Sri Gur Prataap Surya Granth, Kavi Santokh Singh

Moving slowly, blessing Hari’s name and putting people on the path of piousness, the Guru reached Kurukshetra. Here, a very big fair was on. When it was time for the beginning of the solar eclipse, the entire gathering got busy in having a bath and giving charity. At that time, Mardana was singing the divine songs and the true Guru was sitting immersed in the love of Hari.

At this time, the queen mother and her son, the King of Hansi arrived. Some enemies had forcibly occupied his kingdom and thrown him out. The young king had shot a deer on the way. He did not know that it was the day of the eclipse. When he saw the radiance of the Guru’s face, he was so much attracted that he got down from his horse and fell at the Guru’s feet. The queen mother also got down from the palanquin, bowed down and gifted the deer to the Guru. The Guru asked the cooks to put the deer on the fire for cooking, in a big pan. The king’s cooks, then, put the deer on fire for cooking.

Meanwhile, the king told his suffering to the Guru and prayed to him: O benevolent Guru, please bless that I get back my kingdom. The Guru said: Kingdoms are a suffering if one thinks they are for one’s comfort. But if a king considers the kingdom as ‘service to the people’ like, nourishing the children, and keeps his mind in remembrance of Hari, then, the sufferings that come, one bears them in the interest of the people, and one doesn’t feel the suffering. Then, it becomes a work. One, who is in the incessant remembrance of Hari and who is always ‘doing good to others’, his coming to the world is fruitful.

O’ young King, if you remember Hari and make a point to serve your subjects, then, you will get your kingdom back. Meanwhile, people saw fire and smoke, and gathered with sticks, and angrily said: Who are you to do cooking during the eclipse period? What is your religion? You reply.

Guru: The cooking is being done to allay the hunger. Then, the pandits and Brahmins became furious and came forward with an inclination to kill.

The Guru said: Please come and you are welcome to kill me, but make sure, if killing a deer is evil during the eclipse, then, how is it that killing a man is a sacred deed? If you wish to discuss the subject, then we can discuss the same. On listening to this, people started thinking. Then, the Guru asked the sadhus to bring some senior learned pandit so that the issue could be discussed in seriousness.

The sadhus brought some pandits. One of them was a pandit named Nanoo. He came and started a discussion on the issue of eating and serving meat. The Guru said: This human life is higher than animal life. In humans the mind has five facets, namely the outer mind, the intellectual mind, the intuitive mind, the subconscious mind and the sublime mind. When we turn our mind towards the love of Hari, then, our sublime mind awakens, and we feel sublime consciousness. Then, one feels the sensation of the presence of the Lord in the body and feels the ecstasy. But, if the mind keeps wandering in animal instincts and worldly desires, then, it doesn’t have the strength to control the five senses of the body. Whatever, rituals and practices, fasts, baths, worship, charities, you have adopted are bodily rituals. You do these as rituals only. They do not stop the wandering of the mind or clean the dirt of vices on the mind. All these rituals increase the ego in man, which is a bond. Now, it is the time of the eclipse. This is a natural phenomenon of the movements of the earth and the moon. The sun is so far from here. Where are the demons? It is all your mistaken belief of fear from demons. There are no demons. You are having a bath and giving charity but your mind is wandering in worldly desires as usual. Sex, anger, greed, sentiments and pride are uncontrolled. The animal instincts are having an upper hand. You have not controlled your animal instincts by turning your mind towards love of Hari.

By not eating meat, one does not become pious. You are not in love with Hari. You haven’t got a sensation of the presence of the Lord in your mind. Your mind is full of animal instincts. It has neither imbibed manly instincts nor become saintly.

What is the greatness in not eating meat and what is improper in eating meat? You discuss and fight over eating or not eating meat but greed for money, grabbing others rights and sensual desires on other women, you do not consider worse than eating meat.

Sentiment for the body is sentiment for meat. Going after passions is worse than eating meat. You have not controlled your passions. Then, you say, in your scriptures, eating and serving meat is forbidden and you talk of Hindu scriptures.

In Hindu scriptures, your ancestors were offering meat in the Yagnas. They used to put meat in the sacrificial fire and offer it to gods. Even in other hindu scriptures and Ramayan meat is not forbidden. Even the Aryans ate meat. The Khatris offer meat in marriages. How can you say that it is forbidden in the scriptures? You think, not eating meat is good but you do not control the vices and passions of the body. Having discussion and fight, to the extent of even killing, over the issue of eating or not eating meat is wrong. Then, all kings, princes, warriors, Khatris all eat meat. You accept charities from them. Can it be that you, who take charities from meat-eaters, will go to heavens for not eating meat and they will go to hell for eating meat. Is it so?

Nanoo: Your discourse is very intellectual and has enlightened us. What you have said are hard facts and are all true. But you tell, whether eating meat is good or bad according to your mind.

Guru: This human body is like the animal body. But in the human body besides the outer mind and the intellectual mind is another thing, that is, the sublime mind. This is something higher than the animal mind. Then, man has got intellect and reasoning. What is required is to rise above the intellectual mind and awaken the sublime mind. It is the sublime mind that can feel the sensation of the presence of Hari. This is sublime consciousness that is higher than the outer and intellectual minds. The inner mind becomes attuned to Hari all the time and one feels the ecstasy. This is also called the Hari’s nectar. The happiness in this ecstasy is much higher than the happiness in the worldly pleasures and passions. This is the sacred name nectar that gives rapture. You may call it sensation or inner vision or meeting Hari or immersion in the love of Hari. Whatever you may call it, it is this, that enables you to reach Hari. Pandit, this is religiousness. Pandit: Then, does a man become divine.

Guru: This is your misconception. This is talking more and doing less. Man is like an animal. His body is like the body of animals. His birth, eating and drinking, is all like animals. Man has all animal instincts in him. When a man wants to rise above these animal instincts, then, he tries to win over these animal instincts by hath yoga, like keeping fasts, doing penances and austerities, but he terribly fails in that effort. These are bodily needs. They have to be controlled only. The mind has to be reined. One need not burden the mind with unnecessary discussions and fights over what to eat and what not to eat. One may eat whatever suits the body and one should not eat that makes the body ill or increases the passions of the body, like wine etc. By eating a balanced diet and avoiding things that make the body ill, one remains healthy. Secondly, one should endeavor to rise above the worldly desires, so that the mind gains consciousness. The love of Hari gives a new life and man becomes a saint. Our instincts that are common with animals are like a citron tree. When a citron tree is grafted with an orange plant, the grafting transforms the sour citron into delicious orange juice. If some branch of citron grows, then, it is chopped. Similarly, a seedling of Hari’s name grafted in a man’s mind transforms the mind into sublime consciousness. You forget this most important thing and go after fast, penances, austerities, renunciation etc. that give despair only. Killing the instincts by stubbornness is like chopping the citron tree. The empty rituals keep the mind in the animal instincts only. It does not rise higher.

O pandit, this is a state of despair. Nanoo went into deep thought. Suddenly, he went into intuitiveness and in a humble voice said: O godly soul, what you have said is true. I have read the scriptures and I got intuitiveness that this is the time for the prophet Nanak to come to this world in human form. On that assumption I changed my name to Nanak and became famous. But, today I have realized that you are the real Nanak. You are the true prophet. From now, I shall be called Nanoo only. You bless me with Hari’s name. You guide us as to how do we stop doing penances and fasts that take us nowhere? I have seen people renouncing the world, living in forests and doing penances and austerities, but still they are not able to win over the animal instincts or passions. The religious preachers talk of God but they have not won over the animal instincts. They can only give clever discourses and talk well but as you have said there is no grafting of orange plant on the citron tree. If there is some, that doesn’t go on.
Guru: Knowledge is to know something. Whoever gains knowledge in this way remains in the domain of thinking only. It does not give concentration to the mind. The mind keeps the knowledge but one cannot reach Hari in this way, because the mind is wandering fast in this materialistic world. All the time, day and night, everybody’s mind is wandering in worldly desires. The mind is scattered. This is a weakness of the mind. Concentration is the strength of the mind. The mind that is concentrated is strong. A strong mind rises higher. This strong mind should be pure also. Then, this strong and pure mind rises higher into intuitiveness and sublime consciousness. The sublime consciousness is a sensation of the presence of Hari in our body. It perceives itself separate from the body and remains in the incessant remembrance of the Lord. The mind remains in ecstasy and rapture. Yes, Pandit, the creator of the world is a Supreme Soul whose creation we are. We cannot see Him with these eyes, but we can feel the sensation of His presence in our sublime mind, as I have explained. So, renouncing the world or killing the bodily instincts by stubbornness and penances or the empty rituals or practices that give dejection, is not the true religious path. The path is, that we should keep the body requirements in control. We should not run in greed, like animals. We should rein the outer mind with our intellectual and intuitive mind. Then, we have to recite Hari’s name. By recitation of Name, the mind gets into remembrance of the Divine. By recitation of Name, the mind that is wandering fast in this materialistic world slows down and diverts slowly from materialism towards Hari. As the love of the Lord increases our materialistic mind merges itself with our sublime mind, where it feels the presence of the Lord within our body. At this stage a wavy sensation emerges in this body that gives you ecstasy. Loving Hari is remembering Him and reciting His name by the tongue. Nanoo (with deep devotion): Beloved Guru! Be benevolent Bless me with Hari’s name. I am at your feet. The Guru was gracious and he blessed him with the name. Here, many more people started treading on the true path of ‘Recitation of Hari’s name with love’.