Living In Truth - Part 02/02

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Living In Truth II

 

(In continuation of the preceding part, analysis of

similarities and influence of various thoughts of Sufi

School, Bhakti traditions, Baba’s sayings has been

made to draw attention of the readers towards the path

and the conduct )

 

The lives of Sufi Saints provide interesting examples

of the use of social traditions to propagate spiritual

concepts. The songs sung at mandirs, gurudwaras.

mazaars of Sufi Shrines propagate the concept of unity

of Godhead and integration, at a time when dissension

was prevalent in myriad forms in society, in a dialect

that people could understand. Thus the Saints led the

masses in achieving harmony in society.

 

The Sufi School extensively utilized prayers and music

(qwaalis) in its quest for achieving the union. Music

(qwaalis) was often used in Sama (congregation of

worshippers), which often threw its listeners into

raptures inducing haal (heightened state of ecstasy) .

Similarly, the medieval Bhakti Saints of India also

composed songs, prose and lyrics in praise of God. The

songs of both Sufi Saints and Bhakti Saints narrate

the various stages of the path of God realization in a

cryptic manner. The dimensions of the same song

varied, according to the ripening of the seeker. The

songs extensively sung praise of the Master / Guru

(i.e. Pir. Murshid Yaar) for the Master led the path .

 

As Baba says:

 

Guru bina suna re sadho. ... ... guru se bichadna mera

bhay hai

 

(Quote: Sai Charan Mein)

(Translation: The world is a meaningless place

without Master’s grace…………. To fall from his grace is

my fear or leads to death)

 

The use of music (in Sama) by Sufi Saints was looked

down upon by the local ulemas who considered this to

be against the Islamic injunctions. It is stated that

during Sheikh Muinindin Chisti’s time as also during

Sheikh Kaki’s time, concerted efforts were made by the

local ulemas (priests) to ban music during prayers.

The opponents had to retreat after realizing the

spiritual powers of Sheikh Muinindin Chisti and Sheikh

Bakhtiyar Kaki. The songs of Amir Khusro till date are

sung by Qawaals and it is not uncommon to see the

Qawaals paying respect to the Saints by performing at

their mazaar (shrine). This is similar to the Hindu

tradition of offering prayers in a musical form to

various Gods / Saints. Shri Ramakrishna Parmahansa

often sang prayers in praise of Ma Kali and often

experienced Samadhi while listening to the songs.

 

Shri Shirdi Sai also listened to qawaalis, songs and

prayers and watched performances of dancers etc. as

stated in Shri Sai Satcharitra thus showing the fusion

of varied schoosl of religious thought, having in

common the principle of unity of the Godhead, which is

followed till date in Shirdi. During major festivals,

performers and musicians consider it a privilege to

sing / perform at Shirdi to offer their respect to

Shri Shirdi Sai.

 

Baba Tajudin Auliya often experienced Samadhi after

listening to qawaalis and it was not uncommon to see

musicians and dancers performing as a mark of respect

before Baba Tajuddin. The Masters remained absorbed

within, even while witnessing performances of dancers,

musicians etc. though they outwardly conducted

themselves in an ordinary manner.

 

Sheikh Kaki said that “Sama” should be used only by

those who can follow it. While the Saints extensively

used music as a means to offer prayers yet the mode in

hands of an unripe seeker could also be the cause of

his ruin. As Shri Ramakrishna Parmahansa stated, a

larger receptacle is able to withhold and withstand

more whereas a smaller vessel becomes turbulent

easily. The Master / Guru alone can guide the

disciple. As Rumi states, whoever travels without a

guide needs two hundred years for a two day journey.

Khalil Gibran, the mystic poet of Lebanon, says that a

teacher takes you to threshold of your wisdom. The

Hindu tradition also places the Master /,”Guru” above

all Gods, parents etc. Guru Gita states that:

 

Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru devoh Maheshwara,

Guru Sakshat Parbrahma Tasme Shri Guruveyha Namah.

 

The Master provided the sheet anchor to continue in

the path, often shielding the disciple (Murid) from

the vicious flux. No wonder, the Master was the

husband, beloved, brother, confidante, God, all at

once, for his pupil. Like Guru tradition, the Master

is GOD in the Sufi School. His intercession and

blessings could lift the veil of ignorance for the

child (disciple).

 

It is stated that Kabir Sahib told his disciple to

pray to the Lord. The disciple ardently prayed only to

find that his “Guru Kabir” was in fact the God. After

experiencing this, he narrated the same to Kabir Sahib

asking him why had he not disclosed this fact to him

earlier, instead of directing him to look for the

Lord. Kabir Sahib told him that now that he had

experienced and witnessed it, he would believe the

same. It is in this context it is stated that the

Masters and God are one.

 

As Baba says:

 

“ Pita hain ishwaar par nirakar, Aankh me in aate

nahin

Nar jab naaryan ban kar aaye, to sadguru ban kar

aaye.. ..

(Quote: Sai sharan me in : poem “ Sant Kripa”)

(Translation: The Formless GOD manifests in the form

of the Sadguru to guide.)

 

Stories of the disciple following the Master to the

grave also exist, as in the case of Amir Khusru. It is

said that Sheikh Amir Khusro was a favourite disciple

of Sheikh Nizamudin Auliya. Sheikh Nizamudin Auliya

once remarked to Khusro “Turk, I may tire of myself,

but not of You”. Within six months of Sheikh Nizamudin

Auliya’s death, Amir Khusru too died. His tomb is

within the precincts of Sheikh Nizamudin’s dargah, and

respect is first offered at Khusro’s shrine before

praying to Sheikh Nizamudin Auliya.

 

The heights of spiritual powers attained by disciples

due to the grace of Master/ “Pir” can be understood by

the fact that till date “qawaals” sing the story of

spiritual powers bestowed by Sheikh Muinidinn Chisti

on Sheikh Sakhtiyar Kaki. It is a must to offer

prayers at Sheikh Kaki’s dargah first before paying

obeisance to the Sheikh Chisti, as started by Sheikh

Chisti himself during his lifetime.

 

As Baba says:

 

" Faquir mera kitna dayala sab kucch deeta jayye –

Na kuch mange, na kuch bole. Kripa barsata jayye….

(Quote: Sai Sharan me)

(Translation: The Faquir showers his wealth on his

children without asking for anything in return...)

 

Another dimension of this relationship was the example

set by the Master to rear a disciple - somebody else’s

child - as His own and establish him in Truth- the

loftiest pinnacle of mankind. Can this be mere logical

mortal love? Stories abound of uncanny love and

devotion of a Pupil for his Master.

 

It was not uncommon for the Master to test the

disciple. It is stated that Shri Ramakrishna

Parmahansa deliberately neglected and did not speak to

Narendra (Shri Vivekanada) for around two months

despite which Narendra continued to visit Shri

Ramakrishna Paranmansa. During the last days of Shri

Ramakrishna Parmhansa’s illness, Shri Vivekananda,

sucked the pus out of an oozing sore of the Masters

body. Similarly Gorakhnath followed his Guru

Matseyndranath dressed as a dancer to rescue him from

the clutches of a Queen (which in fact was a mere

illusion created by Guru Matseyndranath)

It is stated that Baba Farid - a Sufi Saint whose tomb

is in PakPattan (Pakistan) ---used to prepare the hot

water used for the morning bath by his Master every

day. As was the norm in the olden days, the flame was

roused from the ember of the previous day kept for

this purpose. One day, due to heavy rains and wind,

Baba Farid could not get an ember from anywhere in the

countryside. Disheartened, as he was returning to the

Khankhaquah (where Masters reside with the disciple),

he noticed that the home of a well known prostitute

had the ember. Baba Farid approached her and requested

her to give him the ember. The prostitute asked for an

eye in exchange. Baba Farid immediately plucked out

one of his eyes.

 

As was the routine, the Master received the hot water

for the bath. However, the Master, noticing the

covered face of Baba Farid, asked the reason for this.

Baba Farid replied that “Ankh aa gayi” (there’s a

problem in the eye). Master-- who is all knowing

--immediately slapped Baba Farid, and restored the

eyesight of his disciple.

 

Similar is the love of a Master for his Pupil. It is

stated that Shri Akkalkot Maharaj during his lifetime

initiated his disciple by merely touching the head of

the Pupil and often stated: “You are mine”.

 

In fact, the Masters always pulled the(ir) child from

the distant shores (materialistic world) as can be

gleaned from the life history of Sufi Saints, and

other Hindu Saints like Shri Ramakrishna Parmahansa

and Shri Shirdi Sai

 

Shri Ramkrishna Pramhansa often used to cry out to Ma

Kali inconsolably asking for the children ordained to

be his disciples. It is said that Kali showed him the

vision of Narendra (known as Vivekananda), Rakhal and

others who later on carried on the work of Shri

Ramakrishna Parmahansa with the blessings of Ma

Sharda. Often the child showed reluctance and

indifference in the initial stages of contact with the

Master, as can be seen in the case of Swami

Vivekananda , who tested and tried Shri Ramakrishna

Parmahansa many a times before ultimately surrendering

unconditionally and lovingly to the Master.

 

Similarly, Shri Shirdi Sai often stated that “I will

bring my child (disciple) from beyond the seven seas.”

The love of the Master helped the disciple to break

the bondage associated with attachment and showed the

path of right conduct. The Master often prescribed

strict code of conduct / path which only a few could

pass. The exercise prescribed by the Master could be

as simple as attending to the cows to a more complex

one of doing nothing. Only the Master knew the

internal state of the disciple based on which He

prescribed the medicine.

 

Bulleh Shah - a mystic Saint of Punjab- went around in

search of the way. His Master was then attending to

his fields -- transplanting the saplings. Bulleh Shah

fell at the feet of his Master asking for the path.

His Master stated that the path was very simple and

took out a sapling and transplanted it stating:

“Utthon put, itthe la”, (take it out from there, and

plant it here. This was all that Bulleh Shah was told

and till date the mystical kafis (poems) of Bulleh

Shah guide the seekers.

 

Baba Tajuddin Auliya often told his followers to

remember God (Allah). He often used to say to a

seeker: “Allah allah karte” (take the name of Allah).

The Sufis kept themselves engaged in the remembrance

of GOD. . The Bhakti Saints considered and prescribed

“namsamran” (japa) as the mean to reach the goal.

 

Shri SaiSatcharita states that Shri Shirdi Sai often

directed the devotees to do either “namsamran”/read a

book like “Panchratni Geeta”, “Nath Bhagwat”, “Eknathi

Baghwat”, “Vishnu Sahasranam” depending upon the

requirement of the devotee

 

The Master showed the way by their daily conduct. All

the Saints emphasized the necessity of daily prayers

in reaching the goal while earning their livelihood.

 

Saint Kabir worked as a weaver. Saint Raidas worked as

a cobbler while walking on the path. It is said that

Meera offered riches to Saint Raidas, which were

refused by Raidas. In fact the work (action) itself

was a means to help the prayers and the Masters

offered the(ir) prayers as such. The Sufi Saints too

allowed their disciples to earn their livelihood by

working in varying capacities while looking within.

 

The Sufi Saints like the Bhakti Saints eschewed empty

ritualism and condemned the same as devoid of any

merit. Compassion, kindness, love for fellow human

beings is a sine qua non to walk on this path. An

interesting story explains this concept. A sufi

mendicant once asked God as to the number of persons

(hajjis) whose prayers had been accepted by God from

the thirty odd thousand hajjis who were then in Kabba.

God replied: “None”. Stunned, the Sufi asked God the

name of the person whose prayers/ hajj had been

accepted. God replied that the person whose prayers

had been accepted could not perform the hajj

(pilgrimage) despite saving the money over the years

by curtailing his essential needs; instead he handed

over the money to his neighbor on hearing that his

family was without food for days together, requesting

him to buy provisions and other items for his family

and children.

 

Shri Sai Satcharita too states that food should first

be offered to the weak and the lame, sick persons,

guests, etc. before partaking of it. Shri Shirdi Sai

repeatedly emphasized the Oneness of all beings by

stating that HE exists in cats, dogs, pigs etc. The

tenets of spiritualism require no lengthy

paraphernalia of rituals to be followed. The shortest

way to seek God is to serve others, to make others

happy and to not bother others. This, in fact, is the

essence of all religions.

 

While being on the path, use of miracles is not

normally encouraged, to prevent the seeker from losing

sight of the goal. The Masters led this by example. A

Sufi Saint was sitting under a leafless tree in

scorching summer, lost in contemplation. A prospective

disciple approached the Saint. The disciple by virtue

of his prayers converted the tree into one that laden

with green leaves in order to provide relief to the

Master from the blazing sun. The Saint opened his eyes

and again reverted the tree to its original condition

of being leafless. The disciple again prayed and

converted it into that laden with leaves. This game

went on for some time. Exasperated, the Saint now

spoke to the prospective disciple: “Have you come here

to show or to learn? " The seeker fell at the feet of

the Master learning the lesson.

 

The Masters though having full command over all

elements followed the laws of nature as an act of

surrender to the divine will. It was then not uncommon

to see the Masters and the disciples living in

absolute simplicity as ordinary folks while being

kings in the real sense of the word. It is not without

reason that the prayers sung in praise of Saints hence

often contain the word “Rajaadhiraj”, “Maharaj”,

“Yogiraj”.

 

Shri Shirdi Sai regularly begged the merchants in

Shirdi for oil to light earthen lamps. It was a

routine that the Master had set for himself. It was

only when the merchants connived to stop giving the

oil for the earthen lamps, that Shri Shirdi Sai showed

his amazing spiritual powers, hitherto kept hidden, by

converting water into oil for lighting earthen lamps.

Could an ordinary person have gone abegging daily,

despite possessing miraculous spiritual powers within

him?

 

An anecdote will bring this home. A person asked a

Sufi as to whether the stupendous amount of money and

riches that received daily had changed him. The Sufi

replied: If not receiving this could change him, then

he is not a Sufi.

 

No wonder then, the ways of the Masters were beyond

logical comprehension for they worked in unison with

the principles of the cosmos undecipherable to the

masses.

 

Shri Ramakrishna Parmahansa himself stated that

miracles are an illusion, which need to be shunned to

attain the goal. However the example of the Masters

using the spiritual powers to help the aggrieved /

disciples too abound. In fact there exists no

contradiction in this approach of the Masters, for the

Masters are beyond the laws of nature. Perhaps in this

context the necessity of the Master becomes more

apparent. It is not uncommon to see a seeker charmed

by minor miracles and wandering astray from the path.

 

The Masters often instructed the disciple to be

charitable.

 

To quote mystic poet Khalil:

 

“You often say: I would give but only to the

deserving.

The trees in the orchard say not so, nor the flocks in

your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to

perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and nights

is worthy of all else from you .

And he who has deserved to drink from ocean of life

deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.”

 

The acts of charity ought to hence go unannounced and

unacknowledged by the giver for the giver is merely an

instrument. Charity however did not mean only sharing

the generosities of life with other fellow beings but

also extended to the daily actions and extended to the

self. This perhaps was then both the simplest and the

hardest exercise at once for the pupil.

 

Charity towards self entailed finding the real self

while performing the worldly duties and required

charity of all sense organs despite the trappings

presented by the material domain encompassing

righteous living and conduct. The Master is a living

example of the conduct. The charity of the Master

extended to include perfecting the child and to empty

him. The spirit and the body require different

treatment which the Master Knows. As Rumi says: A soul

receives from the soul that is Knowing