O great Guru Nanak Dev! He made five travels across the country and abroad and put the people on the true path of recitation of the Lord's name with love. After his first travel, he came home. Then again he went on travel across the country. He met all the saints, sadhus, recluses, ascetics and other people and took them out of their mistaken beliefs and put them on the true path of love of the Lord. Then he returned to his home and stayed there for sometime. Again he started his travel and this time settled at Kartarpur. His next travel was to Sangladeep in the south and again to North. Whenever he came back from travels, he stayed at Kartarpur.
During this time when he stayed at Kartarpur after completing a travel, many saints, sadhus, recluses and family men of all faiths including heads of many sects came to meet him to remove their doubts and get the Guru's blessings. Once a group of Bhagats who were idol-worshippers came. This group made idols of many gods and danced and performed many types of rituals and worshipped the idols. The group was earnest in their worship but they had some doubts that had to be removed. They stayed at Kartarpur for a few days and continued with their idol-worship. They had imagined that even Guru Nanak does idol worship as they do.
But they saw that Guru Nanak worships the Lord, the one Lord. Then he has absolute detachment from desires and he is in ecstasy and rapture. They wondered how is it that he is in devotional love of the Lord and he is a saint of the highest order? Then they came and sat near and asked: O Lord's beloved saint, a man does good and bad deeds. He does it himself or somebody prompts him to do? Who prompts him to do? It is evident that man is in desires. He might be motivated by something. How does one have detachment from desires? When the person who has desires dies, he is in suffering. How
wall he get salvation from this suffering?
Guru: O pious Bhagats, when one sees wealth, riches, women, beauty of a woman and the youthfulness of a man, then ego and desires come. Ego and desires have two facets.
1. Ego of what one has.
2. The desire that they should remain.
Those who do not have, they are in despair and they desire to have. This is the opposite side of ego and desires. This desire comes to the mind in the body. The prime thing in the mind is ego. The mind sees and desires. Then the mind is enticed by the desire. It wants to acquire. That is in two ways.
One is the pious way and one is the sinful way. 'Somehow, I should acquire' this is the desire, whether the pious way or the sinful way, that the mind guides. Some minds suggest the sinful way, loot, grab, deceive and some minds suggest the pious way, earn honestly and give charity, do goodness so that one gets the fruit of goodness.
So, the motivator of sinful and pious deeds is the desire and the motivator of desire is ego. According to this 'ego and desires' to acquire wealth, women and fame, the mind is enticed and gets into sinful or pious deeds.
When, by sinful or pious deeds one acquires something, then one becomes proud and wishes to acquire more. One is never satiated. When, one is not able to acquire, then the desire to acquire increases. In that case also one is never satiated. In this way, the mind remains in the fulfilled or unfulfilled desires. So, the ego and desires keep the mind in the wheel of deeds. Then the comforts and sufferings come according to the deeds done and one remains in the cycle of births and deaths. There is no salvation from this cycle. Man remains in suffering in the wheel of deeds and the cycle of births and deaths.
There is only one way to get out of the wheel of deeds and the cycle of births and deaths. That is the Lord's Name. By remembering the Lord and reciting His name with love the Name permeates in the body. The Lord is omnipresent and always living. So, he is always with us. The fruit of reciting His name is that the mind gets into the love of the always-living Lord and remains in the incessant love of the Lord.
The material gains that entice the mind do not go with us. When the body does not go with us, then how will the material gains go? The material gains that we acquire as also indulge in passions, we think that these are giving pleasure. Those pleasures as also the body remains here. When a person dies, others acquire his wealth and the body that we think is our own becomes ash. So to say, the entire existence goes to the earth. The friends, family, wealth and passions all go to the earth. But the dirt that has accumulated on
the mind in acquiring wealth and indulging in passions does not go away. Like, when the water becomes dirty, then where the water flows the dirt goes along. This dirt keeps the mind in suffering. This dirt does not go by any other means. The only effective way out to wash this dirt is 'recitation of the Lord's Name with love'. This washes the dirt of the mind because, then one starts living in the incessant presence of the sacred Lord. His sacredness washes the dirt of the mind. On listening from the Guru that the Lord's Name washes the dirt of the mind, they were much pleased.
Why the Bhagats were putting questions to the Guru, whether they wished to have the Guru's advice or they wanted to test his spiritual supremacy, they only know. Because these questions and replies they had already read in their Vedic scriptures but what the Guru explained to them was of a high spiritual order. What the Guru told them was that Name is the prime worship. Name is the medicine and cure that washes the dirt of the mind. They felt happy because they thought themselves to be already in Name. They thought that the dancing and other rituals that they were doing was Name although they were in a mistaken belief. Whatever worship they did was in fact, an empty ritual. So, to make sure, they again said: 0, Guru ! What you have said is true, it is correct that desires are motivated by ego, the way out that you have said is Name. We are already in Name by mode of dancing, singing and chanting. Besides this, is there anything better in what you preach?
On listening to this the benevolent Guru who was immersed in the love of the Lord said: Listen O dear Bhagats, those deeds that are done in respect of the three-fold qualities of nature i.e. goodness, emotion and evil, they keep you in the forgetfulness of the Lord. Because of this three-fold qualities of nature, the cycle of births and deaths remains.
The singing that you do, the dancing that you do and the music that you play and you are under the impression that it is Name, this impression of yours is not correct. They are being done in the forgetfulness of the Lord. So, they are empty rituals only. The forgetfulness of the Lord is ignorance of the Lord. Where there is ignorance of the Lord there is suffering.
The cause of all sufferings is forgetfulness of the Lord. This forgetfulness of the Lord does not go by dancing, singing or playing music. Nor does it go by having knowledge of the Lord in the mind. That goes only when you have the sensation of the presence of the Lord in your mind and body. That one gets by singing the praises of the Lord and by reciting his Name with love. Then you get the sensation of the presence of the Lord in the mind and body and you meet the Lord.
So, the first medicine is singing the praises of the Lord.
For that a saint is required who should keep on putting in your mind that the medicine is not the singing and dancing but it is singing the praises of the Lord and recitation of the Lord's name with love.
When the mind is turned towards the love of the Lord, one has faith in the presence of the Lord. One is longing to reach the Lord and has craving to meet the Lord. When one sings the praises of the Lord, the dirt of the mind is washed. The vices and passions run away from the mind. One gets a sensation of the presence of the Lord in the mind and body. The mind becomes sublime.
The fact is that as the people in general are entangled in ego and worldly desires, similarly, those who are pious but in forgetfulness of the Lord, they are also in desires and ego. They do not meet the Lord. So, they are also in despair. On listening to this their mind got dented because even after so much endeavour in singing and dancing they were in despair. That is why they came to the Guru for advice.
The Guru immersed in the love of the Lord was miraculous. He continued his discourse and after telling them that their singing and dancing was a lifeless practice he turned to their dress and said: O dear Bhagats, when the dirt of the mind is washed and the mind becomes crystal then the despair goes. A snow-white robe that you are wearing cannot make the mind crystal. When one has the life-giving Lord's name in the mind, then the forehead shines as if a saffron mark is put. One does not have to put a saffron mark from outside. The shine comes from inside. The saffron mark that you put on the forehead cannot give the life-giving sensation of the Lord's name.
The prime worship is remembrance of the Lord in the mind and recitation of the Lord's name by the tongue. The rosary that you are wearing is not taking you towards love of the Lord. Because it is seen that those who are wearing these without the love of the Lord, they have the evil of anger in them. How will the outward cleanliness help? If you say they are reading Ramayan and staying in hermitages and learning other scriptures from learned sadhus, then what is the value of that learning? It is the same as learning dancing in dancing schools. After learning singing and dancing they stage dramas for the sake of money. Because when they do it for making money, then the greed for more money comes to the mind as a poison.
There is only one antidote that one gets from the true Guru that is the Lord's Name. That, they do not have. So, from where will they get spiritual beatitude? So, O dear Bhagats, without the blessings of the true Guru who is the Lord's beloved one cannot get spiritual beatitude. The true Guru does not let the disciple become a dramatic performer. He does not teach acting, singing
and dancing. He puts you on the true path. He puts you on the path of recitation of the Lord's Name with love and singing the praises of the Lord and he does not let you go astray from that straight path towards the Lord.
The Guru explained to the Bhagats that they were in a mistaken belief that this singing, dancing and other rituals were taking them towards the Lord. Really speaking, these practices that they were doing was only a show off and empty rituals and these could not take them towards the Lord. It went into their mind and heart that the Guru is telling the truth. What the Guru explained to them they thought that it was quite logical and it was for their good to understand it properly. They were actually searching for the reason why their endeavours were not bearing fruit and not giving them any peace of mind.
So, very respectfully they said: Even after all this endeavour of singing, dancing, idol worship and renouncing the family and house, we haven't got peace of mind, what is the root cause of this?
On listening to this, the Guru smiled and said: O dear Bhagats, without a true Guru the whole world is drowned. Whether in the temples or pilgrim centres or houses or in religious seats there is no one who has reached the Lord and can further guide the people to the true path towards the Lord.
There are preachers, may be they are more than the disciples or seekers of the Lord but they can teach only singing and dancing and make you learn to give a clever discourse that keeps you in ego and desires. They are themselves in empty rituals and preaching rituals only.
In this way, these false Gurus are entangling the world. Without a true Guru one does not know the real path towards the Lord. Without a true Guru, the 'ego and desires' do not go. Unless the 'ego and desires' go one remains in the cycle of births and deaths. One is born again and lives as a pig, dog, donkey, cat, lion, fox, wolf or other animals.
Like, when one is away from the sun and in the dark, one stumbles. But when we are near the true Guru who is the lighthouse like the sun, we get the singing of the praises of the Lord and the recitation of the Lord's name that goes into our mind and heart and gives ecstasy. It gives ecstasy while living and when you die you get respect in the Lord's court, because you have obeyed the true Guru and remained in the remembrance of the Lord. Such people get respect, love and ecstasy from the Lord when they die. O dear Bhagats whoever meets the true Guru gets a sensation of the presence of the Lord in his mind, heart and body.
Then as guided by the true Guru he understands the Lord's will. Then what the Lord does, he accepts it as good. By accepting the Lord's will as good he lives in the incessant remembrance of the Lord in this life. In
remembrance, he lives in the presence, of the Lord. Those who live in the incessant remembrance of the Lord in this life they also live in the presence of the Lord when they die. In this way, when one lives in the Lord's palace, then one is out of the cycle of births and deaths.
What I had told you is that without the Lord's name, the dirt of ego and desires on the mind does not go. In this way, by recitation of the Lord's name with love, the dirt of the mind is washed and one gets out of the cycle of births and deaths. Then one of the Bhagats, who was a family man asked: O true Guru, what you have said is true and we are fully satisfied. But whatever practice you have said is for the recluse who has renounced his family and house. He should recite the Lord's name with love. He has already renounced the wealth and family. He has to renounce the desires only. So, for him it is a bit easy. But one who is a family man, how can he renounce the wealth and money? One cannot manage family without wealth and money and this is the thing to be renounced. But your path is to love the Lord and also live in the family. How will a family man renounce the wealth and money?
Benevolent Guru: O dear, the path is the same one path. There are no two paths. One has to recite the Name and remove the forgetfulness of the Lord. One has to understand the Lord's will and accept it as good. This is a straight path and simple to understand. Tread on the true path of recitation of the Lord's Name with love and remain steadfast on this path. The person may be a recluse or a family man as he wishes.
Now, you have asked particularly for a family man. The family man should remain in the family. While living in the family one gets more experiences. One should do goodness to others and fight the evils of the mind. Living in the family is an arena where the mind has to rise above the worldly desires and attain spiritual beatitude.
That is why our path is that one should stay in the family but with mind detached. One cannot manage the family without wealth and money. So, one should earn but earn honestly and not by grabbing or deceiving others. Whatever one earns he should be contented and even from that he should give charity.
A family man can remain in the family with a detached mind if he considers that the Lord has given all the comforts of life i.e. wife, sons, money, wealth, house and other things. Whatever he thinks is mine he should think it is from the Lord and belongs to the Lord. In fact he should have faith that this mind and body is grace from the Lord and the relatives and friends around are all Lord blessed. What am I? I belong to the Lord and everything belongs to the Lord. In this way, a family man remains in the family with mind detached
from worldly desires and attached to the Lord. He lives in the incessant remembrance of the Lord and his body soul is immersed in the Supreme soul and he lives in ecstasy. He lives in eternal happiness and is out of the cycle of births and deaths. The thinking that everything belongs to the Lord, this is his detachment from worldly desires. The recluses renounce the family and home but they do not get peace of mind. The mind has to be detached from desires, whether one is a recluse or a family man.
Bhagats: We have to keep our mind detached from desires, relations and friends. If you give some example, then we will understand better.
Beloved Guru: You are a group and you travel with recluses. You must have experienced yourself sometimes. When a recluse goes to a new town, then on the first day he feels detached there. He does not feel any attachment there. But when he stays there for sometime then he feels some attachment Similarly, when we consider our wealth or relations as gift from the Lord, then we feel a slight detachment When we consider them of the Lord, then that slight detachment is not despair. That keeps one away from desires and gives a feeling of comfort The practical aspect of this slight detachment is that it reduces the wish to get comfort from them and one is in exuberance to give comfort to others. If something or somebody goes away, then one does not feel the suffering or a slight sadness comes and goes away.
O dear Bhagats, by thinking that everything belongs to the Lord, it does not mean sadness or depression or dejection. It is freedom from desires and exuberance. Like, everybody is happy to acquire but also feels happy to give to daughter or son or parents. In this way, with a feeling of love and sacredness when our mind considers that everything belongs to the Lord, then our mind feels exuberant to give. Then when we are in the incessant recitation of Name, then we are in constant touch of the Lord. The Lord is all ecstasy. So, when we are in the touch of the Lord and we consider everything belongs to Him, then we live in ecstasy. On listening to the discourse of the benevolent and saviour Guru, the Bhagats became Guru-disciples.
In the biography is written: On listening to this, the Bhagats fell at the Guru's feet and said: O Guru, you are great and great is your glimpse. O image of the Lord, you make us your disciples and give us the Lord's Name.
Then the Guru said: Recite the Lord's Name with love. You are blessed. The Bhagats started recitation of the Lord's Name. They got ecstasy. They got salvation. Then the Guru departed from there.
DODO