The Name of God is my Sect - Dadu Dayal, the Compassionate Mystic
Sant Mat Quote of the Week:
"I bow before the immaculate, divine Gosvami [Supreme Being]. Through my Guru's favor I have been given all purity. I greet all the Sants: through their devotion I drink the nectar of Ram [God]. There is no end to the number of Sants who appeared in the Yugas [Epochs] of Sat, Treta, Dvapar, and Kali. I sing of the celebrated one I have heard of, and bow my head to all the others." (Jan Gopal, disciple of Dadu Dayal)
Dadu Dayal: "Saints are the true redeemers, they make one see the Creator face to face. Having themselves crossed the ocean of the world, they take others across. They are the saviors of beings."
"The lover is converted into the Beloved. That indeed is called true love. Forgetting his own ego, he remains absorbed in the One." (Dadu Dayal)
"Remembering God, life is successful, if spent in the service of others." (Sant Dadu the Compassionate Mystic quoted in, The Life Story of Dadu Dayal - The Book of Janma Lila, By Jan Gopal)
Dadu: "The Name of God is my sect. My way of living is control of the senses. For my deeds - watch my disciples: their goal is to be immersed in Ram [God]." (The Life Story of Dadu Dayal - The Book of Janma Lila, By Jan Gopal)
Video Exploring the Sant Dadu Dayal Dera (Ashram), Naraina, Rajasthan:
Translated Into English: A Beautiful Collection of the Mystic Poetry and Teachings of Sant Dadu, the Compassionate One:
Dadu: "God is within all beings. He accompanies all and is close by. Musk is in the musk-dear, and yet it goes around in search of musk. The self knows not God, although God is within the self. Being deaf to the holy Sound of the Master, sadly does he wander. He for whom thou searchest in the world, dwells within thyself. ... Search for the Lord within thyself, the Imperceptible One hath the Guru revealed."
"Wherever one's thought dwells, there will that person rest. At his pleasure, he may go to the delusion of unreality or he may merge into the Lord of the self. Where thou keepest thy mind while living, to that abode shalt thou go after death. The soul finds lodging in a place wherein it has hitherto been immersed." (Dadu)
"When one's whole being is engaged in repeating the Name, that, indeed, is called repetition. The self then blossoms forth within, and the Lord reveals Himself, O Dadu."
Dadu: "Do the repetition of God and forget Him not. Fulfill the purpose of thy birth by practicing concentration. Be steadfast in the remembrance of God. Practice meditation with love, and sing the glory of God. The human body is the door to salvation."
"One who, turning the attention inward, brings it within the self, and fixes it on the Radiant Form of the Master, is indeed wise, O Dadu. ... Search for the Beloved close to the place where-from the Sound emerges, and thou shalt find Him, sayeth Dadu. There is solitude there, and there is luster of Light. ... Fix thine attention within, O valiant servant, so does Dadu proclaim."
Sant Dadu Dayal: "The one who is merged in the Word, who is pierced by the arrows of the Master's instructions, who is absorbed with the One alone - only that person is rightly set on the Path."
Dadu Dayal: "Anahad baaje baajiye, amaraapuree niwaas. Joti saroopee jagamagai, koi nirakhai nij daas." (Myriads of Sounds are heard; the one who hears gains access to the Kingdom of Immortality (place beyond the reach of death). A genuine servant gets to see the resplendent form of the Supreme Being.)
"The knowledge of the Sound Current imparted by the Guru merges one easily into Truth. It carries me to the Abode of my Beloved, sayeth Dadu." (Encyclopaedia of Saints of India, Volume 25: Sant Dadu Dayal, Bakshi and Mittra, Criterion Publications, New Delhi)
Urgency of Realization
This fragile and transient human life is speedily coming to its end. It is high time that we seek refuge in the Lord of Love. Only while living as a human being can the work be accomplished, not after death. Dadu:
The mind is a deer, sayeth Dadu.
Looking at the green forest of the world.
This foolish one runs around puffed up
with pleasure.
It is destined to be a victim of Kal [lord of time, lord of death], the
hunter.
The body is like a passer-by,
sayeth Dadu.
No sooner dost thou look at him, that he goes out of sight.
Be dedicated to the Name of God
As long as there is breath in thy body.
Hurry up, O passer-by, the journey hangs over thy head.
Delay no more.
What art thou doing sitting idle? Repeat God's Name.
Evening has set in while the traveller is still in the forest.
He must move briskly.
This is not the time to be slack, warns Dadu.
Go Home quickly.
Gone is the time, and lost is the opportunity.
Where shalt thou find this priceless birth once it slips out of hand?
Catching hold of our hand, the Negative Power [Kal] is drawing us close day by day.
The self does not awaken even now.
Its time is spent asleep.
While watching, 0 Dadu, the hair has grown white from black.
Body, mind, and youth are all gone, and even now thou turnest not to God!
While alive one can transcend bodily qualities.
While alive one can be liberated;
While alive one can shed all Karmas.
That truly is called liberation.
While alive one can cross over what is hard to cross,
While alive can one go to the other shore.
While alive one can find the Master of the world,
And can attain discrimination and wisdom.
If the meeting is not accomplished while alive,
If the contact is not made while alive,
If the Lord of the universe is not found while alive,
The one is simply drowned.
One is freed while alive,
One is not freed after death, sayeth Dadu
If one were to be free after death,
Then all will come under that.
Some say one can secure abode in paradise after death;
They preach liberation after death.
They, indeed, are making the world
insane, O Dadu...............
Japi Gobinda bisari jini jai
Do the repetition of God [God's Name] and forget
Him not.
Fulfil the purpose of thy birth
by practising concentration.
Be steadfast in the remembrance of God.
Practice meditation with love, and sing
the glory of God.
The human body is the door to salvation.
Do the repetitions of God, the Creator
of the universe.
A quote from the 16th century Indian Master Dadu,
who outlined the Sant Mat vision of the spiritual life
to be pursued during our time here on planet Earth:
Recognize the Path to your Beloved, O travelers and
take the route of the anguished lover in separation.
Keep the Master's grace in your thoughts, and reflect
upon his pure teachings. Develop love and devotion
with endearment, and keep the thought of the Creator
always before you. Try to merge yourself into God
like water and water. Fix your mind within by
following the Path of the Sound Current. A yearning
will arise; make then an intense and anguished call.
Repeat the Name of your Beloved, day and night,
again and again. With care in thought, word and deed,
you will cross to the other shore.
Main Obstacles in the Practice of Meditation, By Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj
The main hindrances to success in the practice of meditation are the following: procrastination and laziness, activity of thoughts during meditation (day dreaming, fanciful imagination, planning, the rising of any kinds of thoughts).
In addition, the lulling silence during meditation puts many practitioners to sleep. During meditation we should be vigilant and awake. Whatever is our point of focus, we should diligently keep our mind on that goal and we will not be bothered by sleep.
Unless we overcome the magnanimous challenge of procrastination and curb the ever-rising tide of mental activity during meditation, we cannot reach our Noble (arya) destination (state of unity with God). The non-vigilant practitioners usually become engrossed in thoughts or fall sleep. These formidable passes must be crossed for success.
What is the place to be reached? When we close our eyes and see darkness, this is the realm of ignorance. When the light dawns within you, then you understand that you reside in noble regions. In darkness resides ignorance and in light resides Knowledge. For example, as we are sitting in light right now we are able to see one another. However, if the electric power goes out ensuing total darkness we will not be able to see others. We will not even be aware of other people, coming and going. In this analogy light signifies knowledge and darkness signifies ignorance. In the same manner when we see darkness with our eyes closed, we are in the realm of death and re-birth [we are unaware of our true nature]. When we come out of the realm of darkness and enter into the realm of light, we will at the same time transcend the web of death. It is not possible that we can remain in darkness and be free from the net of birth and death. Having achieved inner light we can be liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
Saint Kabir says: "In each house (heart) the light shines, but we are blind [ignorant of that divine Light of knowledge] so we cannot see it. If we keep looking, we will find the Light and will destroy the shackles of death."
Various forms of Dhyana [Meditation Practices]
Without formless or subtle meditation, attainment of inner light is impossible. You must get yourself out of darkness. How will this happen? Prat-ya-hara - bringing the mind back - is followed by dha-rana, sustaining of focus for small periods. At first this will be for even a small time. Pratyanhara is the repeated practice of bringing the wandering mind to a focus. By repetitive practice of pratyahara we are able to focus for a little while on the object of meditation. This focusing for small periods is known as dharana.
When this Dharana continues for extended periods, then the state of dhyana or complete focus occurs. However, mere focus on a physical form or name is not the only type of dhyana. [Emptiness of mind is also dhyana.]
As it is said in the Jnana Sankalni Tantra: "Dhyana (focus on the physical forms) is not known as dhyana; the empty mind is known (focus in empty mind) as dhyana. By the grace of this [focus] meditation, one attains Moksha."
