Lord will pull us towards Him. In His love, in His togetherness, in His glimpse, we will reach Him through sensation.
Then we will have a total sensation of the Lord inside our body and outside in nature and it will be incessant.
We will go into the world of sensation and meet the Almighty Lord and remain in the incessant sensation of His love and we will perceive Him in and out and thus realize Him. This is His incessant glimpse.
Bhartari (Heaving a sigh): It is true. You take me along. Please don't stop speaking. Please go on talking.
The 'lips of my ears' should keep on drinking from 'the bowl of the words of nectar'.
Let me be at your feet.
Guru Ji: It is not yet time to take you along. You recite the Name. Time will come.
The above-mentioned doctrinal dialogue with the Head ascetic, we don't know in what sweet, meaningful, inspiring and sacred words it was, at that time.
Effort has been made to explain its meanings in the above mentioned dialogue, but we are fortunate that the words that Guru Ji uttered in graciousness, the true Guru Ji, in brief, composed in a hymn that was sung in Asa Rag and the benevolent fifth Guru Ji included it in the Holy Scripture, so that, we or even generations to come, may be fortunate to read and benefit from it.
In this way, after such dialogue Guru Ji departed from there, but the holy congregation there, became so big and the love was so much, that a gurdwara was constructed, where the holy congregation assembled regularly.
Guru Ji's command to Bhartari yogi is repeated once again:
The true path towards the Lord is:
'Recitation of the Lord's Name with love'
Let us also recite:
'Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru.'
'O Lord, O Lord, O Lord'
Starting with at least five minutes a day.
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