Section 7 – Sangat of a Sadh

In this astpadi we receive the divine truth about the glories of a Sant, a Brahmgiani, a Satguru and a Sadh.  This is from the divine knowledge hidden in Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.  Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is the Shabad Guru.  It is the Mansarover of Puran Brahmgian, the Ocean of Divinity.
 
As Sikhs, we all call Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji our Guru.  But, let us take a few minutes and truly look inside ourselves.  Let us truly analyze our behavior by asking a few questions :–
 
Do we understand at all what the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is telling us?
 
If we do understand, then do we believe it?
If we do understand and believe it, then are we trying to put it into practise?
 
If we are not doing what Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is telling us,  then are we really honoring it as a Guru?
 
If the answers to any of these questions or all the questions are negative, then we are still doing what our mind is telling us to do.   We are not doing what the Guru is telling us to do.   We are still Manmukhs (self-centred).   Our mind is being controlled by and run by the 5 thieves plus jealousy, gossip and slander (eerka , nindya and chugalee).   Since our mind acts and reacts under the influence of these enemies of ours, then these are our real Gurus and not Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
 
All of these articles are focused on showing us what we need to do for turning our Hirda from Manmukh to Gurmukh.  Understanding , believing and practising the message contained in this Astpadi is one of the most important for us to achieve our spiritual goals.  It shows us the process of moving from our current Manmukh situation, onto a path that leads us to discover the Truth, Akal Purakh and Sach Khand.
 
The word “Sadh” means a Hirda which has been straightened out.   It has been modified, changed, cleaned and molded in Truth.   There is no longer any effect of  the 5 thieves, slander, gossip, hopes, wishes, desires and jealousy .   A Sadh can’t be distracted by any aspect of Maya.   It has become completely truthful.  It sees the Truth, listens to the Truth, speaks the Truth and serves the Truth.    A Sadh has won over his mind and by doing so has conquered the entire universe, Munn Jeetey Jag Jeet.   A Sadh is also known as a Gurmukh.
 
To transform from Manmukh to Gurmukh, we need to practise the divine knowledge given to us by the Almighty in the form of  the Shabad Guru, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
 
The 5 thieves, slander, gossip, hopes, wishes, desires and jealousy are deep mental sicknesses.  The Shabad Guru prescribes the medication to get rid of these sicknesses.  If we keep reading the prescription but never  take the prescribed medicine, then we have not accepted Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji as our Guru.  Just by reading, listening, singing and bowing to the prescription, we are just in a state of illusion.  Why?  Because our mind will not be cured unless we take the prescribed medicine.   We fail to achieve our spiritual goals because we are not doing what the Shabad Guru is telling us.  This is the foremost reason for most of the Sangat remaining in or below Dharam Khand as described in Jap Ji by Guru Nanak ji. 
 
One of the prescriptions given to our sick mind by Guru Arjun Dev Ji in this Astpadi is about the greatness of an enlightened soul, the Sadh.   Let us try to understand what this verse is telling us. 
 
agam agaadhh paarabreham soe ||
jo jo kehai so mukathaa hoe ||
 
SGGS 271
 
The divine relationship between a Sadh and Paarbraham has been explained in this astpadi.   How we reach the One who is beyond a normal person’s reach, is explained very simply in few divine words of this verse :-
 
Parbraham is Agam, meaning that Supreme God can’t be reached by an ordinary person.
 
Parbraham is Agadh, meaning that Supreme God is unlimited, infinite and can’t be measured.
 
So how can we reach the normally Unreachable, Infinite and Unlimited One?
 
When we recite His Naam, “Sat Naam”,  we can attain the normally unattainable Lord.    This can be realised by whoever praises Him and whoever serves Him.   The highest service of Akal Purakh is in His Naam Simran.  Whoever serves the Truth,  controls their 5 thieves, kills their desires, hopes and wishes, and refrains from slander, gossip and jealousy becomes a Sadh.
 
Such souls are very rare and their spiritual stories and achievements become very unique and surprising.  They are absorbed in Almighty and become one with Him.  Only such ones can truly be called Gurmukh. 
 
asattapadhee ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g mukh oojal hoth ||
saadhhasa(n)g mal sagalee khoth ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g mittai abhimaan ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g pragattai sugiaan ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g bujhai prabh naeraa ||
saadhhasa(n)g sabh hoth nibaeraa ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g paaeae naam rathan ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g eaek oopar jathan ||
saadhh kee mehimaa baranai koun praanee ||
naanak saadhh kee sobhaa prabh maahi samaanee ||1||
 
We can make our lives sublime in the sangat of such souls who have won over their mind and have become a Sadh.   In the sangat of the Sadh, the Sadh Sangat, we are relieved of the mental sicknesses.   These mental sicknesses have made our mind filthy because all of our daily actions and reactions have been conducted under the influence of these enemies of ours.  
 
The Sangat of  the Sadh helps us in cleaning us inside by winning over our mind.  By doing so we will be respected in the Dargah of Shri Akal Purakh Ji.  
 
As long as we are controlled by these 5 thieves and other mental sicknesses, we can’t become a Gurmukh.  Only the Sangat of a Sadh can turn us from a Manmukh to a Gurmukh.  Only Sadh Sangat will help us to kill our ego.  How?  The Sadh has already killed his own ego.  He knows how to do it and he teaches us and blesses us to kill ours too.
 
As long as we are suffering from ego, our soul will not be receptive to the Sadh’s perfect divine wisdom, Puran Tat Gyan.    Once the mind becomes clean and self-pride has completely gone, then our own wisdom is erased.  At that point the Puran Tat Gyan starts to flow inside us.  At this time  we beginto truly understand the Gurbani.    However, only a Sadh  will be able to fully extract  all of the jewels and diamonds of divine knowledge. 
 
In the sangat of the Sadh, we are blessed by the Sadh.  We are elevated into Karam Khand, the Realm of Grace.  The Sadh has become our Vichola, “Har Dargah Ka Baseet”, and God the Husband has accepted our soul as a bride.  We become known as a suhagan.  We beginto experience smadhi.  God appears physically in the Sangat of the Sadh when Suhagans do Naam Simran.  God is physically felt by such Suhagans in their Smadhi.  The spiritual power and vibrations are felt physically by such Suhagans.  
 
When we reach this level of spirituality all of our mental sicknesses disappear further and eventually our mind and inside become absolutely clean and free from the effect of all these enemies of ours.
 
The Naam is a priceless diamond, which can be obtained in the Sangat of such souls who have become a Sadh, a Puran Sant, a Puran Brahmgiani, a Puran Satguru.  This is the point when the journey to Sach Khand, the journey to meet our beloved Paarbraham Parmeshwar begins.   That is why it is called a Gurprasadi Game.  This Game starts with the planting of Naam into our mind the Sadh.  The Sadh is such a Sant who has become absorbed in Akal Purakh Himself and has obtained His blessings to give Gurprasadi Naam to the Sangat.
 
Nobody can completely describe a Sadh, because such souls become one with Almighty and their Mahima becomes as unlimited, as unmeasurable and as unexplainable as the Almighty Himself. 
 
saadhh kai sa(n)g agochar milai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g sadhaa parafulai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g aavehi bas pa(n)chaa ||
saadhhasa(n)g a(n)mrith ras bhu(n)chaa ||
saadhhasa(n)g hoe sabh kee raen ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g manohar bain ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g n kathehoo(n) dhhaavai ||
saadhhasa(n)g asathhith man paavai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g maaeiaa thae bhi(n)n ||
saadhhasa(n)g naanak prabh suprasa(n)n ||2||
 
Agochar mean the One who is beyond the reach of our five senses, Panj Gyan Inderey.   There is only one who is Agochar and  that is Paarbraham Parmeshwar. 
 
Where can we meet Him?  In the Sangat of a Sadh.   By doing Sangat of such souls we realize the Almighty.  Once we do that then there is an achievement of eternal happiness and eternal silence inside our mind and soul.  We are able to control the Panj Doots in the Sangat of a Sadh.   By doing so we will also taste the Amrit Ras.  This means we continuously enjoy the Naam Amrit when we go into Smadhi.   Some of us who have already achieved this state of spirituality are already feeling the physical presence of the Almighty through the Amrit Ras when sitting in Smadhi and doing Naam Simran.
 
Such experiences can occur in the Sangat of  Suhagans and Sada Suhagans.   We become Suhagan in Karam Khand when we are accepted as a bride of God under the blessings of our Sadh.  We become Sada Suhagan when our marriage with Akal Purakh takes place.  Then we stay in Sach Khand.   When we participate in the Sangat of  these Sada Suhagans and Suhagans,  then we learn how to kill our ego.  By killing our ego we become very humble.  We become so humble that we become the dust of the feet of everybody.  That is what a Sada Suhagan is or a Puran Sant is.   
 
A Sadh lives in the dust of the feet of the entire universe, and by such a virtue enjoys the Atam Ras.  Atam Ras is the highest level of enjoyment and eternal happiness.   A never ending eternal happiness, “Sat Chit Anand”  and pure light of the Lord,  Param Jyot Puran Parkash Darshan.  The utmost humbleness is the key to the Dargah of Akal Purakh and Sach Khand.  This happens only when the ego is completely killed.  And that only happens in the Sangat of Suhagans and Sada Suhagans with Guru’s grace, Gurkirpa.
 
When we achieve such a humbleness by killing our ego, then we become Nirvair :
 

  • we don’t have any animosity with anybody,
  • we treat friends and foes the same, as we see all equally,
  • we never hurt anybody,
  • we always speak sweet words – one of the vital qualities of Akal Purakh

 
 My Dear Lord and Master, my Friend, speaks so sweetly.
SGGS 784
 
At this level our words do wonders for others.   Our words are effective.  People will like to listen to these words and put them into practice.    This is the trademark of a Sant.  This is how we can recognize a Sant.
 
In the Sangat of a Sadh our mind becomes stable.   It will not be distracted by any of our mental enemies.  It can’t be carried away by any untrue happenings around us.   We will be able to recognize the difference between truthful and untruthful deeds.   We will restrain from doing any untruthful deeds, Asat Karams.  Our mind always remain absorbed in the lotus feet of Akal Purakh, absorbed in Naam.   We will never do any actions which will drain us of the Amrit.
 
In the Sangat of the Sadh we are not effected by worldly distractions.   Our mind is stable and absorbed in the Almighty.  This is the highest service of the Almighty.   He is very happy with us and kind upon us.  He  takes us closer and closer to Him. 
 
 
saadhhasa(n)g dhusaman sabh meeth ||
saadhhoo kai sa(n)g mehaa puneeth ||
saadhhasa(n)g kis sio nehee bair ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g n beegaa pair ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g naahee ko ma(n)dhaa ||
saadhhasa(n)g jaanae paramaana(n)dhaa ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g naahee ho thaap ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g thajai sabh aap ||
aapae jaanai saadhh baddaaee ||
naanak saadhh prabhoo ban aaee ||3||
 
In the Sangat of such souls who have become a Sadh Hirda, Sada Suhagans and Suhagans, who enjoy the Amrit continuously, our mind and soul will also become absolutely clean, pure and pious.   Once that happens then everybody will be equal for us.  Then nobody appears to be our enemy.  We start to love each and everyone.  There is no hatred.  There is love everywhere.  All of our actions and reactions are full of love and sacrifice for others.
 
In the sangat of a Sadh we become single vision, Ek Drisht, meaning we see everyone equally.  There is no animosity anywhere in the life of such a soul.   Everybody is a friend, no-one is regarded as an enemy, nobody is seen as bad.  Every soul appears to have the Light (Jyot) of Akal Purakh.  A Sadh loves everybody as much as much they love Akal Purakh and this is the True Love.
 
In the Sangat of such souls the effect of bad company, Ku-sangat, disappears.  We don’t step into  worldly distractions and bad deeds.  All our deeds become true and good and for the benefit of others. We develop a sence of sacrifice for others.  We like to live for others and love to do good for others.
 
The level of no ego is identified by extreme humbleness.  This brings in us the eternal happiness, “Paramanand” and  “Sat Chit Anand” and  eventually “Atam Ras.”  In the Sangat of such souls our ego is killed.  Ego has been defined as a deep mental sickness, “Haumai Deerag Rog Ha.”   It forces us to operate under the influence of our own mind governed by five thives.   When we are cured of this deep mental sickness, then we surrender ourselves completely to the Guru and so we become a Gurmukh.
 
At this stage the Guru’s command is all we do, the Guru’s Hukam is our Karni.   Due to the humbleness achieved as a result of winning over this deep mental sickness of ego, our Hirda will become a Sadh.
 
Sadh souls are praised in God’s court, the Dargah of Akal Purakh, because they develop a never breaking relationship of eternal love with the Almighty. 
 
saadhh kai sa(n)g n kabehoo dhhaavai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g sadhaa sukh paavai ||
saadhhasa(n)g basath agochar lehai ||
saadhhoo kai sa(n)g ajar sehai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g basai thhaan oochai ||
saadhhoo kai sa(n)g mehal pehoochai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g dhrirrai sabh dhharam ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g kaeval paarabreham ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g paaeae naam nidhhaan ||
naanak saadhhoo kai kurabaan ||4||
 
In the Sangat of a hirda that has become Sadh, we will obtain the “Basat Agochar”.   This is the Naam of Akal Purakh which is beyond the boundaries of our five senses, Gyan Indereys.
 
Due to the blessings of such souls and being in the Sangat of such souls our tolerance is enhanced to a very high level.  We are able to tolerate the intolerable. 
 
Due to the Sangat of such spiritually elevated and enlightened souls, we can also achieve spiritual conditions which are highly regarded in Dargah.  Due to the sangat of the Sadh we remain absorbed in the lotus feet of our beloved  Almighty.
 
From a Sadh we learn what the real religion is.  We learn that the highest and most pious and pure religion is Akal Purakh Himself.  His Naam is the highest level of religion.  That is why remembering the Lord is the highest. 
 
The Naam Amrit, which is the biggest eternal treasure of all ages in the past and all ages to come, is blessed upon the Sangat by such Hirdas who have become a Sadh.
 
We should all therefore, surrender to such Hirdas who have become a Sadh.         
 
saadhh kai sa(n)g sabh kul oudhhaarai ||
saadhhasa(n)g saajan meeth kutta(n)b nisathaarai ||
saadhhoo kai sa(n)g so dhhan paavai ||
jis dhhan thae sabh ko varasaavai ||
saadhhasa(n)g dhharam raae karae saevaa ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g sobhaa suradhaevaa ||
saadhhoo kai sa(n)g paap palaaein ||
saadhhasa(n)g a(n)mrith gun gaaein ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g srab thhaan ga(n)m ||
naanak saadhh kai sa(n)g safal jana(n)m ||5||
 
The Sangat of  a Sadh is so powerful and fruitful that we can achieve salvation, Jivan Mukti, for generations past present and future, of our family and friends.   This doesn’t mean that by becoming a Sadh ourself we automatically make everyone in our family Jivan Mukt as well.   It means either our family and friends in the present will also get the blessings from our Sadh and then earn their Jiwan Mukti.  Or that once we become a Sadh and are given blessings by Akal Purakh to give the Naam, then sangat will come to us.  And that sangat is comprised of souls from our past life families and past life friends.  Also spirits of our ancestors that are stuck in time as space as ghosts also come to the Sadh and beg to be released.  The Sadh takes some of his own Bhagti and deposits it into their empty spiritual account.  The Sadh prays to Akal Purakh to release the spirit and to send them to the Light.  From their they will get a chance to be reborn as a human, perhaps in the Sadh’s future generation, to then meet a Sadh of their own time, to get the Naam and to achieve Jiwan Mukti.
 
The achievement of the highest level of eternal treasures, which is the Naam Dhan, can only be obtained in such a Sangat.  Only Hirdas that become Sadh get the spiritual powers and authority to distribute this eternal treasure of Naam to the other Sangat.
 
The Sangat of such enlightened souls will take us to those heights of spirituality where even the Divine Judge, Dharam Raj, will serve us.  This means that once we become a Sadh Hirda , or Sada Suhagan, then our word will be honored by Dharam Raj as well.  We will be dignified and honored by the other Devi-Devtas too.
 
These things are physically experienced by the people who go into deep meditation,  Sunn Smadhi and whose tenth gate, Dassam Duaar and inner eye, Gyan Netter are opened.
 
There are a number of people in our Sangat who have had such experiences. All our sins disappear and we develop all kind of good qualities of head and heart.   We achieve high spiritual level and thus we achieve the divine objective our life.  We achieve salvation and come out of the cycle of death and birth. 
 
saadhh kai sa(n)g nehee kashh ghaal ||
dharasan bhaettath hoth nihaal ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g kalookhath harai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g narak pareharai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g eehaa oohaa suhaelaa ||
saadhhasa(n)g bishhurath har maelaa ||
jo eishhai soee fal paavai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g n birathhaa jaavai ||
paarabreham saadhh ridh basai ||
naanak oudhharai saadhh sun rasai ||6||
 
We can easily do our Bhagti in the Sangat of a Sadh.   In other words the Sangat of Sada Suhagans and Suhagans is so powerful that we are able to win over our mind with great ease.  This how Bhai Lehna Ji completed His Bhagti in just three and a half years.  This was due to Guru Nanak Patshah’s blessings and he became Guru Angad Patshah.   Otherwise, the way he was going by himself,  it would have taken alot longer, perhaps many more lifetimes.
 
Just having the Darshan of a Sadh is very fruitful :–
 
 The Darshan, the Blessed Vision of God-conscious being,
is obtained by great good fortune.
SGGS 273
 
Seeing and meeting such great souls help us a great deal in cleaning our inside and winning over our mind. We are able to clean up all the dirt which is clinging to our mind and soul from all our previous lives.  Thereby, we save ourself from the dirty life we have been living in.  We save ourself from the future life of hell we have sown for ourself.   By cleaning up on the inside we enjoy our remaining life on this Earth as a completely truthful person.  We are  always engaged in doing good deeds and we remain absorbed in the love of the Almighty.
 
We will also enjoy a very dignified life after our soul leaves this body.  We will live in Sach Khand for all ages to come.   In this way our soul, which has been separated from God, will go back and live with Him for all times to come. 
 
We will be relieved of the cycle of life and death which is regarded the biggest sorrow of our lives.  The souls who go to the Sangat of the Sadh  will be able to realize their spiritual goals and desires of becoming a Sadh Hirda, and other desires as well.   But for Puran Bhagti it is mandatory to kill our hopes, wishes and desires (Asa, Trishna and Mansha).    So the desires should be limited to Bhagti and Seva of others, not for worldy wants.
 
Paarbraham lives in the Hirda of a Sadh and speaks from their tongue.  The Sadh’s words are the same as the Almighty’s words and we should all listen to them.  By bringing those words practically into our daily life,  our life becomes sublime and we achieve our goal of salvation. 
 
saadhh kai sa(n)g suno har naao ||
saadhhasa(n)g har kae gun gaao ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g n man thae bisarai ||
saadhhasa(n)g sarapar nisatharai ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g lagai prabh meet(h)aa ||
saadhhoo kai sa(n)g ghatt ghatt ddeet(h)aa ||
saadhhasa(n)g bheae aagiaakaaree ||
saadhhasa(n)g gath bhee hamaaree ||
saadhh kai sa(n)g mittae sabh rog ||
naanak saadhh bhaettae sa(n)jog ||7||
 
In the prescence of the Sadh, Gurbani Kirtan has a very powerful effect on the Sangat doing Naam Simran.  In the prescence of the Sadh, the spiritual benefit of good religious acts are unbelievable.   Otherwise religious acts don’t benefit us much, if at all.   But, in the prescence of the Sadh, even whilst performing relgious acts we remain in constant remembrance of Akal Purakh.   His Naam never disappears from our mind.  It always stays inside us and eventually makes a permanent house inside our soul and mind.  This is how and why we are able to win over our mind and how we get it cured from all kinds of mental sicknesses.
 
The Naam becomes spiritual food for our soul and becomes an essential ingredient of our daily life.  We feel the eternal enjoyment all the time emanating from His Naam.   We see God in everyone around us.  That means we love everyone around us.  We don’t hurt anybody and feel the presence of God in each and every soul.
 
We operate under the divine will of God, Puran Hukam of Akal Purakh.    All of our deeds become true deeds, Sat Karams.  We start to serve the Truth and by doing so, we achieve a very high spiritual condition, which gives us salvation.
 
All our mental weaknesses and all of our mental sicknesses are cured.  Our mind becomes absolutely clean and truthful.   Only very fortunate people get to the Sangat of a Hirdha that has become a Sadh, a Sada Suhagans and completely absorbed in Akal Purakh. 
 
saadhh kee mehimaa baedh n jaanehi ||
jaethaa sunehi thaethaa bakhiaanehi ||
saadhh kee oupamaa thihu gun thae dhoor ||
saadhh kee oupamaa rehee bharapoor ||
saadhh kee sobhaa kaa naahee a(n)th ||
saadhh kee sobhaa sadhaa baea(n)th ||
saadhh kee sobhaa ooch thae oochee ||
saadhh kee sobhaa mooch thae moochee ||
saadhh kee sobhaa saadhh ban aaee ||
naanak saadhh prabh bhaedh n bhaaee ||8||7||
 
There is no words that can completely describe the glories a Sadh.   The Vedas,  Hindu holy books, don’t know the greatness of such a Hirda that is a Sadh.   The praise of a Sadh is beyond description, because such a soul is beyond the three dimensions which create the definition of  matter, beyond the three parts of maya. Meaning that there is nobody on this Earth who can completely describe the greatness of a Sadh.
 
The Sadh’s greatness is unlimited.  It can’t be measured.  There are no limits to the powers of such a soul and Hirda.   It is infinite.  It is the highest of the highest in the entire universe.  Only a Sadh can understand the glories of a Sadh and can try to describe it.   All these vital qualities of Hirdha that has become a Sadh are the same as that of Akal Purakh.  So there remains no difference between the Almighty and the Sadh. 
 

We really can achieve our spiritual goals in the Sangat of a Sadh, a Sant, a Brahmgiani, a Sant Satguru much easier than by ourself.   That is what Gurbani is telling us through the divine knowledge of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.  We can involve ourselves in a Gurprasadi Game and meet our beloved Paarbraham with Gurkirpa. We can transform our Hirda from being a Manmukh into being a Sadh ,a Gurmukh, a Sant and achieve the objective of our life and become a Puran Khalsa.