The only certain thing about our life is “The Death”. Each of us is going to die one day. However majority of us is living unconsciously, ignoring this fact. We are busy achieving our goals, earning wealth or fighting in the name of caste, race, religion or nation! The irony is all the hustle of a man, his ambitions, beliefs or opinion will come to the end suddenly when he will face the ultimate truth i.e. “death”. So question is how important is this hustle? Are we on the earth for this purpose?
If you refer to any spiritual paths or religious scripture, all says that the ultimate purpose of human is self-realization & knowing about that supreme, and one has to actively strive to attain it.
This idea is very beautifully described in below bhajan (devotional song) by a lady saint – “Ganga sati”. She lived in India around 17th or 18th century (the historical fact about this is not clear). She composed and sung 52 bhajans – one bhajan everyday night to enlighten her disciple and companion “Paan bai” about importance of spirituality, oneness of God and importance of bhakti (devotion) in one’s life.
Here is the Gujarati bhajan (Gujarati is India’s one of the popular language) with its English translation.
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વીજળીને ચમકારે મોતીડાં પરોવો રે પાનબાઇ !
નહિતર અચાનક અંધારા થાશે જી;
જોત રે જોતાંમાં દિવસો વહી જશે પાનબાઇ !
એકવીસ હજાર છસોને કાળ ખાશે જી … વીજળીને ચમકારે
Like a flash of lightning, string the pearls together, O Paanbai!
Otherwise, sudden darkness will take over.
While you keep watching and waiting, days will pass away,
twenty-one thousand six hundred breaths —will slip away… like a flash of lightning!
જાણ્યા રે જેવી આ તો અજાણ છે રે વસ્તુ પાનબાઇ !
અધૂરિયાને નો કે’વાય જી,
ગુપત રસનો આ ખેલ છે અટપટો,
આંટી મેલો તો સમજાય જી … વીજળીને ચમકારે
This is something which is worth knowing, which is unknown at present, O Paanbai!
This can not be revealed to incomplete ones!
This secret essence of divine play is strange indeed,
Only when you leave all negativity (Grudge, Jealousy etc.) , then you will understand… like a flash of lightning!
મન રે મૂકીને તમે આવો રે મેદાનમાં પાનબાઇ !
જાણી લીયો જીવ કેરી જાત જી;
સજાતિ વિજાતિની જુગતિ બતાવું ને,
બીબે પાડી દઉં બીજી ભાત જી … વીજળીને ચમકારે
Enter into the battlefield by letting go your mind (thoughts, ego, emotions), O Paanbai!
And know the true nature of the soul.
Let me reveal to you the play of similarities and differences,
And cut apart the illusion of distinctions… like a flash of lightning!
પિંડ રે બ્રહ્માંડથી પર છે ગુરુ પાનબાઇ !
તેનો રે દેખાડું તમને દેશજી,
ગંગા રે સતી એમ બોલિયાં રે સંતો,
ત્યાં નહિ માયાનો જરીયે લેશ જી … વીજળીને ચમકારે
The body is beyond the universe, O Guru Paanbai!
Let me show you that divine realm.
O Saints, Gangasati have spoken that,
In that ultimate state, there is not even a trace of illusion… like a flash of lightning!
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In above bhajan Ganga sati says to her disciple Paan bai that act fast in performing virtuous deeds, seeking sacred knowledge and doing good stuff in the life. As life will pass just like a flash of light in the sky! There are only 21,600 (twenty one thousand six hundred) breaths in day, and this is being eaten by upcoming death day by day. This denotes the uncertainty in life where death or bad time may come anytime, so before it comes one has to do its best to gain spiritual insights and perform its noble duties.
Average life expectancy in the world is around 73 years. Out of this we spend many years in just education, work, sleep and eat. So technically, there is very less time which ones spend with the self to know the true nature of the self and to know about the divine super power. Usually for human, this realization comes very late that they have wasted this precious life in trivial activities, quarrels and false identities & beliefs. Hence, here Ganga sati emphasize the importance of acting on spiritual path of self-realization quickly, as there is no guarantee when death will come on our door.
Further she tells that this knowledge is unknown for many, however it can not be revealed to any non-competent person (person who still holds negative emotions in the heart). This knowledge is sacred and complex, it can only be understood if person is free from all kind of negativities like Grudge, Jealousy, Anger, Hatred, Fear etc. All the religious and spiritual paths says this same thing. One has to get rid of any type of negativity to get enlightenment. This is explained by Ganga sati in the phrase આંટી મેલો તો સમજાય, which means Leaves the knots from your mind. There are many knots in our mind we tie-up which is related to people, event or places. We suffer from variety of prejudices and conditioning. There are many incidents and people in our life which we are not ready to forgive or forget. Gangasati says that we need to get rid of any of this kind of knots. As also explained in Budhha’s Vipanasana meditation practice – these knots are of Greed, Attachment, Anger, Fear, Ego, Jealousy, Sadness. One has to practice to leave these knots.
She encourages Paan bai to know the self by forgetting her own identity, thoughts and ego. It is well known in spiritual practice that one has to let go their thoughts to move ahead in spiritual path. The world is divided in nations, caste, rash, gender & many more ways, Ganga sati says that she can teach the technique to understand that – at the end everything is part of only one divine! By knowing this, one can be enlighten to drop their artificial identity & can know their true self.
We human are tiny creature in this wide universe, however Ganga sati reveals that our soul is even bigger than this universe as it is part of that super power which has created this universe! Once she (Paan bai) can have revelation of this then she will be detached from this material world in a flash of light!
So here, Ganga sati has revealed the sacred truth in a very simple & effective way. The truth is always simple & clear, however we human have wear so many type of glasses in front of our eyes that we can not see it. In many religious scripture, there is a mention of heaven and hell. Each of us wants to be in heaven, however we are not realizing that if we move away from all type of negativities, involve ourselves in good deeds for world and spend time in identifying our true selves then this earth will be anything different than a heaven?
Ganga sati took “maha samadhi” (deep meditative state in which the meditator loses his identity and becomes one with the supreme being) and left her body after composing and singing this 52 bhajans for her disciple Paan bai. The purpose of composing these 52 bhajans was to transform Paan bai into higher spiritual being, so that ganga sati can leave this world (will write separate blog for explaining why Ganta sati wanted to leave this world) & her teachings can be spread further by Paan bai.
If Paan bai can get awakening in 52 nights by listening to the devotional songs, then we still have good time left. What will you do to move further in the path for self-realization?