en we start from Jehlum then there comes a hillock at a distance of
V V approximately ten kilometers. It is called the hillock of Balgundai. Balgundai was a known saint of the ascetic sect who lived on this hillock. The hillock was named in his honour. This saint was a yogi and believed in renouncement but he was not inclined towards supernatural powers.
Doing goodness to others was always on the top of his mind. He had good knowledge of the different disciplines of Hath yoga but was more inclined towards Raj yoga. He liked the penances. He could live without food and water and did not mind the sufferings that would come to him while living in this world but he had a soft heart for the sufferings of other people.
People considered him a saint, having supernatural powers but he was more interested in giving comfort to others, and that gave him more happiness.
When his penances and austerities bore fruit and he became famous, then people started offering him money. He utilized the money for eradicating the sufferings of other people.
Listening to his fame, one day, on this hillock came Guru Nanak Dev, the appreciator of goodness and always ready to guide those who are stuck half way. He did not go to the hermitage of this recluse saint. He stayed at a little distance away from the hermitage. He stayed in solitude immersed in the love of his beloved Lord.
Radiance was emanating from his face and the fragrance of the spiritual atmosphere spread all around.
Somebody went and told Balgundai: Two travellers are sitting outside in the forest in meditation. They appear to be devotees and yogis. But on their face is a splendid radiance that I have never seen before. It is evening and it
is cloudy. You always say that nobody should remain in suffering near me, so I wanted to tell you that if you wish to give comfort, then it is time. What did Balgundai know who has come is a saviour and will take him out of his mistaken belief in philanthropy? He thought they are some recluse sadhus. So, he sent his men and asked them to bring the two travellers to the hermitage respectfully. When his men reached there, the Guru was in ecstasy looking at the nice blue sky and the black clouds that were spreading.
The servants with folded hands made a request: O gentle sadhus, it is all forest here, it is cold and it is cloudy. Please get up and come to the hermitage of Balgundai saint and stay for the night in comfort Have food. The master of the hermitage Balgundai has called you. He will welcome you respectfully and be happy to see to your comfort.
The Guru was delighted to listen to the wish of Balgundai to give comfort His handsome face blossomed. He smiled and said:
We needn't go. We are sitting
The night, here we shall stay
A seeker of Lord is happy
In what comes his way.
The servants came back and related the message that the Guru had given.
Then Balgundai pondered deeply. When the clouds are thundering and he does not want to leave his meditation, he is not an ordinary sadhu. He has power and strength in him. To give him respect is for me only.
In this thinking, he himself went. He saw the lustre on the forehead. He felt cool. When the Guru looked at him with his charming eyes immersed in the love of the Lord, his mind blossomed and he prayed: O travellers, it is cloudy and about to rain. It is cold. It is difficult to spend the night here in comfort. Come inside and spend the night in comfort I have come to request you respectfully to come inside.
Guru: It is your extreme goodness that you give so much respect to guests but you let us stay where we are. Time is passing beautifully. It will pass beautifully. It is the duty of the seeker of Lord to be happy wherever he stays and whatever is there. We have stayed like this in many places in the country and abroad. So, as we have stayed at other places, time will pass here also. We are used to staying in the forest and in open spaces. We don't need to look for hermitages. Our thinking has been that wherever and in whatever way one stays, it is all right
Balgundai again looked at the Guru's face intently. He felt a dazzle and a radiance emanating from the Guru's eyes. He felt a sensation in his body. He
felt a pull of love and regard. With folded hands, again he said: What you have said is true. For a seeker of Lord, whatever happens should be accepted as good. This is the proper thinking and one should be happy in that But O master of recluse, if the Lord gives a choice to stay in the hermitage or hut or shade in comfort, then one should avail of that in the thinking that He has sent this comfort Wealth is His. We are sadhus. Everything belongs to the Lord.
Guru: If one is a family man, then he should have an honest earning. He should be truthful. He should give charity and do goodness to others.
If he is a recluse, then he should be happy in whatever happens. But when it comes to comforts, he should not get into comforts. The touch of comforts traps the recluse. The body and its wants, because they are natural, they entice you and even the recluse gets lost Therefore, if one has detachment, whether in the mine or in both mind and body, he should pass through any situation but he should not get stuck anywhere. The flowing water remains fresh. The sadhus who are happy in whatever happens remain in high thinking. But if the seeker of the Lord gets stuck somewhere then his high thinking is gone. It is these comforts in which one gets stuck. First, they come without any desire. Then they bring in the desire for comforts, then they entice you in enjoying the desires. When you get stuck in desires then you are away from the path towards the Lord.
Balgundai: It is a pious thing to let the recluse remain in preparedness.
Balgundai understood that for a seeker of the Lord, to get stuck at a particular stage has a negative effect and to move ahead through any situation does not decrease the freshness. This is not an ordinary thought
This is a very important principle in life that has emerged from practical living. He has said it right that the comforts even if they come on their own bring a desire for more comforts. This is very deep knowledge. O mind! Today you have come across a person with a mastermind. He doesn't seem to be an ordinary person.
Then he wished he might ask, "Who are you?" But he hesitated and became more eager to save him from the discomfort of rain. He thought this godly soul must be provided with comfort
In this thinking again he said: O beloved of the Lord you have said truly that a seeker of the Lord should not get stuck at any stage, but my prayer to you is for one night only. Pass the night under the roof of the hermitage, as you pass everyday under the shade of trees in the heat of the sun or under the thundering and raining dark clouds. You are a bestowal of blessings, without desires. You have won over your desires. You have forgone your desires. But I have a desire to do service. For my desire's sake, tonight you
come and stay inside. Tomorrow, the river of blessings may flow of its own accord, in ecstasy. The ponds are static, but who can make the mighty rivers static? The mountains cannot stop them. The sea cannot stop them. They are always moving, always fresh, they never stop.
The soft-hearted Guru saw his humility and love and got up and went inside the hermitage, leaving the wondrous ecstasy of the thundering clouds, but immersed in the Lord's love.
Balgundai extended a warm welcome as a duty. He ordered for water, washed his feet, wiped them, and made him sit in comfort.
After making him more comfortable, he said: If you see all the various things kept here, it will be a privilege to me.
The Guru, in a firm voice, but blossoming forehead said: O saint, these are the riches of the world. They are visible. What more should I see? The luxuries and riches are sweet for the flies that get trapped and cannot fly again. They are ordinary for the honeybee that accumulates honey but leaves and flies away when it is about to go. Yes saint riches are not traps for the sky bird that flies in the deep blue sky.
Balgundai was baffled. Does the Guru talk or does he unveil the veils of the 'inaccessible'. The more he listened to his words the more eager he became to show him all the materials in the hermitage. Then tell him about his own peace of mind and control on desires and get his opinion and blessings.
So, he said: You are a swan. You live in the sacred, high mountain lakes. But you fly over ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. In a similar flying vision, see the materials, I have stored.
Guru: Let us see the materials that the saint has stored.
Then the saint showed the treasure and then all the clothes.
The Guru said: Yes saint, I have seen. Good.
Then he showed the horses.
The Guru said: Yes, I have seen the horses and the stables. Good.
In this way the Guru saw all the materials but gave an indication of something in what he said.
The Guru wanted to take him out of his mistaken belief at some point
Balgundai: All this material has come without asking. I never asked for anything.
Guru: That is all right, but the material came and you distributed. But then a desire comes in the mind that they should keep on coming and the distribution should remain. The desire in the mind of a recluse is like an ugly sparrow in a flock of swans.
Balgundai understood the subtle meaning of the words of the Guru.
He looked inside his mind, where he always saw no desires and carefreeness. There he saw that the desire that the materials should keep coming and are distributed is there in his mind. When some material is finished then the want of the needy comes to the mind and one desires that more material should come so that their need can be fulfilled.
He said to his mind: The handsome Guru has caught me from where.
In this wondrous feeling, he said: Please be good to tell your name.
Then the Guru mentioned his name.
When Balgundai heard the name, he felt a sensation. He had heard the name before. He had also heard his praise before. He had a great regard for him and a wish to meet him.
His mind said: You are fortunate. Your stars are shining that he has come.
Then he fell at the Guru's feet He felt ecstasy.
After sometime, he thought that Guru Nanak is renowned for his truthfulness. Should I not ask him one thing? It is boasting a little but let me try.
Then he said: I have a doubt It is, that now it is raining and a cold breeze is blowing. If you had stayed outside, would you have felt comfortable or now that you are staying inside you are feeling comfortable? You don't mind my boldness to ask.
Guru: It is the body's nature to feel comfortable in comfort and to feel suffering in suffering. Now it is comfortable. What is the doubt in it? But for a seeker of the Lord, the comfort or suffering should be considered equal or same. When you consider the comforts and suffering as same, then the agony of suffering and the laziness of comforts, both go away.
Then for the person who is treading on the path towards the Lord, for him the sufferings are a medicine and the comforts sometime become a cause of illness. That is why one should bear the suffering and consider comfort and suffering as equal.
The yogi again wondered, how he tells the truth and then he tells the secret that brings one around, that one should consider comfort and suffering as equal, as the central principle.
Then the yogi got green leafy vegetable and bread made from herbs and said: O benevolent Guru, my food is this. What good food you have seen in the kitchen, I do not touch. That is all for the guests.
My wearing is this Khadi. Whatever clothes you have seen in the store, I give to the needy. The poor who come, I give to them.
The horses you have seen are for the travellers. I do not ride the horses.
I do not touch anything. Everything is for doing goodness to others.
Then the Guru laughed and said: O Balgundai, you are the best yogi who has won over selfishness and has understood the suffering of the people and you have killed your mind to allay the suffering of other people. But...
He said but and further kept quiet and the yogi was eager, in waiting, that now the Guru will tell something that will be something to learn and for my good.
The yogi had related his detachment and his high ideals and now he was in the hope that the Guru who has said 'But' will say something by which he will open some knot. But the Guru kept quiet.
Then Balgundai said: O merciful Guru, you tell what will be goodness for
me.
Then the Guru said: Balgundai, you are a pious saint. But what shall we do with piousness? You see, the metallic pot of the running wheel of a well brings the water and gives it to the channel. The channel gives it to the aqueduct. The aqueduct immediately throws it in the pit. The channel and the aqueduct do not keep even a drop with them. Their making is such that it is giving only. But see, even they get rusted.
It went into Balgundai's mind that the Guru has given an example of the channel and aqueduct of a well. Exactly similar is my position. I do not touch any materials. I give everything away. But even that leaves dirt on the mind. Already, he had said that a desire comes that this coming and giving of material should continue. In this way this desire is rust by way of ego on the mind.
He understood all this and he was in despair, thinking that to be without desire in the world is impossible, and it is most discouraging that there is no remedy anywhere.
Then he composed himself and said: Any remedy that the channel and aqueduct do not get rusted.
Guru: The mind and the body are moving in a wheel. It is the wheel of deeds. Our good and bad deeds keep us in this wheel. We are dependent on the wheel, till such time that we get out of this dependence and get a hold on the steering.
That we cannot do with our own strength.
If we join ourselves with the Supreme power, then we get infinite strength and with that strength we are able to hold the steering. Then there is no rust.
Balgundai: How will it happen? I have already done penances and austerities. I have done breath control also. I have kept fasts and have done
other yoga exercises and practices. You tell, whether I can be counted in saints?
Guru: Whatever practice we do, we do honestly but the ego spoils the fruits. But whatever is good, it is goodness. Why should we say it is bad? Kindness is good. Like, we sow seeds, it becomes a tree and leaves come out. The tree is there, but we want it should have flowers. It should give fragrance. It should bear fruit. It should become full of fruits. It should exude gum. It should give nectar. Yes, it should grow, spread, become leafy, be loaded with flowers, give fragrance, bear fruits, and become fruitful. It should give nectar. The nectar should come out from its branches.
What is the use of a hollow tree? He said this, swayed and sang:
The Lord is the tree named nectar
Whoever drinks gets rapture
I will adore him
Yogi: But without Hath yoga, what other practice can be done? Without exercise how can one become strong?
Guru: With Hath yoga exercises, by killing the mind with stubborn ness and subjecting the body to fasts and penances, the body becomes weak and illnesses come. With fasts again the mind becomes stubborn.
Yogi: By reading the scriptures, can we control the mind?
Guru: After reading the scriptures one gets into fruitless discussions. By giving discourses, one gets fame. The whole world may be delighted to listen, but for one's self, the ego comes like poison. That does not go and the cycle of birth remains.
Yogi: By controlling the breath, one reaches the tenth door. Then do we not become pure?
Guru: With this, the five fires in the body are not controlled. The mind along with the desires goes into depression. Whenever you get up from meditation, the mind starts looking outwardly because the desires had not gone away.
Then this meditation was for a few hours only. The rest of the time of day and night the breath goes like empty bellows. In that time, the mind keeps wandering in desires.
Yogi: What about pilgrimage?
Guru: One may go and see, but when the mind is not reined, then the holy dip will not bring any sacredness. One will be having a dip but the mind will be wandering after desires. If you say, you will keep fasts at sacred places, then with fails the body will become weak and the mind will still be wandering after desires.
Yogi: Then you please tell what should be done?
Guru: Dear yogi, Mind is an instrument to look after the body, and to give outwardly comforts to the body. But, since it can wander anywhere, it has gone beyond and is wandering in desires.
If it is reined, only then it will stop wandering and become tranquil.
Then it will experience some inward elevation as against the outward wandering.
When it is turned inwardly, then inwardly it touches the Lord and it gets the strength of the Lord. Then this connection with the Lord becomes incessant When the mind remains connected to the Lord, then while doing the outwardly chores the mind holds the steering and is not dependent on the wheel.
Yogi: Whatever practices I have said are for this only. Are they fruitless?
Guru: Fruitless is nothing and it is also. But till the mind is not absorbed in the love of the Lord, one cannot get eternal happiness. Whatever practices you have said are for concentration of mind and they are a part of Hath yoga. Whatever you do with stubborn-ness is with ego and ego is a bond. The efforts done with bondage will give fruits of bondage. Then when you control the body passions with stubborn-ness then the body becomes weak. The mind is also affected by the body weakness. Then even if the mind is controlled, the ego is suppressed but remains. This suppression is again a cause of illness for the mind and body. The meditation is for some time only but the mind keeps wandering all twenty-four hours. The desires are suppressed but they come up again. That is why the ascetics indulge in dramas, show business and drinking. The city ascetics close their eyes and ears and say: We are listening the mystic music but in practical life they are taking bribes, short weighing and can be seen indulging in vices.
But if one wants to understand what is really needed for the inner happiness, then it is evident that the need is to rein the mind from wandering in sensual and other desires.
With Hath yoga it is not easy to rein the mind. And if you are able to do it then the body suffers. The mind has to be reined. We may do some yoga but in a new way. Like, the mind is thinking outwardly all twenty-four hours. In the same way, we have to give some attachment to the mind that may turn the mind inwardly all twenty-four hours.
That attachment comes by recitation of the Lord's name, which becomes a remembrance and gives a sensation to the mind that becomes incessant and remains in the mind all twenty-four hours.
The outwardly wandering mind turns and becomes engrossed inwardly.
In this engrossment, one gets a touch of the Supreme soul. Then the body soul meets the Supreme soul. Both meet and in a way become one.
This is the state of the mind being out of the wheel and with a control on the steering. In this state of mind when one does service and philanthropy then no rust comes.
Why? The mind is immersed in the Lord's love. When it does some outwardly pious work, then it does not get attached to it.
Yogi: You have said that the remedy is the recitation of the Lord's Name.
Is this practice superior to other practices?
Guru: All practices are done with some idea.
Name is universal. It is above all practices.
The incessant remembrance turns the mind inwardly to tranquility and engrosses the mind in the incessant love of the Lord.
Being engrossed in the love of the Lord keeps the mind in elevation and detached from worldly desires. Being in the forgetfulness of the Lord, the mind wanders outwardly towards passions of the body. The incessant remembrance keeps the mind turned inwardly ceaselessly. The incessant remembrance keeps the mind in constant touch with the Lord.
This incessant remembrance keeps the mind away from ego imperceptibly.
If the ego shows its face, then this incessant remembrance perceives the same and shunts the ego away and brings purity in mind. Like, a flowing river does not allow anything to stop in front and does not allow any dirt to collect.
Yogi: Even in yoga scriptures it is mentioned 'Swadhiaye' which means 'recite the Name'. This is the first practice, but the yogis interpret its meaning as 'reading the scriptures'.
Now, after listening to your intellectual discourse, I realize that it means Name. It is quite clear 'Recite the Name'.
(Heaving a sigh) But alas! How can one understand anything without a prophet arriving? You are surely from the heavens. Please bless me.
Guru: For everything there is an appropriate requirement.
Like, for growing, wheat requires cold weather and for ripening, it requires heat. Similarly, for initiation into Name one requires the blessings of the Guru and for practice, the requirement is holy company.
By remembrance of Name one gets the Lord's nectar. This is eternal bliss. This is sacred nectar. Then the snake of desires or the snake of ego cannot bite you and when your soul leaves the body the messengers of death cannot even turn their eyes towards you.
Yogi: I feel ecstasy.
Your doctrine is that nothing is equal to Name. Name is everything. Guru: No practice is equal to Name. Service to the Lord is reciting His name.
Besides this, there is no need for any Hath yoga. Remain relaxed. Do good deeds. Don't be proud in doing good deeds.
But the ego will go only by the recitation of Name.
Whatever goodness you are doing, keep on doing. Whatever Hath yoga you are doing for a short time, leave that.
Imbibe the remembrance of the Lord in yourself all twenty-four hours.
Get immersed in the love of the Lord and do everything while immersed.
You are a pious saint.
But now, tie the rope of incessant remembrance to the Lord's feet
It should remain with a hard knot and it should never break.
Remain attached to the Lord in this way and live.
This is what you should now preach to your followers.
All good deeds are good, but when the Lord is living in your body then the good deeds are like zero added to one. It increases the value ten times.
The good deeds done in forgetfulness of the Lord are very good as compared to vices, but they cannot give salvation. You have to do good deeds but with attachment to the Lord. Because, it is generally seen that those who do good deeds without mind being attached to the Lord, in the end they get tired of doing good deeds and they get fed up with doing goodness.
After giving all this discourse the Guru departed.
The conversation that has been detailed above is in a hymn composed by the true Guru. The meanings of the hymn are given below:
In controlling the senses of the body by stubborn-ness, the body becomes weak. With too much penances the mind does not become soft instead it becomes ^hard. There is no good deed equal to the Lord's Name. O mind, remain in the service of the true Guru and drink the Lord's Name nectar and keep company of holy people who are beloveds of the Lord. Then here, the snake of ego and desires will not bite you. In the heavens, the messenger of death, with his fearful wand, will not be able to turn his evil eye towards you.
Meaning: You will be happy here and in the next world too. After reading the scripture one gives discourse, but one's mind is wandering in desires.
Meaning: The world is delighted to listen to the discourse but the self is trapped in desires and one remains in the cycle of births and deaths. Without the Lord's Name, it is suffering, here and there. Despite the fact that one is doing breath control and other practices of Hath yoga but without the Lord's
Name the breath is being wasted. The mind is burning in the five fires i.e. sex, anger, greed, sentiment and pride. Without these fires being extinguished, how can the mind become tranquil?
The thieves in the body are looting the Lord's sacred Name nectar. How can one have the taste of that nectar?
There is only one way. One should take the blessings of the true Guru and recite the Name. Then this fort of the body, one will conquer and keep it under one's control. The dirt is in the mind but one is running about fruitlessly in sacred places. Unless the mind is pure what good can the outer cleanliness do? But alas! The wheel of deeds is making us run fruitlessly in the outwardly worthless desires. Why blame anyone. One may keep fasts and make the body suffer, but without the true Guru's blessings, the mind, hungry for desires, is not satiated. One may appease the hunger of the body by breath control but that will not appease the hunger of the mind. Instead it will cause suffering.
In this way, the deeds done in the forgetfulness of the Lord are the cause of the cycle of births and deaths.
The way towards happiness is as follows: Take the blessings of the true Guru and get into recitation of the Lord's Name. Further, to remain steadfast in recitation, keep company of holy people. When the mind will get engrossed in the Lord's Name and when it is out of the cycle of births and deaths, then what other work is there to do excepting recitation of the Name? This is the most important work. Keep away deception for selfish gains, worldly attachments, enmities, envy and other artificialities. These increase the dirt of the mind. Do service to the Lord by reciting His name and pray to the Lord: O Lord, be benevolent. Bless us your loving Name. O Lord.
The Guru's command to Balgundai is repeated once again:
'Tie the rope of incessant remembrance to the Lord's feet.
It should remain with a hard knot and it should never break.
Remain attached to the Lord in this way and live'.
Let us also tie the rope of incessant remembrance to the Lord's feet:
'Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru.'
•O Lord, O Lord, O Lord'
Starting from today and let us pray: O Lord, give us the strength that we are able to tie the rope of incessant remembrance to your feet with a hard knot
O O O 3