From jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca Wed Mar 11 09:05:01 1998
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: The Night is a Jungle
From: jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca (James Shannon)
Date: 11 Mar 1998 17:05:01 GMT


        
        
        
                            THE NIGHT IS A JUNGLE
                                    
                                     by
                          
                             Sant Kirpal Singh Ji

                                (1894 - 1974)
                    
                        This satsang talk was given at
                        Sawan Ashram in Delhi, India, and
                        was published in the April 1971 
                         issue of Sat Sandesh magazine.
                        ---------------------------------
        

   What is the difference between God and man? Man has mind, without which 
he would be the same as God. Kabir tells us that, All this (creation) is a 
part of God. The soul is the same essence as that of God; it is a drop of 
the Ocean of All Consciousness. However, through being joined to the mind, 
it became jiva; but as it is of the same essence as God, when the mind is 
removed only God is left. So God plus mind is man and man minus mind is God.
  
   Gold is made into jewelry and other attractive articles, but that which 
comes direct from the mine is called "ore," although the gold is there. When 
the mud and other minerals are filtered from it, the pure gold is left. And 
so, when final analysis is made, and the mind and senses are removed, man
is then God.

   One can conceive the great possibilities of which to avail oneself, 
having received the blessing of a human birth; to separate the consciousness 
from matter and realize who one truly is. When the soul became jiva, by 
association with the body and the world it adopted the same identity, for 
wherever the attention is directed one becomes as that. So now, lost in 
creation, it cannot find itself and return to its true home or origin until 
it is free and pure again. He who has found his own Self, has realized 
himself, has become one with God - he is man-in-God or God-in-man. The same 
Light which has become effulgent in him is sustaining the whole creation.
  
   What is God? In truth, He is not Light, He is not Sound; but when He 
expressed Himself these two principles emanated from Him and came into being. 
Our soul being a drop of the wave of that God-into-Expression Power, a direct 
connection with It will take us back to the source from which It emanated
- which is Anami or Absolute God. This is the message extended by all true 
Masters who have come, in different mode or language, according to the time.
  
   Everything has a natural inclination to return to its original state and 
source. If you turn a lighted candle upside down, yet its flame will go up; 
for its source is the sun. If you throw a ball of clay in the air as hard as 
you like, it will but return to earth again from whence it came. If the soul 
gets freed from mind and senses it will automatically be drawn toward God.
  
   The first thing we must do is: still the mind. The very foundation of 
yoga is controlling the intelligence. The word yog is derived from yuj, which 
means "to rejoin," and to re-join the Lord is the ultimate task ahead of man, 
a task which can be achieved only in human form. Other forms are only for 
various enjoyments. Some human beings, because of their past karma, also live 
to enjoy, whereas others are not so heavily burdened and therefore the Truth 
is more apparent to them; they have better powers of differentiation. The 
latter type of human being can realize himself and realize God.
  
   Today is the festival of Basakhi,* (* The first day of the Indian month 
of Basakh, corresponding approximately to April 15.) which is celebrated in 
different ways according to the various religious customs. Nature itself 
celebrates by sprouting of new buds and leaves, and the new life begins from 
this season.  We should take a lesson from Nature and sprout forth with a 
new life. In the Hindu religion there are ten avatars, and certain Hindus 
celebrate this day as a double event: the birth of Parshuram, and the
overcoming of evil by Narsing Avatar. Parshuram was a great yogi. Narsing 
was the avatar who saved Prince Prahlad and killed the Prince's father, the 
tyrant King Hirnaikashya, who while ruling the people with a rod of iron 
had declared himself God and had made them worship him. By performing
severe austerities he had obtained a great boon from the gods: that he would 
never die by any hand born out of life, nor during the day or night, nor 
within or without any building, not on earth, nor in the sky, etc. His son 
Prahlad became a true devotee of the Lord and solemnly declared that God was
God and not his father. The King tried to kill the Prince by various methods 
or torture, but the pure devotion of the child repeatedly drew on the grace 
of God for salvation, until finally his father ordered that Prahlad should 
embrace a red-hot iron column. Confronted with such a formidable test, the
child at first hesitated, but on seeing an ant crawling up the column he 
stepped forward with joy and placed his arms around the column. At once the 
column split asunder and out stepped Narsing Avatar in a form born out of 
the fiery structure, terrifying to gaze upon. He took the King in his 
powerful hands, and as the sun went down he stepped into a doorway, neither 
inside nor outside, and tore the King apart.
  
   I congratulate the Buddhists on this day, for the Lord Buddha was born on 
Basakhi, on Basakhi he received enlightenment, and on Basakhi he left his 
body finally - Nirvana. So both religions have good reason for celebration. 
For us also it can be a great day, for we are constantly lamenting that we
should start life anew; so we should start this new day as the beginning of 
a new life in which the flowers should blossom and the fruit should come 
forth. There should be so much fruit on each branch that the weight may bow 
the fruit to the earth.
  
   This is a great day for Sikhs also. In truth, Sikhism is not a cult; this 
is what I feel. One poet says that the world changes, and a true man is he 
who changes the world. On this day, some three centuries ago, Guru Gobind 
Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, started the Khalsa. In those days the people 
were killing each other in the name of religion, and he started to erase the 
controversy by forming the Khalsa. A khalsa is a true disciple, and on this 
day the Guru found five true disciples among his followers and made them 
leaders of the people.
  
   There was religious enmity during the life of Guru Nanak, who was once 
asked who he was and replied, I am not Hindu, neither Muslim; The breath of 
this body is Allah and Ram. He meant that Allah and Ram are one, but they 
still insisted on further explanation, so he said, If I say I am Hindu you
will kill me, Muslim I am not; Nanak is that invisible Power playing in this 
puppet of five elements. They were concerned only with outer labels, and he 
had no desire to claim the outer form which signifies a Hindu or Muslim. 
His answer served to show them that man is greater than his outer appearance, 
for he is truly the power which resides in the physical form. We all stick 
on labels, sooner or later, entangling ourselves in conformity, but in truth 
we are just men - just human beings.
  
   On this subject, Guru Gobind Singh Ji says, The caste of all humanity is 
one. We are all born the same way and have been given the same faculties. 
During the life of Kabir, as an open challenge the Brahmins declared that 
they had come to the world by direct orders from the mouth of Brahma, but
Kabir replied, O Brahmin, if you came direct from God, why were you not 
born differently than other men? Even the outer and inner physical 
structure of all men is the same: no one has four arms, etc. All have the 
same privileges, whether born high or low according to their karma. As for 
these karmas of the past, Tulsi Sahib says, The great Law of Karma has
created the world's conditions; Each will take the fruit of his actions. 
Valmiki was a low-caste untouchable, who became Maharishi Valmiki!  Because 
according to karma from his past, the change was bound to take place. But 
these days the children of brahmins are called brahmins indiscriminately,
and so on in other castes, for as time passes, chains upon chains are added 
in the name of religion, and the basic oneness of all men is forgotten.
  
   So on this day, five specially selected disciples were chosen, and they 
were called panch piara or the beloved five. The prevailing conditions of 
India at that time called for such action, but that is past and is not our 
concern. In those days, whether friends or enemies, men had no respect for 
each other, and the Guru sought to awaken the life and meaning of true
teaching. He made a public announcement, and asked, "Who will offer his 
head for sacrifice?" Now, it is a simple matter to find hundreds of people 
who will agree with everything you say, and still more who will willingly 
bow down in obeisance. There are many also who will give their wealth for 
a cause. But how many can you find who will give up their lives? After a 
moment's pause, one man arose and came forward to the Guru, and then four 
others, one by one. He did not kill them, but made them his beloved 
disciples, above all religion - true human beings with the fact accepted. 
Then he gave them his Light, for from one Light others are kindled. He made 
the Khalsas---and what is said of the Khalsa?
          
                The Khalsa is my true form;
                The Khalsa is my abode;
                The Khalsa is my full intoxication;
                The Khalsa is my complete Satguru.

He is one who will never leave me. He takes responsibility for the soul 
until the end; In that Lord does my mind rejoice. And as further indication: 
Think of Him as the Pure One, in whom the effulgent Light is glowing. He 
infused them with the Water of Life. Religion is no consideration; He who 
takes God's Name becomes His own. Masters never make people the prisoners of 
religion. Religions are our schools of thought, of which we have to make the 
best use.

   I am Thine, O Lord. May Thy victory be everywhere. The Khalsa has been 
described as a Living Light. Guru Gobind Singh gave them the Inner Light, 
and even outwardly bound them unto himself by vows with charged sweetened 
water given by his own hands. And then he made them offer the same water to 
himself, showing - that the Guru is the disciple, and the true disciple is 
the Guru - which is an outer pointer to his greatness.
  
   All Masters made disciples of course, including Lord Buddha, Hazrat 
Mohammed Sahib, Jesus Christ and others. They made disciples that they should 
become Buddhas and Christs. They regularly took food with their disciples, 
though the disciples never actually realized them to be as great as they 
were. I am speaking very frankly. The tenth Guru Sahib said, I am a Khalsa 
and saying this, he took the amrit from their hands; and to combat the 
conditions of the time he formed a volunteer corps. He changed nothing in 
their religion; they remained Hindus, but willingly sacrificed their lives 
for the cause of truth and honor. One is reminded of Vali Khan and Nabi Khan 
Ali Khan who were Muslims, and who also sacrificed their lives for Guru 
Gobind Singh's cause. When Nabi Khan Ali Khan was killed, a man went to 
inform his wife; her first words were not concerning the death of her 
husband but, "Is my Guru all right?" What sacrifice that was!
  
   When Bhai Nandlal Ji wrote a book of prayer called Bandgi Nama, Guru 
Gobind Singh gave the book the title of Zindgi Nama, meaning "The Giver of 
Life." If you have the opportunity to read it, you will become thoroughly 
awakened to the true teachings. The tenth Guru said, We are the worshippers
of the same Living Light. All Masters pointed out that outer practices are 
of our own making, meant for the preparation of the ground. Maulana Rumi 
also said that theists and atheists have the same right to realize the 
Truth, for the soul is the same in both. All rituals are results of 
superstition.
  
   First the unity of consciousness in creation was set. There is only one 
Brahm - there is nothing else - which was later qualified by others according 
to their own approach. Through God's Light were all His children created 
into His play; With the same Light was the whole world created - who is good 
and who is bad? It is a subject for deep thought. How can you make a Khalsa 
by merely sticking a label on someone? The greatness of the tenth Guru lies 
in this: that he himself infused the Light, and then made them as great as 
himself. Wherever these five beloveds will be, there will I be also. If you 
sit near an awakened soul, you also will awaken. The system was excellent, 
but it was difficult to get constituents. He made one Guru-home in which 
all were equal. No one need worry what he was going to eat, where his 
clothing was coming from, how his children were going to be fed. He told 
everyone to do nishkam seva (selfless service) and to keep the Living Light 
within alive always. He gave an example: Like sparks jumping from a fire, 
they fall back to become part of it again. We are the sparks of that Living 
Light. The soul has an innate desire to return to its own home, but estranged 
in this foreign land, it has become entangled with the mind and senses and 
is superficially reluctant to leave. 

   Guru Gobind Singh Ji broke down the religious narrowmindedness; it was a 
great work. It is not an easy task to break old rituals, even though the 
basic teachings are the same given by Guru Nanak, Kabir, and other Masters. 
Ravidas Ji says, He cannot be bought, but is attained through true devotion. 
It is also said, Count the executioner as the purest, if God resides in his 
mind. Anyone in whom God is manifested is the purest of all. If the system 
that Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj introduced could be implemented today, all 
life's uncertainties would be removed. From the very beginning I have thought 
that there should be a common kitchen and everyone should eat there. Everyone 
is subject to the attitude, "this is mine, this is mine," but it is an 
obstacle. All are not at the same stage of development, but there is great 
hope for those who are sincere and willing.
  
   So today we celebrate Basakhi, because the Khalsa Panth was started on 
that date. Many people have the wrong understanding of the word Khalsa - he 
is the one in whom the Light is manifested. It has even been said that, The 
Khalsa will reign over all; all those who will sit at his feet will be saved. 
You will note that those who come to his feet will be saved; not the rest. 
The Khalsa is not formed from outer appearances, and in the end only the 
spiritual men will rule. The spiritual person in whom God has manifested 
Himself is the Khalsa, and those who come to his feet will be saved; others 
will have to remain in their humiliation. That which man accepts as law 
through generations of customary habit, is viewed by the Masters from a 
detached and therefore more accurate angle of vision. They see no value in 
religious highs and lows. They light the Light within all and reveal that 
all are one and the same. The so-called gurus remain as gurus and their 
disciples remain disciples, but the true Masters say no, we are one and the 
same. 

   Our Hazur used to say, "No emperor wants his son to remain an official."  
A true Saint desires that his followers also become Saints. All men, from 
both human and spiritual levels, are one and the same. He who is the 
Controlling Power is the Giver and the Doer. Even the meaning behind the 
puja or namaz (Hindu and Muslim devotional practices respectively ) is the 
same. With puja, a lamp is lit and then the puja performed, while the 
Muslims place their hands on their ears and utter the sound called baang! 
On the Path of the Masters the initiate is taught how to place the hands on 
the ears and hear the inner Sound. One should listen to this inner baang  
(Music of the Spheres), which is spiritually efficacious.
  
   Guru Nanak once went to Shiraz (in Persia), and there he met a Muslim 
priest named Rooknudin, who asked the Guru, "Have you ever seen the house of 
the Lord?"   Guru Nanak replied, "Yes, and proceeded to describe the physical
form: It has twelve minarets, six at each extremity (joints of the arms and 
legs); fifty-two spires (thirty-two teeth and twenty nails); and two windows
(eyes). It is also said, In a lofty special palace, Khuda (God) is giving 
the baang. So one should be able to understand clearly that the true mosque,
church or temple is the human form. Mosques are forehead-shaped, church 
steeples are nose-shaped, temples and gurudwaras are dome- or head-shaped, 
all model imitations of the true temple of God. This body is the temple of 
God in which the true Light is seen.
  
   Maulana Rumi tells us that for those whose eyes are not open, mosques are 
made with clay and water. For the awakened people--the complete Masters-the 
mosque is this true heart, at the seat of the soul. During my Western tour I 
told the people many times that God does not reside in temples made with 
stone, but He Himself made the house in which He resides. But we have 
forgotten the true temple and respect the man-made outer images of the true 
house. What tragedy that we go to the imitation temple, leaving the natural 
mosque to bear the labor. The man-made model was intended to teach us that 
there is such a thing as inner Light and Sound, and we should have learned 
to withdraw to experience it; but instead we are worshipping any image, 
indiscriminately. In sacred solemnity we are clutching the outer skin, 
oblivious to the fruit that lies within.
  
   In the Upanishads it is written, What is that, the knowledge of which 
makes everything else known? The soul is a conscious entity; as long as it 
does not merge into the All Consciousness, it will never be at peace. 
Furthermore, the mind can never be controlled while it remains without 
contact with the Naam or God Power. When you get the Naam, the mind becomes 
controlled. In the life of Lord Krishna it is mentioned that deep in the 
River Jumna he encountered a thousand-headed serpent, which he overpowered 
by playing his flute. This serpent represents the mind, which has a thousand 
ways of poisoning us. With victory over the mind, you have victory over the 
world. There is no other obstacle between us and the Lord, but the mind. 
If your heart holds a strong desire to realize God, then put one foot on 
your mind - to still it - and the next step will take you to the home of 
the Lord.
  
   In the Koran it is written that if a man can recognize his true self, 
then he will recognize God. The same teachings are brought by all Masters 
for all people. A Light appears in the human form, and all religions are 
enlightened by It, for those who meet him receive the enlightenment. When 
each enlightened soul leaves, a new religion starts to keep his teachings
alive, but without the practical guidance, a decline sets in. Everyone is 
over-zealous in upholding his own beliefs, and no one is willing to sit on 
common ground on equal footing to discuss spiritual matters. The true 
teaching remains the same, age after age - Truth is One, for everyone. God 
is not different for Hindus, Muslims, Christians and so on; He is the God
of the whole world and is not a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, etc.
  
   Even now a small amusing incident remains in my memory, which happened 
when I was in Peshawar, studying in the ninth grade. I used to take my books 
and study in a garden named Shahi Bagh, and one day a man whose name I still
remember - Darbari Lal - asked me, "Where is Shahi Bagh?" I told him that 
he was standing beside that very garden, and he said, "I have come to settle 
judgment on a dispute, for I have been told that the Hindu God is crying 
because the Muslim God has beaten him up and broken his leg." (People 
gathered in Shahi Bagh specially for discussing different controversies.) 
Even at that young age I was shocked to discover that people thought each 
religion had a different God.
  
   Poor understanding is widespread because men do not rise above the 
worldly level to see the facts from a more accurate angle of vision. Up to 
the time of the tenth Guru, no Master had revealed the circumstances of his 
past births so openly as he did. In the latter part of his life he talked 
of many strange things, including the "seven-pointed splendor" of Hemkunt,
a place of seven hills where he had performed many austerities in a past 
life, through which he lost individuality and became one with the Lord. He 
was there seated in great bliss, but the Lord gave him orders, "Child, go 
into the world and work." Guru Gobind Singh Ji recounts that he had no 
desire to return to the world, but was persuaded, so he said, "What are your 
orders, my Lord?" The Lord said, "Those who are there and most of those who 
have been there have encouraged the praise of their own names. Go and tell 
of My Name - show that there is God."
  
   When Guru Gobind Singh was asked who he was, he said, I am the servant of 
the Most High who has come to see the play in the world; Know me as His 
servant, there is no difference between Him and me. He has also said, They 
who think of me as God will all go to Hell. God is sending His Water of
Life through a vessel, but the vessel should not think of himself as the 
Doer. No true Master will say, "I am the Guru," for the ray is of the sun, 
but through being connected with that ray one can reach the Sun itself. 
With one single ray of the Lord, the whole world was created. From one 
source, millions of rivers emerged. What and who exactly is God, no one can 
know, for man has exhausted himself in attempting to sing His praises. In 
the Jap Ji, Guru Nanak says :
    
                Some sing of His greatness, but only according to
                  the power bestowed upon them;
                Some sing of His bounties, taking them as His signs;
                Some sing of Him as incomprehensible;
                Some sing of Him as transmitting dust into life, and
                  life into dust again: Creator and Destroyer, the
                Giver of Life and its Withdrawer.
                Some sing of Him as at once the nearest, and the
                   most remote.
                There is no end to His description.

Nothing has been mentioned of God Himself - only the things He created. You 
cannot know Him by talking, though you may talk for millions of years. Even 
the Masters have failed in the attempt. Finally, they resort to observing 
Neti, neti - He is not this,  He is not that.  A Muslim prophet says,
Through philosophy, generations have passed in descriptive attempts, but 
God's character remains unsaid.
  
   Today is Basakhi and our new life should start. All differences in our 
hearts should be removed. A man once asked me why it was that no Master has 
said, "Put your attention on me," but rather they say, "Put your attention 
on Him." I told him that the instructions must be properly understood. Lord 
Krishna said, Put your attention on that true form of mine. The method 
remains the same regardless of where the Power is manifesting. Electricity 
will sometimes heat and sometimes chill. Avatars and Saints are 
manifestations or phases of the same Lord. Misunderstanding and narrow-
mindedness create separation of brother from brother, but God's intoxication 
is one and the same. We are all worshipers of the Living Light, regardless 
of which religion we belong to. Some Christians came to the Prophet Mohammed 
and requested him to give them a place where they could build a church, and 
what did he do? He gave them half the mosque for their church! Would anyone 
do such a wonderful thing today? Think carefully over his action and what it 
means. Are we prepared to follow in the footsteps of our elders?
  
   Guru Har Gobind, the sixth Sikh Guru, built mosques and temples as well 
as gurudwaras side by side whenever necessary. In Amritsar, the foundation 
stone of the famous Sikh Golden Temple was laid by Hazrat Mian Mir, a Muslim 
Saint, at the special request of Guru Arjan. To rise above body consciousness 
means to rise above illusion; then one realizes in truth that there exist no 
differences - religious, sectarian or other. This is truly the ultimate goal; 
outer things are merely helping factors leading toward it, and man as a 
social being must live in some social group, otherwise corruption starts its 
corroding process.
  
   Once in Lahore, an atheist called people from various religions together 
to discuss the question, "Is religion necessary?" Each religious leader spoke 
at length, proving the necessity of the different forms and rituals, etc. I 
was present, sitting in the front row. Then the atheist stood up to give his 
proof as to why religion is not necessary, giving various examples. Among 
these, he stated that when a marriage is to take place it is merely a matter 
of the priest, pundit or mulla placing his hands on the couple in blessing 
before a group of witnesses, to join them together, so as to prevent 
corruption. It does not make any difference if it is performed in one 
religious way or another.
  
   I stood up and said, "Brother, is it not true that if ten or twenty 
thousand people were of your thought, then a new society or sect would have 
to be formed? In that society, some rules and regulations would have to be 
made. You desire to save yourself from organizations, but you are 
inadvertently creating another. If each man stayed in his own sect and
learned how to know his true self or soul and that Power which controls all 
things, would that not be better?" He was an atheist, but he replied, "What 
you have said is correct." For as long as I lived in Lahore we used to meet 
on very loving terms.
  
   There is a great deal of misunderstanding existing regarding this subject. 
In holy places only Truth should be discussed - and realized - for Truth is 
Truth. Keep the company of someone who has realized the Truth and get right 
understanding. We say "God is One" and even this is not true, but we are
finite beings and must therefore use finite terms. Let us now take a hymn of 
Guru Gobind Singh on this celebrated day:
                
                        Oh mind, take such a sanyas:*

(* Sanyas means renunciation or ascetic discipline. The Master has inserted 
a comment here, after the first line of the hymn. This line refers to the 
following lines which explain it.)
                                    
This is a lesson for the mind, that it should adopt such renunciation that 
will still all desires. To leave one's hearth and home is not the true 
sanyas; one must become desireless, and then the very silence sprouts forth 
into Light and that same silence becomes vocal.
                
                Regard every place as a lonely forest;
                In the mind alone will complete silence come.

You can make your home a lonely forest. Is not the night a lonely forest? 
Just consider for a moment. Those who have made the best use of their nights, 
by knowing oneself and the Overself, have themselves been made. Those who 
have wasted their nights in frivolous pursuits have wasted themselves. Even
a student of worldly knowledge becomes intellectually strong if he makes full 
use of the night as well as the day. Those men who exercise the physical body 
through the cold nights become giants in muscle and strength; it is obvious 
how strong they are. And the disciples who spend their nights in sweet 
remembrance of the Lord become God themselves. If man can control the dim 
hours from sunset to sunrise he becomes a true human being. But instead we 
eat, drink, enjoy the worldly pleasures until midnight, and then snore the 
rest of the night away.
  
   One Master has said that in the night, the Lord's fragrance is given out -
he who remains awake receives this precious gift. Do the worldly duties in 
the daytime, and at night consider that you are all alone, deep in the 
country. One's duties and social obligations with family and friends should 
be performed with pleasure, because God has joined you together, for the 
sake of give and take. But in the night you can feel free from all this and 
repose in His lap. It is not at all necessary to leave your home and family 
for meditation when you have the long lonely nights. When you are wholly 
absorbed in some object, it is a true sanyas, cutting off from all other
things, and if we start from today, most definitely our lives will change.
  
   This invaluable guidance is written in the sacred books, but sadly it 
remains there, or it penetrates only to the intellectual level. We have to 
take the knowledge and live up to it, only then does it become a part of 
life. The night is a jungle - do your work in the daytime and then benefit 
from the night. The true purpose of having a human form is to make daily
progress toward the great goal, so sit down each day and see where you are. 
The meaning of keeping a diary is of utmost importance, but very few fully 
understand it. Remove those things which are obstructing your progress - 
weed out the imperfections, one by one. A strong man revels in his strength
and the weaker man wonders how he got it. When a wrestler walks abroad, 
people turn to stare and remark on his strength. He has not achieved that 
overnight, but through many nights of hard exercising.  As the renunciate 
leaves everything and goes to the woods, you can sit down nightly in your 
own home, forgetting the world and freeing yourself from all entanglements.
                
                Make the jatta of chastity and purity, and take a
                   bath of Yog;
                Grow the nails of regularity.*

(* Renunciates let their hair grow, cover it with ashes and coil it on
their heads; this is called jatta. They also stop cutting their nails.)

One should make one's jatta out of the purity of life - guard carefully one's 
brahmcharya (chastity). Chastity is life and sexuality is death. Our whole 
house has to stand on this foundation; do not make it out of sand. You will 
then be able to live properly; your mind and intellect will be wholesome.
This in itself is a most valuable thing, for even if you have only dry bread 
to eat, yet you will have full strength. You won't need any tonics.
  
   In regard to the householder's life: marriage is not a bar to 
Spirituality, if one lives according to the scriptures. There may be one 
duty of begetting children, but that is not the be-all and end-all of 
married life; there is grossly wrong understanding on this subject. Do not 
make the human form a mere machine for vice. Instead, make your life pure 
and controlled.  If you wish to have one or two children, well and good, but
look after them properly and help them to become something good. Set a 
worthy example for them, and remain aware of the responsibilities of  
parenthood.  Furthermore, the whole family should sit together and sing the 
praises of the Lord.
 
   The Guru Sahib tells us to take a bath in the Yog. If you want to become 
one with God you must throw away all worldly thoughts. To take a bath in Yog 
means a daily bath in His contact - become one with Him. If you cannot wash 
your hands of worldly affairs, you should not sit in God's remembrance. The 
Muslims do vazu (washing of the hands, face and feet) before they sit for 
the namaz, for they believe that unless this is done, the prayer will not be 
accepted. So we should wash the worldly environments out of our thoughts
before we sit in meditation. The Hindus say that puja should not be done 
unless one first takes a bath. The most effective bath is to withdraw your 
attention from outer things.
   
   Grow the nails of regularity. An army without a commander will end up in 
chaos, so we must command our lives with regularity. If you are employed 
somewhere, you go there daily at the proper time, without any trouble, and 
for meditation we should adopt the same attitude and sit daily at the regular
time. Sadly, we are adrift; sometimes we sit, sometimes we don't. If we were 
truly regular, we would find that if we should happen to have a day without 
meditation, we would feel ill at ease, as though we had missed something. 
If possible, there should be a room in the home set aside for God's 
remembrance alone - you would find that the very atmosphere of that room 
would remind you of Him.
  
   In the last stanza of the Jap Ji, you will find, Make chastity your 
furnace and patience your smithy. To fashion gold into something beautiful, 
a goldsmith must first melt the metal by the aid of a furnace. Take these 
two things, patience and chastity, and go on working toward your goal. With 
patience one will continue to persevere, even when the progress seems slow. 
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. It is a promise 
Christ gave. So take these things into our lives: patience, perseverance, 
chaste and pure living, and regularity. Then? Make the nights your jungle, 
and see what a beautiful program will result.

   In the past, a true brahmcharya would spend his first twenty-five years 
in a jungle ashram, learning the Vedic and Shastric scriptures. Then he 
would enter the grehastha ashram (take up the duties of a householder). 
After conscientiously bringing up his one or two children to the stage of 
adulthood, he would then return to the forests in the vanprasth ashram 
wherein he would study for self-realization. Having realized the Truth, he 
would leave that stage and journey around in the world, helping the people 
to awaken. Today's preaching is done for the stomach only. Some people 
earn their livelihood by their own hard labor in one way or another, and 
some take their living from religion or religious books. So make your home 
a jungle. He who lives in his own home, remaining aloof from worldly taints, 
yearning within for the Lord, will receive far more benefit than from taking 
a bath in the limpid waters of the holy River Ganges. Become so closely 
connected with the Lord that either He or you remains - not two.
  
   Get connected to the pure Naam, through the Guru's knowledge of the soul.
This Guru's knowledge is a practical experience; there is nothing academic 
about it. This knowledge is of Attention (Surat) and Sound (Shabd); It 
cannot be brought into words. The word "knowledge" here refers to the Music 
of the Spheres which is vibrating within our very being. It can only be 
experienced. The one who makes audible the Sound coming from the gaggan 
(astral heaven) is my Gurudev. Who gives that experience? Through the Guru's 
knowledge I got the true eye, through which the veil of ignorance was 
pierced and the Light revealed within. So what is the value of Gurubhakti  
(devotion to the Guru)? All living souls should do Gurubhakti, and become 
one with the Light within. Become connected to that Light and develop your 
devotion - which should increase so much so that each pore vibrates with the 
Guru's Naam. When a little love awakens in a person, does it not bubble up 
and overflow? It should be developed steadily up to full realization, 
through which all peace and serenity will reign in your being.
        
        Eat less, sleep less; have mercy, forgiveness and love.

The Prophet Mohammed said that one should eat one mouthful less at each 
meal. Sheikh Saadi said that half of the stomach should be filled with food, 
one-fourth with water, and one-fourth left empty. Swami Ji Maharaj said that 
those who desire to taste the Nectar of Shabd should eat one meal per day
only.  We eat too much--naturally sleep will come to our house. If your 
food is regularized you will rise up punctually in the morning. The awakened 
man's body may sleep, but he does not. Remember, the soul is a conscious 
entity and usually when a person sleeps, the soul withdraws to the throat 
and the man experiences dreams. If it withdraws to the navel, deep sleep 
ensues. The Masters remain awake. Unlike others, they are awake while 
sleeping. This is a very noble aim to aspire to. These three things will 
help you: to eat less, sleep less and have mercy, forgiveness and love.
        
        Mercy is the interest gained from righteous living,
           pride's interest is sin; 
        O Tulsi, leave not mercy while this body breathes.
        
A person has more pity for his family and friends than for strangers. Is 
this compassion? If one's neighbors are dying of starvation while one is 
eating one's fill, what kind of mercy is this? Should your own child be sick, 
yet you hear of another's that needs help, if you have true mercy you will 
give more attention to the strange child. When Guru Gobind Singh's children 
were killed in battle, his wife came crying to him - "Where are my four 
sons?" His words are noteworthy: "For the heads of all these sons (the 
followers) have I sacrificed the four." This is what you can call compassion. 
He sacrificed all that was his for the sons of others. Did he win any empire 
or property for himself? True Masters have real compassion for people. When 
Jesus Christ was sitting with some people, he was told that his mother and 
relatives were outside, desiring to speak to him. What was his reply? He 
said, Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? and indicating his disciples 
and followers, he said, Behold, my mother and my brothers!
  
   If someone makes a mistake, forgive him. But people prefer justice to 
forgiveness. Remember this, that with justice, the heart is never cleansed. 
I will give an example from my own experience. My wife was once traveling 
home by train, and I went to meet her at the railway station. As soon as she
stepped on the train, and before I had even approached her, a pickpocket 
stole her purse and ran off. As it happened, a wide-awake police constable 
had witnessed the incident, quickly caught the man and returned the purse 
to my wife. With a firm grip on the thief, the policeman turned to me and 
said, "You must also come along to the police station." I pointed out to 
him that as we had recovered the purse, we were quite satisfied, but he 
protested and said, "This sort of thing is happening frequently, you must 
come and make a charge."
  
   I went along to the police station and sat there for more than an hour 
without anything being done. I told the inspector, "I am not concerned with 
this, you can also keep the purse---I am going." He took my statement at 
once, and eventually I had to go to court. It was the first time I had ever 
stepped into a courtroom. While waiting for the proceedings to start, the 
inspector remarked to me, "Justice must be done." I told him, "Brother, 
along  with justice, there should also be compassion; both should go side 
by side. With justice the heart remains affected, but compassion washes 
away all impurities."
                                        
   When the judge had heard the case, I said, "Your honor, if you can find 
a way of releasing this man, I have no objection." The judge was surprised, 
but he asked the police about the man's previous record, and was told that 
no charges were recorded against him. The judge agreed to let him go with a
good warning and he was released. That man returned to his family with a 
happy heart; he went around telling people, "If he had not saved me, I would 
now be in prison."
  
   Outwardly a person may be emphatic that he forgives; but in his heart he 
wants to strike out at the offender and cut the very roots of him. If you 
have no compassion in the mind, how can you honestly say you forgive? God 
is love, and as a part of Him, the soul's innate nature is also love. Guru 
Gobind Singh Ji has said, Hear ye all, I tell you in Truth; God is realized 
by one who loves. Kabir says, Love the Lord, oh mind, love the Lord. And in 
the Bible, He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. We pray 
and perform rites that the love of God may be born in us - what other 
purpose is there? But what results will come from the prayers that are 
mingled with gossip?  What will it avail us to leave the place of worship 
without a trace of love in our hearts for our fellow beings?
                
                Chastity, contentment, and remain stabilized; 
                Then you will go beyond the three gunas*
        
*Attributes: satva (pure), rajas (active), and tamas (inert).

Adopt a righteous way of life and be content. You may have certain desires, 
but stop there; don't increase them. Then reconsider the desires and where 
they will take you.  What lies ahead, and what will you take with you?  We 
are hurrying, scurrying through life; we are not even conscious of what we
are doing most of the time. So the Guru advises us to handle all our affairs 
with tranquil serenity; then you have a chance of reaching Trigun-atit 
(beyond the three attributes), and then going beyond. Lord Krishna, in the 
famous Bhagavad Gita, told Arjuna, Oh Arjuna, go beyond the three gunas.
Unless you go beyond, you will continue coming and going round and round in 
Pind, And and Brahmand.
                
                Desire, lust, anger, pride, greed, 
                   perversity, attachment;
                Do not allow these in your mind.

To go more deeply into the matter, what constitutes desire: All conceptions 
in the mind are desires. So, be desireless. You will have noticed that when 
an obstacle blocks the achievement of one's desire, anger arises. Then there 
is pride - "I must have this (or do this), otherwise I will be belittled in
the eyes of others." One can accept pride as being the basis of all sins, 
for it turns into I-hood. He recommends us to leave off perversity, or stop 
being obstinate. Always be sure and listen to the other person's point of 
view - you may find that what he is saying is correct. Perversity just binds 
a person more; there is no room for expansion. Dogmatic knowledge of books, 
for instance, which might be right or wrong, should be discarded. It goes  
without saying that all attachments should be broken away----you must 
finish up the give and take - you must leave the body and all its 
environments. If an obstacle comes between you and your desire, it grows 
even stronger. Just put a large rock in the middle of a fast-flowing stream 
and you will create two things, froth and noise. When a man is angry he 
cannot speak softly, and finally he froths at the mouth. If you do get the 
thing you desire, it turns into attachment. There is only one cure for all 
this:  Only after seeing your true self can you realize the Lord. And now, 
we will take something for Basakh:*
(*The Master is now taking up another hymn, this time one by Guru Arjan):

                How can Basakh bring contentment
                For him who is parted from his love?

The soul's natural inclination is to return to God. If it could only withdraw 
from outer attractions, its automatic course would be straight toward God. 
Is it possible to withdraw? The Guru has put your house under control and 
made you the mistress. Furthermore, Ten servants did my Lord give me. Five 
gross and five subtle senses to come under control, through the grace of the 
Guru. Until now the soul has been under the control of mind and senses, and 
has never seen its Beloved - how can it rejoice and be content? A loved one's
greatest desire is to be with his Beloved, how can one go through life 
separate from Him? How did we forget Him?

                When the separation from God came, the illusion
                   engulfed everything.

It seems as if the illusion left all other work to cling to us. Illusion's 
other name is forgetfulness. The whole world is sleeping in attachment and 
forgetfulness; tell me, when will this illusion go? If the One whom we have 
forgotten comes before us, would not the innate love within us awaken? It 
is a heart-rending story, for all the harvest is ready; you have got the
physical form, after great struggle - but you are cut away from the Beloved 
and cannot enjoy the fruits of the harvest.

                Sons, family, wealth, none are with you;
                Only the Immortal God.

We have been joined to our family and relatives through God's will and the 
prarabdh karmas, and we should accept the conditions joyfully. Only he who 
truly knows, willingly pays his way through life. Who knows how many 
difficulties are due to our unpaid debts? How can I say who is my friend
in this world? All love is a lie, and all seek their own happiness - enemies 
and friends. Only God will remain with you in the end - He who is the true 
companion of our soul. Whoever has turned his face toward Him will return 
to His lap. He who is in love with the world will return to the world. It
might be love for this world or the hereafter, but he will go on circling 
around the physical, astral and causal planes.
    
                All this illusory meaningless work 
                   takes my whole time.

It is good to work, and one should work whole-heartedly; and then forget it. 
To continue concerning oneself with countless petty matters will fritter 
away the attention. This only causes further enmeshing attachment, and  
wherever our thoughts are, there will you reside. Get connected to the 
Immortal Lord; all else is changeable and impermanent. If we have not yet 
been connected to Him, and are a true seeker, we should pray: "O Lord, my 
attention is attached to this perishable matter, how can I find contact 
with You who are immortal?"
   
                Without the Naam of the Lord, 
                   the future is lost.

Without a connection with the All Sustainer, our life is wasted; nothing 
remains but preparation for the return to the field of action. What shall 
it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? A wise 
man is he who works with foresight, but unfortunately most people never give 
a thought to permanent things; that which is momentary becomes their god and 
their life.
      
                By forgetting God, you have wasted your life;
                Without Him, you have no one.

Protect this wealth you have been given with your very life. By meeting 
the Saint, take and preserve the true Naam. It is a gift that will remain 
in both worlds - here and hereafter.

                Those who sit at the Beloved's feet,
                Even their company is pure.

Those who live in the world, but have made their home a jungle - have become 
one with the Lord - even to overhear some word about them will bring 
happiness.  Go and search until you find such a personality. Only through 
his guidance can we realize God; it is a natural fact.
    
                Nanak entreats Thee, O Lord, 
                   may we also meet Thee.

True prayers are always accepted, for whatever comes deep from the heart is 
granted by the Lord. In Gurbani, it says, The Father Kirpal (Merciful) has 
given this order: Whatever the child asks for will be given. In the Koran 
it says, Whatever man wants, I will give him.
                
                Basakh will be wondrous, 
                   if only we can meet the Saint.

The month of Basakh, the start of new life, can only be fulfilled if we meet 
the one who has realized the Lord. But there are two kinds of meeting: one 
is outward, and one is through the heart becoming receptive. Through a true 
darshan, all sins are forgiven. All one/s work can be accomplished by 
meeting the Saint.
    
                Those who meditate on the Naam, 
                   their work will be successful,
                Those who have the Perfect Master 
                   will be glorified in God's house;
                Those at His feet will find 
                   permanent happiness,
                   and will cross the ocean of life.
    
                No poisons can affect those 
                   who develop love and devotion;
                All perishables vanished,  
                   all duality disappeared,
                   when the Truth was received.
    
                Those who worship Him beyond Brahm 
                   become one in His bliss.
                That month is blessed in which 
                   the Lord showers his mercy,
    
                Nanak desires only one boon:  
                   that through Thy mercy 
                   I will get Thy darshan.

After getting the human form, we should ask for but one thing: that we 
might have a glimpse of Him. This should be our ideal and our aim in life. 
Today is Basakhi, but do you understand what you are doing? Be the 
worshipper of the Living Light - become a slave to it. Do not attach 
yourself to anything else, for everything is changeable. He in whom that 
Light is manifested gives the Light to the whole world. Truth is One, and 
although Truth is above all, yet true living is above Truth. Guru Arjan has 
laid out a wonderful program for us, and in conclusion he says that the 
month in which we realize the Lord will be truly blessed.

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