R Singh - 2000

R SINGH – 2002

MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AND MEETING WITH BABA JI

To all the readers, please accept my prostration greeting (Dandauth Bandhna).

This servant  (Dass) of the Guru resides in Canada.  In worldy terms my job is of an engineer and I have been with a consulting company for the last 16 years.   I grew up in a village in Punjab, India.  From the age of 13 to 15 I spent much time in the company of holy men.  I was absorbed in making and serving food (langar) for the sangat.  From the age of 16 I went to Khalsa college and having the company of initiated Sikhs, I also got initiated.   I even memorised my daily prayers, but didn’t really do it on a  daily basis.  I used to read Gurbani like everyone else, and now and again would go to the Gurdwara as well. 

I would like to share one thing about the time when I was studying at Engineering College in Ludhiana.  I had one professor who was a member of Akhand Kirtani Jutha (AKJ).  He was very strict about not eating food prepared outside of his own home.  When out and about he would only eat fruit.  It was done to his religious prejudice as the reason he he didn’t eat food made by people outside was because they were not initiated like him.

After emigrating to Canada I found a job and got back into going to the Gurdwara and doing seva.   I made extra effort to attend special functions at the Gurdwara like a famous Ragi singer or when there was overnight kirtan (Renhsabhaaee).  After 1986, I was blessed to meet and serve many visiting “Sants” (holy souls).    Many times I had sangat with the strict AKJ Sikhs.  And I organised many religious programmes at home.  Looking back at that time I realise that whatever desires I was praying to be fulfilled at that time, was attracting the kinds of “Sants” that could fulfill those desires.  Meaning that whilst I was covered in the filth of Maya and full of worldy wants, I was attracting the kind of people, so called Sants, who were able to fulfill those wants, but themselves were also operating under Maya.

Before continuing, this servant would like to add that “I am not good and no-one is bad” – Guru Nanak.    Many of these so called “Sants” are actually just preachers.  They are not Sants, because Gurbani says a Sant is the one who gets the Naam remembered, “Sant Japaavay Naam.”  These preachers are merely passing on what they have read or heard, but not actually put into practise themselves.   Many of them stress the importance of reading, reading and more reading of Gurbani, and stress the importance of getting initiated.   But they still abide by caste prejudices even though Gurbani says the Sant sees all people as one. 

The one who is doing Naam Simran, bathing in Naam internally, conquorer of the five thieves, completed their bhagti (loving devotion as a divine slave), enjoying Amrit showers within, living a truthful life and meeting the Divine is the Sant.   The Sant is recognised through his selfless seva, humbleness,  practical experience of what Gurbani says,  contentment in Truth (sat Santokh) and being liberated (Jiwan Mukat).  The false Sants are recognised through their:-

- relentless pursuit of collecting money,

- major aim of building up their network in order to influence and control people,

- aim to initiate thousands of people – going for quantity rather than quality,

- preaching which gets people attached to them as individuals,

- use of ardas (prayer) just  to fulfill the worldy wants of their followers (rather than teaching the followers to become desire-free as per Gurbani),

-  active misuse of supernatural powers to get things done – good or bad.

In 1998, after not achieving anything spiritually and being disillusioned, this servant, stopped going to the Gurdwara and doing sangat of these false preachers and committees and instead stayed at home just reading Gurbani.

In 2000, a good friend told us (me and my wife) about Baba Ji and we went Baba Ji’s Sangat at his house.  This servant was overwhelmed with how Baba ji met us.  Baba ji showed us love, kindness and was full of humility.  My mind became peaceful and cool right away.   Baba ji told me not to be dissapointed by all the seva and sangat I had previously done as those good deeds were now bearing fruit and had brought me to Baba Ji.  From that day onwards, me and my wife, attended Baba Ji’s sangat daily and without fail.

Baba Ji explained to me that the so-called Sikhs nowadays don’t have the Naam and as a result are lost in ignorance and confusion.  Baba Ji told us to earn the divine knowledge from Gurbani and to do what it says.  Which is to get blessed with Naam from a complete Sant-Guru.  To become content with Truth (sat santokh) by becoming free from wordly desires.  To only engage in truthful deeds. To be as humble as a dog infront of the Master and to live life fully like this.   Baba Ji told me to close my eyes and to have a good look inside to evaluate wether the Gurbani I have been reading and hearing all of my life has actually had any effect on my mind?  Baba Ji said if having read or listened to Gurbani, but then not understood it nor applied it to my life, then I could not call myself a Sikh of any Guru.  Doing what Gurbani said was the most important thing in order to make spiritual progress.

When I looked inside and applied the benchmark of what Gurbani was saying, I realised I had not cleaned up my mind at all, I had not become lowest of the low, I had not appreciated that God was in one and all and hence had not treated all as equal.  I had not stopped criticising and controlling my family members.  I realised that my face was towards any Guru even though I was calling myself a Sikh.  Baba Ji said that if I am still praying infront of Guru Granth Sahib for fulfilling my worldly wants then I still had not understood what Gurbani was saying.

Bin tudh hor je mangana sir dukhay te dukh||

Asking for anything other than You,

is asking for the highest amount of pain and suffering.

Dukh daru sukh rog bhayaa. Ja sukh tum na hoee||

Pain is the remedy as pleasures had become the disease.

Whilst there was pleasure you were not (remembered).

There is no point praying for getting worldly wants to be fulfilled, because we only reap what we have sown.  No amount of praying is going to make us receive anything different from what is already written for us.  Praying for worldly wants only keeps us trapped in desires.

laekh na mittee hae sakhee jo likhiaa karathaar ||
The inscription inscribed by the Creator Lord cannot be erased, O my companions.

jaehaa beejai so lunai mathhai jo likhiaas ||
As you plant, so shall you harvest; your destiny is recorded on your forehead.

The Sikhs of the Guru Masters’ time were made to honour the Sants, Gurbani honours the Sants, so how extremely unfortunate are today’s Sikhs that go and slander the Sants?   Every page of Gurbani honours the Sant.  Even in the nightly prayer, Kirtan Sohila, that these unfortunate Sikhs read but don’t act upon, honours the Sant :

kar saadhhoo a(n)julee pun vaddaa hae ||

kar dda(n)ddouth pun vaddaa hae ||1||

Greet the Holy Saint with your palms pressed together; this is an act of great merit.

Bow down before Him; this is a virtuous action indeed. ||1||

Inside the Sant resides the fully manifested Divine Light of God.  Learn to recognise the true Sant.  After four months of Baba Ji’s sangat this servant was also blessed with the manifestation of the Divine Light (Jyot) within.  Then this body started going into Samadhi Asans (spontaneous meditation postures – expressions of divine love).   Asans (postures) occur when in Samadhi.  The limbs of the body automatically and gracefully move as directed by the Supreme.  Sometimes he moves the limbs into postures, sometimes He makes us dance – its all His play.   Whilst sitting in Samadhi I have been blessed with countless holy visions and amazing sights.  Visions of Baba Ji, Guru Masters, Sants, Bhagats.  Experience of astral body flying and seeing Baba Ji surrounded by beautiful gardens and holy vision of pure divine Light.  This face is bright and shining, this body has Amrit flowing throughout and in this way I feel God in and around me.    The divine wisdom of Gurbani keeps coming inside us by itself.  This has all happened only with His kindness and the five thieves have been conquered. 

ghar mehi pa(n)ch varathadhae pa(n)chae veechaaree ||

naanak bin sathigur vas n aavanhee naam houmai maaree ||8||5||27||

Within the homes of their bodies, the five passions are pervading,

but here, the five are well-behaved.

O Nanak, without the Sat Guru, they are not overcome;

 through the Naam, the ego is conquered. ||8||5||27||

The Shabad Guru’s divine wisdom (Gyan) has come to us only through the manifested Divine Light, which is the Hirdha (spiritual heart) of the Satguru. And we need the living light of God as the Satguru to complete our journey now.   The SatGuru’s divine wisdom teaches us that liberation of the soul (Jiwan Mukti) can only be achieved whilst we are alive as a human.  Whilst we are alive we need to reach the state of shining face (mukh ujalay) because after death we have no face.  If you want to be absorbed in Truth, then you will have to start living a fully truthful life and to see and treat everyone equally.  But also remember,

bin sathigur kinai n paaeiou bin sathigur kinai na paaeiaa ||

Without the SatGuru, no one has obtained the Lord;

without the SatGuru, no one has obtained the Lord.

This article has been written only by the grace of God and Guru.  It is a pure and Eternally Blessed (GurParsaadi) writing.

The servant of his servants, the slave of His slaves, the dog of dogs of His House,

R Singh.