SATSANG FROM MATA JI

Great souls come into this world to give peace and light to mankind. Although they themselves are free, they come for the benefit of others, to help others to become free. In temples and churches, in every religion, people light candles or some type of light, but the true saints revealed the Inner Light which can be known by all human beings.

People have always given the great souls a hard time, because they do not recognize them. But when they die, a religion forms around them, and, sheltered by that religion, people serve themselves while teaching others what the religion says, not what the masters said. It is said that the gate of religion is so wide that even elephants and horses can go through, but the doorway to God is so narrow, so small and subtle, that even an ant cannot pass through. Man has made the gates of religion so big, but can he get to God this way?

People want peace of mind, but the mind is always restless, always running like a river. But when a river flows into the ocean, it becomes still, it doesn’t disturb the ocean at all. It just blends into the ocean and becomes calm. In the same way, when the mind flows into God, when a person’s attention goes to God, only then does he get peace. Even a kingdom that stretches from one horizon to another, or even billions of dollars, cannot guarantee you peace.

Once I went to Calcutta and a very rich businessman invited me to his home. He had everything yet his mind was troubled. When I asked him why, he replied that for some time his business had been running at a loss. I said, “You are worried about losing money, but you should be worried about losing your breath. You are running out of breath. You can get money again, but you may not be born as a human being again. Now is the time to remember the Holy Name. Remember, nobody can take his money and property with him when he leaves the world.”

St Kabir said that nobody in this world is rich, everyone is poor. Only the person who has the earnings, the capital, of meditation on the Holy Name is entitled to be called ‘rich’. That is the only capital of any value. Nothing else gives lasting peace of mind. Anyone can have wealth, property and a family, but Knowledge and satsang can be obtained only from those who themselves have experienced Knowledge. A real human being is one who knows the Holy Name. But what are people doing? They are busy filling their stomachs and becoming more and more tense. That is why I want to share what I have with others, as one human being to another, in the same way as when there is a flood or a famine, people reach out to help others.

What a wonderful thing lies deep within us! Saints experience this spiritual bliss and share it with others. Some people are afraid of satsang and think that it will make them crazy, but you get nothing but peace and bliss from holy company. When an iron filing comes in contact with a magnet it too acquires magnetism. Realized souls are like magnets. Being with them awakens spiritual Knowledge in us. That is why you should receive Knowledge and meditate on it.

I ask people, “Do you meditate?” If they answer yes then I ask, “Which technique do you use?” Some read the Gita and others chant mantras, but this alone won’t give you self-realization or everlasting peace. When we read about saints and spiritual Masters we feel a temporary peace, but what we need is a deep and abiding peace of our own. If you need a full glass of water but drink only half, will you quench your thirst? St. Kabir said, “The Lord is within you, just as oil is in a mustard seed and fire is in flint.” To extract butter you have to churn milk. Similarly, the Divine Light is hidden deep within you, but it won’t reveal itself to you until you meditate. One who seeks, finds.

So if you are thirsty, then drink! We don’t just give speeches. We also show the practical technique to those who have the proper faith and respect, because first you should see, then believe.

The mind wanders all over the place. If a camel driver lets go of the reins he has to go wherever the camel goes and it is difficult to bring the camel under control again. This is the condition of the mind. People have made all kinds of provisions for living but they can’t control their minds, and until the mind is controlled it makes us more and more tense and upset.

Lord Krishna said that someone who has conquered his mind has conquered the world. He also said that at the time of death a person remembers what preoccupied him throughout his life and this determines his situation after death and in successive lives. So Krishna advises us to divert the mind from everything else and anchor it in God. Fight life’s battles with your ten organs and fix the eleventh, the mind, on God. Look at Arjuna – he was a warrior fighting a battle, yet Krishna told him to meditate on God at the same time. We have to solve our everyday problems but at the same time we have to meditate on God.

Everyone has to leave this body. Guru Nanak said, ” Whoever comes into this world must leave it, be he king or beggar.” By the power of meditation yogis bring their vital energies under control. Krishna told Arjuna, “Bring your mind under control just like a tortoise withdraws its limbs inside its shell.” Arjuna replied, “Lord, I can tie the air into a bundle but I can’t control my mind.” Krishna then told him, “You can control it through practice and dispassion.” You can also control your mind in the same way and find peace.

Arjuna had to go to war, and it was there on the battlefield that Krishna taught him about the secret of life and death. Instead of instructing him in the skills of war, he instructed him in the skills of meditation. and self-realization. Even now, people still try and figure out the lessons he gave. A lot of research is done on the Bhagavad Gita, and people try to experience the light which Arjuna saw, the light which doesn’t have its source in sun, moon, electricity or fire. But without a saint, without someone who knows God, it’s impossible. And without that light, peace will elude you. What Arjuna received from Lord Krishna can never be known by any other way than how Arjuna was given it.

God is within us. We only have to experience Him. He can be seen and realized through the medium of an enlightened soul. No hospital can dispense spiritual Knowledge. Only saints can give it. God gave us mouth for speaking, eyes for seeing, ears for hearing, legs for walking, hands for working and a brain for thinking. These are the gifts of God, but if they become a means of making us crazy we stagnate, we can’t achieve anything, even though we are human beings.

So this is not the time for arguing and debating. Arguing only disturbs the mind. Guru Nanak said that now is the time to wake up and realize, because how will you wake up when you lie down for the last time? Then maybe you’ll think, “Oh, that saint said such wonderful things, but now it’s too late for me!” Sensible people choose what is essential and reject the non-essential. They realize this for themselves and share their treasure with others.

While we have this human body we can meditate on God. Donkeys, pigs, cows and oxen cannot meditate. They can only enjoy or suffer the results of their previous actions. However, a human being can create his karma as well as reaping the rewards. he can both sow and reap. Thus a human life is the highest form of life. People are busy day and night providing for their physical needs, but what earnings and interests have they accumulated which will take care of them after they leave this world? Once your soul has left your body, your relatives will bury or burn your body. But the soul is eternal. Weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it and wind cannot dry it. By means of your soul you can realize God and be liberated.