SELECTION OF BABA FAQIR CHAND'S WRITINGS

FROM JEEVAN MUKTI

 

Part Three 

 

 

GOD AND THE WAY TO HIS ABODE

"None come from thither, whom I may approach to ask,

All go from hither, carrying on a heavy load.

Sat Guru come thither from, whose opinion, intellect is profound,

To the man of mortal world leads He to the goal.

Now I proceed to the Immortal Eternal abode,

Breaking chains of all, body, mind and thought

Follow those who desire, our path of hanging on the gallows,

Gallows made as the abode, poison made as the food.

Time can't affect him, who remains alert for good,

Lover makes a call of love, I fail to go.

He pure, I impure, To His feet, fail I to bow,

For whom did I proceed, He came to me to meet, Lord stands to thy face, Kabir

bow to His feet.

 

RADHASWAMI

This work of Satsang or spiritual discourses is not for others, but for my own self. Ever since I became aware of my existence, I have been making an earnest effort to search "something" within, I am not clear about what that ‘something" is? But search is going on, There is a craving within, a sort of attraction upward exists all the time. Old age has dawned upon and I daily observe, how death, makes the whole creation, its victims one by one. Hazur Data Dayal Ji came and left. Many great and famous saints came and died. I often think deeply where did they go ? Where shall I go ? Previously when I had such questions within me, the manifestations of Ramchander Ji or Krishana or of Data Dayal Ji used to answer them. Now those days of my life whether good or bad are gone. At this stage, I do not have the faith of those days, due to my new experiences In this line. There are countless instances where my form appears to many people either, in dream or in awaking, tells medicines for incurable diseases, blesses sons and helps in spiritual uplift, while I remain unaware about these miraculous happenings. Such Instances have revolutionised my faith and made me to realise, that, this so-called appearance of Holy Form, or manifestation of God or Goddess, that answers questions is not supernatural power or God but one's own mind. The so called manifestation is nothing, but the cravings and longings projected by one's own mental forces.

Kabir writes in his hymn, that Guru descends from above. The Introductory qualities of that Guru are, that he has enduring, perfect, intellect and sedate mind. Only he, who has mental equanimity can lead the man to the ultimate Truth from the mundane world. Now, who suffers in this mortal world ? It is "I". He who, desires to know what this "I" is from where it has come; what Is its origin and where it will end ? What is God and where does He live ? As I make efforts to know all this. Man of such thoughts and questions too is being swept by the tides of this mortal world. And those who have longings for male progenies, name, fame and wealth also are suffering in this mortal existence from one pain or the other. The difference between the two is only of degree.

Many a time, I think, ‘0 Faqir, you assume yourself as Guru, people bow to you, give you all love and honour, what will you gain from this deceitful and false Gurudom ?’ I am a researcher and a true seeker of Truth. To shun restiveness of mind and to achieve the state of mental equipoise, Is known as the sedateness of intellect and profoundity of wisdom. These are essential requisites to understand the Truth,

"Body stable, mind fixed. soul calm and tranquil,

Sayet Kabir, uptil then, secret can't be attained".

It means, that one's self must achieve the stage of stillness. What Kabira means by these words is only known to him. I state, what I understand. At my primary stages, I was unable to understand the sermons of the Saints. The element that thinks, and has the quality of discrimination within, is our Intellect. This Intellect or mind, chit (conscience) Budhi (wisdom) and ego or the sense organs (Gyan, lndriyan) make search within. When all become calm, struggle of the ‘self’ comes to an end, its all visions quality of questioning and answering vanishes, He (self) achieves that stage, from where originates the worldly longings, attachments, mind, attention. wisdom and ego. By achieving this stage, he (self) achieves freedom from mundane illusions. But remember, this stage is not within an easy reach of every body.

"Sat Guru come thither from,

Whose opinion intellect is profound.

To the man of mortal world

leads He to the goal"

How Sat Guru leads the worldly man to the ultimate Truth ? What I have understood, by my experiences, I express for my own satisfaction and peace. I am being dragged to do this work, by my own deeds. In this work Truth is not spoken, sins of others are shared. To-day, in the morning Sh. Gopal Oass, Siia Devi and Ram Char.dra's wife, burnt incense, lighted the sacred lamp and made offerings of sweetmeats to me with all adorations and salutations thought within self "O, Faqir you get yourself worshipped, is it not false action (deed) on your part ?" The individual worships, adores and makes offerings to some living Guru, image or God, Goddess according to his own faith, belief and devotion, in return he gets the fruit of his own devotion and faith. The Guru, or the worshipped gets credit and involves himself in the false prestige and fame. While the worshipper achieves his end, or motive due to his own faith and belief. In fact, the Guru or the worshipped does nothing to fulfil the desires of the devotee, it is all the faith of the latter.

I am a seeker. I have spent my whole life in the search of the Lord, the Truth. Even at this stage, my efforts are regular to remain above the bodily feelings and mental visions. But still that stage has not been achieved permanently. What does Sat Guru do for the aspirant ? Sat Guru guides to the path of Sumitan, Dhyan and Bhajan, so that the aspirant may be able, to achieve. mental concentration at one centre, listen to the eternal sound and attain the state of calm intellect and profound wisdom. When the aspirant achieves this stage of equanimity he becomes, what he was in the beginning In the beginning there was neither, body, nor mind, nor thought, neither sense organs, nor work organs. It was a state of Truth and it was our origin. This is what I have understood about our origin. I get peace and bliss out of this state. Morning and evening, I try to merge In that State of Almighty Lord. At the primary stages, it is impossible to achieve that state of Formless and Nameless. So Guru is to be made as an ideal, the Supreme Being. Those who worship the body of Faqir Chand. Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Maharaj or any other Guru, cannot achieve that state of Truth, because they are attached to the body. Guru is not to be considered, the "Word made flesh" (human being), but to the accepted as the spiritual manifestation, the ideal personality of the Divine Being. His Holiness Hazur Data Dayal Ji defines that Divine Being in one of his songs as

 

"Bliss soundless, formless, sound form thou Swami, Bliss, the unseen,

unnamed, profound, named thou Anami (un-named)"

 

He is the master of all animate and inanimate. In the beginning He was calm, without any sound, later on it activated and produced the eternal sound. He is the Lord, the giver of Bliss. He is the origin of all. Whole creation takes place out of Him. All planets, universe and earth are His creations.

"Bliss, the compassionate, the pitiful, the Lord,

Bliss, un-hidden secret, the secret, the happiness God."

Yearn with true heart and sincerity to reach that stage of Lord where there ' is all happiness. But you cannot achieve that stage so easily because of your worldly attachments and longings.

"Thy unbound glory, who can sing thy origin & end,

Who can know thy secret, who can make a comment.

Thou manifest in the Form of a Saint, To awaken the mankind.

Cut off the snares of Time and Deed,

Lead to the Absolute's kind."

That Divine Being comes to this world in the form of Saints to awaken and guide the ignorant suffering mankind. What is Kal and Karma ? In Sant Mat, Kal, is time. There is motion and action in Time. The variety of motion and action in Time is known as deed or Karma. Till our "self" or Surat through the practice of contemplation and meditation do not achieve that state of motionless or inertness, we cannot succeed to liberate ourselves from Kaal (Time) and Karma (deed). There is always a movement in our body. Blood circulation continues ceaselessly. The process of breaking and remaking of cells goes on regularly, Health and body strength depends on making of cells and when this process ends, old age approaches, God is beyond all. these processes. His stage is of inertness or calmness. It is also known as the state of tranquillity.

"Beyond the three stages of consciousness exists our abode".

Sat Guru comes from that fourth stage, to unfold the secret. He reveals that this, world is of duality, where. both pleasure and pain, Happiness and Sorrows exist. and if you desire liberation from it, then follow the path of Sumiran, Dhyan and Bhajan. Concentrate your mind at one ideal point, that will redeem you.

You people come here for your own motives. I feel indebted to you, because your experiences have helped me to realise the Truth or the Secret. Though I have not yet attained that state of Absolute Truth, but I have known it, and I am always in effort to attain it. My regular effort is to remain attracted to that state of Soundless-Sound. What would be the result of my efforts, I am not aware. Sh. Sewa Ram, you have come, you do all jobs for me. I too feel my responsibility towards you and I sincerely wish to perform my duty, Make one image or Form as your ideal., I do not recommend that you should make me as your ideal. Make any Form as your perfect ideal. on whom you have firm faith and belief. Undertake constant inarticulate repetition of His name, meditate on His Holy form and enter the state of contemplation. Be honest to your ownself and pure at heart, because whatever we gain or lose in this world of Time and Deed is the fruit of our own inner conscience.

"First. the Absolute, self Supreme,

Bow to thy lotus feet.

Recite and meditate day and night,

Contemplate on Radhaswami."

Radhaswami is a "Word spoken" (varnatmic). It is recited by agency of tongue, teeth, lips and gullet. This recitation In audible. But the true recitation is inarticulate repetition of Radhaswami within It is to attune your "self" to the Eternal Sound (Anhad Shabd). Now mine is quite an old age, I am sure to leave this mortal world sooner or later. But, where shall I go? I have understood, that if I could remember Him, The Unnamed, the formless and the profound, I shall merge in Him losing my own entity. But if I remained attached to the worldly cravings or this Gurudom, then I cannot say what would be my end.

"Now I proceed to the immortal abode,

breaking chains of all, body, mind and thought Follow those who desire.

our path of hanging on the gallows."

To reach that Immortal abode, one has to dispel all worldly longings, thoughts, desires and attachments. Now, what is meant by hanging on the gallows in Sant matt. When some body is punished to death by hanging i.e. a rope Is put around his neck from the gallows. The wooden plank is removed from beneath his feet and he is suspended In the air with only rope round his neck, that throttles him to death. The accused gets no support whatsoever to his body except the rope of gallows. Like wise In Sant matt His abode is gallows "Surat" or "Self" is to be hanged, to it with Sumiran, Dhyan and Bhajan and later to be suspended without any support of desire, longing and even of Sumiran, Dhyan and Shajan except with the string of love. This is what I understand from the word gallows.

0 Faqir, these Sat Sangis, have taught you the method of hanging at gallows. Only this experience of a manifestation of my Form at different places, of which I am never aware, have changed my life. Those people who Create my form with their mental forces to fulfil their worldly desires, are not interested to know the Truth. They do not hang themselves on the gallows, because they depend on the support of my Form, where as to a man on gallows, there la no support. This is the highest stage. If some body desires to achieve this stage, he should make only the Unnamed, the formless as his ideal. if your ideal is Sargun (he who takes birth) then attainment of that state is impossible. To achieve the state of your origin, make the Supreme Being as your ideal and have firm faith on Him. But, because you cannot concentrate at that point of formlessness, it is advisable to you to believe that your Ideal Is Parkash Swarup (all luminous). Never think, that your Master lives at Hoshiarpur or Agra or Beas or at any other religious place. He is always by your side.

"O Gallows made as the abode.

Poison made as the food.

Time can't affect him, who remains alert for good."

To the Vedantis (scripturalists). God is one's own "Self" to the devotees, His form is His own, and to the followers of Guru matt, Guru is the image of God. These are differences of words and expressions. Making of poison as food means a very difficult task i.e.. to remain attached towards the Supreme Being without having any other desires In mind. A man who has no worldly desire or attachment, automatically remains attracted towards Him.

"Lover makes a call of love, I fall to go.

He pure, I impure to His feet fail I to bow."

There is an eternal sound of that Supreme Lord going on within us, but our attention fails to catch it due to worldly desires (impurities) In it.

"For whom Did I proceed, He came to me to meet,

Lord stands to, Thy face, Kabir, bow to His feet."

What for, you go to temple mosques and other religious places. He is always within you, But this is beyond your understanding. That Is why I generally say that now I am unfit to give Sat Sang of lower stages. I speak from a very high stage, which is beyond your comprehension.

Now I speak for those who have worldly desires. Make any Guru, god or godess as your ideal on whom you have firm faith. With whatever Nama your Guru has initiated you recite it. Concentrate your mind, with Simran and Dhyan on that holy form. Without this process you cannot attain peace. As for the attainment of the ultimate stage or Deliverance is concerned, it is not for every body or every body is not competent for it. Only one or two among crores aspire for that state. Sh. Parshotam Dass, you are my very old friend. You know, I have spent the whole of my life in this search. Sat Sangis have helped me to realise the truth. Now I always try to remain on that gallows (the stage of bliss) and enjoy it. This difficult path is not for the worldly people. You should follow the path of Vedas or scriptures, i.e. keep your mind and thought always pure and positive. Have faith at one place or on one God or goddess. If you are a Sanatanist, then make Rama or Krishna as your ideal, if you are a Mohammedan, have Mohammed as your supreme ideal, if you are a Christian make Christ as your supreme saviour and if you are a Sikh, then make your ideal according to your own faith. Be the devotee of only one ideal and think that your ideal is supreme, the creator, sustainer and your saviour. But it does not mean that you should develop hatred and enmity towards the followers of other God or Goddess than yours. The purpose is to have support of that un-named supreme power in any form to spend this life happily. Always entertain this thought that your ideal is with you, and if you succeed to confirm this thought, it may help you to achieve the ultimate truth one day and you may be able to reach His Abode.

Peace to the whole humanity.