Sant Bani Magazine The Voice of the Saints January 1999, Volume 23,Number 7
Sant Bani Magazine The Voice of the Saints January 1999 - Volume 23, Number 7
"Master Never Dies" Sant Ajaib Singh Ji rr S G I ~ S CofIM17rcl1 I I ~ 2, 1982
No Better Opportunity Sant Ajaib Singh Ji Meditatiorr trrlks Febmrrry 1996
Climbing the Ladder of Love Sant Ajaib Singh Ji questions nnd nt~sa~crs Deccm bcr 1, 1981
"Master Never Dies" Sant Ajaib Singh Ji After coming He cooled the heated hearts by showering the Rain of Naam. The t m e Satguru has come to remove the pains of the szffering ones. have always said that before taking refuge in any Saint, before going to any Master, you should know the life story of that Mahatma, that Saint. You should know how much yearning and longing He had for the devotion of God and how hard He worked in the search for God. What did He do when He was searching for God? And after meeting the Master Saint, what did He do? What fruits did He achieve, or what success did He get, in the Path of the Masters? It is very important for us to know about all these things before we take anyone as the Master, because we can know the qualities of the tree only by eating the fruit of that tree. Only a sick person appreciates the doctor. The person who is suffering from a disease appreciates the
This Satsang, on one of Sant Ji's own bhajans, was given March 2, 1982, in Rajasthan, India. January 1999
doctor more than a healthy person. Similarly, one who has the yearning to realize God has more appreciation for God than those people who don't have any yearning for Him. Right from my childhood I was fond of writing poetry and singing bhajans. And when I met Master then also I got a lot of opportunities to sing to Him. He never allowed me to sit in front of Him and sing to Him. He always made me sit right next to Him on the dais, but still from there I would sing bhajans to Him. But because I spent my life in the meditation I did not take good care of all the poetry and the songs I wrote. Either I sang the bhajans to the Master directly and did not write them down, or if I noted them down in writing I did not preserve or take good care of them. The bhajan which the Dear Ones sang yesterday, Aj Shzrb Diharda E, which means, "Today is an auspicious day," I wrote that bhajan, in fact, I sang that bhajan to my Master when He first came to my place. In my life, I understand that minute, or second, when I met Almighty, Omnipotent, Master Kirpal [as the most auspicious] moment.
When anyone sings that bhajan, I remember the time when I sang that bhajan to my Master. In the end of that bhajan it says that he who has forgotten or left the Master has not achieved any happiness. I had the yearning and longing to meet that Anaami Kirpal right from my childhood. I had that desire to realize Him in my within right from my childhood and I searched for Him everywhere. I went in the forest; I went In the mountains. I went everywhere. I even tried to find Him in the idols, in the temples. There was no place left where I did not wander in order to search for Him. This is true that first of all Baba Sawan Singh Ji assured me that the time would come when He would make me do the seva. He told me that the Power Who will give me the grace, will come to my house by Himself. Baba Bishan Das also assured my broken heart; He told me, "You will get the real thing, and the Person who will give you that thing will come to you by Himself." So this is the blessing and grace of those great souls that the Shabd came in the Form of Kirpal and met me and quenched my thirst. That is why I am so grateful and thankful to my Beloved Master Kirpal. In fact He is God who came in the body of Kirpal to quench my thirst. This bhajan was written when Beloved Master Kirpal showered
His inner grace on this poor Ajaib. He closed my eyes to the world and opened my eyes internally. In this bhajan I have expressed my yearning and longing and gratefulness to Him. This bhajan shows how much gratefulness and longing I had for Him. In those days Ganganagar was a dry area because we did not have many canals here. There were no good sources of water and that is why almost all year it would remain dry. People used to bring water from twenty miles away because the water was so scarce in this area. People used to appreciate water so much that whenever they got any water they became very happy. They would store that water because they were not sure when they would get water again. Bhagat Naam Dev has also mentioned the scarcity of water in this area in His bani. He writes, "As the people in Marvar appreciate the water, in the same way, within my heart I have the appreciation for the Almighty Lord." (Rajasthan is also called by the name Marvar.) In Rajasthan there was a saying that if anyone greets you it means that he is expecting some water from you. Now also if we go to Punjab or some other place they taunt us. saying, "These people are from that place where they don't even serve water to the people." But how could people give water to the other people. when they SANT BANI
didn't have even enough for themselves? Nowadays there are so many clouds and a lot of rain also comes here. The land is green now because so many crops are growing because of the water from the canals. In the olden days when people used to see even a little cloud they would all come out from their houses and watch the cloud as if they were seeing something very precious. If the people got a little bit of rain they would become so happy that they would give donations and do good things for the poor people. They would express their gratitude to Almighty God. They would say that God has showered a lot of grace and mercy on them and He has given them this water. I say all these things to you to explain to you how much drought and how much dryness there was in this area. And when God would shower a little bit of rain people would become so happy and they would feel that God had cooled down the heated ground, and they would become happy. So that is why I say here that I had that longing for Kirpal in my within and my heart was heated. It was very hot, there was dryness everywhere, and God Kirpal showered all His grace. Graciously He caused the rain of Naam to shower on me and He cooled down my heated heart. Lovingly I said this in front of my Master. I told Him, "The true January 1999
Satguru has come to remove the pains and afflictions of the suffering people in this world." I said this because He was the living True Satguru. I called Him "True Satguru" because there are so many false Satgurus also in this world. Who is the true Satguru? He who is as pure as God is. Because God is very pure, and in order to manifest Him within us, we also need to become as pure as He is. So He Who is as pure as God is the True Satguru, because only He who is as pure as God can manifest that true Shabd within Him and only He can connect other souls to the true Shabd. In the writings of the true Masters we frequently come across the terms "true Satguru" as well as "false Satgurus," and Masters have written in Their writings how to recognize the true Satguru and what is the sign of the false guru or Satguru. Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say that one who has any guilt in his within, one who has any shortcomings or faults within him, he will express it sooner or later. If we do not recognize the true Satguru, if we do not differentiate between the true and the false Satguru, it is not the fault of the Satguru, it is not the fault of God. It is our own fault, because Masters have written so many things using which or reading which we can easily recognize the true Satguru and we can easily differentiate between the true and the false [ones].
Sant Mat demands a lot of hard work and it demands a lot of purity. If we do not keep our body pure, if we do not keep our mind pure, if we do not make our soul pure, then God will not unite us with Himself. God is very pure and you know that we do not like to keep even the dirty clothes in our bag. In the same way, God does not like to accept the dirty souls. If we do not make ourselves pure, He does not accept us. Sant Mat is a slippery Path, and if we take even one wrong step we can be thrown back millions of miles. If we have even one bad thought our soul can come out from within, we can come down, and our mind will start wandering outside and we will have to start everything again. But if we get the true Satguru, after that what should we do9 We should not go on searching for more. We should be content with the true Satguru. As Swami Ji Maharaj says, "Whatever the true Satguru tells us to do we should do that. We should lay down our life at His feet, and we should always mold our life according to His instructions. We should respect His words more than His body and we should always do the things which please Him." If we get a false Master or if we come across the imperfect Master who has come into this world to deceive our soul, Swami Ji Maharaj said that we should get rid of that Master. He says, "Give up the imperfect Master. By doing so you will 6
become free from one more sin." I say all these things because we are very fortunate ones to get the Shabd Naam and now it is our job to work very hard and go within. Once we go within the Inner Path becomes like an open book to us and then there is no place for any deception. There is no place for any doubt over there. Sant Satgurus have showered a lot of grace on us and They have connected us with the Shabd Naam. Now it is our duty to work hard on the Path which They have shown us and go within. The Masters do not go away from the disciples. When They give Initiation They sit within the disciple in the Form of the Shabd. They always guide them, and They are always waiting for the disciples to come to the Eye Center so that They can drag Their disciples up and take them to the Real Home. Always remember that unless you work hard, unless you keep yourself pure, your inner vision will never get open. Unless you work hard you can never become successful in this Path. Master is very cautious and He will not give the charge of His souls to anyone who is not perfect. If we are not working hard we can not become successful. Don't think that just by sleeping and enjoying the world our inner vision will get opened and Master will give us all His grace. Guru Nanak Sahib said that nobody achieved God by talking. SANT BANI
I have worked hard and my Master has given me the fruit of that. That is why I tell you to keep your lives pure and to work hard because whatever I have achieved I have achieved by keeping myself pure and working hard. Work hard and see what result you get. Whatever hard work you will do will not go in vain. You will definitely get the fruit of it. Kabir Sahib said, "0 Kabir, the hard work which one has done does not go useless. Even if the seven oceans come in the way, one still gets the fruit of it."
The place where Beloved Kirpal resides is blooming. Time after time He planted the plants of Naam and gave the water of Satsang. Mind is the agent of the Negative Power and the organs of senses are the weapons which the mind is using. By using these weapons the mind is always keeping the plant of our soul dry. If the dry crop gets the water it becomes green. In the same way, within that heart in which Kirpal is manifested, that within also becomes green. It becomes alive like the dry crop or like the garden which gets the water. Master never dies. He only leaves the body. Those that say that Master has died, for them I say that you should take them to the court and ask them, "Why did you take
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someone as your Master who was involved in dying and taking birth. He who is involved in the births and deaths how can he do any good for us?" One Master plants the saplings and another Master comes in another form, in another body, and waters those plants and makes them green and nourishes them. In the same way, one Master comes and gives the Naam Initiation and when He leaves the other Master comes in the new form, in the new body, and giving the water of Naam, through the Satsangs, He makes them alive. He makes them green. That is why when the Mahatmas come into this world They plant the seeds of the Naam within the hearts of the dear ones, and after They leave the other Mahatma comes and, giving the water of the Satsang and of Naam, He nourishes those plants. Hazur Maharaj Ji used to say that if one has a disease he gives the disease to other people also. It is like this: the Mahatmas have the yearning and devotion for Naam in Their within, and when we come in contact with Them, They create that devotion and longing for Naam in our within also. So what is the water which Mahatmas give to us? They give us the water of Satsang with which our meditation, our lives, remain green and we always remain alive in the Master. Satsang is the fence to protect our meditation. Satsang is that
water which keeps the crop of our meditation green and alive. That is why Master used to say that you should give up hundreds of works to attend Satsang and you should sacrifice thousands of works to sit in meditation. Whose Satsang is beneficial? Only Those Who have awakened Themselves in the Name of God, Those Who have manifested the Lord within Them and Those Who are awakened in respect to God. Only Their Satsang is beneficial. Mahatma Brahmanand Ji says, "0 Dear Ones, the true Satsang is the real thing in this world. * "People go and take baths in Kashi, Mathura, Hardwar, the holy places. They go in all the four directions, but still they do not get any peace in their mind. "People go into the forest and give a lot of hardship to their body, but they do not control their mind. They control their organs of senses but still in their heart they do not understand what they should do. "People go to the temples and keep their conduct very good but they do not appreciate the Sadhus. Without appreciating the Sadhu, one cannot come to know about the Creator." That is why Mahatma Brahmanand says, "0 Dear Ones, the true Satsang is the real thing in this world." * Sant Ji is reciting another bhajan, see p. 178 in "Songs of the Masters."
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Guru Ramdas Ji Maharaj said, "0 Proud One, without the Satsang whatever karmas you are doing are all useless. It is like you are taking out clean water from one side and putting in dirty water [from the other side]." Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj said. "0 Dear Ones, listen to the importance of the Satsang. By going in the Satsang we remove our dirt and purify our within." Kabir Sahib said, "One moment. half a moment, even half of the half moment - whatever time you spend in the sangat, in the Satsang of the Sadhu, Kabir says. just that much time with the Sadhu will remove the pains of millions of sins." Further Kabir Sahib says, "0 Kabir, the punishment of the Angel of Death is very severe. It is unbearable, one cannot bear it; but I am a very fortunate one because I have met one Sadhu. By going in the company of that Sadhu I will not have to face the Angel of Death." Why do Mahatmas go on giving the Satsangs day and night? Why do They work so hard? Because it is beneficial for us. Since our mind is an obstinate enemy - he is very shrewd, he is very cruel - and if we do not have anyone who points out our shortcomings, points out our faults, if we don't have anyone who rebukes our mind, we cannot become successful. That is why through the Satsangs Mahatmas always tell us about our shortcomings SANT BANI
and They always rebuke our mind.
Hail, Hail, Beloved Kirpal! He attached the dear ones to His feet. Showing the Path o f Five Shabds, He united them in Him. The Shabd comes in the form of the human being and He dwells among us. We can become grateful to Him, we can express our gratitude and thankfulness to Him, only when we take our soul above the limits of the mind and the organs of senses and when we manifest Him in our within. Only then can we express our gratitude towards Him and only then do we realize how God had hidden Himself within the man, how He came into this world in the form of the human being and how He had hidden Himself from us. "Great is God Who came in the form of Kirpal and lived among us. Graciously He showed us the Path of the Five Shabds and He united us with Him." The Shabd which is coming from Sach Khand is only one, but because it is coming through the five different planes that is why it is called Five Sounds or Five Shabds. It is like when the water of the river comes out from the mountains it has [one] sound. When it is flowing on the stones it has a different sound. When it is flowing on the sand it has a different sound, and at the end when the river falls into the ocean
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it has different sound. The water of the river is the same everywhere but since it is traveling on different types of ground, on different plates, that is why it has different sounds and that is why it is called different. In the same way, there is only one Shabd which is coming from Sach Khand and is sounding at the Eye Center, but since it is coming through five different planes it is called Five Shabds or Five Sounds. The Mohammedan Mahatmas call it as Five Kalmas. The Hindu Mahatmas call it as the Five Shabds or the Five Sounds, but it is only One Shabd which is coming from Sach Khand. As long as our eyes are closed we may say that we are going to the Satsang, and we have received Initiation from the Master, and we are doing the meditation. But Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say that when our inner eye gets open then we realize that it was Master Who called us to the Satsang, it was He Who gave us Initiation, and in fact He Himself was making us do the meditation. Guru Nanak also said, "0 Lord, You have created and are nourishing all the creatures, and wherever You have seen fit, You have attached them to that place and whatever work You have given to them, You are making them do that." God has created all the creatures and whatever place He sees fit for the
people He sends them there, and whatever He wants people to do, He Himself makes them do that. Those who love the world and those who understand that the world is everything for them, God always keeps them in the world, but those who have the yearning and longing for God, those who have the love for the Mahatmas, God graciously brings them in the company of the Masters and makes them do the devotion.
Removing the dzfirences of duality, He taught only one Shabda. Why do we thank our Master? Because you know that nowadays everywhere in the world people are fighting with each other. They have enmity and jealousy for others. One religion is saying that the other religion is bad. One community says that the other community is bad. People are fighting like anything. We say, "He is a friend," "he is an enemy"; but when we manifest Master in our within. when we realize that He is everywhere, that He is residing within the enemy as well as in the friend. then we realize that everywhere in this world only He is present. And there is no difference between the enemy and friend; nobody is our enemy. they all have Master within them. Only then do we realize that there is nothing which we [can] call duality; every-
where there is only oneness. Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj said, "When I got the company of the Sadhu or the Master I forgot all the enmity and jealousy for others. Now no one is my enemy and there is no one such that I can say that he belongs to somebody else. Now I have frendship with everyone."
Beloved Kirpal is present everywhere absorbed in the eyes. The Beautijifirl One who is p e s e n t in all is obtained by the rare ones In this bhajan I did not say anything from hearsay. Whatever came in my experience with the grace of my Master, I have written only that. He was very beautiful. I never called Him "Baba," because in India even beggars are called by the name Baba. So I used to say. "Even the beggars are called by the name Baba, so I don't want to call Him Baba." Even though people in India usually call Mahatmas and Saints "Baba," I did not call Him Baba. He was very beautiful. No doubt there are many beautiful people in this world but the beauty which my Master had was incomparable: nobody else in this world had that beauty. That is why I always used to call Him "the Beautiful One." I always used to say that my Master is the only beautiful one: He is the SANT BANI
only beautiful person in this world. Many people became fakirs in order to get the darshan of the Beautiful One. Many people left their homes and went to the deras and went into the forests so that they could get the darshan of the Beautiful One, but since the Beautiful One did not give darshan to everyone, many people's hearts were broken. Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj also says, "I wish that I could behold the beautiful face of my Beloved in front of me all the time, because whenever I see Him I an1 at peace. When I don't see Him I feel like a madman." Swami Ji Maharaj also said, "I agree, as people say, that the fairies are very beautiful and no one is more beautiful than them, but if anyone sees the beauty of my Master, he will forget even the fairies. He will also say that the Master is more beautiful than any other beautiful thing in the world." When we manifest such a beautiful Master in our within, after that we are not attracted to any worldly thing. We have no attachment in our within because there is nothing in this world which can attract us as much as our beautiful Master attracts us. Because no one is as attractive as He is, and no one is as beautiful as He is. When Bulleh Shah's brothers and sisters asked Him what His Master was like. He replied, "If anyone sees Inayat Shah, my Master, from out-
side they will see only the dirty clothes which He is wearing, but if anyone sees Inayat Shah in his within, then he will [think the beauty of the heavens is not even worth spitting at]. People say that the heavens are very beautiful but if anyone sees my Master from within they will not even care to go to the heavens because my Master is more beautiful than the heavens. He is more beautiful than the most beautiful thing in the world." Bulleh Shah belonged to the suyuad caste which was a high caste among the Muslims and his Master Inayat Shah belonged to the arayan caste which was a low caste. Bulleh Shah used to tell people, "Those who will call me 'sayaad' will go to hell, they will get the punishment. But those who will call me 'arayan,' the caste of my Master, will get to go to the heavens." He said that because he used to see himself as also belonging to the same caste as his Master and he used to see his Master everywhere. He had become the Form of his Master. He was seeing Him everywhere - in the birds, in the animals, everywhere. He was absorbed in his Master so much so that he had lost his existence and he was seeing only his Master everywhere. No doubt Master is everywhere, He is all-pervading, but only those who work hard manifest Him within themselves and only within their eyes does the Master reside always.
Guru Nanak Sahib also said that if in this world we search for the best ones we will find [they are very] rare; there are only a few people who manifest the Master within themselves. Guru Nanak Sahib says, "Out of millions there are only a few who get the devotion of God, those who do their Bhajan, the meditation of God; and there are only a few out of millions who make their Master gracious on them by pleasing the Master."
He taught only one Shubd, after making zis forflget all the knowledge o f the world. After Master left the body many of His initiates came to me, those who had gained a lot of worldly knowledge, bookish knowledge, and they told me about all the knowledge they had gained. Pappu also knows about them. They told me about the books they had read, and they were quoting from the books and they were commenting on the books. I told them, "Dear Ones, Master did not tell me to read all this knowledge. He did not give me any knowledge. He made me leave all this knowledge. He told me to meditate, and now with His grace I am going within, and I have gotten peace. If you also understand this, why don't you also sit down for meditation, go within and get peace." Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say, "Go in the within and there you
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will find those great authors whose books are very popular and famous in this world. You can see how they are stuck in the inner path and how they are paying for the bad deeds which they had done, and how the Negative Power is punishing them." Master Kirpal Singh Ji used to say, "Writing books is the work of the mind and intellect. This is not a criteria, that anyone who has written books would have had his inner vision opened or he would have realized God. Just by writing the books we cannot realize God." Guru Nanak Sahib also said that no matter if you read tons of books, still it is all useless. Nothing will come to rescue you, nothing will help you. Only the Naam is the greatest of all and no matter how much you read or how much knowledge you get, all these things will not come to help you. Because if there is any true holy scripture, if there is any true Veda or Shastra, that is our human body itself. And God has sent us into this world to get the knowledge of this real scripture which He Himself has made. If after getting the human body we do not go in the within and if we do not get the knowledge of its within. if we do not read this "veda" or this holy scripture which God has made, we do not fulfill the purpose for which God has sent us into this world. Hazur Maharaj Ji used to say. "I do not say that reading and getting SANT BANI
knowledge like this is bad. It is good to have such knowledge." If any Master Saint has worldly knowledge, if He is intellectual, if He is a scholar He has an extra quality; because if He has read many books and if He has the intellectual knowledge He can explain things to people in many different ways. Mahatmas emphasize on rising above in addition to reading. They tell us, "Just by reading the books your purpose will not be solved. Along with reading you should also work hard and you should rise above." Reading is just like cleaning a vessel to put something in it. If you do not put anything in it after cleaning it, what is the use of cleaning that vessel? We should not spend our life only cleaning the vessel. We should put good things in that vessel. We should not only read the books: we shozild also do the things which are written in the books. When the Saints and Mahatmas come into this world and give us the donation of Shabd, after that They tell us, "Work hard and go within and see how God has treated the Inner Creation for you and how many things God has kept in your within to make things comfortable for YOU." Dass Ajaib makes this pmaye?., Listen, 0 Beloved Kirpal, We have fallen at your door. Save o w honor, 0 Giver.
We cannot recognize our Master until our inner eyes get opened. Until our eyes are opened we may say. "We are more clever than Master; Master knows nothing." But after we manifest Him in our within. then we lay ourselves down at the Feet of the Master and only then do we say, "0 Lord. 0 Master, now we have taken refuge in You and we are in Your protection. You should save our reputation." Only then the disciple realizes. <'Iam nothing. Master is everything. Master is the owner of the sky. the earth, and everything is in His control, in His hands. I am like an animal in whose nose there is the rope and one end of that rope is in the hand of the Master." Then the disciple realizes that he is like a puppet whose string is in the hands of the Master and in whatever way the Master wants him to dance, he will have to dance like that. When I said this thing. "0 Master, I have taken refuge at Your Feet. and You have to save my reputation." At that time the tears were coming out from my eyes and I was trembling, because I told Him. "The Negative Power is a great Power. and if You will not protect me, then who will protect me? Now You will have to take care of me because I have surrendered myself to You." Almighty Lord protected the honor of Kabir; when Kabir said "Sat Naam," Almighty Lord protected His honor. When Guru Nanak called SANT BANI
Him by the name "Sat Kartar," He protected Him also. And He saved the honor of Ajaib when he called Him by the name "Dhan Kirpal.'" Kabir Sahib was born in a very poor family in Kashi and in those days the Hindu priests were opposing him so much that once they wrote letters to many people inviting them on behalf of Kabir. They wrote to people, "Kabir is going to have a bhandara and all of you are invited to have food there." Kabir Sahib did not know about that and He was not prepared for this bhandara. But when the first of the people came there to eat, Mata Loi was worried because these was no food in the house to serve to people and she was nervous. Kabir Sahib told her, "There is no need to worry about anything. Don't become nervous. What ever food you have, start serving the people with that food, and everything will be all right." Hundreds of people came and were fed and still the food did not come to an end, even though Kabir Sahib and the other people were not prepared for that. When people got good food to eat they were very pleased and they thanked Kabir. While they were thanking Him, Kabir Sahib said, "I have neither done this. nor will I do this. Nobody can do this. I don't know what Almighty God has done as a result of which everybody is thanking Kabir." In the same way when the siddhas, the sages and seers who
~ ~ s to e doppose Guru Nanak Sahib, once came to Him unexpectedly, they wanted Him to serve them food, and with their supernatural powers they had removed their teeth. They wanted to see what food Guru Nanak would give them, since they were not able to eat regular food. So Guru Nanak Sahib told Bhai Lehna (who later on became Guru Angad), "You see that they have worked so hard in removing their teeth. Now we should give them such food which they can eat easily without using their teeth." So Guru Nanak Sahib looked at one tree and graciously turned the fruit of that tree into sweet dishes, and then Bhai Lehna went up to the tree and shook it, and there were very good sweets and good food for those sages and seers. At that time Guru Nanak Sahib made halvah which we can eat without using our teeth. (We will make that dish for this group also one day.) Ever since then in the Sikh religion they make halvah whenever they want to celebrate any occasion. So when those people came to Guru Nanak, Guru Nanak Sahib graciously made all these things, having faith in Almighty God, and they all were served and they also thanked Guru Nanak. Bhai Gurdas has written in his writing that when the sages and seers went to Guru Nanak, He looked at the fruit of the trees and turned it into sweet dishes. When
He touched the salty water it became very tasty, very sweet. When He touched the sour fruit it became very sweet, and when He looked at a dry tree He turned that tree into a very beautiful tree which had many good fruits and Mardana was able to eat that fruit. My Beloved Master, Almighty Master has liberated many animals, many birds. How will those human beings who take refuge in Him not get liberation when He has liberated even the animals? Hear how He saved the honor of poor Ajaib. It is a very interesting story. Once Pathi Ji and some other dear ones told me that they wanted to celebrate a bhandara and I told them, "Okay, we can do that, but don't let people know that we are doing it. You just invite them and tell them to come and eat. We should not ask for any food or anything from the people." All these people were confused because there was not much food in the house and they were all worried, but I told them, "Don't worry. This is the work of the Master and whatever will please Him, He will do that. He, Himself will fill up the empty vessels." Now also I tell them, "Having faith in the Master, if you will keep the vessels empty, by the morning He will fill them up if we have faith in Him." So they all went to bed and during the night a truck came which was loaded with all the foodstuff 16
which we needed. It had grain. lentils, ghee, vegetables and everything we needed for that celebration. All the people were surprised about who came there and dropped off all those things which we needed. Up until now they have not come to know who came there to give all that food. We did not ask for that food, but still all that came there. I tell them that He was Master Kirpal. It was the Power of Master Kirpal who came there and gave us all those things because we had so much faith in Him. Master used to say that there is no problem with the giver, the problems are always with the receivers. Masters come into this world to give the grace to the souls and those who have the receptivity for the Master's grace, they get it according to their receptivity; only the fortunate ones fill up their bags with the grace of the Master. Masters give the grace with both hands, and those who are fortunate ones, those who are receptive to Their grace. only they get it. So that is why I say here that He filled up my bag and He gave me the duty of filling others' bags. Often I have said that the Will of Kirpal which is working in this world at present only knows to give the grace. Those who will be receptive enough to the grace of Master Kirpal, will be the fortunate ones, they will take advantage of it and they will also fill up their bags. Many people write me letters and SANT BANI
they even send me taped letters asking me if they can send money for the langar in the ashram here. I tell them, "When I start my langar then I will tell you. Right now, this is the langar o f Kirpal and He will arrange for me. He will send whatever I will need." In this bhajan I mean to say that w e are very fortunate ones that w e met Master Kirpal as our Master. When we are very fortunate ones only then d o we come across such a
Master. And if we are more fortunate then w e obey the commandments of such a Master; and if we are even more fortunate than that, we work hard and mold our lives according to the instructions of the Masters. S o now when we were fortunate enough to get the Initiation from the Master, we should work hard, g o in the within, and after going in the within we should see how Master is waiting for us and how He is protecting us.
No Better Opportunity Sant Ajaib Singh Ji Meditation talks given at the S.K.A. Retreat in February 1996 Salutations unto the Feet of Supreme Fathers, Almighty Lords Sawan and Kirpal Who, having mercy on our poor souls, have given us the gift of Their devotion, and They also gave us the opportunities to do Their devotion. Kabir Sahib said, "By going in the company of a sadhu one reinembers God Almighty, Who is Omnipotent, Who is capable of doing everything, Who is all-pervading. And one gets the encouragement to do His devotion by going in the company of the sadhu. Kabir Sahib also said that if we get the company of the one who is not a sadhu, if we get the company of a worldly person, then, indulging in the worldly pleasures all day long, we remain in confusion. The burning goes on within our heart. and we always remain upset and confused, in the company of the one who is not a sadhu. " 0 Kabir, in the company of the sadhu one remembers God Almighty; in the company of one who is not a sadhu, all twenty-four hours a day, one remains troubled in his within." Kabir Sahib says that the souls who have not been chosen by God Almighty for doing the devotion. and the souls who have not gotten the gift of the devotion of God Almighty - we should be very careful in going in the company of those [worldly] people who are not doing the devotion of God Almighty, lest they may put the color of the indulgences and the wines and the other things they are involved in on us. Always remain afraid of those who have been deprived of doing the devotion of God. Dear Ones, all the Masters agree to this fact. and They all say the same thing: "Only those souls who have been encouraged from within by God Almighty Himself come to the Master and get the Initiation. and only those souls do the devotion of God." So we should always make this prayer to our beloved Master, Who is the Form of God. we should always say, "0 Lord, You are All-merciful, You are All-gracious. and graciously You have given us this gift of devotion." All of you start your Simran, closing your eyes. Febmavy 17, 1996. ~norningineditation 18
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Salutations unto the Feet of Supreme Fathers, Almighty Lords Sawan and Kirpal Who, showering Their grace upon us, gave us the gift of Their devotion and also the opportunities to do Their devotion. We cannot have such programs in the groups if we do not have the grace of the Masters because it is very difficult to do the meditations. [See] how, with His grace, the separated souls are brought together, the forgetful souls and the lazy souls are brought together, and they are made to do the devotion, they are made to do the meditation. If we didn't have Their grace, it would have been very difficult to join the group and do the meditation; but here in the group, looking at the other people doing the meditation, we also feel like doing the meditation. When we see that the other people are meditating, that encourages us, that inspires us also to sit in the meditation. Unless the potter sees the pots made by some other potter, his pride does not go away; in the same way, unless we see other people meditating, we cannot realize where we stand. Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj also says, "When I went inside and saw that many more souls had already reached there, then I realized that there were many souls better than me." So when we come to these groups and, after meditating with the other people, we get the encouragement, in that way we realize where we stand. But we cannot attend such programs, we cannot do the meditations in such groups, unless it the grace of the perfect Masters. When I had the Initiation into the Two Words, even at that time we used to have such meditation programs, but they were much harder than these programs, in what we used to do. We used to meditate just like the Sikhs do the non-stop reading of the Gzmi Granth Sahib. Suppose there were three hundred people attending that meditation program. We would divide that group into three different parts of one hundred people each. Then one hundred people would do the meditation and the moment they would stop meditating the next group of one hundred people would take over from them, and in that way the meditation would always go on happening. At that time I did not have any initiates, neither was there any initiate of Master Kirpal Singh, so the people who attended that meditation program were free to do whatever kind of practices and whatever kind of meditation they were used to doing. Dear Ones, whether one has a good habit or a bad habit, it is very difficult to give up the habit. First of all, it is very difficult to get in the habit of doing anything, but once you have made the habit, then it is very January 1999
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difficult to give that habit up. So, because I had this habit of meditation and having the meditation programs, that is why I started this system of the groups and doing the meditation, so that the dear ones could get the opportunities to perfect their Simran. There is no other way, there is no better opportunity, in which you can perfect your Simran as much as you can do in such programs, in such groups. Dear Ones, I have kept my life in the discipline, because the more you will let your mind free, the more he will run outside; and if we leave our mind alone, if we let our mind wander here and there, then he takes us astray. Kabir Sahib said, "Our mind is like a swift horse, and we should always keep him under our control, putting him on the rein of Simran." Simran is the only rein through which we can keep our mind under control, so we should always keep our mind involved in doing the Simran. Dear Ones, you should remember the Simran just like, in this program, Russell Perkins told me that it has been twenty years since we met. You know that I don't have the head for remembering the dates and the years, so I did not know when we first met and how long it has been, but Russell told me that it has been twenty years since we first met. So, just like he remembered his first trip, in the same way, if you were to remember the
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Simran all the time, then you can gain a lot. I was very happy sitting with you, meditating with you, and making you meditate; and I hope that just like you remember the things of your life, in the same way, you will always remember the Simran. I do become very happy when I hear about the experiences of the dear ones, and they do get a lot of experiences in their meditation, but I would like to tell you something about the dear ones from the West: the mind always overpowers them and the mind is too strong in them. That is why, even after seeing all those things themselves in the within, they have doubts, and they wonder if that was their mind or if they were really seeing those things. So it is like the mind is defeating them. The things which are coming within you and you are seeing, it is only you who are seeing that, nobody else is seeing that, so to refuse and not to acknowledge even after seeing the things yourself is not a good thing, and if you are allowing your mind to have such doubts and such thoughts, it is like you are allowing your mind to defeat you. I always say that it is worse to surrender than to be defeated, so you should never surrender to your mind. First of all, it is very difficult to earn the wealth of the Naam, it is very difficult to concentrate, but what do we do? When it comes to maintaining the wealth of Naam which we have collected, we are deceived by our mind. Guru Sahib says, "Wake up in the morning, and with your every single breath, in every moment, meditate upon the Naam. If you will meditate like this, the forces of the Negative Power will not bother you." So Guru Sahib lovingly says, "Give up the laziness, wake up early in the morning, and do your meditation. If you will do your meditation like this, moment after moment, if you will remember him, then the laziness, the doubts, and all other forces: the pleasures, the vices, the indulgences treated by the Negative Power, will not bother you. You will be able to rise above all these things easily, and go into the Light, and you will also go into the Form of God and you yourself will become the Form of God." Sufi Saint Farid Sahib said, "0 Farid, you are sleeping. Wake up and clean your mosque. What kind of love is this that your beloved is awake and you are sleeping?" The true mosque is our body, and we have to clean this mosque, we have to clean our body. But what is happening? The Shabd is always awake, but we are sleeping, and still we claim that we love the Master. Can a sleeping person love an awakened one? Only an awakened person can love the awakened being. So you should always remember these couple of things, which I often say before we sit for the meditation: whether you meditate here or in your homes, you should always make it a point to remember these things. First January 1999
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of all, you should complete any important work which may bother you before you sit in the meditation. If there is something important which is bothering you, when you will meditate, the remembrance of that thing will keep coming within you again and again, and it will not allow you to meditate. So, first of all, finish that work before you sit in the meditation. After that, make sure that you remember the Five Sacred Names: also. before you sit in the meditation, sing a bhajan which has the yearning and the love for the Master. Master Kirpal Singh used to say that before you sit in meditation you should sing a bhajan for the pangs of separation. or the yearning for the Master, so that the remembrance and the yearning for the Master may come within you, and you may feel like meditating. So now all of you start doing your Simran, closing your eyes. February 18, 1996, nioming nzeditatioti
Salutations unto the Feet of Supreme Fathers Almighty Lords Sawan and Kirpal Who assumed the human body in this Kali Yuga. in this Iron Age. for the sake of our souls. This human birth, this human body. is a bag full of sickness and difficulties. The tongue does not have the power through which she can describe the glory of and express her gratitude towards those great Masters Who came in this Iron Age and assumed the human body, only for the sake of our souls. Dear Ones, how can I describe the glory and the grace of my beloved Master Lord Kirpal? I cannot describe His greatness enough through words. Maybe previously I may have told this to you, about a dear one called Fugu who used to come to our area from somewhere in Pakistan. He had a very large following in our village; people used to believe in him. He was an elderly person and, whenever he would visit our area, the people who believed in him, who were his followers. they would offer him a great deal of things and money, and he would always take those things back to Pakistan with him. It so happened that he came in contact with me. and I told him the qualities of the perfect Master. I told him about the Path and our beloved Master, and he was very impressed. And I told him that my beloved Master would be visiting my home, so he waited. So when beloved Lord Kirpal came to my home, Fugu came and asked for Initiation, but he also said. "The Silnran will not get on my tongue. I won't be able to remember and learn the words of the Simran." Even though I tried my best so that maybe, by one way or another. he could repeat either one or two words. he SANT BANI
could not do that, because he had become very old. So Master Kirpal showered so much grace upon him, because he said that he could only remember and repeat the name of Lord Kirpal. He said, "I can only say 'Kirpal, Kirpal."' Master Kirpal was very gracious and He said, "Okay, just go on repeating 'Kirpal, Kirpal' and you will be protected." So in that way He protected him, He showered so much grace upon him, and He liberated him. He asked Master Kirpal, "I have been accepting many offerings from the people. Will I be forgiven for what I have done in the past?" Master Kirpal Singh graciously said, "Yes, whatever you have done in the past, you will be forgiven for that, but this time, whatever you have collected, you must go and return to the people." So he returned all those offerings to the people, and using my hard-earned money he made his clothes and he went to Pakistan. So what I want to say is: "How can I describe the greatness and the grace of my beloved Master enough?" When He wanted to shower grace upon the dear ones, His grace knew no limits; His grace did not have any beginning or any end, He was so gracious. In the past He showered so much grace upon all the dear ones who came in contact with Him; even now, He is showering so much grace upon the souls who remember Him; and in the future also He will continue doing so. So He was such a [giver ofl grace, and no words can describe His greatness. So, why should we not remember such a Master, who is showering so much of His grace day and night? So, all of you start doing your Simran, closing your eyes. February 18, 1996, afiernoon meditation
OVERLEAF: Sant Ji in His room at the 77 RB ashram, during one of thejirst groups to visit Rajasthan, October I 9 76.
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Climbing the Ladder of Love Sant Ajaib Singh Ji I would like to ask the Master many of us have small children what is the best way to guide o w children toward the Path? We have to send them to school, but it is a strange atmosphere there; it is not the same as the Path. At what age should we send them to school, and what other things can we do to help them? The parents should leave a strong impression on their children. It is up to the parents to leave a good or bad impression on them. That is why, from the very beginning, you should tell them about vegetarianism; you should be a good example for them, and gradually you can tell them about the Path. Parents are the first teachers for the children. Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj said, "My Master is my parents, my Master is my mother, my Master is my Lord." Baba Farid was a Parain Sant and His bani is also included in the Guru Granth Sahib. He got the yearning This previously unpublished question and answer session was given December 1, 1981, at Sant Bani Ashram, Rajasthan, India. January 1999
for, and the love of doing the devotion of God from His mother. Farid Sahib's mother used to give him very good teachings. She used to tell him the benefit of practicing the Path of the Masters, she used to tell him the qualities of Almighty God and the benefit of doing the devotion of God, and she used to inspire him to come to the Path of the Masters and do the devotion. In the beginning, when his mother would tell him that God is our only friend and sympathizer and that we should do His devotion, he would laugh and say, "Mother, will God give me sugar if I do His devotion?" - because you know that sugar is sweet and children like to eat sweet things. Then his mother would tell him, "Yes, if we do the devotion of God, God will become pleased with us and He will give us sugar and many other sweet things." So every morning after cleaning her house, she would tell him to sit down to do the meditation of God - because she herself meditated and she knew how one can do the devotion of God; she herself was connected in the within. That is why when she would tell her son Farid to sit down for meditation. he would
again say, "Will God give me sugar?" and she ~vouldlovingly reply, "Yes, God will give you sugar. You sit down for meditation." He would sit down and meditate, and when his mother thought, "Now this is enough time for him,'' she would put some sugar candy under his prayer niat so that he would be convinced that God really gives sugar when we do His devotion. In that way, when he gradually developed interest i n meditating, his niother gave him her attention and took his soul up. After that, all the time he would take his prayer mat and sit down for meditation and he would say to his mother, "Let
me sit down and get some sugar from God." He did so much meditation because he was inspired by his mother, and then he said, "Mother, sugar, j q g e i y , rock candy, milk - all these things are sweet, but God is sweeter than all these things." So the meaning of saying this is that it was because of Baba Farid's mother that he became a Param Sant. In Rajasthan there is a saying: as the parents are, so are the children. This is true not only for human beings, but even for the animals. There was a crown prince of one state who fell in love with the princess of another state. Both of them wanted to SANT BANI
get married, but because in India the parents choose the brides, they could not get married without asking the permission of their parents. When the crown prince asked permission from his father, he replied, "No, that girl is not fit for you," and he refused. When the princess learned about that, she suggested that both of them should run away from their homes, go to some other state, get married, and start living there. She said that she would bring a camel and late at night both of them could run away and leave their country. So the prince agreed, and one night the princess brought a camel and both of them left their palaces and went out of that state. On the way, there was a small stream and when they reached it with the camel, that princess said, "Pull the reins, otherwise this camel will sit in the water." At once she added that her mother also had the same habit. When the crown prince heard that - that even the animals have the habits of their parents, he thought, "Now we are doing this bad thing: we are running away from our homes, and later on when we have children, they will also follow [our example], and in that way we will be criticized." In India if anybody's daughter runs away from home and marries someone whom the father does not like, it is a very bad thing for that father. People criticize him a lot. So he realized that it was not a Jan t m y 1999
good thing that they were running away to get married without the permission of their parents. He changed his mind and he told the princess, "I have forgotten something very important and we should go back to my palace and get it." The princess did not know that he had changed his mind, so she said, "Okay, let us go back and then we will continue." But when the prince reached his palace he said, "I am sorry that I was going to make a terrible mistake by running away from my home. When I hear that even the animals have the impression of their parents, I am afraid that if we will run away then later on our children will also copy us, and that will be very painful to us. It is better for us to forget each other and live with our families." The meaning of telling this story is that even the animals have the impression and the habits of their parents. So whatever impression you will leave on your children, whatever habits you will show your children, they will also acquire the same. That is why the parents should become a good example for their children, because they have to learn from you. If you do bad things, they will also do bad things. If you do good things, they will also learn to do good things. It is in the hands of the parents to make the lives of the children good. The Vedas, Shastras and the other holy books are written by the great Masters of the past, and they
That is w h y the parents should become a good example for their children, because they have t o learn from you. If you do bad things, they will also do bad things. If you do good things, they will also learn t o do good things. It is in the hands of the parents t o make the lives of the children good. mention the relationship between the man and woman. They say that the union of man and woman is not only for enjoying lust; it is for living together and making life easier for one another. As far as producing children is concerned, they say that whenever you have to conceive a child, you should have good thoughts in your mind. If the parents have good thoughts during the conception and birth of the child, the children will have very good lives - because even the thoughts of the parents have a direct effect on the coining souls. But nowadays our young people spoil their lives in the schools and colleges: they indulge in lust a lot, in drugs, and in all these things, and before getting into the married life, they ruin their lives. So when they start their married life, either their balance of mind is not there or they don't have the physical strength. And that is why they think that the union of man and woman is only for indulging in lust. They don't understand the real importance of the union of man and woman. When the woman is pregnant, both the man and woman should leave off indulging in lust, because
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it has a very bad effect on the coming soul. Actually, they should not indulge in lust for three years after the child is born. If the woman gets pregnant again before three years. her milk becomes sour and the child who is born is very weak. Even the birds and animals observe limits and they also maintain chastity. You know that when the cows get pregnant, after that the bull is always near them but still they don't indulge. It is the same for the birds and the other animals. But man is the only being who does not observe any limits. He does not even see whether the woman is pregnant, and that if he indulges, it will be very bad for the coming child. That is why Kabir Sahib said, "The dog is unchaste only one month per year, and the rest of the year he maintains chastity. But man is always lustful; he indulges in lust for all the six seasons and twelve months." Those who want to have good children, and those who want to get happiness from the children should have good thoughts while they are conceiving the children. And always keeping their thoughts pure and good, they should take care of their children. SANT BANI
Farid Sahib says, "The farmer is sowing useless things, but he is expecting dates and other fruits. How can you get a woolen blanket if you are weaving cotton?' We do not know the value and taste of maintaining a chaste life. If we had known the taste of maintaining chastity, then we would have given up all the pleasures and indulgences. Maintenance of chastity at any age is fruitful. E\,en if in old age you maintain chastity, you will get a lot of benefit from it. And if you can do it while you are young, then the benefit of it cannot be described in words. So your question was about how to take good care of the children
J U I I I I L1990 II~
and how to guide them towards the good things. So I would like to advise all those who have children that first of all you should make your lives good. Give your children good teachings. Tell them about the benefit of attending Satsang. Tell them about the Path. Tell them about being vegetarian. Tell them about the effects of the bad things and the benefits of the good things. If you want them to become good, first of all you should become good.
These things cannot be described in
words. But I will tell you that the Divine Love is something which the soul feels, and we cannot feel that unless we go within. Human affection is a creation of the mind, which can change into hatred at any time. So the Divine Love is the only true love. But love begins from the human level. First of all, we have love outwardly and then we get the Divine Love. Because in the beginning, when we see the Master in His physical form, we start loving Him physically, on the human level. And later on, when we take our soul up and when our soul sees the Master Who is in the form of the Shabd, our soul starts loving the Shabd, and that is the pure Divine Love, and it is permanent. And once we get that Love, we can never lose it. So human affection, or human love, is the beginning of the ladder which leads us to the Divine Love.
good relations in the past. And we can never get along with those people with whom we have had very bad relations in the past. Master. I would like to ask Yozr i f the weight of our karnlas %%!as related to the trouble that You had with Y o w eyesight. *
Saints do not say, "We have done this or that for you." They are always happy in accepting the pain and happiness which comes from God. You should know that Saints are free from all the karmas, because when our soul transcends all these three vestures - after withdrawing from the physical. astral. and causal planes - when our soul reaches Par Brahm, she becomes free from all the karmas. Saints come from an even higher plane, and that is why They are free from the karmas. But whenever a disciple has any difficulty, whom will Then, according to our ,faith, one he remember? He will always reagection originates in the mind and member His Master; and when he remembers the Master, the Master the other originates in the s o d 7 will have to help him and take some of his karmas. Yes Once some dear ones asked MasAre the karmas related to hz~nzun ter Sawan Singh, "We have heard that ajrection? In other words, yotl get You are going to live for one hunhuman affection because of karma? dred years on this physical plane. Is that true?'' Master Sawan Singh reYes, love and enmity are due to plied. "Yes. that is true. If you will our past karmas. We like those let me do my work and meditation people and always have love for * See also the Dec. 1981 issue of Sant those with whom we have had very Bani Magazine. page 19. SANT BANI
without bothering me with your pains who were going within, they knew and sufferings, I may live for one hun- that because of all this Master dred years. But if you will bother me Sawan Singh left the body ten years with all your sufferings, then I may early, and Master Kirpal Singh left the body fourteen years early. leave earlier." During the Second World Tour, The Negative Power does not spare even one karma without it be- I went to one place to see a dear ing paid for. Either the disciple has couple. They had everything from to pay it, or the Master Who has the Master; they were very rich. But taken responsibility for that disci- they didn't have any children, so ple has to pay it. And moreover, the they requested the Master to give Master of the disciple cannot make them a child. Master heard their plea any excuses in paying off that kar- and He blessed them with a child ma. In whatever way the Negative within a year. So they wrote me a Power wants that karma to be paid, letter, saying that they have been the Master will have to pay it in blessed with a child, but now the that way. So if the disciples are problem is that the child cries a lot, strong enough to bear the pains of and they would like Master to make the karmas which they have to pay that child quiet. [Master chuckles.] off, they will never request their I mean to say that we people don't Master to help them. But since the know what to ask from the Master. disciples are not that strong, that is First we ask for things from the why they always go on praying to Master, and when Master gives them the Master to free them from the to us, then we ask Him to do many sufferings. That is why the Master other things. Instead of doing our has to take the karmas of the disci- work ourselves, we put so much of ples on His body. our work on the Master's shoulders. The Masters do not tell the dis- Is there any work which we don't ciples, "I have taken your karma on want our Master to do for us? We my body." They silently and quiet- want our Master to do every single ly suffer the karma of the disciple. thing for us. Those who did the meditation and There was a man, a satsangi,
First we ask for things from the Master, and when Master gives them t o us, then we ask Him t o do many other things. Instead of doing our work ourselves, w e put so much of our work on the Master's shoulders. Is there a n y work which w e don't w a n t our Master t o do for us? W e w a n t our Master t o do every single thing for us.
whose wife had left him. That dear one showed so much love to me that he used to write me a letter every day, without waiting for my reply. He requested me to bring his wife back to him, and I told him, "Don't worry. If it is in God's will, she will come back to you." After some time, with Master's grace, both of them started living together. Later when they both came to India, they told me that they were very pleased with me. But they said that when they had been separated, they were remembering me a lot, but now that they are together, their minds tell them, "What is the use of remembering the Master when our problem is solved?" [Master chuckles.] So when people get everything they want, they forget the Master. If I were to tell you the stories of all the dear ones, I could go on for days and nights. You should know that Saints never complain about all these things because They have been given this work to do by God and They are happy in doing that. They always work wholeheartedly and tirelessly for their disciples, because it is Their job. God has kept so much grace within the Saint, and a Saint always showers His grace on the disciples. And for the sake of the disciple He would never hesitate even to jump into the fire, because He has been given so much grace by God and He is the Form of graciousness. Once there was a disciple of a
Saint who climbed a date tree. When he reached the top he looked at the ground and he became afraid that he was going to fall down. So he started praying to His Master. " 0 Master, please bring me down safely. If You will do that I will donate twenty-five bed sheets in Your langar." So remembering the Master. he started coming down. and when he reached halfway, he looked at the ground and he said, "Well, Master does not need twenty-five bed sheets. I'll donate twelve bed sheets if He brings me down safely." So as he gradually came down. he went on reducing the number of the bed sheets, and at the end only one was left. So he took one bed sheet to the Master and told Him the whole story: how he had promised that he would donate twenty-five bed sheets, and then he promised to give twelve bed sheets, and now only one was left. The Master replied, "Well. dear one, God has given me a lot. and I don't even need this one. If you want, you can take it." So the disciple replied, "You see my mind is even wanting to have this one bed sheet and is not becoming grateful to You.'. So the meaning of saying this is that when we are in any pain or suffering. we remember the Master. we request Him to remove our pain. and when He does that. we forget Him and we don't even remember His name. Te amo. [Much laughter..] SANT BANI