Discourse - Param Sant Sadgurudev Shri Hans Ji Maharaj

Online Magazines > Manav Dharam (January 2009)
Discourse - Param Sant Sadgurudev Shri Hans Ji Maharaj

You may have read in the Ramayana, " Rakapati shodash ugahin, taragan samuday. Sakal girinha dav laiye, Ravi bin ran na jay ." There are numerous stars in the sky - nobody has been able to count them all. We have to accept that they are countless. They all twinkle at night. The moon also gives light at night. Lamps and electricity also give light at night. Yet even all these together cannot eradicate the darkness of night and they grow dim once the sun rises. Similarly, a person can do chanting, austeries, recitations, ritual ceremonies, yagya etc. but without the Spiritual Master he cannot know the Divine Light within his heart. The first three types of light can be seen by all animals and birds. The fourth light, which is within everyone, can only be seen by a human being and that too only if he has acquired Spiritual Knowledge by the grace of the living Master. Most so-called saints, Mandaleshwars and Jagat Gurus can't show True Light. Though it is within every one of them as well they don't experience it.

Photo_Shri Hans Ji Maharaj

Yogiraj Param Sant Satgurudev Shri Hans Ji Maharaj

One day, a monk from a certain organization came to my satsang. After my discourse was over, he asked for some time to speak. I said, "Please say whatever you wish. This is the court of Truth, there is no place for untruth here and everyone is ready to accept the truth." The mahatma said, "First you must do rituals ( Karmakand ), then worship ( Upasana ). Only then will you get Knowledge. Knowledge is not acquired by shouting 'Light! Light!' Six out of eighteen chapters in the Bhagavad Gita pertain to Upasana Kand (worshipping) and six chapters pertain to Knowledge. Without doing these, none can see the Light. So, people should not believe what he said about Light. You may remember and sing whatever name of God you like, as all names belong to Him. Then, by doing so, in some birth if not in this one, your mind will be concentrated". He tried his level best to convince the audience but nobody paid any heed.

After this, I said, "Even though you have renounced the world, you are cheating others. If the fourth Light cannot be seen, why do all the scriptures talk about it? And if it can never be seen then what is the use of reciting the scriptures? To put it quite simply, I have to say only this: that the highest action of the human being is to experience the inner Divine Light after acquiring Spiritual Knowledge from the true Spiritual Master. The Master alone can reveal that fourth Light. Only when you meditate after experiencing the Divine Light, can you truly perform Upasana . The Gayatri Mantra says we should meditate upon the fourth Light. Merely repeating the Gayatri Mantra will not result in any benefit. "Bare bhagya manush tan pawa. Sur durlabh sadgranthan gava." Only if a soul is really lucky does it get a human birth. It is written in all religious scriptures that even deities rarely get a human birth. Now, while you are human beings, if you do not do what humans are meant to be doing, then how will you do it in any of the other 8,400,000 species? 'Saints' of today are telling us to perform rituals and say prayers and only then will you get Knowledge. But they do not know which actions should be done and have simply made religion and meditation their profession for filling their stomachs.

St.Tulsidas says that worshipping is not possible in Kaliyuga and so the 'Name' is the only support. "Kaliyug kewal nam adhara. Sumari sumari Nar utarahin para."

We recently held a magnificent procession during Kumbha Mela. I was riding on an elephant. There were loudspeakers on trucks and mahatmas sang devotional songs. Right in the front was a rikshaw from where it was announced that an incarnation of the Lord is here; come and see him and know from him the same Divine Light which Lord Krishna showed to his close devotee Arjuna and know the Name which can be remembered even during sleep. Men and women flocked from all sides. When the gathering reached the Clock Tower it encountered the carriage of a renowned saint. When he saw me he got abashed and lowered his gaze. That time our mahatma Satyanand was announcing, "Do not waste your human body! Know the true form of devotion. The Supreme Light, the Divine Light, true devotion can be shown by the Spiritual Master. When a saint will not manifest the true Light and the True Name, then will dogs, pigs and donkeys reveal it?"

Sitting in the carriage of the renowned saint were two people - one on each side holding a lighted lamp. Everyone needs light at night, but it seems these people were not able to see even during the daytime! This is the condition of "saviours of religion" - they do not have the Knowledge of the Divine which is within our heart and so they beguile people with external lights. It is written in the Ramayana, "Param prakash roop din rati' Nahin chahiye kachhu diya ghrit bati." The ultimate light, the Divine Light is self-effulgent and shines constantly day and night. It does not need lamp, oil or wick.

I feel pity for the people of India because there cannot be any salvation from these blind, so-called gurus. Do not waste your human lifetime following these ignorant gurus. The world is suffering due to ignorance of the true knowledge. Big saints, mandaleshwar and jagatgurus ('world-teachers') preach irreligion as true religion and they are driving their disciples towards darkness. None of the scriptures advocate such things. Indeed, it is written, "Bhakti swatantra sakal sukh khani. Binu satsang na pawahin prani." Devotion is independent of worldly things and is the mine of all happiness, but it is inaccessible without satsang. Devotion is incomparable and even Knowledge is dependent upon devotion. You tell me which scripture advocates that shaving your head, wearing saffron robes, or growing long hair and daubing your forehead with ash is indispensable for devotion. Devotion is experienced after acquiring Spiritual Knowledge from the living Master and remembering the Holy Name of God.

When God incarnates in human form, people do not recognize him. If God were to incarnate in the form of a lion, or an elephant, you would be afraid. Therefore God incarnates in a beautiful, attractive form so that devotees can easily focus their minds on him. Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Dattatreya etc. all came in human form and relieved devotees of their miseries. Suppose Lord Rama were to come to you, how would you recognize him? If people couldn't recognise Lord Shri Rama when he lived among them in Treta Yuga how will you recognize him today? Who will tell you about His form, His sweet voice, His enchanting gaze so that you will believe him? God's problem is, in which form should He come to you so that you can recognize Him? How did the saints become great? Because all of them remembered God's Name and meditated upon His Divine Light. People are engrossed in illusory things and have forgotten God and hence suffer from various worldly problems. A devotee wants to meet God but worldly illusions keep him away.

It is well known that the soul is indestructible. So the souls of all creatures, whether living on earth or in water or in the sky, are indestructible. Moreover, new souls are not made, all of them have existed since time immemorial. It is also written that there is such a thing as salvation. Souls worthy of salvation achieved it and the remainder are bound to the cycle of birth and death. Those who did noble works got heaven. So, where have the liberated souls gone? Guru Nanak Dev Ji says, "Light has merged in Light". Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, "There is no difference between Me and the gyani ". So, we should also search for the true Master and acquire Spiritual Knowledge from him.