What is the reason for the slow spiritual progress of the masses? Why don’t people understand the importance of Naam and Naam Simran in this age of darkness? Why don’t people understand the meaning and purpose of this human life? Why don’t people take the Gurbani as the word of God and follow it?
There is a very famous story of Dhan Dhan Nirankaar Roop Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji: Bhai Sahib Ji Bhai Mardana Ji asked Guru Nanak Patshah Ji the same questions, “Why in spite of Guru Nanak’s repeated preaching, why don’t people understand the importance of the Naam?”
Nanak Naam Amola Keem Naa Koi Jaaney;
Nanak : Naam is priceless, no one knows it worth.
There are a lot of people who used to come to their Sangat but still did not understand the meaning and importance of the Naam. Bhai Mardana Ji was surprised at this, even though the Puran Sant Satguru Nirankaar Roop Dhan Dhan Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was preaching so hard all over the world (it is truly believed according to Bhai Gurdaas Ji’s writings that Guru Nanak Patshah Ji went all over the world to preach the SAT, He was capable of communicating with people from all over the world, he had the superpower to understand any language and communicate back with the people of various parts of the world).
At this point Guru Nanak Patshah Ji told Bhai Mardana Ji that it will be explained to him with a actual physical and practical incident. So one day after traveling a long distance when they got tired and hungry they stopped, Bhai Mardana Ji was very hungry and there was nothing to eat, so Guru Nanak Patshah Ji dig the earth a little bit with his foot thumb and took out a diamond like looking stone and gave it to Bhai Mardana Ji and told him to go and buy some food by selling this piece of stone. Bhai Mardana Ji obeying his Master went in to the town to buy some food by selling this piece of stone. To Bhai Mardana Ji this just looked like a piece of stone and nothing very expensive. He entered the town and stopped at a vegetable and fruit shop. He showed this stone to the shop keeper and asked him what can he buy with this stone? The shop keeper told him that it is just a good looking stone and nothing very expensive and that he could give only two radishes for it. At this Bhai Mardana Ji thought “Guru Nanak Patshah Ji gave it to me so it can’t be that cheap and must be something very precious.”
He decided to try it at another shop of sweets. This shop owner offered Bhai Mardana Ji only a pound of sweets for this stone which was better then the two radishes. But, Bhai Mardana Ji was again surprised and didn’t want to trade this stone for just a pound of sweets. He went to another shop where the cloths were sold and offered to sell this stone. The cloth merchant thought that it is a good looking stone and that he could give two yards of cloth in exchange. At this point Bhai Mardana Ji was still not satisfied and became more curious to explore it further so he decided to take it to a jewellers shop. The jeweller offered him ten rupees, which was a lot more than two radish, or one pound of sweets or even two yards of cloth and when he was offered ten rupees he was a little surprised too and thought again that since Guru Nanak Patshah Ji have given him this must be a very expensive thing. His belief got stronger about the price of this stone so he decided to explore it further and tried to find the best diamond dealer of the town.
This diamond merchant’s name was Salis Rai. Mardana ji went to Salis Rai’s shop and enquired after him. Now look here how Salis Rai’s fortune turned around, how his “Purbley Janam Key Ankur” (Great good fortune to meet the Satguru written by God from previous lives) appeared in time and space. Salis Rai was a diamond merchant of a very high level and had the ability to recognize very expensive diamonds. When Salis Rai looked at the diamond he just kept gazing at it, he had never seen a diamond like that before. He had been a diamond merchant all along his life and never had seen anything like this before. He asked his servant to bring one hundred rupees just to pay the fees of just getting a chance to look at it!
Salis Rai bowed before this very expensive diamond, the price of which is unknown to him, with one hundred rupees donation just to look at it. At this Bhai Mardana Ji was startled – two radish, one pound of sweets, two yards of cloth, ten rupees and now this stone is so precious that its price is unknown to the best diamond merchant of the town and that he is getting one hundred rupees from Salis Rai just for looking at it.
This was Guru Nanak Patshah Ji’s wonderful act to teach Bhai Mardana Ji that there was only one person in the entire town who could understand the importance of this diamond. Bhai Mardana Ji was now curious to know the price of this diamond, but Salis Rai was unable to tell him the price. But to arrive at the price he sai he would have to call a meeting of all the top diamond merchants of the country.
Salis Rai was so startled by the diamond that he asked Bhai Mardana Ji, “Where did you get this diamond?” Bhai Mardana Ji told him the whole story as to how Guru Nanak Patshah Ji gave him this stone to buy some food. When Salis Rai heard about Guru Nanak Patshah Ji in his town he was filled with eternal joy. The moment he heard about Guru Nanak Patshah Ji’s presence over there Salis Rai was enlightened from inside and out. He was blissed out right away. His life turned around right away. He asked Bhai Mardana Ji to go back to Guru Nanak Patshah Ji and he wwould come for the Darshan of Guru Sahib and be blessed with their divine blessings, with the Gur Parsaad and serve them with the food.
Bhai Mardana Ji returned to Guru Nanak Patshah Ji and told him the whole story from two radish to one hundred rupees given by Salis Rai just to have Darshan of this diamond. Guru Nanak Patshah Ji told Bhai Mardana Ji that this is how and why people don’t understand the importance, price and meaning of the Naam Rattan (Jewel of Naam). There was only one Salis Rai who could recognize it and got blessed with the Gur Parsaad (God’s Graceful Naam) after he met Guru Nanak ji.
There are four kinds of people that exist in this world on the scale of spirituality – Sach Di Takdi:
1. ATHIESTS
The first kind of people which form majority of the population (75%) are the ones who are not at all aware of the real purpose of their human life. Their life is based on "one life to live, just enjoy it with all the worldly comforts". These people will never or rarely remember God. These kind of people are called “NASTIK” (Athiest) – they don’t believe in the existence of God and are always absorbed in the Tamo Birti – Kaam Krodh Lobh Moh Ahankaar. Such people are also called Tamo Guni since all their actions and reactions deeds are deeply guided and performed under the Tamo Guns of Maya.
Overall Maya has a very deep effect on their day to day life, they will go to any extent to make their own self happy with the worldly comforts. These people are also called Paamer in Punjabi.
2. WORLDY ENJOYERS
The second kind of people are called Bhogi (enjoyers) and they form 23% of the population. Such people are those who will come in the Satsangat once in a while when they get in to trouble or for the sake of meeting their demands from the God. They will come in to ask for meeting their personnel needs, to get any family issues straightened out and so on. They will occasionally participate in Dharam Karams (religious acts). One thing worth mentioning here is that the so called Dharam Karams – giving donations to charity, and other religious actions without Gur Parsaad of Naam, Bandgi and Seva: Dharam Karam Pakhand Jo Disey Sabh Jam Jagati Lootey – is all Pakhand (hypocrisy – doesn’t get you to God) and doesn’t go beyond Dharam Raj. That means it doesn’t take you to the salvation state, you have to be reborn to pay for or enjoy the benefit of these Karams. But once you achieve the Jivan Mukti State – Salvation then these deeds don’t mean anything, when you are fully enlightened and have achieved Puran Gyan Awastha and achieved the Param Padvi then all your deeds spiritually don’t mean anything, at this stage all your deeds are true deeds and they are under direct Hukam.
But the Maha Purakhs still follow their Nitnem and keep a SAT Karni Uchee Suchee Karni to stay as an example for others so that people don’t get misguided and keep following them. But once the Naam goes in to Hirda and Rom Rom – with Puran Bandgi and Puran Gyan Parkash then these Maha Purakhs just live for others and not for themselves and most of the times, in spite of being in the Sach Khand and Braham Khand they have to bring themselves physically in the lower spiritual planes to interact with the people. The desires and their fulfillment is the objective of their (Bhogi) life, that is why they are called Bhogi. These people are also called Rajo Guni as they have a Rajo Guni Birti – their mind is absorbed mostly in meeting their desires.
3. SEEKERS
The third kind of people are called Jagyaasu (seekers of God). They candidates who have realized the purpose of their life to a good extent and want to work on getting the salvation. These kind of people form remaining 2% of the population. These are the ones who work towards getting the Gur Parsaad and work towards their Salvation. Such people are Sato Guni people and majority of their deeds are influenced by the Sato Birti – their deeds are mostly concentrated on doing Paath, Pooja, Dharam Karams, Simran and Seva and Bandgi and so on. Some of the fortunate ones and those who are predestined to be so will get the Gur Parsaadi Naam and will be absorbed in Bandgi and Seva and work towards their salvation with concerted efforts.
Some of them go in to Saram Khand and Karam Khand and so on and continue their Bandgi to reach the Param Padvi.
4. LIBERATED SOULS
The fourth kind of people are called Mukt Atma (liberated souls) – these are the people who have achieved the salvation and are Jivan Mukt. They can be called Sant, Bhagat, Braham Gyani, Satguru, Khalsa or Sadh. These people are fully absorbed in the Nirgun Saroop and achieved the Padvi. Such people are only one in tens of millions. Their job is to spread the message of the eternal truth and help others do Bandgi and achieve salvation. These people also help in uplifting the social behavior of the masses by disseminating the divine wisdom and helping people in their spiritual uplifting.
There is another very interesting story which will be helpful in understanding the effect of the nature of the masses with respect to the spiritual adherents. This story is from the Dassam Patshah Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s Sangat.
Once some people from the Dassam Patshah Ji’s Sangat asked Him that why some of the Sangat are very highly blessed and always in Chad Di Kala, some are less blessed and are off and on and don’t feel as good as they should be doing and feeling always, these people feel good when they come in Sangat, and if they continue to do so they feel better, and some of them are like didn’t gain anything or feel some improvement while sitting in Sangat and go back as soon as they leave the Sangat.
Guru Patshah Ji listened to the Sangat and said that He will demonstrate it physically how it works as far as the state of these persons is concerned with respect to their spiritual gains. He asked the Sevadaar Ji to bring three pots full of water, then he asked to put some Patasey (these are a sweet made of sugar) in one of the pot, put clay in the second pot and put a stone in the third pot and then asked the Sevadaar Ji to put all three pots in the open for some time. After a while Guru Patshah Ji asked the Sevadaar Ji to bring back all the three pots back. Then He asked the people who asked the question to come forward and asked them to:
1) Look at the pot in which Patasey were thrown in the water and separate the Patasey from the water, the Patasey had fully dissolved in water and could not be separated, the Patasey had lost their own identity and had fully been absorbed in water and nobody could see them in the water and they could not be separated from the water.
At this Guru Patshah Ji explained that the first kind of people are like Patasey who loose their own identity and get fully absorbed in the Guru, they completely surrender to the Guru and so the Guru takes them and absorbs them in Himself. Please keep in mind this is again a game of commitment, belief, faith, trust, devotion and love, these kind of people don’t see any difference between God and the Guru: Nanak Braham Gyani Aap Parmeysur; Waho Waho Satgur Nirankaar Hai.
Once Guru Angad Patshah Ji was sitting with Baba Budha Ji, Bhai Bhagirath Ji, Bhai Munsukh Ji and some of the very close Sangat who have been very close to Guru Nanak Patshah Ji and were given the Gur Parsaad by Guru Nanak Patshah Ji. Guru Angad Patshah Ji asked this question to these Guru Key Pyare Ji, the question was: “What do you think Guru Nanak Patshah Ji is?” Bhai Bhagirath Ji said that “He is a Sant”. Bhai Munsukh Ji also said that “He is a Sant”. Baba Budha Ji said “He is a Braham Gyani” and when all of the three replied then they asked what did Guru Angad Patshah Ji thought of Guru Nanak Patshah Ji and the reply was: “Nanak is Nirankaar, He is the God Himself taken Avtar in the form of Nank on this earth, there is no difference between Him and Nirankaar.”
At this Baba Budha Ji said to Guru Angad Patshah Ji: that is the reason why you became Guru Angad. Please keep in mind this is a golden rule and key to success and the highest compliance – Rehit to have full and complete trust and faith with devotion and love and see no difference between the Guru and God, and the one who carves this golden rule in his Hirda becomes Dhan Dhan such as Bhai Lehna Ji became Guru Angad Patshah Ji. There is only one such soul in tens of millions who realizes that level of divine wisdom and becomes Dhan Dhan.
2) Then the Guru Patshah Ji asked to separate the clay from the water in the second pot and keep it outside for a while. After some time sitting in the sun the water started to evaporate and eventually the clay got dried out and there was no moisture left in the clay. This explained the second type of people who come in the Sangat very regularly and do gain the spirituality but since they don’t surrender completely and adhere to this compliance – Rehit of Tan Munn Dhan Sabh Saup Guru Ko, their gains are washed away after they quit coming to the Sangat and get distracted with doubts, delusions, illusions and Dubidha.
3) Then Guru Patshah Ji asked to take the stone out of the third pot and put it outside, the stone didn’t take much time to get dry, it stayed wet for a few minutes and dried out very quickly. This explains the third kind of people who come in the Sangat and do gain some spirituality but as soon as they leave the Sangat they are blank again and nothing is felt or experienced by them. The nature of the people as described above is formed on the basis of their Karams – deeds from the previous lives, their destiny is build by their own deeds, the person with loads of Bandgi in their previous lives go in to the first category and get absorbed in the Gur and Guru like Pataasey in water and can’t be separated, and out of these very fortunate ones there is a rare soul, one in tens of millions who reaches the highest level of Puran Braham Gyan and merges in Akal Purakh and becomes one with Him and called Mukt Atma.
The next set of people need to accumulate more Bandgi and Seva with Sat Karams to be born again in the first category. The third set of people need to work a lot more towards their goal of salvation, so they need to do a lot more Sangat, Naam and Bani, Sat Karams and Dharam Karams to get uplifted in to the higher categories in the coming lives and eventually reach the salvation.
So this is the game governed by your own destiny and always keep in mind that you build your own destiny: Jeha Beejey So Luney Karma Sandra Kheyt – in the field (land or earth) of Karams whatever you sow so shall you reap, your life is like a land of Karams, every step you move on this land of Karams by way of your deeds you sow the seed of good or bad, Sat or Asat Karams and whatever you sow so shall you reap, so the compliance of the Sat Karams is the real compliance because the Sat Karams are not influenced by the Rajo and Tamo Birti and are conducted under the Sato Birti and once you start building your Sato Birti and continue to do so you will continue to sow the seed of the Sat and eventually you will be lifted up and given the Gur Parsaad of Naam Dhan, the highest enternal treasure, and then you will start sowing the seed of Naam, which will eventually make you a Suhagan and then a Sada Suhagan.
Dassan Das (Slave Of God’s Slaves)