

                           ALL THE WORLD'S A PLAY

    The Masters see the world in its true colors. We have yet to develop
that eye which enables us to see the correct posture of the world and its
affairs. They see from the level of the soul. We see everything from the
physical level, for we are one with the body. This is the principal
difference between Masters and other human beings.

    The worldly people think that the body and its connections are all
permanent; but, in fact, the whole world is changing. Truth is that which
is permanent, imperishable, and unchangeable--always constant. Most people
see the world as something permanent, and declare, "The world is sweet--who
has seen beyond it?" and, "This is the only heaven that exists." But, those
who see from a more accurate level--the level of soul--say, "O world, what
are you doing? What tragedy!" Masters do not give out any philosophy, but
rather They state the simple, common sense facts. They do not speak by
inference; They are clear observers Who see exactly the world's condition.
They repeatedly proclaim the real truth of the matter, but no one hears, or
cares to hear. The world is in a very tragic condition.

    The soul has got a body. The body does not possess the soul. With great
blessing from God, the body was given to fulfill a high purpose; and what
is that purpose? It is to unravel the mystery of life. There is a Creator
of all things--One through Whom the whole of creation came into being--and
we must know that Creator. Preceding this ultimate goal, man must come to
know himself; this can be done in the company of another Who already knows
Himself and has solved the mystery of life.

    Life is two-part: there is outer life and inner life. Those who live
only in the outer aspect accept the world as being the truth, even while
going through the daily experiences of its ups and downs, even though it is
obvious that no person is really happy here. Kabir Sahib says, I have not
seen one indweller of this body who is happy; Whosoever I saw was unhappy.
Those who think always at the body's level and become the very image of the
body can never be happy. O Nanak, the whole world is unhappy. Can anyone
then be happy in this world? Only He Who has solved the mystery of life,
and those who through keeping His company gain right understanding.

    Why do we all suffer so? And, how can we become truly happy? Only the
Saint's disciple can be happy. The Saint enjoys true happiness, while all
others are in deep misery. Union with the Gurumukh, company of a Sadh,
color of the Naam; This is the true association through which Thy Name is
remembered. It is a prayer uttered by Awakened Souls. God should guide our
intellect--God, or He in Whom God has manifested, for only with right
guidance can the intellect work unerringly in the way it is directed.
Further, the mind should follow the intellect, and the senses should follow
the direction of the mind. Each sense should be in perfect control and work
according to the person's will. You can see that at present the machinery
of our being is all working upside down. Outer enjoyments draw the senses,
senses draw the mind, mind carries away the intellect, and this is the
reason for all the misery.

    We are soul. We are conscious entities. Kabir says, This is God's
child. He also tells us, Your caste was of Sat Naam. The Masters appeal to
our better instincts. O soul, you are a part of the All-Consciousness; but
by connecting yourself with the low-caste mind, you have forgotten your
true and noble identity in the sense-enjoyments and have become the body's
image and the image of the world. You are so steeped in this forgetfulness
that even the Sustainer is not remembered. This is what is at the root of
all unhappiness. Our intellect works with fingertip function; so if only
the mind would listen and obey the intellect, it would be guided into right
action. The intellect will give clear warning for a few times; but if the
mind does not listen, then the intellect remains quiet. This is what is
often termed the voice of conscience speaking, which gives us the right
guidance. If you act wrongly, it will tell you; and if you listen and then
act upon the guidance, you are saved from wrong action. Otherwise, if the
imperial wall is infringed upon, then the intellect or conscience remains
silent. Even the very worst type of human being has a conscience. If only
the mind would act upon the suggestions from the intellect, the whole being
would be in perfect control, and the person would enjoy the happy
situation. Why is the Saint's disciple happy? He has got one thing set: his
horse is pulling the cart--the cart is not before the horse.

    All the world is intoxicated by outer enchantments; and yet when
Masters come, whom do They address? Not the greater population, but
Themselves--Their own companion which is the physical form. Is not the body
the first companion we have when we come to the world? It is accompanied
also by the senses; and Masters address the body and its senses, O body of
mine, what kind of karmas have you earned since you came to this world?
What have you done with your physical life? It was thy turn to meet God,
but have you done so? He cannot be realized by the senses, the intellect,
or the pranas [vital airs]. He can be experienced only by the soul, which
is a conscious entity that gives guidance to the body through the
intellect.

    One Master gives a simple example: There was a monkey and a goat; and
one day after milking the goat, the housewife left the milk standing
nearby. Although the monkey was tied to a tree, yet he could reach the
milk, and promptly drank it. He cleverly splashed a little milk on the
goat's mouth, and when the housewife returned, she jumped to the conclusion
that the goat had drunk it and gave it a beating. The Master then likens
our mind to this monkey which plays havoc, but the body gets the blame and
the punishment for the mind's bad deeds.

    The human form is the highest of all species; it is the form in which
the Lord can be realized; it is the form which is received by the soul
through great good fortune. Even the gods and goddesses yearn to be born
into the physical form of the human being. Instead of gaining realization,
the poor body is made miserable just like the goat, through the mind's
misleading influence which overpowers the intellect and forces it to
fulfill its wishes. Can you not analyze clearly the reason for all your
unhappiness? O body of mine, what kind of karmas have you earned since you
came to this world? You never gave a single sincere thought to your Maker.
Is there some machinery which forms the body in the mother's womb? A dog's
offspring is born in the dog's image, and the human offspring is born in
the image of man. So, who makes all these features? O body, you make no
effort to know your Maker! Masters do not preach to people, but They advise
them--O body, you came to this world, but for what purpose? You came with a
golden opportunity--it is thy turn to meet God. He can be known in this
form, but you have yet to do this work. The Master also addresses the
senses--O eyes of mine, the Lord put light in you; See nothing but the
Lord. With that God-given sight, see Him in all things. 0 ears of mine, the
Lord attached you to this body; Listen to the Sat Bani, the Music of the
Spheres.

    This music hath resounded in all four yugas; The True One made it
audible. You can hear this delightful music with the grace of the Guru. The
Guru's Bani is vibrating in all; He Himself created it, and He Himself
manifests it. We have also, Those who repeated the Naam became immortal and
reached Infinity. Instead of all this wonderful experience, what did the
senses do with the golden opportunity? O tongue, you taster of tasteless
things, your thirst will never go. You should have tasted the Nectar of
Immortality, but you are pinioned to the lesser tastes of the world.

    So, right understanding can be had only through a Master-Soul Who looks
at everything from the level of soul. There are two sides to a picture. On
one side you may see beautiful forms or scenery, but on the reverse there
is nothing. Masters stand on the edge and survey the worldly scene. Those
with a constantly outward view, who live only the outer aspect of life,
continue to fill the heart's reservoir with impressions of the world and
its events, to the point of overflowing. It is a very superficial life, in
which people even dream of these happenings and speak aloud of them in
their sleep. They have never "tapped inside" to find out who they are, for
the body's beauty and attraction exist only because of the true being
within it. The body is honored and greeted with pleasure while the soul
remains within. While the Friend (Lord) resides within, the companion
(soul) remains; When the companion leaves, only ashes are left. Even the
world's attractiveness depends upon you, for if you die the worldly
pleasures mean nothing. We spend all our lives eating and drinking, but we
have no awareness.

    So, there are two ways to view life and to live life. You have been
born into some religion; that is all right, stay there. But, unfortunately,
no matter to what religion one belongs, one still remains at the level of
mind and senses. And, where do such people go? Wherever the attention is,
there will you reside. Brothers, what are we doing? Man knows much about
the body--to cure it, to destroy it. Through the intellect many
achievements have been accomplished: through radio and television one can
see and hear people across thousands of miles; one can traverse the earth
in a matter of hours. But, with all this advancement, is a man happy? One
Master asks, What is the foundation of all knowledge? It is to know who one
is. He says also that although mankind has acquired excessive knowledge of
the physical and intellectual sides of man, all at one sense-level, yet
with all this, man is a fool. One is but a fool without right
understanding. A life everlasting can be lived by sitting in a circle of a
Realized Soul, which cannot be got from the learned, the intellectuals,
readers of scriptures, or propagandists. If a Realized Soul is also learned
academically, He will explain the subject in a variety of ways. If He is
illiterate and without worldly learning, He will give out the Truth in a
simple and common sense manner in the form of parables and examples.

    When Bulleh Shah went to Shah Inayat, he asked how one can realize God.
Shah Inayat replied, "What is there to it? Simply withdraw from here and
attach there." It is matter of directing the attention, of withdrawing from
the body and its environments from the sense-level. Awareness will then
come of itself, and so will the awareness of the Sustainer of all life. To
realize God is not difficult like acquiring worldly knowledge, for worldly
knowledge requires some hypothesis; but to realize God is a straightforward
method of self-analysis. It is really very clear and simple; but because of
our superficial life and our deep forgetfulness, the whole position is
topsy-turvy. You should have gotten to know the Creator during your
lifetime; you should have gained knowledge of all creation, of Pind, And,
Brahmand, and Par Brahmand. Instead of this, the spinning wheel is
reversed.

We will take a hymn of Guru Nanak, Who was the first Sikh Guru. The Masters
come to cry out the Truth to the people. Those who listen gain some
benefit. What is the use of playing a penny whistle amid the sound of a
dozen kettle drums? Those who hear the single voice are few and fortunate.
After preaching the whole of Gita, Lord Krishna said, "O Arjuna, did you
listen?" Many may listen, but it is a matter of digesting the words. You
have all been listening to my voice, but have the words gone home? Will you
take any action after hearing them? Having listened to the advice, we must
develop awareness.

     The body is thought to be immortal, but the world is just a play.

    This world is like a magician's act. He fascinates his audience with
his magic; but in the end, what is in it? It is all deception--a grand
delusion. The body is the beginning of delusion. We see the whole of life
from the body's level, and that is how the illusion starts. Through the
mind and the senses, we make the body work--we, the controller. If the
controller withdraws, then awareness comes. Kabir Sahib also says, The
Magician performed His play, and all came to see the show. But, it is all
an illusion, and through lack of the right understanding, people are
drifting further and further away. Some cry, some groan, some laugh, and
some dance--it is a strange scene to those who can survey it clearly. When
a man is born, he enters a closely guarded prison; but the people around
the child rejoice. The poor soul has entered a prison and everyone is happy
about it! If only the soul, while living in this human form, would learn to
rise above its prison of illusion, it would gain awareness and see the
whole picture in its true perspective.

    Everything is the Lord's play. Many have asked, "But why did He start
this play?" This is a question that should be asked of Him alone. When we
search the words of the Masters, we find They tell us that when the Lord
wished to become from one to many, the whole of creation came into being.
You will find only this much information on the subject. From one Source,
millions of rivers flowed forth. As long as a person remains under the
influence of mind and senses, this question continues to arise. When one
rises above, it is no longer imperative. It is similar to the proverbial
riddle: Did the tree come first, or the seed? Did the chicken come first,
or the egg? Is there any answer to these questions at the intellectual
level? We cannot understand the functions of all these laws until we rise
above the body and its environments.

    We never stop to realize that the body will not last forever. A man
went to a fakir and informed him that a certain man was dying. The fakir
asked the dying man's age and was told that he was 72. The fakir promptly
said, "He has been dying for 72 years now--this is merely his last breath."
A mother considers that her child is growing, but is he? If he is destined
to live for fifty years, then when he is ten, only forty are left. When he
reaches twenty years of age, only thirty years are left. We can never
escape this paradoxical illusion without rising above the body by
self-analysis. Can you free yourselves? If you have got as far as realizing
that you cannot, you should furthermore learn why you cannot. It is because
the attachments drag your senses, and the senses drag your mind, and the
mind drags your intellect. For this problem right guidance is most
necessary.

    The human birth is the grand opportunity wherein you can solve the
mystery--in the company of He Who has already found the answer and Who will
demonstrate this practical self-analysis by giving you inner experience.
That experience must then be increased daily. If you did a thousand
varieties of practices, you would not get Light within but remain at the
sense-level. Good actions will bring good reward but will not release the
soul from its prison. With our own eyes we see the impermanence around us
daily, and yet we do nothing to get out of the futile situation. Nanak says
without knowing thyself, this illusion cannot be shattered. We must come to
know our true self through analyzing soul from mind and senses. We should
be so much in control of our being that we hear whenever we wish to hear
and see whenever we wish to see. Just like a factory, the machinery is
switched on in whichever department is required to do the work. We should
be able to work through whichever sense we so choose; but we are dragged
around by our senses and blindly think that if the body is comfortable, we
will be happy. Even if the body is comfortable for a while, how can that be
a permanent position? The Vedas tell us that the world is untrue and the
soul is the Truth. It is also written, O Lord, take me from untruth to the
Truth.

    The world is made of matter, and the body is also made of matter; both
are constantly changing, and this is where the delusion started. Whatever
the seed, so will the fruit be. According to the karmas, the pen wrote our
relationships, and some became this and some became that. When the Lord's
flowing pen has written your life, why not accept it and live through it
with love in your heart? All give and take should be experienced cheerfully
and with gratitude. Try to get free from all entanglement, and when you
reach God you can ask Him why He made everything so.

    We should try to understand that the few days of existence here are but
a play within the great play. When that Power withdraws from our being, all
is finished here--even the body is finished. Those who possess millions
will leave them behind, and likewise the possessors of mansions, palaces,
and other property. What then will remain with us? Just the reactions to
those actions which were done by squeezing the blood of others and grasping
that which we have not earned, etc. You received the pattern of this life
according to your past actions, and daily you are now sowing new seeds. The
past sanchit karmas [those which have accumulated in store] are already
upon your head, and you are daily adding to that load. The Masters ask, You
have got the human birth; so how much lighter have you become? One can
reduce the weight of karma by becoming the conscious coworker of the Divine
Plan, and this is the only way.

    We attach too much importance to the well-being of the body--hence the
misery. This place has no permanent happiness for us. We eat, we drink--in
the end the food eats us. Excessive enjoyment through the senses will
result in the senses enjoying us! We will become incapable of
enjoying--satiated. It is easily apparent that those who overeat get bad
livers, stomachs, etc. The ancient Rishis related that the food god went to
Lord Vishnu with the complaint that people were eating him mercilessly.
Lord Vishnu solved his problem by advising, "Those who eat you
unnecessarily--you eat them!" So, enjoyment in excess loses its power of
enjoyment.

          The body is thought to be immortal, but the world is just a play;

          We overburdened ourselves with greed, desire, and all things low.

Our misery is due to greed and numerous other desires. Desire is the root
cause of everything--anger, greed, attachment, ego, enjoyment--all five are
frequently condemned, but desire is the root cause of all. If you place a
rock in a fast-flowing stream, what will result? The water will hit the
rock, and two things will occur: noise and foam. If anything obstructs our
desire we become angry, and the angry person cannot speak softly--he rants
and raves and then begins to foam at the mouth. Obstructions to his wishes
increase his desire; and if the object of his desire is within reach, he
will do anything to gain possession of it: cheat, lie, and resort to
hypocrisy. If he does achieve his object of desire, he will not want to
leave it; and this is called attachment. Sometimes he becomes intoxicated
with the thought of his achievements, and this is pride or ego. It is
ironical that man does not realize that his desires can never be really
satisfied, for intellect works up to a certain point, and along with the
mind and senses is an instrument only of the soul's outer expressions. Only
the soul's experiences can be truly satisfying.

    They say that the monkey, who is known to have a strong love and
attachment for its children, will actually stand on its child in order to
save its own life if a flood occurs. Man is no different--when his life is
threatened, he will sacrifice all his finer aspirations. You will find that
all his actions have a single motive: his own comfort in one way or
another. Marriage, for instance, offers comfort, pleasure, and a sense of
well-being; and if we do not get these things out of it, then quickly we
turn to divorce. Why do we want children? They give us pleasure when they
are young and the hope of assistance when we are old. Why do we strive to
earn more and more money? For houses, cars, and many other things for the
body's comfort. We go from bad to worse.

    There is brevity in the words of the Masters. Clearly and concisely
They place the Truth before us. But, we have been hoodwinked by the play of
the world, and so: We overburden ourselves with greed, desire, and all
things low. There are three types of karmas: prarabdh, kriyaman, and
sanchit (for an explanation of these terms see Man! Know Thyself or for a
complete book written on the subject of karma see "The Wheel of Life") and
we are subject to the laws of all three. If a man comes to know himself and
realizes God during his lifetime, he then sees all creation from a higher
level and thereby gains a true view of things. Having become a coworker of
the Divine Plan, the past karmas no longer apply to him.

When King Dhritarashtra was asked in which birth he had committed an action
to warrant his present blindness, he replied that he knew his past history
for one hundred births back, and there had been nothing to cause such
impediment. Then Lord Krishna gave the King special grace, and he was able
to see back farther than one hundred births; and there he found the cause
of his blindness. So, if one comes to know the great Controller of all
things and sees how He controls everything, he will no longer be affected
by any action, for he knows that he is no longer involved himself. He who
does something must pay or receive for the action; but he who does nothing,
and by spiritual growth renders his past karmas ineffective, like roasting
so many seeds over the fire, finds that the seeds of his past actions will
no longer have the power to take root and grow. Lord Buddha said, Be
desireless. The basic teachings of all True Masters are the same. They may
express them somewhat differently, and in a variety of languages, but the
essence remains constant. Guru Gobind Singh said, Be above desire.

For example, during the life of King Akbar, his chief minister, Wali Ram,
was well known for being utterly devoted to the King. As a gesture of
respect, all courtiers would stand erect when the King entered the court,
and remained so until the King was seated. On one occasion a scorpion had
found its way into Wali Ram's clothes; and when he stood up for the King's
entrance, the scorpion stung him, first once, then twice, then again a
third time. The pain from the stings became excruciating; but out of his
great respect for the King, he resisted the instinct to remove the
scorpion. He afterwards thought deeply about this incident and related it
to the King, adding that if such respect came from serving an earthly
emperor, would it not be better to serve the Great Giver of all things?
Something strange awakened in Wali Ram, and he left the King's court and
ran into the wilderness. King Akbar valued his worth highly and sent other
ministers to call him back to the court. But, Wali Ram refused, pointing
out that while he had served the King, he had obeyed his orders implicitly;
but he was now serving a greater Emperor. When all efforts had failed to
induce Wali Ram back to the palace, the King himself went to plead his
cause and spoke of the great esteem and love he held for Wali Ram, begging
him to return to his court. Wali Ram again explained that he was now
serving another King. Finally King Akbar granted any boon he chose, and
Wali Ram replied, "Then kindly remove yourself from my presence, and leave
me in peace."

     I have seen you (body) deteriorating from fine clay into mud.

Those who see from lofty levels ask man what he is so proud of, when his
body will end up under the earth and will disintegrate into dust? The body
is respected, but only as long as the soul remains within.

     Listen, listen to my teaching: Do good in this life; it may not
     come again.

This life is a golden opportunity for a great and noble purpose. When this
opportunity leaves, it may not return, and the valuable birth is wasted.
Also, This time you have got is very beautiful; Become serene and escape
from the heat. Make the most of it--do this important work. There are many
definitions of what comprises good actions, but the Masters teach that the
very best actions are those which take one nearer to God. It follows that
the bad actions are those which take one further from the Lord. Kabir Sahib
advises, Do good actions, repeat the Naam, for no one knows about tomorrow.
He goes even further and states, No one knows of the next minute.

    What are good actions? Inherit true living. Always speak the truth,
refrain from stealing, cheating, and hypocrisy. People often complain that
nowadays it is difficult to keep up these commandments and run their
business life. "How can we do business? The customers will not come and the
business will fail." But, I always reassure them that the customers may be
few in the beginning, but they will come, and they will grow to rely on the
honest businessman and be regular dependable customers. It is said of
Father Abraham that he never told a lie, but was known to speak
"half-truths." By this it means that one need only give as much information
as is necessary. If by telling the whole story some person will suffer,
then why tell all? These things are difficult to explain in fine detail,
but I will give an example. While you are standing in the street, a cow
passes you running fast. A few minutes later she is followed by a butcher,
knife in hand, running to catch up with the cow. If he asks you which way
the cow went, knowing his intentions are to kill the cow, you can reply in
an indirect way rather than help him toward his bad actions. Additionally,
those actions which do not increase your selfishness are good; it is good
to consider the welfare of others always.

          Those who keep the Guru overhead and live in His commands--Kabir
          says for such there is no fear in all three worlds.

    Inherit the Truth, and many sins will be washed away. Any kind of work
done through lies or performed surreptitiously is plainly committing sin.
Even in thought one should be pure. Remember, chastity is life, and
sexuality is death. Those who live their lives according to the scriptures
are living correctly, but whosoever gives his life over to sexuality is
living the wrong kind of life. Become brahmchari or pure in mind, speech,
and action; and furthermore, have no hatred for any man, for each being has
and furthermore, have no hatred for any man, for each being has a soul and
is the entity of the Lord and Sustainer of all life. Some men are employers
and some are employees--this is due to reactions of the past karmas--but
God is in each being; so each one should be served selflessly. All these
are great dharmas or tenets of righteous living, but non-violence or
non-injury is the supreme dharma. God is in every being; so if you are
cutting His child's throat, how can you realize Him? Repeat the Naam
without delay, for no one knows what will happen in the next minute.

    What is Naam? Naam sustains Khand and Brahmand. The Supreme Lord is
Nameless; but when He came into expression, that expression was termed Naam
or Name. Only He knows why this whole play was created. In the game of
blind man's bluff, only the courageous child will approach fearlessly and
challenge the blindfolded one to catch him. He Who realizes God within His
own physical form will no longer be snared by illusion or the Negative
Power, for He is above the illusion; His eye is developed so He never
falls. Guru Nanak advises one to live up to the teachings of such a
Personality: Do good in this life; it may not come again. Those actions
will remain with you when you leave. Become one--absorb it into your life.
Do those things which bring you nearer to God, and what is the biggest
helping factor? Keep the company of One Who has realized God. He who obeys
the Guru's words will one hundred percent realize the Lord. A True Master
will never give the wrong advice, for He is here to lead the people along
the right path.

     I tell you, physical form, listen to my teaching:
     You have lost faith, falsely condemning and defaming others.

Why defame others by enlarging upon their faults and failings? To do this
is to criticize--even if you minimize their faults, it is criticizing. If
you must say something, then speak of what is correct, or speak of a
person's good points. Our Hazur used to say that there is some kind of
taste in eating, drinking, etc.; but what taste is there in belittling
others? Is it sweet, sour, salty, or what? But, everyone suffers from this
disease--just sit down and try an experiment: listen quietly and you will
hear, "So and so is bad, so and so is good, so and so is doing this and
that," and so on. Or, you will hear gossip about women, finance, etc.
Through indulging in such empty and useless talk every day, man has lost
his faith in humanity. Having come to the world for a special task, he
became involved in inferior activities. If a certain person sets a good
example and you want to copy him, then become good. If he does more
meditation, then you also do more. Do not envy him, but improve your own
life. Humanity is losing all its expression of good character. Do not worry
over the past, that cannot be helped now; but live righteously in the
present, and build your spiritual future.

          Your eye covets, you steal and backbite;
          The soul will go, and leave you like a forsaken woman.

We have an envious eye for the possessions of others, and constantly speak
in terms of passion, anger, wealth, but very rarely talk of God. When the
soul leaves what will the body's condition be ? When a woman's husband
forsakes her, she is no longer respected in the community. Likewise, there
is no value in the body alone; but we, the soul, are its value. A man is
welcome everywhere, as long as there is life in his body. We spend our
precious time caring for it; but Guru Nanak tells us that the body's glory
is due to the soul, to which we hardly give a second's thought.

          You, O body, remained in a dream and what karmas have you earned?

          Whatever my mind desired, I even stole for it.

We spend all our life in a dream, wasting our time and ignoring the true
purpose of life--what can be put to our credit? If this time goes
fruitless, you will have wasted the valuable birth. We receive but the
rewards of our actions, but all our deeds are motivated by desire for our
own pleasure. Had man received right understanding, would he have acted in
this way? But, he repeats his mistakes again and again, and goes on paying
for them. These misdeeds may appear attractive from the body's level, but
not from the level of the soul.

          Your actions hold no glory; you have not earned the Naam
          but have wasted your life ...

You could not hold down either this birth or the next by your actions. Had
you done something toward the true life, your name would have been
respected. Whose names are remembered in this world? Only the True Masters,
Who had right understanding. How many such Masters have there been? Not
more than two or three hundred in all. For instance, the name of Nanak is
today upon the lips of everyone. Very few people know the names of His
parents, as similarly the names of Kabir's parents are not remembered. But,
the Masters Themselves are glorified in this world and in all other worlds.
The people whose expression of life remains at the level of the body will
earn no fame in either this world or the hereafter. One may look after the
body carefully, for God resides therein and He can be realized therein.
Feed it, protect it from the weather, and do your give and take with
pleasure. But, if you do not do that work which was intended for the human
life, then, Curse be on eating, curse be on sleep; Curse on the clothes
that cover the body, curse on family and acquaintances; If God is not
realized with all these, the time that is gone will not return, and the
precious birth is wasted. One can see how one's angle of vision can change,
just by listening to these words. But, what is the use of their entering
through one ear and leaving by the other, or if they are remembered only
long enough to repeat to others? These teachings should be imbibed in our
very lives; this is why it is said, "Wanted, reformers--not of others, but
of themselves." And, what will be achieved? The Godhead.

          0 Baba Nanak, I am standing all alone;
          No one has a thought for me.

The body now explains to Guru Nanak that no one cares what happens; so it
never recognized the true value of the soul. When the soul is not
enlivening the body, who is interested? The body was given to enable us to
know the Maker. Who is it that forms the child in the mother's womb? Can
any human being make even one eye? But, no matter at what time a person
dies, the relatives rush anxiously to cremate that body which once was a
source of pride to some individual.

          Arabian and Turkish horses, gold and finery, surrounded me.

Our lives are filled with items for the body's comfort. In the past they
had fine horses to ride; today people drive around in luxurious motor cars
and adorn their bodies with fine clothes. There should be a reasonable
limit to the usefulness of such things. If one can buy cloth at some
reasonable price, then why pay extravagantly? The more expensive the
purchases, the more worry about the household budget; so why not live
within one's means? This is really the woman's responsibility; for if
simple clothing and simple living were adopted, the man would not need to
exceed the limits of honesty in order to keep up unnecessarily high
standards. I am telling you simple words of truth. Man is helpless; he has
turned himself into a slave and must do what is demanded of him, even if it
means resorting to lies and worse. This demand for more and more luxury is
merely for the body's comfort; and when we leave, can we take it with us?
Even the body itself must remain here--what to speak of the goods we go on
accumulating, like misers.

     Nothing goes with you, 0 Nanak;
     The foolish again and again deceive themselves.

We leave this world free from all material possessions, and yet we go on
striving to obtain more and more; so much so that it has become almost
impossible for a man to earn his living honestly, for either openly or
secretively all the dishonest means are used to gain more money. We deceive
ourselves this way. Money is piled up in the banks, in houses, buried under
the ground; and after fighting all his life to accumulate his hoard, others
will go on fighting over it when the man dies. To earn one's living is
essential, it is imperative; but it must be done by honest means. If a man
actually earns two hundred, but spends a thousand, from where does the
extra eight hundred come? Such actions are followed by court cases--and
then he runs to the temples and churches. Only the value of your actions
will accompany you when you leave this world--so share your honest earnings
with others.

     Sweetened fruits, all have I tasted;
     But only the Naam Nectar of Immortality is food.

Everything has its own place. Sugar, honey, butter, milk, all are sweet;
but the inner sweetness beggars all description. Naam is the food of the
soul. The Ever-Existent Lord is All-Light, and our soul which is His entity
is also Light. The soul can realize true bliss only when it rejoins the
All-Conscious Lord; but unfortunately, it has attached itself to the outer
attractions; so how can it realize itself and the Lord? The Masters say
that the rider is only secure in the saddle if his feet are both firmly
entrenched in the stirrups. It means that a person should be perfectly
balanced both in the worldly expression of life and in one's spiritual
existence also. Unless one can at will get above all worldly and home
affairs, is there any true freedom? Sri Ramakrishna would sometimes ask
those who came to Him the question, "Are you married?" If they replied in
the affirmative, He would say, "The condition of those who are free from
worldly ties is very bad; but for the fish that is caught in the net, it is
most difficult to regain his freedom." Spirituality can be learned only
while one is living an ordinary family life with ordinary worldly duties;
but be careful--the boat should be in the water; the water should not be in
the boat!

    This physical "boat," which was given us to enable the soul to realize
God, has many holes. If one is not fortunate enough to sit with a Realized
Soul, then Spirituality is most difficult for both the renunciate and the
householder. I say this for I have had some experience in living in the
forests, and can tell you with authority that those who have renounced
worldly life are in very bad condition. It is true that the householder
must of necessity be in contact with others; but those who renounce become
dependent upon other people like beggars going from house to house.
Furthermore, they resort to lying and cheating and sometimes more. It
amounts to this: that a man leaves his one home to renounce, and promptly
adopts hundreds of homes to assist him with food, shelter, and so on. And,
what type of person renounces his home? The type which is afflicted by
poverty or some worldly woe or other. To put on yellow robes--to
renounce--to call oneself a sadhu--spiritually speaking, of what use is it
all to the soul? To live in contact with the world or not is more a
question of attachment and detachment. Wherever you are, whatever you do,
try to remain detached. If one renounces, and then gets attached to a hut,
the natural surroundings, animals in the forest, etc.--what is the use of
that? As long as a man has no right understanding, he cannot succeed
spiritually. Moreover, without the help of One Who not only has right
understanding, but can demonstrate the subject by giving a practical
experience, one cannot achieve salvation. Without a True Guru, there isno
salvation. It is a written law which applies to all, and this includes the
renunciates. In this world of illusion, do not forget: Without the Guru, no
one has crossed over. It is not necessary to leave one's home and
environments. It is necessary for a householder to have a Guru Who also has
led a householder's life; otherwise, the disciple will feel that his Guru,
being a renouncer, knows nothing of the mundane life. He Who has lived the
worldly life, and while living in that worldly life has gained freedom from
it, genuinely can show that there is hope for others with His help. Right
understanding and right guidance from a Realized Person is vital, for
spiritual knowledge cannot be got from lecturers and scholars. True
guidance is required both here and hereafter.

          You make the foundation stronger and stronger;
          But this house will crumble to dust.

Even when building a material house, people make the foundations strong
enough that their house may stand erect and beautify it that it may
outshine others; but why, and for how long? The world is but a travelers'
inn, where men stay for but a few nights.

    A certain fakir entered a beautiful palace and sat down inside. After
some time, the King passed by, and seeing the simple fakir, challenged him,
"Do you realize where you are sitting?" The fakir replied, "I am sitting in
a travelers' inn." The King, rather annoyed, said, "Can you not see the
difference between an inn and a royal palace?" The fakir then asked who had
lived there before the King, and the King told him that his father had
lived there, and before that his grandfather. "Then," the fakir pointed
out, "What else is this place but a travelers' inn?"

    Christ taught that it is more difficult for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. So,
spiritual help is not a task for mere talkers who have no real knowledge of
the subject. We are like the poor overburdened donkey that got stuck in the
mire, with the load of karmas from birth upon birth on our heads. How would
that poor donkey have released himself from the bog? If some competent
Person does not take pity on us and unload some of our karmic burden and
pull us out of the tenacious mire of senses, by giving a boost to rise up,
then how will we get started on the True Path? One Master puts it this way:
What attributes has the Guru of the world, if He removes not the karmas?
Why take a lion's protection if the jackals continue to threaten? What is
the use of accepting the guidance of one who has no competency for the
work? Anyone can give a fine talk with a little practice, but how many
people can you find who will give an experience of the Beyond? This is the
crucial point. Through the Guru's blessing, one unravels it. When? When one
is free of senses; when, with the Guru's mercy, one rises above the body
and sees that one's true self is not the body, but is the controller of the
body. Only then is one on the way to God-realization.

          Hoarding and grabbing, the blind man claims possession, thinking
          all is his.

Steeped in ignorance, man claws at the goods of the world with ardent
possessiveness. In the end his ill-gotten gains will remain behind, but the
fruit of the sinful actions will be reaped. On the subject of illusion,
Lord Rama said that whenever the question of "mine" and "yours" comes, that
is illusion. Man is blind and thinks the whole world belongs to him, but
the one whose eye is open knows better.

          Gold, property, money, nothing will leave this world with you.

Man should make a home here--that is necessary--but he should always be
grateful to God and content with what He has given. The blessing resides in
a peaceful temple, where the dhyan is perpetually focused inwardly. All
earnings should come in a righteous way----no one should squeeze the blood
of others for his own benefit. It is said, Ill-gotten, ill-spent. See for
yourself--can those who earn dishonestly live righteously? Their lives are
steeped in all the world's vices. But, a good man's honest earnings can be
of true help to others. Even the Name of God and what is termed
Spirituality are more of a business today than the material business. Kabir
Sahib says, All have forgotten themselves in the stomach's business. The
minister or priest will advise a person to say so many prayers and give so
much in alms, to solve his environmental problems; and is this not
business? You can stand aside and survey what is happening. Preaching was
once the right of Those Who had actually realized the Truth; but now it is
mostly a business, and appears to be a very easy way of earning money. With
a few paid workers to extol the virtues of these preacher-businessmen, and
with a pomp of ceremony of bowing and scraping, the money is collected in.
The world's eye is closed, and so it dances to anyone's tune.

          Listen, foolish innocent mind, your actions will reap their own
          rewards.

The mind must awaken and realize that whatever actions he performs must be
fully paid for. That Great Pen's writing can never be erased. As you sow,
so shall you reap. How can we escape what is written by the pen of the Lord
Himself?. We can escape, if we meet the Maker of all things. First, Guru
Nanak spoke to the body, and now He speaks to the mind, telling it how
entangled it is in outer things. Mind, you are the image of the
Light--realize your value. Instead of this it is stuck fast in the passions
and enjoyments of the senses, making futile attempts to bring permanency to
the body and the world. He should have more thought for himself and his
future; but without becoming a conscious coworker of the Divine Plan, one
cannot get free from this condition.

          Our Emperor is the greatest of all, and We are His Emissaries.

There is only one True Emperor, and Masters are His chosen Emissaries. They
come to the world upon His orders--They come to awaken man. He Who sent you
is calling you back; Return with peace and joy. You have got a golden
opportunity; so return home and enjoy perpetual bliss. You can say we are
all business representatives--but what kind of business? The true business
through which the Lord is realized--through which the Truth can be bought.
Do Satsang; seek the Truth. And love the Guru. What kind of Love is this?
It is obedience. Your actions should all be good. Remember, those actions
which bring you closer to God are right actions. It is clear and simple.
Know yourself and know God.

          The soul and the physical are His; Life and death are subject to
          His will.

You will never truly succeed unless you make something worthwhile of your
life. Every man comes to the world crying and goes on crying all through
life. When he leaves finally, he is crying still. With love, Guru Nanak
reminds us that life and death are in the Lord's hands. Surrender to Him
and gain fight understanding--only then will you get the full benefit from
your life. If you have understood what I have been saying, then live up to
it all. Merely listening to the words will not be of real benefit. Whatever
food is digested will give strength.

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