Saint Kabir Session 4 - Kabir Says 'Find The Right Guru'

Listen to Ektaji talk about Saint Kabir's teachings on non-duality. These teachings are aimed at the experiential understanding of the true nature of the self and are focused on the idea of the oneness of everything.

Transcript

Samhain Samhain Samhain Samhain Samhain Samhain The same example is also in the Mundaka Upanishad. It's in a shloka of the Mundaka Upanishad and it is also in Tabir's Doha. So I'll read the Doha first and then I'll explain it to you. Ek dal dopanchi baithi Ek guru ek chela Chela pojo palfool khaave Guru nirantar chela So who are these two birds? Is it the guru and the disciple the way you talk about in the external world? No, It is not. He's calling the witnessing consciousness as the guru and the body-mind-ego complex as the chela. So he says Ek dal dopanchi baithi. Dopanchi are the real I and the fake I. The fake I is nothing but the ego, The mind, The intellect, The antar karana. We'll call it in short the fake I but you know what it is. The fake I is the chela. The real I is the guru. That's why Ek guru ek chela and both are sitting on the same dal, On the same branch. Chela vojo palfool khaave So the ego, The mind, The intellect, They are constantly consuming from this world. The mind is constantly consuming. What is the meaning of consuming? It's a direct translation from bhobta bhav. Yes, Bhobna. Yes, It's constantly consuming from the world means it is enjoying this world. It is experiencing this world and even when there is suffering, It is going through that experience. So it is consuming this, The beautiful and the not so beautiful aspects of the world or fruits of the world. But this witness consciousness, Is it involved in consuming? No, It is just there. It is just there. It is not even telling the chela, Don't. It is not even telling the chela, Do. It is just there. It is just there. Quiet. Watching the play. Yes, This always in the play mode. In the Mundaka Upanishad, The story is on a tree. There is the lower bird and the higher bird. Bird sitting on a lower branch and the bird sitting on a higher branch. The bird sitting on the lower branch is the ego, The mind, The intellect. And the bird sitting on the higher branch is the witness consciousness. The lower branch bird is very interested in the fruits of this tree. It tastes a sweet fruit and it relishes, It's laughing, It's happy, It's enjoying it. And then it jumps onto another branch and then he looks for another fruit and this fruit is very bitter. So he stops eating it. Again he goes around looking for another fruit. So he keeps jumping from branch to branch to branch to branch. The higher branch bird, The higher bird, Is just sitting quietly. He is the sadhu bird. He is meditating right on the topmost branch, Quietly. Not interested in any fruit, Nothing. He is sitting very quietly. So this lower branch bird that is eating and liking and not liking and caught up in ragas and veshas suddenly happens to get injured on the branch by something. He just falls back on the branch, Almost going to fall down and he happens to look up. And he sees this yogi bird or the sadhu bird up there. He is like, Wow, Look at him. He is so much at peace and look at me, I am like totally suffering. Maybe I should go and talk to him. He seems like a wise guy. So he tries to jump up to the branch above. He is a little injured, Remember? But now he goes to the branch above and he notices a more delicious fruit. A yogi bird can wait. Let me eat this fruit. And he gets lost in another tasty fruit. And then he goes to that fruit and he has forgotten the higher bird. And then again he gets lost in his own consuming this fruit, That fruit, Talking to other birds, Flying away with another bird, Coming back, Sitting there, Making his nest. Again he happens to realise, Oh, That yogi bird, That higher bird is there, I need to go to him. And then he goes up, Up, Up. And when he finally reaches up there, He realises, I am that bird. There is no difference between that bird and me. All the while, It was that bird only who I am. I had forgotten who I am and had got lost in the fall and fruit of this tree. I had forgotten who I am and gotten interested in consuming this tree. So that is this particular Doha. Interestingly, It is also in Mundaka Upanishad and on Tabir's path, Where he says that the guru is within and that guru is the Guru Tattva. Soon after this Doha, He starts explaining to them that don't go looking for the guru outside. The gurus outside are like a GPS. Their job is to guide you to look within. After you look within, You drop the external and now be with that guru, Be with that witnessing consciousness. And that's where you grow. That is the true guru. That is called the Satguru. And that guru itself teaches you again and again what is the right path. And you move there into that steadiness, Into that awareness, Into that consciousness. Again, Let me remind you, Tabir is not against the external gurus. In fact, If you go to Banaras, Even today you will see a zillion gurus run towards you and tell you, I will tell you your future for this much money and I will help you do this rites and ritual for that much money. You know that, Those who have travelled there. These are the kinds of people that Tabir is surrounded by. He is still not against anybody. He is just warning you that, Okay, External gurus are there, They are good. Their job is only one. To point you towards that internal guru. Once they have pointed you towards that internal guru, Your job is to start moving in the direction of the witness consciousness. But if you get lost in that external guru, In that palm mystery and that rites and rituals, You are lost outside. Then you have lost the entire point of the guru. The word guru itself means that inner tatva, The inner element, The witness consciousness. That is the guru. So, Tabir blossomed in his own knowledge, In his own jnana. Though Ramanand was teaching him this, He was also teaching Ramanand many things. They were like guru friends, Each other's gurus. And that's the beauty I find in Ramanand. He had the humility to listen to Tabir. He had the humility to change his ways, To not hold on to something because of a previous conditioning. And that helped Tabir understand the importance of letting go of previous conditioning. So now you see another colour of Tabir's dohas where he constantly starts teaching you about dropping old conditionings. So he says, To reach the highest, The oneness, You will have to drop the first number one conditioning is of doi ki bhavna, Dvaitam, I and the other. You will have to drop number one conditioning of I and the other. This will take you to oneness. So now this is so difficult, Very easy to say, Oh drop I and the other. But when that other person is shouting and screaming and fighting with me, It's very difficult for me to say, Oh I am Ramanand and he is Brahman and Brahman is shouting at Brahman. Oh I get very turbulent, I can't see he is Brahman. So he says, No problem, We will go step by step but this doha I will give it to you, You keep it as your destination doha. This is where I have to get to. Yes, He has given you a goal and now I have to get to this goal. So what is that? The next doha. Tu mein lagao us ek se, Ek bhaya sab maahi, Sab meera mein sabanka, Taha doosara naahi. I am connected to that one only and that one permeates all, All, Everybody, Even the person shouting at me. Yes, I am everyone and everyone is me. Listen carefully, I am not saying I am in everyone and everyone is in me. I am not saying in. I am saying I am everyone or I am all or all are me, Everybody is me. Taha doosara naahi, There is no other. If you have to keep a destination, A goal on the spiritual path, This should be your goal. This should be the destination. This is where I need to get to. Yes, To that point where I do not see others, There are no others. Somebody asked Ramana Maharshi, How do I deal with others? I don't like other people. I am very happy when I am alone, By myself, Very peaceful person. Yes, But the moment there is this other person in my life, Oh, Everything goes for a toss. How do I deal with others? Ramana said, There are no others. There is no other. Get home. That is home. That understanding is home. And that is what you are really looking for. When you are looking to get over your suffering, When you are looking to get over your pains in life, When you are looking for some solace, What are you really looking for? Something inside is hurt. Something inside is paining. Something inside is not at peace. It's contracted. It's constricted and it's looking for an expansion. It's looking for space to breathe. It's looking for happiness. It's looking for love. That's what you are really looking for. And you can never reach that peace or that happiness till the time you have this doi ki bhavana, I and the other. Till that time you cannot get it. You will get only a superficial relaxation of the mind by telling yourself stories, By diverting the mind to a mantra, By diverting the mind to the breath, By diverting the mind to another song or music. Just a superficial relaxation you will get. Empirary relaxation for some time. You will come back to your suffering. If you are looking for the permanent cure to suffering, There is no other but to get over doitam, To get over this doi ki bhavana, To get over this distinction, I and you. To reach that truth. That truth that we are one field of consciousness, Of love, Of beauty. One field of energy. We are that one ocean. It is simply one wave crashing against another wave saying, I will box you, I will punch you, I will push you down, I will become a bigger wave than you. Become big. How long? How long can the wave last? That's what you are doing. One wave clashing against another wave. The day you recognise, Oh we are all the same water, What is this? This is all drama. This is all play. Then you take that step back and you genuinely quit the drama. You genuinely quit the drama. There are no others. That is the only way to peace. That is the only way to joy. The only way out of suffering. Clear so far? Yes? Thank you for watching.