Articles

What is Satguru?

First, let's look at the word, 'Satguru'. 'Sat-': meaning 'Truth' And '-guru': a combination of two Latin words 'gu': meaning darkness 'ru': meaning light So Satguru means bringing humanity from darkness to light through Truth. Or simply, 'True Master'. Since times immemorial, the True Master has always been there in every age of human evolution. Whether he was known as the 'Satguru' to the world or not was up to him. But he HAS always been there. Watching, living, teaching. In times of great dispute and/or the descent of humanity into despair, hatred, war, Satguru revealed himself and once again set us upon the path of Truth. Showing us how to live as true human beings through stories and teachings and by example. So, how do you know who is THE Satguru? Because there are so many gurus out there, people are confused as to who is the 'True' Satguru. One way of finding the Satguru is how she/he portrays her/himself. When looking at Baba Hardev Singh ji, talking to him, listening to him, what do you feel? One can say that when they come into his presence, they feel a sense of bliss. That when they talk to him, they see him as humble, kind, tolerant, loving, peaceful, and many other attributes. That when they listen to him, the Knowledge of God is given freely. And when they see him working, that he is devoted to God and his followers. He also teaches the Value of YOU. What I mean by this is that he teaches us how to worship each other, and by doing that, we are worshiping God. Because Baba ji can be there for every Satsang in the world, he has given us common people his place upon the stage. And that is what my Satguru is: Humility. Kindess. Patience. Tolerance. Devotion. And LOVE.

 

Peace of Mind

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were travelling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.” The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!” So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.”

After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be ... and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water... Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.” What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, “It is effortless.” Having 'peace of mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside. It spreads around you and in the environment, such that people around start feeling that peace and grace.

The Pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter and he asked her if she is writing a story about him. His grandmother stopped writing her letter and told her grandson “I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the Pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this Pencil when you grow up”. Intrigued, the boy looked at the Pencil. It didn’t seem very special and he remarked “But it’s just like any other Pencil I’ve ever seen”, “That depends on how you look at things” said the grandmother –“It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world”. First quality: You are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will. Second quality: Now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but after wards, it’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person. Third quality: The pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice. Fourth quality: What really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you. Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action. Great truths lie in simple things!!

Scratch on Nose

A tourist once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the Sculptor, “Do you need two statues of the same idol?" “No said the Sculptor, without looking up, we need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage.”

The gentleman examined the idol and found, no apparent damage. “Where is the damage?” he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol, said the sculptor still busy with his work." Where are you going to install the idol?"

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose"? The gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, “I will know it”. The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. “Excellence" is a drive from inside not outside.

Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and growth.

My Family

All of you know that the IPL fever has just rocked the nation. Some time back there was a lot of publicity when Bangalore made the costliest bid for English player Kevin Pieterson and Chennai for his colleague Flintoff. Both these players were welcomed by the home crowds and the people were eager to see them perform and cheer them. But just some earlier when they were part of the English team that had toured India, the same people had booed them. What had changed? They were the same players from the same countries, but now they had become part of ‘our team’. Once they were accepted as one of us they started receiving overwhelming support. Babaji has often said, “Waise toh yeh duniya hain par is duniya mein hum sab ne apni apni duniya banayi hui hain. Meri apni duniya mein wo log hotein hain jinhe main pyaar karta hoon ya vice versa, wahi cheez hoti hai jo main chahta hoon, ya wahi sapno hote hain jinhe main sakaar karna chahta hoon. Aur fir hum sweekar bhi usko hi karte hain jo apni duniya chodkar meri duniya main aata hain.”

Do we feel the same pangs of sorrow on seeing others in pain as we feel for our personal family members? There are so many patients in hospital but my pain is limited to that bed where my family member is admitted. But how happy we feel when some good befalls our individual family. Today Babaji says that if reason of your happiness is happiness of your family members then consider the whole world as your family. Then a smile on the face of any person will cause you to smile. Babaji has just changed the definition of my family. Till yesterday it was bound to a limited circle of a few people, now it has extended to the entire world.

I stay in Mira Road in Mumbai. When I travel in Mumbai I claim that I stay in Mira Road. When I leave the city and travel to Pune or elsewhere outside the city limits then I claim that I’m from Mumbai. When I leave the state I claim that I’m from Maharashtra. When I travel out of India I say that I’m from India. The moment I am not bound by the physical boundaries in my city, the entire city becomes mine. But why should this broadmindedness be restricted to physical movement alone. It is more important to erase these borders without physical movement.

The frog that yelled that his well was the biggest died saying so because he had never seen the world outside. He never knew what sea was. Someone has very nicely commented that life is too short to learn from our own experiences. Common let us erase this borders of caste, creed, race from our minds and hearts and accept each and every person as our family as a child of the family of God.

Let us come out of our wells and enjoy the bliss of the sea. Let us come out of the boundaries of our world and accept each and every person as he/she is. ‘Fir Hum Apni Duniya Se Jyaada Har-Ek Insaan Ko preference De Paayenge’.

True Love

Saints, when sun rises in the morning we wake up. We start our daily routine What we see in the newspaper that is very disheartening. Bloodshed, violence, infighting among family members, terrorism, robberies, etc. We can see so much agony and violence taking place all around in the world, which gives birth to insecurity in hearts. There is no security for any body who is going out for work, if he will come back safe. And we see that if such violent activities have happened at a limited corner of the world than their results were not limited to a small area but had spread all over and. The tragedy is that the biggest enemy of man is man himself. Somebody said, ‘aaj tou har fun ka nishan pathar hai, Haath pathar hai juban pathar hai’ Every thing has turned into stone. Even if a little love remained in heart that also is for our own self we say is ‘self pity’. But what if love prevails in every heart for everybody. We all know that Peace is the requirement of every month, every hour, every minute on every place. We have to slowly establish the values. narrow –mindedness and hatred have to be eroded. There should be establishmaent of love, peace, compassion. This is the requirement of all human beings, all nations at all times. And this transformation is only possible through the awakening of the soul. This awakening can be brought about by the True Master, who guides us rightly. Satguru Baba Hardev Singh ji Maharaj once quoted ‘Ishk karne ka saleeka phoolon se seekh le, Titliyan apne aap utar aayengi’’. If the power of love overcomes the power of hatered, the world will see peace. And feeling of universal brotherhood will be established when soul gets awakening. We are all the children of the same father, when we know this truth, we will realize Almighty God After that we will be able to see God in everything, in everybody. Hatered, jealousy, enmity will be erased from our mind. Feeling of oneness, universal brotherhood will prevail. Baba Ji please bless all of us that our deeds may become as per your wish and guidance and our feelings should also become like this, ‘na ko bairee na hi baigana, Sagal sang hamko bani aayi’

We are in Safe Hands

Once upon a time there was a mom sparrow and a father sparrow.They lived happily in their nest. They had a baby too. They loved their baby and gave him special food. One day the mother sparrow and the father sparrow moved their face towards each other and gave some indication. Then the mother sparrow flew under the tree and the father sparrow towards the baby. Then he pushed his baby. The baby fell down and he thought ”My parents first gave me some special food and loved me so much,now they have pushed me. The baby get angry and tried to fly his wings and flew back to the nest.

Then the parents came near the baby sparrow and started to love him again. Then the baby sparrow said in an angry voice. “Now why are you loving me, First you pushed me, now there is no meaning to love me.” Then his father said that we were not hurting you. We were just teaching you how to fly and if you fall down your mother was right under the tree to catch you.

The baby sparrow realized that he was wrong and his parents loved him a lot and they wanted to make him strong and independent. In the same way we need to have faith in God .We need to know. He will take care of us.Always trust god.

Gift to God

Moving and moving in this world, I found some one who is along with me always, presenting me every thing I need.
I am just moving, and moving far and far, But HE is still there moving along with me.
The first step i take to move, HE helps me to do so.
Second step i take i put it some where, HE makes that ground where I can keep my feet.
He makes every thing possible being along.
But i m moving.
If there's dark, HE ligtens all, so i don't fall.
HE is here with me.
HE was there when i born,
HE was there before and ever.
I am Gifted By Him To Him.
My GIFT To GOD

Bhakti - Devotion

Bhakti is not mere love or devotion but a combination of several concepts. It is a very powerful emotion of the mind and a character of the highest nature hidden in us, which helps us to make progress in our onward spiritual journey.

It is characterized by Faith, Love, Trust and attachment towards an entity such as God. Pure and selfless devotion to God leads to salvation and eternal life.

In spiritual terms Bhakti means intense spiritual love and devotion to God. Its helps a person to satisfy his/her spiritual needs without following an ascetic way of life. Hindu scriptures state that bhakti marg is the surest and the easiest way to reach God. Huzur Satguru Babaji explains that - When devotion & Love enter our life, then our life becomes enjoyable.To progress in spirituality you have to become loving, caring and devoted like a "sadhu".

Saints, we should always pray to nirankar that our devotion comes from our heart and is true.

Being the good soil for the Sower!

Once upon a time, a sower went out to sow seeds. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and took them away. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

As the story tells us, our hearts are those soil where the saints and Gods people sowed the seeds of faith, love and brotherhood since centuries. Sometimes these seeds fell on the hearts of people who could'nt care, for them their own goodwill and prosperity was more important than the prosperity of humanity. For them it was just another saint, just another tradition to live a life in this world. A mode of survival in the society.

There are others who have made up their minds not to change, they are the rocky grounds who do not have any soil to let the seed flourish. The seeds were taken away by birds of anger, selfishness, cowardness and hatred. They fell in the hearts of people with little faith in the trial times and fell victims to their circumstances and the seeds of faith could not endure in them. Their minds become so conditioned to the baises of caste, creed, religion and culture that the seeds of faith, love and brotherhood wither away.

And then there are hearts with bitterness in them, the ones who carry the baggage of their miseries and the bitterness is so much that it clouds the seeds of peace and happiness that the teachings of faith and love bring with them. The thorns of bitterness grow and choke them up.

But there are those hearts which are craving for peace, the good soil which welcomes the sower, the saint and the seeds of love, faith and brotherhood, he brings along with him. They absorb the seeds and make them fruitfull in their lives by displaying the character of a saint. And through them more seeds are sown and more good harvest is produced.

We need to be the good soil in the company of saints where the God knowledge is sowed as a seed and brings fruit in our lives, enlightens and brings love to other people's life and in turn creates a peace loving, humble and God loving world.

Positive Attitude

There was a blind boy who was sitting on the steps outside a building with a hat in his hand and a sign was lying near his feet saying “ I AM BLIND, PLEASE HELP ME”. There were only few coins lying in the hat.

A man was walking by and read the sign & put some coins in the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around & wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that all the people passing by could read the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. Later that afternoon the man who had changed the words on the sign came back to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked him, “Were you the one who had changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said, “ I only wrote the truth. I wrote what you had said but using different words”. He had rewritten the sign as “Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.”

The message given by both the blind boy and the other man were the same. However the words used by the man were more positive and left the image on all the people looking at the sign and the blind boy was optimistic and lived life to the fullest.

Similarly saints know and understand the importance of always living one's life with a positive and different attitude.

Need of a True Master

In every aspect of life we need a master to teach us. In every field & to gain any kind of knowledge we need a master. Like by the grace of almighty god we are blessed with a master since our birth that is our precious mother. After some times when we go to school, colleges we always need a master who can end our ignorance and gives us the light of knowledge. But to gain any kind of knowledge or to learn any type of art we have to left ourselves in the hands of our master and he mould us in to perfect artist by giving necessary treatments.

So from above discussion we conclude that a master is very necessary to give us the direction in every field of life.

So can we ever ponder about the need of a master in the service of deity? Have we ever required a master to know our selves? Do we believe that a soul is immortal? No we can’t. But it is the most important deed to do. So to get the answers of these questions we need not only a master, we need a true master who can bless us from the slumber of ignorance and bestow us with divine light. From our pious epics like Ramayana & Bhagwata, relation ship between true master& disciple has a unique value. Lord Ram has taken the divine knowledge from his true master Mahrishi Vashishtha, Lord Krishna from guru Sandipani ji, Meerabai ji from Ravidas ji who was a cobbler.

Friends do we all are more intelligent then all generous saints?

I don’t think so.

A true master is away from this mortal coil, away from cast & creed, away from every religion and away from the discrimination. He is the one who link our mind with almighty& omnipresent God.

He is the one who gives us knowledge to get rid of the cycle of birth & death. That’s why saint Kabir has written - he would touch the feet of his guru besides the lord because by the knowledge given by his master, he is able to know the god. A true master is like a pious flowing river who take all our bad deeds and fragrant our soul with love, sympathy & clarity. He inculcates his devotees with the vehement feel that to always remain the religious zeal. He takes care of his disciple more than his own children. True master is like a candle that burns him to enlighten others. Once our mind is linked with God, it is bound to experience the gift-always fresh, dewy & pleasant.

So friends to sum up I just want to say that we can identify the real life only when we realize the truth perched between the life & death. Truth is not a person or object capable of being searched. It is a deep and fine feeling of ecstasy & eternity. We can achieve the goal if we inspire our psych towards immorality by regular spiritual practice. So we all must approach the true master to realize the truth. Our life becomes meaningful and relishing by consciousness of truth, which demolishes all walls and sects. Remember-

Life is just not only for eat, drink & merry, It is to devote us in service of mankind & deity.

Love is God and God is Love

Love, a four-letter word. What is it? Is it the love between a man and a woman, between siblings? What about between friends? Yes, it's love. Then what about love towards materialistic objects? One person loves his car. Another person loves her dolls. And yet another one loves books, coffee, animals, trucks, etc., etc. You get the point: you love many things and you tell others about them.

But the most important love...Can you guess it? No one likes to talk about it. It makes us uncomfortable.: GOD!

Know that one quote: "Love is God and God is Love." That's what I'm talking about. And I'm not talking about conditional love. I'm talking about 'unconditional' love. Many of us have problems with it. I know I do. We can't seem to grasp the idea of it . How can one love unconditional, without boundaries or borders, without thought of what the person has done or who the person is? But one does! And He is forever pursuing us, telling us, "I love you, my child. Open yourself to love."

A.k.a: Love equals God.

Everyone is searching for something. The soul isn't content until it has what it's searching for, until it's reunited to its source and that source is God. And that's where Love resides. Only if we open ourselves to Love, we cannot change for the greater good.

FOR LOVE IS GOD AND GOD IS LOVE.

This is what Baba ji has been trying to teach us because from only love, all things good come into being.

Our Lord Master

Just a few days back received sms from my son aseem "prayer is a toll free call to god, no battery, no charging, no network problem, no sim card.

Always clear signal and endless talk time"

I read it again and again and find it true, really its so. With the blessings of you holy saints I have some duties with our Lord Master Baba Hardev Singh Ji. This sms proved practically on this tour of Baba ji to Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. In Maharashtra a place named pen visited by Baba ji for Satsang, while Satsang one sevadal saint came to me and told me to meet with one old lady, who wants to meet Baba ji, I met her. When I brought her near stage she said to Baba ji a few days back I saw you in my dreams and then I requested you to please visit pen (name of place) and the very next day I heard that Baba ji will bless pen. As soon as I heard it I have tears in my eyes and told to Baba ji bless us so that we may live our life in such a way as these saints are living they are praying with true hearts and you are reaching there to bless them. Really our Lord Master is great in all ways. We should always bow our head in front of him...

Well Wishers

In truth we are all dissatisfied with our life. We all have to face adverse problems and situations. We make persistent endeavors to make circumstances wholesome throughout life. The status quo, however, stays on. Serious and discreet thinking over the basic cause of our failure and dissatisfaction would reveal that we have adopted an erratic style of life. In case we concentrate on changing ourselves, instead of changing our circumstances, we would achieve the cherished goal.

The process of changing ourselves does not mean an escapist attitude on life, but contemplating life as a test and a contest. If we are determined to succeed in life, we shall have to admit everybody around us as our well wisher. We would have to earnestly practice this art regardless of hostile and abusive attitude of any and every body. Only then we would sail through life comfortably. A philosopher rightly said that our foes teach us more than saints and enlightened personages. We should be grateful towards one who places thorns on our path. With such a perception we can remain satisfied even in adverse circumstances. A serious speculations on our domestic problems and hurdles would enable us focus on these issues, would dispel all our difficulties. Even stone blocks in our way can serve us as staircases. We can thus enjoy the relish of contented life.

Empty Out Your Minds

Once upon a time a man went deep in the forest to learn martial arts from a Zen master. The master was very famous and excellent in his field. When his student reached there and expressed his wish and urge to learn the art, the master agreed. But as soon as the master started, the student began to interrupt in everything he was being taught because he had doubt in the master's skill as he had some coaching earlier.

So the master invited the student for a cup of tea. The master asked, "What will you like to have, tea or coffee?" Tea, replied the student. But the master started pouring in coffee. The student said, "Stop master, I asked for tea, not coffee." The master started pouring tea in the same cup. The student said, "Stop master, first you need to empty the cup." "Exactly", said the master, "the cup need to be emptied".

To learn anything we first need to empty our cup (mind) if we want to learn something from the Satsang. We have to keep everything outside. Only then we will gain something. If we think we are better than others speaking on microphone, we will gain nothing. The pride in us will contaminate the good we can gain. So from today lets make it a point to keep our minds empty to gain from Satsang.

Link Your Heart With God

SAINT:

"Link your heart with formless God; get the riddle of the life solved."

BUISINESSMAN

"I am the great and rich businessman,
I can buy anything anyone.
Whole world stands at my heck and call, I have no need and no time for God"

SAINT:

"Oh! My dear rich friend you are so poor,
Wealth cannot buy a second when the death knocks your door.
You cannot buy a second; you cannot buy a breath,
Please wake up please wake up please wake up from the sleep."
"Link your heart with formless God; get the riddle of the life solved"

DOCTOR:

"I am the great and clever doctor
There is no disease I can’t cure
I have medicines; I’m the wisest of all
I have no need and no time for God"

SAINT:

"Oh! My dear clever friend you can take medicines
But the disease of ego can’t be cured by these.
Take the cup of divine nectar, from my divine master,
All your fears will vanish all your sorrows will go"

YOUNG LADY:

"I am the lady full of beauty,
I am wealthy and I am busy,
I am at the top of this world.
I have no need and no time for God"

SAINT:

"Oh! Dear lady, you are really so cute,
But its all perishable your wealth and your youth.
This omnipresent lord is near to you,
And the true master only can show you the truth."
"You are welcome to become the rich person
You can be engineer or can be none
But firstly you must be the real human
Know one belief one and be the one."
"Link your heart with formless God; get the riddle of the life solved".

Trusting God

As we walk the path of life, we tend to develop expectations that are self-designed. A lot of these expectations have an aura towards fulfillment of materialistic wishes and being able to conform into a category that is socially similar to lifestyles of people who surround us. All saints who have taken birth upon Earth have strived to relieve us of this need to attach with societal expectations and rise above the normal day to day rut. A true "Gurmukh" has his face turned towards his Satguru for direction whether it is conducive or meets his own personal need or not-that is a true conforming saint in all true sense of the word "Gurmukh".

Destiny, much to an extent is acceptable if we surrender ourselves in Nirankar's feet. Nirankar knows what is best for us- so engaging our minds into analysis and planning is a futile effort. So much to say we need to comply with our daily responsibilities as we go about; however, immersing our minds in Simran.

God knows our deepest need. When we pray, the answer may not come because we are refusing to forgive someone or are controlled by an obsession, or we are seething in such anger that our holiness is corrupted.

If you are right with God and God delays the answer to your prayer, don't misjudge Him. Don't think of Him as an unkind friend, or an unnatural father, or an unjust judge, but keep at it. Your prayer will certainly be answered, for "everyone who asks, receives". "Pray and do not cave in. Your heavenly Father will explain it all one day. He cannot just yet because He is developing your character. "Forget the character," we say. "I want Him to grant my request." And He says, "What I am doing far exceeds what you can see or know. TRUST ME."

Need of Sewa, Simran And Satsang

I have been with the Sant Nirankari Mission since I was born i.e., about 23 years. So right from beginning I have been to Satsang, doing Simran and Sewa as far as possible. For the past few years, however, I was a little cut off due to my academic pressures. I was not that regular in Sewa, Simran and Satsang. But in the course of time, I realised that I have been increasing my troubles by staying away from Sangat. My academic records went down and so did my personality. I just thought that I can’t be so busy that I can't find just 3-4 hours in a week to attend Sangat or 5 minutes in a day for Simran. I realised that the things I was running after were the things I wanted, but that took me away from the thing I needed i.e. Sewa, Simran and Satsang. At the end of the day I realised that I was no where and I had nothing. I prayed to Nirankar to help me and from that very day I started attending Satsang regularly and things automatically started coming my way without my doing anything. It was like Nirankar Himself attended to all my troubles.

Most of the time after having the Gyan of this Nirankar we think that what the use of attending Satsang now is since Nirankar is all around us and we can just pray sitting at home. This is where we always go wrong. Just getting admission in a college or school is not enough, we need to attend classes and study in order to pass. Just taking admission in an engineering college won't make us an engineer and taking admission in a medical college won't make us a doctor, we need to attend classes and clear all the courses. Only then we can be entitled for a degree. It's like the electricity is running in the entire wire but we only see the light at the place where we have a bulb or a tube, the entire wire is never illuminated. So we should make it a point that we attend Satsang as often as possible. Even if there is an exam the next day, we should still attend Sangat. This will refresh our minds as well as souls.

Life vs Swimming

There is a great similarity between how to live life and how to swim. There is a true master needed to learn the way to lead one's life and teacher needed to learn how to swim.

The first leason told by the teacher is to leave your body inside water without any effort similarly the master teaches us to rest your life in the GOD's hands without thinking that YOU are the doer. Which is also called Sacrifice.

Then the teacher tells you that it's not enough to just give away your body to water, some effort in the form of paddling your legs and hands is also required to keep afloat. Similarly the true master tells you that don't just sacrifice your belongings but also make your efforts in the form of Simran (God's remembrance), Seva and Satsang to keep your thoughts above the worldly matters.

The third lesson the teacher teaches is that after you have presented your body to the water and also done your efforts but still after a while you will lose your breath and start to panic, which will result in loss of faith in water's buoyant force. In the same way the TRUE teacher tells you that your faith in GOD should be intact, which will help you overcome the difficulties during this worldly stay.

So I seek the blessings of the saints and my true master to keep me afloat in this world of material attractions and to lead a sacrificed life with Sewa, Simran and Satsang such that my faith keep getting bolder.

Motherly Affection of God

At times children try eating up them-self trying to eat a piece of cake using a fork but after trying several times when they don't succeed his mother puts her helping hand and the child succeeds. He feels happy that he has done it neglecting the fact that it was not him but his mother who did it. Always God also helps us out but we are ignorant of his silence and take pride on ourselves.

At a second instance a child tries wearing his clothes himself and his mother keep standing at the door, smiling and smirking at his futile efforts. When the child gives up and turns toward his mother, she rushes and do it out for him. God too waits and keeps watching till we feel ourselves to be competent enough to do it, but when we give up and turn to him he blesses us with his way of doing it.

Another instance as such when a child tries reaching a thing such as poison (insecticide) or a burning lamp (fire), is ignorant of the fact that it can harm him, bring him troubles but his mother is wise enough to acknowledge what is harmful and what is fruitful to her child. She sets that aside, not giving ears to all frowns and cries of her beloved child. In the similar fashion Lord knows what we need and that what could cause us harm. We are ignorant of this. Inspite of how much we pray and plead He set those aside.

Such motherly is the affection of Nirankar (God). Whether our will gets sanctified or not at every moment we are being blessed by Lord Master's benevolence and grace.

Simran? ... ... ... It's Magic

The article I am writing down is neither a story nor a fiction. This is just my own experience which I want to share with you. I just wanted to let all of you know what is the power of SIMRAN.

I am married and my husband never believed in God. Somehow he started doing 'Paath', just to fulfill our parents' wish because he respects them a lot. But he never knew if he believed doing that or not.

It was a day when he has to go to the Bank to deposit his check. I was not with him that moment. After he had deposited his check, he went back to his work. While he was on his work, I just called him up to ask how its going. Though he said everything was OK, but still I could realize the deep sadness in his voice. I insisted to know what happened. Finally he told me that while he was pulling out his car from the parking, it striked with an other car which belonged to some employee who worked in the same bank. He said that he was so afraid of what will happen now that he didn't stop to let the owner know what was done by him and just escaped from there. This was really making him tense because it was an offence, actually a legal offence and banks have hidden cameras sometimes in the parking lots too which record all the outside activities. I told him to have patience and do SIMRAN.

At night when he came back, we had had meal and went to bed. He was still tense. He told me that now they will send me some mail during these 15 days about what I have done.

Just that moment I told him, "If you have faith in me then do as I tell you because I have faith in one who sustains the world, the Almighty One". Because we both were tense, restless and were weeping silently he agreed and we started doing SIMRAN. After doing SIMRAN we remembered Baba Ji and prayed, "It is your (Baba Ji's) responsibility now to take care of the matter. We are in your refuge. Forgive us And help us". I told my husband that now forget whatever happened becasuse it is Baba Ji's responsibility to take care of matter and you don't have to worry, because Baba Ji never runs from His responsibilities. Now afterwards we wont even talk about this matter."

Thereafter we, two or three days later, went to the same Bank. The same car was parked there. We finished our task and came back home. None asked us anything. During that week we went there thrice but none asked even a single question. Days passed and there was no sign of action from the owner of the car.

We were so happy that Baba Ji saved us. We didn't have to pay for damage, we didn't have to face humiliation. We thanked Baba Ji for taking care of the responsibility we gave him. It is all magic of SIMRAN. And now I tell him, "Whenever you fear something or you feel something wrong with you, do SIMRAN and it will help you get out of that". And he believes in SIMRAN.

Teachings of The True Master

Love: Baba Ji teaches us to love everyone.

Baba Ji says even if someone hates you, you should still love that person. The one, who loves, realizes God. In other words love is God. How strange it is that a man learns so much, but does not learn to love. Then what has he learnt?

Love is of two kinds;one is worldly and the other divine. The worldly love is temporary while the divine is permanent and brings joy & glory.

Practice: Baba Ji teaches us to do Sewa, Satsang, Simran. Baba Ji wants us to live up to what we learnt in Satsang.

Jealousy: Baba Ji teaches us not to be jealous with anyone. There is one God and we're all children of same God.

Ego: Person who is egoist never lives in peacefully.

In The Hands of Nirankar

Some time one question comes into the mind that we have the knowledge of GOD then what happen with us why we feel sadness why we fall in to the sorrow. Does it is only the matter of mind or it is the reality of our life. Only then gurmat comes into the act, gurmat tells us that it is only lack of faith you have in the GOD. You have to like a one year child, when his parents throw him in to the sky he laughs because he knows there are the safe hand of his parents are waiting for him, that’s like trust we has to in the NIRANKAR. Then we got that faith then no fear, no sadness, no sorrow will disturb us.

Look for God in Others

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school...

His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.

I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.

His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.

He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes...My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives."

He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.

He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.

He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.

I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, ! Kyle and I became best friends.

When we were seniors, we began to think about college.

Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke.

I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class.

I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle

He looked great.

He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

Boy, sometimes I was jealous.

Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech.

So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled "Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years."

Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach.. but mostly your friends...

I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, ! I was saved.

My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person's life.

For better or for worse.

God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.

Look for God in others.

Faith in Satguru

We have taken Gyan but our faith in guru only begin if we see Nirankar in sat guru and sat guru in Nirankar. But it is guru who always take care of his Gursikhs needs and always protect him from all worries. Like I always have faith in Satguru and Nirankar and he is always there for me for all my needs. Just want to share a small incident happened recently. It could be incident for out side world but for me I will say it blessings of my Satguru. I have a small business and with Satguru blessings it doing good. One day I had to go out for delivery of my goods what we make so I left with my truck. I told my wife to lock up the doors of factory and she can go because I might get late. Well she left as told but she forgot to lock one door in the back. I came back may be after hour half and saw somebody waiting from me. This was driver of some other company who had come to deliver some stuff for me. He was little scared and worried and told me that I had left back door unlocked. I asked him what had happened and told me go look inside there is some body in your factory. I told him may be my wife is not gone he said no, somebody in white clothes with white turban was roaming inside the factory. I was little surprised too who could it be I told him lets go inside but when we went inside there was no body. We went in the office and he saw Sat guru Baba Hardev Ji picture and said this person was there who was roaming and told him to wait until I came back. Then I came know that while I was gone Baba Ji was there who was taking care of my factory. Saints I want to tell u once we surrender ourself to Nirankar and Satguru, who is only the one who take care of our needs and protect us from everything. But we have to surrender completely and do what he is asking us to do Sewa, Simran and Satsang and have faith in him and he will always do what ever is good for us. Dhan nirankar.

Know God for Peace Within and Calm Outside

Today, Man is constantly at war with man due to ego, pride and material passion. Everyday we hear of violence going on around the world due to man’s greed. We often hear man using the words "I, My, Mine", because he is forever claiming things to belong to him. However, even when individuals, groups or countries claim to be in a peaceful state, one can say that they still have not gained total peace and bliss. Yes, there may be external peace achieved but not everlasting internal peace. Total peace of mind can only be achieved by knowing who and where the creator is. This can only be done after gaining the knowledge of God (GIAN).

Man sets many goals for himself to achieve during his lifetime. For example, he wants to be rich, have a respected job or to be better than those around him in every way possible. The main goal in life should, however, be to receive this knowledge of God, then use it in daily life.

After receiving God Knowledge man realizes that every thing he once believed to be his own is really a gift from God and can be taken away at any moment of time. He also realizes that all these material belongings are mere illusion and that one should not become too attracted to them as this would lead one to forget God and never having internal peace.

There is a short story. Once a child went to the fair ground with his father. The child was so overwhelmed by the various attractions of the fair - bright lights, loud music, sweets and toys that he let go off his father’s hand. He then later realized that he was no longer in his father’s protection but was now standing alone at the fair. All the bright lights, amusements and rides which once attracted the young child, now started to make him cry and scared. Similarly, today man is becoming too attracted to everything that surrounds him. He allows these material matters make him let go off the Lord Master’s Hand. Thinking he no longer need’s God to direct through life. Only when man has the knowledge of God will he find that he not changed by the outside world but he in fact changes the world around him.

Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj once said in his discourses (Vichar) that we are living in a world of guided missiles by misguided men. Baba Ji lives his life as an example of how we should all live our life. If we use this God Knowledge and Baba Ji’s teachings in our life, there will no longer be hatred between humans, man will no longer be egoistic, we would see all humans as equals and treat our neighbors as we would treat our brothers and sisters.

In my eyes this is the only way that true universal brotherhood, world peace and unity can be achieved and this dream can be turned into reality.

The Nature of God-Realization

A thought comes to me almost everyday, what does it mean to be a God- Realized person? Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj our Satguru really stresses the qualities of a God-Realized individual, qualities such as love, compassion, tolerance, equipoise, large heartedness etc. But I often ask myself, after having the Brahm-Gyan, do I really encompass these qualities in my life in totality, as Babaji wants?

I believe that I have certain facets of the experience regarding these qualities, but they are not pervasive in my lifestyle. So the question arises-are we God- Realized if we do not have the qualities of a Brahm-Gyani (God Realized Soul) BUT have the Brahm-Gyan or is the Brahm-Gyan sufficient without these qualities. When I asked Baba ji, he looked at me very seriously and said, "You must remember this Gyan till your last breath!" So in essence this question goes beyond the norm because it travels to the root of the Nirankari Mission. The question really is What is the Brahm-Gyan? The whole aim of the mission is to bring about universal humanity through spiritual enlightenment, so this is of utmost importance.

Now, Gyan is the Indo-European relative of the Latin Gnosis or Knowledge (Modern English), but I believe that Gnosis is not merely knowledge it is Wisdom, the next step after knowledge. After learning a skill, it is practiced and then Wisdom is ascertained about it that would not be known just through the theory, only through experience. Brahm-Gyan in actuality is not even a knowledge because it is not a skill or theory of some kind, it is an introduction to a supernormal phenomena or energy. So knowledge is in actuality is a limiting word, wisdom seems more appropriate.

I was asking Nirankar for help on this question when an example came into my mind through nature (as the Formless Lord likes to speak from). We have a seed; within this seed is the whole tree, plant, fruit etc. Now to call the seed the actual tree, plant, fruit etc, would not be wrong because when PLANTED, this seed will become that tree, plant, fruit etc. The reason why Babaji stresses that we make Gyan a part of our life is that we must plant the Brahm-Gyan (which is like a seed) in our hearts. We have planted it in the mind (which is not most fertile of soil at times); the right soil to plant the seed of Gyan is the heart. Baba Ji stresses how we are using our mind more than our heart and it is causing a machine like existence. The fruits of this tree are love, tolerance, equipoise, compassion etc. Acquiring these qualities without planting the Gyan is like searching the soil for crops without even planting the seed!!!!

After this introduction (Brahm-Gyan) of the Primordial Energy, Formless Lord, Timeless Lord, Ultimate Reality, Allah, Waheguru, Ram, Tao, Nirvana, God, Yaweh and any other of the million names of this Supernormal Phenomena what do we do?????? Cultivate a relationship with this Nirankar, through contemplation of it (simran), serving its creation (sewa) and meeting with those who know how to have a successful relation with Nirankar (sadh sangat).

Sadh Sangat, there is no use just carrying seeds and telling people we have seeds, because the seed is not what feeds us or gives us shade, the point is to grow that tree, fruit, or plant so we can eat the fruit and sit under it for its shade!!!!

SATGURU'S LAWS OF LIFE

We all are familiar with Sir Issac Newton’s laws of motion. Today I have converted laws of motion into laws of life. The conversion is given below.

1. A body in motion will continue in motion and a body in rest will remain in rest until and unless an external force is not applied on it.

Conversion - We are continuing to remain in this mortal coil and our mind also moves continuously in the maze of the world. We are supposed to make our precious life futile until and unless our Satguru has not gratified us with the knowledge of self-realization and engaged us with the supreme constant power.

2. The rate of change of linear momentum of a body is directly proportional to the external force applied on a body and this change takes place always in the direction of force applied.

Conversion - If we attend the Satsang regularly, do Seva and Sumiran then the rate of change of our nature and character is directly proportional to the teachings of Satguru. He averse all the bad deeds and rectifies it in to divine, soothing and fragrant deeds. This resilience takes place only when we leave ourselves in the spate of his teachings and follow his regimen.

3. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Conversion - Our Satguru usually tells us to be a human being. He often says hat we are the children of omni-present Nirankar. So we should have the deeds, which can give bliss to somebody. If while doing the wrong things we are wondering that no body is watching no body or us can discover our inner feelings. So that is where we are making blunder. Might be some physical body is not watching us but Nirankar is staring us with thousands of eyes. When he starts blessing us, he gives us thousands of hands. But when he wants to punish us there he too has thousands of hands. So saints, we usher on our Satguru’s words because gathering thistles and expecting pickles is not possible.

SEWA: SELFLESS SERVICE

Sewa is one of our three pillars of Bhakti (Devotion) according to our way of life in the Sant Nirankari Mission. What does it mean? Why is it important? How can you do it?

Sewa means "selfless service". The word selfless is composed of two words "self" and "less", so in other words "less the self". The self here means false ego or the false self. According to the Brahm-Gyan, our real self is God which is represented as the soul in each being in the universe. Our personality, mind etc is our false sense of identity which is the perception of us through the eyes of maya (creation, or illusion in some senses). Most of what we do in our life has an objective or goal. For example such as to go to school to get an education, besides acquiring knowledge, I would say that majority of parents encourage a good education because it leads to a good career or business which in turn leads to money. So we go to school, work etc to earn money as the end goal. This satisfies our ego-self or personality which we identify with when we are in body-consciousness. But Sewa is different; here we are doing an activity without any goal or objective other than our Satguru would like us to do it and to serve mankind. In other words, we are doing this for the OTHERS. Until we reach a full enlightened consciousness where we are one with the Formless Lord we see the OTHER which is what is written here.

Sewa is done through Tan (body), Man (Mind, Feeling, and Emotions etc), Dhan (material things, ie money). So physically, mentally, and materially we can serve others. Baba Avtar Singh Ji used to say, " If you have a problem with your health, to physical sewa (construction, cleaning etc), if you have some emotional or mental issue help someone who has a similar problem and do simran, if you have money problems donate money to the Satsang and help the needy". Why is Sewa important? Sewa for many thousands of years has been a practice in many religions of the world and all of the prophets and saints of the world encouraged its practice.

Datavyamiti Yaddanam Deeyatenupa KarineDeshe Kale cha Patrecha Taddanam Sattvikam Smarutam

"That gift which is made to one who can make no return, with the feeling that it is one's duty to give,and which is given at the right place and time and to a worthy person, that gift is held sattvik" (best type).

Bhagvad Gita (chapter 17, verse 20)

Earn with hundreds of hands,and distribute with thousands" (Atharvaveda 3 -24-5)

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,

14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Luke 14:13-14

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

I John 3:17-18

Anyone who looks after and works for a widow and a poor person is like a warrior fighting for Allah's cause, or like a person who fasts during the day and prays all night. Prophet Muhammed ( Hadith)

In the midst of this world, do seva, and you shall be given a place of honor in the Court of the Lord.

Says Nanak, swing your arms in joy! (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji p26)

A person, who devotes himself to the service of others, creates for himself a niche in their hearts Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj

When we serve others we are serving nothing other than ourselves. Through the eyes of Brahm-Gyan there is only ONE, Nirankar, Allah, God, Jevovah, Tao, Paramatma, Shiva, Hari, Govind etc., which pervades all of creation and every particle and atom. If this Supreme Spirit is everywhere, within us, without us there is even no distance between anything or anyone in the universe, there is only ONE. So when we are serving others we are serving ourselves, but not our false selves but the real self which is God or the soul. In a recent interview, Baba Hardev Singh Ji was asked why he refers to himself as Dass or servant. Babaji replied that he is the servant of Nirankar and that he sees the divine spark of God in each and every individual so he is also the servant of humanity. My dear saints, this is an example for what he wishes for us to develop as well !

This type of thinking is what leads into Sewa. In Sikh history there is one Gursikh who leads in an example of what Sewa really is, his name was Bhai Khaniya. He used to give water to wounded soliders in the battlefield, but what was unique was that he would give water to both his own army and the opposing armies as well. The soldiers of the Sikh army went to the Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji to complain about this Gursikh. The Satguru listened to the complaints and then asked that Bhai Khaniya be brought to the darbar. When Bhai Khaniya was brought to the darbar, the Satguru asked if the allegations about him were true and that he was serving water to all without distinction. Bhai ji responded that he was not aware who he was serving because all he saw was the Satguru ( Nirankar) in all he served. History declares that Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji hugged him and pronounced him a true Brahm-Gyani and told rest of the sangat that this is what a real sewadar should be.

So how can we do Sewa ?

- Help people physically

- Help someone cross the street if they need help

- Help Mahapurshas in the Bhawan (cleaning, construction etc)

- Donate your time to a soup kitchen or place where they cook for needy people

- Donate clothing or time to organization which will help the needy

- Help People mentally and emotionally

- Listen to people when they have problems

- Give people hope in times of distress

- Pray for people and help them get through there obstacles

- Help People Monetarily

- Donate money to Satsang

- Donate money to organizations which help the poor or needy

- Donate money to hospitals

The above are some examples, but basically help anyone and everyone you can whenever and with whatever they need. In the end of the day THEY (others) are really GOD.