he drizzle had just stopped and the blue sky peeped through the scattered clouds. The moon looked dazzlingly beautiful. “Bhai Sain Dass Ji was sitting in the circumambulatory passage of Harimandir and was lost in meditation and prayers. ASindhi sikh, who had been searching for Bhai Sain Ji vass, finally found him sitting in a corner. He saw that Bhai was lost in prayer, and sat by his side. When Bhai Sain Dass Ji opened his eyes the Sindhi sikh said, “O beloved of Guru Ji, if you do not mind I want to make a humble request.” Bhai Sain Dass Ji said to him, “You are welcome to do so. What can! do for you?” The Sindhi Sikh said, “When Thad come here to seek the blessings of the fifth Guru Ji,
_ Guru Ji had asked me how/had been conducting my life and
I had told him that I had enough to live a comfortable life and that I spent the whole of my time earning or eating, enjoying and sleeping. I had not come to meet him but when [heard that people bow to him I also, one day, went to participate in the congregation both out of curiosity as well as the for a change. since my chance meeting with Guru Ji, the fear of death constantly nags me. Now [ have realized that life is a passing affair, nothing shall have the power to protect me from death and one day I shall have to leave this world. Kindly advise me how to make my life meaningful. The guru had very kindly said to me, ‘Good man, thank God for giving you the realization that your body is not immortal. Nowif you wishtolivean eternal life, learn the secret of all secrets that the pleasures that you have been seeking are only physical pleasures. If you clearly understand that your pleasures are purely physical whereas real joys are spiritual joys. If you understand this cardinal truth even death will not be able to frighten you. You are afraid of death because it would put an end to your physical pleasures.
But if you seek spiritual pleasures, which are beyond time and space you will be able to live a life of eternaljoy. Ifyou therefore feel very strongly the spiritual joy and are conscious of eternal happiness you must reject physical pleasures which ae to come to an end one day.”
“I fell at Guru Ji's feet and said, ‘Holy Guru Ji, saviour of humanity, if you bless me with spiritual joy what else do Ijwish for?’ Then the Gurusaid, “Then O’ seeker! joy lies in notreceéiving but in giving and more so in giving selflessly. Do not use your wealth for personal comfort, rather use it for the we; fare of others.’ I could not follow the guru's meaning. So I said with folded hands,.’ Holy Guru Ji; [have not been able to understand the meaning of your words. I understood that you asked me to work for the welfare of others, to consume simple food, to wear simple clothes and to divert the money which I spend on my pleasures, towards helping the needy such, as orphans, _ widows, the crippled, the handicapped, the blind and the poor etc.’ Guru Ji told me that the money which I was proud of, did not belong to me. I was holding it in trust for the needy. The money which I have is not for wasting or spending on personal comforts. The money has been given to me ta help the needy. It should be used for their uplift and general welfare. Guru Ji had also said, ‘If you spend your money on purposeful and socially meaningful projects, you would be saving yourself from the diseases which afflict those who indulge in the pleasures of the flesh. This kind of life will make your mind which will always be with you, keep you in high spirits and you will gain spiritual joy which even death will not be able to snatch from you:”
“Guru Ji himself gave me the courage and strength to. . live a pious, purposeful and socially meaningful life. thos Tam a happy man. I have learnt the secret of real joy. I had never been a happier man, no wine could give me as much joy as I gained in one day by helping a helpless and sick peasant by ploughing his fields, levelling the land and giving him financial help. He had fallen ill at the most inopportune time. Had I not helped him, his whole family would have faced starvation. By
helping them! purified my mind. This opportunity provided me with the experience of a life-time. Similarly, I derived tremendous joy be helping the needy. From this wonderful experience | learnt the cardinal truth that even death cannot snatch spiritual joy from a person. It is all due to Guru Ji's grace. I have built a shrine in my village where we hold a congregation everyday, recite Bani and say our prayers. Those in need of lodging and boarding are also accommodated there. The sick are treated free of cost and the children, boys as well as girls, are given elementary education. lam extremely happy by Guru Ji's grace and his teachings. He has shown me the way to spiritual joy. Ihave been enjoying myself till today but in the morning your discourse giving details of Guru Ji's plight in the Gwalior Fort made me sad. In the morning your interpretation of the truth that except for God’s name there is no other reality has deeply impressed me. Guru Ji had instructed that grace and such joy. He had also advised me not to hurt anybody and as far as possible to try to help others. | have learnt from my experiences that this is very true and it is the best way to make our life happy. Iam happy and I have realized that these principles of life are the sources of all joy and there is no higher truth than these.”
“In your discourse today you said that there is something mgher than these principles. Since then] have been anxiously seeking to know as to what that something higher is and I wish to know about it. Death keeps no calendar and I do not know when God may be pleased to call me back from this world, and my only desire is to learn what is higher than the truths so far unknown to me. Kindly take the trouble of telling me that and put me on the right path.”
Bhai Sain Dass Ji had listened to the stranger patiently and to satisfy his curiosity he said, “You who are blessed by Guru Ji, you know that all kinds of patients go to a doctor for treatment. The doctor knows the treatment of all the diseases. He diagnoses the problem of every patient and prescribes the medicine accordingly. Similarly, we are patients with spiritual ailments. For our physical ailments we go to the doctor, but for
our spiritual problems we go to Guru Ji. Our Guruis the spiritual healer. Our guru studies our problems and prescribes the solution accordingly. Guru Ji had diagnosed your disease and had prescribed the remedy suitable for you. If your undergo the treatment honestly and with faith, you shall become well.”
The Sindhi said, “Thatis right, but in the morning discourse you had talked of some better and more lasting treatment. You are among the confidants of the spiritual doctor, that is Guru Ji. [wish to know in detail about the higher and more potent treatment which you mentioned in the morning to-day.”
Bhai Sain Dass Ji said, “Brother, I hesitate to deliver discourses. But I have to obey the wishes of the devotees of Guru Ji. The problem is that in a discourse the speaker speaks in the context of the wholeness of his experience, whereas the listener listens in the context of the wholeness of his own experience. The speaker talks in general terms and, like a doctor, he does not always analyze and diagnose the individual case. So his solutions are of general nature and not for individual application.”
At this the Sindhi said, “But even general terms are meaningful in individual cases.” Bhai Sain Dass Ji said, “Thatis, of course a treatment but how can a medicine for stomach ache treat a sore? If one wishes to improve one’s behaviour and improve the understanding, then general statements prove helpful. But if a man is to delve deep into the matter and wishes to enter the realms of spiritual bliss, every individual case has to be studied separately in order to prescribe the suitable treatment. The Sindhi said, “That is right. Kindly take my individual case and tell me what is higher good and kind actions.”
Bhai Sain Dass Ji, “I am unable to tell you anything in particular. What you seek, only Guru Ji can give and tell: Yet, Iam willing to convey to you what I have learnt from Guru Ji. Ihope my explanation will put your anxiety regarding Guru Ji at rest. The Sindhi positioned, himself to listen carefully and Bhai Sain Dass Ji continued, “The evil thoughts in our mind are the effects of evil deeds; our lusts and greeds, our jealousies
and envies. Our evil and hurtful words and the company of the bad people are the result of one common affliction which can be termed as loss or separation. We have lost our relationship with our Creator and are separated from our Source. As water, separated from the flowing and dynamic rivers stagnates in ponds and pools we; too, stagnate and rot. As ember separated from the vibrant fire, loses its glow and turns into black lifeless cinder, we too are living a listless existence.”
“The treatment is to eliminate the distance and difference between the water of the river and the water in the pond. The stagnate water will regain its vivacity. Just put the separated coal into the fire it will regain, its glowing glory. Bridging the gap or enduring the separation or effecting reconciliation between the acts during the period that is past, widened the gulf and made reconciliation difficult and also put hurdles in the way ofreunion. We have been engagingin activities which ‘take us away from God and give us the illusion that we are competent to do everything. In brief! should say that, we have done away with God. We have created a misconception that we have become self sufficient and do not need God’s blessings. We suffer from a misconception that we can do everything. The result is that we have become egoistic and self-centred. But when man thinks of impending death and rises above physical pleasures, he is jolted by the realization that he has wasted his life, spent his energy in useless pursuits, indulged in pleasures which resulted in diseases. He is startled at the apparition of death which comes nearer with every passing day. The thought of pleasures ternfies him. But if a man has the wisdom to approach the specialist who can cure his ailment, things will improve. What is the panacea for his ailments?”
“The treatment is to enable him to heed his Creator, the cause of all effects, the source of everything. Take your own individual case. Guru Ji has told you to treat your ailments ‘with the medicine of selfless service. What is the effect of this treatment? It is completely opposite to what the effect of our own actions is on ourselves. We made ourselves highly selfish,
self-centred, egotistic, greedy, gluttonous and lustful. We always sacrificed everything, to our self-interest and narrow and petty considerations. In every deal and every relationship we kept our self-interest over and above everything else. A man who is highly selfish goes on fabricating a web in which he himself is ultimately caught. Slowly but surely he realises that what he has been considering sweet sugar is in fact deadly poison.”
“By earning and spending we have not only lavishly _ provided for ourselves, our progeny and our family, but also saved a lot. We have acquired more than what we actually needed. For achieving our ends we cheated others, deceived those who trusted us, looted and mercilessly exploited them for our benefit. 1 mean that most human beings are busy in a mad race and are caught in a vicious circle. Just think how all this contaminates and pollultes our souls. When we exploit, cheat and deceive others to benefit ourselves, we actually isolate ourselves from our surroundings and fellow-beings.”
“We may be living a social life, but our emotions become fake and base. Emotionally and spiritually we go down though materially we create an illusion of going up. See the other side of the coin. Look at the grace of God. He gives enough to everybody. God is a symbol of giving, whereas we have made grabbing and snatching the aim of our life. This way our nature is completely the opposite of what it ought to be. God lives with grace but what do we do? We rob others shamelessly and mercilessly. We are moving in the wrong direction. Sow with every passing day the distance between us and God goes on increasing. One who goes away from God, goes away from life too. He loses not only God's grace but also life’s joys. Now what is the treatment for this affliction? The best treatment is to reverse this tendency, restrain desires and to think of the higher objective instead of thinking about this world. Instead of taking we should start giving. This change in our behaviour will give us the strength to live our life with determined steps and dignity. This will enlarge the scope of our mind. and we shall find others lovable. Instead of competing with others we shall reap the more lasting gains of co-operation.”
“When man leads his life with the aim of giving, he finds Spiritual peace within, which reduces the distance between man and God. Some people give with a hidden aim of gratifying their own ego. Some give with the aim of becoming popular and to be known as decent and benevolent persons. Such persons wish to become heroes. A person who starts giving, with some motive may start enjoying it initially. One may have some ulterior motive initially but later he gets a pleasure which is above the praises and hope for heaven. When one learns to give and serve selflessly, one finds spiritual peace and emotional satisfaction. Such an experience makes one indifferent to praise by others. What gives such pleasure? The source of such pleasure is one’s own self, the strength of which one realizes when one learns the art of giving. When one leaves one’s ego behind, one finds that the fog of illusion disappears. When one retums to one’s Source, one experiences the spiritual insights, and internal peace and ultimately experiences oneness with God.”
' The Sindhi was cunous to know as to how and why he had developed the habit of selfishness. Bhai Sain Dass Ji said, “The wise have tried to understand the complex universe and they have given names to reality as they have understood it. According to them one object is eternal and immortal and they call this phenomenon God, the Eternal (Akal Purakh). The ever changing, transitory and tempting phenomenon has been designated by them a symbol of taking and grabbing. God is always benevolent. He is always a benefactor. He satisfies the needs of all whereas illusion is always a benefactor. He satisfies the needs of all whereas He himself has no need for any object. On the other hand this world always has the feverish pursuit of possession, of getting and grabbing. Our body is an. illusion whereas the soul within us is divine. Our soul is a manifestation of God. It has the glow of God. Our soul is a reflection of God which believes and enjoys in giving, but our body which indulges in the pleasures of illusion enjoys getting and possessing. Our soul wishes to give, whereas our body yearns to possess. It is true that the body has various needs to
keep it self alive, but itusually ignores these needs and indulges in desires. Needs have a limit whereas desires have one. When the body wants more than it needs, it becomes selfish. ase one’s desires increase so does selfishness.”
“As one becomes more and more selfish, the distance between the body and soul increases and ultimately becomes unbridgeable. As the mind or body desire more and more, the dissatisfactions and disappointments multiply and these tum man into an animal. A selfish person suffers from an eternal malady of greed. The more he gets the more he desires and this way he is caught in a vicious circle which does not let him rest. Such a person is always restless. How can he help or comfort others? He is always in search for opportunities to leave to others. Such a person becomes indifferenttotheneeds, emotions and sentiments of others. He wishes to accomplish his selfish aims at the cost of others. He becomes self-centred. Engaging himself in such activities he goes farther and farther away from Gad . In other words he goes away from himself. Now think what such a person can leam from the art of giving. In other words his soul will be awakened and he will completely get rid of his desires and will enjoy the bliss of giving. He will leave physical pleasures and enjoy spiritual bliss. Benevolence and service to humanity change a person from within and without. Now, I hope, it is amply clear to you how one develops the habit of grabbing and possessing and how this tums into a disease.”
“The desire for possession makes a person unmindful of his real needs and compels him to run after the mirage. This way one turns one’s back to the eternal source of joy that is God and mins after illusions which are, by definition, untrue. You must have also realized and understood that joy lies in _ giving. When we do something for the welfare of others, indirectly we are creating joy for our soul.”
“Man is benevolent in direct proportion to his proximity to God. Similarly, manis selfish and greedy andisaslaveto desires in direct proportion to his distance from God.”
“The Sindhi said, “You say that as one desires more and
more, one goes fartter and farther away from God, but I have not been able to understand how separation denotes sorrow and suffering. [ understand that as one ignores the soul and becomes more obedient to the body, one becomes sad and isolated, but what if one enjoys rejecting God?”
Bhai Sain Dasssaid Ji, “Separation is of two types: separation from God and separation from the world or society. As one is separated from God, one develops the habit of grabbing and possessing. One becomes dissatisfied and unhappy and seeks satisfaction in the pleasures of the flesh. All this leads to restlessness of the mind and discomforts of the body. As one indulges more and more in physical pleasures, one is afflicted with more and more diseases. One loses one’s reputation and becomes notorious. So much so that one is caught in a vicious circle of gambling, crime and starts committing acts against the society. Thesecond separation is from society or the world.” ~ _ At this the Sindhi pointed out, “How can one get separated from the world when one lives in it?” The Bhaireplied,“Suppose _ all your relatives, neighbours and everybody alongwith birds. and animals, have left this earth and gone away and you alone are left here, will you be happy or unhappy in such a situation? Ifyou think you will be unhappy, what will be the nature of that unhappiness and how vast will it be?” The Sindhi closed his eyes to imagine such a situation and then said, “That will be terribly miserable, it will be intolerable.”
Bhai Sain Dass Ji said, ‘Just think a little more. You will be all done, you will have neither any relative nor any neighbour. Will you not be the saddest person? Have you ever thought how and why those persons lose charm, strength, balance and cheerfulness who are kept in isolated confinement in a prison?” The Sindhisaid, “The very thought of loneliness makes _ one morose.” The Bhai continued, “So, never forget that those. whom we rob and deceive are essential for our comfortable and meaningful life. How foolish are we in not even being aware that we are cutting the same branch of the tree on which we are sitting. We deceive others for our petty selfishness and forget that our existence is meaningful because of them. Are
we not members of one large family? Just think what happens when members of a family quarrel among themselves. If that is bad, then how is our behaviour towards others good when actually we exploit them, rob them and go to the extent of killing them? We may not have great ideals but even then the very thought that others are the support of our life, should make us realize that isolation and separation from others are the basic causes of all our sorrows.”
The Sindhi said, “I understand that separation from one’s near and dear ones is asad experience, but how can we imagine ourselves separated from the whole world? If anyone is separated from his near and dear ones, one still has the world at large to interest him?” Bhai Sain Dass Ji said, “You are night but only superficially. One knows that he may love his near and dear ones and the whole world is not going to die overnight, but we forget that we are to die one day. When one is dying, how does it affect him whether the whole world is alive? When one dies, for him the whole world dies. Let us proceed further in our argument. If we have developed the habit of living in. isolation and separation from the world and have adjudged the whole world as hostile and, therefore, exploited, deceived and cheated it and have completely forgotten that our life is meaningful in the context of the world, what have we done actually? Have we separated ourselves from the family or not? We see other people like ourselves, but in our behaviour we do not treat them as our equals. We are so self-centred that in every situation we wish to be the centre. We wish to benefit from every situation. Gradually we relegated everything to the back ground and give top pniority to our selfish aims and narrow ends. What is this? Is it not complete isolation and separation? As long as we are alive, material things give us pleasure but what after death? All our pleasures have been physical, but when the body is dead, these pleasures will be dead too. What will happen to our soul? Will it not be lost in the smoke created by our evil deeds? We will have the shame of our evil deeds and the isolation eared through our deceitful acts. Our soul will be burning with desires and it will find peace
nowhere. What will we do with our habit of grabbing and possessing? We developed a way and habit of enjoying physical comforts and pleasures but what will happen after the body is dead? Will our soul not writhe in pain? What will be the condition of our poor soul which will face spiritual darkness, restlessness, dissatisfaction, frustration and uneasiness? Our soul will be full of craving but without any means to satisfy it. This way separation from the world and isolation from our near and dear ones will make us extremely unhappy. It is a common experience that our evil deeds trouble us more at night than during the day. During the night a gambler sees the dreams of losing games of gambling, whereas a happy and satisfied person enjoys sound sleep. Death symbolises sleep and life symbolises the day. If our life has been spent on evil courses our death will be like the gambler’s troublesome night. My friend, isolation and separation are forms of hell. Such a - person is devoid of spiritual joy, of the happiness that lies in the company of others, or the satisfaction of having lived a , purposeful life. Such a person at the item of death looks terrible. “His death is not a salvation. It is a punishment. It is not like a sound sleep. Itis along nightmare. Dear friend, lam not talking in ridles. It is everyone’s daily experience. The evil deeds performed by those who are self-centred and isolated are the foreshadows of their impending painful death. What more should I say? You yourself are an aware person and! need not tell you about troubles of isolation, or the sorrows of separation. Moreover, you have first hand experience of separation and also of reconciliation. You very well know the difference between departure and arrival.”
The Sindhi said, “That is true. You have made me understand these matters properly. The blessings of Guru Ji and the results of many actions performed while acting upon the advice of Guru Ji have delighted me and given me spiritual satisfaction. From your ideas I have followed that we should treat others as our sisters and brothers; as members of our family. You have also told me that unless one is reconciled with the original cause, that is God, one cannot find real and
lasting peace. By doing good acts my separation from society and the world has ended, but this has not led automatically to my reconciliation with God. I understand that this world is not the real cause. It is rather the effect or in other words it is the creation of God and not God himself. Now kindly tell me, how can one meet the Creator?”
Bhai Sain Dass Ji said, “My dear friend, the desire to meet God and all the stages in between, all thoughts, means, etc. are collectively called Nam. Nam does not come automatically. Itis obtained through God's grace. lam a humble servant of Guru Ji, [just sing about his qualities and glorious attributes. Just see my friend, how much base material you have been able to shed from your soul by acting upon the advice of Guru Ji. Just see the difference. Earlier you had separated and isolated yourself both from God and his creation. Now you have reconciled yourself with his creation, that is his world and his people, and now your soul about in you. The desire in your mind to be one with God is a big step on your part. It is the - beginning of an eternal association with God. Guru Ji has _ said that he is all praise for him who hungers to behold the Almighty. You have developed this desire because you have learnt the art of serving humanity. Selfless service purifies the mind and the soul. As the mind and soul are purified one craves to merge with God. You have successfully purified your mind. Thatis why you now wish to be one with God. Iffam to give an example from everyday life I would say that when one loves a child its mother is automatically pleased. The same is the case with God. Those who love His creation actually please Him. The very fact that you have a desire to meet God shows that God is pleased with you. In religious language one can say that the road to God passes through His creation or those who wish to be blessed by God love His creation. Your good actions are performed in the service of Guru Ji because you have done this to please Him and to soothe your disturbed mind. Now when you meet Guru Ji, who is the complete doctor, he will tell you the way to achieve greater heights of spiritual experience.”
“You know that we take water only when we feel thirsty. Without our thirst, water has no meaning. Guru Ji says that only those who seek, get nectar. Only they get who deserve it. If we are hungry for poison, our hunger will take us to the place where poison is available. If we quench our thirst for nectar with poison, naturally we shall be creating trouble for ourselves. Guru Ji has enabled you to get rid of your thirst for poison and has at the same time created in you the thirst for nectar. Because of this thirst for nectar, Guru Ji loves you. Guru Ji will help you in quenching this thirst and will give you the nectar which will end all thirsts for ever.” The Sindhi was curious to know whether in that state also one is required to perform good deeds.
The Bhai said, “Good deeds will become a part of your nature. You will not have to make any conscious effort to perform good actions. Good actions will flow from you as fragrance emanates from a flower. You will help others effortlessly. Your mind will not even dream of bad deeds. The. Guru Ji says that nothing but goodness flows from a spiritually awakened person. Good intentions alone do not take anybody very far. Good deeds are essential to be called a true human being. Beyond all this lies love for God. The Creator’s complete and eternal spiritual bliss is not possible until a person is one with God. In that state it will just not be possible to refrain from good actions. A person with the desire to be one with God does good as a matter of habit. It gives him happiness. He becomes a source of joy. When man is spiritually awakened he is above all petty and selfish considerations and good actions flow from him as light flows from the sun. Anybody advancing towards God becomes humane and sympathetic towards others. He spreads goodness all around as the rose spreads fragrance in all directions.”
“Nam is life because it provides spiritual peace. Nam leads to liberation. It is an eternal and immortal experience. It helps one to be one with God. Nam takes one to the cause of all. Ifone obtains Nam one becomes free from all distractions. That is _ whyNamis above allandallothers experiences are subordinate
toit. In other words all good and noble actions are a preparation to sow the seeds of Nam. Good actions are better than evil deeds because they are performed without any selfish motive. velfless actions inculcate the qualities of humility anda humble mind readily receives Nam. Once Nam finds a place in the mind of its seeker, it instantly transforms the person from within ~ and without.” : After that day’s discourse the traveller complained of mild temperature which by the evening became a serious problem. Next day he could not attend the discourse. Thus he got an opportunity to test, among the inhabitants of the village the sense of service which was referred to in the discourse again and again, day after day. The traveller had neither any relative nor any person with whom he was intimate. His acquaintance
with the villagers was only a few days old. But to his great _ surprise a number of persons offered their services and on their own they offered to be with the patient and to attend to his needs, by turn on six-hourly shifts. For over a week the patient was bed-ridden, but during this period, he experienced that these rustic people served him, brought milk for him, gave him medicine, as if he was their closest relative. They served him as parents serve a sick child. Now his faith in the Sikh religion and in these people became deeper and he, by his own experience, came to know that these people did not merely prefer certain principles but were also sincere in their deeds. He saw that the illiterate people had successfully translated their theory into practice. When the traveller had fully recovered from his illness, the practice of daily discourse was resumed. The discourse remained suspended for the period of the traveller's illness, the reason being that the Baba had started the practice of discourse particularly to remove the traveller's doubts and to make him understand the fine points of Sikh philosophy. Now during his illness, he had seen the Sikh teachings into practice too.
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