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Vol II * JUNE 2009 * Issue VI

Meditation leads to Ultimate Flowering

Introducing various Masters & Dimensions of Spiritual Sojourn

TM

THE PATH OF

www.taoshobuddhameditations.com
 MEDITATION TIMES
A Downloadable Monthly E-Magazine Click on image for website

A PRODUCTION OF www.taoshobuddhameditations.com
Published by: www.taoshobuddhameditations.com
Country of Origin: Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies.
Chief Editor/Graphics Layout & Design: Swami Anand Neelambar
Editorial Team: Swami Anand Neelambar, Taoshobuddha
International Contributors: Professor Rattan Lal Hangloo, Hadhrat Maulawi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi
Assistant Contributors: Ma Prem Sutra, Swami Dhyan Yatri, Sufi Lakshmi Sahai

For Queries, Comments, and Suggestions and to submit

In This Issue Contributions, you can email the following persons:

Taoshobuddha: taoshobuddha@gmail.com
 Kabir – a brief overview Swami Anand Neelambar avatar411@gmail.com
 Conceptualizing Bhakti
You can also visit
 Reflections of Life www.youtube.com\taoshobuddha01

 Sahajo Bai – an Introduction www.scribd.com\taoshobuddha

 Secrets of Bhakti – an excerpt www.scribd.com\avatar411

 Poem – Where the heart is without malice

 Cooking – Taoshobuddha Way Also you can check the blog at
http://bodhidharmameditation.blogspot.com/
 Taoshobuddha Responds
http://www.taoshobuddhameditations.myeweb.net/
 Mira – The Embodiment of Love
http://meditationtimes.myeweb.net/
 Rabia Al Basri
 Lal Ded or Lalleshwari
 Aashiyaan
In our Next Issue
 Bauls – the mystics Saraswati
 Bhakti Movement
Goddess of Inner Knowing

EDITORIAL
This month we delve into the mystical world of
Bhakti – the mysterious path of devotion. This is
not the path of ritualism as is has come to be
considered. This is the ultimate flowering of love
for the Divine. It entails not ritualistic formalities.
And has no protocols of worship. This is purely
and intensely spiritual is conception and execution.
Adi Shankara says that Bhakti is intense love for
God – a search beginning, continuing and
culminating in love.
The charade that passes for Bhakti is a far cry for
what is actually Bhakti. This issue we hope to clear
many of the misconceptions about Bhakti and to
highlight what is Bhakti.
We shall bridge the gap between Meditation and
Bhakti. And explore the inner secrets of Bhakti.
We urge you to obtain a copy of our publication
“The Secrets of Bhakti as narrated by sage Narada”
by enlightened Master Taoshobuddha, this would
reveal many aspects of Bhakti that this magazine
can only hope to highlight.
The extract from the book by professor Rattan Lal
Hangloo entitled “Conceptualizing Bhakti” is of
immense import and worthy of its full
reproduction here in this issue of Meditation Times.
Kabir (A.D.1440-1510)
Kabir was one of the prominent Bhakti saints in Medieval
India. His wife was Loi. Kamal was his son. Surat Gopala
was his main disciple at Benaras.
Bijak is the compilation of Kabir’s teachings.
He combined the Bhakti philosophy of Ramananda, his
guru, with a rare radicalism that epitomized the spirit of
communal harmony and unity of God head.
Kabir had inherited trenchant arguments and views about
the barriers of caste from his Guru, Ramananda. His
preaching represents a sincere attempt at a religious and
social synthesis out of conflicting creeds.
Kabir was neither a theologian nor a philosopher. He
appears before us as a teacher who had the courage to
condemn what he considered to be shame and counterfeit
in both Hinduism and Islam.
The central theme of Kabir’s teachings was Bhakti. He
refused to acknowledge cast distinction or to recognize
the authority of the six schools of Hindu philosophy or the
four divisions of life prescribed by the Brahmanas.
He argued that religion without Bhakti was no religion at
all and that asceticism, fasting and alms-giving had no
value if unaccompanied by devotional worship (bhajan).
By means of Ramaini, Sakhas and Sakhis (dohas, in other
words), Kabir imparted religious instruction to Hindus
and Muslims alike. He had no preference for either
religion.
What is interesting about Kabir’s way of preaching is that
he had habit of thinking aloud and the ideal of merely
pleasing his hearers was never his objective. In his thinking
and articulations, he thoroughly scrutinized the bases of
ritualism and he restlessly fought to remove the ritualistic
superstitions like visiting the places of pilgrimage.
He was also a great satirist and condemned all the hated
institutions of his times. The social reformer in Kabir had
surfaced prominently when he opposed the popular belief
in the institutions of Sati – a practice in which wife enters
the funeral pyre of her husband to voluntarily immolate
herself as a sign of devotion to her husband. Other
discriminatory practices such as veiling of women were
also opposed by him.
While refusing to believe that birth in a particular case was
due to deeds in a previous life, Kabir advocated perfect
equality of the Shudras (the fourth Varna as per the Vedas)
and the Brahamanas.
A firm believer in simple and natural life, Kabir himself
wove cloth and sold it in the market like any ordinary
weaver. He did not interpret religious life as a life of
idleness, and held that all should toil and earn and help
each other.
He always believed in monotheism.
By Professor Rattan Lal Hangloo
Chair of Indian History,
University of West Indies.
 CONCEPTUALIZING BHAKTI
By Rattan Lal Hangloo
Extracted from the Secrets of BHAKTI
By Taoshobuddha
STERLING PUBLICATIONS
Dr. Rattan Lal Hangloo is a Professor in the Department of History
University of Hyderabad, India but at present (2007 – 2009) he is the
Chair of Indian Studies at the University of West Indies St. Augustine
campus In Trinidad and Tobago.
A s Dr. S. Radhakrishnan said, “The history of
Hinduism is chequered by tragic failures and
wonderful victories, by opportunities missed and
taken. The new truth has been denied and persecuted
occasionally. The unity of its body, realised at the cost
of centuries of effort and labor, now and then came
near being shattered by self-seeking and ignorance. Yet
the religion itself is not destroyed. It is alive and
vigorous and has withstood attacks from within and
without. It seems to be possessed of unlimited powers
of renewal. Its historical vitality, the abounding energy
which it reveals, would alone be evidence of its spiritual
genius.”
From the very inception of Hinduism, Bhakti has been
one of the important ways of expressing one’s faith in
God. In Hinduism at no point in time all people were
literate in religion, its philosophical and other
dimensions. Therefore Bhakti marga (path of Devotion)
provided them with the satisfaction of the heart and the
inner support in obtaining spiritual satisfaction. The
adaptationists were not only poor and ignorant but also
the ones who had neither time nor access to obtain
spiritual wisdom through metaphysical doctrines or
(Tattva-Vichra) religious philosophical analysis.
Therefore by adopting Bhakti Marga they achieved the
same position that was attained by the followers of
Jnana Marga.
Bhakti evolved with its emotive force from out of
religious and social situation to correspond to certain
religo-historical demands. It assimilated many non-
Hindus into the fold of Hinduism. According to
Bhagavad Purana, Bhakti was the common form of
prayer for the alien races. Under the umbrella of Bhakti,
Krishna is said to have welcomed non-Aryans (such as
Kiratas, Hunas, Andhras, Pulindas, Pukkasas, Abihiras
Summhas, Yavanas and Khasas) in the fold of Hinduism.
The Keekatas of Magadh are said to have adopted
Bhakti as their form of worship.
The concept of Bhakti in Hinduism is very old. The
earliest references to Bhakti are found in the Vedas
where it is mentioned as Shrada (devotional love). In
Upanishads it is termed as Upasana (spiritual craving).
Traces of Bhakti like living cells in embryonic forms are
mentioned in the Vedas. Vasistha’s great hymns raised
for Varuna are classic examples. Many hymns of the
tenth mandala (section) of Rig Veda are devoted to
Shrada. We also find loving adoration of Skanda and
Siva by Banasura of Sonitpura and his conversion to
Vaishnavism by Krishna. Bagavad Gita and Mahabharata
also make mention of it. The religious treaties such as
Agamas, Sangamas, Puranas, Narad Bhakti Sutra, Narda
Pancaratra, and Sandiliya Bhakti Sutra have all
significantly contributed to transcendental experiences
through ecstasy; therefore, it would be historically
unintelligible to consider Bhakti entirely a disconnected
innovation, apart from the age-honored orthodox
systems.
Several scholars have acknowledged that Bhakti even
pervaded Buddhism. It is stated that in the Dharma of
Buddha the fusion between nirguna (abstract
attributeless) and saguna (concrete with attributes)
Bhakti is in practice. The personal bond of relationship
of Guru Shisya (teacher and pupil) between Buddha and
Ananda is similar to the relationship that existed
between Arjuna and Krishna. Bhakti is the basis of
Vaishnavism. Etymologically speaking Vishnu means the
inherent life sustaining the vital energy behind
procreation and development. The Bhakti saint poetess
of Kashmir, Laleshwari has sufficiently explained how
Shaivism can be realized through Bhakti. Same is true of
many Bhakti saints in Tamil Shavite tradition in Tamil
Nadu where Bhakti is termed as yoga. Bhakti yoga
needed a pratima (image) or pratika (symbol) or the
earliest pratika or pratima have been suggested by
Shavite and Vaishnavite yogi’s as well as by Tantrics who
received the forms through their trances as dhyana
(thought) and dharna (pose). That is why we come
across Siva, Vishnu, and Shakti as the most adored
forms in Bhakti.
Bhakti means expression of one’s faith in one’s personal
God through loving adoration, dedication, or through
service or self-effacement. In Bhakti, devotion is the
prayer and loyalty towards one’s God. It is this
expression of devotion which identifies with the
universal good. The chief characteristics of Bhakti such
as God’s grace, his involvement in human affairs, and
total surrender of human beings to God are repeatedly
acknowledged in almost all Hindu religious scriptures.
The Upanishad reveals that God is love and also the end
of love because divine love is not something belonging
to God but is God itself. In Bhagavat Purana it is stated
that the path of Bhakti must be completely motiveless
attachment. We must remember that in Bhakti love
means to sacrifice, it means dedication; it means to
constantly strive for converging emotional pluralities
with spiritual singularity. Bhakti means love which helps
us to abstain from selfishness; it purifies and elevates
one’s consciousness so that one can see God’s
representation in every thing. Through true love alone
we can overwhelm diversions and achieve singleness of
purpose. Sandiliya Sutra states, “love God as one
outside ‘I’; such love for the joy derived from love itself
is true love; it is love for loves sake and not for
objective.” Krishna says the effort in the Bhakti marga is
never wasted even if unfinished, nor does it result in
any antagonism. Even an ounce of it proves great
support in a state of immense suffering. In Bhagwad
Gita same dedication and Shrada is expressed when it is
stated, “Oh son of Kunti dedicate unto me all that you
do, you eat, you offer (in fire as sacrifice) you give and
abstain from.” The aspirant dedicates his entire life and
all that he does, to see, to hear, to touch, to sleep, to
breathe, to speak, to accept, to reject, to dream, to
wink; whatever he does he does it for his object of
dedication.
Bhakti refers to nine ways of expressions of loving and
adoring God. They are to sing of him, to recite of him, to
praise him, to serve him, to worship him, to hear of him,
to love him, to bow to him and to dedicate to him. In
Narad Bhakti Sutra they have been made into 11 ways.
As time demanded, Bhakti developed into a large
movement incorporated into its fold, large masses
through different sampradayas such as Sanakadi
sampradaya, Rudra sampradaya etc.
Even though as a movement Bhakti first appeared in
Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it soon enveloped the whole of
India through the preaching and practice of various
Bhakti saints such as Ramanuja (died1137), Kamban
(twelfth century), Basva (end of twelfth century),
Tikkana (1220–1300), Yerrapragada (1280–1350),
Madhava (1197–1276), Namdev (1270– 1350),
Janeshwara (1271–1296), Nimbarka (thirteenth
century), Laleshwari (fourteenth century), Chandidas
(fourteenth century), Vallabhacharya (1479–1531),
Yamunachari, Ramananda, (1400–1470), Potna (1400–
1475), Chaitanya (1485–1533), Kabir (1440–1516), Sur
Das (1483–1563), Vidyapati (fourteenth and fifteenth
century), Meerabai(1503– 1573), Tulsidas (1532–1623),
Eaknath (1533–1599), Tukaram (1598-1650), Ramdas
(1608–1681), Mirza Kak (second half of eighteenth
century), and many others coming down to the present
day. In every region of India there is a plethora of
literature on Bhakti and its various strands.
Chandidas was a devotee of Krishna and Radha. In one
of his poems he addresses his God as beloved and says:
Love has captured me in tender youth
And you leave me no peace in my house
I will end my life, jump in the sea,
Yearning to be reborn as Krishna,
And you as Radha in the next life
Then my love will snare, and then abandon you,
As you go to the well, I will gracefully
Stand under the Kadamba with my flute
Chandidas says, you as a simple housewife,
Will fall under the spell of my flute,
And then it will be your turn, O Krishna
To suffer the burning pangs of love.
Bhakti is the message of love without any expectation.
Bhakti is pure divine love and its greatest test lies in the
humility of a human being as stated by Sri Chaitanya:
Hari is to be sung by those who always feel humbler
than the grass and more tolerant than a tree.
Similar to Chandidas is Vidyapati’s expression. He
expresses his craving for his God in the following words:
On all my limbs
Were spells of love?
What strength I needed
To arrest the desire,
My quivering breasts
I hid with trembling hands
As all my Body glowed
No longer could I check my Passion
And the shut lotus bloomed in smiles.
Tukaram the Bhakti saint of Maharastra expressed his
devotional love through self-surrender to God in the
following words:
Myself I’ve rendered up to thee;
I’ve cast it from me utterly.
Now here before thee, Lord I stand,
Attentive to thy least command
The self within me is now dead,
And thou enthroned in its stead.
Yea, this I, Tukaram, testify,
No longer now is me or my.
Mirabai was also a devotee of Krishna. In one of her
poems she addresses her God thus:
Rana your strange world is not to my liking
It has no saints and its people are base.
I’ve given up ornaments and the braiding of hair,
I’ve given up collyrium and the tying of braids.
Mira has found a perfect groom, Krishna the Lord.
In Sursagar, Sur das is happily waiting for his God and
says:
As the moth for love of lotus loses itself in the flower
And yet is happy; so am I Thy devotee, my Lord
As the stag for the delight of the tune stands
unconcernedly near the
Axe of huts man; so am I Thy devotee
As the pigeon for the desire of the sky soars higher
though only to be
Dashed to the ground; so am I Thy devotee, Beloved
As the rain bird in its utter loneliness calls its lover
continuously
So I wait for a vision of Thee, my Lord
For I feel forsaken and lonely and sad.
Rajneesh (Osho) characterizes devotion to God in the
following words:
God can only be received; he can never be discovered
or invented. One has to become totally receptive, just
open and waiting. He says, the love that I am talking
about is neither possessive nor does it have any
expectation; you have become so silent and so loving
that it goes to others now.
The Muslim mystics have characterized this love as Ishq-
i-haqiqi (real love).
Jala-ud -din Rumi says;
I sought a soul in the sea
And found a coral there
Beneath the foam of mine
An ocean was laid bare.
However, the phenomenon of Bhakti can be understood
by looking at the practice of this form of worship during
different periods. The tentative periodization and
characterization of Bhakti can be made into three
periods as follows:
(a) Evolutionary processes and synthesis up to 12th
century A.D.
During this period, a large number of immigrants came
into India with their own diverse religious and sectarian
cults and mixed ethnicities which got assimilated into
variants of Hinduism. Therefore polytheistic tendencies,
diversity of ritual apparatus, and the caste dimensions
remained dominant, because historically it was very
difficult to reinforce monotheism with perhaps
relatively less developed vernacular literature at the
regional level. This period was full of transitions and
synthesis.
(b) Development and expansion from 13th century
to 18th century.
During this phase, monotheistic tendencies
undermining caste and ritual apparatus were
predominantly overwhelming. Its spread enveloped all
regions and all layers of Indian society. The vernacular
literature made great progress that facilitated its spread
outside the institutionalized framework of Hinduism;
that also came under criticism at the hands of various
Bhakti saints. Bhakti marga threw up its own
philosophy, though unconsciously. During this period,
there were also challenges and responses by other
religions which entered India.
(c) Period of individualization, institutionalization,
and universalization from 19th century onwards.
During this period, Bhakti traveled both through
literature and great teachers, preaching beyond the
borders of India particularly to the West and opened
itself through Yog, Pravachan, Bajan, and Kirtan to all
those desirous of embracing it. From Ramakrishna
Parmahamsa to Mahesh yogi to Rajneesh (Osho), Satya
Sai Baba of Puttaparti (Andhra Pradesh), Amrit Anand
Ma, Asa Ram, Murari Bapu, Sudanshu Maharaj, Ram
Dev and a host of others. Each one evolved an individual
institution of their own and yet attracted universal
attention both from Hindus and non-Hindus, through
the medium of Bhakti.
Professor Rattan Lal Hangloo
To start with, Narad Bhakti Sutra of Taoshobuddha
which is discussed in this book in detail, is one very
important source to understand the Bhakti at the
conceptual level. Narad Bhakti Sutra begins with the
words, “Now we shall explain Bhakti.” In this text Bhakti
as the supreme form of love — Param Prema (Supreme
love) — has been defined from a devotional
perspective.
The entire sutra evaluates the linkages between Bhakti
and love as its expression and unveils the inner nature
of love. It also looks at the contribution of various
Bhakti saints. It takes the concept of love and Bhakti to
various higher levels where one attains contentment, a
state of no grief and no hate. Where the feeling of
revenge is overcome by love; where one becomes
indifferent to the material world’s temptations. Higher
love is not lustful but one that transcends from ordinary
human feelings to a higher level of consciousness. Love
never fails. Even if it is not reciprocated, it spiritualizes
the greed of selfish quest. We shall learn more about
Narad Bhakti Sutra in the pages that follow, as
Taoshobuddha systematically takes you into the Sutras
with deep insights into human consciousness and the
process of transformation.
REFLECTIONS OF LIFE
By Swami Anand Neelambar
 Sahajo bai
An introduction
S ahajobai was a devout girl hailing from
Rajputana of the state of Rajasthan, India.
She had accepted the disciplehood of Sant
Charandas ji Mahaaraj. The story of how she got
converted to the path of devotion is quite
interesting and inspiring. Her marriage
ceremony had just been over. Preparations
were afoot to send her off to her in-laws' house.
Her hair was being done. She was being
meticulously dressed & decorated. Her friends
were busy doing her make-up. It was then only,
shall we say by the quirk of the fate that
Charandaas jee appeared on the scene. Looking
at Sahajo Bai whose make-up was in progress,
he remarked,
Chalanaa hai rahanaa naheen
chalanaa wishwaabees
Sahajo tanik suhaag par
kahaan guthaavai sheesh
[O Sahajo! This world is not your permanent
abode. We would have to leave, it is dead sure,
this world. Would you trade your head for such
a fickle & ephemeral conjugal bliss?]
No sooner than these words had been uttered,
she put off all items of make-up and decoration,
and gave up the very idea of going to her in-
laws' place. Instead, she got herself married to a
life of meditation and grew up, in due course of
time, into a great devotee and sant herself. She
could attain the Ultimate Perfection (Self
Realisation) by meticulously and rigorously
obeying the instructions of her Guru, and thus,
she had gratefully experienced his infinite grace.
It is with this deep sense of gratitude in her
mind that she has expressed her heartfelt
emotions towards her Guru in the above verse.
Such miraculous transformations are the results
of highly elevated sanskaras! We, too, can purify
our sanskaras by making efforts in the right
direction. Sanskaras do not befall us, or come to
us, as it were, overnight or readymade. They are
formed, processed and purified over a number
of cycles of births; lives of only such persons,
who have made such endeavours in their past
lives, get so easily and instantly metamorphosed
with a slight rub of the matchstick, in the form
of attending Satsang, or coming into the blissful
company of saints.
We all, therefore, should regularly attend
Satsang. It is an extremely noble thing to do. Let
us listen intently, with rapt attention, to the
lectures of sants; it would do a lot of good to us.
However, we must not stop merely at listening.
We should also ponder over, think over, and
reflect over what we have listened to
acquire ‘manan jnaan’. Then, we should try to
translate the knowledge so acquired into
practice (i.e. ‘nididhyaasan’) which, if done
perseveringly, would mature into ‘anubhav
jnaan’ or practical experience. This way, we
would do the greatest good to us.
 An ode to guru by Sahajo bai
Ram tajoon pai guru na visaaroon |
Guru ke sam hari ko na nihaaroon ||
Hari ne janm diyo jag maanhee |
Guru ne aawaagaman chhudaaheen ||
Hari ne paanch chor diye saathaa |
Guru ne laee chhudaay anaathaa ||
Hari ne kutumb jaal mein geree |
Guru ne kaatee mamataa bedee ||
Hari ne rog bhog urajhaayau |
Guru jogee kar sabai chhutaayau ||
Hari ne karm bharm bharamaayau |
Guru ne aatam roop lakhaayau ||
Hari ne mo soon aap chhipaayau |
Guru deepak de taahi dikhaayau ||
Fir hari bandh-mukti gati laaye |
Guru ne sabahee bharm mitaaye ||
Charandas par tan man waaroon |
Guru na tajoon hari ko taji daaroon ||

I may abandon Ram (God), but I can never forget my Guru |

I do not see God with the same sense of gratitude as I do my Guru ||

God sent me into this world |

But Guru rid me of the vicious cycle of birth & death or transmigration ||

God sent five thieves (the five sensory organs namely eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin which
keep on stealing (the pleasures in) objects of senses viz. form, sound, smell, taste and touch)
to accompany me |
Guru rescued me, the helpless, from the captivity of these (thieves) ||

God ensnared me in the trap of kiths & kins |

Guru, on the other hand, freed me by snapping the shackles of attachments ||

God entangled me in various diseases (bodily as well as mental) and enduring the fruits of fate
or deeds performed in earlier births |
While Guru liberated me from all these afflictions by making me a yogi i.e. by making me
perform “Yoga-Sadhana” (‘Drishti Yoga’ and Shabda Yoga’) ||
 God misled me into the illusory web of doing (good as well as bad deeds) |
But Guru made me see, taking me beyond these, my true Self ||

God hid or concealed Himself from me (though He is in me, I couldn’t see Him) |
Whereas Guru, lending me the lamp of inner eye/ vision, enabled me see Him ||

God brought me repeatedly in the fetters of the body and the four kinds of ‘mukti’ (liberation
which is not genuine) namely, ‘saalokya’, ‘saameepya’, ‘saaroopya’ and ‘saayujya’ |
But Guru, imparting the experiential knowledge of ‘kaivalya mukti’ (access into the sphere of
pure consciousness i.e. primeval word), ended all my wanderings & delusions ||

I (Sahajo Bai) offer myself whole-heartedly, with all my physical and mental resources, in
sacrifice at the lotus feet of (my Guru) Charandas ji |
I may renounce God, but can never ever forsake my Guru ||

Sahajo Bai
I Might Renounce God, But Can Never Abandon My Guru!
WHERE THE HEART IS WITHOUT MALICE

Where the heart is without malice

And the soul is ever pristine
Where the clear stream of thought
flows into the placid ocean of virtue;
and not lost its way into dark, narrow
caves of desire, lust and spite.

Where inner strength and humility

Elevate the emotion of love
up to the plateau of immaculate peace.

Where truth and honour waft

in the meadows of wonder
and celebration.
Into that awakening, O Prabhu!
Let my being return.

swami anand neelambar

 THE SECRETS OF BHAKTI
[AN EXCERPT FROM SECRETS OF BHAKTI BY- TAOSHOBUDDHA - A STERLING PAPERBACK]
-iKt inrakar se inrakar ka imln hE
smSt b<xnae kae taef Pa&em jb ApnI praka:Qa kae p&aPt haeta hE tae -iKt ka jNm haeta hE,
L
ife is energy. Life is an infinite reservoir of
energy. On the shore of time infinite waves go
on striking. No end! No beginning! Everything
is just in the middle! You are a small insignificant
wave. You are an infinitesimal seed of infinite
possibilities. Quite naturally, the wave wants to be
the ocean. And naturally the seed wants to be the
tree. Unless the seed blossoms into a flower,
fulfilment is impossible. Man has an insatiable quest
to be God. Before this there are many temporary
resting points or possibilities. None of these are the
Ultimate Outcome. In the night you may stay at many
places for rest. Never make these places your
permanent resting place. Only God can be your
house or the resting place. ‘God’ does not mean a
person sitting somewhere, as has been conceived by
almost all the religions. God means your ultimate
possibility.
God is formless! Without any name! God is not
sitting somewhere. God is your ultimate happening.
Beyond which there is nothing and no possibility as
well. Beyond which there is nowhere to go. This is
the ultimate destination. This is fulfilment! You will
remain restless and despondent until you attain to
this fruition. You may become rich. You may become
very famous. None of these things can ever fulfil you.
Somewhere you will continue to feel something
missing. No matter how hard you try to forget this,
you will never succeed. In a sense it is good that you
cannot forget this. Otherwise the seed will miss the
opportunity for fruition. Until the seed attains to its
fruition and the fragrance merges with the infinite,
there is no possibility of fulfilment. Until the river of
your life merges with the ocean of life it will not
attain any meaning. And until this happens, even if
you somehow succeed it will be the greatest failure
of your life.
Unlucky are those who consider such small
successes as the ultimate success. Really lucky are
those who have the awareness of this. Only such a
person somehow understands this. And wherever
you attain success you make that place your resting
place. You seek new openings in your failures.
Unless you reach God, there can be no fulfilment.
In the beginning I said, life is energy. This energy has
three forms. First is the seed form; in this nothing is
manifest. Then comes the tree form in which
everything becomes manifest, yet still the soul or
Prana remains unmanifest. Last is the flower form;
in this form even the Prana is manifest. Fruition
happened. The petals are open now. Fragrance
merges with the infinite.
Naturally the seed implies desire. The desire to
grow! Tree implies love. And the final is the flower. A
flower implies Bhakti or devotion. As long as you are
in the seed form you are full of desire or lust. Love
will evolve in your life only when the seed becomes
a tree. Only then the nectar of love will ooze in your
barren life. To attain to fruition is the ultimate
happening! This is the highest mountain peak. An
understanding of certain things will help you
understand the SECRETS OF BHAKTI better.
You are body. You are mind. And you are also
something beyond these two as well, but this you
know not. Body is gross. To know the gross no
intelligence is needed; to know the body no
meditation is required. The mind is relatively subtle;
yet you can still get a slight glimpse of the mind. It is
so because the mind is between gross and the subtle.
The mind is connected both to the body and to the
soul as well. From the side of the body you do
sometimes get a glimpse of the mind. But you never
get a glimpse of the soul. To you the soul appears to
be an empty word that is meaningless. When you
hear the word soul no ripples arise in you. This word
creates restlessness in you.
Lust or passion is associated with the body. Lust is
gross just like your body. The body looks for lust.
The body calls for its counterpart in the other. One
shore always remains incomplete without the other.
Both male and female seek one another. Both male
and female are complimentary energies. Male and
female are two shores for life energy to flow. Just as
a river cannot flow without the two shores, so too
life cannot flow without the male and female
energies as two shores! These are two energies that
complement one another. Separate from each other
they remain despondent. Both male and female
remain incomplete without each other.
At a gross level this is essential. The union of two
energies is momentary. For a moment the two
bodies merge into one another. However this
happens only for a moment. And after this union a
great despondency descends. This separation after
the dissolution is painful. You think this union is all.
This physical union brings separation and pain.
Certainly the union of the body is a momentary
happening. That which is gross cannot merge with
another gross. Really gross can never merge or meet.
Gross has its limitation. If you try to unite two blocks
of ice these can never merge into one another in
their gross form! And the moment the two blocks of
ice melt and become fluid like, they can certainly
merge into one another. Ice has a boundary. Water
has no boundary. The moment you are fluid like all
boundaries disappear!
Human body is frozen like ice. And mind is fluid like
water. Ice has limitation. Water flows beyond
boundaries. Yet still water has its limitations. You
can mould the mind the way you want. This cannot
be done with the human body. A child is born in
aHindu family. Take him to a Muslim family. Now
you can condition the child. The body cannot change.
You can condition the mind of the child. But you
cannot condition or change the body. The mind will
become Muslim. There is no way to change the body.
That will remain connected to its origin. The child
may not even remember that he was ever a Hindu.
As far as the mind is concerned it can become a
Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian. Such is the
freedom of the mind.
Mind is fluid like. It goes on changing each moment.
Today you may like one person. Tomorrow you may
not like the same person. One who was the center of
you life once! One without who the sun ever rose
and never set! Things have changed now. That
person is no more significant for you. That person
does not create any ripples in your being any more.
Such is the nature of the mind. And such is the
understanding of those who remain within the four
walls of the mind. The fluidity of the mind is unique.
Human body demands lust and mind requires love.
However the fluidity of the mind is unique. One
moment it is fluid like and the next moment this
fluidity is no more. Body can be bought, not the
mind. Body is gross. Mind is somewhat conscious.
Mind has the glimpse of awareness. However, it is
just a glimpse. Mind seeks love. Mind seeks someone
who is ready to sacrifice and surrender
unconditionally. Mind wants to give itself to
someone. When beyond boundaries two minds meet,
that which flows in between is love. That which
attracts below mind is lust.
Yet still there is an existence beyond mind. Beyond
mind there are no boundaries. Only an infinite sky
exists. The ice has melted now. Water is evaporating.
And as the steam arises it disappears beyond a
certain level. The soul is like steam. You get a
glimpse of it sometimes through the body and at
other times through the mind. However, these
glimpses are only fading examples. Who can demand
the soul? The body demands another body. This
union is short lived. So too, mind seeks another
Lust or passion is associated with the body.
Lust is gross just like your body.
mind. The realm of the mind is still deeper. Body
seeks another body. The union is short lived. Mind
can go a little further. Mind even aspires to go a little
far. Mind claims love to be eternal. If you have really
known love, you will come to know this. Body may
disappear but love lives on. Why to seek that which
is short lived? When there is darkness, all of a
sudden there is lightening. Lightening is fragile and
short lived. And after lightening darkness deepens!
In the realm of sorrow, happiness comes for a
fraction of a moment. And then the sorrow and
suffering become even more intense. The soul does
not recognize love as conceived by the mind. Mind is
fluid like. Today this flows towards this one and
tomorrow its path changes. And then it loves
someone else. Mind cannot be trusted beyond a
certain extent. When the mind is in love it makes
promises of trust. The nature of the mind is ever
changeable. It goes on changing. Mind is flowing.
Soul seeks the eternal. The joy that overflows when
the soul recognizes the answering soul, is Bhakti.
When love transcends its boundaries of finiteness it
attains a new texture and it enters the eternal realm.
Thus begins Bhakti. Soul has no boundaries.

The reach of the body is short lived. Mind goes a
little far. Bhakti is eternal. Through the body lust is
born. Lust is gross. Through the mind you get a
glimpse of love. Love is somewhat fluid like. Soul
seeks eternal. Soul seeks the formless. Bhakti is the
union of formless to formless:
-iKt inrakar se inrakar ka imln hE
Imagine you are in your room. All windows and
doors are closed. No light! No breeze! No sound of
the chirping of birds can really enter within. This is
how the body is. Now you open the doors and
windows. And as soon as the doors and windows are
open the light, breeze, sounds of the birds, and the
fragrance of the flowers enters. This is the realm of
the mind. You get a glimpse of the infinite sky. This is
how the mind is. Still you are in the mind. A little
free, yet still in a cage of finiteness. Now you have
decided to come out of the room. You are not getting
the glimpse of the sun alone. Now the entire sun is
showering on you. Now the breeze is not coming to
you instead the breeze surrounds you. Now you are
one with the sound of the birds. You are one with the
breeze. You are one with the sunlight and rays. You
are one with the entire existence. Now try to
understand these sutras. Try to understand these
meditatively and lovingly. Your logic will not take
you into the inner realm of these sutras.
Now begins the explanation of Bhakti. Why is this
word ‘athato’ or now? Thus or now is the unique
way of beginning something sublime. Up to now we
have spoken so many things. We spoke of the body,
mind, soul and many such other things. All these
have been a prelude. Bhakti is not something that is
spoken once and that is all. The explanation of
Bhakti continues and will continue until every
individual seeks Bhakti within him. We have seen
the realm of the mind as well. Now therefore let us
speak of Bhakti.
All of a sudden the explanation begins. This is unique
about Indian scriptures. Nowhere else a scripture
begins with ‘now therefore’. This seems incomplete.
It seems as if something was going on before this
explanation. And this explanation is just in the
middle.
It seems something is missing. And that which is
missing is the beginning. And this explanation is just
in the beginning. The scripture is already in the
process. These are the pages from the scripture of
life. This is not for those who are not yet free from
the realm of the body and all that concerns the body.
This is not for those who are not yet free of the body
and the mind. The sage leaves these two realms right
there. And therefore begin these sutras. If you are
not yet free from lust and all that relates to the body
and also all that relates to the mind then you are not
yet ready for these sutras.
If love still interests you then you are not ready for
these sutras. Still the search for God has not yet
begun. Still if you are either the body or the mind
then you cannot understand these sutras. I am not
interested in your words that you want to know the
secrets. I can see all that is going on within you. This
does not mean these sutras are for the older ones.
These sutras are for the one who has reached the
last realm in the process of transformation. Bhakti is
the ultimate. Bhakti is for those who are free from
the realm of the body and mind. The West thought
this as incomplete. It appears the beginning is
missing. And the East thinks these sutras are for
older persons. Both have missed the essence of these
sutras. There is a difference between an old and a
mature person. Even a younger person can be
mature enough to understand ‘The Secrets of
Bhakti’.
If love still interests you then you are not ready for
these sutras. Still the search for God has not yet
begun. Still if you are either the body or the mind
then you cannot understand these sutras. I am not
interested in your words that you want to know the
secrets. I can see all that is going on within you. This
does not mean these sutras are for the older ones.
These sutras are for the one who has reached the
last realm in the process of transformation. Bhakti is
the ultimate. Bhakti is for those who are free from
the realm of the body and mind. The West thought
this as incomplete. It appears the beginning is
missing. And the East thinks these sutras are for
older persons. Both have missed the essence of these
sutras. There is a difference between an old and a
mature person. Even a younger person can be
mature enough to understand ‘The Secrets of
Bhakti’.
Sometimes a person can attain to maturity even in we can speak. Love is the only way for this
his youth. Suddenly a child jumps from a seed stage explanation. Bhakti is opposite to lust. If we have to
and becomes a tree. The question is of awareness, use the language of lust then we can say that Bhakti
not age or anything else; therefore, these Secrets of is not lust. This is a negative way of saying. Then
Bhakti! These sutras are not any definition or what is Bhakti? Narad continues:
description. It is like the one who has tasted the
sweet fruit. What will he do? He will enjoy. He will
HkfDr ije is`e Lojwik gS AA
go on narrating to others. He may start singing the
glory. You will try to correlate your experiences with
those who have experienced themselves. It is like This is an important condition. If Narad had said just
you want to enter the temple. Yet still you have not prem swaroopa then one can conclude that Bhakti is
yet entered the temple. This is an effort to bring the love. However, Narad put a condition and the
taste of being in the temple to those who have not condition is explained with the word prem. Narad
yet been to the temple. For such people there can be says, Bhakti is param prem swaroopa. In love lust
no definition. Definition can only happen between still remains to some extent However, in Bhakti lust
those who know. Therefore this explanation! is no more. In lust there is the trace of love. That is
why one remains entangled in lust. Maybe there is
Definition can complete in a sentence or so. But the even one percent love in lust. And this one percent
explanation is something different. Explanation is renders a new texture to lust. This one percent love
always longer. And through explanation we only give gives a new expression to lust and hides its ugliness
a glimpse. Explanation is true to some extent and to and gives an indication of its utility. Both lust and
some extent it is not. It is so because when a learned love are connected to one another. Therefore love is
one speaks to an ignorant one he speaks the not pure love. There is still a trace of lust in it. When
language that he can understand. When a Buddha lust leans towards love it gets defiled. And when love
has to speak to those who have not yet attained to leans towards lust it gets sanctified. Love lends its
enlightenment he has to use their language. If nature to lust. Therefore, Narad says Bhakti is pure
Buddha uses his language then he cannot make his gold. It is therefore:
message understood. In order to make the people
understand the sage has to use the language of the
-iKt prm p&em SvrUpa hE.
people. Then it can no more remain a definition.
Instead, it will become an explanation.
Only this much for now! Now the journey is alone!
Alone you have to enter these sutras. My energy field
Therefore because of intense desire to know Bhakti,
surrounds you.
the sage begins the explanation of Bhakti. The first
narration explains Bhakti as the utmost expression Or now begins ‘The Secrets of Bhakti!’
of love towards God. I had explained earlier, lust is
the beginning of the journey and the ultimate
flowering is Bhakti. But to reach Bhakti you have to
pass through love. This is why Narad says, “Bhakti is
prem swaroopa.” The nature of Bhakti is that of love.
On one side of love is lust and on the other side is
Bhakti. Love is connected to both lust and Bhakti. If
any explanation is to be given of lust, love has to be
the way. And also if Bhakti has to be defined, love
has to be the medium once again. Love is in between
the two. Love bridges both lust and Bhakti. Love is
the balance between the two. If those who have
known ‘The Secrets of Bhakti’ have to explain these
secrets to the one who does not know the language.
Then besides love there can be no other way.
Nothing can be said about lust. Also nothing can be
said about Bhakti either. Love is the only thing that
COOKING
TAOSHOBUDDHA WAY

MA PREM SUTRA

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

 SAVOURY
RAJMA JUGALBANDI

SAVAOURY RAJMAH JUGALBANDI

INGREDIENTS

1. Red beans 3 cups

2. Chana /Toor daal 1½ cup
3. Onion/garlic/ginger paste 3 tbs
4. Tomato Puree ¾ cup
5. Rajmah Masala 3 tsp
6. Garam Masala ¼ tsp
7. Chopped Corainder ¼ cup
8. Butter/coconut oil 2tbs
9. Fresh Cream 2tbs
10.Salt to taste
METHODOLOGY

1. Soak red beans overnight after picking and washing

2. Pick, wash and soak chana daal 3-4 hours
3. Pressure cook red beans soft
4. Cook chana daal until soft set aside
5. Mix seasoning paste, spice and ½ tomato puree and soak in water for 5-10 mins
6. In a deep pan or skillet heat oil add the above mixture and allow cooking on
medium heat until oil separates from the mixture. Keep stirring. If burning lower
heat and a few dash of water.
7. Add red beans and chana daal. Allow to boil. And simmer.
8. Add remaining tomato puree and cook on low heat. Stirring occasionally. Make
sure the consistency remains steady.
9. Turn off the heat.
10.Transfer in serving dish. Sprinkle garam masala sparingly.
11. Garnish with fresh cream and coriander leaves.

Serve with choice of rice plain or biryani or with roti of choice. You can use this as
accompaniment with any paneer or other vegetable as complete dinner menu.
 TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS
ANDREW
ANDREW: I did understand your metaphor about the
house, wiring and illumination; this is why I originally
contacted your uncle in India about the special lataif
work that is done in your order. Relative to the realm
of benediction I was given a wonderful experience
when I was first drawn to the path in 1970. I was in
the second meditation experience with Pir Vilayat
Inayat Khan. As I sat in the group of people
meditating I became aware that I was ascending to a
very great height far far above the earth because as I
looked down I could see the physical earth far below.
My next awareness was of being in a realm of beauty
and light which was far superior to anything or
anyone which exists on earth then I heard a voice
say, ‘it is not time for you yet you must get married
and go to college’, I began to argue with the voice
that I did not care about anything on earth the
experience gently closed and I was not addicted.
Relative to benediction I wanted to relate the
following experience to you: in 1970 when I had first
TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS
Pir Vilayat Khan is the son of Sufi Inayat Khan.
Vilayat has to remodel the way of tariqat to suit
the aspirants in the west. Still the originality and
haquat remains lurking in his teachings. My own
understanding and instruction to anyone who
comes in contact is that be like a ‘honey bee’.
Honeybee loves natural flowers and gathers nectar
from the pollen. That is processed later into
nectarine honey. After being enlightened Sage
Dattatreya accepted 24 gurus and to him his body
started on the path I was sitting in my second Sufi
group meeting which was with Pir Vilayat Khan. We
were all doing silent meditation. As I meditated all of
a sudden I became aware of ascending to a great
height above the earth. I knew this because as I
looked down I could see the earth far below me.
Then I was aware of being in a realm of light and
beauty which was more fantastic than anything
which exists on this earth plane. As I marveled at this
dimension I HEARD A VOICE SAY THAT IT WAS NOT
TIME FOR ME YET AS I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO
COLLEGE AND GET MARRIED. I ARGUED WITH THIS
VOICE AND PROYESTED SAYING THAT I DIDI NOT
CARE ABOUT THOSE EARTHLY THINGS AS THEY
WHERE FAR inferior to that I was experiencing in the
light and beauty realm. The experience gently came
to a close and what REALLY SUPRISED ME WAS THAT
I DID NOT CRAVES OR WAS ADDICTED TO THE REALM
THAT I HAD BEEN TO.
is the 25th guru. This is a very beautiful anecdote.
How he attained these gurus.
Nothing happens before its time. This is required
for inner preparation. And the moment an
aspirant is at the borderline some descends from
the unknown realm. But mind takes time to
acknowledge this. As a result all that the voice said
in the dream happens. However one thing is
certain that at no time you or the aspirant is left
uncared. Once you reflect at the end of the journey
you will realize. You are blessed that all these
things are happening. Subhan Allah! Alham dil
Allah! Allah ho Akbar!
As your mail came I was in fact editing one of my
works on Japji Sahib of Nanak for publication. The
under mentioned passage I was editing. You may
find this strange why this I am sending this. A
master never answers the question. Instead he
answers the person. Many came to me to know
this or that and in turn got much more than they
were seeking. Sometimes such is the devise of the
master to transform you.
All this is relevant to your inward journey. May be
the relevance you may not grasp now. Time has
come that we move on sincerely along the inward
journey and leave all that is outward knowledge
etc. Instead of knowledge understanding and
knowing is essential. Knowledge can never
transform anyone. It is the understanding that
brings about transformation. Now the excerpt
from the Japji sahib the work for publication!
Really indeed all those who have the capability to
change the consciousness are considered useless
by the world. What would have happened if
Nanak was successful according to his father or
lived life as he wanted? The humanity would have
been deprived of something of immense value.
What would have happened if Nanak ran the
business successfully? Nanak moved from the
realm of doing to the realm of being. The realm of
being is the realm of glory of the unknown. This is
the realm of Marifiat.
The realm of glory implies that He alone is the
doer, and what can I do with my limitations. The
day this realization happens ego dissolves drop by
drop. And the moment you are aware of your
inability and limitations! The moment you realize
that nothing can happen through your efforts!
That very moment the door to beyond opens! That
very moment door of salvation opens!
And as this dawns on you the words of an aware,
and an enlightened Nanak echoes in my ears and I
am bound to say:
#k bar jae tUne pukara wa muHe tajISt mere mn me<
bjtI rhI zhna$.
Once you have called me lovingly, the melody echoes
in my ears erelong like the dissolving note of an
Enchanting melody!
He (Body) is everything onto Himself. He is complete,
total in Him alone. Nothing can be added or imposed
on Him. He is the cause of His own existence. He is not
dependent on any one. Nanak says singing,
remembering, and listening to the glories of that alone
will relieve you of your pain and suffering. Here
Nanak addresses Him as or the embodiment of myriad
attributes. Do all that you are to do. However offer this
at the altar. Seek Him alone in everything around.
Treat everyone as His manifestation. There is no other
way. When you eat visualize that He is entering as
food and things like this. Hindus consider food as
Brahman.
Nanak says this remembrance has to remain each finite
moment. Just going to your place of worship once a
week or once a day will do nothing! And even when
you are in your place of worship your mind wavers
and is not there. Many a times you look at the time.
And keep your cell phone on. How can you remember
Him?
To be religious is not easy. It is a twenty four hour
assignment. There is no specific religious day. Entire
life, all days, each moment belongs to Him. Live your
life as if God is incorporated in everything that you do.
You are reading this or listening to the CD. Listen as if
it is the Voice of the Unknown. Nanak says only then
you are free from pain and your life will be a song a
dance or a benediction.
Only then you will reach home each time full of joy
and happiness. In the absence you return home all
weary, maybe you got pick pocketed, maybe you lost
something. And when you live life as if He is
surrounding you then you are always blissful. And
your blissfulness will fill your heart and home
everything a new joy. You are unhappy because you
are living your life without God. Why cannot you see
the image of God in every one - your wife, son,
daughter, husband, and neighbor? As your perspective
changes a new meaning arises. Life becomes a
benediction.
I have heard of a Sufi Hasan. One day someone asked,
‘I can understand there is something like happiness. It
is so because God is. He is father and giving us
happiness. But why is there sorrow. This I cannot
understand.’ Hasan was sailing in his boat to reach to
the other shore. Hasan let the questioner accompany
him in his boat. Hasan started rowing the boat with
one Ryder. The boat started moving in circles. At this
the questioner said if you continue to row the boat with
one Ryder it will go on moving in circles alone. What is
the matter? Is there anything wrong with the other
Ryder or your hand? Hasan responded, ‘I thought you
to be ignorant. But you seem to be wise. With one
Ryder the boat will go on circling. For balance and
movement the pair of opposites is needed. Life needs
both opposing poles. So too day and night; good and
bad; life and death; two wings are needed in
togetherness.’
These opposing forces are two poles of the same
energy. Electrical energy has two poles as positive and
negative and without one the light cannot happen. This
is the law of dialectics.
The moment you can see you will find everything has
the same origin. Good and bad are the opposing forces
of the same energy. When this happens you accept
both. In that very acceptance you are beyond the
duality. Then the resultant that remains is bliss -
beyond happiness and sorrow.
The word of the master is the existential sound. This is
the only scripture. And God is embedded in the word
of the master. Master is Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu. All
that I know had it been total even then He cannot be
glorified. No word can encompass …. However with
one sutra of the master the riddle can be solved. What
is the riddle?
He, alone is the master of the entire creation. And this I
never forget even for a moment. Try to understand
this. Nanak gives too much importance to guru. All the
saints have spoken of this. Master is placed even higher
the scriptures. It is said if whatever the master says is
not found in scriptures the discard the scripture. A
master is the living scripture. This importance is for
certain reasons. Try to understand this.
Scriptures in particular here ‘Veda’ is the word of the
master. However these masters are no more alive. Each
scripture is the fragrance of a master. And when the
master is no more there to infuse life into the scripture
it can no longer remain alive. And when you use the
words of the something of you will reflect as well. The
originality is lost.
Try to understand this. I give a flower in your hand.
And you pass on to someone else. And this process of
giving to someone else continues. And if the flower
after passing through so many hands comes back to
you its fragrance will definitely be different. Even its
beauty will not be the same. Some of the petals may fall
as well. And simply because an incomplete flower is
not brought to me you may add new petals from
another flower. The flower will complete then. But
certainly it is no more original. This is the reason that
there is the importance of nisbet in Sufi path and the
relevance of the living Sheikh.
Nanak says the word of the master is ‘Veda’ – or
scripture certainly. However thousands of years have
passed since then. Many old things have been deleted
by the new ones. When you are in the company of a
living master it is indeed a blessing. Also when you are
reading the book you will give your meaning. And
your meaning cannot go beyond your consciousness.
You will impose your meaning on the book. This is the
reason there are so many commentaries of Bhagwad
Gita.
By the time Nanak, Kabir, Dadu came these scripture
became stale. And these master laid importance on the
living master. And when you are in front of the living
master then you cannot distort his words. Nanak says:
Even those who have seen God with his own inner eyes
cannot describe. And you are searching God in
scriptures. That about who nothing could be said you
are trying to understand through stories. Nothing can
be said.
Nanak says one who gives the Sutra or ‘gur’ or
principle or methodology or secret is really guru.
Nanak gives this methodology:.
He is the master or the creator of all. He is the only
creator. Let there be no occasion when I could forget
this. The moment you understand this secret then you
attention moves from the beads of the rosary. And
settles on the thread that supports and binds all beads
you have found the secret. So too God is that invisible
thread that connects the entire creation.
Who can enter this realm? Kabir says:
One who is ready to set his house on fire can really
move with me. What does Kabir mean by house? Kabir
implies the house of falsehood, dishonesty, anger,
jealousy, and hatred. This is your house that you have
created around you.
Nanak had strange ways and means. No one could
really understand him. This is the case with all those
who have discovered his inner treasures. Whenever
anyone begins inward journey he becomes useless for
the society and the outer world.
One day Nanak left home to go somewhere. No one
knew where he had been to. He was searched all
around wherever he could go possibly. People thought
he might have gone to any temple or mosque. He was
nowhere to be seen. Someone saw Nanak going
towards cremation ground. No one could believe this.
No one goes to such a place willingly. Even a dead
person may not want to go that is why he is carried.
Then how can a living person go there.
In the cremation ground Nanak was sitting in
meditation under a tree. Everyone wanted to know
what he was doing in such place away from home and
family. People go to temples and mosques etc. to
meditate and pray. Everyone said things according to
their level of understanding. This is normal. When a
person begins inward journey everyone discourages.
This happens because of misconceptions about the
spiritual path. Your society, your family, your priest
never want you to tread the spiritual path.
Now it was the turn of a meditative Nanak. He said
one who comes here never goes from here, and never
dies. And the place you call as you home people die
there. Now introspect which place can be called
cremation ground. A place where death is inevitable,
where people go on dying or this place you call
cremation ground where no one dies ever. The
inhabitants of this place never die. And ultimately one
day one has to come here riding the shoulders of
others. This does not appeal to me. This is the reason I
came here on my own. One thing more in your world
all that you have will be taken away one day. And here
in this place nothing can be taken from you.
This incident is very significant as it indicates a greater
truth. Nanak is in harmony with all that is to happen.
Death is inevitable. Nanak has no conflict with death. It
is welcomed. And also why to bother others for this! It
is better to come on one’s own.
You are always against all that is inevitable. You
always wish this should not happen this way. Nanak
has no wish of his own. Even if death be the wish of his
beloved, it is accepted to Nanak.
That night somehow everyone convinced Nanak to
return home. Nanak returned home, but he was not the
same. Something has drastically changed in him. It
seemed that something has given way something new
and sublime. It always happens. Only when someone
dies totally that new is born! This is the process to
rebirth. To enter new life, you have to pass through
death. And cremation ground is the way. New birth
does not imply a new body. This is the birth rebirth
cycle. New birth really implies dawn of a new
awareness.
You are afraid of death. And when fear is you cannot
be connected to God. All your prayers worship, and
religiousness is the outcome of your fear not as the
outcome of your love for God. Then your religiousness
cannot be a celebration. God, your religion, all your
worship etc are all security arrangements. God seems
to be your insurance. All your holy places, pilgrimages
are the outcome of your fear - an insurance security. It
is so because you are trained to go to such places
because of your demands, fear, and as protection.
Seldom has any one gone to express gratitude.
Fear can never take you to God. Fear cannot unite.
Love alone is the force that unites. Fear disintegrates.
Love brings closeness. Fear breads jealousy and hatred.
As long as fear remains love cannot spring forth. You
can only decorate your hate and jealousy to look like
love. How can you love someone when there is fear? In
this state even if you decide to surrender it will
definitely be the trick.
People go to holy places etc. full of desires for
salvation, or fulfillment of desires. It is believed that by
bathing in Ganges all sins are washed. Sin, as you call,
does not happen by body. Body is the instrument.
Prompted by your consciousness your body instrument
engages in such acts that you call sin. How can holy
river Ganga wash your consciousness? The holy water
cannot reach there. If your body is dirty, or is full of
dust this can be washed by taking in the river.
Waters of Ganges is good to wash the body. Certainly
it cannot sanctify the soul. The methodology for this is
different. To sanctify the soul you will have to bring
another stream of water. From where can this stream
spring forth? This can only spring forth from deep
within your being. These sutras of Nanak are the
search for that eternal search for the Heavenly Ganges
(Holy waters).
If your ways and means, your life, your living appeals
to Him! Or is in harmony of the Divine will! You have
really discovered the Eternal Holy River. This can
happen when you understand that He is the only doer
and you are an instrument. With this understanding
you will appeal to Him.
As such as you are you consider yourself the doer! In
all that you do - worldly or spiritual this doer element
remains like an undercurrent. You will hear people
saying things like this that indicate the doer element.
As long as this doer remains you are not religious.
A religious person is one for whom God is the only
doer, and he is an instrument. It is because of this ‘doer
consciousness’ you are in misery. Are you really the
doer? Birth, death, and life nothing is in your hand.
And yet still you consider that everything you are
doing. This is ignorance - the only ignorance. From the
very beginning Nanak says He is the only doer. Your
definition of sin and virtue differs from that of Nanak.
To consider yourself doer is only sin if you want to use
this word. Otherwise for me ignorance will do. All that
you do with this ‘doer awareness’ is ignorance.
This is what Krishna is asking Arjuna. Leave the
awareness of doing. Everything happens because of the
cosmic law or Hukum. Do not bring this
understanding in between. The light of your
understanding cannot take you far. Be an instrument.
Be like a flute. Flute does not impose anything of its
own. It has three qualities:
1. Flute is hollow inside. It has nothing of its own.
No resistance! No desire! Absolutely nothing.
2. Flute does not say anything on its own. It is an
instrument. It allows the flutist to bring out the
eternal music from deep within through the
flute. And flute allows this. Lastly!
3. Whenever flute speaks or says something it is
always a melody, a song, a raga (a musical
composition). And there remains total harmony
between the flute and the flutist. In fact flute
expresses the moods of the flutist.
Nanak says be like a flute. And one who becomes the
instrument is dear to Him. Divine love flows
incessantly each finite moment, only your pot is upside
down. This is not conditional. Love is showering. Your
pot is turned over. The only thing that you have to do
is to turn your pot facing its mouth upwards. It will
start collecting the rain of bliss or love. His love is
unconditional. This is no condition as you may think.
This is the problem with worldly love. Love remains an
unwanted condition. The husband, the wife, the father,
the friend everyone has certain pre-conditions for their
love. The wife says I can love you only if you can….So
on and so forth. Because of this there is so much love
talk in the world. However love is seen nowhere!
Turn over the pot of your being. Allow your pot to fill
with this energy. This is the methodology. This is
transformation. Drop by drop the pot will fill one day.
And then it will start overflowing. It can never contain
love within. When the cloud is full of rain water clods
shower! When the flower has blossomed it can no more
contain its beauty and fragrance. The whole
atmosphere and the air get filled with its fragrance.
So too as soon as your pot is full it will start
overflowing. There is no end to His blessings or
bounties. Once you know the art of turning the pot
upside nothing else is to be done. The rest happens on
its own. And a master is one whose pot is not only full
instead it has now started overflowing in all directions
without any condition or prejudice.
The moment you are in tune with Him you have taken
the holy bath. It is not that you do not appeal to Him.
Not for even a moment He will want this to happen.
Existence has loved you. Sun gives you light. Moon
gives you cool light.
You are created by God. Entire existence is in your
support. You are running away from Him. Your doors
and windows are all closed. Open the window and the
door sunlight will fill your room. Because of your fear,
security all your doors and windows are closed.
According to Nanak the most important thing is that
you appeal to God. And if it is not so then even bathing
in the holy waters is meaningless. To Nanak all these
things are irrelevant. The most important thing is your
being in harmony with His will. If your life and
understanding is not in harmony with the divine, then
every act will certainly strengthen your ego. Look at a
pilgrim when he returns from the pilgrimages he is
much more egoist. He expects a warm welcome that he
has now returned from the pilgrimage. Even your
fasting is to strengthen your ego.
Try to understand that all that happens in this life or
you achieve is through efforts. Love cannot happen by
efforts. Love springs from unknown realm. And when
the energy overwhelms you change begins to happen.
All that is sublime and divine in nature! It is very
simple. When you are sailing your boat against the
breeze it will be difficult. And when you start sailing
with the wind it is effortless. To attain to your
inwardness no effort is needed. For this you need a
loving heart. And then things begin to happen on own
accord.
Love is energy that springs from deep within your
being. It is an unseen but realized truth. In the
beginning love is a feeling. And as it deepens it
becomes an energy field. Love is the only that never
exhausts in the world. Love is divine. Love is not any
effort. And the paradox of love is the more loving you
are the more love will enchant your being. The more
your capability or intensity of loving increases the
more tranquil you are. Love goes on increasing in
infinite quantum.
Love is a blessing. Love is not an effort. In love you
rest. Love rejuvenates you. Love brings freshness. Love
fills your being with ecstasy. The day this love springs
forth and gushes to your being you are transformed.
One cannot attain to this through efforts. Only by the
grace of the one who has experienced this can happen.
If you have to prepare your eyes to look at the sun then
you will have to begin with a flame. Only then slowly
and slowly one day you will be able to look at the sun.
If you have to start straightening your inverted pot you
will have to begin with the master. A master is the
beginning. When you start overflowing with the
master and all your fears vanish trust and certitude
arises. Only then you will find an opening in you. If the
Ganges has to be brought down on the earth a
Bhagiratha (sage who brought the Holy river to the
earth from heavenly region) and Shiva is needed to
sustain the force. The flow of energy is so intense that
an ordinary heart cannot encompass this flow.
Your journey has to begin with a master. Master will
prepare you. He will nourish and nurture you. And in
the process when you are ready you can have a direct
commune. And one who listens to even a single
message of the master can attain to God. And one who
thus listens to a master his intelligence becomes like a
precious gem.
It is very difficult even to listen a single teaching of the
master. It is difficult because your whole life has to
transform. As you are you can never listen to the
master. For this you will have to face the master. You
have to be within his energy field. You have to learn
the art of being silent. And when you are in the
company of the master you cannot remain in the mind.
You will distort the words of the master. You will give
your own meaning to the words. Your mind which is
the aggregate of your conditionings, thoughts etc. will
distort everything. Empty handed you came and empty
handed you will return.
The teaching of the master is not heard through the
mind. This is to be heard through heart. And when you
are listening to the master do not bring your mind. This
has to be heard with love and trust.
Coming to a master implies that all your efforts have
now proved futile. Now you are incapable of moving
on your own. In short this is trust. You can reach the
master only when doubt is no more. Without inner
preparation you cannot reach the master. And one
thing more the moment a disciple is born in you master
will appear. Disciple is one who has dropped the realm
of the mind. Trust has arisen in him. He can now trust
the unknown.
Many come to the master. But rarely comes a disciple
one in whom there is trust. With trust surrender
becomes possible. Love and trust harmonizes the
energies of intellect. Only such a person can listen to
the words of the master. Only then you can be a ‘Sikh’.
One who has listened the ‘Sikhavan’ or teaching is
indeed a ‘Sikh’.
This word ‘Sikh’ is beautiful. It comes from Sanskrit
root that means ‘Shishya’ or disciple. One who is ready
to learn is really indeed a ‘Sikh’. One who can put the
attire of a ‘Sikh’ is not Nanak’s Sikh. To be a Sikh is the
miracle of the unknown. Nanak says:
There are two ways to listen. One is the way that
emanates from the head or intellect. Duality is the way
of intellect. Intellect very easily comes to the
conclusion. Intellect always thinks in terms of right and
wrong; good and bad; high and low. Intellect thinks
whether to accept or not. Intellect is supported by ego.
Intellect can never trust heart. Culture of intellect
dominates.
You pass on the street. Seeing a hungry beggar the
heart wants to give something. The intellect and others
in the car will immediately ask you to lock the door.
Then even if you want to give intellect will give many
arguments. Maybe he is a professional beggar! He
looks so strong why he does not earn. And the children
will give their own arguments. Someone may say do
not give anything otherwise he will recognize the car
and next time anyone of us maybe driving and
anything may happen. This is how intellect works.
Love springs forth. Intellect will argue love is blind.
Never trust love. Be wise. Love has destroyed many.
Love is like a thoroughfare that always leads to the
forest. And gets lost in the woods of life! Love is the
path of aloneness. Intellect always follows crowd.
Love needs privacy. Intellect creates so many
obstructions that slowly and slowly heart space
shrinks. The gap between intellect and widens. And
then one day you cannot listen to the whispers of the
heart. Even you love emanates from intellect. Have you
ever thought this? Your heart space becomes barren.
There is no ripple, no song, and no dance.
The teaching of the master is heard from the heart.
Kabir says one who is ready to cut off his head can
really attain to love.
Intellect is borrowed. It is given by your society. You
were born with heart. This is the sad plight. All that in
imposed on you becomes important. Your center has
moved from heart to intellect.
Nanak says one teaching of the master alone changes
the entire perceptive in life. What is the single teaching
of the master?
I do not forget Him even for a moment. This alone is
enough to transform you. There are two word
remembrance and forgetfulness. The Hindi words are:
Smr[ and ivSmr[ (remembrance and
forgetfulness)
Remembrance implies that something continues deep
within like an undercurrent. You may be doing
anything but the remembrance remains at the
background.
Look at a pregnant woman. A change has taken place
within her biology. As a result a growth is taking place
within her. She engages in household activities like
cooking, cleaning and many such actions. However she
remains aware of the new growth taking place within
her. A new life has begun to sprout in her. All through
her daily actions this remembrance remains in her like
an undercurrent. Even while walking, bending to pick
up something she never forgets even for a moment.
This is remembrance.

Remembrance is not an effort. This is spontaneous. If it
is any effort then one may forget sometimes while
engaged in other works, like sleeping, working, driving
talking etc. That which comes through efforts is not
remembrance.
When this remembrance is part of your being! When
each cell of your being is soaked into this! Nanak calls
this ‘Ajapa jap’. Kabir and Nanak call this ‘Surati yoga’.
Surati means a constant and spontaneous
remembrance. In the west Gurdjieff called this as ‘self
remembrance’. He worked tremendously on this. He
says if you go on remembering twenty four hours
something, and this gets intense in you then a center is
born in you. Crystallization happens. There is a danger
in this method as Gurdjieff asks you to remember ‘I
am’. The danger is of ego. Such is not the case with
Nanak.
Nanak never asks you to remember your-self. Instead
he asks to remember:
He alone is life giver and sustainer for the entire
creation. Nanak asks never to forget this. And this is
the only secret. This EK OMKAR SATNAM lurks
behind the entire creation. In the clouds, sky, stars, the
moon, the sun, the speck of dust this EK OMKAR
SATNAM is hidden. This I never forget. And as this
crystallizes in you something starts transforming
within.
Nanak says there is no need to leave the word. The
entire world is permeated by the same energy. Where
ever you will go you will find Him! You will find a vast
congregation of followers - Sikhs, Sindhis. They are all
involved in the world because nothing is outside the
creation. But they have forgotten the other half of the
truth. The entire thinking and the way of life is
worldly. One has to remain in the middle. But intellect
always chooses the extreme path.
This is the reason the essence of Nanak is lost along the
way. Sikhs are all around. However nowhere the Sikh
of Nanak is seen anywhere. And when this
remembrance that He alone is the sustainer remains
then you can be in the world but the world will not be
within you. You can make even Ganga an ordinary
river or you can make an ordinary river the holy one. It
all depends on your level of understanding. Nanak
says one who listens to one message of the master; his
intellect gets precious like gems.
Why is Nanak talking of these precious gems. Nanak is
using this word for the reason when need arises you
may leave everything but not the precious gems. This
remembrance is like the most precious gem.
If someone attains to age equivalent to ‘Four Ages’
(according to Hindus) or the historical division as iron ,
copper, stone age etc. ‘Satyuga,’ ‘Dwaper,’ ‘Treta ,’ and
‘Kaluga’ and then it multiples even ten times, and
furthermore if the people of all the quarters may know
you; and your fame may spread all-around; nothing
will really matter if you do not appeal to Him. Nanak
says:Try to understand this. This is the way and the
search of the entire world. Everyone aspires to be well
known. Nanak says of what avail is all this if you are
not in harmony with Him. What is the use of all this?
Have you ever seen any rich person contended? Nanak
says even if you get everything contentment never
comes until He begins to like you. And this can happen
only when you are in harmony with the cosmic law.
The moment you are in harmony it is even bathing in
the holy rivers, or visiting the holy places. That very
moment holy Ganges descends from heaven.
Nanak says He renders many qualities to those who
lack these and also it because of His grace such
qualities are multiplied manifold.
Have you witnessed: when you are in love with
someone and your beloved accepts you, what happens.
What is the state of your joy? In love you move as if
you are flying. There is a glow on your face. Your eyes
speak of something different. This is the reason that
you cannot hide love. Love always finds expression.
Such is the case with ordinary life. What will happen if
the entire existence accepts you? And you are in love
with totality.
The aspirant or the devotee is thirsty for God just as a
lover is thirsty for her beloved. And whenever love is
so intense then the baser becomes sublime. Just the
simple teaching that ‘He alone is the master of the
entire creation and this I never forget.’ If there is this
eternal call and a thirst then even one teaching of the
master becomes precious.
Nanak says once you turn inwards a new journey
begins. Just remember Him alone. And as His light
turns towards you everything changes. Anger, lust,
and all such negativities vanish. That alone can give
you the real fulfillment in life.
Nanak was not learned. Also he was not rich He was
born in an ordinary family. Yet still miracle happened.
When this can happen to a Nanak, a Kabir why this
can’t happen on you. Yes indeed it can happen on you
only if your face turns towards Him. And this can
happen with one single teaching of the Master - the one
who has known.
These four Pauri or Sutras are together. Together in the
sense that in these sutra Nanak gave the significance of
the art of listening. Mahabir says there are certain who
follow the path of austerities or ‘Sadhana’. There are
others who reach through just listening. And those
who are incapable of listening follow the path of
Sadhana. If you can really listen then nothing else
remains to be done. And with that alone you will reach.
In these sutras extol the significance of the art of
listening.
When you look at these sutras outwardly these appear
to be superfluous. You may wonder what will happen
by listening. And you have been listening for lives and
nothing seems to happen. Your experience says one
may listen erelong but nothing really happens. You
seem to be like a smooth surface on which water
cannot stay. And you remain untouched. If your
understanding be right then Nanak seems to be
exaggerating. Your experience can never be right. You
have never really listened. And man devises many
ways for his understanding. Let me explain these first.
First: you really want to hear all that you want to hear.
You never hear that which is being said. You listen
only that which cannot change you. And that which is
capable of transforming you never hear. You are deaf
to all this. This is not the understanding of masters and
sages alone. This has been the result of scientific
research on human sense organs. Accordingly it is said
that nearly 98 % of the information. You listen and
absorb only that which resonates with you. That which
resonates with you cannot transform you! That which
resonates with your conscious mind relates to your
conditionings and belief system. This alone is the
obstruction. For transformation the master has to take
you to your unconscious and sub conscious. From
there alone you journey of transformation may begin.
Then suddenly you are connected to the cosmic layer.
That which resonates with you how can transform you.
This will simply strengthen you’re your mind. This
gives you a new ground, a new foundation. On this
you can start a new structure.
A Hindu mind listens to that which resonates and
strengthens his mind. So is the case a Sikh, Christian,
Mohammedan and other sects as well. You are
listening simply to strengthen your mind. Truth is
sublime. Truth is beyond religions and even your gods
and goddesses. Truth is solitary. Truth is auspicious.
Truth is beyond duality. So is bliss or Anand. This
alone is auspicious or Mangalam. Scriptures say:
sTy< prm xImih. AanNdm! prm xImih.
M<aglm! prmxImih.
Truth is most auspicious! Bliss is most auspicious!
So is benediction!
Truth has nothing to do with Sikh, Hindu, Muslim,
Christian or Jew. Truth is beyond all this. Your
conditioning, your values, and your understanding
have no correlation with Truth.
Beyond dualities, conditionings, and your beliefs lays
the realm of Buddhas. Nanak is a Buddha - one who
has not only attained to this Oneness with that which is
instead has harnessed this energy field for the
transformation of human consciousness. Japji is the
fragrance of Nanak.
When you will listen beyond all dualities and your
conditionings only then you can understand the
message of Japji. There is nothing more difficult than
changing your thinking, and understanding. Your
conditionings are like an invisible glass wall. And
unless to hit this wall yourself you will never come to
know of this wall. Until then open sky will appear like
an illusion a distant horizon beyond glass wall.
You are listening to me certain things resonate with
you while many other do not. That which strengthens
your belief system resonates with you. And this you
listen. And even if the contrary reaches you somehow
you will give your own meaning and justify according
to your understanding. One thing is certain you can
never be wrong. This is your belief and the impediment
in the process of transformation. Accordingly that
alone is truth that resonates with you.
If you have attained truth, then there is no need to
listen. And that you do not have. If you proceed with
this understanding that you already know truth then
how can you reach truth?
To reach truth you have to be empty, bereft of all
concepts and understandings. With your beliefs,
principles, and scriptures you can never listen to a
master. And that which you think you have listened
will certainly be your own echo. Then these words of
Nanak will certainly appear an exaggeration.
Still there is another method of missing the message of
the masters. So whenever the message begins you fall
asleep. Sleep acts as the tranquilizer. It always happens
whenever something is about to touch you fall asleep.
This is the reason that whenever you are listening to a
master you fall asleep. Even those who suffer from
amnesia fall asleep. What really happens? This is the
game of the mind - a trick. Whenever you do not want
to listen that does not resonate with you sleep comes to
your rescue. Sleep then acts as your security armour. It
appears then as if you are listening.
It always happens you are alert and awake when you
are speaking. However you are never alert and awake
when you are listening. Constantly an internal dialogue
continues. And you remain unconscious.
One who is capable to break the continuity of this inner
dialogue can really listen. Only then a real listening - a
listening that is what Nanak means can really happen.
When inner dialogue discontinues a new sky, a new
horizon unfolds. All that was unknown up to now
becomes familiar.
This is the effort of all the masters: how to discontinue
this inner dialogue. This methodology you may call
meditation; inner silence; yoga; Satnam or anything
else it matters not. All efforts are to discontinue this
inner dialogue, and how to create an open space
within. Nanak says:
Nanak says it is through listening alone one becomes a
master. It is listening alone that makes one a ‘siddha’, a
sheikh, and even a god. Listening alone sustains both
heaven and earth. The entire existence, the earth, the
oceans, is all sustained by listening. Listening makes
one blissful. The moment this really happens all pain,
all agony, all anguish suddenly give place to bliss,
harmony, and benediction.
You may find this difficult to absorb. How this may
happen? Intellect cannot comprehend this. And there is
no exaggeration. This you have to understand. The
moment you grasp the art of listening, a change
happens. You get really acquainted with life. You feel
the pulse of existence. That very moment you
encounter the silence of your being. And this inner
silence is the cause of your existence. Then you realize
this inner silence pervading the entire cosmos. And
then everything appears to be dancing to the tune of
this serenity. This is infinite zero. It is in this state of
silence that a seed decomposes. Then sprouts into a
seedling! And the seedling grows into a tree. Out of
this cosmic silence evolves the first glimpse of the rays
of a nascent sun. Birds dance to the tune of this silence.
A new dawn is in the offing. The moon the stars come
into existence out of this cosmic silence as an echo.
Suddenly the aspirant reaches to a realm when creation
begins from one door and from another door the entire
creation enters into dissolution.
It happened once a Muslim seeker came to Nanak and
said, ‘I have heard you can turn me into ashes and the
very next moment you can recreate. This seems to be a
miracle difficult to comprehend.’ The person was really
honest and a real seeker. Nanak asked him to sit down
with eyes closed. Had he not been a real seeker he
would have been afraid. He had asked something
really dangerous.
It was morning. May be a morning just like this one!
Nanak was sitting near a well outside the village. Both
Bala and Mardana were also there. This surprised
everyone. Nanak never did anything like this before.
Everyone could not comprehend what will happen. All
present there suddenly became alert. Even the entire
surrounding became alert. Even the rocks suddenly
became alert. Nanak said the moment you attain to
inner silence I will allow the miracle to happen.
The person became silent within. He seemed to be a
person of great trust. Nanak put his hand over his head
and then created the OMKAR sound. The story says
that the person turned into ashes. Then again Nanak
created the same sound and the story says the person
came into existence once again.
This story indicates something sublime. If you go into
its surface meaning you will miss. However deep
within this happened. The moment he became silent
within he attainted to the art of listening. Inner
dialogue discontinued. Only the existential sound of
Omkar remained. The moment inner silence happens
and there is the echo of Omkar a state of dissolution
comes. All boundaries, all limitations, all that is
worldly turns into ashes! No attachment! No desire!
And no relationship remains! Again there was the echo
of Omkar the person regained consciousness. His eyes
opened full of gratitude. He bowed to Nanak and said
this he thought to be impossible. However this
happened.
Those who consider this merely a story will not be able
to grasp the essence. That person was capable to listen.
And when someone is ready to listen then you can
listen to the entire existence. Then a master is
irrelevant. Then even the presence of the master is
irrelevant. Then you can listen to the breeze rustling
through the tree leaves. You can listen to the roaring of
the ocean. Everywhere you will hear the echo of the
existential sound Omkar. In the water fall you will hear
this uncreated sound. Only then you will understand
that the entire existence is sustained by this infinite
zero. River flows in that. Ocean dissolves in that
silence. Your heart beat, pulse of the heart all echoes
that infinite silence. You will find you are no more a
sound, instead you are the witness. Then death cannot
touch you. One who has learned the art of listening
nothing else remains to be known.
Nanak says entire existence is created by this eternal
silence. This eternal silence is the unit of this existence.
Once you know this death is no more. Listening
renders one eternally blissful.
You came into existence silent. Word is the bridge in
the world. Though word you are connected to the
other. And silence connects you to your being. Because
of constant word you are incapable to connect to your
being. All the needs and desires in the world are
fulfilled through word. Silence is meaningless in the
world. To fulfill all your worldly needs your dialogue
begins and then continues. Slowly and slowly you
become accustomed to dialogue and then this dialogue
becomes automatic.
Then you do rehearsal to speak. Outwardly you go on
growing. But deep within you start moving away from
you. Inner connection starts disappearing. The more
versatile you become outwardly the more difficult will
be inner silence. One day dialogue becomes your habit
and it is very difficult to break the habit.
Try to understand why self talking is necessary. When
you want to walk you have to move feet. By sitting you
cannot move your feet and reach wherever you want to
go. And when you need not go anywhere then you can
sit down. You eat when you are hungry. When you are
not hungry then eating may create problem. So too you
sleep when you are sleepy. Any effort to sleep will be
futile when you are not sleepy. You use the equipment
it is necessary. This is not the case with speaking. You
never say that I will speak only when it is necessary.
It seems you have forgotten that the process of
speaking can be discontinued and then start back once
again. If this be not so then all religions and their
process is futile. This is the reason Nanak is giving so
much importance to the art of listening. If you really
understand, the glory of listening is in fact the glory of
silence. Both listening and silence are two sides of the
same coin. It is like a door sign on one side of which it
reads entry and the other side reads exit.
You have to practice to be silent. To be in the company
of the master implies; how to learn the art of listening
and become silent. You do not go to the master for a
dialogue. With constant effort and the commune of the
master you will not only attain to silence. You will even
be able to hear the footsteps of silence. That day you
will be able to listen indeed. That day you will not have
to go in search of the master. All around you will
envision the silence. Through silence you are now
connected to the existence. And will come to know
what a master is. The moment you learn the art of
listening the master surrounds you. Then in the cry of a
child! Roaring of the ocean! Thunder of the clouds!
Rustling of the breeze through tree leaves! Chirping of
the bird! Barking of the dog! Lightening in the sky!
Blossoming of the flower! All around you will envision
the Ultimate Guru.
Nanak says through listening an aspirant attains to
bliss. And all suffering, anguish, and pain will come to
an end. A witness is born in you. And this witness is
bliss. Listening happens; mind is no more. The
sequence of word comes to cessation. Past is no more.
This is transcendence. From that height you can only
hear the echo of bliss.
Nanak says listening leads to the end of sorrow and
sin. One who has listened, he has known the essence of
existence. Then sin is no more. Then there is
discontinuity with thought, thinking and the mind. Sin
is the outcome of connection with thought and
thinking.
A thought arises. A car suddenly stops. A thought to
own the car flashes in your mind. Now how you can
have this car remains the only thought. Whatever be
the way honesty or dishonesty matters not. The
thought of the car surrounds you. So too the thought
may arise about a woman. With this thought many
things may happen. Nanak says listening leads to the
end of all sorrow and sin. Then the state you are in is
Samadhi, or bliss. This is Anand. Nanak says: There is
yet another reason for repentance. When you are
reaching near meditation or meditation begins to
happen you will come in the middle. Two paths are
open then. You can move to preach or teach others.
Things have not yet settled in you and you have moved
on a dangerous path. Therefore until your master
instructs you to teach others never move on your own.
The games of ego are very subtle. You got a little. And
you start announcing as if you got in abundance. With
a single rain drop you start speaking of the ocean.
Slowly and slowly you will become just like a priest
who knows nothing! The flower has not yet blossomed
yet still he speaks of the flower. When you look into
their lives you will find there is no coordination
between their understandings and their lives.
Such is the state of the priest. He only rejoices words.
However there is no fragrance of a blossomed flower in
him. Therefore when you come in the middle leaving
the way of understanding you come to the realm of the
word. From the ‘word’ two paths are open. First is the
path of being a priest. A priest is the custodian of the
word. So too you got a slight glimpse. With this two
paths are in front of you. One is the path of the learned
one. This path implies that you are leaving the word
and all that is associated with it. And thus you are
entering the realm of silence. The other is the path of
the priest accordingly you move in the realm of the
word and you start preaching. Therefore until your
master instructs you for this never go on your own. It is
very difficult to attain to such an understanding. The
path of inwardness is very delicate. If you are not
careful you may deviate very easily.
Therefore never proceed unless your master instructs
so. Otherwise you will have to repent. It is like this you
are almost reaching to the shore and you have moved
away from the shore. Priest hood is the last attraction.
Nanak continues to say:
Nothing can be said about meditation. And one who
says anything has to repent definitely. There is nothing
to write. And there is no one to say anything about
meditation. As meditation deepens the doer begins to
disappear. Mind and doer are the two sides of the same
coin. Mind can say. Mind can write. Mind can speak.
Mind is capable of speaking. Mind can even say all that
it does not know. This may create illusion that you
know. And once this thought comes to you that you
know without knowing then you can never reach the
sore. You can wake someone who is asleep. But how
can you wake someone who pretending to be asleep.
You can wake the ignorant one. However you can do
nothing for the one who is pretending to be the
knower.
Nanak says when there is no paper, no writer, and no
writing instrument mind vanishes. The doer is no more
to say anything of meditation. One who meditates the
very name which is Niranjan, the uncreated, and most
auspicious really knows the very essence of it. One
who knows becomes dumb. He will be so fulfilled that
he cannot utter a single word. All you can do is either
laugh or cry. But there is no way to say anything. You
can sing. You can dance out of ecstasy.
This is the reason Nanak continued to sing all his life.
Whenever anyone asked him anything Nanak will ask
Bala and Mardana to start playing the instruments and
Nanak will sing. Nanak only sang. Japuji is the echo of
the songs that Nanak sang after his communion with
his beloved.
If you can really understand the words of the master
you will find poetry in his message. Even if he is sitting
you will find a dance movement. Always you will find
a dance and an aura of intoxication surrounding him.
This aura of intoxication will not put you to sleep.
Instead it will wake you from your deep slumber. This
is an intoxication that will take you in ‘Surati’ or
invocation of the heart center. And if you are ready to
flow with Him certainly you will journey on the final
voyage. Beyond this there is no movement.
The message of a master is more like a poet or a
musician. Whatever he has realized cannot be put in
words. Maybe the song may give the glimpse of this
experience. Remember one thing about Nanak that
whatever he has said is through songs and the
existential sound. Whatever he said is through this
existential sound ‘Omkar’. The real thing is this
existential sound. The moment you can feel and hear
this sound echoing within you transformation has
happened. Nanak wants this sound to echo within
these words are simply an alibi. And once echo of
‘Omkar’ can be heard within then this process of
thought will disappear. And you will reach to another
level of the word. If you are not holding the shore and
are ready to flow then even the last thing can happen.
This last happening is meditation or ‘Manan’.
The experience is so vast that you cannot put in words.
It is like the sweets of the dumb that knows the taste
but cannot put in words. And one who has known the
taste can never forget till eternity. The taste is so vast
that you will drown in this vastness. Like a drop you
will dissolve in the vastness.
Through manan or meditation Surati or awareness or
constant remembrance happens and it invokes the
infinite within the finite. And as you enter into
dialogue you lose your awareness. And ninety percent
of life’s trouble happens because of your speaking.
Therefore the moment you attain to silent your inner
disturbance disappears.
 TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS
SOME ONE ASKED:
Dear Taoshobuddha,
I read your homepage, and I am interested in the holy
path given there.
I would be very happy to receive some information about
this path.
1. How is this tradition linked to Brij Mohan Lal? Is
Devendra Nath your father and Brij Mohan Lal your
grandfather?
2. Who is the living Guru in this Sufi tradition?
3. Is your teaching the same as the Sufi teaching or is it
different from the tradition of Brij Mohan Lal and
Ramchandra (Lalaji)?
4. What is the most important aspect if one what to
know God?
5. What are the requirements to follow the path?
6. What should I do to start to follow this Path?
7. Is there a need of any initiation into the path or any
other necessity before starting?
With kindest regards and love,
Lars Jensen, Sweden
TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS
BELOVED LARS JENSEN,
A MASTER, OR SHEIKH, OR BUDDHA DOES NOT REALLY
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS INSTEAD HE RESPONDS THE
QUESTIONING MIND. BECAUSE ONLY WHEN THE
QUESTIONING MIND ATTAINS TO SILENCE INWARD
JOURNEY GETS IMPETUS! IN RESPONDING TO YOUR
QUESTION A MASTER ALWAYS RESPONDS TO THE
QUESTIONING MIND AND EVEN THE UNASKED
QUESTION. THE RESPONSE OF A MASTER IS A DEVISE
FOR TRANSFORMATION. I WILL TAKE THE QUESTION
ONE BY ONE. THE RESPONSE MAY BE LONGER AS NONE
OF THESE QUESTIONS CAN BE ANSWERED AS WE DO IN
OUR WORLDLY MATTERS.
QUESTION 1: How is this tradition linked to Brij
Mohan Lal? Is Devendra Nath your father and Brij
Mohan Lal your grandfather?
TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS:
NAQSHBANDI SUFI BRIJ MOHAN LAL IS MY MOTHER’S
FATHER. AND SUFI DEVENDRA NATH IS MY MOTHER’S
BROTHER.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRADITION AND
THE PATH OR TARIQAT AS SUFI CALL. EACH PATH OR
TARIQAT IS ALIVE. IT IS THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF
WHICH THE SHEIKH OR SUFI IS THE CENTER. AND THE
TARIQAT IS THE RADIUS. TRADITION ON THE OTHER
HAND IS DEAD. WHEN A MASTER IS NO MORE THE
PRIESTLY COMMUNITY CREATES A TRADITION
AROUND THE MASTER. ISLAM, HINDUISM,
CHRISTIANITY ETC ARE TRADITIONS. THESE ARE LIKE
ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. NO FRAGRANCE, NO BEAUTY
AND NO ALIVENESS. WHEN JESUS IS NO MORE THE
PRIEST CREATES AN ORGANIZATION AROUND JESUS.
THIS IS TRADITION.
THE PATH OF SUFI BRIJ MOHAN LAL OR MY PATH DOES
NOT BELONG TO ANY PARTICULAR PERSON. IT IS A
DEVISE, A TECHNIQUE, AND A TARIQAT FOR
TRANSFORMATION. IT MAY LOOK DIFFERENT
OUTWARDLY BECAUSE WITH EACH MASTER THE AURA,
THE PEOPLE AND TIMES DIFFER. ONE THING THAT
NEVER CHANGES IS ‘ENERGY FIELD’ OR ‘TAWAJJOH’ OR
FRAGRANCE. IT IS SO BECAUSE EACH MASTER IS THE
EMBODIMENT OF TRUTH – WITHOUT ANY COLOR, HUE,
NAME, FORM ETC. TRUTH IS SUBLIME. TRUTH IS
SOLITARY JUST AS THE INNER QUALITY OF WATER OR
AIR NEVER CHANGES INSPITE OF PEOPLE CALLING IT
BY DIFFERENT NAMES SO THE INNER STATE OF
AWARENESS OF TWO MASTERS NEVER CHANGE.
SAINTS FOLLOW THE SAINTLY PATH. ONE CAN CALL
THIS A TRADITION. BUT IT IS ERONEOUS.
THE PEOPLE SUFI BRIJ MOHAN LAL WORKED ARE
DIFFERENT IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING THAN THOSE I
AMK DEALING. I HAVE TO USE ENGLISH AS THE
LANGUAGE. THE EXAMPLES ETC TOO DIFFER. THE
PEOPLE WHO COME TO ME ARE FROM DIFFERENT
TRADITIONS – CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM, HINDUISM, ZEN
ETC. AND ALSO EACH INDIVIDUAL IS UNIQUE. A
MASTER CREATES THE PATH OR TARIQAT FOR EACH
PERSON DIFFERENTLY. MY RESPONSES TO DIFFERENT
PERSON DIFFER DEPENDING ON THEIR UPBRINGING,
UNDERSTANDING AND THE PLANE OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
A MASTER KNOWS THIS INTUITIVELY EVEN IF THE
PERSON IS NOT AVAILABLE PHYSICALLY. YOUR MAIL
HAS REVEALED EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU JUST AS AN X-
RAY REVEALS ALL THAT REMAINS INVISIBLE TO
HUMAN EYE.
QUESTION 2: Who is the living Guru in this Sufi tradition?
TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS:
GURU OR SHEIKH IS NOT A PERSON. IT IS THE STATE OF
AWARENESS, INNER BLOSSOMING AND INNER
ONENESS WITH THAT WHICH IS. THE MOMENT
FLOWER BLOSOMS BEES, NOT THE DOGS, GATHER
AROUND IT. IT IS LIKE A LIT CANDLE. THE MOMENT A
CANLE IS LIT MOTHS GATHER AROUND. WHAT IS
IMPORATNT IS REALLY INNER FLOWERING OR
LIGHTING OF THE CANDLE. THE MOMENT THE FLOWER
IS BLOSSOMED OR CANDLE IS LIT ITS BEAUTY,
FRAGRANE, AND LIGHT CANNOT REMAIN CONFINED. IT
SPREADS LIKE AN AURA OF FRESH BREEZE.
AROUND THE MASTER OR THE GARDEN OF THE
MASTER MANY FLOWERS BLOOM. HOWEVER THE
GOLDEN CHAIN REMAINS WITH ONE AND THE OTHERS
WORK AS PART OF THE MAIN STREAM. UNTIL MAY
2008 SUFI ONKAR NATH THE ELDER BROTHER OR THE
ELDER SON OF BRIJ MOHAN LAL REMAIND AT THE END
OF THE GOLDEN CHAIN OF NAQSHBANDI PATH.
HOWEVER THE TURMOIL THAT ALWAYS HAPPENS
BECAUSE OF THE VESTED INTEREST THIS IS STILL
UNDECIDED AFTER SUFI ONKAR NATH LEFT THE
PHYSICAL BODY IN 2008. AS FAR AS MY
UNDERSTANDING AND INTUITION REVEALS IT WILL
REST WITH MY YOUNGER COUSIN THE ELDEST SON OF
SUFI ONKAR NATH – PRABHAT MOHAN. THIS DOES NOT
DETER ANYONE ELSE LIKE SUFI DEVENDRA NATH OR
TAOSHOBUDDHA FROM THE WORK. THE ONLY THING
THAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE MANIFESTATION OF
TRUTH. ONCE TRUTH MANIFESTS OR THE FRAGRANCE
OF THE FLOWER FILLS THE BREEZE NO ONE CAN STOP
SUCH A PERSON! THIS IS THE WAY OF MASTERS.
QUESTION 3: Is your teaching the same as the Sufi
teaching or is it different from the tradition of Brij
Mohan Lal and Ramchandra (Lalaji)?
TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS:
ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IS NOT INTELLECTUAL OR
MENTAL ONE. HUMAN MIND OR INTELELCT CANNOT
UNDERSTAND THIS. FOR THIS ONE HAS TO GO BEYOND
MIND AND ITS DUALITIES. BRIJ MOHAN LAL AND
RAMCHANDRA (LALAJI) ARE NOT SEPARATE.
OUTWARDLY THEY MAY APPEAR DIFFERENT BUT NOT
INWARDLY.
THIS YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHEN THERE IS INNER
HARMONY AND ONENESS. LET THERE BE SINCERITY.
CERTAINLY ONE DAY THE ANSWER TO THIS WILL
EVEOLVE OUT OF YOUR BEING. THIS IS MY CERTITUDE.
QUESTION 4: What is the most important aspect if one
what to know God?
TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS:
THE ONLY THING THAT IS NEEDED IS GRACE FROM
ABOVE AND ONE POINTED ASPIRATION ON YOUR PART.
THESE TWO ARE NOT SEPARATE INSTEAD ARE TWO
SIDES OF THE SAME COIN.
QUESTION 5: What are the requirements to follow the
path?
TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS: YOUR SINCERITY AND
THE ASSOCIATION OF TRUTH OR THE ONE WHO IS ONE
WITH TRUTH OR THE EMBODIMENT OF TRUTH.
QUESTION 6: What should I do to start to follow this
Path?
TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS:
EXACTLY THE SAME THING THAT YOU DID NOW AFTER
QUITE A LOT OF DELIBERATION AND PURSUATION ON
YOUR OWN PART! AND IF YOU FEEL WITHIN A
SYNCRONICITY, HARMONY, AND JOY OVERFLOWING
THEN CONTINUE TO FOLLOW.
QUESTION 7: Is there a need of any initiation into the
path or any other necessity before starting?
TAOSHOBUDDHA RESPONDS:
THE MOMENT ONE COMES IN THE COMMUNE OR THE
ENERGY FIELD OF THE MASTER THE PROCESS OF
TRANSFORMATION BEGINS. YOU MAY CALL THIS FIRST
INITIATION. DEPENDING ON YOUR INNER
DEVELOPMENT IT IS THE MASTER WHO WILL DECIDE
FOR INITIATION IF THAT BE NECESSARY.
ALSO THOSE WHO ARE ON THE BORDERLINE THEIR
JOURNEY IS NOT IMPEDED BY ANY REASON.
DROP ALL QUESTIONS. LEAVE THE REALM OF THE
MIND AND FLOW WITH THE HEART. YOU ARE ON THE
PATH.
YOU CAN LOG ON TO THE FOLLOWING SIGHTS FOR
VEDIO, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS.
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CONTAINS VEDIOS OF VARIOUS PATHS. LISTEN
TO CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY PART 1 AND 2;
KHAMOSHI PART 1 AND 2; EK LAMHA PART 1
AND 2. AND ANY OTHER VEDIO THAT APPEALS
YOU
2. TOTAL BHAKTI. COM TAG TAOSHOBUDDHA FOR
SCORES OF VEDIOS
3. SCRIBD.COM FOR PERVIEWS OF SCORES OF
WRITINGS ON VARIOUS PATHS. THESE CAN BE
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‘TRINIDAD – WEST INDIES’ MY TIME ZONE IS
‘EASTERN TIME ZONE’
ONLY THIS MUCH FOR NOW!
LOVE, TAOSHOBUDDHA
Taoshobuddha
Beloved Taoshobuddha,
Thanks for your kind mail!
Behind your words I could felt the truth and the
fragrance of Spirituality.
Maulana Rumi says: "When the rose has faded and the
garden is withered, the song of the nightingale is no
longer to be heard."
So the nightingale and the hungry soul are looking for
that garden where the fragrance of Spirituality is to be
felt. Without that fragrance all is dry and empty.
My only wish is to be coloured in the colour of Spirituality
at the level of soul.
Thanks for your kindness and guidance.
Love,
Lars Jensen
 mIra
MIRA – The Embodiment of Love
‘Mira is a devotee of the highest order. Because of Mira Bhakti is anointed. Among the saints of India, she
is absolutely unparalleled. Standing firm like the Gaurishankar of LOVE in Mira Love and Bhakti attained
its pinnacle or a confluence. She composed many, many bhajans, which are prayerful songs to God. Each
song Mira wrote expressed her inspiration, aspiration and self-giving devotion for her eternal beloved.’

mIra p&em ka %tu<g izor hE. mIra tae AnNt p&em ka man sraevr hE. AaAae Aaj mE< tuMhe p&em ke %s gaErIz<kr ya

@esa khae %s mansraevr me< le cle.

MIRA IS THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN PEAK OR THE GAURISHANKAR OF LOVE. OR YOU CAN SAY MIRA IS THE
MANSAROVAR (THE CELESTIAL LAKE FLOWING IN HEAVENS) OF LOVE. LET ME TAKE YOU ON THIS JOURNEY
THAT BEGINS FROM HEART. IT WILL CERTAINLY CREATE AN AURA OF BLISS, AND SERENITY.
 LIFE AND BIRTH
Introduction
Mira is regarded as an incarnation of LALITA (the chief
milk maid of Krishna). This was confirmed by Mira herself.
She says I was Lalita – a milkmaid at the time of Krishna
and I danced with Him. This is more than enough. If Mira
says so I need no other proof. However priests do not
accept this.
Mira was contemporary to TulsiDas, Ravidas and many
others. Her advent happened during the time of Moughal
Emperor Akbar. Mira is the manifestation of the feminine
energy of Kabir. And out of the male energy of Kabir
evolved Nanak and the entire Sikh religion! The message
of Nanak ‘Ek Omkar Satnam’ evolved out of the
Enlightenment of Nanak and flourished as Sikh Religion.
However this did not happen with Mira. Mira remained
solitary manifestation of that energy. Yet still many were
influenced by her compositions and devotions. Mira path
remained confined through the songs and her
compositions. It could not evolve as the way for inner
transformation. Both Mira and Nanak remain two wings of
Kabir and the Bhakti movement.
Birth and life
Mira was born in 1499 A.D. in the village Kurkhi, near
Merta, a small state in Marwar, Rajasthan. She was the
daughter of Ratan Singh Ranthor and the grand-daughter
of Dudaji of Merta. The Ranthor clan worshipped
Bhagavan Shri Chaturbujanath as their deity. This is none
other than Lord 'Narayana' with four arms. Their clan was
initiated into the Nimbaraka tradition of Shri Radha
Krishna - Sarveshwar ji of Salemabad (Rajasthan). The
Nimbharaka tradition believes in the Dvaita-Advaita way
of worship to Vishnu. It accepts both duality and non -
duality of the Absolute Divinity simultaneously. The being
and becoming are to be interwoven through Bhakti and
Gyana. Thus Ranthores are said to be Vaishnavites,
belonging to the ‘Saguna’ form or realizing the Lord with
attributes and forms, along with the Shakti, in the form of
Radha. In this religious atmosphere Mira was born and
brought up.
Therefore Ranthores of Merta were great devotees of
Vishnu. As a result Mira was brought up amidst Vaishnava
influence. The word Vaishnava comes from Vishnu – the
Hindu God of preservation – one of the Hindu Trinity.
Thus her life was moulded along the path of devotion
towards Lord Krishna. She learnt to worship Krishna as
GIRDHAR GOPAL from her childhood.
Mira took Girdhar Gopal, the idol of Krishna, placed in the
palace very sincerely and started paying her respects to
the idol. Since then Giridhar Gopal became the focal point
of her adoration with the mental attitude to seek Him, in
that idol. This is known as Shabda-Shakti - the power of
the Word, as described in the Shakti tradition and the
Upanishads. Shabda or word is Brahman or ‘akshar
brahma’. The Word is absolute Reality, the primal
manifestation. It is revered as Para-Shakti in the Agamas.
Hinduism believes in the reincarnation. Krishna is said to
be the 'Shodasha Kala Avatara' - the Lord with sixteen
digits - the sacred number in the Shakti tradition. Radha is
said to be the sixteen syllabled Mother - Creature. Krishna
and Radha are complementary to each other to fulfil the
Divine design of mutual understanding and trust. They
took the Avatara to play the role of Divine transcendence.
According to Sri Aurobindo an Avatara lives the normal
life, but his BEING is always conscious of applying the
Divine nature in life. He shows the way, as how to make
the life’s journey from ‘one dawn to a still higher one’. It is
a way to teach to the humanity how to reach the destiny.
Verily, this is spiritual Enlightment for which Mira aspired
from her early childhood. And finally attained to
enlightenment!
What does Giridhar Gopal mean?
Giri in Sanskrit means a hillock and Dhar means, he who
holds it. The rule of Sanskrit grammar under
Samasa/compound known as the Samasat pada suggests
the meaning as he who holds the hillock is the Giridhara.
So Giridhara is an epithet of Krishna.
Lord Krishna took the mount Govardhan on the little
finger of his hand, purely to save the cow and cowherds
from the heavy rains during month of Shravana
(July/August). During his early childhood, Krishna saved
them from the Indra’s curse - the god of rains and thunder.
Was this a miracle, or a divine intervention, is a mystery
for the devotees. But the scriptures say Krishna was a Yogi
par-excellence, and as the Avatara of the later part of the
Dwapar Yuga, he showed the right path to the humanity,
making the people free from the superstitions of the time.
One of the names of Krishna is Gopala. Gopala is the
Cowherd, as the Yadavas are said to belong to the cowherd
clan. Krishna was born of this clan from the wedlock of
Vasudeva and Devaki in the prison, because his maternal
uncle Kamsa was told by the foretellers that he was
destined to be killed by the eighth child of his sister
Devaki. So the couple was put in prison, with the motive to
kill the eighth child at the very moment, the baby would be
born.
The Bhagvat Purana says: Krishna was born on the 8th
lunar date of the Bhadrapada month at the appearance of
the moon time during mid-night at the concluding years of
the Dvapara Yuga - third aeon in the prison cell of
Mathura. The moment Krishna was born, all the prison
doors got opened, and the prison officials hypnotically fell
into sleep, during heavy rains. Vasudeva took Krishna just
new born baby on his head in a Shurpa or ‘winnowing
basket’ and handed over to his trusted friend Nanda Gopa
- the chieftain of the cowherds. Thus the Krishna became a
Gopala. A cowherd from a prince and the Saviour of
Dharma was recognised as the saviour and he Lord. This
was the spiritual criterion for Mira to understand the
beauty and destiny of Avatara or incarnation, which she
expresses in her songs known as Bhajans. Bhajans are the
songs sung by devotees. These songs are always seeking
for the divine grace.
EARLY LIFE
There have been fives events that changed the course of
her life. First when she was only four-five years of age, she
manifested religious tendencies. Once there was a
marriage procession in front of her home. She saw the
elegantly dressed bridegroom. Mira, who was only a child
then, seeing the bridegroom asked her mother innocently,
‘Mother, who is my bridegroom?’ Mira’s mother smiled,
and half in jest and half in earnest, pointed towards the
image of Krishna and responded, ‘Mira, Krishna—this
beautiful image—is your bridegroom.’ For the mother it
may be a gesture of escapism to quieten the
inquisitiveness of the child. However this was not so for
Mira? She took these words to her bosom.
From that tender age Mira began to love the idol of
Krishna dearly. She spent much of her time in bathing and
dressing the image. She worshipped the image. She slept
with the image. She danced about the image in ecstasy.
She sang beautiful songs in front of the image. She used to
talk to the idol as if it was alive.
One day while Mira was still lost in the company of her
Krishna a saintly person came to the palace. At the evening
prayer time he pulled out a small statue of Krishna and
began his prayer. The introspective and inquisitive Mira
watched all this. Seeing the sculpture of Krishna Mira was
reminded of something. Everything flashed like ‘déjà Vu’.
Mira got bemused seeing the sculpture of Krishna. Like a
flash the moments spent in the company of Krishna
appeared before her. Mira insisted on getting that
sculpture. The saint also loved that as it was dear to him.
So he refused to separate from the sculpture. Mira started
crying. She insisted on getting that very sculpture. She
abandoned food.
Now when the saint reached the other village night has
already fallen so he went to sleep. All of a sudden in the
middle of the night a bemused saint woke up with a vision.
He saw Krishna instructing him to the return the sculpture
to Mira. It was in fact Mira’s possession with him up to
now. This sculpture actually belongs to Mira. Now is the
time to return to her.
In the middle of the night he ran to reach Mira. He woke
up everyone. Mira was still awake as if waiting for her
Krishna. On reaching the saint handed over that sculpture
to Mira. And vowed to Mira out of reverence! He said
nothing like this ever happened in his years of devotion to
Krishna what he vision tonight. It was he who predicted
the sainthood of Mira for the first time. Overjoyed her life
underwent transformation with this event.
Mira loved her father Rattan Singh Ranthore but he died
leaving her to the care of her grandfather Dudaji. Thus one
after the other all those Mira loved dies leaving her alone.
These events left an indelible impression on her mind.
Mira and marriage
Mira grew in age. She was married to Bhojraj the eldest
son of Rana Sanga of Chittore and the prince heir to the
throne of Chittore (Rajasthan) in 1516 A.D. Though she
was very devoted to her husband, yet she was always
attuned to Krishna. Her singing of the Bhajans, came out
not from intellect, but from the inner recesses of her heart.
She would dance, playing Iktara - the one stringed musical
guitar, in praise of Lord Krishna.
This was not appreciated by her in-laws. How the princess
- the future queen of Chittore could be a dancing girl in the
sanctum sanctorum of Chittore palace? Thus she was put
to trouble, torture and humiliation. Bhoj had not much
objections to this. But he could not put all this to an end.
Somehow in some corner he did not like this himself.
However he did not live long. After his death it was
decided that Mira be married to Bhoj’s younger brother
Rana. Thus Mira was married to Rana and with this began
a new journey of worldly afflictions and inner ecstasy.
Thus Mira was married to Rana Kumbha of Chitore, the
younger brother of Bhoj in Mewar. Mira was a very dutiful
wife. She obeyed her husband’s commands implicitly.
After her household duties were over, she would go to the
temple of Krishna, worship, sing and dance there. The
little image would get up, embrace Mira, play on the flute
and talk to her. Rana’s mother and other ladies of the
house did not like the ways of Mira. They all were normal
worldly involved is ritualistic way of outwardness. They
were all annoyed with her. Mira’s mother-in-law forced
her to worship Durga and admonished her often. But Mira
stood adamant. She said, ‘I have already given up my life to
my beloved Krishna’.
Mira’s sister-in-law Udabai conspired to defame the
innocent Mira. She informed Rana Kumbha that Mira was
in secret love with others, that she with her own eyes had
witnessed Mira in the temple with her lovers, and that she
would show him the persons if he would accompany her
one night. She further added that Mira, by her conduct,
had brought a great disrepute to the Ranas of Chittore.
This enraged Rana. He straightaway ran with sword in
hand towards the place of Mira. Fortunately, Mira was not
in her room. A kind relative of the Rana checked him
saying, ‘Look here Rana! Do not be in haste. Else you will
repent later on. Consider well. Enquire into the matter
very carefully. Find out the truth. Mira is a great
devotional being. What you have heard now may be a wild
rumour only. Out of sheer jealousy some ladies might have
concocted a story against Mira to ruin her. Be cool now’.
Rana agreed to the wise counsel of this relative. The
Rana’s sister took him to the temple at dead of night. Rana
broke open the door, rushed inside and found Mira alone
in her ecstatic mood talking to the idol. The Rana said to
Mira, ‘Mira, with whom are you talking now? Show me this
lover of yours’. Mira replied, ‘There sits the Nanichora who
has stolen my heart’. She fainted. She was put in
turbulence and her life was made miserable by her 'Devar'
the younger brother of her husband.
Mira and Ravidas
It is said that her spiritual Guru was Ravidas Ji. It was he,
who initiated her in the Girdhar Gopala Mantra - the
sacred syllable of the Vaishnava tradition. What does this
reflect? The Divine name can be uttered by any person. It
is nectrine, and can be taken by the devotee at any time.
Vaishnavi Shakti is for sustenance, for maintenance and
for the coherence of thought, word and deed. And thus
bring inner harmony between thought, word and actions.
Shri Vaishnava Mantra is for the realization of both Radha
and Krishna in the Baalya Avastha or the child hood state.
She ignored the caste system and worked for the
liberation of woman from the traditional Purdha or veil
system that prevailed among the Rajasthani women then.
Through her god intoxicated deeds, she believed that all
are equal in the eyes of God.
Being put to great humiliation and suffering, by her
princely clan, she left for Vrindaban - the play field of
Krishna and his Shakti in the manifestation of Radha in
their childhood and pre - adolescence age.
She was poisoned, but with least effect on her body. A
cobra was put in the Charnamritam pot and was hit at her.
'Charnamrit' pot is a utensil of the gold/silver/copper in
which the sacred Ganges/Ganga water is distributed with
Paatri/special spoon three times on the right hand palm of
the devotee, by the Pandit - the family male priest, after
the ritualistic worship of Shalagram - the circular emblem
of Vishnu is over. Thus, she grew stronger in the spiritual
ecstasy, day by day.
There was a rumour that Mira was mixing very freely with
Sadhus. She, no doubt, had great regard for Sadhus and
mixed freely with them. Mira never cared a bit for the
meaningless scandals. She stood unruffled.
Mira was persecuted in various ways by the Rana and his
relatives. She got the same treatment which Prahlad got
from his father Hiranyakasipu. Hari protected Prahlad.
Here, Krishna always stood by the side of Mira. Once the
Rana sent a cobra in a basket to Mira with the message
that it contained a garland of flowers. Mira took her bath
and sat for worship. After finishing her meditation, she
opened the basket and found inside a lovely idol of
Krishna and a garland of flowers. Another time Rana sent
her a cup of poison with the message that it was nectar.
Mira offered it to Krishna and drank it as His Prasad. It
was real nectar to her. Then Rana sent a bed of nails for
Mira to sleep on. Mira finished her worship and slept on
the bed of nails. Lo! The bed of nails was transformed into
a bed of roses.
The Bhagavata Purana says: ‘God does not descend alone,
but with His Shakti also’. Radha is the incarnation of
Lakshmi as the consort of Vishnu in His eighth incarnation,
with a flute in His hand. Finally, Mira got immersed in the
spiritual ecstasy, worshipped and adored Lord Krishna
alone.
For Mira, Girdhara Gopala became a Mantra of Divine
Love. All her thought process was a single pointed
devotion to Krishna. All the time, she would be absorbed
in treating Him as a child. She danced in singing the glory
of Krishna. She sang the inner experience of ‘Vatsalya
Bhaava’ or motherly love in the lovely tunes , as if the
Lord has manifested for her amusement. She would sing:
Mine is Girdhara Gopala, none else.
He who wears the peacock crown is Mira's Lord;
Father, mother, brother or kin,
none is mine but You,
I have flung the pride of my family:
What care I for any one!
Living in the company of saints,
I bade good-bye to the world and its opinions, and afflictions
too
I tore aside my veil of many hues
and bedecked myself with coarse thread;
Pearl and coral of many hue,
I cast aside to weave the garland of wild flowers.
With my tears as water,
I nourished the creeper of love;
Now that the creeper has spread,
the fruit shall be bliss itself.
The milk-churn I twirled with deep emotion,
MIRA AND TULSIDAS
Mira and Tulsidas, were quite independent of each other.
However both revived devotion in their times. Tulsidas
did so with the Ramayana and his devotion to Rama,
Krishna and Siva. Mira became famous in her own lifetime
as the mad princess who danced for her consort Krishna,
everywhere. Her family pleaded with her not to take to the
path of pilgrimage, urging her to turn back. The world of
princess, fort, family, obligation, riches, and fame held
nothing for her. It was emptiness. No-one understood her
single pointedness with Krishna, her devotion. She could
not return to live among those who did not see Shyam
everywhere. It was a path of thorns, as any path with one
pointed discipline is:
When Mira was thus tortured by her husband and the
relatives, she sent a letter to Tulsidas a contemporary and
asked the advice of the saint. She wrote thus: ‘All my
relatives trouble me, because I move amongst Sadhus. I
cannot carry on my devotional practices in the house. I
have made Giridhar Gopal my friend from my very
childhood. I am strongly attached to Him. I cannot break
that attachment now’.
Tulsidas sent a reply: ‘Abandon those who do not worship
Rama and Sita as if they are your enemies, even though they
are your dearest relatives. Prahlad abandoned his father.
Vibhishana left his brother Ravana. Bharata deserted his
mother. Bali forsook even his Guru. Gopis, the milkmaids of
Braja, disowned their husbands in order to attain the
Krishna. Their lives were all the happier for having done so.
The opinion of holy saints is that the relation with God and
love of God alone is true and eternal; all other relationships
are unreal and temporary.’
Once Akbar and his musician Tansen came in disguise to
Chittore to hear Mira’s devotional and inspiring songs.
Both entered the temple and listened to Mira’s soul-
stirring songs to their heart’s content. Akbar was really
moved. Before he departed, he touched the holy feet of
And butter I gleaned: let him who would, have the leavings.
I was born for devotion’s sake,
but the sight of the world made my heart captive.
Mira is Thy maid, O Lord Giradhara;
save me now .
Mira is said to have created the Raga Govinda. Mira stands
for unconditional love for Giridhar Gopal. Mira Bhajans
take the listener to the state of pure Krishna
Consciousness, where they create the feeling of emotions,
to have the glimpse of the Lord.
Mira and placed a necklace of emeralds in front of the idol
as a present. Somehow the news reached the her husband
that Akbar had entered the temple in disguise, touched the
feet of Mira and even presented her a necklace. He became
furious and told Mira, ‘Drown yourself in the river and
never show your face to the world in future. You have
brought great disgrace on my family’.
Mira obeyed the words of her husband. She proceeded to
the river to drown herself. Chanting singing and dancing
her way to the river the only words that echoed were
‘Govind, Giridhari, Gopal’. As she raised her feet from the
ground to drown her in the river a hand from behind
grasped her. She turned behind and saw her beloved
Krishna. She fainted. After a few minutes as she regained
consciousness she opened her eyes to find an ever smiling
Krishna who spoke to her solemnly: ‘Mira, your life with
this mortal husband is over now. You are absolutely free.
Be cheerful. You are mine. Proceed to the bowers of Braja
and Vrindavan. Seek Me there. Be quick’. Saying this
Krishna disappeared.
Mira obeyed the divine call immediately. She walked
barefoot on the hot sandy beds of Rajasthan.
Mira seeks that which cannot be found on the level of the
senses. Birth after birth after birth, Mira is sick by
separation from Shyam, the Beloved Dark One. Tired of
the world and the karma of birth, Surrender is all that is
left. Overstepping all propriety, she would descend from
the Sisodiya palace, into town, where she would consort
with sadhus and low caste bhaktas in local temples. Her
in-laws were enraged. She was suspected of consorting
with spies. There were three attempts to kill her. A much
younger male relative, Vikramajita, is described as having
locked her into a room, but when that failed to bring Mira
to her senses, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to poison her.
It has been suggested that her relatives expected her to
commit sati, or self-immolation, after the death of her
husband. In one of her poems Mira wrote, ‘sati na hosyan
girdhar gansyan mhara man moho ghananami’, ‘I will not
commit sati. I will sing the songs of Girdhar Krishna.’
Many narratives agree that at this vital juncture Mira was
left vulnerable to the hostility of her conservative male
relatives, and that this hostility increased as Mira became
visibly detached from the affairs of the world and her
obligations to her in-laws. She quickly departed from
Sisodiya terrritories, took to the road on foot, and fled
excessive pride and wealth that shackled her, the
calculating in-laws, the mediocre religion and the
subservient widow's role imposed on her.
She crisscrossed north western India repeatedly, treading
the roadways of Rajasthan and Gujarat, pursuing their
elusive Krishna through the forests and villages he was
rumoured to frequent.
On her way, she was received by many ladies, children and
devotees with great hospitality. She reached Vrindavan.
There on the banks of the blue river she found out her
Flute-bearer – her solace. She went about Vrindavan
begging for her food and worshipped in the Govinda
Mandir which has since become famous and is now a place
of pilgrimage. Her devotees of Chittore came to Vrindavan
to see Mira. It is said BhojRaj also visited to Mira in the
disguise of a mendicant, revealed himself to repent for his
previous wrongs and cruel deeds and requested to return.
Mira at once prostrated before her husband and decided
to return.
Jiva Gosain was the head of the Vaishnavites in Brindavan.
He was the head priest. Mira wanted to have Darshan of
Jiva Gosain. However he declined to see her saying that he
would not allow any woman in his presence.
One morning Mira decided to visit the temple, meet Jiva
Gosain and give him the message. As Mira reached the
temple entrance like a wind she came and in a flash she
was infront of the priest Jiva Gosain. Seeing Mira the arti
slipped from the hands of bemused Jiva. Addressing Mira
Jiva said, ‘Did’nt you know that woman is not allowed in
this temple.’ At this Mira is reported to have said,
‘Brindavan is the place of Krishna. He is the only man and
the rest are all Gopis. Giridhar Gopal is the only Purusha.
Today only I have come to know that there is another
Purusha besides Krishna in Brindavan’. Hearing this arti
slipped from his hands and Jiva prostrated to an ecstatic
Mira. Jiva Gosain was put to shame. He thought that Mira
was a great devotional lady. He at once went to see Mira
and paid her due respects.
Mira’s fame spread far and wide. So many princesses and
queens have come and gone. So many Ranis, Kumaris and
Maharanis have appeared on the stage of this world and
vanished. How is it that the queen of Chittore alone is still
remembered? Is this on account of her beauty? Is this on
account of her poetic skill? No. It is on account of her
renunciation, one-pointed devotion to Krishna and God-
realization. She came face to face with Krishna. She
conversed with Krishna. She ate with Krishna—her
Beloved. She drank the Krishna-prema-rasa. She has sung
from the core of her heart. The music of her soul, the
music of her Beloved, her unique spiritual experiences
flow through the songs of Mira. All her songs are in a new
raga that overflowed from the inner being of Mira is RAGA
GOVINDA. And she has sung songs of surrender and Prem.
In Mira the word ‘Omnipresence’ became alive. Scriptural
injunction ‘Isa vasya Midam Sarvam...’ became alive for
Mira. Mira had the beautiful cosmic vision. She saw
Krishna in the tree, in the stone, in the creeper, in the
flower, in the bird, in all beings and in everything. As long
as there is the name of Krishna, there will be the name of
Mira also. Mira and Krishna are synonymous.
It is extremely difficult to find any parallel to Mira—a
saint, a philosopher, a poet or a sage. She was a versatile
genius and a magnanimous soul. Her life has a singular
charm, with extraordinary beauty and marvel. She was a
princess, but she abandoned the pleasures, luxuries and
kingly splendour. Instead she chose a life of poverty,
austerity, Tyaga or sacrifice and Vairagya or renunciation.
Though she was a delicate young lady, she entered the
perilous journey on the spiritual path amidst various
difficulties. She underwent various ordeals with
undaunted courage and intrepidity. She stood firm in her
resolve.
Mira’s songs infuse faith, courage, devotion and love of
God in the minds of the listeners. They inspire the
aspirants to take to the path of devotion and they in them
a marvellous thrill and a melting of the heart.
Mira’s earthly life was full of troubles and difficulties. She
was persecuted tormented and yet she kept up an
undaunted spirit and equanimity through her devotion
and the grace of Krishna. Though she was a princess, she
begged alms and lived sometimes on water alone. She led
a life of perfect renunciation and self-surrender.
Mira had Raganuga or Ragatmika Bhakti. She never cared
for public criticism and the injunctions of the
Scriptures. She danced in the streets. Followed no
rituals! She had spontaneous love for Krishna
overflowing from eternity deep within her. She did not
practise Sadhana-bhakti. From her very childhood she
poured forth her love on Krishna. Krishna to her was
like a husband, father, mother, friend, relative and
Guru- everything! Krishna was her Prananath – the
beloved. Mira had finished the preliminary modes of
worship in her previous birth.
Mira had fearless nature. Mira was person of simple
habits, pleasant disposition, amiable deportment, graceful
behaviour and elegant demeanour. She immersed herself
in the love of Giridhar Gopal. The name of Giridhar Gopal
was always on her lips. Even in her dreams, she lived and
had her being in Krishna.
In her divine intoxication, Mira danced in public places
irrespective of any sex-idea. Words fail to explain her
exalted state. She was floating in the ocean of Prem as
placenta. She had no consciousness of her body and
surroundings. Mira’s devotion, her inner Premamaya
(embodied love) state of Maha-bhava none can measure.
Mira wafted the fragrance of devotion far and wide. Those
who came in contact with her were affected by her strong
overflow of Prem. Mira was like Lord Gauranga. She was
an embodiment of love and innocence. Her heart was the
temple of devotion. Her face was the lotus-flower of Prem.
There was kindness in her look, love in her talk, joy in her
discourses, and power in her speech and fervour in her
songs. What a marvellous being and adorable one Mira!
Mira’s mystic voice rendered songs to act as a soothing
balm to the wounded hearts and tired nerves of those who
toil in this world with the heavy burden of life. The melody
of her songs has a benign influence on the listeners even
today. As these remove discord and disharmony, and lulls
them to sleep. Mira’s language of love is the manifestation
of her own sentiments full of aesthetic sense. Intimate to
the very core these overflow aesthesis. And even a down
to earth atheist will be moved by her devotional songs.
Mira acted her part well on the stage of the world. She
taught the world the way to love God and how to
transform baser love into sublime one. She rowed her boat
dexterously in a stormy sea of family troubles, social
norms, and other difficulties and thus reached the other
shore of supreme peace and absolute fearlessness—the
kingdom of love sublime. She belonged to the gentle fair
sex and yet she was undaunted in spirit and courageous!
Though she was young, she bore the persecutions silently.
She endured the piercing taunts and sarcastic criticisms of
the world bravely. She has left an indelible impression on
the world and her name will be handed down to posterity
in awe and beauty of love.
From Vrindavan, Mira proceeded to Dwaraka. There she
was absorbed in the image of Krishna at the temple of
Ranchod.
Mira was a Hindu mystical poetess, philosopher and sage.
Her compositions are popular throughout India and
throughout the Hindu world. She is reported to have been
a disciple of Ravidas. She composed between 1200 to
1300 prayerful songs called bhajans. These bhajans are in
the bhakti tradition, and most passionately adore Krishna.
The exact version of her poems is in a Rajasthani dialect of
Hindi and in Gujarati.
Many of the details of her life are pieced together from her
poetry and the stories later recounted by members of her
community. While her hagiography is held as truth by
followers of the bhakti movement, however the historical
authenticity of most of her story remains the subject of
scholarly debate.
Singing career
Akbar period
Mira’s fame spread far and wide as her devotional bhajans
were sung across northern India. It is said that the fame
and spirituality of Mira reached the Moghul Emperor
Akbar. Akbar was tremendously powerful, but he was also
very interested in different religious paths. However, he
and Mira family were the worst enemies. Visiting Mira
would cause problems for both Akbar and Mira, but Akbar
was determined to see her - the Princess Saint.
Disguised as a beggar, he travelled with Tansen to visit
Mira. Akbar was so enamoured of her soulful music and
devotional singing that before leaving, he placed a
priceless necklace at her feet. Unfortunately, the necklace
revealed Akbar’s visit to Mira. This enraged her husband
Rana who was furious that a Muslim and his own arch-
enemy had seen his wife. Her husband ordered Mira to
commit suicide by drowning herself in a river. Mira
decided to honour her husband's command. But as she
was entering the river, Krishna appeared to her and
commanded her to leave for Vrindavan where she could
worship him in peace. So with a few followers, Mira left for
Vrindavan, where she spent her time in devotion to
Krishna. After a while her husband repented, feeling that
his wife was actually a real saint. Thus he travelled to
Vrindavan and asked her to return to him. Mira agreed,
much to the displeasure of the rest of her family.
However, Mira’s husband died soon after, fighting in
battles with the Moghul emperors. This made the situation
even worse for Mira. Her father in law, Rana Sanga, saw
her husband’s death as a way to be rid of Mira. He
commanded her to commit sati. However Mira, with the
inner direct assurance of her beloved Krishna, said that
she would not do this. Her real husband, Krishna had not
died.
After this experience, her family continued to torture her.
They restricted her movements and sought to make her
life as uncomfortable as possible. Yet in the face of all
these trials and tribulations, she remained detached from
her physical suffering. Nothing disturbed her inner
connection to Govinda (Krishna as young cowherd boy).
Legend says that twice her family tried to kill her: once
with a venomous snake and once with a poisonous drink.
On both occasions, Mira was protected by the Grace of
Krishna, with no harm.
Mira in Vrindavan
However the relentless torments and hostility interfered
with her life of devotion and contemplation on Krishna
Mira continued. She sought the advice of learned men and
saints. They advised her to leave the palace and return to
Vrindavan. Secretly with some followers she slipped out of
the palace and escaped to the holy city of Vrindavan. In
Vrindavan Mira was free to worship Giridhara (Govinda)
to her heart’s content. She would spend her time singing
bhajans and in ecstatic communion with Krishna. Like a
true bhakti she worshipped God wholeheartedly. The
riches of the world offered no attraction to Mira. Her only
satisfaction came from her single minded devotion to
Krishna. Her soul was ever yearning for Krishna. She
considered herself to be a gopi of Vrindavan, mad only
with pure love for Krishna.
Even learned sadhus would come to her for inspiration.
There is a story of one respected spiritual master who
refused to speak to Mira because she was a woman. Mira
replied there was only one real man in Vrindavan,
Krishna; everyone else was a gopi of Krishna. On hearing
this spiritual teacher accepted the wisdom of Mira and
agreed to talk to her. Later Mira would become his
student. Vaishnava records indicate that the name of that
Spiritual Master is Rupa Goswami, a disciple of Krishna
Caitanya.

Poetry
Mira belongs to the Saguna or formful type of worshippers
of Brahman. Theologically, they believed that between
atman and paramatma (here the Sanskrit Parama- carries
approximately the same meaning as Latin Trans-), this
physical body is the only wall, and upon death the atman
and paramatman will combine, just as a pot filled with
water is placed in pond and if the pot breaks the water
inside (atman) will combine with the water outside
(Parama Atman).
Mira’s poetry overflows love for Krishna closer to her
heart than the love for friends and family. She perceived
Krishna to be her husband, lover, lord and master. The
unique characteristic of Mira’s poetry is the use of
complete surrender to her love for Krishna. Her longing
for union with Krishna is predominant in Mira’s poetry
who says she wants to be ‘coloured with the colour of
dusk ’(dusk being the symbolic colour of Krishna). She
believed that in her previous life she was one of the
several gopis in Vrindavan, in love with Krishna. Much like
the gopis, as mentioned in the life of Krishna, Mira looked
upon Krishna as her lover, seeking spiritual and physical
union with him. Her writings were at the same time,
spiritual and highly devotional. Mira’s songs portray a
personal universe where the only existence was that of
Krishna - her sole object of desire.
A Mira poem is traditionally called a pada, or pd a term
used by the 14th century preachers for a small spiritual
song. This is usually composed in simple rhythms and
carries a refrain within itself. Her collection of songs is
called the Padavali or pdavlI. The typicality of Indian love
poetry of those days was used by Mira but as an
instrument to express her deepest emotions felt for her
ishta-devata. Her typical medium of singing was Vraja-
bhasha, a dialect of Hindi spoken in and around Vrindavan
(the childhood home of Krishna), sometimes mixed with
Rajasthani.

Leave all to Him. The only grip you have to loosen is the grip on yourself, and everything is solved. Your only trouble is
that you listen to your own advice. You have accepted yourself as your guru. The solution is also only one: make Him your
guru and stop meddling in your own affairs; step aside, let Him take over the reins of your destiny. Then whatever
happens, do not judge or draw conclusions, because nothing happens against His will. Whatever happens happens for
the best. What pleases Him is the most auspicious. THY WILL BE DONE!

OSHO – Talks on Nanak

 A MIRA COMPOSITION
1. That dark dweller - the blue boy – the flute bearer on the banks of Yamuna in Braj
Is my only refuge – my solace.
O my companion,
Worldly comfort is an illusion,
These wither away no sooner than one gets
I have chosen the indestructible – the imperishable as my refuge –my sojourn-Him
who vanishes all fear of death
Also none of these will ever devour me not.
My beloved dwells in my heart all day long,
I have actually seen that abode of joy and bliss.
Mira's lord is Hari, the indestructible.
My lord, I have taken refuge with Thee,

2. He alone knows the bitterness of love

Who has deeply felt its pangs.
When you are in trouble
No one comes near you
But when fortune smiles.
All come to share the joy.
Love shows no external wound.
But the pain pervades every pore
Devotee Mira offers her body
As a sacrifice to Giridhara for ever.

3. With tears overflowing profusely,

I nourished the creeper of love that I planted once;
Now the creeper has grown and spread all over,
Also now it borne the fruit of bliss.
The churner of the milk churned with great love and benign care.
When I took the butter out thus,
no need to drink buttermilk now.
I came as the embodiment of love to manifest devotion;
seeing the world, I wept.

Mira has that rare single pointed purity of devotion to Shyam.
This vision later led her to wander through all the 68 places
of pilgrimage, to stumble and falter, to wear the yellow rags
of a yogini, and yet still be utterly single-minded in pursing
the consummation of this vision of Krishna.
Many poems recall Mira’s wanderings through the forests.
She slept on the forest floors, seeking only the company of
Shyam, and as a wife would reach out to touch her husband,
Mira reached out only to find emptiness. Perhaps the poems
capture the driven desire of a physical need to love and be
loved, as any faithful woman needs and wants. Perhaps the
poems reveal the limits of desire and understanding of the
Divine. But Mira, no Brahmin, no guru, knows she has chased
Shyam from birth to birth, through countless wombs. Still,
she desires this divine touch. Sometimes the touch of rain on
her clothing and skin is for her the touch of the Lord.
When atma has seen paramatma, no earthly passion or desire
can slake the soul’s thirst. Although Mira was in the body, her
soul was ardently seeking Shyam. Her intellect and
discrimination were seeking only paramatma, whom she
once described as ‘slipping through the courtyard’ as she
slept. That land ‘seems’ to be a physical place, a region called
Mathura or Dwakara; yet Mira seeks that which cannot be
had in the nights of wasted sleep, tossing, turning, desiring
her lord, reaching out for one who is not there:

Another night without sleep,

thrashing about until daybreak.
Friend, once I rose
from a luminous dream, a vision
that nothing dispels.
 Yet this writhing, tormented self
cries out ever to meet
her Lord of the outcast.
Gone mad, and, crazy,
mind and senses confused with unspoken secrets-
Oh the Dark One-my eternal solace
holds life and death in his hands,
he knows Mira’s anguish.

Mira’s Mergence
With the passage of time the politics of Mewar changed.
Udai Singh became the King. He had tremendous love for
Mira. To him the rejection of mira by her ancestors was a
disgrage. Therefore Udai Singh decided to bring back the
pride of Mewar Mira back. It is said that he came and
requested Mira to return.
Mira is reported to have said she has devoted her life to
Krishna. She has to seek the permission from him for this.
She finished her last prayers of the day and retired. In the
morning when the envoy opened the locked gates of the
temple, all that remained - draped across feet of the deity -
were Mira’s robe and her hair. Her body was not found.

Sometime around 1538 Mira arrived in Vrindavan, where she
spent most of the remainder of her life before moving,
shortly before her death, to Dwarka. By her fiftieth year Mira
had come to reside in the coastal Gujurat city of Dwaraka. In
Dwaraka stands the Ranchorji Temple, one of the four main
temples for pilgrimage in India. Some legends say Mira set up
a kitchen and rest home alongside the temple where she
would attend to the poor. Back in her homeland the Sisodiya
clan meanwhile had suffered a series of devastating military
reversals. One account says 13,000 women in Sisodiya
territroy, on learning their husbands had been lost in battle,
collectively immolated themselves on a pyre rather than
await an expected humiliation by enemy forces.
Rumour flared through the region that the defeats had come
as divine retribution for mistreatment of Mira. Confronted
with a possible revolt in their domains, Mira’s in-laws
decided to bring home their princess, hoping to manipulate
Mira’s reputation in order to legitimize their rule in the eyes
of the populace. They send a crew of civic officials and
Brahmins to Dwaraka to bring back Mira.
The envoy located her at the soup kitchen she had founded
and threatened to starve them to death if she did not return
with them. This was a blatant misuse of their authority,
knowing that Mira would not take on the karma of their
deaths. Faced with the prospect of a return to the indignities
of the Sisodiya household, the wealth that held no interest,
the title she had rejected once and for all as useless, Mira
requested and was granted a final night alone in the
Ranchorji temple, which housed a favourite image of her
God.
Probably she would have told her eternal beloved in her
commune ‘Either you accompany me or take me with You.’
The flame dissolved in the vastness of the unknown and
unknowable. Mira is no more physically.
The impressions, gathered from the spiritual atmosphere of
saints, the godly persons, Sadhus made a pavement for Mira
to ascend to the kingdom of God, which is ‘Vaikuntha’ in the
Vaishnava tradition of Hindus. She left her mortal body in
1546 A.D. at Dwarika (Gujarat) in the temple of ‘Ranchorji’,
and she lost herself in the realm of Supreme Lord Giridhar
Gopal. Her name and form merged itself in the Supreme
consciousness, known as Samvit in the scriptures. Before
ascending to the higher consciousness of Samvit, she felt the
rejuvenated life bubbling out of her ecstasy:
How I prize the thought of eternal bliss in my mind!
My eyes glitter with tears as I think of my Abode;
The heart aches, every finite moment
The pain is getting more and more excruciating.
At night or in day I know no sleep,
Nor have I the least craving for food or drink.
Such pain dwells within me that I lie sleepless night and day.
To whom should I describe my anguish?
In my pain I wander hither and thither.
I seek a physician of Those Regions:
None is there to guide me;
I met my Sataguru, Saint Raidas,
Who gave me a souvenir in the shape of the Name of God.
I advanced and met my beloved, then was my pain allayed.
I threw dust on the head of the world,
Then did I attain my Abode.
 X-Factor Grafix
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TAOSHOBUDDHA
MEDITATIONS

MEDITATION LEADS TO ULTIMATE FLOWERING

www.http//taoshobuddhameditations.com
 TAOSHOBUDDHA
MEDITATION AND PUBLICATIONS

W E TAKE PLEASURE THAT BECAUSE OF TREMENDOUS SUPPORT OF READERS, SEEKERS AND WELL WISHERS WORLD OVER
WE MAKE IT KNOWN THAT THE WORKS OF TAOSHOBUDDHA MEDITATIONS ARE AVAILABLE AS E-BOOKS AND AS
PUBLISHED ONES FROM THE FOLLOWING SITES.

THE PUBLISHED AS PAPER EDITIONS:

1. MEDITATION THE WAY TO SELF REALIZATION – 360 PAGES AVAILABLE ON LINE THROUGH MANY SITES LIKE AMAZON,
WILLIAM SMITH, AND MANY OTHERS. LOG BOOKS OF TAOSHOBUDDHA ON GOOGLE FOR SITES.
2. THE SECRETS OF BHAKTI – AS NARRATED BY SAGE NARAD 243 PAGE AVAILABLE ON LINE THROUGH MOTI LAL BANARSI
DAS AND OTHERS

BOOKS PUBLISHED AS E-BOOKS

1. TASAWWUF – THE SPIRIT OF SUFISM

2. LEAVES FROM A SUFI HEART VOL 1

3. LEAVES FROM A SUFI HEART VOL 2

4. MEDITATION THE WAY TO SELF REALIZATION

5. MEDITATION THE ULTIMATE IN HEALING

6. JAPJI SAHIB – SONGS OF NANAK

7. MOOL MANTRA – SONGS OF NANAK

8. SABHANA JIYA KA EK DAATA – SONGS OF NANAK

9. HUKUM RAJAI CHALNA – SONGS OF NANAK

10. MANNE KI GATI – THE INVINCIBLE MIND

11. THE SECRETS OF BHAKTI

12. SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND – LIFE AND WORKS

13. HANUMAN CHALISA – MYSTICAL DIMENSION BY SWAMI ANAND NEELAMBAR

 THE FOLLOWING IS THE INTODUCTION TO EACH BOOK

To compliment these compositions is the mystical voice

of Taoshobuddha that creates meditative channels as
Buddhist calls these in their temple or groves in your
consciousness for the process of transformation to
continue.

Thank you very much for reading this introduction. And

now is the time to enter the realm of Tasawwuf along
with TAOSHOBUDDHA and his mystical voice.

With love in the name of this is OMNIPRESENT,

OMNISCIENT, and OMNILOVING ONE!

DR. VISIER SANYÜ- Scholar and Officer, Responsible for

Protection Refugees – Act for Peace-National Council of
Churches in Australia.

TASAWWUF – THE SPIRIT OF SUFISM

T ASAWWUF – THE SPIRIT OF SUFISM of

TAOSHOBUDDHA has come at very crucial time as
we live in a deeply divided world caused by
misconception of religions, particularly of Islam.
September 11 changed the history of Islam or at least the
view of the western world on Islam changed. The depth
and beauty of these compositions and the meditative
insights of the writer shows how all religions are in
search of the true meaning of love. It is humanity’s
deepest longing for God.

While acknowledging works of such a nature which is not

only innovative instead comes like a fresh breeze of
awakening and insights into the message of the masters I
urge Taoshobuddha to create more such meditations
around the message of masters like Nanak, Jesus, Rumi, HANUMAN CHALISA
Buddha etc. And I can assure you that with the insights
A MYSTICAL DIMENSION
and command of language Taoshobuddha will certainly

‘H
do this. This is an effort to bring more serenity and anuman Chalisa is the journey of transcendence of
harmony within. And certainly the light will reflect in the an aspirant as narrated by an intoxicated,
outer world. overflowing and enchanted Tulsi.’
Nearly five hundred years ago Saint Tulsi Das composed
Hanuman Chalisa as an overflow of his devotion towards
Sri Ram. Since then this composition has been inspiring
aspirants, and singers worldwide wherever there a Hindu
heart as a perennial source of inspiration and
transformation.
As long as mountains and rivers shall remain the
portrayal of Sri Ram will continue to aspire and linger in
the hearts of the aspirants like the dissolving notes of a
sweet melody.
When Sri Ram was leaving his Leela or life on this earth
and returning to His abode He had asked Hanuman to
stay on this earth until the end of this creation and infuse
the hearts of seekers with love for Sri Ram.
Hanuman is that link between you and Sri Ram. Tulsi Das
has captured these sentiments through this composition
of Hanuman Chalisa.
‘And in this present work Swami Anand Neelamber has
been able to revive the spirit of Tulsidas through his
mystical insights.’ - TAOSHOBUDDHA
LEAVES FROM A SUFI HEART
VOLUME 2
S
ufism is great celebration. I invite you to celebrate it
with TAOSHOBUDDHA.
The Volume 1 of Leaves from a Sufi Heart paused at
Bahauddin Naqshband. I thought enough has been
spoken. No, yet still much has been left unspoken of his
methodology. So when I began the Volume 2 of Leaves
from the Sufi Heart I had to begin once again with
Bahauddin Naqshband. After Bahauddin the path
developed many off shoots. From Rasulallah Salallah
Allahe Wassalam to Bahauddin the path was single
tracked. From him the main stream had developed many
tributaries. Therefore it was essential to begin with Post
Bahauddin Era. However before I could do this his
methodology the unique way through parables needs to
be explained. This has not yet begun something else was
knocking the consciousness. When I looked deep within it
was the entire Sufi Doctrine - the explanation of various
terms. Thus the journey of the Volume 2 of Leaves From a
Sufi Heart began.
This work is the outcome of the grace, the nisbat, the
faidth, or the inayat of Allah Subhan wa Taa’la and the
Khawajans that this volume is now in your hands as the
Makhtoobats of the masters.
Without the faiz or the nisbat it could not be possible and
the effects that it is creating within the readers. May Allah
shine His Noor along the path of every aspirant whom I
have met and also those whom I have not yet met? Maybe
I may not meet physically, kindle their path through the
Gaibana Tawajjoh each finite moment. Kudrat-E-Illahi is
beyond human comprehension. ALHAM DIL ALLAH,
SUBHAN ALLAH, ALLAH HO AKBAR.
‘I think your books are highly recommended for the true
seekers, especially for the seekers of the highest spiritual
order Naqshbandiyah Mujaddidiyah in English language. ‘I
pray to Allah Ta'ala may your book ‘THE LEAVES FROM A
SUFI HEART’ is acceptable to Allah Ta'ala, His Prophet and
the whole Ummah’.’
Maulawi Jalalludin Ahmad Ar-Rowi Naqshbandi, Malaysia.

MEDITATION
THE ULTIMATE IN HEALING
T his is an investigation how healing can happen. It
begins with a passage from Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri‚
The fathomless zero occupied the cosmos and your world
of finiteness. It is out of this fathomless zero first evolved
ether or sky.” Then came air, followed by fire, the
remaining elements the water, the earth and thus life
evolved! The Soul! The Mind! And the Physical Body!
Your physical body is mere showcase of all that happens
at other planes or bodies.
Then the question comes, from where can healing really
happen. Since physical body is mere showcase definitely
it cannot be the beginning. Regular medicine begins here
but not meditation. Can you start at bio-plasmic level? Or
you still have to go a step beyond. There are so many
unresolved issues in each one of you that need to be
addressed before the healing can really begin. All these
issues are stored in the fathomless zero that occupied the
world. The journey of healing has to begin from this
point.
Through these meditations I am creating inner balance
between body and the mind. Only then you can attain to
meditativeness. This process will continue until new man,
one who is beyond body, mind, and intellect, is born out
of you. I maybe or may not be here but this process of
transformation will continue erelong. This is my promise
to you. This is just the beginning.
JAPJI SAHIB
The Fragrance of Nanak
N
o bird goes to learn. No water fall learns singing.
Song is the spontaneous river of life. This is the
message of Nanak as JAPJI SAHIB – EK OMKAR SATNAM.
Nanak did no tap or jap. He simply sang and sang with so
much totality that alone became his path. Nanak’s path is
full of songs. Sing and dance your way to God. Japji Sahib
is song of one who is intoxicated with pristine elixir of
oneness with one for whom all his songs were meant.
One who was in Nanak’s very breath! And the cause of his
existence!
Remember this is love. Love cares. Love wants the life of
the beloved be beautiful, auspicious, true, and full of
inner glory. Love transforms. Love creates. Love can even
transform destruction in creation. For love creation is the
goal, and destruction is the way to attain this.When you
are enchanted with love! Love has evolved within! And
when you are innovative and creative in life’s relations
then sin can be no more. When you love then sin becomes
impossible. Like a vast canopy love will go on spreading
and then you will envision hidden deep within the entire
creation. Then you will hesitate to cheat, and steal.
Nanak says love is the secret. Let love enchant you. Your
inner being will sanctify. This is ritualistic bath. Only such
a bath can wash the dross from your mind and your
being. This is real holy bath. By saying or claiming one
does not become holy or unholy. All your thinking and
aspiration of being holy cannot help. Moving finger writes
and having writ moves on. And then everything moves
accordingly.
Love is the fragrance of Bhakti. Bhakti is revolution.
Bhakti implies there is no one other than Him. Then your
life becomes simple and fluid like. The doer is no more.
And there is no one to sin. Bhakti does not mean going to
the temple, or gurudwara, or church or mosque. Bhakti
does not mean chanting your mantras or Japji like a
parrot. Never think that such mechanical repetitions will
take you any further. You had been carrying the false
keys throughout life. The real key means you are now in
love for the whole. The real key means you love every
speck of the existence. The real key means this entire
existence is my beloved. Each particle, and each eyes now
reflects the glory of love
Allow a few drops of this nectar flow into your being as
Taoshobuddha takes you through Japji Sahib. It is indeed
a benediction Taoshobuddha taking you through various
Pauris of Nanak.
Hukum Rajai Chalna...
Nanak Likhiya Naal
is the essence of meditativeness!
T he essence of Nanak’s message is Hukum – the
cosmic law. Nanak again and again speaks of this
cosmic law. Before I go into the message of Nanak it is
relevant for me to speak to you of Nanak as a mystic. If
you look at Nanak only as in historical perspective or as a
social reformer you will miss the essence of Nanak.
Nanak goes on emphasizing the way of surrender.
Surrender cannot come without understanding the
essence of the cosmic law, or Hukum, its attributes and
then flowing with the essence. Only then life becomes a
benediction, a joy full of harmony.
He is one! His very form is Omkar! The existential! He is
Satnam! Embodiment of truth! Truth incarnate! The
cosmic doer! Beyond fear! Beyond prejudice! Beyond
time and space is his sublime existence! Born out of his
own free will he ever remains unborn! Yet still he is the
cause of his own existence! Such are his attributes Sacred
and Sublime!
How can one attain to this presence!!
Certainly not by your own efforts alone! Be assured! By
the grace of the Master! Let this be your trust and
certitude as well!!!
With a crystal clarity and command of language and
understanding Taoshobuddha explains this and thus
takes you within the energy field of Nanak. Allow a few
drops of this nectar ooze into being so that the inward
journey may continue until fruition happens.
 The entire Sikh religion is condensed in these three
words. The rest is the explanation for you. Otherwise the
message is complete.

Allow a few drops of this nectar flow into your being as

Taoshobuddha takes you into the Mool Mantra with
command of language, and understanding.
Taoshobuddha overflows like a river gushing out of its
source.

EK OMKAR SATNAM

THE MOOL MANTRA

J UST AS ATOM CANNOT BE DESTROYED SO TOO

CONSCIOUSNESS CAN NEVER BE DESTROYED!!!

SCIENTISTS HAVE HARNESSED ATOMIC ENERGY

ONLY FOR DESTRUCTIVE PURPOSES SO FAR! BUT
NANAK HAS HARNESSED THE ENERGY FIELD OF
CONSCIOUSNESS FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF
HUMAN BEING! FEEL IT! BE IT!!! NANAK’S EFFORT IS
THE BIRTH OF A NEW MAN OUT OF YOU! THE
INTEGRATED, HARMONIZED, AND BLISSFUL!!! ONE SABHNA JIYA KA EK DAATA
WHO LIVES LIFE BEYOND DUALITY!!!
SONGS OF NANAK

Nanak did no Tap or Jap or anything else. He simply sang.
And sang with so much totality that alone became the
path! Whenever anyone does anything with that totality
he carves his own path.
After Nanak appeared from river Bain Ek Omkar Satnam
is his message. One for whom Nanak’s each breath was.
One who was the very cause of his being now found in
front of his eyes. Japji Sahib is the first word that formed.
H
e is the master of the entire creation! This I may
never ever forget!
Scientists have harnessed atomic energy only for
destructive purposes so far! But Nanak has harnessed the
energy field of consciousness for the transformation of
human being! Feel it! Be it!!! Nanak’s effort is the birth of
a new man out of you! The integrated, harmonized, and
blissful!!! One who lives life beyond duality!!!
The effort in this work is to harness and present truth is
its sublime and nascent form beyond religions and
duality.
Nanak is unique. And he is unique in many ways. Nanak
happened before TulsiDas. Social values were declining.
Politically that was the beginning of a new era. The
message of the masters was losing its inner fabric.
Nanak’s role was to resurrect all these. Nanak came like a
fresh breeze.
Anyone with linear consciousness or one track mind and
understanding cannot understand Nanak. Only a master
whose consciousness has reached its pinnacle! Or has
merged with the ultimate can explain various systems of
transformation of human consciousness as interwoven
through various Pauris of Japji.
This present work is such an effort of Taoshobuddha.
SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND
LIFE AND WORKS
I am ecstatic that once again I have the occasion to
speak to you. However this time the overflow is of
Hazrat Shah Bahauddin Naqshband, one whose very
essence pulsates through the entire Sufi path.
Spiritual awareness is like water, it takes the color and
shape of the cup. Allah's Knowledge is so great, that
however much we take; it is like a drop of a huge ocean. It
like a vast garden, however much we have cut it is as if
we had cut but one flower says an ecstatic Bahauddin. Yet
still the fundamentalists try to cage this sublime
awareness of eternal oneness within narrow boundaries
of religion and beliefs. Spirituality begins when you cross
the narrow boundaries of religion and religious beliefs.
The entire ummat or creation is the responsibility of the
one who has attained spiritual awareness. But very rarely
you find someone who is versatile to speak of various
paths and masters with authenticity and thus brings out
truth in its sublimity.
Sufism is such overflow of love a great experiment in
human consciousness: how to transform human
consciousness into ishq. It is alchemy. And through this
work and others my effort to bring about the alchemical
change in consciousness that be possible!
This is what I am doing here with you. You may be aware,
you may not be aware of it, but this whole experiment is
to create in you as much love energy as possible. Man can
be transformed into pure love energy. Just as there is
atomic energy discovered by physics, and a small atom
can explode into tremendous energy, so too each cell of
your heart can explode into tremendous love. That love is
called ishq. It is atomic in nature. No one can destroy this.
You may call this Love or Awareness, or Consciousness or
God matters not. What really matters it to be with this
energy. Even more significant is to imbibe it into your
being. And then let it overflow your being. Also let it
surround your life, your living. Sufism is the path of the
overflow of energy. This is Naqshbandiyah Nisbet – the
Tariqat.
 LEAVES FROM A SUFI HEART
VOL. 1
A H
N INSIGHT INTO NAQSHBANDI TARIQAT AND
THE SHEIKHS
When truth manifests itself there can be no better
song or melody than this. Truth is an experience. And
Sheikh or a master is the embodiment of truth on the
earth. This is why when a Sheikh looks into a Tariqat it is
Truth or Haqiqat itself.
Naqshbandi tariqat underwent through various periods
of growth and development. Taoshobuddha takes you
through this journey.
In the present classic Taoshobuddha looks into
Naqshbandi tariqat. With a crystal clarity and
understanding he presents various masters along the
path and the tariqat. The present classic pauses before
the beginning of the second millennium with Sheikh
Ahmad Al Farookhi Mujadadi Alif Thani, Sirhindi in the
Leaves from a Sufi Heart Volume 2. And the Third volume
will begin with Hazrat Mazhar Mir Jane Jana.
The Invincible Mind
Songs Of Nanak
uman Mind continues to waver – The Invincible
Mind
Nothing can be said about mind. The mind is
invincible. Its nature cannot be explained in words.
Whoever does try, will certainly have to repent
afterwards. No paper! No pen! Also no writer either to
reflect on such a mind! Only a Word (Naam) or ‘Akshar’
becomes really Niranjan - beyond mind. This can be
realized only by one's faith and love!
Trust and understanding awakens the mind to higher
consciousness. Introspection and meditation unfolds the
mysteries of the Cosmos. Obedience wards off all disgrace
inflicted upon and the fear of death. Faith and trust
annihilates. Such a Word (Naam) becomes Niranjan. This
can only be realized by one's faith!
Taoshobuddha explains the invincible nature of the mind
as envisaged by Nanak in Japji Sahib.

THE SECRETS OF BHAKTI
As Narrated by Sage Narad
M
ay the ripples this classic The Classic of Bhakti
creates within you continue to linger in your being
like the dissolving notes of a sweet melody!
An enlightened Taoshobuddha overflows: Bhakti is the
union of formless to formless – ‘Bhakti nirakar se nirakar
ka Milan hai.’
With mastery of language and phonics and the
understanding of the subject matter, Taoshobuddha
overflows the inner secrets of Bhakti as revealed by Sage
Narad. The entire classic is the poetry of the being. Sing
and dance your way to being along with Taoshobuddha
as he unravels these secrets of Bhakti. The entire
overflow is like a pristine exilir gushing from the being of
a master Taoshobuddha towards you. Drink it to your
heart’s content. Life will attain a new meaning!
Adieu…Adieu…Adieu!
MEDITATION
THE WAY TO SELF REALIZATION
A CLASSIC ON MEDITATION DIFFICULT TO PUT
DOWN ONCE STARTED!
A
real master will not try to convince you of the
truth. Instead he will definitely persuade you
towards it. A master can only help you in removing
the obstacles so that meditation happens!
The purpose of this book is to expose you to many
paths and masters. This is the only way for you to
discover your own path. My path cannot be your
path. Certainly my experience can assist you in
discovering your path. The names in this path are
many; only one has to be prepared for the journey.
Your body is the temple of the unknown. It is the
miracle of the unknown! The harmony that the body
creates may become the door to inner harmony!
Breathing is the alphabet of the body and through it
one is easily bridged to meditation. One only has to
be aware of it! One simply is! No thinking. No feeling.
This is the ultimate experience of bliss! Beyond this
there is nothing! This is eternal search! You have
arrived home! This is meditation!
DEAR READERS THE JOURNEY DOES NOT END HERE MORE PUBLICATIONS WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE. AND AS SOON AS THESE
ARE AVAILABLE WE WILL MAKE THE ANOUNCEMENT.

HOW TO OBTAIN THE BOOKS:

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 RABI'AH AL-BASRI THE SUFI WOMAN
By:
Hadhrat Maulawi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi
'Ufiyallahu 'Anhu Wali Walidaihi Wali Jami'il Muslimin
Bismillahir Rahmaanir Rahiim.
Nahmaduhu Wa Nusolli Wa Nusallimu 'Ala Rasulihil Karim
Wa 'Ala Man Ittaba'ahu Bi Ihsanin Ila Yaumi Ad-Din, Amma Ba'du;
INTRODUCTION
We praise Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, The Almighty and
We pray may He bestows the blessings and salutations
upon His Holy Prophet, His Messenger, Hadhrat Sayyidina
Wa Mawlana Muhammad Abdullah Mustafa Rasulullah
Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sahbihi Wa Baraka Wa
Sallam and to those who follows him with good intention
and deeds until the day of Resurrections.
This humble and poor servant of Allah, Jalaluddin Ahmad
Ar-Rowi An-Naqshbandi Al-Mujaddidi has been requested
to write some words regarding the worldwide well known
Mystical Sufi women, Hadhrat Rabi'ah Al-'Adawiyah Al-
Qaysiyah Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaiha. She was a Tabi'
Tabi'in i.e the companions of the followers of the
Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah
Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam.
She was a Murid of a great Syeikh during her time,
Hadhrat Khwajah Hassan Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih who
was a very pious and holy person amongst the Tabi'in i.e.,
the followers of the Companions of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. Other
prominent Sufis who live during her time were Hadhrat
Malik Bin Dinar Rahmatullah 'Alaih, Hadhrat Sufyan Ats-
Tsauri Rahmatullah 'Alaih and Hadhrat Ibrahim Bin
Adham Rahmatullah 'Alaih.
Rabiah literally means ‘The Fourth’. She was given such a
name because she was the fourth daughter of a pious and
poor family. It is believed until these days that she was the
first who set forth the Divine Love doctrine and being
considered as one of the most important personality
amongst the Sufis. She was also well known for her
beautiful poems and wonderful miracles.
She is a true Saint of Allah who really considers herself as
a weak servant of Him. She achieved the state of self-
realization. She had shown the way for the women to gain
the sainthood. The dignity of sainthood is not only
achievable just by the men but also achievable by the
women. In the sainthood, there are complete equality
between men and women that both can become saints if
they want to do some efforts to know their Creator and
their selves and pay the obedience to The Creator.
For those who pay their obedience to Allah The Ultimate
Creator until He is pleased with him or her, they will
sooner or later become His friends. Hadhrat Rabi'ah
Rahmatullah 'Alaiha was considered as one of the friend of
Allah who only seeks for the Divine union with His
presence. She was the first true Saint of Islam and was
praised, not because of her representing womankind, but
because as someone said,
“When a woman walks in the Way of Allah like a man she
cannot be called a woman.”
The goal of the Sufi quest was union with the Divine, and
the Sufi seeker after God, having renounced this world and
its attraction being purged of Self and its desires, inflamed
with a passion of love of God, journeyed ever onward,
looking toward the final purpose, through the life of
illumination, with its ecstasies and raptures, and the
higher life of contemplation, until at last he achieved the
heavenly gnosis and attained to the Vision of God, in which
the lover might become one with the Beloved, and abide in
Him forever. Such a conception of the relations between
the saint and his Lord left no room for the distinction of
sex. In the spiritual life there could be 'neither male nor
female'. All whom God had called to be saints could attain,
by following the Path, to union with Himself, and all who
attained, would have their royal rank, as spiritual beings,
in the world to come.
Let us get to know her in this brief writings because by
knowing her biography and her sayings will make us
understand what love really means in the relations
between Allah and His servants. Let us dive into her divine
oceans of love with Allah and gain some wisdom and
teachings from this great Sufi Masteress. May Allah bless
her and bless us with the oceans of love that He had
bestowed upon her.
Hadhrat Khwajah Fariduddin Attar Rahmatullah 'Alaih, to
prove that saint ship may be found in woman as naturally
as in a man, says:
The holy prophets have lain it down that 'God does not
look upon your outward forms'. It is not the outward form
HADHRAT RABI'AH BINTI ISMA'IL AL-'ADAWIYAH
AL-QAYSIYAH AL-BASRI RAHMATULLAH 'ALAIHIMA
Birth and Life
She was born in Basrah, Iraq between the years 95 A.H.
and 99 A.H. about 717 C.E. Her full name is Rabi'ah Ar-
Rabi' Binti Isma'il Al-'Adawiyah Al-Qaysiyah Al-Basri
Rahmatullah 'Alaihima, may Allah bless her and her father.
Her father, Hadhrat Isma'il Rahmatullah 'Alaih was a very
pious man and after his marriage, he and his wife went to
the edge of the desert not far from the town of Iraq to
make a living. Through this blessed marriage, Allah had
bestowed him four daughters. The first daughter he
named Rabi'ah, the second daughter he named Rabi'ah
Ats-Tsaniah, the third daughter ne named Rabi'ah Ats-
Tsalatsah and the fourth daughter he named Rabi'ah Ar-
Rabi'ah who was to become a true lover of Allah. Hadhrat
Isma'il Rahmatulah 'Alaih and his family was so poor that
on the night Hadhrat Rabi'ah Ar-Rabi'ah Rahmatullah
'Alaiha was born there was not even a drop of oil available
in their house to light the house and to anoint the navel of
the newborn daughter and there was no piece of cloth to
wrap new born baby.
His wife told him to go to their neighbor’s house and ask
for some oil but Hadhrat Isma'il Rahmatullah 'Alaih had
already made a promise that he will never ask anything
from the creations except Allah but to please his wife, so
that matters, but the inner purpose of the heart, as the
Prophet said, 'The people are assembled (on the day of
Judgement) according to the purposes of their hearts' … So
also Abbas of Tus said that when on the Day of
Resurrection the summons goes forth, 'O men', the first
person to set foot in that class of men (i.e. those who are
the enter Paradise) will be Mary, upon whom be peace…
The true explanation of this fact (that women count for as
much as men among the saints) is that wherever these
people, the Sufis, are, they have no separate existence in
the Unity of God. In the Unity, what remains of the
existence of 'I' or 'thou'? So how can 'man' or 'women'
continue to be? So too, Hadhrat Abu Ali Farmadhi
Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"Prophecy is the essence, the very being of power and
sublimity. Superiority and inferiority do not exist in it.
Undoubtedly saintship is of the same type."
he went out to his neighbor’s door and he starts knocking
the door. He ran back to his house just before the door was
opened to him without saying or asking anything from his
neighbor. He went back and said to his wife that their
neighbor did not open the door. His wife wept bitterly and
Hadhrat Isma'il Rahmatullah 'Alaih started to feel full of
anxiety due to his incapability in handling that critical
situation. Hadhrat Isma'il Rahmatullah 'Alaih put his head
on his knees and then fell asleep.
In his sleep, he dreamed the Holy Prophet Muhammad
Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam, may Allah's
blessings and salutations be upon him, appeared to him
and said,
‘Do not be sad. Your newly born daughter is a favorite of
Allah and shall lead many Muslims to the right path. The
baby girl who has just born is a queen amongst the women
and she will be the mediator on the Judgment Day to give
the Syafa'at on behalf of me for seventy thousand of my
Ummah (community). Tomorrow you must go to Amir 'Isa
Zadan the Governor of Basrah. Write this message on a
piece of paper which you will take to him: "Every night
you send upon me a hundred Salawat (Darud – Blessing
prayer for the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'alaihi Wasallam)
and on Friday night you send four hundreds, but last night
was Friday night and you had forgotten to send the
Salawat to me. As a penalty for your forgetfulness, you
need to give this man a sum of four hundred Dinars.’
Then Hadhrat Isma'il Rahmatullah 'Alaih woke up in the
morning and when he remembered about his dream he
burst into tears, but he got up straight away and wrote
exactly what the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah
Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam had instructed him to write.
Then, he took the written message and presented it to one
of the Governor’s chamberlains.
When the letter reached the Governor and he had read it,
he realized that he was in the sights of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam, thus
said to his Minister,
“Distribute one thousand Dinars to the poor immediately
because I want to thank the Master for reminding me of
my forgetfulness. Also give four hundred Dinars to the old
man and say to him that I would like him to come to me so
that I may see him. But I do not hold it proper for a man
like him to come to me. I would rather come to him and
rub my beard on the floor of his threshold. But I swear by
Allah that whatever he need, he may let me know about
it.”
Hadhrat Isma'il Rahmatullah 'Alaih was overjoyed with
the Governor's decision and took the money, thanking
Allah Ta'ala and his Holy Prophet, and he bought all that
was necessary for his holy daughter. As his four daughters
grew up, Hadhrat Isma`il Rahmatullah 'Alaih worked to
make a living for his family in the desert. When the eldest
daughter was about twenty years old and Hadhrat Rabi`ah
Ar-Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha was about eleven, he died
leaving behind him his wife and four daughters living in
poverty. The mother decided to take her four daughters to
the town of Basra where she hoped to make a better living
for herself and her children.
However, on their way to Basrah they have been attacked
by the robbers and the mother was killed and each of the
daughters was taken by the robbers and sold them in the
market as slaves. Hadhrat Rabi'ah 'Rahmatullah 'Alaiha
was parted from her sisters when she was purchased by a
new master. The new master subjected her to do hard
labor work. Many hardships fell upon her but she
immersed herself in relentless devotion and worship of
Allah. Her devotion for Allah was fired by a deep-rooted
love and longing for the Divine Presence.
Her new master took her to Baghdad where he
immediately set about using her in the way that was most
profitable for him. The new master used to take hard
service from her everyday. Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah
'Alaiha was a very beautiful lady and she also had a lovely
voice, so her master taught her how to sing and play the
`Oud (a string instrument) and made her dance and
entertains people and above all, to make money in this
way for himself.
Her master sent her to weddings and celebrations where
she would dance and sing. The people would give her
money for whatever they wanted from her. In this way she
came to have many bad habits and ways, living a very low
life amongst all sorts of people and not caring about
anything that she did. This continued until she was about
thirty-six years old, when one day as she was singing at a
wedding she found herself singing in a different way.
Songs were coming from her heart for her Beloved Who
was her true Love because now Allah The Almighty had
awakened His beloved servant, Hadhrat Rabi`ah
Rahmatullah 'Alaiha.
From that moment she left everything that she had been
doing before, and she refused either to sing or to dance, or
to play any music for anyone except for her Beloved, Allah
The Almighty. This condition has made her master very
angry because he could no longer use her to make money
for himself. He began to ill-treat her, to beat her, and even
to put burns on her body hoping that this would frighten
her into returning to her former ways. But she refused
everything that her master tried to do to her. She had
begun to pray all through the night, crying to her Beloved
Allah to help her in her desperate state.
After a time her master, seeing that he could not influence
her in any way, and because she was no longer of any use
to him, decided to sell her. So he put a cord around her
neck and took her to the slave market of Baghdad. There
was a pious and holy man at the market who purchased
her and took her to his home, gave her food and simple
clothes and told her that he did not want anything from
her except that she could pray and be free in his house.
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih thanked him with all
her heart and said,
“If you want anything from me for the Face of Allah, He
will give you your reward, but if you want anything from
me for yourself only, I have nothing to give you. I have
everything that I need from my Beloved, Allah Ta'ala and I
do not need anything from any human being.”
The holy man replied that he would like to marry her and
to free her from being a slave, but that he did not ask
anything from her except what she wanted to give.
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha thanked him for his
kindness and consideration, and she said that she did not
want to marry anyone, but was grateful for the way that
he cared for her in her deep need. In her master’s house
she fasted by day and spent the night praying. She would
pass the whole night in prayer after she had finished her
household jobs. She spent many of her days observing fast.
Once while she was in the service of her master she was
sent on an errand. Along the way a man accosted her. In
fright she fled, slipped and broke her hand. Praying to
Allah Ta'ala she cried:
"O Allah! I am forlorn, without mother and father. Now my
hand too is broken. But I do not care for these calamities if
You are pleased with me. Are You pleased or displeased
with me?"
A voice called to her:
"On the Day of Qiyaamah even the Muqarrab (very close)
Angels will envy your rank."
One night her master has been awakened by a strange
voice urging him to free Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah
'Alaiha, his slave. When he looked through the window of
his apartment, he saw Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah
'Alaiha were offering the litany in prostration. The master
was attracted by the pathetic voice in her prayer to her
Lord.
She was uttering these words:
"Ya Allah! You know very well that the true desire of my
heart is to fulfil Your commands and to serve You with all
my heart, that the light of my eyes is only in serving You. If
I were free I would pass the whole day and night in
prayers and I would not rest even an hour from serving
You. But what should I do when You Yourself have left me
at the mercy of a creature and have made me as a slave of
a human being? Since You have subjected me to be in the
service of people, I am late for Your service."
While she was still praying, he saw a lap above her had,
suspended without a chain, and the whole house was
illuminated by the rays from that light. At once the master
felt that it was sacrilegious to keep such a saint in his
service. Her master then perceived a lantern suspended
above her head giving out a blinding light. He decided to
serve her instead.
In the morning he called her and told her his decision to
set her free and he would serve her and she should dwell
there as the mistress of the house. If she insisted on
leaving the house he was willing to free her from bondage.
She told him that she was willing to leave the house to
carry on her worship in solitude. This the master granted
and she left the house. Hadhrat Rabia'h Rahmatullah
'Alaiha left the house and wandered through the desert in
search for what Allah had apportioned for her.
HER COMPANIONSHIP WITH HADHRAT IMAM HASSAN
AL-BASRI RAHMATULLAH 'ALAIH
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha took the path of
Tasawwuf. Some of the narrators said that her Master was
Hadhrat Khwajah Imam Hassan Al-Basri Rahmatullah
'Alaih. He was born in Madinah Munawwarah in the year
21 A.H./642 C.E. to a servant of the Prophet’s wife, prayers
and peace be upon him, Hadhrat Ummu Salamah
Radhiyallahu 'Anha. As a young child he had lived with his
mother in Hadhrat Ummu Salamah Radhiyallahu 'Anha’s
household. In manhood he was a follower of Hadhrat `Ali
Ibni Abu Talib Karramallahu Wajhahu, the Holy Prophet’s
cousin and close Companion, and the fourth of the
Righteous Caliphs (Al-Khulafa Ar-Rashidun) from whom
the Line of the Prophet’s Inheritors descended. Hadhrat
Hassan Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih usually referred to as
being one of the closest of the Beloved of Allah around
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha in her early life.
It was Hadhrat Hassan Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih who
was recorded as being the person who said to Hadhrat
Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha,
“Do you desire for us to get married?”
To which she replied,
“The tie of marriage is for those who have being. But here,
being has disappeared for I have become as nothing to my
self and I exist only through Allah for I belong wholly to
Him and I live in the shadow of His control. You must ask
for my hand from Him and not from me.”
Then Hadhrat Hassan Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih replied,
“How did you find this secrets, Rabi`ah?”
She answered him,
“I lost all found things in Him.”
Hadhrat Hassan Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih then replied,
“How did you come to know Him?”
She said,
“You know of the how but I know of the howless.”
As her fame grew she had many disciples. She also had
discussions with many of the renowned religious people of
her time. Though she had many offers of marriage, and
(tradition has it) one even from the Amir of Basra, she
refused them as she had no time in her life for anything
other than God. For Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha's
case was that she had heard the Voice of her Beloved, Who
was Allah and none other than He, and she had no need for
any earthly husband because the only true marriage for
her was with Allah Himself alone.
It was said that she once sent to Hadhrat Hassan Al-Basri
Rahmatullah 'Alaih a piece of wax, a needle and a hair, and
said,
“Be like wax and illumine the world and burn yourself. Be
like a needle and work naked. When you have done these
two things a thousand years will be for you like a hair.”
Another story tells of how one day Hadhrat Hassan Al-
Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih saw Hadhrat Rabi`ah
Rahmatullah 'Alaiha near a lake. Throwing his prayer rug
on top of the water, he said,
“Rabi`ah come! Let us pray two Raka'ats here.”
She replied,
“Hassan, when you are showing off your spiritual goods in
the worldly market, it should be things which your fellow
men cannot display.”
Then she threw her prayer rug into the air and flew up
onto it thus cried,
“Come up here Hassan, where people can see us.”
Hadhrat Hassan Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih feels
embraced and sad about his desire, but seeing his sadness
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha sought to console
him and she said,
“Hassan, what you did fishes can do and what I did flies
can do. But the real business is outside these tricks. One
must apply oneself to the real business.”
Once when Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih was on a
mountain, the wild beasts of the jungle gathered around
her and stared at her in wonder. Coincidentally, Hadhrat
Hassan Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih appeared on the scene.
All the animals scattered and disappeared into the jungle.
In surprise Hadhrat Hassan Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"The animals fled when they saw me. Why did they stay
with you?"
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih asked,
"What did you eat today?"
Hadhrat Hassan Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"Meat and bread."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"When you have eaten meat, why should they not flee?"
It was said to Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih,
"Hadhrat Hassan says that if on the Day of Judgement he is
deprived of Allah's Vision for even a moment, he will
lament so much that the inmates of Paradise will take pity
on him."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih said:
"True, but this claim is appropriate for only a person who
does not forget Allah Ta'ala here on earth for a single
moment."
Once when Hadhrat Hassan Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih went
to visit Hadhrat Rabiah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha. He found one
of the wealthy and prominent citizens of Basrah standing
with a bag of money, weeping at her door. On enquiring,
he said,
"I have brought this gift for Rabi'ah. I know she will refuse
it, hence, I am crying. Do intercede for me. Perhaps she
will accept it."
Hadhrat Hassan Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih went inside
and delivered the message. Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah
'Alaiha said:
"Since I have recognized Allah, I have renounced the
world. I am not aware of its source whether halaal or
haraam?"
When Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih would not
come to attend the sermons of Hadhrat Hassan Basri
Rahmatullah 'Alaih, he would deliver no discourse that
day. People in the audience asked him why he did that. He
replied:
"The syrup that is held by the vessels meant for the
elephants cannot be contained in the vessels meant for the
ants."
It is related that Hadhrat Hassan Basri, Hadhrat Malik Bin
Dinar, and Hadhrat Shaqiq Balkhi Rahmatullah 'Alaihim,
went to visit Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih. The
conversation turned to the question of sincerity. Hadhrat
Hassan Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"No one is sincere in his claim who is not patient under the
blows of his master."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"This talk stinks of egoism."
THE PATH OF HER WISDOMS AND THE WISDOMS OF HER PATH
Hadhrat Rabi’ah Al-‘Adawiyah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha from
Basrah was one of the most important figures of the
mystical path of Islam, known as Sufism. Her life and
teachings illustrate a woman who was free from the
traditional constraints placed on women’s lives. In many
of her miracle stories, we can learn an essential element of
Sufi thought from her path that is, do not expect anything
from Allah, but rather recognize the larger greatness of the
deity beyond your small existence. She held that the true
lover, whose consciousness is unwaveringly centred on
the Beloved, is unattached to conditions such as pleasure
or pain, not from sensory dullness but from ceaseless
rapture in Divine Love. Indeed she is considered the first
female saint in Islam.
Her asceticism was absolute and unwavering as was her
love for Allah The Almighty. Poverty and self-denial were
her constant practices. Her worldly possessions are said to
have been a broken jug from which she drank, an old rush
mat to sit upon and a brick for a pillow. She spent each
night in prayer and often chided herself for sleeping as it
prevented her constant contemplation and active love of
Hadhrat Shaqiq Balkhi Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"No one is sincere in his claim who is not grateful for the
blows of his master."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"We need something better than this."
Hadhrat Malik Bin Dinar Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"No one is sincere in his claim who does not delight in the
blows of his master."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"We need something better than this."
They said,
"Now you speak."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"No one is sincere in his claim who does not forget the
wound of the blow in the vision of his master."
Allah The Almighty. She performed a thousand Raka'ats
Nafil Prayer daily.
She refused all offers of marriage of which there were
many, because she had no room for anything in her life
that might distract her from complete devotion to Allah.
Indeed, in this same manner she rebuffed anything that
could distract her from the Beloved, Allah. More
interesting than her absolute asceticism however, is the
concept of Divine Love that she had introduced. She was
the first to introduce the idea that God should be loved for
His own sake and not out of fear, as was understood by the
earlier Sufis.
She was reported to have walked the streets of Basrah
with a flaming torch in one hand and a bucket of water in
the other. When her intentions were questioned, Hadhrat
Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha replied:
“I want to pour water into Hell and set fire to Paradise so
that these two veils disappear and nobody worships Allah
Ta'ala out of fear of Hell or hope of Paradise, but only for
the sake of His eternal beauty.”
A leading scholar of Basrah visited Hadhrat Rabi`ah
Rahmatullah 'Alaiha while she was ill. Sitting beside her
pillow, the scholar spoke about how terrible the world
was. In reply, Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha told
him,
"You love the world very dearly. If you did not love the
world, you would not mention it so much. It is always the
purchaser who first disparages what he wants to buy. If
you were done with the world, you would not mention it
either for good or evil. As it is, you keep mentioning it
because, as the proverb says, whoever loves a thing
mentions it frequently."
She never married nor did she have any children but as
she, may Allah be pleased with her, said,
“My peace is in solitude but my Beloved is always with me.
Whenever I witness His Beauty He is my Mihrab (prayer
niche); toward Him is my Qibla (direction). Oh Healer of
Souls, the heart feeds upon its desire and its striving
towards union with You has healed my soul. You are my
joy and my life to eternity. You were the source of my life,
from You came my ecstasy. I have separated myself from
all created beings, for my hope is for union with You, for
that is the goal of my searching.”
People asked her:
"Why do you not take a husband?"
Rabiah responded:
"I am saddled with three concerns. If you remove these
worries from me, I shall take a husband. One: Tell me, will
I die with Imaan? Two: On the Day of Qiyaamah will my
Record of Deeds be given in my right or left hand? Three:
On the Day of Qiyaamah will I be among the people of the
right side or the left side?"
The people said that they were unable to give her
assurances regarding these issues. She said:
"A woman who has these fears has no desire for a
husband."
Her attraction to a life of poverty was also part of her,
need not to be distracted from her inner journey by the
necessity for material considerations. There is a story
about this poverty of hers, as one of her companions said,
“I went to visit Rabi`a and saw her in her house with
nothing but a broken water pitcher out of which she drank
and made her ablution. There was also an old reed mat
and a brick which she sometimes used as a pillow. When I
saw this, I felt very sad and I said to her,
"I have rich friends. If you wish I will get something from
them for you."
She said,
"You have committed a grievous error. Is not my Provider
and theirs one and the same?"
I replied,
"Yes."
Then she said,
"And has the Provider of the poor forgotten the poor on
account of their poverty? And does He remember the rich
because of their riches?"
I replied,
"No."
She said,
"Then since He knows of my state, how should I remind
Him? Such is His Will and I too wish what He wills."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha’s love, which was
passionate (Shauq) and all-consuming was also full of
humility, fear (Khauf) and reverence (Taqwa) for her
Beloved, and when she was asked about how she had such
a degree of intimacy, she said,
“By constantly saying: I take refuge in You from everything
which has distracted me from You and from every
hindrance which has hindered me from You.”
She also said,
“You must conceal your good deeds as you conceal your
evil deeds.”
In the same way, she said,
“What appears of any good works, I count as nothing at
all.”
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha’s companions spoke
about how she was always weeping and when she was
asked,
“Why do you weep like this?”
She said,
“I fear that I may be cut off from Him to Whom I am
accustomed, and that at the hour of death a voice may say
that I am not worthy."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha severed all her
worldly hopes and her attitude was like that of a person in
his death throes. Each morning she supplicated:
"O Allah! Keep me engrossed in You and do not allow the
people of the world to divert me."
THE MIRACLES OF HER SAYINGS AND
THE SAYINGS OF HER MIRACLES
Most of the Sufis expressed their love to Allah through
their poems and poetries based on the metaphor that, the
love for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and seeking contact
with Him is like seeking a departed lover. A true Sufi is a
person who really loves Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala with a
true heart and do good deeds until he reaches perfection
in annihilation of the self, and his soul attains the eternal
relationship with Allah Ta'ala. Hadhrat Rabi'ah
Rahmatullah 'Alaiha was an extraordinary example.
She believed that Allah's love is at the core of the universe
and one needs to feel that love in all the actions and deeds
that he or she does. She considered the pain of separation
from a lover and the joy of meeting again is like the joy of
reunion with Allah. She had expressed her love towards
Allah with the beauty of her soul. One of her poems goes:
My God and my Lord: Eyes are at rest,
The stars are setting, hushed are the movements of birds
in their nests,
Of monsters in the deep and You are the Just who knows
no change,
The Equity that does not swerve, The Everlasting that
never passes away.
The doors of kings are locked and guarded by their
henchmen,
But Your door is open to those who call upon You.
My Lord, each lover is now alone with his beloved,
And I am alone with You.
With my Beloved I alone have been,
When secrets tenderer than evening airs,
Passed and the vision blest was granted to my prayers,
That crowned me, else obscure with endless fame,
The while amazed between His Beauty and His Majesty,
I stood in silent ecstasy revealing that which o'er my spirit
went and came.
Lo, in His face commingled,
Is every charm and grace, the whole of beauty singled?
Into a perfect face, beholding Him would cry,
There is no God but He, and He is the most High.
These are the words of the female Sufi saint, Hadhrat
Rabi'ah Al-Basri Rahmatullah 'Alaiha. She grew in the
tender love and training of the higher intuitive powers of
the divine. She made no separation in her love between
man and woman if they lived for the Face of the Beloved,
Allah. Many people loved her and needed her and wanted
to take from her something of the special gift which she
had been given from Allah. She had many followers who
yearned to feed themselves from her Love which she gave
to all those whom she loved. Describing her sincere love
towards Allah, she said in her prayer:
"If I adore You out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell!
If I adore you out of desire for Paradise, lock me out of
Paradise.
But if I adore you for Yourself alone,
Do not deny to me Your eternal beauty."
She prayed,
"O Allah, take away the words of the devil that mix with
my prayer.
If not, then take my prayer as it is, devil and all. "
She said,
"Where a part of you goes, the rest of you will follow in a
given time.
You call yourself a teacher; Therefore learn."
She said,
"I love Allah: I have no time left,
In which to hate the devil."
She said,
"I carry a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the
other.
With these things I am going to set fire to Heaven,
And put out the flames of Hell,
So that voyagers to Allah can rip the veils and see the real
goal."
She said,
"How long will you keep pounding on an open door,
Begging for someone to open it?"
She said,
"Let me hide in You ,
From everything that distracts me from You,
From everything that comes in my way,
When I want to run to You."
She said,
"May Allah steal from you all that steals you from Him."
She said,
The real work is in the Heart.
 Wake up your Heart!
Because when the Heart is completely awake,
Then it needs no Friend.
She said,
I have two ways of loving You:
A selfish one and another way that is worthy of You.
In my selfish love, I remember You and You alone.
In that other love, You lift the veil,
And let me feast my eyes on Your Living Face.
That I remember You always or that I see You face to face,
No credit to me in either.
The credit is to You in both.
Here Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha was referring
to the Love which is of the complete integrity,
steadfastness and patience, which is for nothing but the
Face of Allah Who is the only true Beloved. It is the
worship of the heart which only witnesses the perfect
Union of the Beloved and the Lover.
She said,
O Allah, You know that the only thing,
I want in this life is to be obedient to Your command.
Even the living sight of my eyes is service at your court.
She said,
O Allah!
Once I wanted You so much,
I didn't even dare walk past Your house,
And now I am not even worthy to be let in.
She said,
My Joy
My Hunger
My Shelter
My Friend
My Food for the Journey
My Journey's End
You are my breath,
My hope,
My companion,
My craving,
My abundant wealth.
She said,
The one who explains, lies.
How can you describe the true form of Something
In whose presence you are blotted out?
And in whose being you still exist?
She said,
I swear that ever since the first day
You brought me back to life,
The day You became my Friend,
I have not slept and even if You drive me from your door,
I swear again that we will never be separated,
Because You are alive in my heart.
She said,
I look everywhere for Your love,
Then suddenly I am filled with it.
O Captain of my heart,
Radiant eye of yearning in my breast.
Allah himself was her real Beloved but she kept company
with her fellow beings, as she said,
“Everyone who obeys seeks intimacy.”
Then she recited these lines:
“I have made You the Companion of my heart.
But my body is available to those who desire its company,
And my body is friendly toward its guest,
But the Beloved of my heart is the guest of my soul.”
At one occasion she was asked if she hated Syaitan (Devil).
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha replied:
"My love to Allah has so possessed me that no place
remains for loving or hating any save Him."
Although she was always busy with her Beloved Allah all
the time and she did not have any moment for anybody or
anything else but Him, she also knew the meaning of what
she said, for her Beloved Allah revealed Himself to her in
every face around her. She said,
“The groaning and yearning of the lover of Allah will not
be satisfied until it is satisfied in the Beloved.”
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha was that Beloved.
She once said that there are three kinds of men. The first
believes that his hands and his sons’ hands are all that is
necessary to succeed in the only world they know that is
the material world. The second kind prays with his hands
so that a reward will be earned in the next life. The third
kind has his hands tied at the wrist, bound with love to
serve without thought of return.
Once Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha kept seven
fasts and spent the entire night in Ibaadat. On the seventh
day someone presented her a bowl of milk. When she
went to fetch the lamp, a cat came and drank the milk. She
decided to break fast with water. When she brought a cup
of water, the lamp was extinguished. As she lifted the cup,
it slipped and broke. She drew a sigh and said:
"O Allah! What are You doing to me?"
A Voice said:
"O Rabiah! If you desire the bounties of the world, We
shall bestow it to you, but then We shall remove Our love
from your heart. Our love and worldly bounties cannot
coexist in one heart."
She was asked:
"When is Allah pleased with a person?"
She replied:
 "When He expresses gratitude for the effort on His Path
just as He expresses gratitude for bounties."
She usually cried in tears when she talks about her love of
the Beloved. When she was asked for the cause of her
constant crying, she said:
"I fear separation from Allah Ta'ala. I fear that at the time
of death I may be rebuffed and it be announced: "You do
not deserve to be in Our Presence."
Once, she fasted for a whole week, neither eating nor
sleeping. All night she prayed and became very hungry.
Then a visitor came bringing her a bowl of food. She
accepted it and went to fetch a lamp. When she returned,
she found that a cat had overturned the bowl of food. She
then said to herself,
“I will fetch a jug of water and break my fast by drinking.”
But by the time that she had fetched the jug, the lamp had
gone out. Then, she tried to drink the water in the dark but
the jug slipped from her hand and broke into pieces. She
lamented and sighed so much she cried,
“O Allah! What is this that You are doing with this helpless
slave?”
Then she heard a voice say,
“Be careful lest you desire Me to bestow on you all worldly
blessings, but take away from your heart the caring for Me,
for care for Me and worldly blessings can never be
together in a single heart. O Rabi`ah! You desire one thing
and I desire another. My desire and your desire can never
be joined in one heart.”
She said,
“When I heard this admonition, so I cut off my heart from
the world and curtailed my desires that whenever I have
prayed during the last thirty years I have thought it to be
my last prayer.”
It was told of her that she was seen one day carrying a
brand of fire in one hand and a pitcher of water in the
other, and that she was running very fast. When they
asked her what she was doing and where she was going,
she said,
“I am going to light a fire in the Garden and pour water
onto it so that both these veils may disappear from the
seekers, and that their purpose may be sure, and that the
slaves of Allah may see Him, without any object of hope or
motive of fear. What if the Hope for the Garden and the
Fear of the Fire did not exist? Not one would worship his
Lord, nor obey Him. But He is worthy of worship without
any immediate motive or need.”
It was said that she was the first person to teach about the
necessity for truthfulness and sincerity in the lover’s
bondsmanship to the Beloved Who is Allah. She was one of
the spies of the heart for she often spoke out clearly
against all who claimed to be lovers of Allah, but whose
hearts were not always pure in intention and devotion.
Once, she said,
"As long as man's heart is not alert, his other limbs cannot
find the path of Allah. An alert heart is a heart lost in
divine absorption. Such a heart is not in need of the aid of
other limbs. This stage is called Fana (annihilation)."
She also said,
"Only verbal Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) is the act of
liars. When a vain person makes Taubah (repentance), he
should again make Taubah (for the sin of vanity)."
THE LOVER OF THE BELOVED AND
THE BELOVED OF THE LOVER
Once, someone asked her about love,
“What is Love?”
She said,
“Love has come from Eternity and passes into eternity,
and none has been found in seventy thousand worlds who
drinks one drop of it until at last he is absorbed in Allah,
and from that comes His words:
“He loves them, and they love Him.” (5:54).
One of her companions, Hadhrat Sufyan Ats-Tsauri
Rahmatullah 'Alaih, asked her,
“What is the best thing for the servant to do who desires
proximity to his Lord?”
She said,
“That the servant should possess nothing in this world for
the Next, save Him.”
Hadhrat Malik Bin Dinar Rahmatullah 'Alaih went to visit
her. He found in her home only a partly broken jug which
she used for Wudhu (ablution) and drinking water; a very
old straw-mat on which she slept and a brick which she
used as a pillow.
Hadhrat Malik Bin Dinar Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"I have many affluent friends, shall I ask them to bring
some items for you?"
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha said,
"O Malik! Is my Provider, your Provider and the provider
of the wealthy not the same Being?"
Hadhrat Malik Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"Yes."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha said,
"What, has He forgotten about the needs of the poor on
account of their poverty while He remembers the needs of
the wealthy?"
Hadhrat Malik Bin Dinar Rahmatullah 'Alaih said,
"It is not so."
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha said,
"When He never forgets anyone, why should we remind
Him? He has wished this condition for me and I am
pleased with it because it is His pleasure."
She never had any doubts about her Beloved being
present or absent, because she was not concerned only to
have His good pleasure and bounties. She lived for a Love
which does not seek for any answer, reward or
reciprocity. It was related how one day one of her
followers said in her presence,
“Oh Allah, may You be satisfied with us!”
Whereupon she said,
“Are you not ashamed before Him to ask Him to be
satisfied with you, when you are not satisfied with Him?”
By this she meant that first we must be truly satisfied with
Allah, Most High, before we can ask Him to be satisfied
with us. Then this was followed by the question to her,
“When then is the servant satisfied with Allah Most High?”
She replied,
“When his pleasure in misfortune is equal to his pleasure
in prosperity.”
Once when she was sick a number of people went to visit
her. They asked her,
“How are you?”
She replied,
“By Allah! I know of no reason for my illness except that
Paradise was displayed to me and I yearned after it in my
heart; and I thank that my Lord was jealous for me and so
He reproached me; and only He can make me happy
again.”
She said,
“O Allah, whatsoever You have apportioned to me of
worldly things, Give that to Your enemies, And what You
have apportioned to me in the Hereafter, Give that to Your
Friends, For You suffice me.”
She also said,
“O Allah, if I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell,
And if I worship You in hope of Paradise, Exclude me from
Paradise. But if I worship You for Your Own sake, Grudge
me not Your everlasting Beauty.”
When she was urged to speak, her words perfectly
manifested her love, her belief and her faith, for she was
so totally immersed in her Lord that she became a shining
Light which attracted many people to her presence to
drink from the same Spring from which she drank.
She said,
“If I will a thing and my Lord does not will it, I shall be
guilty of unbelief.”
Her faith came from her total surrender to her Beloved
Allah, as she said,
“I have fled from the world and all that is in it. My prayer
is for Union with You; that is the goal of my desire.”
Then, since she always attributed her illnesses and
misfortunes to the Will of her Beloved Allah, how could
she oppose Him in trying to rid herself of them? Once she
was heard to say,
“If You had not set me apart by affliction, I would not have
increased Your lovers.”
It was part of her faith that she welcomed an asceticism
which accepted everything as a Gift from Allah, the Lover
to his beloved slave. Therefore, she regarded misfortune
in the same way as she regarded favors and happiness,
and this was the ultimate of bondsmanship to her. About
this she said,
“You have given me life and have provided for me, and
Yours is the Glory.”
And she added,
“You have bestowed upon me many favors, and gifts,
graces and help.”
In this she acknowledges her bondsmanship to the Giver
and Bestower of all Bounty. The sole object of Hadhrat
Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha’s life was bound up in her
yearning and passionate love (Shauq) for her Beloved,
which meant not merely the destruction of her self (Nafs)
but surrender to Allah every moment in the perfect Union
in which there is no Lord and slave, no Creator and
created being, only He in Himself. In that state she came to
realize that she existed in Him without any possibility of
separation from His indivisible Oneness.
There is a story related that she once said,
“I praised Allah one night with the praises of dawn, then I
slept and I saw a bright, green tree, not to be described in
size and beauty, and lo, upon it were three kinds of fruit,
unknown to me amongst the fruit of the world, like
virgins’ breasts, white, red and yellow and they shone like
spheres and suns in the green spaces of the tree. I admired
them and said,
‘Whose is this?’
And one said to me,
‘This is yours, for your praise's aforetime.’
Then I began to walk around the tree, and lo, underneath
it were eighteen fruits on the ground of the colour of gold,
and I said,
‘If only these fruits were with the fruits on the tree it
would be better.’
That person said to me,
‘They would have been there but that you, when you
offered your praises, were thinking, ‘Is the dough leavened
or not?’ So this fruit fell off. This is a warning to those of
insight, and an exhortation to those who fear Allah and
worship Him.”
One day a man, who was said to be a knower of Allah met
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha who asked him of his
state, whereupon he replied,
“I have trod the Path of obedience and I have not sinned
since Allah created me.”
She said to him,
“Alas my son, your existence is a sin wherewith no other
sin may be compared.”
One of the early stories about her relates how she set
about making the Pilgrimage to Makkah. She joined a
caravan of other pilgrims and she had a small donkey on
which she put her baggage for her journey. However, in
the middle of the desert the donkey died. Some of the
people in the caravan offered to carry her baggage for her,
but she said to them,
“Go on your way for I must not depend upon you for help,
but I trust myself to Allah.”
So, seeing that they could not persuade her otherwise, the
other pilgrims continued and she remained behind alone
in the vast desert all around her. She prayed to her Allah,
saying,
“O Allah my Lord, do kings deal thus with a woman, a
stranger who is weak? You are calling me to Your House
(The Ka`abah) but in the middle of my way You have
suffered my ass to die, and You have left me alone in the
desert.”
Hardly had she finished praying when her ass began to
move, and finally it stood up. She put her baggage again on
it and continued on her way to Makkah. The person who
narrates the story said that he saw the same little donkey
for sale in the market-place.
There was another story that Hadhrat Rabi`ah
Rahmatullah 'Alaiha was once on her way to Makkah.
When she was half-way there she saw the Ka`abah (The
House of Allah) coming to meet her and she said,
“It is the Lord of the House Whom I need. What have I to
do with the House? I need to meet with Him Who said:
‘Whoso approaches Me by a span’s length I will approach
him by the length of a cubit.’ The Ka`abah which I see has
no power over me. What does the Ka`abah bring to me?”
It was related that Hadhrat Ibrahim Bin Adham
Rahmatullah 'Alaih, a very holy person and a prominent
Sufi figures, spent fourteen years making his way to the She said,
Ka`abah because in every place of prayer he prayed two
Raka'ats Nafil prayer and at last when he reached the “I am sorrowing.”
Ka`abah he did not see it. He said to himself,
They asked,
“Alas, what has happened to my eyes? Maybe a sickness
“In what way?”
has come to them.”

Then he heard a voice which said,

She said,
“No harm has befallen your eyes, but the Ka`abah has gone
“I am eating the bread of this world and doing the work of
to meet a woman who is approaching.”
that World.”
Hadhrat Ibrahim Rahmatullah 'Alaih was seized with
Then someone said,
jealousy and said,
“One so persuasive in speech is worthy to keep a guest-
“O indeed, who is this?”
house.”
He ran and saw Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha was
She replied,
arriving and the Ka`abah was back in its place.
“I myself am keeping a rest-house. Whatever is within I do
When Hadhrat Ibrahim Rahmatullah 'Alaih saw that, he
not allow to go out, and whatever is without I do not allow
said, "O Rabi'ah, what is this disturbance and trouble and to come in. If anyone comes in or goes out, he does not
burden which you have brought into the world?" concern me, for I am contemplating my own heart, not
mere clay.”
She replied,
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha’s companions spoke
"I have not brought disturbance into the world. It is you
about how she was always weeping and when she was
who have disturbed the world, because you delayed
asked,
fourteen years in arriving at the Ka'abah."
“Why do you weep like this?”
He said,
She said,
"Yes I have spent fourteen years in crossing the desert
because I was engaged in prayer." “I fear that I may be cut off from Him to Whom I am
accustomed, and that at the hour of death a voice may say
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha said,
that I am not worthy.”
"You traversed it in ritual prayer but with personal
Once, she went into the desert for a few days and prayed,
supplication."
"O my Lord, my heart is perplexed, whither shall I go? I am
Then, having performed the pilgrimage, she returned to
not but a clod or earth and that the Kaa'bah in only a stone
Basrah and occupied herself with works of devotion. Once,
to me. Show Thyself to me in this very place."
Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha was asked,
So she prayed until Allah The Most High, without any
“Where have you come from?”
medium, spoke directly within her heart, saying,
She said,
"O Rabi'ah, when Moses desired to see My Face, I cast a
“From that World.”
They then asked her, few particles of My Glory upon the mountain of Sinai and it
“Where are you going?” was rent into forty pieces. Be content here with My Name."
She replied,
“To that World.” We can perhaps find both the inner depth and the height
They asked, of the meaning of her need for poverty in a story relating
“What are you doing in this world?” to a period in the early days of Hadhrat Rabi’ah
Rahmatullah 'Alaiha's walking on the Path of Allah. This
was always to be a reminder to her of the need to strive
and surrender all her existence to her Beloved Lord if she
was to reach to the Goal of what He desired of her. In her
yearning for Allah, she prayed to be shown His Vision.
A Voice said to her:
"If you desire Me, I shall reveal a manifestation (Tajalli) of
Myself and in a moment you will be reduced to ash."
She said:
"O Allah! I lack the power for Your Tajalli. I wish for the
rank of Faqr (an extremely lofty spiritual status of divine
proximity)."
The Voice said:
"O Rabiah! Faqr is the famine of My Wrath. We have
reserved it exclusively for those Men (Auliyaa) who have
completely reached Us. There remains not even the
distance of a hair between them and Us. At that juncture,
We rebuff them and distance them from Our Proximity.
Inspite of his, they do not lose hope in Us. They again
commence their journey towards Us. While this is their
condition, you are still wrapped in the veils of time. As
long as you are with the folds of these veils and have not
entered into Our Path with a true heart, it is improper for
you to even mention Faqr."
The Voice then commanded her to lift her gaze towards
the heaven. As she complied, she observed a vast rolling
ocean of blood suspended in space. The Voice said:
"This is the ocean of blood of tears of My Lovers who are
lost in My Absorption. This is their first stage in their
journey to reach Allah."
The key to Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha’s
reaching and living in the loving Presence of her Lord was
her constant praying, remembrance and asking for
forgiveness for all her shortcomings, and a knowing that
her Union with her Beloved God could not come in the
way that she desired, but only in the way that He desired
for her. She was also well aware that her remembrance
and repentance did not come from herself, but from Him,
her Beloved Allah.
It is said that someone once said to her,
“I have committed many sins, if I turn in repentance
(Taubah) toward Allah, will He turn in His Mercy toward
me?”
She said,
“No, but if He will turn toward you, you will turn toward
Him.”
For Hadhrat Rabi`ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha, repentance was
a gift from Allah, as she said,
“Seeking forgiveness with the tongue is the sin of lying. If I
seek repentance of myself, I shall have need of repentance
again.”
She also said,
“Our asking for forgiveness of Allah itself needs
forgiveness.”
She, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
“O Allah, my whole occupation and all my desire in this
world, of all worldly things, is to remember You. And in
the Hereafter it is to meet You. This is on my side, as I have
stated. Now You do whatever You will.”
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha supplicated:
"O Allah! My duty and my desire on earth are Your
remembrance and in the Aakhirah, Your Vision. You are
the Master. O Allah! Maintain the presence of my heart or
accept my Ibadat (obedience) devoid of concentration."
In her nightly prayers she loved to commune with her
Beloved Allah, saying,
“O Allah, the night has passed and the day has dawned.
How I long to know if You have accepted my prayers or if
You have rejected them. Therefore console me, for it is
Yours to console this state of mine. You have given me life
and cared for me, and Yours is the Glory. If You want to
drive me from Your Door yet would I not forsake it for the
love that I bear in my heart towards You.”
She taught that repentance was a gift from Allah because
no one could repent unless Allah had already accepted him
and given him this gift of repentance. She taught that
sinners must fear the punishment they deserved for their
sins, but she also offered such sinners far more hope of
Paradise than most other ascetics did. For herself, she held
to a higher ideal, worshipping Allah neither from fear of
Hell nor from hope of Paradise, for she saw such self-
interest as unworthy of Allah's servants; where emotions
like fear and hope were like veils which are the hindrances
to the vision of Allah Himself.
About seven years before she died, she travelled to
Jerusalem with a woman companion and attendant, and
she bought a small house with some land surrounding it
on top of the holy Mountain of Olives (At-Tur). There she
lived, and from there she used to walk down, every day, to
Al-Aqsa Mosque where she prayed and gave teachings to
the people, both men and women, who came to listen to
her. Although she was a woman, nobody could prevent her
from doing this because it was Allah Who moved her in
this way to be the means of manifesting Himself to the
people who sought Him through her. Then after praying
and teaching in the mosque she would walk back up the
mountain to her house. This she did every day until she
died in the year 185 A.H. / 801 C.E.
When her time to depart from earth was near, the Sufi
scholars gathered by her and she said:
"Go away and leave place for the Angels."
They all went out and closed the door. While they were
waiting outside, they heard from within a voice reciting:
"O Soul at Rest! Return to your Rabb."
For a long while thereafter there was silence. When they
went inside they discovered that Hadhrat Rabi'ah
Rahmatullah 'Alaiha's soul had taken flight from this
world and had reached Allah. After she died her followers
built a tomb for her which still exists near the Christian
Church of the Ascension on top of the Mountain of Olives.
It is visited by those who remember her and thank Allah
for the blessing which He granted through her life. She
was in her early to mid eighties when she died, having
followed the mystic way to the end. She believed she was
continually united with her Beloved. As she told her Sufi
friends,
"Through my friend Deepak Chopra I came across Osho's books which gave me another deeper shift
in my life. I regret I did not met him in person, and I feel sorry the US Government missed such an
opportunity back in 86."
"My Beloved is always with me"
She died in Jerusalem in 185 AH. In a dream someone
asked her:
"What transpired when Munkar and Nakir came to You?"
Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah 'Alaiha said:
"When they asked me: "Who is your Rabb?", I said: "Go
back! Say to Allah: When You had never forgotten this
weak woman despite Your remembrance of entire
creation, how can she forget You when on earth You were
her only remembrance? Why do you send Angels to
question her?"
Hadhrat Muhammad Aslam Tusi and Hadhrat Nu'maa
Tartusi Rahmatullah 'Alaihima stood at her grave side.
One of them said:
"O Rabi'ah! During your lifetime you made bold and
audacious claims of having renounced the world. Tell us,
what has transpired now with you?"
From inside the grave, Hadhrat Rabi'ah Rahmatullah
'Alaiha spoke,
"May Allah grant me Barakah in what I have seen and am
seeing the wonders of the spiritual realm."
A modern writer says of her, "Rabi'ah is the saint par
excellence of Sunnite hagiography." Her life and sayings
became a source of deep inspiration and yearning for all
those who were drawn to her and followed her, both in
her time and afterwards. This was because of her deep
love which manifests directly from the Spirit and for the
Face of her Beloved alone without any trace of self in it,
brought a special fragrance from the deep secret love into
the more austere teachings of those early Sufis.
May Allah Ta'ala grant us the oceans of His Love and
Ma'rifat and bestows upon us the Love that He had
bestowed upon Hadhrat Rabi'ah Al-Basri Rahmatullah
'Alaiha, may Allah bless her Ruh.
- Madonna, Singer and Performer
 ANECDOTES OF RABIA AL BASRI
SHEIKH TAOSHOBUDDHA
There are many anecdotes associated with Rabia that
reveal her inner state and Tariqat.
1. Once it happened Rabia was looking for something
on the street under the light. Seeing this gesture a
crowd gathered. Everyone started looking for
something that Rabia had lost. Someone enquired,
‘Rabia what are you looking for, because unless we
know what are we looking for how can this be
found?’
At this Rabia told the crowd that she lost her sewing
needle. The search continued. But the needle could not be
found. Then someone among the crowd enquired, ‘ Rabia
the road is big. Where exactly did the needle fall? Only
then we can really search.’
Rabia responded, ‘She did not lose the needle on the
street. Instead it was lost in her room.’
Hearing this that person replied, ‘We all know Rabia that
you are crazy. Now this is the extent. How can you find
something on the street that is lost somewhere else?’
At this a meditative Rabia responded, ‘You are right.
Exactly this is what I have been telling you.’
This is the way of a Sufi to bring about awareness. This is
tariqat.
2. Rabia was very beautiful. Once she was captured
by the merchants who sold her as prostitute.
Each night men full of desire for flesh will visit her as was
normal. Now a meditative Rabia found a tariqat to
transform her visitors. Each time when someone would
approach her full of passion she would ask him to pray
seeking Allah’s forgiveness before entering into sin. This
appealed to the visitors.
According to the Shariat a woman cannot lead anyone in
prayer. So Rabia remained at the back and thus joined in
prayer. As the visitor will bow in Shazda and the forehead
is on the ground she would send strong tawajjoh or the
energy field. It was almost a state of somnolence or sleep
or lack of physical activity. The visitor would remain in
that state of shazda until morning and yawning he would
leave.
This continued for a few days. Then one day the owner
realized that a visitor who had visited Rabia once is not
coming back. This was quite unusual in this trade.
Therefore he decided to enquire. So he made a peep hole
to look into. What he saw not only surprised him instead
filled him with more respect for Rabia.
Thus Rabia was transforming those visitors. And through
her tawajjoh she was clearing all those nafsani muqams or
the states of lower emotions. Thus she was taking them to
a higher state of awareness.
This is Sufi Tariqat.
3. There was another Sufi during the time Rabia
lived. His name was Hasan. He had tremendous
love for Rabia. And had the intensions of Nikah or
marriage as well. Each time Hasan would say
something Rabia’s response was very strict.
One day Hasan asked Rabia of her copy of Holy
Quran. Rabia pointed the place where her Holy
Quran was kept.
When Hasan opened the Holy Book he found many
lines were deleted from the Holy Scripture. This is
blasphemy. The message of The Holy book is final
verdict and cannot be altered. But Rabia has done
so.
One particular line drew the attention of Hasan.
When Hasan enquired about that action Rabia
responded, ‘Ever since I have loved God or His love
kindled in my heart I know there is no enemy.
Love knows not hate or enemy.’
When love springs forth hate and anger can no
longer inflict you.
Rabias’ life is full of such anecdotes. Because of the
limitations I would like to contain myself. There are other
Masters knocking the doors of my consciousness for their
turn. Only this much for now on Rabai al Basari.

Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi is a friend of SHEIKH
TAOSHOBUDDHA and an international contributor to
MEDITATION TIMES.
Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar Rowi was born in Ipoh, Perak an Islamic
Sultanate of Malaysia in the year 1973. He received the early
academic educations from primary to secondary schoolings at the
Saint George's Institutions in Taiping, Perak until 1990.
In 1991, he was guided into the Path of Allah when he was 19 and
joined the Da'wah and Tabligh missions founded by Hadhrat
Mawlana Muhammad Ilyas Kandahlawi Rahmatullah 'Alaih and then
he took the pledge of Naqshbandiyah Haqqaniyah Sufi order from
Hadhrat Syeikh Raja Ashman Shah, The Prince of Perak Sultanate
who was the Caliph of Hadhrat Mawlana Syeikh Muhammad Nazim
Adil Qubrusi Haqqani Quddisa Sirruhu.
In 1994, he went to Pakistan for further studies of Islamic Sciences
(Syari'ah) at Al-Jami'ah Al-Ashrafiah (Ashrafia Islamic University) in
Lahore and Islamic Sufism (Tariqah) at Khanqah Sirajiah, Kundiyan
Syarif, Mianwali, Pakistan where he was initiated into the
Naqshbandiyah Mujaddidiyah Sufi order by the hands of Hadhrat
Khwajah Khwajahgan Mawlana Khan Muhammad Sahib, The Amir of
Aalami Majlis Tahaffuz Khatamun Nubuwwat.
In 1998, he re-established the Aalami Majlis Ittihad Baynal Muslimin
founded by his teacher at the Jami'ah Ashrafiah, Hadhrat Mawlana
Ahmad 'Ali Ashrafi with the name Majlis Ittihad Muslimin (MIM) an
Islamic society for the foreigner's Muslim's students in Pakistan and
published the monthly magazine combining all the information
regarding the Muslim's efforts and interests in the Muslim's world.
He came back to Malaysia in 2001 after the September 11th and the
attacks of Afghanistan by the US. He teaches Quran and Tasawwuf
and now he lives in Selangor, Malaysia, married with four children.
He authored several books and articles on Islam and Sufism in Bahasa
Melayu and English:
1. Arba'in Ar-Rowi
2. Ar-Risalah Al-'Aliyah Fi Tariqatin Naqshbandiyah Mujaddidiyah
(VOL. 1, 2, 3, 4 & Sughra)
3. Miftah Al-Insyirah Fi Lataif Al-'Asharah
4. Tazkirah Al-Asfiya Fi Hayat Al-Awliya
5. Qawaid An-Naqshbandiyah
6. Asma Allah Al-A'zam
7. Asma An-Nabiy Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
8. Dalail An-Naqsh Fi Du'a Kanzil 'Arsh
9. Ayat Mubarakah
10. An-Nazam Ash-Sharif (Dar Madah Hadhrat Syeikh Muhammad
Musa Khan Ar-Ruhani Al-Bazi)
11. Ar-Risalah Al-A'jam Fi Asma Allah Al-A'zam
12. Uwais Al-Qarani & Uwaisiyah Sufi Method
His next mission is to establish the Naqshbandiyah Academy of
Quran, Sunnah and Hadits (NAQSH) for the propagation of the
Islamic teachings and Sufism to the entire world. May Allah help him
in his mission.
Faqir Mawlawi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi
'Ufiyallahu 'Anhu Wali Walidaihi
Wali Jami'il Muslimin
 LAL DED OR LALLESHWARI
FEMALE MYSTIC FROM KASHMIR, INDIA [1320-1390]
Introduction to Lal Ded
The middle of the 14th century was a period of religious
and moral growth in whole of India. Kashmir could not
remain unaffected of this trend. Kashmir by far has its
own beauty, freshness of nature and that of
consciousness as well. The two have merged to give a
new freshness to the setting trends. Buddhism had
practically disappeared from the Kashmir Valley. Yet still
one finds mention of Buddhist priests and Viharas
(place of Buddhist worship) in the later Rajataranginis.
Tilakacharya, described as a Buddhist, was a minister of
Zain-ul-Abidin. Most of the Buddhist theologians and
saints found the Valley uncongenial. And therefore
moved to Ladakh and Tibet leaving the valley bereft of
Buddhist teachings! Other influences were fast rising.
There was a long period of political instability which
followed the peaceful and enlightened reign of
Avantivarman from 855 to 883 A.D. This was specifically
responsible for the growth and development of
Shaivism. As a result Shaivism that was once the major
religion was reduced to elaborate and complex rituals
which dominated all social and cultural activities.
Shaktism, born of the love for Durga worship, had
degenerated into gross forms of rites and ceremonies.
Vaishnavism had not established any strong element in
the religious texture of the Valley. However in the 11th
century it received further nourishment from the
teachings of Ramanuja who travelled all the way from
Madras to Kashmir to fight against Shaivism at its very
origin. And with the destruction of temples and images
by several Hindu kings like HarshaVardhan, as well as by
Muslim zealots (Jewish religious-political faction, known
for its fanatical resistance to Roman rule in Judea during
the 1st century AD). Hindu worship was driven to the
seclusion of the home or of 'natural' (Svayambhu)
images - rocks, or ice formations, or springs alone.
Sanskrit became the domain of the learned few, the
common man having taken to a form of Prakrit which
though retaining its essentials, was yet wholly different
from the ‘Language of the Gods’.
Impact of Islam
This was the period of trouble. In this troubled period of
political uncertainty and changing social values, the
people of the Valley were subjected to the impact of
Islam. The close contact between the two religions had
deep influence on each other. This resulted in the
evolution of what may be called Medieval Reformers or
Mystics.
For more than two hundred years Islam had, in central
Asia and Persia, been similarly influenced by the
teachings and dogmas of Mahayana Buddhism and
Upanishadic philosophy. This resulted in the emergence
of a sect of Islamic mystics. Fortunately, the new
religion entered the Valley in this form. It was carried
there by enlightened Sufis like Bulbul Shah. These
mystics had humanistic approach to religion. Thus they
found a ready and sympathetic response from the
Kashmiris that had already permeated with the
teachings of mystic saints and ‘seers’.
It was during this period of religious growth that a need
was felt for a new approach to religion. A religion that
could embrace all creeds and castes and yet still be the
religion of ‘heart’ rather than that of ‘head’. It was due
to valleys’s rich religious and philosophic traditions,
Kashmir rose to the occasion and produced a number of
mystics and saints who by their teachings and their lives
of complete self- abnegation were the living
embodiments of true religion and religiosity.
Emergence of Lalleshwari
It was under the backdrop of these condition that on
the spiritual horizon of the valley of super
consciousness there emerged a foremost ‘seer’ great
mystic, Lalleshwari. Popularly she is known as Lal Ded
(Mother Lalla). She profoundly influenced the thought
and life of her contemporaries. A woman of no precise
and formal education Lalleshwari influenced the people
of the valley. Her sayings still continue to linger in the
hearts of Kashmiris like a far away music of the wind
rustling through the tall pine tree. And continues to
vibrate as well the chords of their heart! Still these are
freely and frequently quoted as maxims on appropriate
occasions.
Today I take you through the life, works and teachings
of this fourteenth century mystic woman Lalleshwari
from the valley in the highest peak of Himalayas.
The Hindus called her Lalleshwari and the Muslims Lalla
Arifa. But both lovingly called her Lal DED (Grandmother
or Grandma). This is certain and continues as such to
date. Lal in Kashmiri means an unnatural growth
internal or external, or bodily projection. Lalla's belly
had grown like a hanging lump of fleshy cloak down to
her knees.
Birth and early Life
Lalleshwari was born in 1320 about the middle of the
14th century during the time of Sultan Ala-ud-din. Lall's
parents lived at Pandrenthan (ancient Puranadhisthana)
some four and a half miles to the south-east of Srinagar.
There is absence of authentic historical records. Thus
there seems to be much confusion about the exact
dates of her birth and death among historians.
According to Noor Namas and Reshi Namas Lallwshwari
was born sometime between 1300 -1320 A.D. and died
round about 1377 A.D.
However I am not going to speak to you of a historical
Lalleshwari. Instead I am overflowing a Lalleshwari who
is existential-one who was never born never died.
Lalleshwari simply visited the valley on this planet earth
during the fourteenth century. I will simply highlight
those anecdotes and aspects of her life that reflect her
as a mystic – a poetess and a master of tremendous
insights.
She was married at an early age. She was ill treated by
her mother-in-law who nearly starved her. This story is
preserved in a Kashmiri proverb: ‘Whether they killed a
big sheep or a small one. Lalla had always a stone for
her dinner’. Lalia’s hypocritical mother-in-law was
cunning and tricky. She would usually place a large
round shingle underneath the cooked rice in her plate
at lunch and dinner-time to display her deceptive
affection for Lal Ded and, at the same time, to show to
others how hefty the latter was. Lalleshwari would
always finish eating quickly the scanty rice, wash her
plate and the pebble and place them at their specified
places before attending to other chores.
She would not utter a word of protest; much less
complain against such a strange behavior and ill-
treatment. Instead she would take every care to shield
her husband as well as mother-in-law and their honor.
However, once on a festive occasion while filling a
pitcher at the river bank, she was asked by her girl
friends what the festivity and merriment at her home
was all about. She said ‘Whether they slaughter a ram
or a lamb, Lalla will never miss her shingle’.
Her father-in-law accidentally found out the truth. He
got annoyed with his wife and scolded her. This incident
invited more curses on Lalla. Her mother- in-law
poisoned the ears of her son with all sorts of stories.
Ultimately, the anomalies and cruelties of worldly life
led her to renunciation and she discovered liberty in the
life of the spirit.
Lalleshwari was no exception to the common lot of
womanhood, the world over in general and Indian
womenfolk in particular. Her mother-in-law, perhaps as
a means of cathartic projection of her own experience,
often incited her son against his wife. Being
unintelligent and too dull to observe and appreciate the
nobility of Lalleshwari and the divine sparks in her, he
would thoughtlessly slender and perplex her. Lal Ded
remained ill-treated and ill-fed despite the family
control of her affectionate father-in-law.
Lalleshwari and guru Sidh Srikanth
She found her guru in Sidh Srikanth, whom she
ultimately excelled in spiritual attainments:
Gav Tsatha guras Khasithay
Tyuth var ditam Diva!
[Kashmiri Language]
The disciple surpassed the Guru
God grant me a similar boon!
She pursued Yoga under Sidh Srikanth, until she was
enlightened. But she did not stop there. Around her was
a life of conflict and chaos. Her countrymen and women
needed her guidance. She had a mission to perform.
This she did well and effectively. Her life and sayings
were mainly responsible in molding the character of the
people and setting up tradition of love and tolerance
which characterizes them even today. Thus she was
able to transform the lives.
Lalleshwari the wandering Mystic
Eventually she gave up her secluded life and became a
wandering preacher. She led a severely ascetic life. Clad
in the bareness of one who had forsaken comforts, and
by example and precept conveyed her teachings to the
masses. Unlike Mira she sang of Siva, the great beloved,
and thousands of her followers, Hindus as well as
Muslims, committed to memory her famous
Vakyas(sayings).
There is a high moral teaching which Lalla demonstrated
when during her nude state a gang of youthful rowdies
were mocking her. A sober-minded cloth merchant
intervened and chastised them. On this she asked the
merchant for two pieces of ordinary cloth, equal in
lengtht. She put them on either shoulder and continued
her wandering. On the way some had salutations for her
and some had gibes. For every such greeting she had a
knot in the cloth, for the salutations in the piece on the
right, and for the gibes in the piece on the left. In the
evening after her round, she returned the pieces to the
vendor and had them weighed. Neither had, of course,
gained or lost by the knots. She thus brought home to
the merchant, and her disciples, a teaching that mental
equipoise should not be shaken by the manner people
greeted or treated a person.
For her teachings and spiritual experiences to reach the
masses, she propagated them in their own language.
She thus laid the foundations of the rich Kashmiri
literature and folklore. More than thirty per cent of the
Kashmiri idioms and proverbs derive their origin from
her Vakyas.
Like a mad person, she would go around naked. She
would only keep the company of sadhus and pirs. She
did not think in terms of men and women. She would
claim that she had yet to encounter a man, and that is
why she went about naked. But when she saw Shah
Hamdan, she hid herself saying: ‘I saw a man, I saw a
man.’
Why is Lalla so famous in Kashmir? She was illiterate,
but she was wise. Her sayings are full of wisdom. In
these sayings, she dealt with everything from life, yoga,
and God to dharma and atma. Her riddles are on the lips
of every Kashmiri.
Spiritual and Philosophical Vakyas
These Vakyas or sayings are an aggregate of Yoga
philosophy and Saivism. These contain deep thought
and manifested truth. Yet still these were precise, apt
and sweet. Her quatrains are now rather difficult to
understand as the language has undergone so many
changes, and references to special Yogic and
philosophic terms are numerous therein.
Some of these sayings have been collected and
published by Dr. Grierson, Dr. Barnett, Sir Richard
Temple and Pandit Anand Koul and apart from the
consideration that they explain the Shaiva philosophy of
Kashmir in Kashmiri language, they exemplify the
synthesis of cultures for which Kashmir has always been
noted.
Lalla fills her teachings with many truths that are
common to all religious philosophy. There are many
touches of Vaishnavism, much that is strongly
reminiscent of the doctrines and methods of the
Muslim Sufis who were in India and Kashmir well before
her day, and teachings that might be Christian with
Biblical analogies, though Indian's knowledge of
Christianity must have been very remote and indirect at
her date.
So far nearly two hundred of the sayings of Lalla have
been discovered.
Lalleshwari and Nund Reshi
Inspite of controversies about the birth and the death of
Lalleshwari one thing is certain that for some time both
Lalleshwari and Nunda Reshi and Bulshah were
contemporizes.
It is said when Nunda Reshi was born for three days he
refused to be fed. All efforts by the parents and the
neighbors failed. The same time Lalleshwari entered.
She took the baby in her lap. She kissed him. And
whispering something in his ears before putting the (Translated by G. Grierson)
baby to her breast and fed him.
You are the heaven and You are the earth,
It is said she whispered: ‘When you are not ashamed to You are the day and You are the night,
be born. Then why be shy to be fed by your mother.’ It You are all pervading air,
is said that after this the baby behaved normally. You are the sacred offering of rice and flowers and of
water;
Nund Reshi spent twelve years in meditation inside a You are Yourself all in all,
cave at Khimoh where (according to M.L.Saqi's Edited What can I offer You?
‘Kuliyat-i-Sheikh-Ul-Alam,’ 1985 and, A. D. Majoor's With a thin rope of untwisted thread, Tow I ever my
thesis, Nund Reshi) he is said to have written the life boat o'er the sea.
story of Gautam Buddha in 2,500 verse . But, only three Will God hear the prayers that I have said?
verses of this are said to exist now. The story is said to Will he safely over carry me?
have been translated into Persian by a bilingual Sanskrit Water in a cup of unbaked clay, Whirling and wasting,
scholar. my dizzy soul
Slowly is filling to melt away.
Nund Reshi was the founder and most popular saint of Oh, how fain would I reach my goal.
the Reshi cult of Kashmir. Hindu scholars call him (Translated by R.C. Temple)
Sahazanand because of his Hindu ancestry. However of The arrows of my wooden bow turned out
late Muslim theology describe him as Noor-ud -Din To be the pith of water rush grass;
Noorani or Sheikh-ul -Alam (the light of religion and the The Rajdhani of the kingdom
Sheikh of the world). But as dearest of all Kashmiris, Fell into the rustic hands of
irrespective of caste and creed, and as per his own A crude carpenter;
repeated reference, as Nunda he was endearingly called In the midst of a busy bazar,
Nunda Reshi. His pious memory still continues to be Lockless remained my shop,
cherished by this organization. And a pilgrimmageless self.
I became:
Sayings of Lalleshwari Who appreciates, my friend.

I overpowered and subdued

So far nearly two hundred of her sayings have been
discovered by the researchers. These are in the local
dialect of the time. However with the passage of time
the dialect has changed. Though people find it difficult
to understand the dialect yet still her sayings form the
part of common folklore of Kashmiri people. Some of
her sayings have been translated by many scholars like
R.C. Temple, G. Grierson, and others.
Passionate, with longing in mine eyes, Searching wide,
and seeking nights and days,
Lo' I beheld the Truthful One, the Wise,
Here in mine own House to fill my gaze.
(Translated by R.C. Temple)
Holy books will disappear, and then only the mystic
formula will remain.
When the mystic formula departed, naught but mind
was left.
When the mind disappeared naught was left anywhere,
And a voice became merged within the Void.
My vile heart.
Twisted my liver.
And renounced all I had.;
Thus, giving up all my
Worldy possessions,
I became Lalla for all
Lalla is no believer in good work in this or in former
lives, in pilgrimages or austerities. In one of her sayings
she criticizes the cold and meaningless way in which
religious rituals are performed:
God does not want meditations and austerities
Through love alone canst though reach the Abode of
Bliss.
Thou mayst be lost like salt in water
Still it is difficult for thee to know God.
All labor, to be effective, must be undertaken without
thought of profit and dedicated to Him. Exhorting her
followers to stick fast to ideals of love and service to
humanity, paying no thought to the praise or
condemnation that might follow from their observance,
she says:
Let them jeer or cheer me;
Let anybody say what he likes;
Let good persons worship me with flowers;
What can any one of them gain I being pure?
If the world talks ill of me
My heart shall harbor no ill-will:
If am a true worshipper of God
Can ashes leave a stain on a mirror?
Lalleshwari was a strong critic of idolatry as a useless
and even silly ‘work’. She preached them to turn to
Yogic doctrines and exercises as a means of salvation:
Idol is of stone temple is of stone;
Above (temple) and below (idol) are one;
Which of them wilt thou worship O foolish Pandit?
Cause thou the union of mind with Soul.
She further castigates the fanatical followers for their
so-called ‘religions’ in the following saying:
O Mind why hast thou become intoxicated at another's
expense?
Why hast thou mistaken true for untrue?
Thy little understanding hath made thee attached to
other's religion;
Subdued to coming and going; to birth and death.
However Lalla is not an extremist. She constantly
preached wide and even diverse doctrines. At many
instances she would say: ‘it matters nothing by what
name the Supreme is called. He is still the Supreme;’
‘Be all things to all men.’ ‘The true saint is the servant
of all mankind through his humility and loving kindness.’
‘It matters nothing what a man is or what his work of
gaining his livelihood may be, so long as he sees the
Supreme properly.’
She puts no value on anything done without the saving
belief in Yogic doctrine and practice, one of the results
of which is the destruction of the fruits of all work, good
or bad. The aspirant should try to again perfection in
this life. He only requires faith and perseverance:
Siva is with a fine net spread out
He permeath the mortal coils
If thou whilst living canst not see
Him, how canst thou when dead
Take out Self from Self after pondering over it
She is a firm believer in herself. She has become famous
and talks of the ‘wine of her sayings’ as something
obviously precious, and alludes often to her own mode
of life, fully believing she has obtained Release:
I saw and found I am in everything
I saw God effulgent in everything.
After hearing and pausing see Siva
The House is His alone; Who am I, Lalla.
The removal of confusion caused among the masses by
the preaching of zealots was the most important object
of her mission. Having realized the Absolute Truth, all
religions were to her merely paths leading to the same
goal. This she preached through her sayings. The
following sayings reflects such an understanding.
Shiv chuy thali thali rozan;
Mo zan Hindu to Musalman.
Truk ay chuk pan panun parzanav,
Soy chay Sahivas sati zaniy zan.
[KASHMIRI LANGUAGE]
Siva pervades every place and thing;
Do not differentiate between Hindu and Muslim.
You are intelligent recognize thine own self;
That is the true acquaintance with God.
Explanation
This vakyah of Lalleshwari clearly explains her
understanding as the outcome of her enlightenment.
With enlightenment one attains inner oneness and
harmony. Then one envisions the entire cosmos as the
extension of one energy field.
This is the embodiment of scriptural injunction:
#zavaSy imd< svR< yiTk<c jgTyam jgt
ten TyKten -U<ijwa< ma g&x> kZysivdxn<.
God permeates through the entire cosmos. In
Upasnishad this is represented by the term ‘Rik’.
Tulsidas envision this as ‘Rama’. Mira envision this as
‘Girdhar Gopal’ or ‘Krishna’. Lalleshwari envisions this as
‘Shiva’.
This is the essence of this Vakyah. Also one has to
realize what is that makes one a Hindu or Muslim. Is it
the bones, or blood or something else? Also do you
breathe Hindu air or Muslim air? All these are the
dualities. And mind remains lost in these.
Mind divides everything. It is only when one goes
beyond mind and its dualities that one can envision
cosmic oneness. And bliss is the outcome of such an
understanding and awareness.
She says: Shiva abides in all that is, everywhere, then
why do discriminate between one and the other. If thou
art wise, know they self. That is the true knowledge of
God.
Lalleshwari the Great Mystic
The greatness of Lalla lies in giving the essence of her
experiences in the course of her Yoga practices through
the language of the common man. She has shown very
clearly the evolution of the human being, theory of
nada, the worries and miseries of a jiva and the way to
keep them off. The different stages of Yoga with the
awakening of the Kundalini and the experiences at the
six plexus have been elucidated by her.
Much can, indeed, be said on her work as a poet and
more, perhaps, on her work in the spiritual realm. But at
a time when the world was suffering from conflict -
social, political and economic - her efforts in removing
the differences between man and man need to be
emphasized more.
The composite culture and thought she preached and
the Orders she founded was a mixture of the non-
dualistic philosophy of Saivism and Islamic Sufism. As
long back as the 13th century she preached non-
violence, simple living and high thinking and became
thus Lalla Arifa for Muhammadans and Lalleshwari for
Hindus.
She was thus the first among the long list of saints who
preached medieval mysticism which later spread the
whole of India. It must be remembered that
Ramananda's teaching and that of those that came after
him could not have affected Lalla, because Ramananda
flourished between 1400 and 1470, while Kabir sang his
famous Dohas between 1440 and 1518, and Guru Nanak
between 1469 and 1538. Tulsidasa did not come on the
scene till 1532 whereas Mira flourished much later.
Much of whatever relates to Lal Ded - her birth, life,
work, philosophy, her vakyah, their actual number and
inner meaning, her beliefs in short everything about her
has been put differently by the author according to the
development of the individual consciousness. Also they
have not been able always to reach the inner depth and
the essence in translation which has generally been
literal and superficial as one can discern when one reads
or listens to the vakyah. For even such vakyah as are
seemingly put in straight words are pregnant with an
extraordinary depth and loftiness.
She believed in the concept of transmigration of soul as
well as of the cycle of yugas, the changing aeons of time
through creation destruction and regeneration of the
universe. She may have accumulated more light and
knowledge in that process. Further, she must have
received ethereal inspiration. All this has resulted in her
attaining super-consciousness and thus enlightenment.
There can be no Kashmiri Hindu, Muslim or others who
has not heard of her greatness or who does not revere
her even in these times.
This is the beginning of my talks on Lalleshwari.
Therefore I had to leave this as a mere introduction. Yet
still I will have to take you through the mysticism of
Lalleshwari.
Lalleshwari the Rebel of Her Time
Lal Ded lived the life of a rebel in many ways. Whatever
she said or did had some innovation and mission behind
it to correct the prevailing wrong beliefs and practices,
and show the path to piety. Before her, Kashmiri verse
was primarily written in a way as could be used to
memorize esoteric doctrine. But she created vakyah to
express aspiration and experience, thought and feeling
in her own effective way, sometimes vivid and direct
and sometimes allegorical. She was thus a pioneer of
Kashmiri language and verse as only a poet of an
extraordinary force of originality could be a poet whose
poesy is in one of her great admirers Richard Temple's
words ‘aflame with red fire of a thought that burns’.
Grierson has researched her works and is considered an
authority. He has observed that the vakyah are besides
‘an account, are often in vivid and picturesque
language, of the actual working out in practice a religion
previously worked out in theory. It is a unique
contribution to the body of evidence that must
necessarily form the basis of a future history of one of
the most important religious systems of India.’
The contents of her Vakyahs is wholly revolutionary.
She minced no words in expressing her revolt against
the traditional ways of worship or offering sacrifice to
the deities and idols. I will offer one striking example
which says it all, and more. Lamented she in a much
quoted vakyah against animal sacrifice offered to stone
idols thus: ‘This animal, the sheep, gives you wool to
protect you from cold and cover your privacy, and for
itself it subsists just on God-given grass and water. Who
then has ordained you, O ignoramus Pundit that you
slaughter it to offer to a stone?’ The vakyah, as many
others, also lays before us the extent of the Sanskrit-
rooted Kashmiri language put together in soft yet
powerful hard knocking words, cutting criticism of the
practices in vogue.
She mentions in a Vakyas of having received her Guru’s
precept: ‘From without withdraw your gaze within, and
fix it on the inmost self’. She is then made out to have
cast away her apparel to go about dancing in the nude.
Some scholars have, no doubt, disputed or rejected this
interpretation. Lal Ded was too serene and a known
yogini to have taken such a frivolous meaning of a
profound expression. When one analyses it in the
context of the profundity of both the Guru and the
disciple Lalla, it most likely was meant for her to
recognize that the external world is only an illusion of
no value. So Lal Ded lived on as a wandering savant in
total abandon, unmindful of the external world and only
seeking God-consciousness.
Another vakyah illustrates this, ‘Thou were absorbed in
thine own self, hidden from me, I passed whole days in
seeking the out. But when I saw thee in mine own self,
O, joy then Thou and I disported us in ecstasy ‘. Or,
again, ‘Pilgrim sannyasin goes from shrine to shrine
expecting to meet Him who abides within his own self’
Among the most important of Lal Ded's vakyah are
those that bear a constant refrain of the Upanishadic
tenets of the equality and oneness of all which is the
main principle enunciated and dilated upon in Gita in
many of its sutras.
Lalleshwari (1320 -1390)
In another one she advises, ‘Not by ascetic practices is
the self realized. Nor by desire can you gain the portals
of Release.’ It goes on and on and deeper as well as
clearer all the way. In fact she had practiced what she
was professing, she had gone beyond pain or pleasure,
love and hate, heat or cold and all that we normal
humans experience. She was leading people to attain
liberation from the mundane ills and pains as she had
attained it herself.
Lal Ded, Lalla, Lalleshwari or Lala Arifa or Lalla Mats, are
among the numerous names by which she is called.
However whatever be the name it is always with
extreme reverence and love and adoration. She does
not belong to any one community or creed or religion
for she had risen above these dualities. She was too
great for them. She had attained to being a universal
phenomenon in her own life time and then to being a
priceless heritage for humankind. Trying to appropriate
her to any one religion whose narrow limits she had set
out to demolish, is to try to contain a sea in a tea-cup.
Lalla's sublime philosophy is humanity’s immeasurable
treasure of pure spirituality. Quintessentially she had
reached this awareness, became enlightened and finally
merged with the divine. And divinity is not divisible. It is
for you to understand this and live up to it.
This is just the beginning of overflows on Lalleshwari.
Only this much for now!
Aashiyaan
I drank the wine of your love
and became forever drunk.
I fell into a swoon
and lost all consciousness
of pain, misery and sorrows.

My heart was drowned

into the ocean of desperation
but I found eternal life
by drinking the wine of your love.

This intoxicating elixir

has made me mad.
Now I roam hither and thither
Seeking your love;
The devi who destroyed my reality,
and gave me elusive dreams.

All I want is this wine

to keep me forever drunk.
If I become sober
The dreams may fade,
and reality return to haunt me.

I drink this wine

to remain eternally drunk.

Swami anand neelambar

 BAULS
THE DANCING AND SINGING MYSTICS
OF BHAKTI MOVEMENT
Introduction
Bauls (Bengali: বাউল) are a group of mystic
medieval travelling singers from Bengal in India.
Bauls constitute both a synergetic religious sect
and a musical tradition used as a vehicle to
express Baul thought. Bauls are a very
heterogeneous group, with many different streams
of the sect. However their membership mainly
consists of Vaishnavite Hindus and Sufi Muslims.
They can often be identified by their distinctive
clothes and musical instruments, like the ektara or
lute or single stringed instrument. Bauls comprise
only a small fraction of the Bengali population, yet
still their influence on the culture of Bengal is
considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition was
included in the list of ‘Masterpieces of the Oral and
Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ by UNESCO.
I had once many years ago an occasion of meeting
one such singer in the woods. The Baul was of a
very advanced age. No teeth, cheeks sunk in and a
scanty streak of hair with his lute wandering in the
woods I met this Baul. I was asked him to sing a
song. This he refused saying that he cannot sing
because he is hungry. I offered him some food that
we were carrying. Food he refused saying that he
wants a particular Indian sweet. Somehow we had
to arrange the sweets for him. The aura that he
was carrying was that of innocence and
enlightenment. After he had eaten the sweets I
again requested him to sing.
He looked at me and said for you I will doo
anything. This he said with utmost respect and
love. He sang a well known Bhajan of poet Surdas
reflecting the innocence pleas of child Krishna. The
other milk maids have accused him of stealing
butter. Krishna’s whole face and hands are
covered with butter. Yet still he is trying his
innocent pleas to convince his mother that he has
not eaten the butter what to say of stealing. These
boys who are older to him have forcibly applied
butter to his face.
In the original song he had added something. The
song meant, O mother dear, ‘I swear upon you’ that
I have not eaten butter. In the original song he had
added the piece ‘ksm taerI’ ‘I swear upon you’.
Nearly fifty years have passed to this event the
melody and the very event continues to linger in
my being like the dissolving notes to date.
Man is sacred as he is the ultimate creation of God.
As a result Bauls profess universal brotherhood
and refuse as difference of races, casts, religions.
Their living is free and detached from material
things. The music of Baul expresses the inner joy,
the happiness of love spreading from oneself
trough old gesture and moving melodies arousing
a pure and absolute meeting of hearts. This way
the Baul live a free existence, without
discrimination and rules a life.
Historical Development
The origin of Bauls is not known accurately. Yet
still the word Baul has appeared in Bengali texts as
far back as the 15th century. The word is found in
the ‘Chaitanya-bhagavata’ of Vrindavanadas as
well as in the ‘Chaitanya Charitamrita’ of
Krishnadas Kaviraj. Some scholars, however,
maintain that it is not clear when the word took its
sectarian significance, as opposed to a synonym
for the word mad. The beginning of the Baul
movement was attributed to Birbhadra, the son of
Vaishnavite saint Nityananda, or alternatively to
the 8th century Persian minstrels called Ba'al.
Bauls are a part of the culture of rural Bengal.
Whatever their origin, Baul thought has mixed
elements of Tantra, Sufi Islam, Vaishnavism and
Buddhism. They are thought to have been
influenced by the Hindu tantric sect of the
Kartabhajas as well as Tantric Buddhist schools
like the Sahajia. Some scholars find traces of these
thoughts in the ancient practices of Yoga as well as
the Charyapadas, which are Buddhist hymns that
are the first known example of written Bengali.
The Bauls themselves attribute the lack of
historical records of themselves to their reluctance
of leaving a trace behind.
Etymology
The origin of the word is Baul is debated. Some
modern scholars, like Shashibhusan Das Gupta
have suggested that it may be derived either from
Sanskrit word vatula, which means (divinely
inspired) insane or from vyakula, which means
impatiently eager and both of these derivations
are consistent with the modern sense of the word,
which denotes the inspired people with an ecstatic
eagerness for a spiritual life, where a person can
realize his union with the eternal beloved – ‘the
Monar or Adhar Manush’ (the man of the heart this
Bengali way of pronunciation).
The word ‘Baul’ refers to three terms and
interpretation therefore:
1. VATULA, which means ‘mad’, one who is out
of rhythm ;
2. VAYU, or AIR, or the inner flow of energy
which gives life and harmony to all sentient
beings ; and
3. ÂULIYÂ, a term of Arabic origin, which
means ‘saint’, ‘holy man’.
Bauls can come from either a Hindu or a Muslim
background. In both cases, they are usually rebels
against orthodox practices and social institutions.
The reason for this is purely spiritual. They are
continuously searching for ‘Adhar Manush’, the
‘Essential Man’- the inner being which is inside
each one of us and we have become oblivious of it
in the process. It is this quest for mad love goes
beyond all boundaries. This is the essence of Bauls.
Bauls are wandering and singing mystics of Bhakti
Movement.
The musical culture and life style of the Bauls has
inspired village life in Bengal in India so deeply
that Bengali people have protected Baul
practitioners for many centuries. Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu (13th Century) was the greatest
known Baul singer. He travelled all over India.
History recognizes him as the greatest influence
among Baul poets and singers of later generations
and the Bhakti movement.
The Bauls uses poetry, dance and singing as tools
to reach that goal. Therefore Bauls used to wander
from village to village and sing for the people who
would give them alms for the maintenance of their
everyday life. It is said that Bauls would accept
only what they needed and refuse anything more
than the strict minimum. Their only possessions
were their clothes and musical instruments, as
well as their songs and secret practices.
The costume of the Bauls is very simple. Many
Bauls wore safran clothes, a long stiched piece of
cotton patchwork covering their body from the
shoulder to below the knees, a turban on their
head and a mark on their forehead. As far as Fakir
Bauls are concerned, they prefer plain white
cotton.
Even today, most Bauls live in small huts. They live
in couples but are not supposed to have children.
Mostly they adopt abandoned children to whom
they teach everything they know. Twice a week,
they go to villages to collect food (mostly rice and
vegetables). Sometimes they travel from one
village to another in order to meet other
practitioners. Most of them are also linked to non-
singing gurus who teach them different spiritual
practices (sadhana) and songs with an inner
meaning. The verses of Baul poetry can come from
past or present composers, and they always
include secret teachings related to righteous
practice and life style.
The living space of Bauls is called AKHRA. An
AKHRA it is somehow like an ashram, with the
difference that men and women live together,
considering each other as spiritual partners. Most
akhras are also meeting places for other sadhakas
and sadhikas, male and female practitioners, as
well as for sadhus, holy men, wherever they come
from. Each year, Bauls organize a big meeting
where they exchange songs, experiences and
spiritual teachings.
Teachings of Bauls
Their religion is based on an expression of the
body, which they call ‘deho-sadhona’ and an
expression of the mind, which they call ‘mona-
sadhona’. Some of their rituals are kept mostly
hidden from the mainstream, as they are thought
to be repulsive by many, and hedonistic by others.
They concentrate much of their mystic energies on
the ‘chaar-chand’ (bengali for four-moons), i.e. the
four body fluids, on the nine-doors or ‘naba-dwar’,
i.e. the openings of the body, prakriti which
implies both the woman and the nature, and a
control of breathing, known as ‘domo-sadhona’.
Many Baul gurus were and still are also poets.
Lalan Fakir, one of the most famous of them, was
Baul singers at Shanti Niketan, during the colour festival Holi 0r Phagwa, Mar 2004
Concepts and practices
Baul music celebrates celestial love, but does this
in very earthy terms, as in declarations of love by
at the same time a revolutionary and a holy man.
Lalan created more than 5000 such songs. In this
poetry, the outer meaning looks sometimes very
materialistic. However the inner meaning, which is
not accessible to everyone, includes teachings
related to notions such as srishti tattva (doctrine of
the creation of the world), atma tattva (doctrine of
the soul), deha tattva (doctrine of the body), prem
tattva (doctrine of love), etc.
The singing style of Bauls is linked to other Bengali
folk culture, from tribal to village and even urban
life. But Bauls have established their own singing
style, within which individual and regional styles
sometimes remain very distinctive.
Bauls always sing and dance together in such a
way that the mind melts into the soul in a
harmonious way. While dancing energy becomes
fluidlike and intense. This movement helps the ego
to dissolve with only the Baul consciousness
remaining. The baul were recorded as a major sect
as early as mid 18th century.
the Baul for his life mate. With such a liberal
interpretation of love, it is only natural that Baul
devotional music transcends religion and some of
the most famous Baul composers, such as Lalan
Fakir, have been of Muslim faith.
Baul music
The music of the Bauls, refers to a particular type
of folk song of sung by Bauls. It carries influences
of Hindu bhakti movements as well as the Sufi, a
form of Sufi song. These were later exemplified by
the songs of Kabir. Their music represents a long
heritage of preaching mysticism through songs in
Bengal, like Shahebdhoni or Bolahadi sects. These
wandering master singers of Bengal play musical
instruments made by them to accompany their
songs:
Bauls use a number of musical instruments to
embellish their compositions.
1. The ‘ektara’ is a one-stringed drone
instrument, and by far the most common
instrument used by a Baul singer. It is the
carved from the base of a gourd, and made
of bamboo and goatskin.
2. Other commonly used musical instruments
include the dotara, a multi-stringed
instrument made of the wood;
3. the Dugi, a small hand-held earthen drum;
4. percussion instruments like dhol and khol;
5. Dotara, a long necked instrument with four
strings.
6. Khamak, a strange percussion and string
instrument.
7. GUNGUR and NUPPUR, ankle instruments.
Rabindranath Tagore and the Bauls
The famous Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore
was greatly influenced and inspired by Bauls. Here
is translation of a famous Rabindra sangeet
(Tagore song), influenced by Baul theme:
The man of my heart dwells inside me.
Everywhere I behold, it's Him!
In my every sight, in the sparkle of light
Oh I can never lose Him --
Here, there and everywhere,
Wherever I turn, right in front is He! <Rabindranath
Tagore>
The songs of the Bauls and their lifestyle
influenced a large swath of Bengali culture, but
nowhere did it leave its imprint more powerfully
than in the work of Rabindranath Tagore.
Rabindra Nath Tagore talked of Bauls in a number
of speeches in Europe in the 1940s and an essay
based on these was compiled into his English book
‘The Religion of Man’:
The Bauls are an ancient group of wandering
minstrels from Bengal, who believe in simplicity in
life and love. They are similar to the Buddhists in
their belief in a fulfilment which is reached by
love's emancipating us from the dominance of self.
Where shall I meet him, the Man of my Heart?
He is lost to me and I seek him wandering from
land to land.
I am listless for that moonrise of beauty,
which is to light my life,
which I long to see in the fullness of vision
in gladness of heart. [p.524]
The above is a translation of the famous Baul song
by Gagan Harkara: Ami kothAy pAbo tAré, AmAr
maner mAnush Jé ré.(Bengali dilect).
The following extract is a translation of another
song:
My longing is to meet you in play of love, my
Lover;
But this longing is not only mine, but also yours.
For your lips can have their smile, and your flute
its music, only in your delight in my love;
and therefore you importunate, even as I am.
The poet proudly says: ‘Your flute could not have
its music of beauty if your delight were not in my
love. Your power is great - and there I am not
equal to you - but it lies even in me to make you
smile and if you and I never meet, then this play of
love remains incomplete.’
This feeling that man is not a mere casual visitor at
the palace-gate of the world, but the invited guest
whose presence is needed to give the royal
banquet its sole meaning, is not confined to any
particular sect in India.
A large tradition in medieval devotional poetry
from Rajasthan and other parts of India also bear
the same message of unity in celestial and
romantic love and that divine love can be fulfilled
only through its human beloved.
Tagore's own compositions were really influenced
by Baul ideology. His music also bears the stamp of
many Baul tunes. Other Bengali poets, such as Kazi
Nazrul Islam, have also been influenced by Baul
music and its message of non-sectarian devotion
through love.
Present status
Bauls are to be found in the Indian state of West
Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. The Baul
movement was at its peak in the 19th and early
20th centuries but, even today one comes across
the occasional Baul with his ‘ektara’ (single-
stringed musical instrument) and begging bowl,
singing across the far flung villages of rural Bengal.
Travelling in local trains and attending village fairs
are a good way to encounter Bauls. One of the
biggest festivals for this sect of wandering
minstrels is held in the month of January at
Kenduli in the Birbhum district, a four-day fest
organized in memory of the mystical poet
Jayadeva.
There are also the Western Bauls in America and
Europe under the spiritual direction of Lee
Lozowick, a student of Yogi Ramsuratkumar. Their
music is quite different (rock /gospel/ blues) but
the essence of the spiritual practices of the East is
well maintained.
The present day Hare Krishna movement bears
effect of Bauls. What Bauls used to do singing and
dancing from place to place on the street one can
see the reflection of this in the Krishna
Consciousness movement.
 BHAKTI MOVEMENT
From the desk of TAOSHOBUDDHA
B
hakti is the movement of heart. The entire
movement is vast like unfathomable ocean
whose depth is immeasurable. This present
effort is like an effort to encompass the entire ocean
in a tea spoon.
The development of Bhakti has been gradual and
each era has added something to the sublimity of the
movement.
This has been a small effort and to continue the
trends alive. While planning the contents of this issue,
the Chief Editor, Swami Anand Neelambar mentioned
that this current issue of June 2009 to be an issue on
Bhakti, many thoughts ran through. It was felt
difficult to present the entire matter within this
narrow frame work.
Then it was decided to present a preview into Bhakti.
It is like you are in a new yet strange place. You are
eager to explore this new place. With the first ray of
sun you open the window to get the first glimpse of
the sceneries, feel the freshness of breeze. This is
essential before you plunder into the world of new
place.
Though Bhakti is natural and spontaneous of human
heart this present issue is like a framed picture
depiction of Bhakti.
The efforts will attain fruition when this present
issue and the subsequent ones can kindle the spark
for inner development deep within you.
Love, Taoshobuddha
 SAHJO BAI
ESSENCE OF BHAKTI
Very few women in the history of human
consciousness have attained. Sahjobai is one of these
rare ones. Like Mira, Lalleshwari, Dayabai and Rabia
Al Basri Sahjobai attained to inner oneness and
harmony through union with eternal beloved. Thus
enlightenment happened.
Radha searched the blue boy, the flute bearer in
madhuban – the treasureland of nectar of love on the
banks of the blue river. Mira searched her eternal
beloved, union with who she erelong solicited, deep
within her. Rabia searched that eternity through her
single – minded awareness. Through her devotion to
the omnipresence of the divine in the form of Shiva
Lalleshwari attained to inner oneness. Sahjo attained
to his inner oneness through the grace of her master
Charandas. Different paths but the three reached the
state of inner oneness and awareness – inner fruition.
And in their own way through different paths became
the embodiment of compassion. Compassion
overflowed and assumed the form of many
compositions of diverse nature – poetry, singing ,
dance and at times a combination of all.
Today I take you through the poetic compositions of
Sahjobai. And through through the energy field of
Sahjobai. Bhakti is the essential core of human
existence. Without bhakti the life remains barren full
of thorns.
Sahjobai was born and brought up in Rajputana part
of Rajsthan. She was a great devotee who has
attained. She belonged to the mystical path of inner
development. Nothing concrete is available about her
birth and life. Very scanty information is available
about her life and birth. Her writings reveal
something of the period of her advent. However one
thing is clear that she is the disciple of Charan das a
master who belonged to the same clan and the state
of Rajsthan. The extent of sahjo’s energy field can
only be understood through her indepth poetry and
devotion that she had for her master Charan das.
Dayabai was her fellow disciple. I am taking you
through the composition of Sahjobai.
This particular composition reflects the light of
awareness of Sahjobai on the significance of the
master in inward journey. This is salutation to the
awareness of the master. Remember master is not a
physical being that is once born and dies after life is
over. Master is a state of inner growth, growth of
awareness, state of harmony and oneness both within
and without. Sahjo refers to this state of awareness
and pays her obescience. For Sahjo this state of bliss
and ecstacty manifested as her master Charan das.
A master wants you to grow and not gather anything
superfluous. A master creates situations for your
potentiality to explode. If a master tells you
something that agrees with you then you cannot
learn. It will simply strength your old mind. And a
master cannot do this. He has to destroy the old for
new to take birth. He takes away the burden of all
that you have been carrying. His role is to create a
space in you. When you cling to conclusions,
philosophies, ideas, conclusions, and prejudices; you
will not meet a master. He has to destroy all these. No
speculation about conclusion is needed. He is
interested in real thing not conclusions.
Sahjo has experienced this in the company of her
master Charan das. A call from him when she was
dressing up to go to husband’s place after the
wedding has changed the course of her life. It was a
call from the deepest core of her being. Master was
just a reminder. Sahjo heard the call and responded
by following the master against the wishes and
displeasure of her family members.
Sahjo says one of the basic requirements for a seeker
is to be a learner. Who is a learner? Definitely not the
one who is a – priori conclusions. Instead one who
always functions out of innocence and awe? One
should not carry any conclusion. Because when you
have conclusions you cannot learn. Why? When you
have a conclusion you only want a confirmation. And
when you go to learn from anyone and something
goes against your conclusion, your ego will get hurt.
Then you are not learning anything. In such a case
only your old prejudice is strengthened more. Sahjo
says the moment you are ready with inner
preparation the master appears. This she says out of
her inner experience.

Now the Sutras of Sahjobai!

kr jaerU< prnam kir xrU< crn pr sIs,

dada guru sukdev jI pUrn ibSbe bIs.1.

prmh<s tarn trn guru devn guru dev

Anu-E va[I dIjI@ shjae pave -ev.2.

Namea nmea guru devn deva nmae nmea guru Agm A-eva

Namea nmea inrl<binrasa Namea nmea prmatm basa

Namea nmea it&-uvn ke SvamI Namea nmea gu nmea ru A< tr yamI

Namea nmea guru patk hrta nmea nmea parayn krta

git mit Dake AanNd rUpa nmea nmea guru b&hm srUpa

nmea nmea mm pa&[ ipyare nmea nmea itrgu[ te inyare

-iKt }an yaeg ke raja shjae ke purvae sb kaja

Jaae kae# zr[ tuMharI Aayae tuiryatIt ib}an bsayae

inrml Aan<d det hE b&hm rUp kir det

FOLDED HANDS I SALUTE AND PUT MY FOREHEAD ON HIS FEET AS OBESCIENCE

THE MAHA GURU SUKHDEV JI – MASTER OF TOTALITY AND ETERNITY I VOW ERELONG
ENLIGHTENED ONE! THE RESCUER OF THE INNOCENT ONES! THE MASTER OF MASTERS!
GRANT THE BOON OF ETERNITY AND SOLACE TO MY MESSAGE –
THE WAY SAHJO SEEK THE ESSENCE OF THE UNKNOWN AND UNKNOWABLE!
SALUTATIONAS TO THE MASTER OF MASTERS
SALUTATIONS TO THE MASTER THE FOREMOST
SALUTATIONS TO ONE WHERE DESPAIR FINDS NO BASE
SALUTATIONS TO ONE WHERE DIVINITY DWELLS
SALUTATIONS TO THE MASTER OF THE THREE UNIVERSES
SALUTATIONS TO THE MASTER OF THE BEING – THE KNOWER PAREXCELLENCE
 SALUTATION TO ONE DESTROYER OF ALL PAIN AND DESPAIR
SALUTATIONS TO THE ONE – THE RESTORER OF HARMONY
ONE WHOSE VERY FORM IS BLISS
SALUTATION TO THE MASTER - EMBODIMENT OF BRAHMA – EVER EXPANDING CONSCIOUSNESS!
SALUTATIONS TO O BELOVED ONE!
SALUTATIONS TO THE ONE UNIQUE IN ENTIRE CREATION
THE KING OF BHAKTI, AND YOGA
ONE WHO FULFILLS ALL WORKS OF SAHJO
ONE WHO COMES THY COMPANY
CERTAINLY ATTAINS TO THE BEYONDNESS AND KNOWING BEYOND ALL KNOWINGS
[THIS IS ENGLISH COMPOSITIONS OF THE SENTIMENTS OF SAHJO BAI IN HER HINDI COMPOSITION – TAOSHOBUDDHA]

In doing so Sahjo follows the tradition of master and
disciple. Paying the respects to the master or vowing
down are not mere rituals. There is a deep mystical
meaning in this process. Putting the head at the feet
of the master is not a mere ritual. Instead it is a
mystical symbol. Head represents beliefs, conditions,
knowledge, ancient past etc. Putting head at the feet
of the master or surrender implies abandoning the
ways of the life up to now. With master begins the
way of catharsis. Surrender implies abandoning the
past and beginning a new life of love and awareness.
All knowledge that you have gathered, all your beliefs
etc have not helped you in the process of your inward
journey. It is hanging around your neck like a big
stone that is enough to drown you. The aura around
master prepares you for the inward journey. This is
what Sahjo is indicating with this gesture.
Sahjo continues the composition by remembering her
master. ‘The master appears only when the disciple is
ready.’ This is not philosophy or Sufi scripture. Also this is
not the Sufi way alone. Instead this is how it happens in
the world of spiritualism. And this never happens in no
other way and also at no other time in man’s eternal
journey. When the disciple is ready Master appears.
The world is full of people who go on searching something
outside even without creating a corresponding receptivity
within. I have come across many such seekers who go on
searching for a master. And remain unaware that the
disciple within is absent in them. Disciple within is one
side of receptivity. Only this receptivity can attract the
master.
Remember master is not an objective phenomenon. First
the master has to be something inside you. Master inside
means disciple-hood! A preparation! A thirst! An intense
desire! A passion for exploring truth! In most of the people
this is lacking. And then when such a person goes on the
search for a master he cannot find. He may come across
many masters. But he will go on missing.
You cannot find a master unless you are vulnerable. You
cannot see a master unless the disciple is born in you. The
search for the master begins with the search for being a
disciple. A real seeker does not bother about searching the
master. His whole concern is to give birth to a disciple in
him.
Being a disciple means how to be a learner, how to open to
reality. Being a disciple means how to function through
innocence. Functioning out of state of knowledge – a priori
conclusion is not going to help in the process of inward
growth.

When you are functioning from the state of knowledge you

In the process of growth the disciple has to earn eyes to
see the beauty. Flowers are blossoming every moment but
if you do not have eyes, you cannot see the beauty. The sky
is filled with stars of immense beauty, but not for you. The
sun rises in immense beauty and splendour but not for
you. Unless you develop eyes there is no beauty.
will find many teachers but never a master. If you know
something already or think that you know, you will only
find other knower. You can only meet persons like you. A
person who functions from the state of knowledge will
only find many teachers and will continue to learn. Such a
person will never find a master.

So too if there is no love in your heart overflowing you will To find a master you have to be a child like. Utterly
not discover the beloved. Only love can discover love. Only innocent – empty of any conclusions! Only full of passion
lover can discover beloved. Only eyes can find beauty. And for truth then suddenly you will find you need not go
only innocence of the ear can find music and melody. anywhere. The master will come to you instead.
Master appears when the disciple is ready.
Such is the promise of God to you. The existence wants
you to explore your potential. So it continues to watch
your inner preparation. Seek the disciple in you first. Then
master will appear.
This is one of the basic requirements for a seeker. The
seeker has to be a learner. Who is a learner? Definitely not
the one who is a – priori conclusions. Instead one who
always functions out of innocence and awe? One should
not carry any conclusion. Because when you have
conclusions you cannot learn. Why? When you have a
conclusion you only want a confirmation. And when you
go to learn from anyone and something goes against your
conclusion, your ego will get hurt. Then you are not
learning anything. In such a case only your old prejudice is
strengthened more.
A master wants you to grow and not gather anything
superfluous. A master creates situations for your
potentiality to explode. If a master tells you something
that agrees with you then you cannot learn. It will simply
strength your old mind. And a master cannot do this. He
has to destroy the old for new to take birth. He takes away
the burden of all that you have been carrying. His role is to
create a space in you. When you cling to conclusions,
philosophies, ideas, conclusions, and prejudices; you will
not meet a master. He has to destroy all these. No
speculation about conclusion is needed. He is interested in
real thing not conclusions.
Iranian mystical poet Omar Khayyam says what you shall
gain by talking about those who are drunk. No matter how
much is said about anything it will remain far from reality.
Reality cannot be put into words. Reality is inexpressible.
Become a disciple. Seek to be a disciple. And when you are
ready thus the master will appear.
But master appears in strange ways and means
sometimes. One thing is certain master always appears.
When someone is ripe, God starts coming in many ways.
Master is the last visible form, God descends in. Master is
the last formful experience. Beyond him there is only
formlessness.
Master is the last one who looks like you! Talks like you!
Lives like you! To whom you can touch! Whom you can
relate! However, in fact he is like you plus much more.
Beyond him only silence is. Bodilessness is!
An enlightened Raman used to say to his disciples, ‘If you
want to be with me, you will have to unlearn. If you do not
unlearn, then I have nothing to give you. You are already
full.’ Such is the situation of all the masters.
This Sahjo emphasises through this composition on
masters. In various forms and way she goes on extolling
the master and as an expression of her gratitude for her
inner development she salutes the master in many ways.
This composition is full of such salutations. Certainly a
company of the master brings awakening and with
awakening something of the master is transferred on to
the disciple and he starts flowing with the same
awareness and understanding. An ecstatic Sahjo sings:
ONE WHO FULFILLS ALL WORKS OF SAHJO
ONE WHO COMES THY COMPANY
CERTAINLY ATTAINS TO THE BEYONDNESS AND
KNOWING BEYOND ALL KNOWINGS
Only this much for now!
 BHAKTI AND GYAN
Bhakti and Gyan are two wings for transcendence. Or does not matter from where your journey begins.
you can say these are two sides of the same coin. Ultimately when you attain you will find the other
Bhakti is the fruition of love in its sublimity. When shore. Like the two shores or two parallel lines these
love attains to fruition Bhakti or devotion is born. are always together. It is the confluence or where
Bhakti and Gyan intersect one another will determine
Gyan comes through moment to moment awareness.
the level of your inward growth. The more such
Awareness comes through mindfulness. Once you are
intersection your consciousness accumulates in the
mindful of every moment, situation and circumstance
same proportion is your bliss.
in your day to day life and events you will begin to
grow in awareness. The ultimate in awareness leads Our effort is to take you through such a journey
to meditativeness. This is the journey of Gyan or through our humble efforts in producing Meditations
knowing. I am not referring to accumulation of Times.
information that comes through memory. Awareness,
Next month we shall delve deeper to probe the inner
meditation and Gyan or knowing has nothing to do
mysteries of knowing. I say knowing not knowledge.
with memory. Memory is of the mind. And awareness
The difference we explore in our July issue of
comes when you transcend the finite boundaries of
Meditation Times wherein we focus on Saraswati –
mind. This is beyondness – the ultimate flowering.
the goddess of inner knowing.
Bhakti and Gyan are not separate from one another.
Instead both are necessary for inward journey. It

“In this world there is an old saying: There may be delay but there is no injustice. I say to you that
neither is there any delay nor is there any injustice. Because why should there be even a delay? If there
is a delay then it will also become an injustice. This delay can be long. If you love today and you get
the response after millions and millions of lives, then it would also be an injustice.
So I say that neither is there any delay nor is there any injustice. If you love, then you will immediately
receive; you receive in the loving itself. Receiving is not dependent on the other, it is the echo of your
love. It is the resonance of your love. The same will return to you which you give.
So people say: "We loved but we did not receive any love." The reality is that you have not loved; your
love was only a pretension, a deception. The reality was that you were expecting love. Without loving,
just by talking about love, you wanted to get love. You had only been talking about love and in return
you wanted the other's heart, the other's surrender, the other's whole being and you could not get it. The
other was also doing the same thing so that the talking about love should continue, the writing poems of
love - but no sharing of any kind - so that there would be possession of the other's being. Both wanted
to get it for free, both wanted to get it without giving, hence the conflict.”

OSHO