2466 - Khajana Darshan July 20, 2022 – Fresno
2466 - Khajana Darshan July 20, 2022 – Fresno (English Translation)
Transliteration Key for Gurbani
ੴ ਸਤਿਨਾਮ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥
॥ ਜਪੁ॥
ਆਦਿ ਸਚੁ ਜੁਗਾਦਿ ਸਚੁ। ॥ ਹੈ ਭੀ ਸਚੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਹੋਸੀ ਭੀ ਸਚੁ॥
ਜਲ ਤਰੰਗ ਅਰੁ ਫੇਨ ਬੁਦਬੁਦਾ ਜਲ ਤੇ ਭਿੰਨ ਨ ਹੋਈ ॥
jal tarang ar fayn budbudaa jal tay bhinn na ho-ee.
Waves, bubbles and foam on the surface of the water, they are made of water and cannot be separated from it.
ਮਾਇਆ ਚਿਤ੍ਰ ਬਚਿਤ੍ਰ ਬਿਮੋਹਿਤ ਬਿਰਲਾ ਬੂਝੈ ਕੋਈ ॥
maa-i-aa chitar bachitar bimohit birlaa boojhai ko-ee. ||
The illusion will remain. We will do sangat but the consciousness has been possessed, it has been occupied.
Chitar means a picture. Bachitar means marvelous. Maharaj Ji says that God’s creation is so marvelously beautiful that everyone becomes fascinated by that, they become engrossed, and their consciousness gets occupied with other people, places, things, and dreams. This consciousness was supposed to play the game with the Divine but it has been possessed completely, so who is going to play the game now ? We may come to sangat but the consciousness has been occupied so the misunderstanding will remain. He says that the rare ones come to know the truth about this world.
Ji, whatever we take on we should do it with passion and recognize the unique gift that God has blessed us with. God has gifted each one of us with unique abilities. In order to reach somewhere in life, we need to have a great motivation, a burning desire, an intense yearning to know the truth - who I am! I have a habit that anytime I read a newspaper, I look for people who have risen above the crowd. They have paid the price to rise above the crowd; only they deserve the attention. To remain in the crowd does not require any effort, any hard work. There are many interesting stories in the newspapers. The other day, there was a story about Woody Allen, an actor. He is 83 and still producing movies every year. He failed the acting courses at New York University and the City College of New York but he went on to become a successful actor. There is a secret behind this, and that secret is that if somebody can do this then I can do it as well. The same article talked about two other actors. When Burt Reynolds auditioned he was told he did not have any talent, and Clint Eastwood was told he spoke too slow. But both of them became very successful actors. The point is that life salutes those who are ready to pay the price and crushes others.
ਮਾਇਆ ਚਿਤ੍ਰ ਬਚਿਤ੍ਰ ਬਿਮੋਹਿਤ ਬਿਰਲਾ ਬੂਝੈ ਕੋਈ ॥
maa-i-aa chitar bachitar bimohit birlaa boojhai ko-ee. ||
Maharaj Ji says you are one of the rare ones; we are on the path of knowing about the true self and about the universe so we must pay the price to become the rare ones.
sabh gobind hai sab gobind hai
Maharaj says it’s all God, everything is God, all is God! All is God is wrong, everything is God is wrong - we will come to it another time. It is a very subtle point.
We should see carefully if we stay awake continuously or if we stay awake and hear for a little bit and fall asleep again and again. When this path is taken away from us, our progress is hampered. This dhaarna is about that.
ਵੇ ਮੈਨੂੰ, ਤੇਰੇ ਬਾਝੋਂ ਜਿਊਣਾ, ਗੁਨਾਹ ਲੱਗਿਆ
vay mainu, tere baajhoN jyoona, gunaah lagi-aa
ਉਂਝ ਪੀੜਾਂ ਦਾ ਤੇ ਤੇ ਆਉਣਾ ਜਾਣਾ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਏ ਹੁੰਦਾ
unj peerhaaN daa tay aunaa jaanaa likhi-aa ay hundaa
ਔਧ, ਅਪਣੀ ਹੰਡਾ ਕੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ, ਤੁਰ ਜਾਣਾ ਹੁੰਦਾ
audh, apnee handa ka ohana, tur jaana honda
When the holy congregation was taken away from me, I experienced a deep pain and every pain which visits us departs one day.
ਪੀੜ, ਤੇਰੀ ਨੇ ਤੇ ਸਾਥੋਂ ਹਰ, ਸਾਹ ਮੰਗਿਆ
peerh, tayree nay tay saathoN har, saah mangi-aa
Many pains visit us but they are not felt all the time. But this pain of your absence, I felt it with each breath.
Please remain connected, either with the Celestial Music or with the presence of the Divine.
We live in a world where people are dying continuously. Their dying is a continuous reminder to us about death. But why do people die ? Because they believe that they are, they exist, and they are separate from God. In that knowledge, they have made some friends, foes, properties, positions, and they are dying. When death happens, a time comes, and in that consciousness there are all these attachments that this is mine, that is mine, I started this business, and that thing died, the thing that he had made his own. Nothing finished, neither his family, nor his property but the false understanding that I own this and that, these things are mine, that false understanding in his consciousness died. And this false understanding is going to result in his birth again. Maharaj Ji says when someone is born, most people in the household are related from past lives.
purab janam kay milay sanjogee
We cannot just say that I will remember that I am connected to God and then my death won’t happen. It doesn’t work like that; death is very clever! People are dying because they believe they are separate from God. If the wave understands that she is, and she is separate from the ocean, then death is going to happen. But if the wave knows that I am not separate from the ocean, I am moving on the ocean, and I am made of the same water, then where is the death ? By continuously meditating over time, we feel the Divine presence all the time and the wave sees that I am connected to the ocean. But winning death is not a destination on this path. Maharaj Ji takes us all the way. We will see that later.
ik Dhur bakhsh la-ay gur poorai sachee banat banaa-ee.
Maharaj Ji says that the True Guru becomes merciful to some and makes them realize their true self. Let our insides vibrate as we sing; that vibrating inside is the sign of God’s appearance.
har rang raatay sadaa rang sacha sukh bisray pat paa-ee.
Previously they used to become imbued with the love of the Divine but slowly they themselves become the true love, the ishq.
Ego - the very understanding that I am, and I am separate from God is nothing but suffering. Pat paa-ee - I became honorable. This is a marvelous utterance! When we realize the true self, this body and the whole entity within it becomes so honorable, so pious in our own eyes. We will act normal in the world but within us or when we are by ourselves, we will show deep respect to this thing and have a realization that this is so special. This is pat paa-ee, when in our own eyes there is tremendous honor for the true self. The world might reject us but what matters is who we are in our own eyes.
In the Arab countries, there was a fakir by the name of Azim Fakir. Every morning when he would get up, the first thing he would do is to touch his own feet, honoring that this thing is so pious. Many times during the day he would touch his own feet and bow to his own feet. In fact, it is not seen as ‘his own feet’ at that point, that would mean ego is still there and one cannot bow. When the ego is gone, what remains behind is the one that bows. It is full of love and gratitude.
We must resolve to not live with this egoistic I, because this is the certificate of death.
ਹਾਏ ਨੀ ਮੇਰਾ ਜੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਲਗਦਾ, ਐਸ ਮੈਂ ਦੇ ਨਾਲੇ
haa-ay nee mayraa jee nahee lagdaa, ais maiN day naalay
I feel so uncomfortable with this egoistic I.
ਹਾਏ ਨੀ ਮਹਿਬੂਬ ਦੇ ਸਾਵੇਂ, ਗੱਲ ਆਪਣੀ ਕਰਦੀ
haa-ay nee mehboob day saavayN gal aapnee kardee
My Beloved is everywhere and this egoistic I of mine keeps talking about itself right in the presence of God.
ਹਾਏ ਨੀ ਇੰਝ ਕਰਕੇ ਅੜੀਓਂ ਤੌਹੀਨ ਹੁਸਨ ਦੀ ਕਰਦੀ
haa-ay nee inj karkay arhi-o tauheen husan dee kardee
It cannot diminish the beauty of my Beloved but it tries to cover His beauty.
ਹਾਏ ਨੀ ਮੈਥੋਂ ਜਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੁੰਦੇ, ਇਹ ਝੂਠ ਨਿੱਤ ਜੋ ਪਾਲੇ
haa-ay nee maithoN jar nahi hunday, eh jhooth nit jo paalay
I cannot tolerate any more, the lies it nourishes every day.
Please focus your consciousness fully.
Ji, the bani of Asa Di Vaar is so powerful and it is sung during the ambrosial hours when the Divine is in the house of bestowing blessings. We should listen to Asa Di Vaar keertan as much as possible during Amrit Vela. It is so powerful that even if you hear one line it will arrest your consciousness for the whole day.
ha-o vich aa-i-aa ha-o vich ga-i-aa.
ha-o vich jammi-aa ha-o vich mu-aa.
Maharaj Ji says that those who remain separated from God, their affairs are never accomplished. They die with their affairs unfinished and they come back to finish them, and the cycle continues.
ha-o vich ditaa ha-o vich la-i-aa.
Maharaj Ji says that when we give something to somebody we give that out of the knowledge that it's me who is giving and it feels good to the ego. When we take something from somebody we take it in a way that it doesn’t make us look like a beggar.
ਨਾਨਕ ਜੀਵਤਿਆ ਮਰਿ ਰਹੀਐ ਐਸਾ ਜੋਗੁ ਕਮਾਈਐ ॥
naanak jeevti-aa mar rahee-ai aisaa jog kamaa-ee-ai.
Maharaj Ji says that remain dead, remain egoless, remain with God in such a way that slowly you become egoless, pure, and humble. There is no other way to become egoless. The death on this path is the death of ego.
Bulle Shah says:
ਬੁੱਲੇ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਹੁਣ ਮਰਨਾ ਨਾਹੀ, ਮਰ ਗਿਆ ਕੋਈ ਹੋਰ
ਚੋਰ ਵੇ ਲੋਕਾ ਚੋਰ
I cannot die now, somebody else has died for me and that’s my ego. The knowledge that I am not separate from the ocean is the death of the ego. It is also called the death of death. Once we start hearing, then we understand how precious each word of Gurbani is. It is also called The Great Death (mahaamaut), after which no death can ever happen.
ਤੇਰੇ ਬਿਰਹੋਂ ਦੇ ਸੱਪ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਡੰਗਦੇ ਰਹੇ।
tayray birhoN day sap saanoo dangdey rahay
ਤੇ ਅਸੀਂ ਖ਼ੈਰ ਜਿੰਦੇ ਤੇਰੀ ਮੰਗਦੇ ਰਹੇ
tay aseeN khair jinday tayree mangday rahay
ਪਤਾ ਲੱਗਾ ਸੀ ਮਰਕੇ ਮਿਲਦੀ ਏਂ
pataa lagaa see markay mildee ayN
ਤੇ ਇਹ ਸੁਨੇਹੜੇ ਵੀ ਤੇਰੇ ਆਉਂਦੇ ਰਹੇ
tay eh sunayHrhay vee tayray aauNday rahay
In many letters of yours, your love songs, you sent this message that this egoistic I has to die in order to realize the true self.
ਤਾਹੀਉਂ ਪਿੰਡ ਮੌਤ ਦਾ, ਲੰਘ ਕੇ ਨੀ, ਅਸੀਂ ਮਹਾਮੌਤ ਹੀ ਮੰਗਦੇ ਰਹੇ
Taahee-o pind maut daa, langh kay nee, aseeN mahaamaut hee mangday rahay
I kept asking for the great death, not just the ordinary death; the great death after which no death can happen.