SALVATION TOUR BY HIS HOLINESS
BABA HARDEV SINGH JI MAHARAJ
July
2, 2008
(Uttara Khand,
Mussoorie, Kyarkuli)
His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj addressed a congregation at village Kyarkuli. He was visiting the place after a gap of more than two years. Devotees had assembled in a large number in spite of the difficult hilly terrain. Most of them had traveled on foot. Blessing the gathering, Baba Ji said:
“Saints enlighten us with Truth and rid us from delusions. We suffer from many delusions because we are in the darkness of ignorance. Even a rope may be mistaken as a snake. But when there is light, we can see the object and identify it correctly. This has happened since ages. People wasted their precious lives in the bondages of superstitions. But those who realized the Truth found the light and illumined their mind as well as the soul. They made their human life meaningful. They did not waste it.
That is why the saints have always advised man to know the purpose of this human life. Why is it compared with a diamond? Why do we say that to receive this human body is a sign of good fortune? Those who realized this, found that its importance does not rest in worldly achievements. Only Truth is important; realizing the Truth and then living this life like a human being is important. Saints show this very path to the humans.
We may be living in any country. If there is darkness, man will stumble. Darkness remains darkness for everyone, whether somebody is an American or an Indian. A developed county does not become an exception for the darkness. Similarly, ignorance remains ignorance. We may read what has been taught by Lord Christ, Ramcharit Manas, Gita, Vedas or whatever holy scripture we believe, but the question remains whether we have realized what they preach? Those who realized it, wrote about it. They praised this Formless One. But did we too attain it? If not, then let us understand that we have failed to make our life successful. Neither our soul is going to gain anything.
If we say that our elders realized God and that is sufficient, it is not true. Suppose the father takes the food and the children say that it is enough, will it satiate their appetite? Will they be able to gain health from what their father has eaten? No, what the father has taken will improve his health only. No doubt when the children say that their father has taken the food, it is true; there is nothing false about it, but the benefit also will go to him alone. Since the children have not taken the food, their body is likely to become weak only.
Just as the body needs food, water and air etc., the soul needs to realize the Over-Soul i.e. God. That is why saints have always told man that your faith in what you read, your faith in the saints, Gurus and prophets, is all appreciated, but if you have not done what they all ask you to do, then all that you do is meaningless.
The world has its own fascinations, its own responsibilities, but we have not to remain confined to this. We must go beyond what is visible and seek the Invisible One. It is very essential that we make this One as the base of our life. We must rely on Him and realize that all that exists is because of this One. This greenery, these clouds touching our bodies, these snow-clad hills, these rivers – all are because of Him. The devotee knows the Nature, the creation as well as its Creator. He knows that it will be our ignorance if we take the creation as the creator. The art is one thing and the artist another. Unfortunately, we remain confined rather entangled in the creation, our worldly affairs, and make no move towards the Creator.
It is like this oft-repeated example. A father gets some toys for his child. The child becomes so busy with the toys that he does not respond even when his father calls him repeatedly. He forgets that it is his father who gave these toys to him. Similarly, man forgets that all the fascinating views of Nature are because of its creator and he ignores Him. Saints, therefore, call upon man again and again that he must not remain confined to the world, he must know the Truth and live his life illumined with it.
Once man knows the Truth, he realizes his real entity. He comes to know that he is not the body; he identifies himself with the soul, which is the part and parcel of the Over-Soul i.e. God. And God has no religion, no caste. He does not belong to a particular region either. He is the one single light in all, the same spirit that pervades all. Let there be no confusion about this. Even Avtar Bani says that He is there in every human being, whether man or woman, whether Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaish or a Sudra. He is the Creator. The entire universe has come from Him. Whether animate or inanimate, whether visible or invisible, every object is because of Him. Everything reflects His image. That is why He removes all discriminations from the mind. He removes all differences and brings man closer to man, strengthens the spirit of love and cooperation. Once all these discriminations go, the soul begins to dance in ecstasy. It feels salvaged from the bondages it was suffering from, from one birth to another.
Then, man feels grateful to the saints also, who helped him to fulfill the objective of his life. He thanks them for making this impossible task as possible. It is because of these God-realised saints that he could know the Creator. It is because of them that he attained his destination, so close.
If we wish to make our devotion to God real and perfect, we must know Him; and in order to know Him, we must seek the company of the one who knows Him. Our love for Him will be real only after we know Him. So, to make this happen, we must take the first step and seek the company of saints. In case we do not take this first step and go on doing everything else, it will be like blowing the water which will never yield butter. That is why the saints declare that the attainment (of God) will take place only when the process is started. And unless we know God, how can we have devotion for Him?
So, every human being must know this Truth, this Formless One. This is the Formless One whose knowledge was given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. This is the One introduced by Swami Ramananda to Kabir Ji, by Guru Ravidas Ji to Meera Bai. It was after knowing Him that they called upon every human being to know Him.
Let us pray that we all live our life while knowing Him, perceiving Him, admiring Him, realizing His presence at every step and also doing Satsang, Sewa and Sumiran.
Just as we cannot enjoy the beauty of the mountains when the clouds are there, we cannot enjoy the bliss of divinity so long as the clouds of ignorance are there. Once this ignorance goes, we are face to face with Truth, with the Almighty God.”
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