Discourses of His Holiness Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj- STREAM OF THOUGHTS –Part III
The saintly persons are virtuous because they are always aligned with the divine source of virtues, the Almighty. That is why they are always happy. On the other hand, the unsaintly persons are not even aware of the truth. So there is nothing unusual when they make mis- takes. For example, a man was jumping into the river again and again. Someone asked him the reason. He said, "I am searching for a necklace. Look, there it is in the water. I want to take it out. The problem is that when I am outside the water, I can see the necklace. But when I jump into it, I just cannot find anything. It is really baffling. I have been trying to get at the necklace for quite some time (but in vain) ." Hearing this, the other man said, "Brother! Look over your head there." He looked and found that the necklace was hanging on a branch of a tree over his head. What he saw into the water was only its reflection. While the necklace in fact was hanging on the branch of a tree, he was searching for it below (in the water). that is why saints point out: VASTU KAHIN, DHUNDAT KAHIN
It means the thing is somewhere else, while it is being searched for somewhere else. The source of happiness is the Almighty. But man is searching for the same (happiness) in worldly objects, which are only a reflection. The deer looks for the musk in the bushes whereas it exists within its body. A saintly person knows as to who is the ocean of happiness, where it is. That is why he is always content, fully satisfied. An unsaintly person does not know this. That is why he is baffled. No doubt he is familiar with the names used for God, he does not know what exactly they mean. There are many names used for this Almighty. Somewhere it is Allah, somewhere else it is Ram. Similarly, at places it is called Waheguru and elsewhere it is described as God , Nirankar etc. A Gurumukh does not enter into the controversy of names. He goes after the object, the truth, for which these names stand. Spiritual masters point out: JIS VAKHAR KO LEN TU AYA,
They refer here to the object (Vakhar) and not to the name (Akhar). It has also been stated clearly that one need not wander in remote lonely places in search of this divine object- KAHE RE BAN KHOJAN JAYEE, SARAV NIWASI SADA ALEPA, TOHE SANG SAMAYEE.
In other words, God is there with you, while you are searching for it in remote places, in caves, etc. Man continues to wander from place to place in search of the Almighty. This aimlessness is the root cause of his bewilderment.
Source: Stream of thoughts- www.nirankari.org
Das, Vishal
