Bhagat Kabir has been considered one of the greatest saints, gurus, prophets (whatever one wishes to perceive him as) that India has produced. I came across a few passages I wish to share with you which help me understand the philosophy of the Nirankari Mission better. One question that always came to my mind was, how can God- Realization be so easily given by our Satguru ? I mean history is witness to all of the religions and philosophies of the world, as to how hard people had to work for enlightenment (basically giving up their head in some cases, literally). Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj is stressing today that we imbibe love, tolerance, large-heartedness, politeness and humility to make our lives more beautiful. Furthermore he would like us not to only praise the previous prophets and gurus but follow their teachings as well. So the second question came to me, why are we not following these commandments of Babaji ? It seems evident that we are not following these commandments because otherwise he would not have to repeat himself ! Thirdly, how humble does Babaji want us to be ? I mean everybody must have a certain measure of what they think is humble, but what is humility in terms of the divine ? I got these answers in one passage of Bhagat Kabir ji, and this is what I would like to share with you.

The passage starts on page 1372 of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji Maharaj. It starts on 1372-1 and goes till 1372-19 of the SGGS.

From time immemorial seekers and disciples had to go on rigorous training, exercises, scripture reading etc., and then the Guru or Prophet (out of his grace) gave these disciples enlightenment. But in our case we just asked, and not even, some of us just accompanied the individual who asked ! So what is happening ?

kbIrw eyku AcMBau dyiKE hIrw hwt ibkwie ] (1372-14, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
kabeeraa ayk achambha-o daykhi-o heeraa haat bikaa-ay.
Kabeer, I saw a strange and wonderful thing. A jewel was being sold in a store.

bnjnhwry bwhrw kaufI bdlY jwie ]154] (1372-14, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
banjanhaaray baahraa ka-udee badlai jaa-ay. ||154||
Because there was no buyer, it was going in exchange for a shell. ||154||

Bhagat Kabir ji is saying that no matter how beautiful a jewel is, no matter how priceless it is, if there is no buyer at the end, it could be exchanged for nothing ! This is a spiritual metaphor for spiritual wealth or naam dhan (wealth of the name, Brahm-Gyan, name in this context meaning God), there is no buyer for this wealth so it was going in exchange for a shell ! Meaning that this wealth is going in exchange for nothing ! Saints, this is why the acquiring of Brahm-Gyan is just in the asking, because today man does not have the desire or demand for it so Babaji is making it easier for the world to get it. As a result, it is exchanging for a shell ! Now this does not mean that we have not given anything for it, we actually according to our first principle have given our body, mind and wealth (so everything we think we have), but my discussion is not in this. My discussion is more about the difference in why in the past even the asking for enlightenment took such a difficulty in acquiring it, versus today where it is in the asking. Maybe this is why we do not adopt the Brahm-Gyan in our lives as Babaji wants, because we do not value it as we do other amenities in our life like our body, mind and wealth ? Yet indirectly the first principle makes the body + mind + wealth = Brahm-Gyan, because in order to get it we have to surrender all three to Nirankar !

How humble is humble in the spiritual realm ? Once again I take the help of this passage of Kabir:

kbIr roVw hoie rhu bwt kw qij mn kw AiBmwnu ] (1372-6, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
kabeer rorhaa ho-ay rahu baat kaa taj man kaa abhimaan.
Kabeer, let yourself be a pebble on the path; abandon your egotistical pride.

AYsw koeI dwsu hoie qwih imlY Bgvwnu ]146] (1372-6, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
aisaa ko-ee daas ho-ay taahi milai bhagvaan. ||146||
Such a humble slave shall meet the Lord God. ||146||

kbIr roVw hUAw q ikAw BieAw pMQI kau duKu dyie ] (1372-7, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
kabeer rorhaa hoo-aa ta ki-aa bha-i-aa panthee ka-o dukh day-ay.
Kabeer, what good would it be, to be a pebble? It would only hurt the traveller on the path.

AYsw qyrw dwsu hY ijau DrnI mih Kyh ]147] (1372-7, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
aisaa tayraa daas hai ji-o Dharnee meh khayh. ||147||
Your slave, O Lord, is like the dust of the earth. ||147||

kbIr Kyh hUeI qau ikAw BieAw jau auif lwgY AMg ] (1372-8, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
kabeer khayh hoo-ee ta-o ki-aa bha-i-aa ja-o ud laagai ang.
Kabeer, what then, if one could become dust? It is blown up by the wind, and sticks to the body.

hir jnu AYsw cwhIAY ijau pwnI srbMg ]148] (1372-8, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
har jan aisaa chaahee-ai ji-o paanee sarbang. ||148||
The humble servant of the Lord should be like water, which cleans everything. ||148||

kbIr pwnI hUAw q ikAw BieAw sIrw qwqw hoie ] (1372-9, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
kabeer paanee hoo-aa ta ki-aa bha-i-aa seeraa taataa ho-ay.
Kabeer, what then, if one could become water? It becomes cold, then hot.

hir jnu AYsw cwhIAY jYsw hir hI hoie ]149] (1372-9, slok, Bgq kbIr jI)
har jan aisaa chaahee-ai jaisaa har hee ho-ay. ||149||
The humble servant of the Lord should be just like the Lord. ||149||

This beautiful passage describes the logic of Kabir as he realizes that to be nothing is in reality to be God. Firstly he says that we should be like the pebbles, so small on the ground. But then he realizes these could hurt as well, so he says to become like the dust. But then he realizes that with the wind the dust will stick to the body. Then he probes deeper and suggests water, but water can be really cold or hot, so in the end Bhagat Kabir ji states that the most humble entity in this universe is God itself and that if we become like God we will become the most humble. So that is why Lord Jesus Christ has said that the least among us shall be exalted, because the least is the greatest.

Saints, this is why Baba Hardev Singh ji Maharaj is constantly asking us to identify and merge ourselves with this Formless Lord, because the more we try to merge the more we become like him as Bhagat Kabir Ji says:

ji-o ji-o bhagat kabeer kee ti-o ti-o raam nivaas. ||141||
The more Kabeer worships Him, the more the Lord abides within his mind. ||141||

Once we merge with him, we automatically will become Polite, humble, large-hearted, tolerant, and dwell in equanimity as Babaji would like. We by ourselves cannot have these qualities, but by merging with God (by his grace, we can) this can happen through associating with the wise (Sadh Sangat), serving humanity (sewa), and meditating on God (Simran). These three parts are what equates Bhakti. Lord, please bless us with your Bhakti !

In the end it is up to us to go forward and try our best, as Bhagat Kabir ji has said:

kabeer saachaa satgur ki-aa karai ja-o sikhaa meh chook.
Kabeer, what can the True Guru do, when His Sikhs are at fault?