The Story of Guru Nanak

Recounted by a Sikh preacher
Sikh facility on Ganga riverfront, Haridwar

There is a picture in the shrine of a scene with Guru Nanak standing on the steps of a ghat near the Ganges River. He’s pouring water away from the direction that many of the Hindus are pouring water. The Hindu system is to bathe in the river and then pour the water toward the sun, but Nanak is pouring it in a different direction, toward the Punjab. One of Nanak’s followers is playing a musical instrument as a worship method, and another one of his follower’s has something in his hand that is used for worship.

[The story-teller begins his tale with the following chant:] “Say, ‘Victory to Guru Nanak Dev Maharaj.’ Victory to the memory of his name.”

It is written, Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s journey to Haridwar. In the year 1519. And below this, a verse is written. The meaning of this verses is this: “When your mother and your father were alive, you did not give them tea to drink, or water. After they died, they went up, and then you fed them khir and other rich foods. You are lavishing gifts in their name. So Guru Nanak said, ‘don’t do it this way.’ You did all kinds of things to and for your parents when they were alive, and you even swore at them. But after they died, what did you do?”

Now Hindu people, you understand, after bathing, they give an oblation of water. The meaning of this is they give this water to the dead, and to the gods and goddesses. But Guru Nanak said, “you don’t do anything for the living.” But when the living die, you display this charade. With Nanak here [pointing to the picture] is Bala Ji, and this one is Mardana Ji. All the time, these two servers were with Guru Nanak. The one with the musical instrument’s job was to chant the name of Sathnam Ji and the praises of the guru; also, to sing kirthan.

Now when these three arrived in Haridwar, what did they see? They saw lots of people with long tufts of hair on their heads, offering oblations of river water to surya narayan. He said, “these people’s confusion and error needs to be removed.” Then he took water, and turning his back to the sun, he began to pour water toward the west, the place where the sun would set. Now the Brahmin establishment of that place said, “Look, look, look! Hey, baba, what are you doing? In that direction, there is only the Mecca-Medina of the Muslims. We Hindus don’t have any place in that direction.” Guru Nanak replied, “To whom are you pouring out your oblations of water?” They replied, “To our ancestors. And you, baba, to whom are you giving water?”

Now, in the Punjab, there is Kartharpur, beyond Jullunder. Guru Nanak began to say, “My fields are in Kartharpur, and those fields are drying up. I am giving water to my fields.” They said, “But baba, how will the water reach there?” Guru Nanak replied, “Is surya narayan standing here right next to us? If your water can reach him across an immeasurable distance, don’t you think my water can travel just over 400 miles?” They said, “No, baba ji, it can’t happen that way. We’ll check it out.” So Guru Nanak and the Brahmins got on a vehicle and traveled to Kartharpur. When they got there, the Brahmins asked people, “where are the fields of baba Guru Nanak?” And they began to say, “It’s those fields, over there.” They saw dry fields all around them, all were dry. But when they went to Guru Nanak’s fields, water was coming out of the ground.

All the gentlemen, the Brahmins, immediately put cloths around the guru’s neck, grass in their own mouths, and right there they paid him homage. And they began to say, “Baba, we have been proven wrong.” Then they came back to Haridwar together, and the Brahmins said, “Baba, we had forgotten.” And Guru Nanak replied, “Listen, beloved ones. Serve the living. There is no god anywhere else. He is here, roaming around in everyone. As many people as there are here, in all of them, God is here, roaming around.” So, he sat down here [in this temple], and began to give knowledge to everyone. He said, “Do good works, serve God, do what is good for the benefit of others. If anything can be produced, then sow it. Just as seed is sown in a field, so sow your good works in order to reap.”

Syncretism and Sacred Food

Interview with a Sikh preacher
Sikh facility on Ganga riverfront, Haridwar

What is religion? And where does it reside? Where does God reside? Just like the ancient ascetics give guidance, so it is that religion is a source of guidance for human life. What is the place at which religion resides? It is the eyes. By these eyes we are able to walk on the path. They indicate to us when a thorn or a stone is coming up ahead, or a hole. They show us that a particular place is a good place to step. Step here, step in the grass. These are the things that the eyes show us. And the feet follow the directions of the eyes. In the same way, the religion of man gives to him guidance, and his life becomes very fruitful. And the dwelling place of religion is the eyes, as I’ve said at first. For example, a mother, a sister, a wife — their structure is the same, their form is the same, no matter how many of them there are. How does a man’s spirit feel when he goes to his mother, or to his wife, or to his sister. This is what religion is. Simply by saying this much, I have told the whole story of what is religion.

I am not a sadhu or anybody’s guru, I am an ordinary person, and I stay here and preach religion. I am a preacher. And I preach that religion in which all religions are full of knowledge. By my religion, anybody can come — Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, or Christian. For me, they are all equal. For me, there is nothing unusual about any of them; only humanness. This is what I want to look at in them. And for me, the whole issue of caste or creed is completely meaningless. There are only two types of human beings in this world, men and women. Someone said, “For me, the world is my family. However many living beings there are in the world, that’s my family.” I don’t say, “This is a Pakistani, or an African or an American.” No, all are equal. They are all human beings. The function of the eyes is to see. Just like the hands have their own function, the eyes are to see. Religion is a way of seeing.

This is the main temple of this religion, and here the service is done to the poor. It is only for the poor. Only for poor people and the handicapped. In this temple, whatever god there is, the first position is given to Guru Nanak. There is only one act of piety he prescribed. For the enemy, a sword, and for a saint, everything. And for the poor man, he must be served. For the handicapped, and orphans, and the poor, they must be served. Whoever comes in front of me, whoever comes in my line of vision, him I will serve. He is the one who is my bhagvan. In whomever there is a spirit, he is my ishvar. As long as bhagvan is in man, as long as his athma hears the voice of param athma, he is alive. But when param athma leaves, man dies. In everyone, there is an athma.

This temple was founded by the top-most saint of India, Guru Nanak, who himself came here. Look at this [pointing to a picture of Guru Nanak standing on the steps of a bathing ghat]. He came here to remove darkness from the world. Look at the picture. He is banishing darkness.

What is this that we have given you? It is prasad, [food offered to the gods and then given to people as an act of devotion]. We call it prasad. We even call ordinary meals prasad. The root below the tree is the same. The tree, from below, is one. But up above, the branches are many. Still, the tree is one. “Out of one light, many lights.” God comes in one form and says, “which form will you worship me in? According to what perception?” You see the same person perceived as a daughter, a mother, and a mistress of a home, but she is still the same. She is still one. This is how God is.

Is there any difference? No, that’s the whole point. The Hindus consider me a holy man and give me tea. When I go to the Christians, they give me the name “Mr. Christopher,” and call me “Father.” I go to the Hindus and they say, “he is a pandit ji, a Brahmin priest.” The Muslims say I am their maulana. I serve everybody, and they all come to me and say, “Baba, give us the blessing of wealth, long life, and the loving blessing radiating from your presence.” This is the prayer which goes before the deity. It is for all, not for ourselves, because we are knowledgeable gurus and we want to serve. This is our work. Go ahead and eat it. If your spirit will accept it fine. If not, it’s alright.

Astrology and palmistry

Interview with an astrologer
Ganga Riverfront, Haridwar

I do the work of an astrologer and a palmist. I also perform religious rituals and recitations. I look at hands and the lines on palms. I used to do upkar to others using palmistry and religious rituals. I used to do this for free, but now I’m taking money to make a living for myself and my family.

From my childhood, I traveled this world. And, after roaming around, what I got for my roaming was hard-knocks. I got hard-knocks to eat. I received all kinds of hardship, suffering, and difficulty. Through this experience, I became a good judge of the character of a person just by looking at his face. In my spirit, strength came. And so I put myself into the form of an astrologer and palmist.

I didn’t read any book, I didn’t read any philosopher. I only read the book of this age [in which we live]. By eating the sufferings this age has given me, I have been able to tell what sort of person someone is, what sort of person someone will become, and what will happen in the future. All of the things I perceive before-hand end up being true. I don’t know from where I get this power, but the person who hears my predictions leaves feeling happy.

Spirits help me, but apart from that, no one helps me. My own nature and my own root belief say to me, “say thus and so to this person who has come to you.” So I say that to the person, fully weighing that person’s spirit, and it comes true. I’m not saying that I’m talking about what’s happening in the present. No, no, I tell considerably ahead of time, and it comes true. I have this means of knowledge.

At least 200-250 people come to me daily. They don’t all come to show me their palms. Some come to make laughter fly, some come to make jokes fly, and some come crying with a sincere desire to seek advice. Some call me guru as they ask me advice. Some call me maharaj ji. Some say, “hey you.” Others address me as a respected ascetic. And still others call me babaji. Every kind of person comes to me, 200-250 people every day. I don’t have to go and grab people and say to them, “come, come, let me read your palm.” They come on their own.

I have done many kinds of pilgrimages, attending many kinds of sathsangs, spending time with sadhus, and with children. I have done all these things and received very great strength and experience as a result. Some people swore at me; some gave me five rupees. So I gladly took the five rupees. And when they gave me vulgar curses, I took those as well and gladly put them in my pocket. I didn’t throw those curses away because they also are useful.

Astrologers are the light from the eyes of bhagvan. Astrologers are the people to whom the great rishis and munis, such as Narad, expounded messages from great gods and goddesses, and sang special devotional songs to them. They gave the astrologers teachings, just as Narad did. In our Hindu religion, Narad is considered the highest sage. To him, very great gods and goddesses give a special place, saying respectfully, “come, Narad Ji.” Those who take their experience from Narad are the ones who are truly named as astrologers.

In the world today, they have fallen far behind. In today’s world, they are not truly astrologers. People have made it a business. In the beginning, this was not a business. Teaching used to be given for free. Knowledge should be given for free, should be told for free. That type of astrology is genuine. If it is made into a business, it cannot be genuine. It becomes a sham. They take a lot of money from you, they grab a lot from you. [They might say], “today is a very auspicious day, so it will take some more rituals for which there will be further charges, etc.” From this kind of dealing the whole thing goes bad.

If you sincerely tell them what they need to know, it will come true. And the name of this type of astrology is “light from the eyes of bhagvan.” Such are the astrologers of our Hindu religion, within the bounds of propriety.

I am a resident of Madhya Pradesh from the district of Sagar. I started this work in Bombay. That’s where I began, because I was destitute. Over there I wasn’t getting any temple or Shivalay. I said to myself, “You tell people things and they come true.” So I wrote it on the sidewalk. I didn’t know how to make this stuff — [astrologer points to designs and illustrations drawn in chalk on the ground beside the astrologer]. I wrote on the sidewalk, “Whoever wants to ask advice about anything, come to me.” So then a line of ladies and gentlemen formed to seek my advice. A crowd formed and I began to tell them things. And they began to give me a rupee or 50 paise, 25 paise, or 10 paise. In those days you could buy a meal for 14 annas [in the old currency of British India, equivalent to about 80 paise] at a roadside eatery. I am completely self-taught. I have never been in school. I am illiterate. When I was born, I was practically blind. Even now, you can find an official record of it. I started life with eyes that were very small, but as I grew, my eyes got bigger.

American Devotee

Interview with an American-born devotee
Ganga riverfront, Haridwar

I’m from New York City, I was born there. I had felt very dramatic psychic experiences that made me realize that there’s more to this life than the physical reality. My family was not religious. So I didn’t have any grounding in any [religion]. As a matter of fact, I would call them anti-religious. I didn’t have any background in spirituality at all. The first [psychic experience] I believe, I was riding on a subway train in New York in the afternoon, and I was playing with a little boy. We were drawing pictures in my notebook. And two men came into the subway car with car antennas wrapped in white adhesive tape, and I had a psychic flash that I was going to be mugged. And I saw myself on the floor of the subway car. And I saw them come toward me and start to signal each other. And so, naturally, I saw myself bloody on the floor of the car, and I got very scared. The little boy was to my left and his father was to his left. So I went and sat next to the father, and I said, “I’m very scared, what are they going to do?” He said, “Don’t worry, I’m an off-duty cop. I have a gun.” So he also knew that I was in trouble. And his gun was in his jacket and he started to pull it out and I said, “Don’t shoot.” And they ran out. And I started to think about this, how I was protected in that situation. It was very dramatic for me — that he happened to be an off-duty cop, he had a gun, and was conscious to what was happening in this situation.

Then I had [another] experience. I was getting a massage, and the masseuse worked all over my body to the top of my back, and then I was aware that she held her hands over my back and I felt the pain being drawn without her touching me from my back. She said this is called magnetism, it’s a type of healing. She said I should meditate, because I was seeing colors in the massage while she was massaging me. She said I really should be meditating So I went home and I meditated for the purpose of making a decision. My husband, at the time, my ex-husband, and I were trying to decide whether to move into a particular house. So I meditated to make a decision about whether this would be a good move for us. And I circled and went out of my body, and I went into the house, and in the house I saw my father-in-law’s spirit and I was aware that he was going to pass on soon. But he was not ill. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him. Then I came out of the meditation, went back in my body and I said to my husband, “your father is going to pass on soon.” And I don’t know why I said that. I was just so sure. And so, we moved into the house, and the first call we got, “Come to California immediately.” He had an aneurism that had burst in his brain. And we had to go immediately, and within about two days he passed on.

So, I became very dramatically aware that there were other realms. That’s how I started. And then, after that, I moved into an apartment building in Manhattan. And in the elevator was a Western lady in a sari. And I looked into her eyes and I knew that she had something that I wanted. I didn’t know what it was. I had read only one book, an Edgar Cayce book. I just knew she had what I wanted. And I spoke to her and got invited to her apartment. It turned out that she had lived 18 years in India, was a master, taught meditation. And I worked with her very intensely for ten years. I knew her for 15 years. My spiritual path necessitated me leaving my whole other life behind — everything. Family, husband, everything. And I had a very dramatic awakening, with seeing things, devotional poetry, great ananda. I couldn’t turn my back on it. So that’s what happened.

My teacher that I had, Hilda Charleton, after 15 years knowing her, I went on my own path. And then she died after five years and now it’s ten years that I’ve been on my own, and I met my guru. I first spoke with him last summer. And then I finally met him in person in the States in October. I came here because he invited me to spend time with him and it’s my greatest desire to be with him and learn from him. Actually, I begged and pleaded and cried, and then one day he said to me over the telephone, “Your room is ready.” He built a room for me in his house. And I said, “Well when can I come?” He said, “Can you come tonight?” He was teasing me, because I always said, ‘just say I can come. I’ll leave everything. I’ll pack tonight.’ He was teasing me. That’s why I had to think very quickly — I couldn’t get ready that night, but it was a lot to do to finish my work and get ready and come.

[On receiving this particular guru] It’s something you feel inside you, it’s not picking. I’ve met many great holy men, certainly realized beings — it’s just that you know your own. I feel we must have been together. It’s just so strong. When I was in the States I was in a desperate economic situation looking for work. And I met someone who said a friend of his had called a swami in India who does a puja who will tell you things. And I called him and he said, “you will find work by a certain date,” which I thought was impossible, because I was interested in college teaching. I thought colleges started after Labor Day, which they used to, but that’s changed. So he said, “By August 28 you will have work,” and that’s exactly when I had work. Many, many people can do psychic things, it wasn’t that. That was wonderful to have that help when I was so desperate for money, to know that was coming. But it was more, because I felt happy for months. His energy was so pure and so clear, I just felt so much. I loved him almost immediately. Then I spoke to him a few more times and wrote to him, and then he wrote to me, and said, “I will come and drink Coca Cola in your home.” And I thought, “Oh really, this is some sweet gracious thing that Indian people say.” But he did come to my home, he came to America.

After that, I called him every day, wherever he was touring, wherever he was, I called him every morning. And then I spent a week with him in Austin, Texas, with a family he was staying with. About the third day I was there — I spent about five or six days there — I had an inspiration to write a book about him. I’d never written anything. And he said, “Well, write an article. There’s a magazine that wants an article about me.” And I said, “Well, how many pages?” He said, “One, two, three, four, five. Whatever you feel like.” And I started writing, I had, I think, 25 or 30 pages. And I kept on writing. I had 300 pages in a few months. I had such a rich, inner experience. He said, “Well, now we have a book.” He recently asked me to write his biography, which is a very great honor.” So I’ve been speaking in temples. He’s been asking me to speak about Eastern spirituality, which is very strange for me, as a Westerner, to speak to Easterners about their spirituality. I don’t understand it, but he asked me to do it.

After that dramatic beginning, I’ve not had a great many psychic experiences in the years that passed. I’ve had a few minor ones. It has been an important part of my past. In the states, when I spent a week with him, I got pretty much in a very blissed-out state. I had the experience of seeing everyone as Krishna one time when I was in Texas with him. I have a lot of dreams with him. I have dreams. One wonderful thing in America, when I was with him in Texas, I was at sathsang with 100 Easterners, and I was feeling shy to touch the feet [of the guru], so I didn’t get to do that. I went home and I went to sleep and I was dreaming that I was touching his feet. And I was in a real state of ananda, touching his feet. And he knocked on my door which he’d never done before, and he said, “Dipti, Dipti. Are you asleep?” And he let me touch his feet. I’ve had a few dreams about touching his feet in India. He teaches me a little bit in my dreams.

I think [my guru] is very capable of making human errors on the human plane. For example, he misplaces things. I don’t know whether he’s capable of making spiritual errors, but I know he’s much better at this path than I am. So, I would certainly give him 95 percent. I mean, I don’t really know. I only test [what he says]. I do what he says and then I see what happens. I don’t say no to him. I did at first about the marriage. As a matter of fact I pleaded with him for a long period of time, both in person and in writing. That’s the only thing for which I have pleaded with him. But everything he says, I do, although when I have feelings about things, I express them; even my irritations, even if it has to do with him. Sometimes he’ll tell me to do three things at once, and one contradicts the other. I think, “You tell me to do this, you tell me to do that. What do you want?”

What’s wonderful for me is that he’s not a spiritual figure so far above. I can talk to him about feelings that I’d be ashamed to talk to others about. Even if they involve him, even doubts about him. One time I saw him having a tremendous ego. And I was able to write to him about it, and work it out with him. And other things too. He knows what I’m feeling anyway. He’ll just tell me things every once in a while, I don’t know why. I don’t know where he was. I can’t remember if he was in India or in the States. But I went away from home for a few days to visit the school I went to, to visit some friends there. And I happened to meet an Indian man there, and we happened to sing bhajans. And he said, “oh, you were singing bhajans so beautifully yesterday.” [My guru] says, “I am with you always,” and at times I see him in my third eye.

He wants to have an ashram. I think he will have one within five years, maybe sooner. He lives with his family, he’s a householder. He has two sons. Which is typical of his area, Bihar. They feel kind of safer with gurus in that kind of situation. They feel that there’s less possibility for transgression, improper behavior and such. I was very surprised, because all the gurus and swamis that I know are Brahmacharis. So I had the opportunity to see him — he sees God, and he serves his children as God, so he cares for them and bathes them as gods — I can watch him in normal life. He doesn’t teach, per se. I’ve caught a lot of devotion from him. Hundreds of pages of devotion. I’ve written hundreds of pages, about 350 pages since December. A very rich experience.

I’ve had to learn discernment about my love for him; that’s evolving. It’s a love that transcends time. I feel that if he comes back in the next life that I will find him again. That I would do anything to find him. I realize that I would travel a year, not the three days that it took me, I would have traveled a year to get to him. There is nothing else in my life that has the importance that our relationship does. I’ve been in a relationship for ten years with my boyfriend in New York. We have our separate apartments. I’m an extremely independent person. We have a very good relationship. And I felt, “Well, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s been very happy this way. So, when I developed all this love for my guru, he was uncomfortable with it. Even though he’s a very, very deeply spiritual person, he didn’t quite understand. So it was really crazy for a while. So he said he didn’t want to meet [my guru], even though he was coming to my home. And then as the time came closer, he began to say, “Wow, I always knew he was a master.” And then the time came closer and he said, “I would like to meet him.” So he met him. Guru Dev walked in the door, and my boyfriend took one look at him and that was it. And within 15 minutes he asked him to be his guru. And Guru Dev looked kind of confused and said, “But I already am.” He said, “Why do you ask this?”

In Texas, Guru Dev said to me, “I’m going to arrange a marriage for you.” And I said, “Oh, no. Please, no, no. I cannot do this, please.” He kept on insisting and insisting, and I was begging, “No, no, no, no. I can’t do this.” But then, I became surrendered to the point that I would marry if he felt that was best. I asked, “Why do you want me to marry? I’m happy the way it is. I don’t believe in marriage. I don’t make contracts with friends. This is how I feel.” But I became so surrendered to the point that I felt, if he felt that’s best for me, it was best for me. So I said, “I will marry if it’s a devotee of yours, only.” So then he made my boyfriend a devotee. And he’ll be marrying us next time he comes to America. He felt it was right for my spiritual development, for the way our planets merge. He said we are one soul.

Guru Dev said that he didn’t want to marry either, but his guru said he must marry, and after that his development took off like that. So he’s doing that for me for that purpose. And since he is my consummate guide for spirituality, I accepted it, and there’s some joy inside of me about this marriage. I don’t know why. He will perform a Hindu marriage in a Hindu temple in New Jersey. My boyfriend is highly intuitive and he looked at Guru Dev and said, “This is the first person I’ve met who does not steal energy from others.” My boyfriend works with energy. He’s a spiritual healer and a musician. He’s very psychic. Well, he saw me and he knew I was the one for him. He just knows things, important things — the little things too. So now he’s very happy to be in a relationship. He’s never had a guru, so it’s really a major change for him. He’s never been to India. But Guru Dev says my boyfriend and I will come to India in the winter after our marriage.

I’m not any one faith. I just feel that all faiths are one to me. I’m learning to connect more consistently with God. I’m learning to love better. I’m learning more joy, more bliss. I’m learning that life is more magical. I’m getting a lot of confidence. Not so much a learning, but an unfolding. It’s an unfolding. I’m just seeing everything more as a part of me.

I feel that my spiritual pilgrimage and progress is based on love. The more I am able to love everyone and everything, the more I feel that I’m moving forward. When there’s no love, there’s fear. Those are the only two things that exist — love and fear. God is love. God is energy, he is light. He’s the light in you and me, and this table and everything. Prayer isn’t about the words you say — It’s where your heart is. I think my guru is training me to become a guru in my own spiritual development. He has about eight disciples around the world. He calls me one of his disciples. He had a very special older guru who is dead now, and another guru who is alive, and he lives in the South. My guru is going to take me to meet him. He has me staying here by the Ganges to do sadhna. I’ve been bathing in the Ganges every morning. I chant mantras in my room and try to do good works. I go to temples with my guru to worship gods. I feel particularly drawn to Krishna and Ram. I like Jesus as well. I don’t interpret scriptures literally [including the Bible].

A teaching on paramathma

Interview with a sadhu
Hanuman Temple, Haridwar

I am not a priest. This is not a priest’s temple. I am a sadhu. The priests are not here, but the sadhus are here. You can find the priests by the river. Here only the work of sadhus takes place. The work of the sadhu is to receive the param athma. The work of a priest, a purohit, is to do updesh. It is the work of instructing people how to complete the world’s kriya karam; especially daily ritualistic observances, such as oblations and prayers. They are preachers of religion, the path of devotion.

The sadhu shows the means by which others are enabled to receive the paramathma. In the name of paramathma, he preaches how to accomplish one-ness with paramathma. The main idea is to do rituals and help people to do the worship ceremonies. The sadhu’s work is to try to understand how to be one with paramathma, and to learn and teach techniques of keeping the mind peaceful, because the mind tends to be a wandering thing, a thing of turmoil. The role of the sadhu is to do what’s called sadhna, which is a type of devotion and technique of stilling the mind in order to draw closer to paramathma.

One doesn’t leave one’s home on his own. Becoming a sadhu is a matter of being inspired by paramathma. He can’t become a sadhu and then stay home. He has to leave the grihast ashram and go on to the ashram of sadhu-hood. He cannot have both. When he enters into the ashram of sadhu-hood, he will come under the leadership of a particular guru in order to achieve his goal. Whatever the guru tells him to do, he must do.

When a person has a falling-out with someone else, and begins to feel hatred for that person, he may begin to feel disgust toward the domestic life. He begins to see that this is a life of cares and troubles, especially within the context of the extended family. He begins asking questions like, “Why am I in this world?”, “Why do I have a body?”, or “What is the point of it all?”. These types of questions lead him to feel inspired to go on a spiritual search. When the inspiration comes, he begins to feel repelled by ordinary things of life. The reason I am living in a body is so I can work to become one with paramathma.

Only man can understand that being one with paramathma is needed. Only human beings can understand that they have the capacity to receive paramathma. Animals do things in a set way, whereas human beings are able to do new works and be creative. Animals are not creative beings, they just seek to satisfy their desires in a very prescribed manner, according to instinct. They will then lay aside their body after fulfilling their normal satisfaction of desires. After they die, they will be reborn. But man is able to go to heaven or to hell. You will be reborn either in heaven or hell. If you do good works you will go to heaven, and if you do bad works you will go to hell. Man has duties to perform, acts of merit and devotion, in order to receive bhagvan. There is a moral code.

At the sathsang, which literally means “truth meeting”, there is a gathering of three or four of the major gurus, along with listeners or a congregation of some sort. The gurus talk together about various Hindu myths and the Hindu scriptures in general. Those who are seeking to be sadhus will thus acquaint themselves with the thoughts of particular gurus. They will choose those gurus that they are impressed with, and seek to become their disciples. They will then begin using spiritual techniques taught to them by the gurus and will progress spiritually until they become spiritually mature. They will learn how to conduct meetings, to control their minds, and to receive bhagvan. They will learn techniques of mind control because the mind wanders when they read the scriptures. The main thing is to control the mind and also to eat some of the special foods that are offered to idols, which would be a means of cleaning the spirit, the way soap is used to clean the body when the body gets dirty.

It’s a continuing process and eventually they get to a point where they have reached some level of holiness. They will reach a point of spiritual achievement which only they will be able to subjectively say “I have reached the point of this achievement.” The guru cannot tell when this happens, he can only show the way. It is similar to being served food. One must do the eating for one’s self, and only he will be able to judge whether he is satisfied or not. Eventually, the disciple himself becomes paramathma. The goal is that all people shall become paramathma, all distinctions will be removed, and we will all be one. In the world of appearances you see a lot of variation and division. This will be eliminated and there will be true unity.

The Story of Anandamayi Ma

Translation of text from panel paintings
Anandamayi Ma Ashram, Haridwar

Ma’s grandmother prayed to the goddess Kali, forgetfully asking for a girl instead of a boy. She was born around 1896. A sage came and saw her when she was at the age of nine months and recognized her as the incarnation of the goddess Kali.

Later in life, she was at a meeting where the singing of devotional songs was taking place, with men on one side and women on the other. Sitting on her mother’s lap, she went into a trance. As a young lady, she was seen talking to plants. She was married in 1909. She was called “goddess” and “mother”. She once went into a trance while cooking food. She initiated her husband, Bholanath, into the worship of herself in the city of Dhaka.

At one time, Ma was shown with a halo around her head, talking to a group of sages and sadhus up on a platform while a congregation watched from below. One of her disciples gave her the name “Anandamayi”, which means to bestow joy on others. At another time, Ma was seen standing next to a stone in an ashram as a supreme soul emerged from the stone.

Ma had a bond with nature. She once sat next to a tree with an animal on her lap. A tear was falling from the animal’s eye. Another time, Ma was seated in a boat going down the river. A snake climbed out of the water into the boat. From that time on, it was said, “Even the goat and the snake are at the feet of Mother, the merciful.”

On 14 January 1947, Ma performed a large sacrifice called the Akund Maha Yugya. She was seated with a garland around her neck before a fire. A sadhu was attending to the fire while a group of saints in orange robes were scattered around, with food in vessels in the foreground. At another time, Ma was seated before a group of women. A holy man brought a plate of lighted wicks, offering them to her. In the background a holy man or statue was seated in the lotus position, and to the right a man stood with a book open on a stand, reciting the Bhagvad Gita. Incense was burning. Mother was worshipped as Shiva. A trident stood in the background. Her hair style was like Shiva’s, long with a top-knot. There were markings on her forehead. Ladies around her offered her platefuls of lighted wicks. She was seated in the lotus position.

Ma would often sit before ashram dwellers, while musicians played and sang, and incense burned. The people were seen in a sort of meditative state. She once rode an elephant with somebody beside her to the Kumbh Mela. A group of sadhus in loincloths with markings on their foreheads and garlands around their necks, were with her. Some lady devotees were on one side, while men stood on the other. In the background was the river with boats in it. During the sacrifice called Nama Yugya, Ma was seen with musicians and some learned-looking men around her. There was an idol before her. Incense was going up, and fruit was also there. The offering was given to a three-tiered image with Ma on the lowest tier, another god-like figure in the middle, and a blue-faced god at the top.

Anandamayi Ashram Devotee

Interview with a devotee
Anandamayi Ma Ashram, Haridwar

I work here at the ashram and I live close to it. In fact, I watched it being built. So, I have worked here for about 27 years. Anandamayi Ma is a lady who has spiritual knowledge. While in her mother’s womb, she received knowledge and was born as a knowledgeable person. She was born in Bangladesh on 30 April 1896. She didn’t try to be a guru herself, nor did she try to make somebody else her guru. From a very young age, about two years old, she used to have samadhi, a trance-induced out-of-body experience, during meetings where devotional singing was going on. She got married when she was 14. During the nuptial night, after the wedding, she was sitting in a lotus position and all of a sudden, light began to come out of her body, so her husband was quite taken aback by this, and he never went near her again. Some years later, the husband was transferred somewhere else.

So Ma was left alone where she was, and some of her relatives, who were of the ojha, asked her, “Do you have anybody with you?” And she replied, “I am purn varn narayan.” Then they asked, “when did your diksha mantra take place?” She replied, “It took place all on its own.” Her husband, Bholanath, who was supposed to have his own initiation ceremony, received it from his wife. He who was her lord and master was now calling her Ma. At about this time, her husband began to worship the goddess Kali, the black-faced goddess. In 1938, her husband’s body was completed [he died]. He is buried in Uttarkashi.

In 1928, Ma moved to Dehra Dun, in Uttar Pradesh. We have an ashram in Raipur, the place she went to. With her was a devotee whose original name was Jyotish Chandra, who used to be an Indian Administrative Service officer. His religious name was Bhai Ji. He is the one who gave her the name Anandamayi Ma. At this time, many famous people began to visit Ma, such as Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Kamala Nehru. The greatest benefit of coming to Ma was that you would receive a lot of peace.

Ma was a saint of only one god, who is the god of all. If a Christian came to her, he could continue to follow his Christian way by going to church; if a Muslim came, he could continue to read the Koran; a Sikh could continue reading his holy book; and a Hindu could take the name of his bhagvan. With Ma there was no discrimination between a Sikh, or a Muslim, or a Hindu or a Christian. Even now, Ma’s devotees include Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs — people of all faiths. There are quite a few foreigners who come.

After this, Ma had a very great yagya performed. This happened in 1981. It was for world peace, that the world might be peaceful. The ceremony lasted for 21 days. Eleven havan kunds were built, and 121 Brahmin priests were seated around them. The priests performed the ceremony of putting ghee into the fire, as an offering for world peace. This sacrifice is different from the ashvmedh which is done only for kings. In this sacrifice, a horse is released and the king who catches it is obligated to ride it and go to war. When the sacrifice is done, all the gods are involved. It is not that only one god is compulsory. During the sacrifice, there are various mantras. How many there are and of what kind, is up to the priests. Such as 108 mantras, or 1,008 mantras. All these mantras will be different from one another, but no name of any god is invoked. In the sanathan dharm all the gods are there. In the offering of the ahuti and the chanting of om namah shivai, everything is fulfilled.

Ma’s body was completed 27 August 1982 at 8 p.m. in Dehra Dun in our ashram there. Her body was brought to the main hall in this ashram so that devotees could have darshan of her. For sadhus and saints, we do not use the term “death”, but rather we say that their body was completed. Before Ma left her body, she said “if any devotee of mine, or anyone else thinks that when my body is completed I will be gone from here, that is incorrect. I will be here only; but I will be invisible.” She said that her body would not be here but that her spirit would definitely be here. So we don’t think that Ma has gone. Rather, we say that she is here, even now. But one needs eyes to see her. So to say she is dead, is to use the wrong word.

It is a matter of faith to be able to see her, although there is some evidence that she is here. For example, there is an American lady of Indian descent, and her brother had a fracture in his leg. The fracture got very infected. There was no treatment that was available for that leg. Doctors were saying that the infection could spread to the rest of the body and that man would not survive. The parents of this lady and her brother were devotees of Ma, but the lady herself had never seen or met Ma. She looked at Ma’s picture for a short time, perhaps a couple of minutes, perhaps with tears. As a result of that, Ma appeared to her in a dream and told her, “Go to so and so doctor, and he will give you a prescription for a medicine that will be very effective.” They took the prescription and went to the company where the medicine was produced and there was just enough available for that lady’s brother. After that, no more was available, and in fact, the company itself closed down soon after. Because of that medicine, the lady’s brother survived. The only thing was that he had to have his leg amputated, but he survived.

In the sanathan dharm, idol worship is the main thing. There are Ram, Krishna, Shiv, and so on. We have 330,000,000 gods, and different people worship different gods. Even though there is variety, the updesh are the same. These spiritual instructions include: follow ahimsa, don’t injure people, and live in a loving way.

As far as any personal spiritual quest, I don’t see how I can have any. I am a worldly man. Spiritual quests are for sadhus. Worldly people have to do things for themselves or for their families. These responsibilities are there until one is 50 years old. Once one has completed these responsibilities, one can become a sadhu and go on a quest. In this next stage after 50, we can be immersed in bhagvan. There are four seasons of life in the sanathan dharm. These seasons are called avasthas, such as childhood and youth avastha, the old age avastha, and so on. So, after the age of 50, you have two stages, together called the brahmachari avastha. The age of 25-50 is the grih avastha. The last stage, after 75, is called the sanyas avastha. Only in these last two stages is there a spiritual quest The 50-75 stage is called vanprasth. The stage of leaving home, at the age of 50, is when one begins sadhna. Nowadays, going off to the forest and being a hermit is not compulsory. One can even stay home in some cases. But physical pleasures have to be renounced.

When you begin the spiritual quest at age 50, you have to find a guru, and you have to undergo diksha. The guru will give you some mantras, which you have to incant repeatedly, morning, noon, and night. You don’t have to say it loudly, you can do it in your own mind quietly. You can continue normal life at home or in your business, but you must, without fail, do your incantation three times a day. Celibacy is also required. But after 75, you must move out of your home and business into an ashram, or in some way, you must live with your guru. When you move into the sanyas stage, you must undergo a further diksha, different from the first one. [You must be under the authority and guidance of a more-advanced sanyasi who becomes your guru]. You must leave off wearing the white clothes [worn by those of the 50-75-age life stage] and start wearing saffron clothes. In this final stage, you have to take the name of your bhagvan from morning til night. If you are a business man or financially well-off, you must do a lot of service to the poor.

Anandamayi Ashram Sadhu

Interview with a sadhu
Anandmayi Ma Ashram, Haridwar

Each person has his own dharma. For example, in one discussion group, there was an American gentleman who was talking to a Sikh gentleman, and I was standing nearby. He said to the Sikh, “you should leave everything and just stick to Lord Sri Krishna. Otherwise there is no salvation.” But he has got his own dharma, you see, from the very birth. Now you want to change him to Sri Krishna, what a difficult time he is going to have. But if he passes through his own dharma, he will reach the goal and find out the same thing. Because God has created everything. That is his lila. Different persons, different sects — we all come from the same source. It is like the ray of the sun — all from one source. The ray of the sun merges with the sun again.

I’m not a teacher. I was a doctor in my old life, and I left my practice due to Mother’s instructions. Somehow she came over to our place. My home was in what used to be East Bengal, a part of India. Then it became East Pakistan, and now it is Bangladesh. Before partition I came. First I came to Calcutta, and in Calcutta all the relatives are there. Then I went to Ranchi, to Swami Yoganand. His head office is there. So I went there and I started to practice. Then Ma went there. She went to [Yoganand] also, long ago, when I was not in the picture. He had a lot of discussions with Ma. She knows the revelation of God very well. And he’s a devotee of Ma. His next successor, Dayamata, is now in charge of his place. Yoganand was very much devoted to Ma. He instructed her. I saw her, you see.

She was in the ashram. I was staying over there when Ma came and Dayamata also ran after Ma several times. Several times, several days, day after day. She would go into Mother’s room before me. And she told [Ma], very soberly, “my master [Yoganand] told him [the interviewee], ‘she will be your guide, and she will be your ideal.’” And [Dayamata] said to me, about Ma, “she is always in my heart.” And after that she went to Calcutta, running after Ma in Calcutta and Allahabad, and all these places.

When she came to our place, Ma instructed me to adopt this life, and the strictures for this life — strict instructions about food also, living a very strict life. I stay here. This is a sadhu kotia. I’ve got one room here. I spend my days in devotion here. Whatever Ma says to follow is my spiritual quest. Whatever Ma says, you see, I try to follow. The goal is the same as what I told you. The goal is the Creator, to reach over there. This is the real path of life. Most people do not understand — only some of them. There are very few who have given up this worldly life, forsaken this life. There are very few like that. They are the ones who have taken thapasya and meditation, and all these things. All the religions say like that. Some do more social karma, some do meditation. Karma is that for which you are not seeking any gain. Then you will get punya.

Hindrances on one’s spiritual journey [occur] if your mind runs here and there, and you are allured by the worldly life. Then you are in turmoil, you don’t know what to do, you see. Time is wasted. You must catch hold of a good guru. You can’t suppose, you have to find out. Even if you start your own meditation according to your own liking. By birth, you see, you’ve got some liking, you’ve got some inclination. And if you go on pursuing like that, and you study these books also, and you attend a sathsang with a spiritual individual, somehow you will learn. Your mind will be more there, but you should not be allured by any and everybody. You should be on your guard, because there are a lot of false people also.

In order to find a good guru, you go and study the books. The real books, the spiritual books. For the Christians, even the Bible, you see — it is a real Bible — The Old Testament, the New Testament, whatever. And the chanting of God’s name, all the time. Whatever you like, which god you like. While sitting, or meditating, or walking. You go on doing like that, and you see, I call you by your name, and you appear before me. It is just like that. He’s not dead, you see. He’s running this big show. It is his lila. It doesn’t matter if he kills somebody, or if he gives birth to somebody. It doesn’t matter, it is his lila.

Ultimate God is one who has form and one who does not have form. There are those who cannot conceive of him without form. The ultimate reality which is without form is a long distance away from what ordinary human beings can conceive of while they live in their bodies, because our bodies are not unformed. All the molecules and the atomic structure of the body are not able to realize ultimate reality. It is a very costly thing, you see. It takes so many lives. [The question was asked, “So Ultimately you will reach God without form?”] No, in that form is enough, because as a human being, when you reach ecstasy, there may be form, there may not be form, and there may be form. It is very difficult now, at this moment to bring it into your brain. You go on meditating, that is the thing. Whatever you like. You must fix a time and wear clean clothes, and you sit over there and meditate. Every day, whatever you have. If you have so many engagements, you should leave them, and keep that time of meditation. Have a fixed time — give it to God. Discipline.

[The following paragraphs were not part of the interview.]

The interviewee briefly talked about various individual sadhus resident in the ashram, including ladies and a European who had been a doctor. When the European man came to India and he met Ma, he left everything and stayed at the ashram. After staying here for a while, he felt he had nowhere else to go. He cooks his own food in the evenings and he comes out and gives his own religious instruction. He is two years older than te interviewee. He gives instructions to foreigners, in particular, and he wears a long beard. The residents of the ashram are all sadhus and Brahmacharis. The head of the congregation of sadhus is a senior sadhu called a mahant. The congregation is called an akhra. The mahants in Haridwar would come to Ma and were very inspired by her and worshipped her. She treated them very lovingly.

There are three large buildings at the ashram. One is the hall, where sathsangs take place.

Another building is a dwelling for the resident sadhus. The third main building, called the samadhi, is for the burial of the saint. Ma is buried in a sitting position. There are three separate things Hindus can do with bodies. One is to cremate, one is to bury, and [the interviewers could not recall the third one]. The body is buried in a sitting, lotus position. The head should be at least 30 feet deep from the surface of the ground. In the center of this building is a marble enclosure, very nicely carved. In the center of the enclosure is what looks like a square altar, also made of marble. Under the altar is where the body of this lady is buried, also inside a marble box. What happens in this building is some kind of offering of flowers to the spirit of this lady. Offerings are done, devotional songs are sung, and some sort of chanting of the name of Ram is done. This happens every evening. There is also a long panel of paintings which talks about the life of this person.