harsharan000

Ram in the Guru Granth Sahib, does not refer to the son of king Dasrath. That Ram, came and went away, he was an incarnation of the god Vishnu. The hindu trinty(and gods, godesses, etc) as per Gurmat, are countless in countless creations...but Wahiguru Akal Purukh is only one and eternal. He is only Truth. He is above all. He is the Supreme, the Highest, He is Apaar, Alakh, Agam ...He is Anamee. So when our Guru Sahibans mention that Supreme Power Wahiguru as Ram in the bani, they use that term in the sense, that it permeates(ramyaa) every thing and every place, in the very core, the very depth of it, something as intrinsec. So when Guru Sahiban says: राम नामु उर मै गहिओ जा कै सम नही कोइ Rām nām ur mai gahi­o jā kai sam nahī ko­ė. I have enshrined the Lord's Name within my heart; there is nothing equal to it. He is telling us that: That Ram, which is all permeating, and is Nirankar...I have implanted Him, manifested Him, kept Him within, in the depth of my mind and heart, through the Gurparasd, and by doing its kamaee, its sadhna... it has manifested in me as Nam, the true form of Wahiguru Akal Purukh. in the form of Holy Sound, Dhun, Anhad Shabad, Word, Bani, Dhur ki Bani, Anhad Bani(Nam jinke man vaseh, vajeh Shabad ganere)...give it any name, but it is referred to the same consicious power in each and everyone of us in the same amount and measure. Whosever wadbhagee(be he may from east, west south or north, of any caste, color or creed ) devotes himself through Gurmat, will realize this universal Truth: Nam That is greatness of Akal Purukh. Atee Sundar man mohan pyaro... Wah wah Sachay Badshah, kaun jane guna tere.

What does the word religion mean? This word religion comes from the latin langauge,"religare", means union with the origin. That´s it. And consequently, real religion is that which unites us with the Lord. And if it is so, what is it, that does so? Our Guru Sahibans, have the answer for this. Their simple and direct teachings give us the correct direction to walk and achieve that particular and noble aim, namely Wahiguru. Wahiguru alone is the one truth(SATNAM) .... that truth, which is all pervading and abiding. His home(Sach Khand) is our true home ....and it is this eternal home where we should keep our aim and attention ...and not any material land ...... millions came before us ....millions shall still come .... all shall go. No one stays to make this land where we are born, his perpetual home ...it can not be so. Everything here is ephimeral and transitory, then why to run after shadows? Are we not blind and fools by doing so? As said before true religion is that which helps us to unite ourselves with Him. And our Gurus say: naanak naam milai vaddiaaee gur sabadhee sach paaeae O Nanak, through the Naam, glorious greatness is obtained; through the Word of the Guru's Shabad, the True One is found. This means: Nam is only one eternal truth, in which, by merging our souls, salvation is got. And how or when does this take place ? The Bani clearly says: through the bakshish or Gur prasad, Wahiguru Akal purukh is met, not otherwise. That is why all Gurmukhs, from any place or time, stress only on Nam, on Wahiguru .... As this is the only exclusive requirement to meet the beloved Akal Purukh, nothing else matters, do whatever we may ..... without Nam , we are like dead corpses. Nam is the foundation of all the creation, whether material, astral, causal or pure spiritual ... Not only that .... but even going to the extent that,Wahiguru or Satnam sprang from it , such is it´s greatness. Our Gurus tell us, we are sikhs if we follow Gurmat ... and what is Gurmat ? Gurmat is: Jin Har japiya, se Har hoiya.

Mitter Lucky, it is verily true, that Wahiguru or Nam and Shabad, is the highest level of Consciousness, and I do totally agree, that it vibrates and is present in us, as well in the creation Now all that is o.k, and we almost all know the infinite majesty and virtues of this Power. And we also know that we are weak, and if we want to be clean and pure, the Bani says: Nam jinke man vaesh, vajey Shabad ganere. Let us see it the other way round also, to grasp the meaning properly of this beautful tuk. Shabad vajey ganere, Nam jinke man vaseh. Guru Sahiban is saying , whosoever that wadhbhagee jeev implants the Nam in his mind, he listens and feels the vibration of that Nam... So what is that impalnting Nam all about? Guru Sahiban, as stated above, is saying Nam is already there, but to make it manifest, or audible and felt, you have to implant it, in your mind . And impalnting it in our minds, means, to establish it firmly in your mind, by its Simran. Now, all our consciousness is scattered in the world, maya and its objects. But with Nam Simran, what we do, is collect our consciousness, out from all these things through the nine portals or indriyas, and elevate it to the tenth door at the third eye, where through focused concentartion, we enter into the inner spiritual realms, and put ourselves in harmony with that Primal force or energy, which is called as Amrit also, in our scriptures. When we expose ourselves to this Nam and bath into it, by listening to it, it cleanses all our karmas, removes the layers upon layers of dirt accumulated in uncountable births, sanskaras..etc... and thus frees us from all bondages. This is the only remedy to become pure and paviter, to be worthy, to merge in our origin, Satnam samundra The Bani says: nimakh nimakh kar sareer kataveh, toh bheeh haume mel na jaaveh... Plus, this Nam simran makes the mind motionless, and slowly and slowly,as it also becomes pure by tasting this very Nam, it loosens its control, and leaves its grip from the soul...thus the soul, gains its true freedom, and starts with that very Shabad, recovering its true essence, gaining its consciousness once again. Only when we fully realize who or what we are, then only, we will have full faith and start walking in the right direction. The bani in the Sloks of Ninth Patshah clearly lays emphasize on all this topic, of what we are talking about: gun gobind gayo nahi, janam akarth kiin .... The Gurmukhs say: Wahiguru is the only one reality and truth, everything else is fanah, is koor... so if we attach ourselves to that reality only, we shall be able to cross this bhavsagar...but if apart from that One Truth, we cling or get attached to anything else, we shall remain wandering aimlessly in this creation...the option is ours. And that attaching ourselves to Wahiguru, is none other, than the sacred method of Nam Simran alone. Nam Simran is no small thing, and it is not for cowards, but for the strong ones. Because, then one does not care for the world, as per what they will say .... but one cares only for his objective, which is Wahiguru alone. Though Paree Puran Parmatma, is Nirankar...but He has made Himself available to us, in a very simple way, through His simran, that is why the bani says: Prabh ka Simran, Har gun bani. Prabh ka Simran, sabh te oochaa. Har simran meh, Prabh aap Nirankara Our Gurus have not left any stone unturned, to just make us understand that Wahiguru whom we all search for, is to be found only within us, and that also, only with a particular jugtee, which is Nam Simran. This could be the whole summary, in a few words, from the teachings of our Guru Sahibans , for any seeker of the one Truth, Akal Purukh. So if we all know and agree, that Shabad or Nam is already in each one of us, in equal proprtion...then why do we not understand, that if He is to be found within us according to the Bani, why do we do not stop running outside after mere shadows, when the true Light is inside us, to help us, to guide us... Sat Sree Akal.

Dear Veer jee PAL07, the meaning you convey, is true to an extent also. But let us ponder a little bit. The language you mention like, gurmukhi or let us say Gurbani .....the words of the Gurus.... How long could that have been.... 600 years... or perhaps 700 years back at most, or if we want several thousands, or millions of years? What about, before that? Just when there was no creation yet... physical, astral or causal...for example In which language do we think, Wahiguru Akal speaks, or spoke to bring the creation forth? Let us widen our horizons, and not make Akal Purukh as petty and limited as we are. The Shabd of which Guru sahibans or Gurmukhs talk about, is a Consciouss power or energy of the highest order, with all that it implies... in one word omnipotent, or all powerful. This Shabad power, is not of made of any language or words to say. It is referred as Shabd by the Saints, because it vibrates, it can be heard,and if we have access to the higher realms where it is manifested more openly....then even light can be seen. Just as the sun irradiates light and heat, in the same way, this Shabad or Nam, can be heard and seen, but not with these our eyes or ears, but with the faculties of the soul to see which is called "nirat", and the faculty to listen it,"surat" . And according to the Saints, this Shabad is present in each and every atom of this creation .... we could say, all seen or unseen creation, has sprout out of this very Shabad. This Shabad as such, is an ocean of love, of mercy, of bakshish, of daya meher... That is why Guru Nanak said, Shabde Dhartee, Shabde Akash, Shabde Shabad bhaya parkash...Nanak, Shabad, ghatey ghat acchey... And moreover the Bani also says: Anter Jot Niranter Bani, Saachay Sahib siu liv lae .... Means there is sound and pure luminous light in this Shabad, and then when you come in contact with it, it will produce true permanent love in your heart, fot that Supreme True Lord. Guaru Amar Das tell us how to listen this Shabad: Nam jiske man vaseh... vajeh Shabad ganere. Meditate, do kamaee of that Nam, and you shall be blessed, by feeling it within you... you shall realize its majesty and its greatness ... This Shabad has nothing to do with any culture, community, race, or geographical location. It is above, prakirti, the 3 gunas,the mind,maya, the 5 gyan indriyas and 5 karam indriyas...above Kal and Mahkal ... He is Nirankar, Alakh, Agam.... He is known thus as Akal Purukh also. If He is aroop or Niarankar, means, with which body is He going to talk, and in which language, and with whom? There where He is , He alone exists...with whom is He going to consult or ask advice, or what to do, or ask ideas? He is inmersed in Himself. He is vismaad.... He is wonderful...beyond any thought or reason. The Bani says: ਆਪੀਨ੍ਹ੍ਹੈ ਆਪੁ ਸਾਜਿਓ ਆਪੀਨ੍ਹ੍ਹੈ ਰਚਿਓ ਨਾਉ Aapeenhai Aap Saajiou Aapeenhai Rachiou Naao आपीन्है आपु साजिओ आपीन्है रचिओ नाउ He Himself created Himself; He Himself assumed His Name. Guru Sahiban is saying: That He created Himself, and has established Himself as Nam or Shabad...that is His reality, presnt in each being, available to all without any dicrimination or distinction, of class, caste, race, community, or land... whosoever wadbhagee jeev, goes and prays in the real temple, shall find Him, in the form of Shabad. Wah wah Sachay Badshah, kaun janeh guna tere...Ooch Apaar Beant Soami.

Dear Veer Jathedar Sahib, of course he is totally wrong? The question you ask is even out of place, though you may have the right to do so. But not because of anything...but because what he says, does not telly with the teachings of our Guru Sahibans, or any other Gurmukh. True Gurmukhs do not say, you have to leave your dharam or religion, neither do you have to change your lifestyle, but, keeping present in mind that Wahiguru has kept each one of us in particular palce, for a particular purpose, in the end it is all our karmas, and being born in any particular place, or time, just love Wahiguru. As said above in the post, Wahiguru, Har, Lord, God ... is a level of consciousness, which can be reached not just by wishing or desiring, but by climbing the ladder(jugtee) of Nam Simran. If ever any doubt, just read the Bani of our Guru Sahibans and the different Bhagats contained in the Guru Granth Sahib, you will see by yourself, that all of them declare one same truth, Wahiguru and Nam Simran. The real dharam, makes one more humans in nature, but not fanatics. It makes you live in the Bhana, but not commit atrocities, neither terrorist attacks in the name of god, neither try to invade other countries and impose your religion... I think the history is clear enough since the beginning till now a days. There is no comparison, between our Guru Sahibans ... and this fellow, who is just a talkative parrot, without himself understanding what he is saying, but poisoning many minds with his filth. I am sorry for going so harsh, but I can not tolerate ignorance, when more over our Guru Sahibans, have given us the tools in their bani, to see what is truth and what not.

Hinduism, christianism, islam, budhism or any other dharam...are different paths travelled by humans, and for that, first of all one has to be born in this world .... these are chains around our necks, which pull us even more towards the creation, rather than towards the Creatror. In the name of these very religions, so much blood has been wasted, so much hatred, so many wars, so many unjustices ... What is this all? Agyanta, ignorance. Where are we heading? Insanity and failure. And then too we say, we are very much religious minded. We must bear in mind, if the Lord is one, there has to be only one path leading to Him... it can not be different, for different pepole of different communities, religions, castes, colours....this is all created by the selfish and ignorant man. if the Sun(Lord) has no caste or class, what caste is going to have a "mamulee" simple ray(soul). If the Sea(Lord) has no caste or class, what caste is going to have a "mamulee" simple drop of it(soul) The path leading us to Him has to be same in nature, as our objective, Wahiguru; means subtle, not gross or physical. And this path is univerasl to all beings, whether we are hindus, sikhs, christians or muslims so to say ... because this path is established by He Himself. This path is safe and sure to reach our destination, if only travelled on it. That is why the bani says: Har mandir eheu sareer hae, gyan ratan pargat hoe. The Bani says, this our human body is the real temple, where He can be worshipped and found. Because, the objective of religion, is to unite us with our origin, by transforming us in being good to all, and humble with all, but not to make us viloent fanatics, thisrty of the blood of others, for not thinking or beleiving like us. Why should we try to force or impose on others? Does not the Bani say: paavai th so jan dhaehi, jis no, hor kiaa karehi vaechaariaa He alone receives it, unto whom You give it; what can the other poor wretched beings do? So then, who are we to do all the nonsense we do? This is His creation, He knows best how to handle it, or is that He has give us the rights to interfere with his creation and laws, or, He has forgotten what He has to do? Let us think and take care about ourselves...the rest will be taken care by itself. Then He says: eik bharam bhoolae firehi dheh dhis eik naam laag savaariaa Some are deluded by doubt, wandering in the ten directions; some are adorned with attachment to the Naam. But on the other side, if we try to find Him outside, then of course there are many paths, and all of them lead us to the same place: nowhere. The religion of the Guru Sahibans, Bhagats, Sant Janas, Gurmukhs, Sadhs... is only one. And that is Gurmat or Nam mat. Be that Gurmukh of any time or any place, but it will be always the same. And this Gurmat is not designed, or made for any particular community or land, it is universal, because it deals with the higher realities as soul or Wahiguru...not the perishable garments or bodies. Sree Guru Amar Das tells us in Raag Ramkalee: eaes no hor thhaao naahee sabadh laag savaareeaa There is no place of rest, other than the Name; attached to the Shabad, we are embellished with beauty. So whether Guru used the terms hum hindu, reffering to it, in a geographically perspective or not, we for sure know, that is not so important, because their only concern is of reuniting the soul with its creator, through the power of Nam, because in those higher realms, and morover in Sach Khand, there is no such things as hindus, muslims, sikhs, isaees or budhists... There alone, Wahiguru exists. The Bani says: Sachkhand baseh, Nirankar. Whosoever "wadhbhagee jeeva" without any distinction, arrives there, becomes one wih Him. Such is His greatness, His vadiayee...

Very much inspiring.

A fantastic and a very inspiring post, Harbhajan Veer Ji. Thanks for such a wonderful contribution.

Below is the experience of a disciple with his master, once that master had passed away …… it may seem long to read ….but do not desist, it is worth, and it is a comforting and encouraging experience for all of us humans. Most of us have enquires, about how is life, or existence, once we leave this earthly plane. It deals mainly with spirituality, not with any particular dharam or mazab, as the spiritual nature in essence, is the same in all beings. And the finer or higher the spiritual realms...more purity in all senses, is required to abide there, until, we are totally inmaculate, to merge in our origin: Wahiguru Akal Purukh. I was deeply impressed, when I read and went through this wonderfull passage... so I thought to share it with the sangat, may all find and get some answers, to our natural human queries. Chapter 43: The Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar "Lord Krishna!" The glorious form of the avatar appeared in a shimmering blaze as I sat in my room at the Regent Hotel in Bombay. Shining over the roof of a high building across the street, the ineffable vision had suddenly burst on my sight as I gazed out of my long open third-story window. The divine figure waved to me, smiling and nodding in greeting. When I could not understand the exact message of Lord Krishna, he departed with a gesture of blessing. Wondrously uplifted, I felt that some spiritual event was presaged. My Western voyage had, for the time being, been cancelled. I was scheduled for several public addresses in Bombay before leaving on a return visit to Bengal. Sitting on my bed in the Bombay hotel at three o'clock in the afternoon of June 19, 1936-one week after the vision of Krishna-I was roused from my meditation by a beatific light. Before my open and astonished eyes, the whole room was transformed into a strange world, the sunlight transmuted into supernal splendor. Waves of rapture engulfed me as I beheld the flesh and blood form of Sri Yukteswar! "My son!" Master spoke tenderly, on his face an angel-bewitching smile. For the first time in my life I did not kneel at his feet in greeting but instantly advanced to gather him hungrily in my arms. Moment of moments! The anguish of past months was toll I counted weightless against the torrential bliss now descending. "Master mine, beloved of my heart, why did you leave me?" I was incoherent in an excess of joy. "Why did you let me go to the KUMBHA MELA? How bitterly have I blamed myself for leaving you!" Wikipedia:Yogananda Image Gallery (KRISHNA, ANCIENT PROPHET OF INDIA, A modern artist's conception of the divine teacher whose spiritual counsel in the Bhagavad Gita has become the Hindu Bible. Krishna is portrayed in Hindu art with a peacock feather in his hair (symbol of the Lord's lila, play or creative sport), and carrying a flute, whose enrapturing notes awaken the devotees, one by one, from their sleep of maya or cosmic delusion.) "I did not want to interfere with your happy anticipation of seeing the pilgrimage spot where first I met Babaji. I left you only for a little while; am I not with you again?" "But is it YOU, Master, the same Lion of God? Are you wearing a body like the one I buried beneath the cruel Puri sands?" "Yes, my child, I am the same. This is a flesh and blood body. Though I see it as ethereal, to your sight it is physical. From the cosmic atoms I created an entirely new body, exactly like that cosmic-dream physical body which you laid beneath the dream-sands at Puri in your dream-world. I am in truth resurrected-not on earth but on an astral planet. Its inhabitants are better able than earthly humanity to meet my lofty standards. There you and your exalted loved ones shall someday come to be with me." "Deathless guru, tell me more!" Master gave a quick, mirthful chuckle. "Please, dear one," he said, "won't you relax your hold a little?" "Only a little!" I had been embracing him with an octopus grip. I could detect the same faint, fragrant, natural odor which had been characteristic of his body before. The thrilling touch of his divine flesh still persists around the inner sides of my arms and in my palms whenever I recall those glorious hours. "As prophets are sent on earth to help men work out their physical karma, so I have been directed by God to serve on an astral planet as a savior," Sri Yukteswar explained. "It is called HIRANYALOKA or 'Illumined Astral Planet.' There I am aiding advanced beings to rid themselves of astral karma and thus attain liberation from astral rebirths. The dwellers on Hiranyaloka are highly developed spiritually; all of them had acquired, in their last earth-incarnation, the meditation-given power of consciously leaving their physical bodies at death. No one can enter Hiranyaloka unless he has passed on earth beyond the state of SABIKALPA SAMADHI into the higher state of NIRBIKALPA SAMADHI. {FN43-1} "The Hiranyaloka inhabitants have already passed through the ordinary astral spheres, where nearly all beings from earth must go at death; there they worked out many seeds of their past actions in the astral worlds. None but advanced beings can perform such redemptive work effectually in the astral worlds. Then, in order to free their souls more fully from the cocoon of karmic traces lodged in their astral bodies, these higher beings were drawn by cosmic law to be reborn with new astral bodies on Hiranyaloka, the astral sun or heaven, where I have resurrected to help them. There are also highly advanced beings on Hiranyaloka who have come from the superior, subtler, causal world." My mind was now in such perfect attunement with my guru's that he was conveying his word-pictures to me partly by speech and partly by thought-transference. I was thus quickly receiving his idea-tabloids. "You have read in the scriptures," Master went on, "that God encased the human soul successively in three bodies-the idea, or causal, body; the subtle astral body, seat of man's mental and emotional natures; and the gross physical body. On earth a man is equipped with his physical senses. An astral being works with his consciousness and feelings and a body made of lifetrons. {FN43-2} A causal-bodied being remains in the blissful realm of ideas. My work is with those astral beings who are preparing to enter the causal world." "Adorable Master, please tell me more about the astral cosmos." Though I had slightly relaxed my embrace at Sri Yukteswar's request, my arms were still around him. Treasure beyond all treasures, my guru who had laughed at death to reach me! "There are many astral planets, teeming with astral beings," Master began. "The inhabitants use astral planes, or masses of light, to travel from one planet to another, faster than electricity and radioactive energies. "The astral universe, made of various subtle vibrations of light and color, is hundreds of times larger than the material cosmos. The entire physical creation hangs like a little solid basket under the huge luminous balloon of the astral sphere. Just as many physical suns and stars roam in space, so there are also countless astral solar and stellar systems. Their planets have astral suns and moons, more beautiful than the physical ones. The astral luminaries resemble the aurora borealis-the sunny astral aurora being more dazzling than the mild-rayed moon-aurora. The astral day and night are longer than those of earth. "The astral world is infinitely beautiful, clean, pure, and orderly. There are no dead planets or barren lands. The terrestrial blemishes--weeds, bacteria, insects, snakes-are absent. Unlike the variable climates and seasons of the earth, the astral planets maintain the even temperature of an eternal spring, with occasional luminous white snow and rain of many-colored lights. Astral planets abound in opal lakes and bright seas and rainbow rivers. "The ordinary astral universe-not the subtler astral heaven of Hiranyaloka-is peopled with millions of astral beings who have come, more or less recently, from the earth, and also with myriads of fairies, mermaids, fishes, animals, goblins, gnomes, demigods and spirits, all residing on different astral planets in accordance with karmic qualifications. Various spheric mansions or vibratory regions are provided for good and evil spirits. Good ones can travel freely, but the evil spirits are confined to limited zones. In the same way that human beings live on the surface of the earth, worms inside the soil, fish in water, and birds in air, so astral beings of different grades are assigned to suitable vibratory quarters. "Among the fallen dark angels expelled from other worlds, friction and war take place with lifetronic bombs or mental MANTRIC {FN43-3} vibratory rays. These beings dwell in the gloom-drenched regions of the lower astral cosmos, working out their evil karma. "In the vast realms above the dark astral prison, all is shining and beautiful. The astral cosmos is more naturally attuned than the earth to the divine will and plan of perfection. Every astral object is manifested primarily by the will of God, and partially by the will-call of astral beings. They possess the power of modifying or enhancing the grace and form of anything already created by the Lord. He has given His astral children the freedom and privilege of changing or improving at will the astral cosmos. On earth a solid must be transformed into liquid or other form through natural or chemical processes, but astral solids are changed into astral liquids, gases, or energy solely and instantly by the will of the inhabitants. "The earth is dark with warfare and murder in the sea, land, and air," my guru continued, "but the astral realms know a happy harmony and equality. Astral beings dematerialize or materialize their forms at will. Flowers or fish or animals can metamorphose themselves, for a time, into astral men. All astral beings are free to assume any form, and can easily commune together. No fixed, definite, natural law hems them round-any astral tree, for example, can be successfully asked to produce an astral mango or other desired fruit, flower, or indeed any other object. Certain karmic restrictions are present, but there are no distinctions in the astral world about desirability of various forms. Everything is vibrant with God's creative light. "No one is born of woman; offspring are materialized by astral beings through the help of their cosmic will into specially patterned, astrally condensed forms. The recently physically disembodied being arrives in an astral family through invitation, drawn by similar mental and spiritual tendencies. "The astral body is not subject to cold or heat or other natural conditions. The anatomy includes an astral brain, or the thousand-petaled lotus of light, and six awakened centers in the SUSHUMNA, or astral cerebro-spinal axis. The heart draws cosmic energy as well as light from the astral brain, and pumps it to the astral nerves and body cells, or lifetrons. Astral beings can affect their bodies by lifetronic force or by MANTRIC vibrations. "The astral body is an exact counterpart of the last physical form. Astral beings retain the same appearance which they possessed in youth in their previous earthly sojourn; occasionally an astral being chooses, like myself, to retain his old age appearance." Master, emanating the very essence of youth, chuckled merrily. "Unlike the spacial, three-dimensional physical world cognized only by the five senses, the astral spheres are visible to the all-inclusive sixth sense-intuition," Sri Yukteswar went on. "By sheer intuitional feeling, all astral beings see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. They possess three eyes, two of which are partly closed. The third and chief astral eye, vertically placed on the forehead, is open. Astral beings have all the outer sensory organs-ears, eyes, nose, tongue, and skin-but they employ the intuitional sense to experience sensations through any part of the body; they can see through the ear, or nose, or skin. They are able to hear through the eyes or tongue, and can taste through the ears or skin, and so forth. {FN43-4} "Man's physical body is exposed to countless dangers, and is easily hurt or maimed; the ethereal astral body may occasionally be cut or bruised but is healed at once by mere willing." "Gurudeva, are all astral persons beautiful?" "Beauty in the astral world is known to be a spiritual quality, and not an outward conformation," Sri Yukteswar replied. "Astral beings therefore attach little importance to facial features. They have the privilege, however, of costuming themselves at will with new, colorful, astrally materialized bodies. Just as worldly men don new array for gala events, so astral beings find occasions to bedeck themselves in specially designed forms. "Joyous astral festivities on the higher astral planets like Hiranyaloka take place when a being is liberated from the astral world through spiritual advancement, and is therefore ready to enter the heaven of the causal world. On such occasions the Invisible Heavenly Father, and the saints who are merged in Him, materialize Themselves into bodies of Their own choice and join the astral celebration. In order to please His beloved devotee, the Lord takes any desired form. If the devotee worshiped through devotion, he sees God as the Divine Mother. To Jesus, the Father-aspect of the Infinite One was appealing beyond other conceptions. The individuality with which the Creator has endowed each of His creatures makes every conceivable and inconceivable demand on the Lord's versatility!" My guru and I laughed happily together. "Friends of other lives easily recognize one another in the astral world," Sri Yukteswar went on in his beautiful, flutelike voice. "Rejoicing at the immortality of friendship, they realize the indestructibility of love, often doubted at the time of the sad, delusive partings of earthly life. "The intuition of astral beings pierces through the veil and observes human activities on earth, but man cannot view the astral world unless his sixth sense is somewhat developed. Thousands of earth-dwellers have momentarily glimpsed an astral being or an astral world. "The advanced beings on Hiranyaloka remain mostly awake in ecstasy during the long astral day and night, helping to work out intricate problems of cosmic government and the redemption of prodigal sons, earthbound souls. When the Hiranyaloka beings sleep, they have occasional dreamlike astral visions. Their minds are usually engrossed in the conscious state of highest NIRBIKALPA bliss. "Inhabitants in all parts of the astral worlds are still subject to mental agonies. The sensitive minds of the higher beings on planets like Hiranyaloka feel keen pain if any mistake is made in conduct or perception of truth. These advanced beings endeavor to attune their every act and thought with the perfection of spiritual law. "Communication among the astral inhabitants is held entirely by astral telepathy and television; there is none of the confusion and misunderstanding of the written and spoken word which earth-dwellers must endure. Just as persons on the cinema screen appear to move and act through a series of light pictures, and do not actually breathe, so the astral beings walk and work as intelligently guided and coordinated images of light, without the necessity of drawing power from oxygen. Man depends upon solids, liquids, gases, and energy for sustenance; astral beings sustain themselves principally by cosmic light." "Master mine, do astral beings eat anything?" I was drinking in his marvelous elucidations with the receptivity of all my faculties-mind, heart, soul. Superconscious perceptions of truth are permanently real and changeless, while fleeting sense experiences and impressions are never more than temporarily or relatively true, and soon lose in memory all their vividness. My guru's words were so penetratingly imprinted on the parchment of my being that at any time, by transferring my mind to the superconscious state, I can clearly relive the divine experience. "Luminous raylike vegetables abound in the astral soils," he answered. "The astral beings consume vegetables, and drink a nectar flowing from glorious fountains of light and from astral brooks and rivers. Just as invisible images of persons on the earth can be dug out of the ether and made visible by a television apparatus, later being dismissed again into space, so the God-created, unseen astral blueprints of vegetables and plants floating in the ether are precipitated on an astral planet by the will of its inhabitants. In the same way, from the wildest fancy of these beings, whole gardens of fragrant flowers are materialized, returning later to the etheric invisibility. Although dwellers on the heavenly planets like Hiranyaloka are almost freed from any necessity of eating, still higher is the unconditioned existence of almost completely liberated souls in the causal world, who eat nothing save the manna of bliss. "The earth-liberated astral being meets a multitude of relatives, fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, and friends, acquired during different incarnations on earth, {FN43-5} as they appear from time to time in various parts of the astral realms. He is therefore at a loss to understand whom to love especially; he learns in this way to give a divine and equal love to all, as children and individualized expressions of God. Though the outward appearance of loved ones may have changed, more or less according to the development of new qualities in the latest life of any particular soul, the astral being employs his unerring intuition to recognize all those once dear to him in other planes of existence, and to welcome them to their new astral home. Because every atom in creation is inextinguishably dowered with individuality, {FN43-6} an astral friend will be recognized no matter what costume he may don, even as on earth an actor's identity is discoverable by close observation despite any disguise. "The span of life in the astral world is much longer than on earth. A normal advanced astral being's average life period is from five hundred to one thousand years, measured in accordance with earthly standards of time. As certain redwood trees outlive most trees by millenniums, or as some yogis live several hundred years though most men die before the age of sixty, so some astral beings live much longer than the usual span of astral existence. Visitors to the astral world dwell there for a longer or shorter period in accordance with the weight of their physical karma, which draws them back to earth within a specified time. "The astral being does not have to contend painfully with death at the time of shedding his luminous body. Many of these beings nevertheless feel slightly nervous at the thought of dropping their astral form for the subtler causal one. The astral world is free from unwilling death, disease, and old age. These three dreads are the curse of earth, where man has allowed his consciousness to identify itself almost wholly with a frail physical body requiring constant aid from air, food, and sleep in order to exist at all. "Physical death is attended by the disappearance of breath and the disintegration of fleshly cells. Astral death consists of the dispersement of lifetrons, those manifest units of energy which constitute the life of astral beings. At physical death a being loses his consciousness of flesh and becomes aware of his subtle body in the astral world. Experiencing astral death in due time, a being thus passes from the consciousness of astral birth and death to that of physical birth and death. These recurrent cycles of astral and physical encasement are the ineluctable destiny of all unenlightened beings. Scriptural definitions of heaven and hell sometimes stir man's deeper-than-subconscious memories of his long series of experiences in the blithesome astral and disappointing terrestrial worlds." "Beloved Master," I asked, "will you please describe more in detail the difference between rebirth on the earth and in the astral and causal spheres?" "Man as an individualized soul is essentially causal-bodied," my guru explained. "That body is a matrix of the thirty-five IDEAS required by God as the basic or causal thought forces from which He later formed the subtle astral body of nineteen elements and the gross physical body of sixteen elements. "The nineteen elements of the astral body are mental, emotional, and lifetronic. The nineteen components are intelligence; ego; feeling; mind (sense-consciousness); five instruments of KNOWLEDGE, the subtle counterparts of the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch; five instruments of ACTION, the mental correspondence for the executive abilities to procreate, excrete, talk, walk, and exercise manual skill; and five instruments of LIFE FORCE, those empowered to perform the crystallizing, assimilating, eliminating, metabolizing, and circulating functions of the body. This subtle astral encasement of nineteen elements survives the death of the physical body, which is made of sixteen gross metallic and nonmetallic elements. "God thought out different ideas within Himself and projected them into dreams. Lady Cosmic Dream thus sprang out decorated in all her colossal endless ornaments of relativity. "In thirty-five thought categories of the causal body, God elaborated all the complexities of man's nineteen astral and sixteen physical counterparts. By condensation of vibratory forces, first subtle, then gross, He produced man's astral body and finally his physical form. According to the law of relativity, by which the Prime Simplicity has become the bewildering manifold, the causal cosmos and causal body are different from the astral cosmos and astral body; the physical cosmos and physical body are likewise characteristically at variance with the other forms of creation. "The fleshly body is made of the fixed, objectified dreams of the Creator. The dualities are ever-present on earth: disease and health, pain and pleasure, loss and gain. Human beings find limitation and resistance in three-dimensional matter. When man's desire to live is severely shaken by disease or other causes, death arrives; the heavy overcoat of the flesh is temporarily shed. The soul, however, remains encased in the astral and causal bodies. {FN43-7} The adhesive force by which all three bodies are held together is desire. The power of unfulfilled desires is the root of all man's slavery. "Physical desires are rooted in egotism and sense pleasures. The compulsion or temptation of sensory experience is more powerful than the desire-force connected with astral attachments or causal perceptions. "Astral desires center around enjoyment in terms of vibration. Astral beings enjoy the ethereal music of the spheres and are entranced by the sight of all creation as exhaustless expressions of changing light. The astral beings also smell, taste, and touch light. Astral desires are thus connected with an astral being's power to precipitate all objects and experiences as forms of light or as condensed thoughts or dreams. "Causal desires are fulfilled by perception only. The nearly-free beings who are encased only in the causal body see the whole universe as realizations of the dream-ideas of God; they can materialize anything and everything in sheer thought. Causal beings therefore consider the enjoyment of physical sensations or astral delights as gross and suffocating to the soul's fine sensibilities. Causal beings work out their desires by materializing them instantly. {FN43-8} Those who find themselves covered only by the delicate veil of the causal body can bring universes into manifestation even as the Creator. Because all creation is made of the cosmic dream-texture, the soul thinly clothed in the causal has vast realizations of power. "A soul, being invisible by nature, can be distinguished only by the presence of its body or bodies. The mere presence of a body signifies that its existence is made possible by unfulfilled desires. {FN43-9} "So long as the soul of man is encased in one, two, or three body-containers, sealed tightly with the corks of ignorance and desires, he cannot merge with the sea of Spirit. When the gross physical receptacle is destroyed by the hammer of death, the other two coverings-astral and causal-still remain to prevent the soul from consciously joining the Omnipresent Life. When desirelessness is attained through wisdom, its power disintegrates the two remaining vessels. The tiny human soul emerges, free at last; it is one with the Measureless Amplitude." I asked my divine guru to shed further light on the high and mysterious causal world. "The causal world is indescribably subtle," he replied. "In order to understand it, one would have to possess such tremendous powers of concentration that he could close his eyes and visualize the astral cosmos and the physical cosmos in all their vastness-the luminous balloon with the solid basket-as existing in ideas only. If by this superhuman concentration one succeeded in converting or resolving the two cosmoses with all their complexities into sheer ideas, he would then reach the causal world and stand on the borderline of fusion between mind and matter. There one perceives all created things--solids, liquids, gases, electricity, energy, all beings, gods, men, animals, plants, bacteria-as forms of consciousness, just as a man can close his eyes and realize that he exists, even though his body is invisible to his physical eyes and is present only as an idea. "Whatever a human being can do in fancy, a causal being can do in reality. The most colossal imaginative human intelligence is able, in mind only, to range from one extreme of thought to another, to skip mentally from planet to planet, or tumble endlessly down a pit of eternity, or soar rocketlike into the galaxied canopy, or scintillate like a searchlight over milky ways and the starry spaces. But beings in the causal world have a much greater freedom, and can effortlessly manifest their thoughts into instant objectivity, without any material or astral obstruction or karmic limitation. "Causal beings realize that the physical cosmos is not primarily constructed of electrons, nor is the astral cosmos basically composed of lifetrons-both in reality are created from the minutest particles of God-thought, chopped and divided by MAYA, the law of relativity which intervenes to apparently separate the Noumenon from His phenomena. "Souls in the causal world recognize one another as individualized points of joyous Spirit; their thought-things are the only objects which surround them. Causal beings see the difference between their bodies and thoughts to be merely ideas. As a man, closing his eyes, can visualize a dazzling white light or a faint blue haze, so causal beings by thought alone are able to see, hear, feel, taste, and touch; they create anything, or dissolve it, by the power of cosmic mind. "Both death and rebirth in the causal world are in thought. Causal-bodied beings feast only on the ambrosia of eternally new knowledge. They drink from the springs of peace, roam on the trackless soil of perceptions, swim in the ocean-endlessness of bliss. Lo! see their bright thought-bodies zoom past trillions of Spirit-created planets, fresh bubbles of universes, wisdom-stars, spectral dreams of golden nebulae, all over the skiey blue bosom of Infinity! "Many beings remain for thousands of years in the causal cosmos. By deeper ecstasies the freed soul then withdraws itself from the little causal body and puts on the vastness of the causal cosmos. All the separate eddies of ideas, particularized waves of power, love, will, joy, peace, intuition, calmness, self-control, and concentration melt into the ever-joyous Sea of Bliss. No longer does the soul have to experience its joy as an individualized wave of consciousness, but is merged in the One Cosmic Ocean, with all its waves-eternal laughter, thrills, throbs. "When a soul is out of the cocoon of the three bodies it escapes forever from the law of relativity and becomes the ineffable Ever-Existent. {FN43-10} Behold the butterfly of Omnipresence, its wings etched with stars and moons and suns! The soul expanded into Spirit remains alone in the region of lightless light, darkless dark, thoughtless thought, intoxicated with its ecstasy of joy in God's dream of cosmic creation." "A free soul!" I ejaculated in awe. "When a soul finally gets out of the three jars of bodily delusions," Master continued, "it becomes one with the Infinite without any loss of individuality. Christ had won this final freedom even before he was born as Jesus. In three stages of his past, symbolized in his earth-life as the three days of his experience of death and resurrection, he had attained the power to fully arise in Spirit. "The undeveloped man must undergo countless earthly and astral and causal incarnations in order to emerge from his three bodies. A master who achieves this final freedom may elect to return to earth as a prophet to bring other human beings back to God, or like myself he may choose to reside in the astral cosmos. There a savior assumes some of the burden of the inhabitants' karma {FN43-11} and thus helps them to terminate their cycle of reincarnation in the astral cosmos and go on permanently to the causal spheres. Or a freed soul may enter the causal world to aid its beings to shorten their span in the causal body and thus attain the Absolute Freedom." "Resurrected One, I want to know more about the karma which forces souls to return to the three worlds." I could listen forever, I thought, to my omniscient Master. Never in his earth-life had I been able at one time to assimilate so much of his wisdom. Now for the first time I was receiving a clear, definite insight into the enigmatic interspaces on the checkerboard of life and death. "The physical karma or desires of man must be completely worked out before his permanent stay in astral worlds becomes possible," my guru elucidated in his thrilling voice. "Two kinds of beings live in the astral spheres. Those who still have earthly karma to dispose of and who must therefore reinhabit a gross physical body in order to pay their karmic debts could be classified, after physical death, as temporary visitors to the astral world rather than as permanent residents. "Beings with unredeemed earthly karma are not permitted after astral death to go to the high causal sphere of cosmic ideas, but must shuttle to and fro from the physical and astral worlds only, conscious successively of their physical body of sixteen gross elements, and of their astral body of nineteen subtle elements. After each loss of his physical body, however, an undeveloped being from the earth remains for the most part in the deep stupor of the death-sleep and is hardly conscious of the beautiful astral sphere. After the astral rest, such a man returns to the material plane for further lessons, gradually accustoming himself, through repeated journeys, to the worlds of subtle astral texture. "Normal or long-established residents of the astral universe, on the other hand, are those who, freed forever from all material longings, need return no more to the gross vibrations of earth. Such beings have only astral and causal karma to work out. At astral death these beings pass to the infinitely finer and more delicate causal world. Shedding the thought-form of the causal body at the end of a certain span, determined by cosmic law, these advanced beings then return to Hiranyaloka or a similar high astral planet, reborn in a new astral body to work out their unredeemed astral karma. "My son, you may now comprehend more fully that I am resurrected by divine decree," Sri Yukteswar continued, "as a savior of astrally reincarnating souls coming back from the causal sphere, in particular, rather than of those astral beings who are coming up from the earth. Those from the earth, if they still retain vestiges of material karma, do not rise to the very high astral planets like Hiranyaloka. "Just as most people on earth have not learned through meditation-acquired vision to appreciate the superior joys and advantages of astral life and thus, after death, desire to return to the limited, imperfect pleasures of earth, so many astral beings, during the normal disintegration of their astral bodies, fail to picture the advanced state of spiritual joy in the causal world and, dwelling on thoughts of the more gross and gaudy astral happiness, yearn to revisit the astral paradise. Heavy astral karma must be redeemed by such beings before they can achieve after astral death a permanent stay in the causal thought-world, so thinly partitioned from the Creator. "Only when a being has no further desires for experiences in the pleasing-to-the-eye astral cosmos, and cannot be tempted to go back there, does he remain in the causal world. Completing there the work of redeeming all causal karma or seeds of past desires, the confined soul thrusts out the last of the three corks of ignorance and, emerging from the final jar of the causal body, commingles with the Eternal. "Now do you understand?" Master smiled so enchantingly! "Yes, through your grace. I am speechless with joy and gratitude." Never from song or story had I ever received such inspiring knowledge. Though the Hindu scriptures refer to the causal and astral worlds and to man's three bodies, how remote and meaningless those pages compared with the warm authenticity of my resurrected Master! For him indeed existed not a single "undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns"! "The interpenetration of man's three bodies is expressed in many ways through his threefold nature," my great guru went on. "In the wakeful state on earth a human being is conscious more or less of his three vehicles. When he is sensuously intent on tasting, smelling, touching, listening, or seeing, he is working principally through his physical body. Visualizing or willing, he is working mainly through his astral body. His causal medium finds expression when man is thinking or diving deep in introspection or meditation; the cosmical thoughts of genius come to the man who habitually contacts his causal body. In this sense an individual may be classified broadly as 'a material man,' 'an energetic man,' or 'an intellectual man.' "A man identifies himself about sixteen hours daily with his physical vehicle. Then he sleeps; if he dreams, he remains in his astral body, effortlessly creating any object even as do the astral beings. If man's sleep be deep and dreamless, for several hours he is able to transfer his consciousness, or sense of I-ness, to the causal body; such sleep is revivifying. A dreamer is contacting his astral and not his causal body; his sleep is not fully refreshing." I had been lovingly observing Sri Yukteswar while he gave his wondrous exposition. "Angelic guru," I said, "your body looks exactly as it did when last I wept over it in the Puri ashram." "O yes, my new body is a perfect copy of the old one. I materialize or dematerialize this form any time at will, much more frequently than I did while on earth. By quick dematerialization, I now travel instantly by light express from planet to planet or, indeed, from astral to causal or to physical cosmos." My divine guru smiled. "Though you move about so fast these days, I had no difficulty in finding you at Bombay!" "O Master, I was grieving so deeply about your death!" "Ah, wherein did I die? Isn't there some contradiction?" Sri Yukteswar's eyes were twinkling with love and amusement. "You were only dreaming on earth; on that earth you saw my dream-body," he went on. "Later you buried that dream-image. Now my finer fleshly body-which you behold and are even now embracing rather closely!-is resurrected on another finer dream-planet of God. Someday that finer dream-body and finer dream-planet will pass away; they too are not forever. All dream-bubbles must eventually burst at a final wakeful touch. Differentiate, my son Yogananda, between dreams and Reality!" This idea of VEDANTIC {FN43-12} resurrection struck me with wonder. I was ashamed that I had pitied Master when I had seen his lifeless body at Puri. I comprehended at last that my guru had always been fully awake in God, perceiving his own life and passing on earth, and his present resurrection, as nothing more than relativities of divine ideas in the cosmic dream. "I have now told you, Yogananda, the truths of my life, death, and resurrection. Grieve not for me; rather broadcast everywhere the story of my resurrection from the God-dreamed earth of men to another God-dreamed planet of astrally garbed souls! New hope will be infused into the hearts of misery-mad, death-fearing dreamers of the world." "Yes, Master!" How willingly would I share with others my joy at his resurrection! "On earth my standards were uncomfortably high, unsuited to the natures of most men. Often I scolded you more than I should have. You passed my test; your love shone through the clouds of all reprimands." He added tenderly, "I have also come today to tell you: Never again shall I wear the stern gaze of censure. I shall scold you no more." How much I had missed the chastisements of my great guru! Each one had been a guardian angel of protection. "Dearest Master! Rebuke me a million times-do scold me now!" "I shall chide you no more." His divine voice was grave, yet with an undercurrent of laughter. "You and I shall smile together, so long as our two forms appear different in the MAYA-dream of God. Finally we shall merge as one in the Cosmic Beloved; our smiles shall be His smile, our unified song of joy vibrating throughout eternity to be broadcast to God-tuned souls!" Sri Yukteswar gave me light on certain matters which I cannot reveal here. During the two hours that he spent with me in the Bombay hotel room he answered my every question. A number of world prophecies uttered by him that June day in 1936 have already come to pass. "I leave you now, beloved one!" At these words I felt Master melting away within my encircling arms. "My child," his voice rang out, vibrating into my very soul-firmament, "whenever you enter the door of NIRBIKALPA SAMADHI and call on me, I shall come to you in flesh and blood, even as today." With this celestial promise Sri Yukteswar vanished from my sight. A cloud-voice repeated in musical thunder: "Tell all! Whosoever knows by NIRBIKALPA realization that your earth is a dream of God can come to the finer dream-created planet of Hiranyaloka, and there find me resurrected in a body exactly like my earthly one. Yogananda, tell all!" Gone was the sorrow of parting. The pity and grief for his death, long robber of my peace, now fled in stark shame. Bliss poured forth like a fountain through endless, newly opened soul-pores. Anciently clogged with disuse, they now widened in purity at the driving flood of ecstasy. Subconscious thoughts and feelings of my past incarnations shed their karmic taints, lustrously renewed by Sri Yukteswar's divine visit. In this chapter of my autobiography I have obeyed my guru's behest and spread the glad tiding, though it confound once more an incurious generation. Groveling, man knows well; despair is seldom alien; yet these are perversities, no part of man's true lot. The day he wills, he is set on the path to freedom. Too long has he hearkened to the dank pessimism of his "dust-thou-art" counselors, heedless of the unconquerable soul. I was not the only one privileged to behold the Resurrected Guru. One of Sri Yukteswar's chelas was an aged woman, affectionately known as MA (Mother), whose home was close to the Puri hermitage. Master had often stopped to chat with her during his morning walk. On the evening of March 16, 1936, Ma arrived at the ashram and asked to see her guru. "Why, Master died a week ago!" Swami Sebananda, now in charge of the Puri hermitage, looked at her sadly. "That's impossible!" She smiled a little. "Perhaps you are just trying to protect the guru from insistent visitors?" "No." Sebananda recounted details of the burial. "Come," he said, "I will take you to the front garden to Sri Yukteswarji's grave." Ma shook her head. "There is no grave for him! This morning at ten o'clock he passed in his usual walk before my door! I talked to him for several minutes in the bright outdoors. "'Come this evening to the ashram,' he said. "I am here! Blessings pour on this old gray head! The deathless guru wanted me to understand in what transcendent body he had visited me this morning!" The astounded Sebananda knelt before her. "Ma," he said, "what a weight of grief you lift from my heart! He is risen!"

Dear Sat, please please please forgive me, it is not all I meant, the impression you got from my post. I only said, we should be vigilant in revealng our experiences, not at all that we are to become internet babay... I respect and appreciate you a lot, inspite of not knowing you much, but the hearty and sincere welcome, you and some more brothers gave me, made me feel indeed very glad and comfortable, for which I am very much thankful, believe me. Your efforts in spiritual practices are valued, and we all know, we are weak and imperfcet yet, that is why we are not consistent, but then too, in His eyes, each and very effort of ours, counts and does not go unnoticed by Him, almost all of us do kachee bhakti... but even then He says, give me your this kachee bhakti, I will make it pakee bhakti... He is so gracefull. As I told you in the private messenger, take me as brother and share with me whatever you may like, any topic on spirituality ... And we all know, when you call someone a brother, it is only because you have only good feelings and wishes for him, so please do not get me wrong at all. Of course, Guru ji is not going to put off anyone, He is all mercifull, He is Dayalu... How can He do so? His job is not to judge, but to love and forgive, it is only one of the five vices(ahankar), which may enter in our house as thief, and rob us...that is it. But never ever Guru Ji , if He were to sit and judge, then believe me, we had no way to escape. He is Sadbhakshanhar ... From Him, only Daya Meher is got...

Most welcome brother N30 SINGH, you see, Gurprasad, as kirpa or as bakshish, is something given by a Sadh; it is not like magican who, wavers it´s stick... at our human level, even if Wahiguru wanted to pull us at His level, He can not do so, beacuse we are not that pure enough yet, we need to be purified, and that is only possible with Nam Bhakti, which a Sadh, a Gurmukh, gives you that as a jugtee, or updesh. It is a slow process,,which can we achieve by persisting and will power, through Nam Simran alone. And so what bigger Gurparsad can be that, of getting something, which can free us from all bondages. Sadhus, gods, godesses, can give you the reign of the three worlds, but even then we are prisoners, we are not free...here lies the importance of a Gurmukh and His Gurparsad Even Dhan Guru Nanak Dev Maharaj, sheds us some light on this topic in Raag Soohee: ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਾ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਗੁਰੁ ਆਇ ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਲੀਖਿਆ Thinhaa Miliaa Gur Aae Jin Ko Leekhiaa तिन्हा मिलिआ गुरु आइ जिन कउ लीखिआ The Guru comes to meet those whose destiny is so pre-ordained Comes to meet the preordained, but what for? In the follwing line, Guru Sahiban, answers our question. ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਹਰਿ ਕਾ ਨਾਉ ਦੇਵੈ ਦੀਖਿਆ Anmrith Har Kaa Naao, Dhaevai Dheekhiaa अम्रितु हरि का नाउ देवै दीखिआ He blesses them with the Teachings of the Ambrosial Name of the Lord. So here we can clearly see, that the blessing, the grace, the Gurparsad, which is refered to, is the teachings, the updesh. And the Amrit which then flows from its Jaap, washes all our impurities, is also confirmed in the following words of Baba Nanak: ਰਸਨਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਹੁ ਤਬ ਮਥੀਐ ਇਨ ਬਿਧਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਪਾਵਹੁ Rasanaa Naam Japahu, Thab Mathheeai Ein Bidhh Anmrith Paavahu रसना नामु जपहु तब मथीऐ इन बिधि अम्रितु पावहु Chant the Nam with the tongue of your mind, then the Ambrosial Nectar is obtained in your head, means at the third eye, the upper and inner part of our body, where the door to the spirituality is located. We may read any ang of the Granth Sahib, only mahima of Nam and its bhakti is stressed upon. Why? Beacuse it is the only truth, which can pull us out from the perishable creation. ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮੁ ਸਮਾਲਿ ਤੂੰ ਬਧਾ ਛੁਟਹਿ ਜਿਤੁ Naanak Naam Samaal, Thoon Badhhaa Shhuttehi Jith नानक नामु समालि तूं बधा छुटहि जितु O Nanak, contemplate the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and you shall be released from all bondages. Any other thing or activity apart from Nam Bhakti, is a bondage on the soul, that is why Gurmukhs stress only on Nam or Shabad. Which is the only permanent, changeless and everlasting reality. The beauty of the Bani, is beyond any description, one just rejoices in bliss, just by understanding and going through the Bani alone, what to say, when you put it into practice...speechless. Wahiguru jeeo.

A beautiful and a very meaningful question raised by Jathedar||Jathedarni. Shabad Guru, means the Shabad is the Guru. Now let us see, what does the word Guru mean? The word guru is composed by 2 syllables. The first one gu, means darkness, and the second one ru, means light, so the word by itself means the one who takes us from darkness towards the light. This guru, usually is meant for teachers, professors, who teach us and prepare us with the knowledge as sciences, arts and sports... In each and every field, we have to learn something from some "master" or "ustaad". Now what is Shabad? Shabad in true sense, mentioned in the Bani, is as same as Wahiguru Akal Purukh, as Satnam, as Alakh Purukh, as Agam Purukh... as Anamee...different terms, but one supreme reality. And this Shabad, is Nirankar also, and morover the Bani tells us: Sach Khand vaseh Nirankar. This Shabad is also the Aad Guru by itself, since the very begining without any end, means, He is a perfect Guru by Himself, He did not have to learn anything from anybody, as He is the very first, without any second. The Bani in the mool mantra, very beautifully says: Ik Onkar : there is only one Creator Satnam: He is truth, means He exists forever, He is eternal, and His nature is Nam, or call it Shabad. So Satnam means, the Nam which is everlasting, throughout in the eternity. When the Gurmukhs use the term Truth, they refer it to something which is everlasting and is unchangeable. So, in this sense, that Nam, is Sat, means it is everlasting, is eternal. Karta Purukh: He is the creator of all the creation, all the khands, brahmands, astral, causal and the pure spiritual realms or regions, with its rulers, up to Sach Khand, where He is resides, and that realm is also eternal and changeless like Him, that is why, the term Sach, is put before Khand, which means region. Nirbhav, Nirvair: He is fearless and without any enemity with anybody, who is He to be afraid of? Who is above Him? Akal Moorat: He is beyond the parameters of time and space, so He is eternal in terms of time. Ajoonee: He does not die or is born like us, because He is birthless. Seibhang: He exists by Himself, He is self sufficient, He depends on nobody, He is all by Himself. My God, see how beautifully, and in a simplified manner, our Guru Sahibans have described the undescribable. So that Shabad is an avastha, a highest level of consciousness, which is in simple words, is Sach-Chit-Anand, means everlasting truth, all consciousness, and all bliss. It is a life force existence by itself. Now when we say, Shabad Guru, it means, that Shabad which is all pervading(sarva vyapak), all powerfull(sarva shakti shalee), all knowing(anteryamee), He irradiates light of wisdom, of kowledge, and love, anybody in the presence of this nam or Shabad, gets showered by its light(gyan, purity), knowledge(chetanta), and love(prem, bakshish). Now, where, what for and why does He comes to manifest Himself. For these questions the Guru Granth Sahibs tells us: Har Jee baseh sadh ke hirdey...Harjee baseh Sadh kee rasna... Har ka sevak, so Har jeha, bhed na jaano manush deha ... Nanak, Sadh, Prabh, bhed na bhaee... in summary, the bani says, He is to be found in His manifestations as Sadhs, as Gurmukhs. That is why, these Sadhs, these Gurmukhs, will always lay importance on one Wahiguru, and its real nature of Shabad, and the only method of Nam Simran, to realize Him and merge in Him. These Gurmukhs may come at any time or any place, time and place is no boundary for them, but their main teachings will always be of Nam and Shabad, as it is the only reality. They will not come to create any new dharma, or confuse and engage us with useless futile outer activities, neither they mix up into politics.... their only concern is Wahiguru and its bhakti through Nam Simran....they do not dress in any particular way, nor do they do anything(perform miracles) to attract masses, they earn their own living bread, and they will always say: you are the living temple, where Wahiguru resides, so worship Him there...the rest of the creation is "fanaah" perishable, is consciousless, or subhuman lower species, just as plants, insects, birds, fishes and animals, in which, He is not to be found. The human form, is the only privileged form, for this blessed realization, this form is also called "Nar Naryanee deh". Gurmukhs can be at any times or palces, like our Guru Sahibans, or the rest of Gurmukhs, some mentioned in our Bani, like: Kabir Sahib, Guru Ravi Das... and others like Paltu Sahib, Dariya Sahib, Sant Tukaram . If we see the teachings of all these Gurmukhs, Nam or Shabad, is their main objective , through Nam Simran alone... these are the visible signs among them, so to say, to recognize them. But to recognize them, is not in our hands at all. This type of Gurmukh maybe our very neighbour, oe even born in our house as a family member, but if we are not destined to recognize and accept Him, we shall never be able to do so. For example, Prithi Chand, had a father, and a brother as Gurmukhs , but inspite of being so near them, and having their darshan so much, he failed to recognize them, what a pity... But the thing is, no one can go against His will. On the other side you may be living seven seas away, but you will autmatically get pulled to a Gurmukh, because Wahiguru has so willed. Now the following questions, of what for or why does He come? According, to the teachings our Gurus, He comes to awaken us from our deep sleep, for we have forgotten our origin, and have been once again fallen off from the track of real bhakti, and have entangled ourselves in squareminded religions, outer practices, like pilgrimamges, baths at so called holy places...and a large list of these practices. As Wahiguru is the only reality, and if we have to reach the undescribable One, Nirankar; so naturally, only the resident of that Anamee Region, call it Sach Khand if you want, is the only capable and all powerfull one, to take back with Him, whom He wants so.Otherwise we are all wandering astray in the Chaurasee ka chakar... So He comes and manifests Himself in the form of a Gurmukh, as seen according to the Guru Granth Sahib. But what for? For our liberation from maya, and Kal Purukh, who have kept us prisoners here ...up to the region of Braham or Trikuti. Naturaully only the one beyond from Braham, means Paarbraham Parmeshwar, which is the only power, superior,to defeat, these barriers in the way of the soul towards its destination, Sach Khand. Now, this Shabad, works as Guru for the soul, towards the Sat, shows and guides him through the path of Nam, with its light and sound of Shabad. This is when we say Shabad Guru, Dhun Chela...means the real form of the Gurmukh is Shabad, and the real form of a sikh, the disciple is the soul. Neither the Satguru is the body, neither the sikh is the body, beacuse both of them, shall have leave their physicall coverings(bodies) sooner or later, but the evolution and progress continues, through out all astral causal and spiritual stages, with the company of the Shabad Guru, who once got hold of that particular soul on the earth plane, by giving it the Gurparsad, the updesh, the bakshish. And that is why also, the Bani says: Sant sang, Prabh anter deetha. Means, in the company now of Shabad, who once was a Gurmukh, a Sant , a Sadh while I was on the earth present like Him, and got His Gurparsad. That is why the bani says: Ik Onkar, Satgur parsad, means the only one Wahiguru Akal Purukh, can be realized by the Gurprasad got from a Gurmukh, because if there is no Gumukh, where can Gurparsad be got? And so He can never be unjust to us His children, He knows, without Gurparsad we naver ever get true freedom...so naturally He has to continue come, time after time as a Sant, a Gurmukh... a Sadh. The Bani says: Sant parsad, jaapiye Har Nao, means, the gurparsad a Gurmukh gives us as a blessing, through its jaap, its kamaee, its bandagee, is the valid method to reunite us with Akal Purukh. I know many may object what I say, because we have different backgrounds and envoiremnets, where we have been brought up, but if given a deeper insight to the Bani, we shall see the logic side and its real meaning. People along the history, have tried to hide the truths of the Bani, and have thus twisted its meaning, because themselves are agyanis, and have have done a big unjustice to the humanity, by hiding and twisting the truths of the Bani, but as long as Gurmukhs go on coming at our human level, the truths of the Bani, shall be presented to us, in a logic and rational manner, only then, can real unwavering faith be planted in us. Wah wah, Sachay Badshah, Ooch Apaar Beabt Soami, kaun jaane guna Tere.

Dear brothers Sat and Lucky, you are real examples of devotion, from whom all of us can learn. Wahiguru showers His unlimited grace, on those who just like children, turn their faces towards Him. None of us knows how to do true bhakti, but He is so Dayalu, that even with our "kachee" bhakti, He is delighted and blesses us with His unlimited love. As it is said, you take one step towards Him, and He comes running 100 steps towards you... It is He who plants His love in us for Him. Who are we? Just moorakhs, agyanis, and sinners... I feel so happy for you, and anybody who tries sincerely to get closer to Him. Needless to say, but be gratefull to Him, from the bottom of your hearts, for this His "bakshish". And keep steadfast with your spirutual practices at all times and under any conditions, so that He keeps showering us with His "prem bhakti", as this is the only wealth(Nam Simran), we shall take with us, when we depart from this perishable world. As much as possible, keep your experiences with you, as these are individual and intimate with Him. Otherwise there is a danger, of even sukhyam ahankar arising in us ...people will praise you and get attracted to you, and if we are attacked by ahankar, we shall fall down from this narrow and slippery path. The secret and success on this path, is based on humility, faith, and regularity in the practices, just like we eat food daily, the soul also needs the Amrit of Nam, to recover its strength and consciousness , then only, it can rub and shed the impurities(karmas, sanskaras, vices...) engraved on it since aeons, and get cleaner and purer, to move in the right direction, towards it´s Father´s House, Sach Khand. We may do any other things, but if we have not done the bhakti described and glorified in the Granth Sahib, we shall achieve nothing, and go empty handed. As the bani says: Bin Naavay, nahee kou thau. Without Nam bhakti, you have no place to lean on, and we all know, if we are in the ocean(creation), and we have nothing to lean on as support, we shall simply get drowned .... no rituals, no cereminies, fastings or pilgrimages are needed ....just one pointed devotion for Akal Purukh, at His Lotus Feet. Our aim is to become one with Wahiguru, and the Bani beautifully says, do only one thing, which is: Jin Har Jaapiya, se Har hoeeya. Means, do the jaap of the Lord Har, and then only, you shall merge in Him, and become one with Him Amazing, in its beauty and depth, In just a line of 6 words, Guru Sahiban reveals us the secret of becoming one with our true Father, Wahiguru Akal Purukh. May God bless you