Posture is a Template

Try to understand on the deepest level every word of these incomparable verses:

OH YOGI, ASSUME THE POSTURE OF CONTENTMENT AND MODESTY.

PICK UP THE CARRYING BAG OF DIGNITY AND HONOR, AND APPLY THE SACRED ASH OF MEDITATION.

There are certain fundamental errors of the human mind that are repeated again and again; it has always been so and will continue in the future. Whenever a religion is born many methods, many devices, and many experiments are conducted in the quest for God.

Close to the original source of a religion there are symbols and signposts that help. As that fundamental source recedes further and further away and the religion becomes a tradition, the symbols are no longer alive. They become inert and their meaning is lost. Then people drag the religion along like a dead body, with dead symbols. Religion becomes a duty to be performed, as a social obligation.

For instance, I give you sannyas and you put on the orange clothes. After a few days the meaning of the orange clothes will be lost. The further you go from me the more will the clothes become a mere external symbol. Dyeing your clothes orange doesn't change the soul within. The orange robe is only a signal for remembrance - now the soul has to be dyed.

When someone wants to remember something during the course of the day he might tie a knot in his handkerchief as a way of remembering. The knot itself isn't to be purchased, nor does it have any meaning in itself. However preoccupied he is all day, every time he touches the handkerchief he will be reminded that he has to buy something. Now maybe his son has noticed that he often leaves home with a knotted handkerchief. He is intrigued; there surely must be something to it. So when he goes to the market he knots his handkerchief, but he has no notion of the significance of the knot. It has no further relationship to remembrance but has become an idle custom as the son does what he saw his father doing; and so the tradition can go on for thousands of years.

In this household then, tying a knot before setting out from home becomes a sacred custom.

Whoever observes it honors his forefathers; whoever doesn't observe it will be branded a rebel, an irreligious person. But neither the one who ties the knot nor the one who doesn't is able to tell why the knot is there.

This sort of confusion is natural in all religions. The mind grasps what is shallow and superficial and forgets what is deep and profound; it has no depth, thus is unable to grasp the depth.

I give you orange robes, but only to remember constantly that you have been initiated into sannyas.

Now you have to sit, stand, walk, talk as a sannyasin should. Your actions in the world should not be that of a slave but of a master, which is why I call you swami. Now show that you are a free person, not a captive. I agree that this cannot come about immediately, but you have to make a beginning somewhere. These clothes are like a knot for you. Their usefulness lies in constantly focusing your remembrance on the fact of being a sannyasin from the very beginning.

These words of Nanak are directed towards the holy men of the Nath-Sampradaya, an influential sect in those days. Their ashrams were spread throughout the country. Their founder, Gorakhnath, was a potent leader, but after his death the methods fell into the hands of ordinary people and they became shallow and useless. The sadhus of this sect pierce their ears, which is very useful in serving as a knot.

Acupuncture has been a science in China for centuries; now it is gaining recognition in the West.

This science believes that there are seven hundred points in the human body from which the life energy flows. The earlobes are very important acupuncture points, very closely connected to remembrance. When the ear is pierced the energy within gets a severe jolt. In fact, piercing the ears was even a well known remedy for certain mental ailments. In China it was the only treatment to cure mental illness.

Because of the profound experience from that energy flow, the sadhus of this sect used to pierce their ears; one group even cut the lobes through and through instead of just piercing them. The energy flows more directly to the brain when an intermediary obstruction is removed. It was a significant device to awaken remembrance.

Try this experiment: when you are feeling sad, worried, downcast or angry, hold your ear lobes and rub them hard; there is no need to pierce the ears. You will find a change in your state of mind. But one thing is certain, merely cutting the lobes or piercing them does not make an enlightened being out of a seeker.

There is an ancient village custom in India that arose during the time of very high infant mortality.

Even today you may come upon someone in a rural village whose name is Kanchchedi-lal, he whose ears are pierced, or Natthu-lal, he whose nose is pierced.

This tradition of piercing the ear or the nose came into vogue, and the children named accordingly, after a great deal of experience; finally it had been realized that it was more likely that the child would not die when the ear or the nose was pierced. The method evolved through the experience of thousands of years, and is the result of a fundamental change in the life energy as a result of the piercing.

In Russia experiments with Kirlian photography have arrived at significant conclusions. The whole play of health, illness, birth and death of a human being involves the flow of electrical energy within.

This flow of energy can be diverted at certain points and transformed. It can be made to flow in whatever direction is required, and it can also be stopped from flowing in a particular direction.

The art of acupuncture is based on this. When a person is ill, needles are inserted into particular places on the body. The prick of the needle changes the flow of energy, and alters the disease and effects a cure. China has been using this therapy for thousands of years, and now science has confirmed the existence of these points in the body. Russia has also introduced this form of therapy into their hospitals. They have devised an instrument like an x-ray machine, which can spot trouble-spots in the body by picking up changes in electrical currents in the body-part that has fallen sick. Having discovered the spot, an electric shock at this point reestablishes the energy flow and the illness is improved.

The yogis of Nath-Sampradaya had devised their own significant shock method. Many such techniques have evolved. For example, Jews and the Muslims follow their custom of circumcision, which is also an effective shock technique. The Jews circumcise the male child on the eighth day.

Research has tried to uncover the advantages of this technique. There is no community more intellectual, more brilliant than the Jews. Though small in number they have taken the greatest number of Nobel prizes. They are prominent in whatever field of work they engage in, the leaders of everything they do. People of great influence and power in this century have been Jews: Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, for example. In fact, it is they who have created this age. Among great thinkers or scientist no one can meet their calibre. So now scientists have tried to see whether circumcision in infancy has anything to do with the Jews' genius.

Since Muslims, who also circumcise their children, did not attain to this mark of genius, a suggested cause might be that they perform the circumcision rather late. Jews believe that the first shock the child receives should be directed at the sex organ where the life energy is accumulated. By cutting the foreskin the life energy gets a powerful jolt which sends it straight up to the head. This impact in the head proves very significant for him for all time to come. It changes the course of his life.

Kirlian photography confirms it and acupuncture had known it for ages. The sex organ is the most sensitive part of the human body. To cut the skin is a matter of great shock to the infant, which increases the life energy flow to the head. This method opens many possibilities.

Whenever these things are discovered they are put into use. Then gradually, as time passes, the meaning is lost. Then people go through these practices as a matter of custom, completely unaware of their significance.

Gorakhnath discovered many things. He was a unique researcher. People felt the impact of his genius and millions joined his sect for the results, which were very clear and evident. By the time of Nanak, Gorakhnath's teachings had become vague and foggy; people practiced them as ritual, without meaning. So Nanak tells the yogi to assume the posture of contentment and effacement.

He says this because Gorakhnath had evolved many postures, asanas, which were very effective.

You must also have discovered that certain body postures and positions relate to the state of your mind. When you are quiet and tranquil the expression of your face and the position of your limbs are quite different from when you are angry. When you are filled with compassion the body takes on a certain posture; even your hands are filled with compassion, with fearlessness, and a sense of giving. In compassion the hands cannot do anything but give. When you are filled with kindness, you do not clench your fist as if to fight someone; it would be incongruous. A closed fist is always to destroy someone; it is the sign of a shallow and niggardly heart. The fist opens of its own accord in moments of compassion - you are ready to give everything away.

There is an intrinsic connection between the mind and its moods, and the states of the body. So Gorakhnath devised many postures which when practiced, resulted in a change in the seeker's mind.

For instance, if you assume the position of anger - clench your fists and fix your eyes as if ready to attack - you will find the rumblings of anger starting inside you.

There were two significant early psychologists in America, James and Lange, who together developed a theory in which they tried to disprove the idea that a man runs because of his fear; instead they claim that a man experiences fright because he runs away. Many scientists thus give credence to the theory that body position is of critical importance. We say a man runs when he is frightened. James and Lange say, when a man's body makes preparations to run away, then he experiences himself as being frightened. If he were to stop running or preparing to run, he would no longer feel frightened. When the posture is changed, the state within also changes.

With each different state of mind there is a specific posture or position of the body. This means that the mind and the body move in parallel lines. When you are happy your body is in a particular posture; when you are sad your body is in another position. Observe how in moments of joy your body expands and spreads out as if you have become more voluminous. When you are sad or unhappy, you feel yourself contracting, as if your insides are getting narrower and narrower, like a tree that would like to shut itself up in a seed. In studying body postures it was seen clearly that a suffering man appears contracted. By observing body positions alone you can tell the state of the mind. In joy the body is in a state of expansion; in sorrow it is contracted. In anger the lines of the forehead become more pronounced. When you are worried the facial contours change. When you are carefree there are no wrinkles on the forehead.

James and Lange were not the first to make this discovery; it has been known in India since ancient times. From early hatha yoga texts to Gorakhnath, millions of yogis have experimented. In fact, no one has experimented in greater detail with the mind and body of the human being, nobody has observed and investigated it in greater detail, than these yogis. They observed that for each state of mind, the body had a corresponding posture. Out of this arose a method: by changing the posture of the body in a particular way, the required change can be brought about in the state of mind. When you feel anger arising, change your body posture to the one you have when you are relaxed and peaceful. You will experience change, a transformation in the state of your energy: the energy that was about to become anger has become tranquility.

Posture is a framework, a template, a die. Energy is neutral. It assumes whatever shape you give it. It is like water. Pour it in a glass tumbler and it assumes the shape of the tumbler; pour it into a pot and it takes the form of the pot. Energy does likewise; give it the form of anger and it becomes anger, give it the form of love and the very same energy becomes love. This is a most profound discovery. When you begin to understand the various postures of the body, you can begin to change the mind within.

But there is a danger: you can get so involved in the study of body postures that you forget that it has anything to do with changing the internal states of the mind. Then you become an adept in the science of body postures, but the mind within remains the same. Remember, this is only an aid; the actual transformation must occur within. Take as much outside help as possible, but concentrate on the internal change.

When a house is being constructed, first the scaffolding is put up. This is a necessary initial step, but if you don't build anything with this structure the house will never be constructed. The structure is not habitable, it was only a prop for an actual house, Once its purpose is served it must be discarded.

Asanas, postures and mudras are such aids. From Gorakhnath to Nanak people had begun to consider the scaffolding as the dwelling. The yogi would sit in the posture of compassion, but he has completely forgotten that something needs to be done internally, too. So the posture is of compassion, but he is seething with anger inside. He assumes the mudra of kind-protection, but look inside and there is a dangerous man who might harm you. He stands at your door apparently asking alms, but if you do not give to him he curses you. People were frightened by the nath-yogis.

Their beggarly appearance was false.

Buddha and Gorakhnath had both directed their disciples to become beggars in order to inculcate humility in them. When the hand is held out to beg, what room is there for haughtiness? When I stand at someone's door with a beggar's bowl outstretched, how can the ego persist? When I am dong something for someone else, the ego is nourished, but to be a beggar is to accept the fact that I am nothing, I am worthless. The begging bowl is my only possession. If you give I shall be happy; it you do not I shall go away silently, for how can a beggar insist? The giver may give or not; it is his choice.

Buddha had told his bhikshus that they should beg, but they must just stand at the door and never ask. Asking also bears weight; perhaps it is coercing the giver, and that would be against the concept of begging, it is too aggressive. So the bhikshu was directed only to stand before the entrance where he went for alms. If the householder feels like giving, he will; otherwise the bhikshu leaves quietly.

He was to make no effort lest a person give against his will To this end, he was supposed to stand with his eyes closed while he begged. He would stand for a while then move on, thus relieving the householder of any embarrassment in refusing. The bhikshu had to practice humility. If the giver gives, it is his own will; if he does not, it is his will. In both cases the bhikshu was to bless him. His blessings had nothing to do with whether the man gave or not.

One of Buddha's bhikshus, by the name of Puran, gained knowledge and attained buddhahood.

Buddha told him, "Go out into the world now and give others what I have given you. Many lamps are unlit, go and light them. You don't need to stay with me any more. You have attained the supreme knowledge."

Puran bowed his head and with folded hands said, "Allow me to go to the village, Sukha, in Bihar."

Buddha said, "It would be well if you do not go there, for the people are crude and heartless. They will abuse you and insult you."

Puran replied, "But master, shouldn't the doctor go where the sick are? Please give me permission to go there. Those people need me."

Buddha said, "Answer three questions before you go. first, if they insult and abuse you what will you feel?"

Puran answered, "I will feel what kind people they are! They only abuse me, they do not beat me.

They could have beaten me if they liked."

Buddha said, "And if they were also beat you up? If they welcomed you with stones?"

Puran replied, "I would still feel kindly towards them, for they will only have beaten me, they haven't killed me. They could also have killed me."

"And," said Buddha, "what if they killed you? What would your feelings be at the time of death?"

"I would still feel how kind they were to have relieved me of life where I could have stumbled and erred so many times," Puran replied.

To this Buddha said, "Go forth, Puran. You are truly a perfect bhikshu. You may go wherever you please."

Only when there is total humility is the person a real bhikshu. But by the time Nanak appeared on the scene, the Gorakhnath bhikshu had become a terror. He would come before the door of a house and, instead of standing still, walk back and forth, shaking his staff and clanging his tongs. This invariably frightened people into giving. Looking at his straight back and angry eyes, people were afraid that not giving would surely lead to violence.

So people gave alms to the Nath-Sampradaya yogis out of fear. Otherwise their curse was certain.

Such was the perverted state of affairs when Nanak came on the scene. The Nath-Sampradaya yogi never blessed anyone. That you gave him alms was of no consequence; rather you should feel grateful that he accepted your alms. He took it as his right.

Gorakh had also exhorted his followers to bless the house they begged from; whether they gave or not was not the criterion, but things had turned topsy-turvy with the passage of time. The postures were maintained but the meaning behind them was lost. There are such yogis in our time too.

Certain Nath-yogis have stood for ten years without moving. This posture had significance at one time. If you stand erect while remembering within, the consciousness also stands up; if the body is absolutely still, the consciousness also becomes calm and steadfast; but, unless you remember, the body will become inert while the mind keeps on running until it has crossed a thousand worlds.

Thoughts and dreams will continue. Postures will help but they are not an end in themselves.

By Nanak's time the postures had deteriorated and all the sects had become deformed. So Nanak says:

OH YOGI, ASSUME THE POSTURE OF CONTENTMENT AND MODESTY.

PICK UP THE CARRYING BAG OF DIGNITY AND HONOR.

Contentment is a significant word that unfortunately has been deformed and mutilated. When a person finds himself helpless he becomes contented. This contentment is only a consolation, not real at all. When he finds himself helpless after all efforts have failed him, and says its all right, this isn't the posture of contentment but a state of helplessness.

A man used to come to Sri Ramakrishna. Every year during the festival of Kali he would sacrifice goats to the goddess, hundreds of them. Suddenly, he gave up this practice. Ramakrishna had tried to dissuade him from doing it many times before, but to no avail. Now he stopped sacrificing the goats. Ramakrishna asked him what made him stop when all the former pleas had failed. He replied, "All this time it wasn't possible to heed your advice. Now I have lost my teeth and cannot eat meat, so I have given up killing goats. I am now quite content to do so."

So people become contented in old age or in poverty but this is pseudo-contentment. Contentment is really a power, not an outcome of weakness. It is a positive energy, not negative. It is not a state of helplessness, but a state of supreme helpfulness, a very high state of being. Contentment implies that you have much more than you require, more than what you need; you have both what you asked for and what you didn't ask for. Contentment includes gratitude: God, Your will is wonderful. How much You have given me.

Contentment is not the consolation grasped by a defeated mind in a state of helplessness; it is a victorious journey where there is no question of defeat. It is attained only by glorious victors; it is worthy of heroes. Mahavir says that only Jinas, those who have conquered everything, can attain contentment.

When Nanak says: OH YOGI, ASSUME THE POSTURE OF CONTENTMENT, accomplishing physical postures becomes an old story leading to nothing. Nanak means to leave it and practice the inner posture, of which contentment is the highest.

Why? To become contented is to have all anxieties fall away. Anxiety is born out of discontent, out of the feeling that you are lacking something, that you are not getting what you deserve or what you think yourself worthy of. The day you attain contentment, you will sleep like a log - like someone who has sold all his horses, as the saying goes. Then you have no worries, your sleep will be undisturbed by dreams arising out of the day-long anxieties.

Discontentment involves beggarliness whereas contentment leaves you the lord and master. It is the sign of a sannyasin who is happy and contented in every way. You cannot create a condition to make him discontented, for under all circumstances he will see the good. Whatever happens, he spies His hand. In the deepest moments of suffering you cannot take away his rays of joy. He knows that the darkest hour is a forerunner of the coming morn. When he is in utter darkness he laughs and welcomes with song the morning sun that is bound to rise soon. In every dark cloud he sees the silver lining. In the darkest moments of suffering and sorrow, he holds the thread of contentment well in his hand. He accepts all; he has assumed total acceptance.

This is what Nanak means when he says to attain the posture of contentment. By controlling hands and feet and their position, nothing is attained. Control of your consciousness begins with contentment; but do not forget the wrong type of contentment which is born out of helplessness.

Mulla Nasruddin was once travelling with his friend in a bullock cart. Their road led through a jungle where they were suddenly set upon by robbers. Just ahead of them stood the bandits with guns in hand, shouting, "Halt!" At that instant Mulla quickly drew five hundred rupees from his pocket and handed them to his friend, saying, "Here is the money I had borrowed from you. Now we are even."

Your contentment is born out of such moments - when you find there is nothing left to be done.

When everything is lost, only then you release your hold on it. Actually you don't part with your possessions, they are snatched away from you. So where is the contentment? Only he who lets go of his own accord is contented; he whose things are grabbed from him may shout from the roof-tops that everything is all right, but you still hear the note of discontent.

The correct form of contentment requires, first and foremost, a feeling that you have received much more than you need. It requires gratitude, that behind all the apparent sorrow you see the hidden joy. Wherever you see thorns, somewhere there are roses, so why rest your eyes on the thorns.

If you hurl abuse at the contented person he thinks that perhaps it is right; he thanks you for telling him the truth. If it is wrong he thinks, "Poor man, he took all this trouble in vain, to think that he came so far." So there is either a feeling of gratitude or compassion, but never anger. He finds something good and worthwhile in every situation.

There is a story which I like very much of two fakirs: The two fakirs, the old guru and the young disciple, were returning to their hut in Japan for the rainy season. For eight months of the year they traveled from village to village singing the praises of the Lord, but in the rainy season they returned to their hut. When they reached the bank of the lake where the hut stood, they found the roof fallen to the ground by a violent storm that had struck just the night before. It was not only a very small hut, but on top of that, half the roof was on the ground. There were ominous clouds in the sky and darkness all around. Nothing could be done for they were far away from any other habitation.

The younger sannyasin couldn't contain himself. "Look at this. We kill ourselves singing His glories and this is how we are rewarded. What use is all that prayer and worship? What do we get in return? Rich sinners are lying blissfully in their mansions while the gale has carried away the roof of two poor fakirs. The storm is also His."

Having given vent to all his rage, he turned to the guru and what did he see? There knelt the guru with folded hands looking up at the sky, his eyes filled with tears of joy and supreme contentment.

He was singing, "Oh Lord, Your compassion knows no bounds. The tempest could have blown the whole roof away and you must have stopped it half-way for us. Only You can be so thoughtful."

Then they both entered the hut. Though they seem to enter the same hut, they are different people:

one is contented, the other dis-contented. They both slept. The younger fakir kept tossing and turning, grumbling and worrying about the rain, constantly complaining and filled with anger. But the guru slept very soundly. When he got up at 4 a.m. he wrote a song. He could see the moon above through the half-open roof. He said in his song, "Oh Lord, had we known before, we would not have troubled Your tempest to rip off half the roof. We would have done it ourselves. We have been so foolish, but now we can see the wonderful work of the storm; we can watch the moon over the hut!

How close is Your sky, and we shut it off with a roof! Your moon came and went so many times and we remained behind a roof. We did not know, please forgive us! Had we known we wouldn't have put the storm to so much trouble."

A man who can sing like this under the most direct circumstances is truly a contented person. But he who becomes contented out of helplessness follows the path of impotent and vigorless people; if only they could find contentment before having to lose everything then they wouldn't have to lose anything; for you cannot steal anything from a contented man. You may take away his belongings but not his contentment. His inner equilibrium cannot be disturbed. His true possessions are all within.

When Nanak says to ASSUME THE POSTURE OF CONTENTMENT AND MODESTY, and PICK UP THE CARRYING BAG OF DIGNITY AND HONOR, he is hinting at the inner state. In fact, Gorakhnath had said the same thing: all external suggestions were only meant for internal remembrance, but it was forgotten and only the knot in the handkerchief remained. They even forgot what they had come to buy, they even forgot that the knot was meant to remind them about something. Only the knot remained. Now they are left carrying this knot which is only an additional burden.

OH YOGI, ASSUME THE POSTURE OF CONTENTMENT AND MODESTY.

Modesty connotes a quality that is totally oriental, unique to the East. The word lajja also means shyness and shame. There is no comparable word in any Western language. It is considered the ultimate, supreme state of womanhood. A prostitute is called 'nirlajj', shameless, for she sells her body, which is the temple of God and cannot be for sale. It is meant for worship, the first step to attain the ultimate wealth - not to sell for a few coins.

'Shameless' implies utilizing the body for anything other than the quest for God. There is no shame in such a person's life. We criticize the whore, but what about others? If you are selling your body to earn wealth or a name in the world, you are no better. The prostitute sells her body to earn wealth, so do you.

The state of shame or modesty insists that the body not be sold for money. Since it is the temple of God, some day He will be a guest there. The body has to be taught to wait for Him. This waiting is exactly like the waiting of a beloved for the lover. When the lover approaches she covers her face with a veil, trying to hide so that she does not reveal herself to her lover, for that would be rank shamelessness.

She invites the lover, she waits for him, but when he comes near, she hides herself, covers her face with the veil. To appear before the lover would be egoistic. The desire to reveal oneself is exhibitionism, ego. Would you want to show yourself before God? No, you will hide; you would rather the earth part and bury you. You cover yourself with a thousand veils. To appear before God would be egoistic. You approach Him like the love-lost maiden - not like a learned pundit - walking on tip-toe, lest he hear even your foot-steps. You try to hide as best you can, for what have you got to show him? Shyness implies that you have absolutely nothing to show, so you hide your face in shame.

That is why shyness and modesty are considered the highest quality for a woman in India. It explains a certain grace in oriental women which is lacking in the women of the West who were never taught to be shy. For her, shyness is considered a disqualification; she is trained to show, to exhibit, to attract - as if she is a marketable commodity. In the East, when a woman is taught shyness she learns to hide herself and cover herself, thus the custom of the veil. The veil was part of lajja. As the custom began to wane, lajja also began to fade, for the veil is the external expression of lajja. Now, as our women also move about openly and exhibit themselves, they too desire that people should look at them, and so they dress themselves with that in mind. When you desire to be seen like this, you are standing in the marketplace.

Nanak says our modesty before Him should be like the maiden's modesty before her lover: she hides, for she is embarrassed by his closeness. She has nothing worthy of his attention - so the shame, so the veil.

To many the more modest a woman is, the more attractive she is; the more she reveals, the less attractive she becomes. To many the woman of the West has lost her charm, for what is readily available in the market loses its drawing power.

We don't go and sell ourselves to God; what have we got to show Him? We approach Him like a maiden in love - in full modesty. Our feet tremble. Will He or will He not accept me? Am I worthy enough? Such embarrassment, such shyness - we have nothing to offer that is worthy of Him.

Modesty is a state of utter humility. Only when a person is so humble is he accepted. The more a devotee hides himself, the more attractive he becomes to God. The more a devotee reveals his devotion by proclaiming his worship, his prayers, his fasts and penance, the further removed he is from God. The union with God is effected only in an egoless consciousness.

OH YOGI, ASSUME THE POSTURE OF CONTENTMENT AND MODESTY.

PICK UP THE CARRYING BAG OF DIGNITY AND HONOR.

What is the dignity that Nanak talks about? As soon as a person begins to experience the soul and knows that he is not the body, he attains dignity. The feeling of the self is dignity. The body cannot be consecrated, for it is but a temporary resting-place. You tarry there a while, but you cannot make your home here. To be consecrated, to be dignified, means to attain the everlasting, to plant one's roots in that which is forever true.

You cannot be consecrated unless you stand with Him. You may sit on a throne but you will attain no dignity and honor. The honor of this world is no honor, for here is merely the play of the waves.

Who is going to remember you when you are gone? And who really bothers about you while you are alive - even though you may be sitting on a throne?

Look at those who rule the land. Wherever they go they are received with thrown stones. You look for flowers but you get stones thrown at you. You look for respect and you are insulted. If you gain your place by force, there are always others to pull you down by your leg. Ask the politicians.

Their names may appear in the papers and their every action becomes news, but they are equally criticized. In this world if you want to win, you are bound to lose; if you hanker after honor, you are bound to be insulted. Dignity exists only when you are with God.

So Nanak says to pick up the carrying-bag of dignity and honor, throw away the sack of arrogance and ego that you are carrying. Discover egolessness, shyness and contentment, and your roots will have begun to spread towards God.

AND APPLY THE SACRED ASH OF MEDITATION.

Merely smearing ash on the body is of no avail. Develop meditation within, Nanak exhorts, let that be your sacred ash; be smeared with meditation.

ESTABLISH DEATH AS YOUR BEDROLL... so that you are always reminded of Him. He who is constantly aware of death cannot forget God. He who forgets death, forgets God. We all have no awareness of death. We live as if we are never going to die, therefore we forget to remember God.

MAKE A MAIDEN OF YOUR BODY.

The Nath-Sampradaya as well as many tantric sects seek a virgin for their sadhana. Through a distinctive tantric sexual union meditation is attained. This is true, this is possible, and Tantra has found the method.

But man is dishonest. In the name of Tantra thousands of yogis began to roam about with young maidens. Millions of people used the screen of Tantra to indulge in all kinds of depravity. They had a ready explanation for the girls they kept with them, as also the path they followed. This immorality caused Buddhism to be driven out of the country. Also, a great Tantric tradition was lost as a result.

Man is very clever; he is adept at finding means to satisfy his lust, and this was a ready-made solution for him. He could move about openly with young girls and masquerade as a Tantric seeker.

When Nanak says make your own body the virgin maiden, he is referring to the deepest thread of Tantra. It is your own body that should become your companion; your soul should be the male and your body the female. Intercourse can take place between these two, and that is the supreme union.

It is through this intercourse alone that a person attains liberation. The tantric method had the same goal: through the external woman by and by you discover the woman within you.

There is a woman hidden within every man and a man hidden within every woman. When a union of the man or woman within and the woman or man without, takes place, the final state of samadhi is reached. Contemporary science has also accepted the fact that man is bi-sexual. This is natural, for each person is born out of the union of mother and father; so he is a part of his mother as well as a part of his father. Within you there is a man, within you is a woman; and when the two energies combine the result is an eternal intercourse, while physical union is only momentary.

So Nanak is speaking about a very profound theme of tantra. He says, OH YOGI, MAKE EXPERIENCE YOUR STAFF OF LIBERATION, AND CONSIDER THE UNITY OF ALL AS YOUR fiRST PRINCIPLE.

TO CONQUER THE MIND IS TO CONQUER THE WORLD.

IF YOU MUST BOW, BOW TO HIM.

HE IS THE PRIMAL BEING, PURE, WITHOUT BEGINNING OR END. HE IS THE UNSTRUCK SOUND.

HE IS IMMUTABLE THROUGH ALL TIME.

Bow unto Him who is forever the same, the unchanging one. You may break your back bowing in temples and mosques, but if your obeisance is not directed towards Him it is of no avail. Always remember, wherever you bow, let it always be at His feet, When you bow before the guru, it is Him you are worshipping through the guru and when you bow in the temple, you are bowing to Him. All homage is to Him. As a reminder the idol in the temple becomes helpful. Otherwise the temple idols pose a danger to you, as does the guru. If your reverence is not directed towards Him, whenever you bow you create shackles for yourself; all kinds of obstructions come your way. And if you learn to bow only to Him, each stone can become a door for you. Bow anywhere, in temple, mosque, gurudwara, church, but remember one thing, all homage is to Him, Him who was in the beginning, who is pure and perfect, who is everlasting, who is the primal sound, and who is always the same - forever and forever.

MAKE KNOWLEDGE YOUR PLEASURE AND COMPASSION YOUR STOREHOUSE.

MAKE A CONCH SHELL OF THE ETERNAL MUSIC PLAYING IN EVERY BEING.

HE ALONE IS A MASTER IN WHOM ALL BEINGS ARE INTERTWINED, WHILE THE SEARCH FOR SUPERNATURAL POWERS IS A FALSE PATH.

THE LAW OF UNION AND SEPARATION GOVERNS ALL THINGS, AND DESTINY DETERMINES OUR JUST INHERITANCE.

IF YOU MUST BOW, BOW TO HIM.

HE IS THE PRIMAL BEING, PURE, WITHOUT BEGINNING OR END; HE IS THE UNSTRUCK SOUND.

HE IS IMMUTABLE THROUGH ALL TIME.

Make knowledge your pleasure and compassion your storehouse. Knowledge and compassion are the two wings to be mastered in order to fly into the heavens of His abode - knowledge and wisdom for within, sympathy and compassion for without. If there is only knowledge within, but no sympathy and tenderness without, there is the danger of your not attaining perfection. You are incomplete.

Who can fly with only one wing? If there is sympathy and tenderness without but no knowledge within, then too you are incomplete. Who can walk with one leg?

Knowledge ultimately refers to oneself; sympathy means to know others. Together the full happening can occur. For wisdom knows its own self; as soon as wisdom dawns, it knows that it resides in everyone. If knowledge is not conscious that it is there in each of us, it is no knowledge.

When the genuine lamp of knowledge is lighted, its light is bound to fall on all. The lamp does not merely illuminate itself, it lights all things around it. This light that falls on others is sympathy, tenderness. Unlimited compassion arises when wisdom is born. You will give freely, even allow yourself to be looted; you will give assistance of every kind to one and all - then do all in your power to help others to reach Him, for all are wandering and groping. You will not lose yourself in your knowledge, for that would be selfishness - maybe you are still tied to old attachments or that the ego is not yet conquered.

Some people are lost in their own knowledge, like the Jain munis. They are concerned only about themselves. They are so busy working for their own salvation, they have no interest in things outside.

If they are kind it is only to further their own knowledge, therefore their kindness is false.

If a Jain muni take a step so carefully that no ant inadvertently die under his feet, don't think it is out of pity for the ant. Mahavir had done so out of his great compassion, but not so the Jain muni.

He watches his step merely to guard against the sin of killing an ant. Understand his concern: if he commits sin he will have to wander in the cycle of birth and death; so his concern is for himself, not with the ant. If the ant's death were not a sin, he wouldn't bother at all. He even strains the water he drinks - not out of concern for the germs in the water, but for fear of the sin of swallowing the germ. Outwardly his actions are the same as Mahavir's, but he is only involved with his own salvation, trying to save himself from hell.

His kindness is false. It will be genuine only when he is prepared even to go to hell in order to set you on the right path, but his ethics is that of a business man: do only what profits you!

So it is no surprise that Mahavir's followers became the business community. Mahavir himself was from the kshatriya caste, the warrior caste, but his followers became shop-keepers. This is strange.

All twenty-four Jain teerthankaras were kshatriyas, but those who followed them became traders.

What happened? What calamity took place that a whole community became so timid as to restrict itself to working only in the shops? There is a secret in this: Mahavir's kindness was genuine compassion, whereas the kindness of the crafty people who followed him was calculated: they turned it into a business. They shunned all work that entailed sin. They left off farming because plants had to die for the harvest to be collected. They shunned the violence of the battlefield. All that was left was to be a shop-keeper, a tradesman.

It is noteworthy that 90 MAKE KNOWLEDGE YOUR PLEASURE AND COMPASSION YOUR STOREHOUSE.

Offering of food and feasts for the poor continue in the world, but they are only external expressions.

Both the Nath-Sampradayas and the Sikhs have their own kind of feasts, but they are the same, mere outside happenings.

Nanak is saying to make kindness your food offering, your feast for the poor. Let there be kindness in every moment of your life. Think of others. Whatever you do, see that others also profit: let your actions serve their welfare and well-being. Seek knowledge for yourself, but be helpful to others on their quest. Let your feet travel towards liberation, but take others along with you. Remember that as you cultivate both compassion outside and knowledge within, your momentum increases towards the goal. These are the two wings necessary to fly to the destination.

Contrary to the Jains, the Christians are always busy serving others, opening schools and hospitals everywhere. No one can surpass them for service, they give no thought to knowledge. Like the Jains they are convinced that what they are doing is enough by itself. The Jains think it is enough to understand one's own self. The Christians think it enough to serve others, and that service leads to salvation. He is less concerned with the question whether the leper whose feet he washes, or the sick he takes care of, or the orphan he educates, profit by his services or not. He serves in order to attain his salvation. Man's selfishness is wonderfully strange. Even in seeking knowledge he ferrets out his own self-interest, and while serving others he manages to serve his own interests.

There is an old Chinese tale: A fair was taking place in a small village. There were large crowds and many shops selling different wares. A man fell into a small well nearby, and though he began to shout, no one could hear him above the din. Everyone was so involved in his own work - buying things, selling things. It was getting close to evening and people were in a hurry to reach home.

Shop-keepers began closing their stalls. Who was to hear him? Fortunately a sannyasin who was a follower of Confucius came and sat near the well. He heard the man's shouts and he called down, "Hold your peace, brother. I shall go right away to plead your case, for it is against the law to build a well without a wall. You fell because there was no wall. Have faith in me. My colleagues and I will start a movement for you right away, so that not only this well but all the wells in the villages will have walls." And away he went. This was but natural for Confucius was a reformer who believed in society and its laws. He was a revolutionary.

The poor man called out to the sannyasin, "Of what use are future walls? I am drowning right now!"

The sannyasin answered, "It is not just your problem. It is a problem for everyone, for the whole of society, not just one person. If society is saved, the individual is saved." He stood up and began shouting, "Listen, brothers! We must see that each well be surrounded by a wall."

A Buddhist bhikshu came and sat near the well. He heard the shouting, bent down to look and saw the man in the well. "You are suffering from your actions during your past life," he said to the poor man. "Each of us has to reap the fruit of one's karma. Nothing can be done about it."

"Tell me about it later," said the man in the well. "first get me out of here."

"But I have renounced all actions," said the monk. "Actions lead to attachments, and attachments cause a man to wander in samsara. I want to free myself from the cycle of birth and death. I don't want to start another karmic cycle by pulling you out of the well. Who knows what you might do if I saved your life? If you kill someone I shall be a partner in your crime, for had I not saved you you wouldn't have committed the crime. Or if you set fire to someone's house? Why should I trap myself by your misdeeds? Besides, please be quiet, I have come here to meditate. You go through your experiences and I shall go through mine. No one can walk on another's path."

Since the drowning man was making so much noise the bhikshu got up and left to meditate.

Meditation is a great thing. If one is to go around pulling people out of wells, imagine how many wells there are in the village; and there are so many people, so many fairs, you would never get around to meditate. So what can you do? It is better to take care of one's own meditation, then everything else is taken care of.

Soon after a Christian missionary happened along. Hearing the man's cries, he quickly pulled out a rope from his knapsack and threw it down the well. He pulled out the man, who fell at his feet and said, "Thank you. You are really a deeply religious man. A follower of Confucius heard me and went on his way, and a Buddhist monk abandoned me to my fate. They just ignored my cries."

The Christian said, "There is only one thing I ask of you: keep falling into wells so that we Christians can come to help you out. We always carry a rope. If you were not to fall in the well so that we could save you, how can we attain beatitude?"

No one is bothered about any one else. Man's selfishness is so deep-rooted; the one who helps you is only out for his own self-interest. This sort of service is worth nothing. So look at the God within you - that is knowledge; and don't ever forget the God in others - that is compassion.

MAKE KNOWLEDGE YOUR PLEASURE AND COMPASSION YOUR STOREHOUSE.

MAKE A CONCH SHELL OF THE ETERNAL MUSIC PLAYING IN EVERY BEING.

What is the sense in sounding conch-shells? Blow the conch-shell that sounds the unsounded sound within each living being. Pay the music that happens without reason and which plays eternally.

HE ALONE IS A MASTER IN WHOM ALL BEINGS ARE INTERTWINED, WHILE THE SEARCH FOR SUPERNATURAL POWERS IS A FALSE PATH.

You perform a miracle, you produce ashes out of your hand and become a Satya Sai Baba; you produce a talisman from nowhere - to what avail? Supernatural powers are second-rate products for they only nourish your ego. It strengthens your arrogance. You feel you are somebody special.

The only power that applies to religion arises out of: "I am nobody, nothing!" He who realizes and knows that he is nothing becomes everything. He who annihilates himself completely on earth, becomes God Himself. Do not be satisfied with anything less; if you do then you have opted for the powers of lesser quality.

What will you gain by producing a few amulets? How will your magic help you? You help neither yourself nor others thereby. You may gain a little popularity in the world, but that is all. Is the honor of this world any real honor? What is the value of all this magic before God? Of what worth the ashes that you produce, or the talisman, before Him who has created the universe? Your tricks may fool people and satisfy your ego, but it will not lead anywhere towards self-realization. Therefore Nanak has said that attaining supernatural powers are second-rate results.

THE LAW OF UNION AND SEPARATION GOVERNS ALL THINGS.

Union and separations run the whole show of samsara. So there is only one power worth attaining - to be freed from union and separations. Things that unite must part; things that are formed are bound to disintegrate. He who is born must die. That which is obtained is also lost. That which is a possession today is a calamity tomorrow. Today's happiness is tomorrow's unhappiness. Each thing moves into its opposite. The wheel of samsara turns on uniting and parting. You meet today; you part tomorrow.

He who understands that truth - that the wheel of samsara turns with the help of union and separation, that it works according to the law of opposites, saves himself by going beyond both.

He is neither made happy by unions nor unhappy by partings. This is the only siddhi, the only real power; master it!

AND DESTINY DETERMINES OUR JUST INHERITANCE.

Therefore be patient, be tranquil in whatever is given you, for it is a part of your destiny. Things had to happen this way and so they happen. And since only that happens which has to happen, why the discontent? Why the complaints, the weeping and wailing? Accept whatever fate ordains. Try to liberate yourself from unions and separations. This alone is the siddhi, all else is lesser quality stuff.

IF YOU MUST BOW, BOW TO HIM.

HE IS THE PRIMAL BEING, PURE, WITHOUT BEGINNING OR END; HE IS THE UNSTRUCK SOUND.

HE IS IMMUTABLE THROUGH ALL TIME.