Kabir

II SATYANAAM II

METAPHYSICAL EMINENCE

“Mein marjivaa samoudra kaa, doobki maari ek Mutthi laayaa giaan ki, jaamen vastu anek”.

I dived into the universal consciousness as a living dead and filled my hands with spiritual wisdom, which shines with countless pearls.

As long as we consider the physical body and its organs to be the instrument of God-realisation, we will not be able to experience Him. The physical body is merely a vehicle; it is the driver who is the one who can communicate with the Master. The vehicle is limited to function at the physical level. This is why Satguru Kabir Saheb exhorts the concept of “mritak” or “marjivaa” which refers to living as if we are not alive. In other words, living at the consciousness level. When one does not seek the support of his physical or mental abilities to experience the divine presence, he is in fact acknowledging his metaphysical intelligence to communicate with God. The experience of the Divine fills the individual with spiritual wisdom, which stays with him even after the experience. Satguru Kabir Saheb is referring to the multiple characteristics of the insight thus earned during that experience. Then the application of our discriminative power in our everyday life allows us to pursue our path, and remain immune to the adversities that life presents us with. One who goes through such experiences is not affected by what the world throws at him in terms of sufferings, losses, pain, hardships and so on.

Mahant Jay Jaggessur, Kabir Association of Toronto.
www.kabir.ca

II SATYANAAM II

UNTIE THE NOOSE

“Jo tou puraa hai phand mein, niksegaa kab andh
Maayaa mad tokoun charhaa, mat bhule mati mand”

If you have voluntarily succumbed yourself to bo***ge, how will you release yourself from it? You have given in to temptations, wake up from your delusion!

The bird is happy in its cage, but happier in the trees, and happiest in the sky. When it realises that the cage is not where it should be, it will try to fly away from it. But if it is content with the cage, happy that it is being served its food, it would not contemplate any better space. Likewise if Man is deriving happiness by feeding his body, not knowing that feeding the soul will bring him an incomparable bliss, then he will continue to be a slave to his physical being. In this saakhi, Satguru Kabir Saheb is clearly pointing out that when someone has buried himself deep down into the world’s pleasures, he does not see anything else beyond the enjoyment he experiences. For him, this joy is the ultimate happiness that he can attain. Yet, he goes through sufferings again and again; but he craves for the momentary happiness he can derive in indulging in worldly pleasures. It is not easy to get disillusioned when one is entrapped in such fantasies. He does not use his discriminative abilities to distinguish between illusion and reality. Feeding the soul or the spirit is possible when we realise that the world and all of its elements are not real, the physical body is not real, the pleasures derived from using our sensory organs are not real. Then there is a calling to attend to the soul, our true being. The awakening happens when we have a Satguru in our life. Otherwise, we keep sinking in the quagmire until we drown ourselves to be reborn in that same foreign land.

Mahant Jay Jaggessur, Kabir Association of Toronto.
www.kabir.ca

II SATYANAAM II

KNOW HOW AND KNOW WHERE

“Chalan chalan sab koye kahe, mohi andeshaa aur
Saaheb son parichaye nahin, pahounchenge kiss thor”.

Everyone is just advising me to follow them; but I am not confident in following any of them. If they themselves do not know God, where will they lead me to?

How do we know if we are on the right track? Until and unless we have a Spiritual Master in our life, we are lost. There are many people who may want to guide you, claiming they know where to go. But if they themselves do not know the destination, how can we trust that they will lead us to the right abode? Satguru Kabir Saheb is saying here that we have to be wary of who we follow. It is not a bad thing to listen to all, but ultimately, we have to make our decision. A Spiritual Master knows the way, because of His experience. Self-realisation is an experience, not a place where one can be. The enlightened Master is the only one who can guide others to embark on that journey to realisation. Because there are many people who claim to know, and who offer to show others the way, Satguru Kabir Saheb warns us to be careful. There is also a misconception among many people who think that they can embark on different paths, thinking that they are increasing their chances to reach their goal. One cannot be in two or three boats at the same time. The process is clear : find the right Spiritual Master, surrender to Him, and do your practice. No one else can practice for you. The Master is the guide, but practice can only be done by the aspirant.

Mahant Jay Jaggessur, Kabir Association of Toronto.
www.kabir.ca

Shri Hajoor Ardh Naam Saheb, Lahartara, Varanasi

II SATYANAAM II

THE PRICELESS DIAMOND

“Heeraa kaa kacchu naa ghataa, ghataa ju becchanhaar
Janam gavaanyo aapno, andhe pasu ganvaar”.

The value of diamond remains the same when it is sold; it is the seller who undergoes a reduction in value. Those who exchange their diamonds for nothing waste the opportunity of their human life just like ignorant people.

For how much will you be ready to sell your soul? This question calls for a lot of reflections. Why would someone want to sell his soul? In the pursuit of our objectives in life, we may be tempted to realise great achievements. The desire to go for more, and more, and more often drags people in a vicious cycle where they forget their real purpose in life. We know of people like Hi**er who wanted to conquer the whole world. But at what cost? Like this, there are many people who are blinded by their desires to just go for more and more material wealth, name and fame, power, status and so on. It all has to do with how we interpret our real value. If we associate our value with the name and fame that the world gives us, or the wealth we are able to amass, or the position we are able to attain, then we are greatly mistaken. Our real value is not our networth; our real value is who we truly are, and it does not change with age, name, fame or material richness. Running after these material gains deviate us from our purpose in life and makes us lose the golden opportunity of being born human. The diamond being referred to in his saakhi of Satguru Kabir Saheb, is our true Self, and it is priceless. It is not inherited, not transferable, and not for sale. Those who ignore its value are also ignorant of how many lifetimes they strived to earn this human body. It is the gateway to God. Let us live with dignity in pursuit of our home and not exchange our precious diamond for anything in the world.

Mahant Jay Jaggessur, Kabir Association of Toronto.
www.kabir.ca

KabirSaheb with Hindu and Muslim disciples.

II SATYANAAM II

SEE-IN, HEAR-IN

“Aankhi na dekhe baavraa, shabad sune nahin kaan
Sir ke kes ujjal bhaye, abahoun nipat ajaan”

You are not applying your vision and your sense of hearing effectively, where you should be applying them. With time, your hair will turn grey and you will still remain ignorant.

Outward perceptions can be very misleading. Spiritual awakening leads us to open ourselves to inner perceptions. As long as we remain at the level of living the physical existence, satisfying the senses, eating, drinking, sleeping, we would just be living as any other animal and not connect to our higher Self. How we use our eyes to envision our real being, how we use our ears to tune in to the celestial sound…. If instead of making an effort to realise our true Self we use our senses to go after desires, we will be missing the opportunity of being born human. In this saakhi, Satguru Kabir Saheb is urging us to not let time go waste. By letting the eyes fall prey to the traps of Maya, by allowing the ears to give in to rumours, the actual power of vision and sound is being misused. As someone grows old, the senses of action and perception also weaken. The ability for one to be able to connect to the inner voice and vision becomes impaired with age. And at the same time, the accumulated unwanted sounds and sights create a barrier, hard to overcome to tune in to our source. But Satguru Kabir Saheb states that it is never too late : the moment one realises that the path is inward, not outward, he must pursue that course.

Mahant Jay Jaggessur, Kabir Association of Toronto.
www.kabir.ca