Dhesa was an agnostic turned theist. For him nothing existed
as far as this delightful, vibrantly alive world was concerned. He had a misconceived notion that the change and mutability in this visible and perceptible world is the visible and tangible proof of its ‘non existence’. He did not realise that the mutability is neither dissolution nor annihilation, but is the basic principle of eternal existence. Change, instability and mutability are the proof of existence, not ofnihility. Dhesa | was, therefore, deluded by his ignorance and negative thinking. Otherwise he was a clever, intelligent and a sharp witted person. Eventually his cleverness and sharp intelligence were won over by the enlightened and the nobler wisdom of Bhai Sain Dass. Whereas, intellect could comprehend reality only as an empty void, Bhai Sain Dass with his spiritual insight and depth had shown him that reality is all pervading, ample and meaningful. Bhai Sain Dass also transformed his entire way of life by instilling in him nobility, gentleness and goodness as well as inculcating in him a sense of service, humility and moderation. Dhesa was now under another illusion, that he had probably attained a state of perfection. Bhai Sain Dass knew that Dhesa was thrilled by the peripherals of his nascent experience, and had yet to acquire the essentials of spiritual life. The virtues and moral excellence were just emerging and were in early infancy. As. the Guru says, “Without acquiring moral excellence, there is _ no devotion.” Devotion is possible only when one is blessed _ with moral excellence. Allvirtues are embodied in god. Virtually man is virtueless. Then how can one acquire merit and attain moral excellence? God resides in the holy company (Satsang). It is there, in such a congregation, that virtues are found.
Because the holy company is the Lord’s shop, a trading post where virtues are stored in abundance, and for the eager merchants of spiritualism the spiritual merchandise of virtue is available gratis. When one attains the humility to say ‘All virtues are Thine, none and not even one is mine’, then the virtueless ‘I’ becomes luminous and resplendent with God's storehouse of virtues. As the scriptures assert, “O my cherished Lord, he who joins the holy Satsang is saved and crosses the worldly ocean safely.”
Thereafter Bhai Sain Dass gradually and methodically imparted the spiritual instruction to Dhesa. First of all Sain Dass cooled Dhesa’s mental turmoil and calmed his restlessness with his pure and spotless spiritual knowledge. He was taught to practice, moderation and self-control. Then he was guided under his own supervision to the first stage of service to others. After that his sensibility and taste were refined by making him listen to the holy Kirtan (devotional singing}. Last of all when the keen desire for the holy companionship (Satsang} sprang up in his mind Bhai Sain Dass thought it proper to bring him to Daroli from Dalla. His close and live contact with the spiritually elevated people strengthened his faith in the companionship of the holy congregation. Sain Dass’s own life, his living, his spiritual mission, the construction of the house with dedication, the Guru's sojoum in Daroli and the Guru's residence in that house, all this majestic spiritual spectacle had passed before his eyes. He was fortunate to live in close proximity to the Guru and see the embodied divinity right in front of him. During this period Dhesa had acquired an avidity and a fondness for the holy texts, the Gurbani. The holy texts the logos of God 1.e. the Gurbani is recited to purify and sublimate the mind, to instil the love of God therein, to control and guide it in a desired direction.
Dhesa had by now acquired the requisite skill to recite and comprehend the holy texts, and he was often completely absorbed in recitation and the study of Gurbani. This helped him in achieving concentration of mind. The recitation of holy texts purified his mind by divesting and stripping it of all the
dross of ‘world-illusion’ (Maya}; the thoughtful empress of the Gurbani made his mind gnostic.and greatest impact of recitation was to create an urge and a longing for the Name Divine, to lodge within him. |
The Divine Name, is a gift, a benediction which one receives only through the Grace of God. No mortal can make even a claim to worship Him if His Grace is missing. “Only they worship whom any service rendered to others makes a person worthy of the Grace of God. No subtle techniques or designed systems are effective on the strength of which one could assert to claim the Grace of God. This spiritual treasure and divine wealth are not subject to force, or any kind of pressure. .
Then how and where can one find this treasure divine, which is as rare and invaluable as precious gems? God, Himself is the ultimate source of this treasure and it is obtained with Guru's help. As the holy texts say, “One who is devoted and dedicated to God, and is ordained by Him to receive it, partakes of this divine treasure.”
The question arises, if all this depends on the grace of God, then, why purify the mind? Why acquire moral excellence? Why aspire to be good? Why practice moderation, temperence and abstinence? Why render any service at all? Why pray, meditate and do penance? And then what is the use of all this? The simplest and the most straight forward answer is that Name is the gift of God and when a generous benefactor bestows his munificence on abeneficiery beggar the recepient must be ready, and in a position a beneficiery beggar the recepient must be ready, and in a position to receive the gift. He should stretch his hands to receive it. The acquisition and practice of virtues, the recitation, the prayer, the meditation and practising moderation etc., are means to prepare the mind to keep it every ready to receive the gift (like the outstretched hands of the recepient supplicant of Name Divine).
Similarly Bhai Sain Dass by purging Dhesa’s mind of the darkness of agnosticism, the pessimism induced by his belief in‘non-existence’ and futility and emptiness of life, had purified _ his mind by instilling moral excellence. In fact Bhai Sain Dass
had prepared Dhesa and made him worthy and capable of receiving the gift of the spark of life from the Guru.
One day during the sojourn at Daroli, the Guru was resting near a well on the outskirts of the village. Dhesa reached that spot. He was ahead of the others and was the first to greet and welcome the Guru. The Guru was thirsty. Dhesa at once ran to the well, fetched some water and offered it to the Guru. The Guru while quenching his thirst looked at Dhesa casually and obliquely and asked him who he was. Dhesa replied ‘Thy humble servant is called Dhesa’. Involuntarily the words came in reply, ‘Your time has not come as yet.’ On hearing this Dhesa fell at the Guru's feet and implored “My Lord I seek thy protection. Have mercy on me.” The Guru said, “Okay, but that time has not come as yet". |
Many days after this Dhesa related the incident to Bhai Sain Dass, who told him that by seeking Guru's protection and — mercy he had done the right thing, and that was certainly more than enough for him. Dhesa replied that he did not have the courage to demand anything for fear of showing any disrespect to the Guru. Bhai Sain Dass said, “You did act right and proper. You were almost on the verge of being blessed by the Guru. In fact you should feel as if he has done so, Itisonlya matter of time before you receive the gift of the much sought after divine treasure. ‘Your time has not come as yet’, these words of the Guru certainly indicate that you are worthy of receiving the Guru's benediction but the moment as yet has not been decided and fixed. This is for certain that you will receive the Guru’s blessings. Since the greater part of the task has been accomplished then why bother about the time. Time just flits by. The blessed moment predetermined and preordained arrives surely. Now you should feel happy and be grateful to God and live a life full of gratitude to Him.”.
Dhesa, exultant and happy exclaimed, “Long live my bounteous benefactor, my generous provider. Let me ever be © the part of thy holy company, the Satsang. Then whatever — you grant me and whenever you bless me will be an extra bonus ~ and an added gain.” |
After this discourse Dhesa did not slacken but persevered hard in his spiritual quest. One early morning, when the Guru was making preparations for leaving Daroli, Dhesa was out for a walk in the fields absolutely absorbed in the recitation of the Gurbani, the holy word. The Guru heard the melifluous strains of the recitation when he was sitting by the side of a well his feel dipped in the flowing water. The Guru was delighted and pleased by the melodious recitation. The Guru was delighted and pleased by the melodious recitation. The Guru beckoned Dhesa to come closer and asked him if he was Dhesa. Dhesa came running to the Guru, touched his feet and said, “Yes my Lord”. The Guru then said, “Go two kilometers or so into you wilderness sit there in deep silence for an hour or so and then come back here. Go and sit there quietly.”
Dhesa bowed in reverence to the Guru and went away as instructed. He was quite mystified by this unusual command of the Guru, and he was filled with mixed feelings of joy and fear. He was happy because the Guru had asked. him to do something. The inexplicable purpose and the mystery of the command had created some fear in his mind. Repeating and reciting the holy incantation, the Lord’s name, he went into the wilderness for about two kilometers and then in a secluded place sat down quietly with eyes closed and mouth tightly shut. In this wilderness there was complete silence all around. The silence was so profound that he could hear the vibrations created by the internal organs of the body. Then he heard the rustling of leaves and the branches swinging in the wind. Dhesa was now skeptical and his mind was full of questions about these silent sounds emanating from within. “The Guru did not send him merely to listen to these sounds of the void,” he thought, “Absence of loud noise in the atmosphere makes the silence doubly audible. It is a natural phenomenon. The Guru could not have sent me merely to listen to this mutemusic. There must be some deeper and more laudable motive, mysterious and inscrutable though it appears tobe. Sometimes such sounds become perceptibly prominent and pronounced when the mind is become perceptibly prominent and
pronounced when the mind is under the influence of drugs. Therefore, I must an effort to prevent my mind from being overwhelmed by them and divert it away from them.” When Dhesa started diverting his mind away from these sounds, he saw a fanciful procession of numerous places and persons he had encountered earlier in his life. He reflected and said to himself “to conjure up the most familiar places and faces with the power of the inward eye can not be the ‘purpose’ of the Guru.
The Guru must be having a far nobler and higher end in view for his devotees. Therefore, Dhesa started divesting his mind of all the delusive impressions and fanciful images recurring therein. When he started blocking the entry of these mental forms and delusive figures, he felt a sense of immense void and expansive vacuity growing within. He thought that this, too, could not be his aim. He was puzzled and he did not know what to do. He was thinking fast, “What should I do? Should Iisten to the sounds of silence and try to see the deluding visions? When I try to suppress them, I feel an expanding emptiness and void within should! concentrate on this mental void and surrender to it and let myself be submerged by it? Why do I! indulge in such worthless and futile mental gymnastics. Whereas I have been commanded to sit in complete silence, [ will sit silently for an hour or so then go back to the Guru... should I? Should I only sit for some time and then go back’ Yes.. but oh, how strange’? I have started acting on my own,,.... should I do nothing? .....absolutely nothing? .... should I remain mentally ‘non-active’ in a state of mental inertia?... The mind is ever active.... it is its nature to remain perpetually busy.... [should stop the mind from being active, control it completely. This is probably the only ‘non-action’ I can visualise.”
Then he thought of Bhai Sain Dass. But he was unable to bring into mental! focus the form and appearance of Bhai Sain Dass. A sudden thought came into his mind, “If] had consulted Bhai Sain Dass, this problem would not have arisen and! would not have faced this dilemma. Bhai Sain Dass had once told me
that time and space is a veil which creates all the differentiation at the durational and spatial level. It is an indirect and roundabout manner of apprehending reality; it is rather an impediment to the understanding of reality. If it is so, then should I not believe that Bhai Sain Dass is very near, here with me? I wil try to focus my mind’s eye on him. He will then tell me the way to get out of this difficulty.” Dhesa tried his level best to bring before his inward eye the form and face of Bhai Sain Dass, but the exalted face would not appear. Dhesa was slightly upset and exasperated. “O, my cursed mind, strange are your ways. While all the near and dear ones, the beloved wife the dearest son, intimate friends and relatives, and all those whom | adore and admire, remain far away, the unwanted, unwelcome intrusive strangers hover like a swarm of bees around me and come dancing unbidden before the mind's eye. The one whom Ilove, adore and worship most, whose love is least selfish, the one who was to enlighten and awaken me, eludes my mental grasp. It means that my mind is not clean and pure. Thatis why the Guru had said the other day that my time had not come as yet. [was mistaken in believing that my love for the holy word (Gurbani) and the service rendered by me had cleansed me and had washed away all the pollution from my mind. It is possible that the thick outer layer of contamination was washed away but the very fine layer of subtle and imperceptible pollution which is very sticky and greasy stillremains clouding and befogging the mind. Hence, I can not bring to my mind the image of the most beloved, the Guru inspired, enlightened soul, Bhai Sain Dass, or 1s it possible that my mind has become an exquisite earthly shrine that all those bound to me by worldly ties, my friends, relatives and dear ones, come crowding and jostling into my mind attracted by its mundane magnificence, whereas the pure, the exalted, the Guru inspired and the elect shun and avoid it as unworthy unsuitable and worthless?” |
“May be the mind is corrupted and polluted to such an extent by the sticky mundane mire of the world, so fine and subtle that it remains invisible and imperceptible, but makes
the mind obscure and misty to such an extent that the mind deflects and turns away the spiritually immaculate forms which remain invisible indistinct and blurred, while the gross mundane and material forms are reflected as visibly distinct and become noticeable.”
Allofasudden he wasreminded of what the Guru had told him. He cursed himself rather aloud and harshly, “O stupid one, you were commanded to sit in complete silence for some time. Apparently you seem to be calm and quiet, but your mind is agogwith activity andis in a great turmoil. You are not obeying the command of the Guru. Concentrate, create some poise within. Be quiet and sit motionless. Do not do any thing. Only be silent.”
What should he do? Does it mean that all the extraneous and irrelevant thoughts are shut out and all the fancies and mental flights are confined and shut within? But this too was an attempt to do something, an activity a kind of action. But it certainly was not silence. Then, how to be silent and be in a state of quietitude. He tried very hard to be silent, but all his endeavour was in vain. Some stray extraneous thought would suddenly intrude upon his silence. When he tried to concentrate and focus his mind on a particular and specific line of thought, so that his thinking might not lead into ‘non thinking’, the concentration would break down and the process of thinking would disintegrate and dissipate itself into free and chaotic mass of cerebration. Whenever he felt a growing sense of void within he would start concentrating on a stream of thought or would relapse into making desparate efforts on attaining the state of ‘non thinking’. Then he would believe “this is silence”. He would doubt the very idea, if this was silence, if the emptiness and the vacuity of mind could be called. ‘silence’. But this silence looked and appeared like non-silence to him. In fact it appeared only as a desparate attempt for silence. He would remind himself that he had been asked to sit silently. If it was so then why this desperation and frenzied mental struggle? The mental activity, the thought processes and the brain would become feverishly active again. When he
thought he would succeed in driving away the thoughts then the effort would appear merely to be a futile exercise to control the thought processes and a desperate attempt for silence but not ‘the state of silence’.
The time alloted to Dhesa to maintain silence and sit quietly was coming to anend. Dhesa thought, “The Guru willreprimand me and again say that my time has not come as yet. If the Guru says this then he will be stating a fact. [cannot sit quietly even for a mintue, what to talk of an hour. The Guru will be right in rebuking me. I am afraid the Guru will reject me. I may lose his love and kindness.... Oh No. .. heis kind, merciful and generous. He will not discard and throw me out. [won't lose his glance of favour. He will only tell me that my time has not come as yet.” He cursed himself for relapsing into a stream of thought. Since thinking is the essential nature of the mind, it cannot be forsaken easily. He urged himself to steer clear of these destructive thoughts and concentrate the mind on the beloved face of the Guru and meditate upon it. He could neither stop the flights of his thoughts nor could be concentrate on silence and sustain it. He again urged his mind to concentrate on the beautiful loving eyes of the Guru to meditate on the eyes only, keeping the mind steady to maintain and sustain this ‘non silence’ and ‘thinking’.
There was neither true ‘silence’ nor true ‘non thinking’. Since one is rahter powerless and helpless before the unending mental activity and ceaseless cerebration, Dhesa now concentrated his mind and started meditating on the Guru's resplendent face. Neither the Guru's face appeared before his mind’s eye nor was he able to concentrate his mind. Dhesa tried very hard but as the Guru says, “however hard the human beings may try they have no power to attain awareness, wisdom, and spiritual enlightenment through mere cogitation.” All the mental power at Dhesa’s command proved now am feeling utterly impotent and powerless like a helpless infant. I am so insignificant and ineffectual that 1 cannot even visualise and bring before my mind's eye the face of my beloved Master, the Guru O you cursed one, how could you think of
visualising the form and face of the Guru when you could not bring before your mind even the image of the Guru? How can the Guru tread where the gurmukh has never been? Today I have realized that I am a failure, a great ignoramus. All my cleverness, sophistry, and intellectual prowess has proved to be worthless and meaningless. It was all an illusion. I did try to curb and control my desires and ignorant-carvings but failed in doing that too. That is why all the tempting visions and pipe-dreams of alluring forms, faces and places are still appearing and hovering before my mind. These are nothing but the projections of all the endless unexpressed desires and secret cravings of my mind. It is because of them, I could not stay calm, quiet, detached and impassive even for an hour or so. | tied all my wit and wisdom and all my knowledge and intellect to fulfill the command of the Guru. But helpless and powerless as! was, [could not be successful. | was proved tobe utterly powerless. Not a single trick of intellectual sophistry and strategem helped me. How unfortunate, that! have failed in obeying the orders of the Guru and fulfilling his command. May be the time allotted to me to sit quietly here is coming to an end. How can I face the Guru? Iam an obstinate disobedient fool and an ungrateful wretch. What face of mind willIshow to the Guru? What should I do? Should I get up and go the Guru? He must be waiting for me. When he asks, ‘So you have come back after sitting for an hour?’ I will say, ‘Yes, my Master’ But if he I answer in the affirmative? Because while I was trying to sit in silen ce it was only my tongue that was mute and inarticulate, my mind was busy listening to the sounds of silence. I quietened these sounds and | tried to think and cogitate. I tried and forced thought, tried a million feats of intellect. But all this was in vain. I made desperate efforts to be silent and be in a state on ‘non thinking’, but I did not achieve the inner silence, the quietude of mind. | will frankly tell the Guru, I did sit for some time but not in complete silence. In fact I felt no ‘silence’.”
While thinking in this vein he cursed himself for being so insignificant, inconsequential and utterly powerless. He felt
sad and crushed. He was choked with emotions on being so helpless. During this moment of pensive dolefulness he felt a sense of dissociation and detachment overwhelming him. All of a sudden there was a brilliant flash. He was completely dazzled by it. In this fleeting and evanescent moment of radiances Dhesa beheld the vision - the Guru sitting by the well his feet dangling playfully in the flowing water and he heard the mysterious voice exhorting him to recite the holy word ‘Waheguru’. Dhesa was oblivious every thing around and in a state of trance. When he gained his consciousness his tongue was busy SHSEY and enunciating the holy word ‘Wahegurw’.
Every pore in his body was vibrant. The eyes were cool and calm, the body light and feathery and both within and without a mild and sweet delectation enveloped him. The tongue was busy in the ambrosial chant of “Wahegurw’, the holy word.
Dhesa had very often, almost daily, heard the exhoration to recite the holy word ‘Wahegurw’ and he himself had chanted the Litany so often. But the word ‘Waheguru’ at this time was soexhoration to recite the holy word ‘Wahegurw’ and he himself had chanted the Litany so often. But the word ‘Waheguru’ at this time was so expressive, that he had never uttered it with so much effectiveness before. The ‘Waheguru’ he had heard this time was unique and peerless because it was the holy word that the Guru had enunciated. He eagerly felt the desire to hear it again from the Guru. But suddenly, his eyes opened. The Guru was not there. It was only Dhesa sitting still, all alone in the wilderness. The tongue was reciting the holy word “Wahegurw’ in sublime accents. What was all this? Dhesa was neither able to understand nor fathom its deep import. He was in a state of ecstatic joy and pleasure ineffable and rare.
It appeared as if more than the alloted hour had passed. Dhesa got up. He did not feel like getting up. Since he was aware of the Guru’s command and he would not disobey it, therefore, he had to get up. He got up and started on his way back to the Guru.
On his way back, he felt the presence of name Divine within, reverberation of celestial music, a stirring sense of sublime awakening, a sense of ineffable delectation and deep within him the recitation of “Waheguru’ spontaneous and ceaseless. In this manner Dhesa, rapt in the ambrosial bliss, eyes langorous, continued walking rather listlessly towards the well where he had left the felt an emotional jolt, a sense of void and a pang within at the absence of the Guru. But he did not lose heart. Hecame to the place where the Guru was staying. But he did not find the Guru even there. He was not disheartened by this. He went to Bhai Sain Dass’s house. To his surprise he saw the Gururesting onacot there. Ramo had a hand fanin her hands while Bhai Sain Dass was sitting at the Guru's feet. The Guru asked Dhesa rather jocularly “So you have come back after sitting in silence?”
Dhesa fell at the Guru's feet, broke down and ~oanianilly said, “My true Lord, I am a fool, a stupid fool, an ignorant fool.” The Guru asked, “Did you sit still in silence?” Dhesa replied, “My eloquent mind and vociferous body did not let me sit still in complete silence. It was all your grace and kindness. Praise be to thy lotus feet. You showed a dazzling flash, a striking miracle, a glimpse of thy vision. I could not fathom it. ] remain utterly ignorant about it.” :
The Guru— Did something happen?
Dhesa— Yes, my Master.
The Guru— Did you behold, hear and grasp anything?
Dhesa— My Master, I heard the latent vibrations of my body making a swishing sound. I saw the multiplicity of deluding forms and figures of my friends and foes, but Icould not and did not behold what was worth seeing, I did not hear what was worth hearing.
The Guru: It means you are back as empty as you had gone?
Dhesa— O True King ofKings, [wentthere absolutely empty but came back full and fulfilled. You showered your grace and charity on me. There was a dazzling experience, fleeting and
momentary. There I beheld thy lotus feet redolent with the
heavenly scent and heard the holy word ‘Waheguru’. I heard it and it impressed itself on my tongue and penetrated deep within and made my entire self, body, mind and soul light airy and buoyant, intoxicating me with divine sense of delight. since then the tongue is busy chanting. ‘Waheguru’ ‘Waheguru’ “‘Waheguru’, (God.is great),”
The Guru put his benign and loving hand on Dhesa’s head and blessed him saying, “You have received the heavenly gift of Name Divine right from the ultimate High Heavens. This is an immortal gift, extremely unbearable and difficult to digest. Be careful lest you lost it.” The Guru then turned towards Bhai sain Dass and said, “Sain Dass; Dhesa is the recipient of Name Divine and is blessed by the Almighty Lord. This he has attained because of your abounding love, grace and faith in him. Be kind and forgiving to him. There is in him a want of the touch of the holy company. He needs a constant and continuous contact with it. He does not have the tradition of meditation and service of love behind him to sustain him in this spiritual endeavour. If you take care of him and keep him under your wings then this heavenly gift will wash away the subtle sinful mire of his mind and it will act as an ambrosia! nectar sublimating and uplifting him to be the loving devotee of His Name. Whatever spiritual sensibility he as developed so far, is the basic capital, an investment in spiritual trade. Let him carry on his business of Name Divine. Keep an eye on him and see that his business flourishes and he gains and profits by it so that the capital received as a heavenly gift becomes his own.”
This is the story of Dhesa, all this happened much before the Guru had decided to leave Daroli for Amnitsar.
Now that the Guru had gone to Amritsar, Bhai Sain Dass and a considerable holy company were busy at Daroli continuing and sustaining the Guru’s divine mission of spiritual upliftment and ushering in the kingdom of Heaven on earth.