Ek-Onkar, Ashabd, Anaam

II

Liberation, then, comes through contact with the Shabd or Naam. All the Great Sages say so. We, on the other hand, remain all the time engrossed in the repetition of God’s names but seldom think of reaching the Power which these names imply. The crux of the problem remains that we do not get to the Named. A thirsty man may go on repeating the words water, pani, jal, or aqua, but he will not be able to quench his thirst by simply crying himself hoarse with these words. His thirst will cease only when he actually takes the liquid which all these words denote. We have, of course, to start with words or names. But to what end? Simply to get the substance or the desired thing. We have, therefore, to travel from ordinary words to the Word, contacting which would give us solace and peace. Similarly, outer garb also does not matter in the least in getting to the Reality.

Apara Vidya, outer knowledge, keeps us in the outer pursuits. One may have long hair or a cleanly-shaven crown. One may put on a blue garb or a yellow one, but these things cannot help one in his Inner Approach. 

Nanak, therefore, says:

One may choose any kind of apparel one may like, one may torture one’s body by austerities and penances, one may thus extend his sphere of influence as much as he may like – but to no avail … 

We have, after all, to contact the Power of God, and this cannot be done by outer garb, symbols, and such-like things. We have to change our Inner Being. We have to find a way of life: 

One who practises the way of life as the Master enjoined, the Master honours him and helps him to His utmost.

By self propaganda and outer show, one may deceive himself for any length of time and deceive others for some time, but he cannot deceive God within: One may, for the time being, secure a good following for oneself; but one cannot win over the Power of God by these things. The God-Power within is All-Knowing and Omniscient. It reads us through and through. It does not allow us an ingress until It finds us fit in every way. Herein, Guru Amar Das is, in a way, making a passing reference to His own life – the 70 years of His life that He spent in the company of various Sadhus of different orders. But with all His intense search over seven decades, He could not get nearer to the Truth.

The outer hallmarks of one or more lines of sandalwood paste on the forehead were once indicative of the approach which the ancients had in their quest for God. But now, unfortunately, these outer signs mean nothing. We are, however, worshippers of these lines and marks on the body but do not know the riches that lie inside the body. One’s true and intrinsic value lies in the extent to which one has travelled Godwards. 

Nanak, therefore, emphasises: 

Oh Nanak! without the Satguru one cannot get to Naam, no matter if one may try to find Him by a myriad of acts and deeds.

Naam, as such, has already been defined above. It comes by practising the process of practical self-
analysis and rising to the centre that lies mid-way between the physical and subtle bodies. It is, therefore, said: 

One must rise to His level to know Him.

He is the Subtlest of the subtle and we, too, have to become subtle within us to reach to His level. We may find an ingress within and sit in the silence of our heart, enjoy a little of the happiness emanating there from, but we cannot go up. Most of us sit like this and get contented. The Way-up is, however, a different matter. Where, then, is the Real Happiness? It comes with the opening of the Inner Vision, and this is really what matters. Without this, one goes in darkness after death.

The second essential is the conscious contact with the Sound Current. Both of these are practical things. One may be very learned and well-versed in the Sacred Books, but until one rises above body consciousness, one will remain as ignorant as ever before. Without conscious contact with the Shabd, all are flowing recklessly, So recklessly as to baffle all understanding; God alone may sustain and uphold one with the Power of His Word, and one may remain in tune with It. Shabd is the rope-ladder that leads into the Ashabd – Nameless. God came into being in the Form of the Light and Sound Principle. We can catch the twin Principles if we rise above the sensory plane. This is the True Way back to God – the Absolute God where there is neither Light nor Sound.

When God so wills, He provides the means of reunion of the soul with His own Self. It is He, in the form of a Godman, Who does this thing. We have, therefore, no other way to reach God except through the Godman. The seekers after God always go in search of a Godman for their Union with God. 

Oh Nanak, God very well knows His own plan, for it is He Who has Himself made His plan.

God’s Way lies through the Shabd, and the Shabd is like an electric lift. One has to sit in this Lift, and the Lift will take him to the Top. One has not to do much in this context. He is simply to sit in the Lift, and, as it were, press the button: Guru has the Key to the mobile house of the body and the mind; without the aid of the Guru, the mind does not provide a Way-in, and there is no other remedy. The Guru is the Keystone in the arch of the edifice of Spirituality. He provides you with the means to transcend both the body and the mind. He takes us to the realm to which He Himself belongs:

When the Guru and the Sikh (disciple) become One, both work on the same lines.

A Perfect Disciple, enters into the Life and Spirit of the Guru, and the Guru dyes the disciple in His own colour. This is how one becomes a worshipful disciple.

Without the Satguru, one cannot be a True Devotee nor does he come to love the Holy Word, oh Nanak! those who commune with the Word, the Love of the Satguru ferries them across.

The term devotion has been defined by the Saints. In common parlance, it denotes Love and affection. We may develop a disposition towards a certain thing. This is the common aspect and such devotion can be developed by the study of books or by singing devotional songs. But Real Love is something quite different. It develops when one gets a real taste of something – something really delectable. Again, elsewhere, it is defined as:

The devotion of the worshipful disciple brings down the Music of the Spheres, and with this descent, one comes to know of the Divine Plan. 

It is from this Inner Awakening, resulting from the manifestation of the Sound Current, that one develops True Devotion and begins to tread the Spiritual Path.

A Perfect Master is Word Personified, and He connects whosoever meets Him with the Word. The Saints are Ministers in the Kingdom of God. They hold the portfolio of God-Power and come into the world to take the jivas back to God. Avatars or the incarnations of Brahman keep the world agoing on an even keel. Thus, we see that there is a great difference between the True Saint and the avatar. And yet incarnations, as well as the Saints, derive their authority from One and the Same Supreme Power called Absolute God, for carrying out their respective missions. Their respective positions may be likened to that of the military Commander-in-Chief and that of the Viceroy, both of whom hold a direct commission from the Emperor King, authorising each to work in his own sphere. Both of them, however, point to the same Power but in a different way.

For instance, Lord Krishna, while manifesting his universal form, was commanding the whole show of the battlefield at Kurukshetra.

Kabir has beautifully described this position:

The time and the timeless, both are the creatures of the Great Power.

God created them to carry on the administration of the world. We are the worshippers of the God-Power at the back of them both. Each of them has his own sphere of work. We respect them both. In times of disturbance and unrest, it is the avatars who come to our aid. Then, the administration of the world is handed over temporarily to the Brahman-Power, and it works relentlessly in crushing down the evil elements in the world so as to restore normalcy. Even in the most chaotic conditions, the avatars respect the authority of the Saints and do not touch Their disciples, for the Saints hold a permit of Naam and can freely move about unmolested. Thus ends the hymn of Guru Amar Das.

Summing up, we have to rise above body consciousness and recognise our own Real Nature. This can be done by a process of inversion of our attention and by contacting the Light of Life within us. When once we taste this Divine Beatitude, we lose our Love for the world. While living in the world, one lives beyond the world – in the Inner Plane:

Like a lotus with its roots in the pond and yet its head aloft, or like a swan stately sailing on the water remains unaffected by it, so does the soul cross the sea of life by the aid of the Shabd. So, saith Nanak, one remains uncontaminated by the World’s power.

When a person takes to communion with the Word, he gets detached from the world while living in the world, and so also he goes detached from it. It is only our attachment which keeps us bound to the world, and when there is no attachment whatsoever, there can be no bondage to the world.

The contact with the Word can be established only by a Word Personified Saint. It is something that is self-evident and has been in vogue from time immemorial. But, unfortunately, we are fearful of gurudom. Why? It is because Real Gurus are very rare in this age; but it may, however, be added that the world is not without at least one Real Guru at any time. Most of the so-called gurus merely act and pose like Genuine Gurus. They are as much slaves of the senses as we are, in spite of their outer garb and the hallmarks on their persons. One must be true to one’s Self rather than one should deceive one’s Self and others, too. If a blind attempts to lead a blind man, both are sure to fall into the ditch.

Be true to thine own Self and it must follow as night and day, thou canst not be false to any man.

One cannot deceive another without first deceiving himself. Theory is one thing and practical experience is another. If a person has not had a practical experience, why should he say otherwise? This would save gurudom from being damned. But nobody is prepared to admit that his watered-down milk is sour. Whosoever comes forward claims to have the power to grant salvation. In this way, both the teacher and the taught go the wrong way. What a shame.

Once a pandit – one learned in the sacred lore – claimed this power of salvation for himself. Kabir confronted him boldly with the words:

Thou hath no direct experience of Godhead, and yet thou art prostituting His Name.

Ordinarily, Saints hardly use such harsh words but at times, it cannot be helped. For when they see plain and honest people being exploited by wily priests, they cannot but condemn such business-like dealings in the name of religion. Christ had once to castigate pharisees and scribes to clear the temple as they had turned it into a robbers den. But the innocent folk, in their ignorance worship such false teachers.

The hungry sheep look up and are not fed. They are fact, wolves in sheep’s clothing.

How, then, may one know that a teacher is a Real Teacher? Tulsi Sahib has given us a criterion, a touch-stone, to test the veracity of a Sadhu:

A Real Sadhu would always take initiative to accost the disciples.

It shows an Inner Awakening in the Master for He with His insight sees the same God-Power in others as in Himself. So He accosts the God-Power in the disciple. But what do we see in common practice? The Gurus of today are stiff necked and take pride when the people bow down before them. One Who has got the goods can deliver them to you. But one who himself has nothing with him, what can he do for you?