Report on Rev. Santosh Tandon ji's visit, Feb 2024

Rev. Santosh Tandon ji, Pramukh of the Sant Nirankari Mission, Los Angeles, CA branch blessed the saints in Phoenix on February 17-18 2024. Two congregations were held in her presense where the saints received Rev. Santosh ji's blessing and got an opportunity to hear her words of wisdom.

Following is a brief summary from her discourseson Feb 17.

Reverend Santosh Tandon Ji began her discourse Saturday evening, February 17, 2024 appreciating the previous hour of speeches and songs during the sangat. She began to speak on Swami Vivekanada, who as she described was a renowned spiritual figure known for his lectures, specifically the iconic lecture he delivered at the Parliament of the World’s Religions. She mentioned that Swami Ji’s guru, Ramakrishna Paramhansa Ji had imbibed in him the principle that the real study and science of the world was to study that which is unchangeable. Especially in this digital age of constant fleeting moments. Rev Santosh Ji compared this idea to a canvas, or a movie screen, as whatever may appear on the surface may be ever changing and colorful, but the surface remains the same. That unchangeable surface is similar to the eternal Nirankar, as she describes, who no matter what name or text is mentioned in, remains constant. Amongst all the elements, whether it be space, fire, water, earth and wind, there is no consciousness, she stresses that Nirankar is the only truly conscious, ever-lasting, and omnipotent entity. She states that we are all sub-souls of this omniscient super soul, and that we all must understand our opportunity to know, see, and connect with Nirankar. Finally, she narrated a story about two conjoined twins, one of whom was always very grumpy and bitter, while the other was peaceful and calm. When the peaceful twin passed away, the other one was left carrying around the other half of their bodies, now realizing the value of the life he has and the time he spent complaining. Thus, the moral of the story was to understand that we must be thankful and opportunistic with this life, as we’re blessed to be here alive and well. She ended her discourse stressing the importance of prayer to Nirankar and building a relation with the divine, likening the Sangat to a University of Divine Knowledge. We all want to be happy and experience joy, yet at times we are not in that state. Sometimes we are in stress. Mind is the center point, all our actions, thoughts, feelings are governed by mind. Mind is a tool that can take us into any direction. When we think of Satguru and Baba Hardev Singh ji we feel love, our eyes filled with tears of joy. When someone doesn’t act according to us, we speak so harsh words that we feel sad later when we think about it. Nirankar gives whatever we ask of him. So we need to ask good things when we are calm and not in anger as in anger we will ask bad things.

 

The following day, February 18, Reverend Santosh Tandon Ji mentioned:

By giving all glory to the Satguru, who is the benevolent one, she thanked the Satguru for giving her the opportunity to come visit Phoenix Satsang. The Satguru, as she states, was the difference in her finally realizing the meaning of the words written in various religious texts such as Vedas, Bhagwad Gita, Upanishads, and more that had previously been hard for her to follow. She mentioned how her family grow up learning that Nirankar exists but can not be seen, but once she came to the Satguru’s lotus feet, she received Divine Knowledge and began to understand all the text that she had previously read. She continued by describing that we may pursue any material wealth in this world, but the contentment we may feel is temporary and illusionary. That the true peace and happiness is when we surrender to the Satguru. She compared Nirankar to a screen once again, stating that human life is like a movie, that comes and goes, but the screen remains throughout it all, similar to how Nirankar remains omnipresent. Rev. Santosh ji mentioned how when she was young she used to think she was the only one dealing with sorrow, but later realized that this is a universal feeling that everyone is bound to experience. People may try to run away from their sorrow, running off to mountains and forests to find inner peace, just like the Lord Buddha. She also used the example of Raja Janak and the Vedas as examples to stress this point of inner peace being obtainable only through divine self-reflection. She gave the example of Bulleh Shah, who used to complain that the Nirankar in scriptures is nowhere to be seen in real life. However, he went and met with guru Shah Inayat, who taught him the truth of this world. She also gave the example of Sufi Saint Junaid, who complained to Nirankar about having to be roommates with an irritating person while traveling, and Nirankar responded, saying you have only known him for 4 days, but I’ve tolerated him his whole life. She gave another example about anger, saying there was an irritable man who used to get angry at everything around him. One day he got on a boat and closed his eyes to travel as far away from society as he could. While eyes were closed, he felt the boat continuously crashing against another boat and thus keeping it from going forward, and got angry at the situation once more. But when he opened his eyes, the man realized it was just the wind that gave him that feeling, that his initial angry reaction was simply a misjudgment thanks to being blind to the situation. Thus, Rev. Santosh ji stressed the importance of maintaining inner peace and connecting with Nirankar throughout whatever circumstances one faces. She shared another Sufi story of a lady who is in love with a man, and would constantly be in search of this man. She accidentally bumped against a man praying on a blanket, and the man reacted harshly as his prayer was disturbed. The lady responded questioning the intent of his prayer, as he was so quickly to lose his calm, unlike her pure search for her love. Rev. Santosh ji mentioned that with Nirankar’s grace, we can be like grass pearls, which don’t break or fall apart even through the rain and wind, therefore we must accept Nirankar’s will and let Nirankar bless us with inner peace. As Lord Krishna warns, it’s easier to forget Nirankar than to stay connected. Rev. Santosh ji stressed the significance of wisdom, as the Gayatri Mantra’s last line prays that our wisdom guides us towards goodness. Finally, she mentioned Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji, who we know was love personified. Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji was the epitome of benevolence, as he accepted all our shortcomings and simply dismissed negativity he encountered. Respecting humanity is respecting Nirankar, as she mentioned, that worshiping man made idols in temples is one thing, but we humans are Nirankar’s created idols. Recognizing we are all Nirankar’s creation is an imperative first step of our journey towards inner peace. Rev. Santosh Tandon Ji concluded her discourse by praying for the health of Phoenix Pramukh, Nandlal Ji, and invited all the Phoenix Satsang to visit LA’s Sunday Sangats anytime.

 

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