Bani: Soami Ji
[Listen to me, O soul: your Lord dwells in the inner skies.]
Today’s satsang is based on the
writings of Hazur Soami Ji Maharaj.
By taking the writings of different saints,
I simply want to illustrate that every saint
has the same message, the same teaching to impart.
I always explain that no matter in which
community, religion, country, or time saints come,
they all explain the same method
and technique to worship the Lord.
No saint has ever come to this world
to create a community or a religion,
nor do they come to create strife
between communities, religions, or countries.
They only create love and longing
within us to meet the Lord.
They teach us the way,
the method to worship the Lord
so that we may forever escape from the bondages of this
body and from the suffering of the cycle of death and rebirth.
After the mystics depart, we worldly people
stray very far from their true teachings.
We turn outwards and get trapped
in external rituals and ceremonies.
Some people start to bow before the
sandals and tombs of past mystics,
and some start to worship their writings.
Some create sites of pilgrimage in their remembrance.
Some believe that we can gain salvation by
drinking water from the well that a mystic once used.
Some start walking around the houses they lived in,
or worship the beds they slept on,
believing this to be a means to attain salvation.
The mystics spend their entire lives teaching us
to practice surat shabd, to practise meditation on Nam.
But we never try to practise what they teach us.
Why do we not follow it?
Because we have become so narrow-minded,
under the influence of religious codes of conduct,
that we misuse the teachings of the saints to justify separating
ourselves in to different communities, religions and countries
and we begin to argue with one another.
For what?
To earn a livelihood, to gain respect and fame.
When the teachings of these saints are universal,
and are meant for the entire world,
if we divide these universal teachings into narrow confines –
what greater injustice could we do
to these lovers of the Lord?
If you research the teachings
of any saint with an open mind,
you will find that every saint
has only one message, one teaching.
Hazur Soami Ji Maharaj explains that all of us
in this world want to attain peace and happiness.
But where does our attention
go to find this peace and happiness?
Some try to find happiness in their spouse and children;
some seek it in the honour and prestige
given by community, religion and country;
some seek happiness in money and wealth,
and others seek happiness in
the pleasures of food and drink.
But nobody has yet found permanent peace and happiness
in the faces and objects of this world, nor can they ever do so,
because the faces and objects through which we are trying
to find peace and happiness are all temporary and transient.
Hence the joy that we derive from
these things can only be temporary.
Gradually, all the joy we receive
becomes a cause of sorrow for us,
because beneath every layer of
happiness lies sorrow, fear and worry.
We have a deep fear in our minds that
we may lose the joy the Lord has given us.
When we get married, we feel so elated,
but at the same time,
there is a fear in our mind
that our spouse may turn out to be a
bad person, an alcoholic, or a gambler.
We fear he may be a spendthrift,
or that he may start quarrelling
with the neighbors or start fighting with our parents.
He may become ill, or the Lord may call him back.
As a result of this fear, our house turns into a living hell.
In the same way, we rejoice when our children are born.
We distribute sweets, and our relatives,
friends, and siblings all gather to celebrate.
But we all have experienced how
difficult it is to raise children.
We become worried and anxious
about them day and night.
Sometimes it is difficult to get them
admitted into good schools.
Sometimes they turn out to be unworthy;
sometimes they start taking drugs
or they become alcoholics and gamblers.
Sometimes they drop out of school,
or sometimes, they may have an accident
or get polio or other dangerous diseases.
Some pass away – the Lord calls them back.
Look how that same child now
becomes a source of sorrow for us.
Then we try to find happiness in the intoxication of power.
We are extremely proud when people
take out processions in our honour,
when they praise us, or publish our
pictures and speeches in newspapers.
But the history of those leaders is before us.
There are coups overnight and those leaders are put in jail.
Commissions are appointed to investigate them;
often they are put in front of firing squads.
They are maligned in the media.
That very fame and popularity now
becomes a source of suffering for them.
Then we try to find happiness
through money and wealth.
First we have to go through so much
trouble and hardship to earn our wealth;
we have to sacrifice so many of life’s valuable principles.
Then when we accumulate wealth,
we are anxious and worried day and night
that the stock market may collapse,
that companies may fail, or that
there may be strikes in our mills.
Sometimes friends and associates deceive us;
sometimes we cannot obtain our academic degrees.
There are disputes on sales tax
and raids by income tax authorities.
We are restless with anxiety and worry day and night.
Then when we lose this wealth,
we become completely engulfed in pain and misery.
Sometimes it is spent on doctors’ fees,
sometimes on court cases.
Then we try to find happiness in the intoxication of power.
But we know that we will begin to experience
pain and suffering through this as well.
Next we try to find happiness in the
pleasures of eating meat and drinking alcohol.
We enjoy drinking and eating these things,
but when our bodies have to pay the price through illness,
we then realize whether this was
a source of happiness or of pain.
Why is it that we cannot find permanent
happiness in the faces and objects of this world?
Soami Ji explains,
“My mind, abandon this abode of pleasure and pain.”
God has made this creation from both happiness and sorrow.
Guru Nanak Sahib said the same thing:
“This body has been made as the
township of joy and sorrow.”
God has made this entire creation
an abode of happiness and sorrow.
We cannot find anyone who experiences only sorrow
and does not enjoy even brief periods of happiness,
nor do we find anyone who enjoys happiness
all the time and never has to face any sorrow.
If we spend some time happily,
we are bound to face a brief period of difficulty.
If we spend some time in sorrow,
we will begin to enjoy happiness after some time.
These happy times are due to
virtuous deeds done in past lives,
while difficult times are due to sins
we have committed in past lives.
When our virtues and sins accumulate,
we are given a human birth.
We have to account for both our
good and bad deeds in this human life.
We are happy today because of our past good deeds
and are sad because of our evil deeds.
If we had committed only sins,
we would be burning in hell.
If we had done only good deeds,
we would be sitting in heaven.
It is true that some people have more
virtuous deeds and fewer sins,
and so they appear happier and face less sorrow.
Those who are burdened with more sins
than virtuous deeds appear to suffer more and be less happy.
But each one of us has to go through
happiness and sorrow while in this body.
Saints do not come to make this world a utopia.
If the purpose of saints was to make this
world an abode of happiness,
it surely would have happened by now,
because each community, religion,
and country has had saints of the highest order.
Buddha, Christ, Mohammad Sahib,
Kabir Sahib, Soami Ji,
Guru Nanak Sahib, Dadu Sahib,
and Paltu Sahib have come into this world.
When such elevated souls,
and other great sages and seers,
and then Lord Ram and Lord Krishna
have come to this world,
but it has not yet become an abode of peace,
do we think that we will be able to make
this place into an abode of happiness?
No matter how hard we try to collect
the thorns of this world, we will never succeed.
If, on the other hand, we make an effort
and put on shoes to protect our feet,
then the thorns of the world will not affect us at all.
No one has yet been able to
solve these problems of joy and sorrow,
nor will anyone ever be able to do so.
Saints teach us a way to live life,
a way to worship the Lord,
and by following it we will rise
above both sorrow and happiness.
That is why Soami Ji explains,
“Rise above and attach yourself to Satnam, the true Lord.”
If you wish to attain happiness,
search for the true Nam, the Lord.
I have explained this quote from Guru Nanak Sahib,
“Blessed are they who realize their home, O brother.”
Those who reach their own home attain
permanent peace and happiness.
Where is our own home?
It is where the Lord resides.
So happiness lies in love and devotion,
in becoming one with the Lord.
We certainly can find some happiness in this world,
but only if our attention is focused
on the Lord’s love and devotion.
I have often given the example of a small child
who holds on to his father’s hand and goes to see a fair.
He finds everything in the fair very appealing.
Some stalls are selling sweets, some have
displayed children’s toys, some have twinkling lights.
The child thinks that he is happy
because of all the attractions at the fair.
If, by mistake, the child leaves his father’s finger,
even though all the stalls and attractions are still there,
the child will begin to cry and wail.
He then realizes that he could only enjoy the fair
as long as he was holding his father’s hand.
Who is our Father?
Only the one Lord, the Almighty.
If our attention is absorbed in the Lord’s love and devotion,
we can pass our days with peace
and happiness in the world as well.
If we forget the Lord, then this entire world
will appear to be full of death and misery.
Just think about it – the ones upon whom the Lord
has bestowed everything in the world,
who have been granted every blessing –
they have been given a good life-companion,
good health, respect, money and wealth –
as far as worldly blessings go, they lack nothing.
Yet when they are alone, they find
that they are not happy or at peace.
They lack nothing from a worldly point of view.
Why is this?
This is the natural inclination
of the soul towards its source.
Until we allow the soul to go towards its source,
it cannot attain peace and happiness.
This is why Guru Nanak Sahib stated with conviction,
“O Nanak, the whole world is suffering.
The one who takes the support of Nam alone is happy.”
Everyone in this world is filled
with grief and misery in their own way.
Only those gurmukhs who have taken shelter
in the Lord’s love and devotion are truly happy and at peace.
That is why Baba Farid explains,
“I thought I alone was suffering,
but the whole world is suffering.
When I climbed up and looked around,
I saw this fire in each and every home.”
I had assumed that I was the only
unhappy person in this whole world.
But when I went to the higher regions,
I observed that the rest of the world
is even more unhappier than I.
What problems could Baba Farid have had?
Perhaps the lack of basic needs like food and clothing.
But (he saw that) the entire world is
burning in the fires of desires and cravings.
That is why Guru Sahib explains,
“Those who appear rich are
afflicted with the disease of worry.”
Those who have excessive money and wealth,
businessmen who own a lot of property,
suffer from anxiety and mental depression.
At least we can sleep soundly for 7 or 8 hours at night –
those poor people have to rely on injections for sleep.
Sahjo Bai explains,
“The affluent are unhappy, while the poor
are the very image of agony and pain.”
Those who have excessive money, wealth,
and property are all unhappy.
And a poor person who has no food to eat
or clothes to wear is bound to be unhappy –
so all this explains that everyone
in this world is unhappy.
This is why saints explain,
“Happiness lies neither in living a
householder’s life, nor in renunciation.
Happiness lies in surrendering to the
saints and engaging in contemplation.”
No one will find joy through their children,
their household, or this world,
nor can they find joy by renouncing
everything and going to forests and mountains.
Happiness lies in devotion to the Lord,
in his love and union with him.
This is why Guru Sahib has said,
“To ask for anything else but you, O Lord,
is the greatest of all afflictions.”
O Lord, if we ask for anything in this world besides you,
we are only asking for sorrow and misfortune.
Kabir Sahib says,
“One who needs nothing is the king of kings!”
Who could be a greater king or emperor
than the one who desires absolutely nothing?
Who could be poorer than the one who begs and prays
daily for the Lord to give him more and more?
That is why Soami Ji Maharaj lovingly explains
that if happiness exists,
it is found only through love
and devotion for the Lord.
This is why Soami Ji says,
“Listen to me, O soul: your Lord dwells in the inner skies.”
O soul, you are entangled in the web of maya;
your husband dwells in Sach Khand.
Unless you return home, you will never
become a fulfilled and happy soul-bride;
you will never be free from
the painful cycle of death and rebirth.
If a wife is separated from her husband,
you may present her all kinds of worldly gifts,
but they will give her no joy or satisfaction.
You may keep her in large mansions, adorn her with jewelry,
give her respect, and offer her delicacies to eat,
but all she yearns for is the love and affection
of her husband – to be reunited with him.
Even if the Lord grants us kingship of the entire world,
unless our soul is devoted to him,
unless it is filled with his love,
it will never be happy or at peace.
That is why Soami Ji lovingly explains:
if you want to attain peace and happiness,
you should seek the Lord, worship him,
and attain union with him.
Because you can never attain peace and happiness
without becoming one with the Lord –
that is why every saint kindles
love for the Lord within us.
There are many kinds of benefactors in the world,
but saints and mystics are unique benefactors.
The Great Master used to give a very beautiful example.
There are many prisoners in a jail.
One philanthropist observes that they have
no cold water to drink in the heat of summer.
He spends some money and arranges
for ice and sweet drinks to be served to the prisoners.
He has done a very good deed for the prisoners.
Another well-wisher observes that these
poor prisoners do not get to eat good food.
He spends even more money and arranges for
tasty food and desserts that he distributes amongst them.
He too has done a very good deed for the prisoners,
perhaps better than what the first philanthropist did.
A third benefactor sees that
cold weather is approaching
and that the poor prisoners only
have old, tattered clothes to wear.
Taking pity on them, he spends a lot of money
to arrange for warm clothing that he distributes to them.
Now, all these benefactors are taking pity on the prisoners,
and through their acts of philanthropy,
they are improving the prisoners’ living conditions.
Their condition has improved from a “C”
class standard to an “A” class standard.
But despite all those philanthropic deeds,
the prisoners are still locked behind bars;
they are still treated as prisoners.
A fourth benefactor, who has the keys to the prison,
places the key in the lock and opens the
prison door, releasing the prisoners forever!
So among all these deeds, the most noble deed
was performed by the person who had the keys.
So saints come with the key to free us
from the prison of transmigration.
Which key do they have?
The key of love and devotion for the Lord,
by which they detach our mind
from the love of this world
and attach it to the Lord’s love and devotion.
That is why Soami Ji explains,
“Let us turn homewards, friend –
why linger in this alien land?”
This land is not yours, this community
is not yours, this religion is not yours.
Our land is Sach Khand, our community is
the true Nam, our religion is love for the Lord.
We are like strangers wandering
and struggling in a foreign land.
It is as if somebody were to come from
a foreign land and kidnap a child
and take it back to that foreign land,
where the child is educated and raised.
After studying and growing up there,
he starts a business and gets married.
He begins to think of that country as his country.
He begins to consider those
parents and siblings as his own;
he takes that culture to be his culture.
When a resident of his original country
visits that land and forms a bond of love with him,
that man wins over his confidence and faith.
Over time, the man begins to lovingly explain to him,
“Look, this is not your country.
You are actually from India.
These are not your real parents.
They kidnapped you when you were
a child and brought you here.
Your parents are weeping in separation from you;
your siblings are longing to meet you.”
Curiosity about his original country awakens in him;
love for his parents and siblings awaken in him.
He leaves everything and returns to India with the traveller.
Similarly, saints and mystics also come
to teach us that this creation,
which you consider your true home,
is not your own home.
It is temporary and will perish.
Your relationships with everyone are
based on give and take, on selfish interests.
Your reality is the one Lord, the divine Father.
You have forgotten your reality.
Those with whom you have relationships of give and take
are the ones you have considered as your own,
and you strive to possess them.
You never remember the One
whom you should make your own.
This is why Soami Ji says,
“Get busy with your own real work;
do not get caught up in other people’s affairs.”
You have spent your entire life as a
beast of burden carrying loads for others.
Immersed in others’ work, you have forgotten
the real purpose for which the Lord gave you a human birth.
You never even think of that purpose;
you never pay attention to that objective.
What is that work?
“Hold on to the Guru's Nam,
as Nam is the only wealth that you have to save.”
Go to the lovers of the Lord and devote yourself
to him through the practice of Shabd, of Nam.
That is the only wealth that
you will be able to take with you.
All the rest – no matter how much wealth,
how many precious jewels you accumulate –
it will all be left behind here in the end.
If famous kings and emperors such as
Mahmud of Ghazni could not take their wealth with them,
how can we take the things of this world with us?
If wealth and property could be taken along with us,
how would we be able to inherit
them from our ancestors?
Those people would have booked
them and sent them in advance.
That is why saints awaken us from
our slumber of ignorance, saying,
“Whose attachment and love are you entangled in?
You should seek your true origin
and go back and merge into it.”
[Listen to me, O soul: your Lord dwells in the inner skies.]
[Abandon the company of this paramour
and behold the refulgence of your Lord within.]
He explains: O soul, if you wish
to see the refulgence of your Beloved,
if you want to see the radiance of your Beloved,
the first thing you need to do is
leave the company of your mind.
Unless you leave the company of the mind,
you cannot realize yourself,
nor can you realize your true essence.
Because our soul is a particle of the Lord,
we are drops of the divine ocean of Satnam, the true Nam.
Kabir Sahib explained,
“Says Kabir: the soul is a particle of the Lord.”
Our soul is a particle of the Lord.
We have been separated from the Lord
and are entangled in the web of maya.
Upon coming here, our soul has
taken on the company of the mind.
The mind, in turn, enjoys the pleasure
of the senses, physical indulgences,
vices and passions, the pleasures of food and drink,
and conflicts of community, religion and country.
Our soul has to bear the consequences
of all the actions we do under the sway of the mind.
Soami Ji has referred to this world as a ‘land of actions’.
Guru Sahib also refers to it as a ‘field of actions’,
because whatever we sow in the ground is what we will reap.
If we sow chilies, we will have to collect a harvest of chilies.
If we plant mangoes, we will enjoy the fruit of mangoes.
Soami Ji explains,
“You will have to suffer the consequences of all your actions.”
If you do good deeds, you will return
to enjoy the fruits of those actions.
If you do bad deeds, you will return
to face their consequences.
Good deeds will not release you
from the bondages of the body,
nor will bad deeds help you escape
the pain of death and rebirth.
If you have done virtuous deeds,
you will come back as kings or emperors,
as leaders in your communities, religions, and countries.
Iron fetters will be replaced with golden ones.
You will become “A” class prisoners
from “C” class prisoners.
From huts you will move into mansions;
brooms will be replaced by the reins of authority.
At best, you will enjoy the delights
of heavens and paradises,
but even these last only for a certain
length of time, a limited period.
After that, you will have to return
to the prison of transmigration.
And if we commit evil deeds, then hell and
the cycle of transmigration are ready and waiting for us!
Whether kings or subjects, rich or poor, male or female –
all human beings are simply paying off karma.
Because of our karmas, no matter where we take birth,
we all will experience pain and suffering.
We cannot find peace and happiness in any life form.
What to say about lower species – our very being trembles –
we cannot even fathom their plight!
Look at the human form, which we call the ‘top of the creation’ –
sages refer to it as the human form in which God resides –
Someone is suffering from illness,
someone from unemployment;
some are unhappy because they have no children;
others are unhappy because of their children.
Some are unhappy because they are indebted;
others are unhappy because they
have to collect debts from others.
Look at the condition of the poor,
who are living on the streets.
Listen to the pathetic stories of prisoners in jail.
Listen to the wailing of people in hospitals –
There is only pain and suffering in this world.
We get no respite from the perpetual conflicts
among communities, religions, and countries.
How many poor people are murdered,
how many women are widowed,
how many children are orphaned!
When this is our condition, where we don’t know
when and where death will come and at whose hand;
where we are struggling for food and clothing.
How will we ever be able to find peace and happiness
in this human form under these conditions?
And if we cannot find happiness in this human birth,
then in which other birth can we possibly find happiness?
That is why Soami Ji Maharaj lovingly explains here
that as long as we are separated from God,
wherever we take birth we will only
experience misery and suffering.
So unless the soul forsakes the company of the mind,
it will never become capable of recognizing its true self.
That is why Socrates said, “Know thyself.”
The first step is for you to realize yourself.
Guru Nanak Sahib says,
“Pure are the ones who have realized themselves.”
Those beings who have become worthy
of realizing themselves are pure and immaculate.
When do we realize ourselves?
When we go beyond the realm of mind and maya,
when the knot of our soul and mind is untied,
when all the impure coverings of the soul are removed.
The soul is pure and immaculate, but due
to the company of the mind, it becomes soiled.
Water in the clouds is pure and clean,
but when it falls to the ground as rain, it becomes filthy.
It stagnates, it smells bad, and eventually
identifies itself as part of the dirt.
When it receives the heat of the sun,
it evaporates and leaves behind the dirt.
Then it realizes, “I am a separate entity,
the mud is a separate entity.
I had unnecessarily associated with dirt
and had become a part of that dirt.”
Then it looks towards its source
and sees the clouds in the sky,
and directly returns to merge into the clouds.
This is the condition of all our souls.
This soul is a particle of the Lord,
but it has gotten entangled in the web of illusion.
And under the sway of the mind, it has been ensnared
in sensual pleasures and has completely forgotten itself.
So whatever means and technique we adopt should be
aimed at untying the knot of the mind and soul,
helping the soul leave the company of the mind.
In other words, if there is an obstacle
between the soul and the Lord, it is the mind.
That is why Soami Ji explained,
“Those who have subdued their mind are truly brave.
This mind is a formidable enemy
within you, and difficult to overcome.”
History is full of stories of the brave
and valiant warriors of this world,
but Soami Ji says that the one who gains
control over his mind is even braver than they.
And this formidable enemy,
the mind, is within our body.
If our enemy were outside, we could
come up with hundred ways to defeat it.
We could install security, fortify our homes,
or hide away in forts, forests, or mountains.
But this enemy sits within us;
we have no idea when it will deceive us.
It could become an enemy and start to frighten us;
it could become a friend and lead us astray.
This is why Guru Sahib explains,
“O Nanak, conquer your own mind
and you will conquer the world.”
If you subdue the mind, you will win
over the creator of the entire world.
After all, it is under the sway of this mind
that brothers have become each other’s foes,
that communities have become each other’s enemies,
that religions have become each other’s rivals,
and countries have become each other’s opponents.
Every day you read and you hear on the radio
how people have become thirsty for each other’s blood.
Who is making us dance to its tune?
It is the mind making us dance to its tune.
Unless we subdue the mind
and make it pure and immaculate,
our soul will never be capable
of returning and merging with the Lord.
Now, according to our own understanding,
each one of us in this world attempts
countless ways to subdue the mind.
As you know, we do austerities and penances;
we worship, pray and give in charity.
We abandon our homes and hide in forests and mountains.
We visit temples, mosques, gurdwaras, and churches daily;
we attend satsangs and read scriptures.
Sometimes we pierce our ears,
grow matted hair, smear ash on our bodies.
Sometimes we renounce our children
and hide in forests and mountains;
sometimes we go on pilgrimages
and take dips in holy water.
We try all these different
techniques to control the mind.
We try to withdraw our mind from
the world through force or discipline.
But extricating the mind from the world
by force is like capturing a snake in a basket.
As long as the snake is confined
to the basket, we are safe from its bite,
but we constantly fear for our life –
we do not know when the snake will escape
from the basket and bite us, as it is a creature of habit.
But if we catch hold of that snake
and remove its sac of poison,
it becomes harmless and we can
even drape it around our neck all day.
By hiding in forests and mountains,
reading scriptures, and visiting temples and mosques,
we feel that our mind has become pure and immaculate,
but the same desires and wishes
remain buried deep within,
and as soon as the mind exerts its force,
it makes us dance to its tune again.
In fact, our condition starts to become
even worse than that of a normal human being.
The more we try to suppress something,
the more it reacts and rebounds.
This is why saints explain to us that you cannot
control the mind permanently through forced discipline.
You can only get a little temporary
relief from the mind that way.
Trying to control the mind by force is like
handing a crook over to the police –
as long as he remains in police custody,
we are safe from his antics.
But as soon as he is released by the police,
he returns to his neighborhood
and goes back to his old ways.
If instead of handing him over to the police,
we counsel him to reform and become a good man,
we will be permanently spared
from his misdemeanours.
This is why saints tell us how we can
make the mind pure and immaculate:
First of all, we have to research
the nature of the mind.
We find that our mind is fond of pleasure.
If we fall in love with one thing,
and we see another that is more attractive,
we let go of the first and chase the second.
There is no attachment or love in this world
that can permanently captivate our mind.
The face or object that we were once
willing to sacrifice our life for, in order to own it–
there comes a time when our mind
starts to hate those very faces.
In our childhood we love our parents deeply.
We would cry if they left the house even for a few minutes.
This love for our parents slowly shifts to our siblings
and we begin to forget our parents.
The same love shifts to our friends
when we go to school and college.
Once we get married, it shifts to our spouse and children.
When we get even older, it spreads out
to our communities, religions, and countries.
It is the same one love that takes so many forms.
No one love can permanently hold our attention.
That is why saints explain to us that until
our mind finds a higher and purer love,
it will never be willing to leave
the love and attachment of this world.
What is that pleasure, that love, which – on its attainment –
causes our mind to relinquish its attachment to this world?
Guru Nanak Sahib explained,
“By acquiring God's Nam, the mind is satiated;
without Nam, life is accursed.”
This mind hankers after the vices and passions
of this world like a restless deer.
When you offer it the sweet elixir of Nam within,
it gets filled with contentment and satisfaction.
If there is any way to control the mind,
it is solely through the practice of Shabd, of Nam.
Soami Ji explains,
“A million other methods will fail to tame the mind;
it will submit only by listening to that Melody.”
No matter what methods you adopt or
how many attempts you make,
until the mind connects to Shabd, to Nam,
it will not become pure and immaculate.
Guru Nanak Sahib explained,
“If man merges in Shabd, his mind becomes pure, O saints.
Such worship becomes acceptable to the Lord.”
When you practise meditation on Shabd, on Nam,
the mind will become pure and immaculate.
This is the true worship of the Lord,
and it is through this worship that you can
return to God and unite with Him.
That is why saints lovingly explain that
if you want to open the knot that
has tied the mind and soul together,
you have to attach your mind within to Shabd, to Nam.
That is why Guru Sahib explains,
“By realizing the essence of Shabd, one understands oneself.”
Those who experience the sweetness of the Shabd within
become worthy of realizing themselves.
Guru Sahib further explains,
“Those who are attuned to the Shabd within realize themselves;
they alone attain the supreme state of liberation.”
Those who attune to the Shabd within and realize themselves –
they attain an exalted state; they gain a true understanding
of what it means to unite with the Lord.
“The mind enters the state of deep samadhi
and their light merges into the divine Light.”
Their mind returns to its home in Brahm, in Trikuti.
Their flame merges into the supreme Light.
The knot between the soul and mind is untied;
the mind returns to its source,
and the soul returns to its source.
The soul was always pure and immaculate,
but it has become impure due to its association with the mind.
You see, a needle is always attracted towards the magnet.
But if you keep a stone over the needle,
the needle becomes helpless and
cannot move towards the magnet.
If you take away the weight of the stone,
it automatically moves to the magnet.
In the same way, the soul – because
it is a particle of that Lord – is filled with love, adoration,
yearning, longing, and the pain of being separated from Him.
However, it is held down by the weight of the mind and karma.
When we remove this weight by meditating on Shabd,
the soul becomes pure and automatically unites with the Lord.
That is why Soami Ji Maharaj explains here:
O soul, if you want to see the refulgence of your Beloved,
if you wish to see His radiance,
first discard the company of the mind.
The only way to discard the company of the mind
is through the practice of Shabd, of Nam.
How can we meditate on Nam?
He explains in the lines ahead.
[Abandon the company of this paramour
and behold the refulgence of your Lord within.]
[Follow your Guru, O soul, and you will reach the eternal home.]
He explains that if you want to taste the sweetness of the Shabd,
if you want to attach your mind to Shabd,
take the refuge of a gurmukh, a saint.
Whenever our mind gets attached to the Shabd, to the Nam,
it is only through a gurmukh, through a saint.
That is why the fifth Guru explained,
“One whose home it is has locked it up
and given the key to the Guru.
One may make all sorts of efforts, but it cannot
be obtained without the sanctuary of the true Guru.”
The Lord who has created us has kept
the wealth of Nam for us within this body.
He has entrusted the knowledge
of this mystery to the gurmukhs.
No matter how hard we try to understand this
through our mind and intellect, we can never succeed –
“It cannot be obtained without the sanctuary of the true Guru." 
We must seek the refuge of a gurmukh.
So to meditate on Shabd,
we have to keep the company of a gurmukh.
That is why Soami Ji explains:
“The Master says explicitly: attach yourself
to the unstruck music of Shabd.
Other than Shabd, there is no way
to break free from the vessel of the body.”
Without practising meditation on Shabd, on Nam –
no matter what other methods you may adopt,
you cannot escape from the bondages of the body.
So we have to go to the gurmukhs and
connect our attention to that Shabd, that Nam.
Gurmukhs are not going to place anything inside us –
that wealth has already been placed
inside us by the Lord, for our benefit.
The gurmukhs point us towards it; they explain to us
how to attach our attention within to Shabd, to Nam.
I discuss the subject of Shabd and Nam every day.
Shabd or Nam is of two kinds: one is descriptive
and the other is the melodious Nam.
Descriptive names are those we have used for God,
out of our love for Him,
such as Allah, Waheguru, Hari Om
or Radha Soami, Supreme Lord, etc.
These names that we have used
out of our love are all descriptive.
Guru Nanak Sahib has called these “descriptive words,”
as they can be written, read, and spoken.
There are so many different countries
with so many different languages,
and in each language, we use different words to remember God.
Out of love, a mother uses
many different names to address her child,
but the relationship between a mother and child
is not one of words – it is one of devotion and love.
She can remember her child by any name.
Similarly, the relationship of the soul and the Lord
is one of devotion and love; it is not one of words.
We can remember the Lord by any name.
That love is what the Saints refer to as the melodious Nam.
Guru Nanak Sahib has referred to it as the true Nam,
which cannot be written, read or spoken.
The Great Master used to call it
“the Unwritten Law and Unspoken Language.”
Christ explained:
“Having eyes ye see not, having ears ye hear not.”
Despite having eyes, you cannot see;
despite having ears, you cannot hear.
Guru Nanak Sahib says,
“To see without eyes, to hear without ears,
to walk without feet, to work without hands,
and to speak without tongue.
Thus one remains dead while alive.
O Nanak, understanding His hukam,
one meets the husband-Lord.”
How will you meet the Lord?
By connecting to that divine hukam,
you will unite with the Lord.
That Shabd – which your eyes can never see,
your tongue can never utter,
your ears cannot hear, your hands and feet cannot reach,
which is beyond writing, reading and speaking –
whose history cannot be traced,
whose time period cannot be determined –
that is something we have to attain by dying while living.
Dying while living means to withdraw the attention
from the nine doors of the body and focus it behind the eyes.
Saints have commonly referred to this as dying while living.
Whenever somebody dies, their feet start to go cold first,
then their legs and upper body.
The soul is still in the body and the person is still conscious.
When the soul collects and withdraws to the eyes,
it leaves the body.
And we say, “He has passed away.”
We have to connect our attention
to the Shabd through the same process.
Through simran and dhyan – I will refer to it in detail later –
we have to withdraw our attention from the nine doors
and collect it behind the eyes.
Then we can enjoy the sweetness of that Shabd, of Nam.
That is why Guru Sahib said,
“In this body are countless things, but one sees them
only if one realizes the Truth through the Guru.”
Our body is not merely made of bones, flesh, and blood.
It is not just a five- or six-foot puppet of clay.
The Lord has placed immeasurable treasures
and wealth inside it.
In fact, He has seated himself inside it.
He has also placed inside us the way that leads to him.
And He has entrusted the knowledge
of this mystery to saints and mystics.
We will only understand these matters
when we find a true devotee or lover of the Lord.
What do they explain?
“There are nine doors in the body, the tenth leads to liberation.”
Below the eyes lies the enjoyment of the senses, passions,
and vices – the pleasures of food and drink –
but liberation is not found there.
The doorway to our home lies behind the eyes.
What is the sign of that door?
“There resounds the ceaseless Shabd.”
The endless Melody resounds at that door.
How can anyone enter his house
before finding the door?
Someone who wishes to enter a fort
first has to look for its entrance.
He can only enter if he finds the door and opens it.
We have to go to our true home, where the Lord resides.
Guru Sahib and the saints explain that
the door to this home lies behind our eyes.
This is the door we have to open.
Christ explained,
“Knock, it shall open; seek, and ye shall find.”
Knock persistently on the door until it opens.
What does knocking mean?
Through simran and dhyan,
repeatedly collect your attention behind the eyes
so that the door to your home opens, and your faculty
to see (nirat) and faculty to hear (suart) awakens.
So that your third eye, your single eye opens:
“Seek, and ye shall find”.
Then you will find the way home.
Travel on that spiritual path and
you will arrive at your destination.
So that is what Guru Sahib and Soami Ji are explaining here;
the descriptive words are all left behind, below the eyes.
That true Shabd, that true Nam, is behind the eyes.
That is why saints and mystics call this ‘dying while living’.
So we have to relish the sweetness
of that Shabd, that Nam, from within.
As I have explained, it has Sound and it has Melody,
and it also has light and radiance.
The Shabd or Nam that saints praise
is not limited to spoken and written words.
The melodious sound emanates from it;
it shines with luminous refulgence.
Saints and mystics extol its glory in our scriptures;
we discuss this in satsangs;
but that Shabd is within our body.
In our scriptures, temples, mosques and gurdwaras –
it is discussed, its praises are sung,
but the real essence is not found there.
We find it within this body.
That is why Bhikha Ji explains:
“No one is poor, O Bhikha; all have rubies in their bundle,
but because they do not know how to
untie the knot, they remain paupers.”
The Lord has made no one bereft;
he has put the wealth of Nam within everyone.
However, we do not know the method of going within
and so we stumble about in this world like beggars.
That wealth is within everybody – but how can we enter within?
We learn this from gurmukhs, saints, and mystics.
That is why Soami Ji explains:
O mind, if you want to obtain the sweetness of Nam,
if you wish to become pure and immaculate,
if you want to return to your origin in Brahm, in Trikuti,
then seek the refuge of a gurmukh;
seek his company and association.
[Follow your Guru, O soul, and you will attain the eternal home.]
[Seek refuge in such a sadh who will
grant you shelter in Shabd’s abode.]
What type of mystic should we search for?
He who himself meditates on Shabd, on Nam,
and who attaches our attention to Shabd and Nam as well.
Guru Nanak Sahib explains,
“Sanctified and pure are those true beings
who enshrine love for Shabd.”
Those who remove their attachment
and love from this entire world
and attune it to that one Shabd
become pure and immaculate themselves;
they also connect our attention to the Shabd
and make us pure and immaculate forever.
Guru Sahib explains,
“Serving the liberated ones, liberation is achieved,
and Shabd eradicates egotism and attachment.”
Those who remove ego and attachment from within
by meditating on Shabd, on Nam – they attain liberation.
When we go into their company,
they attach our attention to that Shabd
and dispel our ego and attachment,
making us liberated like themselves.
That is why Guru Sahib says we have to find a mystic
who practises Shabd, who is Shabd personified.
We have to surrender to him.
Leaving the path of the mind,
we have to walk the path taught by him.
That is why Soami Ji explains,
“Take refuge in the Master, dear soul;
he will pay your karmic toll.”
Until we settle our karmic account,
we cannot go beyond the realm of Kal.
And in order to settle our karmic account,
we have to take refuge with a Master.
We have to unconditionally surrender to him.
We have to walk the path shown by him.
This is what Guru Sahib explains:
“Receiving his blessed darshan, all sins are erased,
and he unites us with the Lord.”
We have to surrender over to the Satguru,
so that our account of sins can be settled,
and we can go back and merge into the Lord.
That is why Soami Ji explains that we have
to go to a saint and follow his teachings.
We should not worship God
by following the dictates of the mind;
we have to worship God
by following the teachings of the Master.
The mind pulls us outward and
entangles us in rituals and ceremonies.
Gurmukhs always connect us to that Shabd, that Nam within.
[Seek refuge in such a sadh who will
grant you shelter in Shabd’s abode.]
[This body is a cage that belongs to Kal –
why do you desire something that belongs to another?]
Now Soami Ji explains about the body.
All the relationships and connections we have
with the world are due to our body.
As long as we inhabit the body, our children, relations, friends,
siblings, parents, properties, communities,
religions, and countries all seem to be ours.
We believe all of these to be our own,
or at the very least, we try to make them our own.
When we leave the body,
we have no relationship with any of them.
Soami Ji says that due to this body,
you consider these worldly faces and objects as yours;
and so, day and night, you attempt to possess them.
But he asks: have you ever reflected
on whether this body is truly yours?
This is a cage of Kal, it is a rented house,
and it belongs to someone else.
Some have it for sixty to seventy years,
some for eighty to ninety years.
Once we have completed the number of breaths
the Lord has blessed us with,
we will have to leave the body here.
It has never gone with anyone yet,
nor will it ever do so.
Someone’s body is consigned to flames
and someone’s body is buried in the earth.
That is why mystics explain that
you should reflect on the objective and purpose
for which the Lord has given you the human form.
Why has the Lord blessed us with this opportunity?
He has given it to us for His worship and union.
Whatever we see with these eyes is
a vast prison house of transmigration.
There is only one door to escape from this jail.
What is that door? It is the human form.
This is why the Lord gives it to us –
so that while we are in the body,
we may strive to adopt a way
to escape from the bondage of the body.
That is why Soami Ji explains:
“Now that you have been given this human form,
strive to accomplish your own task.
Both body and home are unreal;
think of it as a night’s dream.”
This is the reason that the Lord
has bestowed this human form upon you –
so that while you are in it,
you can do something for yourself.
Let us not become beasts of burden and
carry others’ burden throughout our life.
This body will not accompany you,
nor will all your wealth, properties, and mansions.
This is all like a night time dream.
A dream lasts for five to six hours;
life lasts for sixty, seventy or eighty years.
While we are in a dream,
we do not realize it is a dream.
It is only when we wake up that we realize,
“This was just a dream!”
Similarly, we will only come to know the reality of life
when the messengers of death stand before us,
and we think: Oh my! My entire life has gone by
and I did not even realize what was happening!
So this is also like a dream.
That is why Guru Nanak Sahib explains:
“The body is a beauteous township in which
the business of God's nectar is transacted.”
Your body is a very beautiful place, because in this body,
you can make a bargain to get the Lord.
But our thoughts never go
towards the true transaction we should make.
We are too involved in passions and vices,
the pleasures of food and drink;
we are involved in conflicts of communities,
religions, and countries.
That is why Soami Ji says you should
keep your objective before your eyes,
seek your destination, and complete your spiritual journey.
You do not know whether you will
get a human form again or not.
Even if you do, you may be born in a place
where even by mistake you won’t remember the Lord.
“Go from this home to that home.
Attach your consciousness to the Melody now.”
Soami Ji explains that while the Lord has
given you the opportunity of a human form,
you should seek your true home –
that true home where the Lord resides.
How are we to go from this home to that home?
By holding on to Shabd, on to Nam.
That is why saints remind us that the
very purpose of the human birth is to meet the Lord.
This body and the organs of this body
send us warnings while we are still alive.
We know that our eyesight starts to weaken,
our throat gets filled with phlegm;
we lose our sense of taste, our memory begins to fade,
we cannot digest our food, our legs cannot bear our weight,
and we cannot walk without someone’s support or a cane.
Our face becomes wrinkled; we drag our feet while walking.
This is nature cautioning us: “Your end is approaching!
Complete what you should do while in the human form,
so that you won’t have any regrets at the end.
That is why Guru Sahib explained,
“Whosoever misses the opportunity in this birth
suffers the woes of coming and going.”
This human life is the last rung of the ladder;
with a little effort, you will reach the roof of your house.
But if you slip on the last step,
you will fall all the way to the bottom.
Kabir Sahib explains:
“Rare is the human birth.
It is not obtained again and again;
just as ripe fruit, once fallen,
cannot be rejoined to its branch.”
Just as when a ripe fruit falls from the tree,
we can never re-attach it to the tree,
no matter how hard we may try.
Similarly, we will not get this opportunity
of a human life again and again.
That is why saints caution that each of us
should make the most of this opportunity.
[This body is a cage that belongs to Kal –
why do you desire something that belongs to another?]
[The noose of the pleasures of the ten senses
has been placed around your neck.]
He explains that we always remain entangled
in the indulgences of the ten senses.
There are five sensory organs and five motor organs.
Allowing the mind to be trapped by
the pleasure of the senses is,
in reality, like putting a noose
around our neck with our own hands.
We cry and wail when we get choked,
but nobody will pay attention to our pleas and cries of pain.
That is why Soami Ji cautions us:
Remove your mind from the enjoyment of these senses.
How can we remove it?
Through simran and dhyan,
by keeping it connected to Shabd.
Because it is through simran and dhyan
that our mind spreads out into the world.
So it is also through simran and dhyan that we have to
collect it and bring it back behind the eyes.
We have to do Simran as taught by the Master.
We have to contemplate on the form of the Master.
When our mind focuses behind the eyes,
it automatically begins to enjoy
the sweetness of Shabd, of Nam.
The more the mind starts to relish
the sweetness of Shabd from within,
the more it automatically withdraws from the senses,
from the negative tendencies and
the enjoyment of food and drink.
Guru Sahib explains,
“The Guru’s Shabd is the sweet, supreme nectar,
but it cannot be relished without tasting it.”
That Shabd, to which the gurmukhs attach our mind,
is sweet beyond measure.
That sweetness is beyond description.
But they also explain that it has to be experienced;
its sweetness must be tasted,
it cannot be discussed or expressed.
No language can describe it.
That is why Guru Sahib says:
“The Nam of the Lord is sweet nectar.”
That Nam is sweet ambrosia.
It is sweet, because our love for our children,
the conflicts between communities, religions, and countries,
and the desire for wealth that seem sweet to us now –
all this will seem insipid
once we taste the sweetness of Nam.
When someone obtains diamonds and precious jewels,
why would he wander around begging for worthless trinkets?
Girls play with dolls only until they grow up and get married.
So our attachment to Shabd, to Nam,
automatically begins to detach us from the world.
This is why Soami Ji lovingly explains:
through simran and bhajan, first withdraw your attention
from these sensual indulgences and attune it to the Shabd.
Only then you will begin to experience some respite and joy.
[The noose of the pleasures of the ten senses
has been placed around your neck.]
[You are tied down to the nine apertures;
you have no respite even for a moment]
He explains – as long as your mind
descends from behind the eyes
and spreads through the nine portals into the world,
you can never attain happiness or peace,
even if you are given kingship over the entire world.
I have already explained in detail in the beginning,
that as we indulge in sense pleasures, they are
consuming us and we are consuming them.
Slowly, all that appears to give us happiness turns into sorrow.
That is why Soami Ji lovingly explains
that there is no happiness here –
the happiness that these things offer is only temporary.
Behind every moment of happiness
lurk misery, anxiety, worry and fear.
That is why all our happiness turns into misery.
[You are tied down to the nine apertures;
you have no respite even for a moment.]
[Open the tenth window, dear soul, and revel in ultimate bliss.]
He explains that if you want happiness, you will not obtain it
unless you close these nine doors that open outwards.
Close these doors and open the inner window!
Close the nine doors; open the tenth door inwards.
Open this door to your home,
then you will find the path leading home.
Travel that path and complete your spiritual journey;
only then will you finally experience some respite and happiness.
We will get happiness by connecting to the Shabd, to Nam.
That is why Guru Sahib explains,
“By fixing one's attention on the divine Shabd,
one is filled with happiness;
imbued with the Lord, one experiences sublime joy.”
By attuning your soul to the Shabd, you will be dyed
in the colour of the Lord’s love and devotion.
Then you will finally experience some respite and happiness.
Now, as long as we are below the eye centre,
what colour are we dyed in?
We are dyed in the colour of our love for our children;
we are steeped in the colour of conflicts
in our communities, religions, and countries,
we are dyed in the hue of the pleasures of food and drink.
As long as our mind is steeped in these colours,
we will never attain happiness or peace.
[Open the tenth window, dear soul, and revel in ultimate bliss.]
[Whatever the true Master says,
accept his words with implicit faith.]
Having explained everything, Soami Ji now states:
whatever I have already explained about
the practice of surat Shabd – about worshipping the Lord –
are not unusual things that I have made up on my own.
I have not come with a new way to worship the Lord,
nor am I presenting a shortcut.
Every saint and mystic who has come into the world till now
has explained the same method to meet the Lord.
Read the writings of any saint with
an unbiased mind, carefully research them.
They all explain this same technique, this same method.
There is only one way to worship the Lord
and it will never change.
That is why Guru Nanak Sahib explains:
“Through the true Shabd one obtains true honour.
Without Nam, no one attains emancipation.
Without the true Guru no one unites with Nam.
Such is the system that the Lord has established.”
By meditating on the true Shabd,
you will be able to attain true honour;
you will get the honor of union with the Lord.
Without the practice of Nam, you can never attain salvation.
Without a gurmukh, you cannot meditate on Nam.
Why do we have to follow this path?
Guru Sahib says that the Lord himself
has created this method to unite with Him.
It is not as if He had a different path 500 to 600 years ago,
and that now He has established a different one.
Christ explained the same thing in the New Testament,
that ever since this world came into being,
and as long as it continues to exist,
there will only be one path to meet the Lord.
Nothing can be decreased or increased in the teachings,
nor can they be changed in any way.
That is why Guru Sahib explains:
“There is only one Command and
there is only one supreme King,
In each and every age he links each to their tasks.”
The Lord is One, He is eternal,
He is the Emperor, the Giver of all.
Saints and mystics are His representatives who come
to the world with His hukam or Command.
They proclaim and teach the hukam.
There is one cosmic law for the entire creation
which saints proclaim and spread.
Then they go and merge back into the hukam, into the Lord.
Saints and mystics have always existed
in the world and will continue to do so.
That is why Guru Sahib says:
“The true Guru's spiritual lineage runs through all the ages.”
Saints and mystics come in every age.
Mystics say,
“If the saints were not there in this world,
it would burn to ashes.”
Thus, Soami Ji explains that ever since this creation
came into being, and as long as it shall last,
this is the way the Lord
has designed for us to return to Him.
This can never change.
Read the writings of any saint.
They teach the same method
to meditate on Shabd, on Nam.
They all teach the same thing – that there is one Lord
who dwells within your body.
The way to unite with the Lord is also within your body.
If the Lord is one, and He resides within the body,
and the way to meet Him lies within the body,
then how could the Lord have different ways
for Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims?
For those who seek Him within the human body,
there is only one way.
But for those who seek Him through
external observances, rituals, and ceremonies –
they may have their own different ways.
That is why Soami Ji explains that if,
with an unbiased mind,
we study the teachings of all the true masters
who have come to this world,
we will find that they have all imparted
the same message, the same teachings.
[Whatever the true Master says,
accept his words with implicit faith.]
[Contemplate on Nam, says Radha Soami;
then the burden of your karmas will be eliminated.]
I have explained this previously on many occasions that
Radha Soami is not the name of any community or religion,
nor has Soami Ji Maharaj tried to create
a community or religion, nor should we ever try
and confine his noble and lofty teachings
to any community or religion.
Just as other saints have called the Lord
by different names out of their love,
similarly, Soami Ji Maharaj has called the Lord “Radha Soami”.
‘Radha’ means soul and ‘Soami’ means Lord.
Saints have often used the word ‘Soami’
to refer to the Lord.
Guru Nanak Ji Maharaj also said,
“O my sublime, unfathomable infinite Lord.”
Whose Lord is He? He is the Lord of the soul.
So Soami Ji added the word ‘Radha’ which means ‘soul’ to it.
This is not the name of any community or religion;
it is simply the name of the Lord.
That is why Soami Ji says – meditate on the true Nam
of the Lord so that you can settle your karmic account,
because we will only be able to settle our karmic account
through the practice of Shabd, of Nam.
Guru Sahib explained,
“The immaculate Nam is implanted within.”
When you meditate on Nam,
your soul will become pure and immaculate.
When your karmic account is settled,
the knot between the mind and soul will be untied.
We become capable of realizing our self,
we become capable of realizing the Lord.
So it behooves us to take advantage of his teachings,
and while sitting, standing, walking and moving about,
we should keep our attention fixed in Shabd, in Nam.
[Contemplate on Nam, says Radha Soami;
then the burden of your karmas will be eliminated.]
