Putting On Airs At Maya's Place - Discourse Based on the Bijak and Saakhi Granth of Kabir
Sant Mat Quote of the Week:
From the Saakhi Granth of Guru Kabir:
Where a Guru and his disciple, both, are greedy and trying to serve their own ends, there is no way they can achieve fulfillments of their lives. Both these will drown sitting in a boat made of stone. What is stressed upon is that a Guru should be abstemious* and a disciple should be one who is selfless and a seeker in its true meaning.
Putting On Airs* At Maya's Place -- Bijak of Guru Kabir, Shabda #104:
kaise taro nath kaise taro, ab bahu kutil bharo;
kaisi teri seva puja kaisi tero dhyan,
upar ujal dekho bagu anuman;
bhav toh bhujang dekho ati bibichari,
surati sachan teri mati toh manjari;
ati re birodhi dekho re sayana
chhow darshan dekho bhesh laptana;
kahahin kabir suno nar banda,
daini dimbh saKal jag khanda.
English:
O Nath! How will you obtain liberation? Even now, you are full of evil thinking. What sort of service do you render, and what type of ritual and meditation do you do? Externally you are white like the crane, but inwardly you harbor evil intentions. Your conduct is like that of a cobra and is immoral. Your mind is like a falcon and your intellect like a cat ready to snatch its prey. You appear to be very wise, but you are really very hostile to others. You are wrapped in your six philosophies and the garb of your sect.
Kabir says: "O servant of God, listen to me! The witch [Maya, illusion] is eating up all the foolish people of the world".
Commentary By Dr. Jagessar Das:
In this shabda, Guru Kabir is talking about people who outwardly appear to be very religious, but inwardly have evil thoughts and intentions. Maya is deluding them. One example he gives is the Nath Yogi. The Nath sect derives from Gorakhnath who was a great Hatha Yogi. The Nath yogis slit their ears; they wear huge earrings, and will sit near a continuously burning fire called the dhurii. They carry the trident, and smear their body with ashes, and have matted hair. They are supposed to be descended from Lord Shiva. They take pride in their yoga and strive to achieve various powers. Guru Kabir uses the example of the crane that is white and stands on one leg in the water as if in meditation, but it's intent is to pluck the fish as soon as it passes by. Similarly, people behave like the snake that can bite and kill you with it's poison, or they behave like the falcon that swoops down and grabs another bird. Or like the cat that snatches the mouse. Many religious people display these types of behavior in terms of snatching power and authority, driven by vanity, ego and material possessions. Guru Kabir says these are not the marks of a true devotee of God, but they are the ones who are deluded by Maya and have impurity in their heart. They impress others with their outward appearance and knowledge, but they become hostile to those who may oppose them. They are very fond of philosophies and appearances. Guru Kabir advises that people are like children who do not know better, and so Maya is figuratively, eating them up. True devotees of God must be pure in thoughts, words and deeds, and free from ego, and their intellect and meditation should be pure, as the pure soul that inhabits within.
From the Saakhi Granth of Guru Kabir:
Pay obeisance to that Guru who has attained the True Knowledge of the name of Ram [God, Sat Purush] (who has accomplished God-realization), because without the name of Ram the heart remains as dark as a house without a lamp. And so, it is advisable that one should always remain in the shelter of such a Guru.
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*NOTES:
"Putting On Airs": holier than thou, act superior, lord it over, queen it over;
"Abstemious": characterized by abstinence or moderation, sparing in the indulgence of the appetite or passions;
