GOD REMEMBRANCE
AND
TRUE MASTER

-By: Lt. Col. (Retd) C.S. Toor

One can remember anything, which the eyes have seen and the mind retained in the brain. For example, nobody can conjure up the face of a child in his imagination unless the child is born. But once the child has been seen, one can recollect its face even when the child is away.

Seeing is believing. One can remember God only if seen or realised by the mind and properly retained in the brain. We profess God to be all-pervading and as such His omnipresence can be felt only once we have perceived Him all around:

ADIST DISSAI TAAN KAHIA JAYE,
BIN DEKHE KEHNA BIRTHA JAYE
                                        (Adi Granth, P-222)

That is, one can say something to God if He is in front of him, and without being face to face with Him, remembering Him or saying anything to Him is a futile effort.

In the Bible too emphasis has been laid on God-knowledge as the first step towards worship:-

"Ye worship ye know not what;
We know what we worship".
                                        (St. John 4:22)

By hearsay people believe that God is limitless. But one can say with authority only once His vastness has actually been perceived as such.

SUN WADDA AAKHE SAB KOYE,
KEWAD WADDA DEETHA HOYE
                                        (Adi Granth, P-348)

Now the question arises, how to know God. To gain knowledge, one has to approach the teacher (Guru). To study a particular subject or to learn a particular art, we engage an instructor who is proficient in that sphere. One cannot get sweets from a cloth merchant. Like Hindi teacher teaches Hindi, English teacher English a driving instructor driving and so on and so forth. Likewise, the teacher who reveals truth (Sat), spiritual knowledge, is known as Satguru, the True Master.

SAT PURAKH JIN JANIA,
SATGUR TIS KA NAU
                        (Adi Granth, P-286)

All admit that God cannot be realised without the blessings of the True Master (Satguru). As Lord Krishna says:-

"Ask him who knows me, bow to him in respect,
He will unveil to you my real face".
                                    (Bhagwad Gita)

IS KE RASOOL PE IMAN LAO,
HAQ SE MIL JAO GE
                                (Quran-e-Pak)

That is, have faith in the prophet of God and he will unite you with Truth.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; know, and it shall be opened unto you."
"For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
                                                                                                                                                                (St. Mathew 7:7 and 8)

Nirankari Baba Avtar Singh Ji has also made it very clear in ‘Avtar Bani’ that the holy scriptures, Vedas and Quran have ordained one thing that you should bow your head in reverence at the feet of the True Master and you will realize God in no time:

IKO GALL KAHI VED QUARANAN
GUR CHARANAN TE SEES JHUKA;
IK CHHIN ANDAR RAB NOON PA
                                            (Avtar Bani - 161)

From the above description it is quite evident that one can worship God or do Simran only after the Divine knowledge has been imparted by the True Master:

JAB DEKHA TAB GAWA
                                    (Adi Granth P-656; Kabir)

It has been made amply clear by Saint Kabir that one can say anything in praise of God, only after having seen Him.

Remembrance of the Almighty Nirankar is not mere repetition of the Divine Name but feeling the presence of God all around, always and all the time. This has been made possible to the Nirankaris by the supreme blessings of the Nirankari Baba, currently His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj, after they were initiated with the God-knowledge. The Simran here is:

IK TU HI NIRANKAR,
MAIN TERI SHARAN HOON,
MUJHE BAKHSH LO

Or

"One Thou Formless,
I Take Refuge In Thee,
I Pray, Forgive Me."

The word ‘one’ has a special significance in the Simran. It means that God is the only one in the universe who is formless. Even the scriptures vouch for His omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience. He is limitless and does not undergo any change. Rest of the nine constituents of the matter are subject to change and have limitations.

The first line of the Simran is an invocation to the Omnipresent that has been perceived by the devotee. The second line is a reminder of the pledge of self-surrender made at the time of God realisation. The third line is to entreat the Formless for forgiveness. This whole conversation is between the seeker and the sought, that is why it is in ‘first person’ and ‘second person’.

The scriptures advocate that every breath should be devoted to God Remembrance,. But human brain can only think of one thing at a time. It is not imperative that one had to utter the Simran always. Like one does not devote any special tine to remember one’s own name. Once the name has been given to him by the parents, it becomes a part and parcel of one’s life and he does not ever forget it. With the same analogy, the Simran should get so embedded into the recesses of one’s heart that one should feel God’s presence all around.

Congregation

This state of mind one can achieve only by attending the congregation of saints regularly. There is no short cut to it. A human mind is influenced by the company he keeps. If one indulges in the company of thieves, he will also become one of them. Similarly, if one keeps the company of saints, he would be thinking nothing else but of the Almighty Nirankar. And eventually it becomes his second nature.

Let us understand this by an example. A basket ball player, America’s No.1, visited the Punjab University a few years back when he was on a world tour to pick up new techniques to improve his game. He had demonstrated to the players by throwing the basketball from different positions and every time he scored the basket. He was asked as to how he could achieve such proficiency. He said that he practiced so much that he had been throwing five thousand balls daily into the ring. Now he has achieved complete co-ordination between his eyes, hands and the brain.

Similarly, if one attends congregation daily, does Simran before sleeping in the night and on waking up in the morning, it would become one’s second nature to feel the presence of Nirankar. Once a saint achieves this state, his mind gets transformed into soul. This transformation is brought about only through a holy communion between the individual soul and the Universal Soul. Thus, the seeker’s soul is kindled with the light of divine knowledge and he perceives and feels the immediate presence of the all-pervading Formless God everywhere and at all moments of his life.

Now the question may arise in one’s mind as to how does the Simran help in life. A small child can’t speak, then how are its demands for survival met? It submits itself completely to the mother and she looks after the child in all respects. Her innerself knows when to feed him, what to feed, how to feed, when to give him bath, when to make him sleep and so on. The child does not have to worry about anything and all its requirements are met with automatically. Similarly when a saint surrenders himself in total to the will of the True Master, he is the happiest person devoid of all worries and leads a contented and blissful life. All his needs and desires are automatically met with. He does not have to think of ever demanding anything.

This aspect has been made abundantly clear in the scriptures. They testify that God remembrance produces happiness, which is lasting. In fact divine name, they say, is the only source of tranquility in the present day world burning with hatred and violence:

KAL TAATI THAANDA HAR NAO
SIMAR SIMAR SADA SUKH PAO
                                        (Adi Granth, P-288)

Show Off?

At the time of birth, a person neither bring anything after death; he has to shed all his material belongings. The only thing he can carry with him is his deposits in the spiritual account which he earns through Sewa, Simran and Satsang. He is thus cautioned:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where month and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal;
But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal."
                                     (St. Mathew 6:19 & 20)

A true disciple does not show off when he worships the Master; he does so silently and from the core of his heart with utter humility. This is the bench mark of a true saint. This has also been laid stress on, in the Holy Bible:

"And when thou pray, thou shall not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men-verity I say unto you, they have their reward."

"But thou, when thou pray, enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which seethe in secret shall reward thee openly."
                                     (St. Mathew-6:5 and 6)

Like above, innumerable examples can be quoted from the scriptures. One aspect is quite clear that those who worship God without knowing Him cannot enjoy that bliss here or hereafter. On one occasion His Holiness Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj said:

"God-realisation is possible only with the blessings of the Satguru, but faith in God is instilled in the company of God-realised fellow-devotees. The more we keep their company the more firm our faith becomes. The mind becomes calm. It derives strength because it perceives the omnipotent and omnipresent. By attending the Satsang one realises that God is the Great-Giver of all the gifts physical, mental, material and spiritual."
                                                                    (Gurudev Hardev, P-23)

I earnestly pray to my Lord Master that every word and every action in my life should be in consonance with his teachings.