Saint Kabir Session 8 - Moko Kahan Dhunde Re Bande

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

Gone goes the wild We have to take ourselves behind in time to 15th century India where people who wanted to seek the spiritual truth would leave their homes, Would dress up in a saffron colour robe, Have a bowl in the hand and just abandon every craving of this world. These people would then go and live in the forest up in the Himalayas. They would do lots of japa and tapa and lots of penances, Lots of practices. So this is 15th century India. The spiritual practices that were prevalent at that time were many many different things. Lots of japa, Tapa, Penances. Japa means chanting the rosary beads, Tamala and chanting a particular god's name. Then there is tapa in which they would do penances. If you've heard of these penances where fasting for days together or hurting the body like you would see even in the Kumbh Mela they would take a whip and whip their bodies. People would go on for days without any clothes, Would just walk naked. Why? It was a kind of a penance to overcome the craving of possessions for this body. So there were different practices that were prevalent during that time. I just gave you a few that came to my mind right now but they were innumerable such practices. Kabir did not do any of these practices. Kabir, He was not even allowed to come into the spiritual Sangha or the spiritual world. So 15th century India was divided between four castes. The four castes were Brahmins who were the upper caste who could only have access to the scriptures. The others would not have access to the scriptures and they would be the ones who would go to Gurukuls, Who could have a guru, Who could really progress on the path freely with freedom. The other three castes were not encouraged into the Gurukuls. So unfortunately we should say that a bigger chunk of society was not exposed to the true spiritual wisdom. And this bigger chunk of society were the Vaishnavas. They were told that you are from the business class, You've been born in the business family, So all you do is business. For you, You make money, But when you want to do some rites, Some rituals, Some pojas, Then you invite the Brahmins and they will do it for you and you can pay them. So that's how the Brahmins made their money through these ritualistic practices. Similarly for the remaining two castes, The Kshatriya and the Shudras. Kshatriyas were told as you are born in the Kshatriya family, You have to just take care of things like being the army or the navy or the air force. This is in today's terms. In those days, Taking care of being the guards of the king's palace, Things like that, Being the army of the king, That's what you do. Even if you don't want to do. Just because you're born in that caste, Now you have to be limited in your occupation and even if you wanted to study the texts, The scriptural texts, You are not allowed. So this is 15th century India. I'm giving you the background. So now Kabir is a simple person who is just a weaver who is very poor and also he has been brought up in a Muslim family and the rumor has it that he was actually born to a Hindu but was brought up in a Muslim family and I think actually this is a blessing in disguise. This itself helped Kabir recognize probably that we are all humans, We are not Hindus and Muslims. This divide is only a mental divide. It's in people's heads and it has got nothing to do with the highest truth. So now Kabir starts walking the path on his own and attains this highest truth and because he is naturally born as a singer with the talent of singing, So when he is sitting and weaving, He is singing. He's not singing to teach anybody. He's not singing to transmit what he has acquired to others. No. He is singing because he is full of that joy. So because he is full of that joy, His songs come out naturally about his environment and what is the environment of Banaras? There are people who go to the Ganga and take a dip there and they think that their all sins are washed away. There are people doing puja's or worshipping idols. There are people who come there for either the initial rituals of birth in the family or for the last rites for some death happening in the family. So it's a place where there are only rites and rituals, Rites and rituals. And the Banaras that we know today is majority, We think it is majority Hindu but at that time there were lots of Muslims also there. They are there even today. So the Muslims are engaged in their practices, The Hindus are engaged in their practices and the background for Tabir's Doha's is the conflict between Hindus and Muslims which is there even today in India I think. So I am giving you the background for the Doha's that are coming up. So a person who has reached the highest truth without any scripture, Without any guru, Without any guru really taking him in, Without any Buddhist help, He has come to that truth just by his own realisation. He is singing these songs and because he is singing the people who listen they think yeah this makes sense. What he is saying really makes sense. That's how people started coming to Kabir and most of them were Sadhus. So I explained this last week also. Whenever he is singing you will hear the word Sadhu a lot. Sadhu simply translates as a spiritual seeker. So today's Sadhus are you all. So when he is saying Suno Bhai Sadhu, Listen oh Sadhu. He is speaking to you. Listen oh seekers. Moko kaha dhundere bande. The title of the song means where are you looking for me oh my friend. Who is saying this? It is the same witness consciousness that we spoke about. It is that witness consciousness singing to you. Now some people like to call this witness consciousness as Brahman. Some people like to call this witness consciousness as God. Whatever you like to call it as. There is no problem. It is the same witness consciousness which is pervading in all of us. Very clear and those who missed last week's Kabir session witness consciousness was explained very elaborately using Advaita. So see that you make up those videos. We are moving ahead now from there assuming that you understand the meaning of witness consciousness. So it goes Moko kaha dhundere bande. Merit tere paas me. Moko kaha dhundere bande. Merit tere paas me. Where are you searching for me my friend? Where are you searching for me? I am right here with you. I am already there with you. Na teerath me na moorath me na ekant nivas me na me mandir me na me masjid me na kabhe ke shami. Tereth means a pilgrimage. Yeah. Murath means the idol of a God whichever idol. Ram, Krishna whichever idol you worship. Yeah. He is saying I am not in the pilgrimages not up there in the mountains where you want to climb. I am not in the idols of Rama and Krishna and Hari and Om or whichever idol you have. I am not in Ekant nivas. What is Ekant nivas? Some people think that oh they will run away to the Himalayas. Go and be all by themselves. Ekant nivas. Yeah. Far away from this world. When you run away from this world can you really get enlightened? Can you really find it? No. So the witness consciousness is telling you I am not there. I am not there. Na me mandir me. I am not in temples. Yeah. Na me masjid me. I am not in the masjid. Na kabhe keh lash me. Yeah. Kaba is the pilgrimage site where Muslims go to and keh lash is the pilgrimage site where Hindus go. Remember I gave you a background. This is 15th century India. Big conflict going on between Hindus and Muslims. Even today it is going on. Yeah. He is talking to both. He is talking to both. He is saying I am not in kaba. I am not in keh lash. I am not in Krishna. I am not in Hari. I am not in any of these murats. Not in any of your idols. Wake up. Wake up. You will not find me there. Yeah. He was one of the most radical people of his time. Yes. People were like you are in a Muslim family. Why don't you just keep fasting and do the namas five times a day? He says by doing namas five times a day will my God come to me? So the mullah says I don't know about that but you must do what I am telling you to do. Yeah. He was very revolutionary. He said you tell me the way directly to God. If you are 100% sure you got there by doing that I will definitely do it. And the mullah would just evade the question. The priest of the temple would just evade the question. Oh you should do it because everybody says so. Oh you should do it because it is written in the scriptures. Oh you should do it because that guru and this guru says so. No no. You tell me. Did you get there? And everybody would fall silent. That was Kabir. Yeah. Everybody would fall silent. He would not argue with them. He is not fighting with them. Out of humility he is asking. Complete it. Please tell me did you get there by that? And that was sufficient to silence everybody. Again understand there is no disrespect for anybody here. Yeah. This is really working earnestly to find the truth. If you say that yes I will find the truth by going to Kaaba right now I will go. If you say I will find the truth by going to the Kailash I will climb up that mountain right now. But everybody said I do it because he said so. I do it because the book says so. I do it because somebody else says so. Yeah. Now Kabir was very clear that really because someone said so 90%, 95% of the people in Banaras were there for a spiritual awakening. They wanted the highest truth. They wanted to find that which was beyond the body, Beyond the mind but they just did not know the right place to look into. Yeah. So he himself explored it and he said I am not in Atirat. I am not in Amurat. I am not in Kaaba. I am not in Kailash. Yeah. How? Because simply he went to the witness consciousness. He simply sunk back. I am not the body. I am not the mind and it was so simple for him. Just think back and there it is. The witness is aware right now in each one of you. Each one of you is aware that the witness is aware of your eyes looking at Ekta on a computer screen. The witness is aware of the mind repeating what Ekta is seeing. The witness is aware of the mind agreeing or disagreeing with Ekta. So if the witness can see something it is obviously separate from it. Yeah. So that witness consciousness is who I am. I am not the body. I am separate from the body because I can see the body. I can see the eyes. I am aware of the ears. Yes. So obviously this I who is aware has to be separate from the object that it is aware of. So body is an object and I am aware of this object called body. Therefore I am not the body. Now the same thing you extend to the mind. You are aware of the thoughts in the mind. You are aware of the happiness. You are aware of the misery. These are all mind objects and I am aware of the misery in my mind. I am aware of the happiness in my mind. So I am obviously separate from what I am aware of. I am not the mind. Yes. I am the witness. It was so simple because Kabir was not conditioned by these things. He was not allowed into the scriptures. He was not allowed into an ashram. He was not allowed to do any japa, Tapa practices. He was just kept away from everything. It was so simple for him. There was no conditioning that he had to break. He just got there like that. Just a thirst, An earnest thirst and a search for oneself takes one there. It is that simple. So he says I am not in all these external things that you are running to. Again, Let me tell you this again. He is not disrespecting any temples, Any masjid. He is just saying that that peace that you are looking for, The truth that you are looking for is here. This is the wrong direction. That's all he is saying. He is not saying they are bad, Ban them, Break them. No, No, Not at all. He is just pointing in the correct direction. He is the new GPS. Naame japme naame tapme naabarat ukwasame naame kiriya karam me reheta nahi yogasanyasame. I am not in jap when you keep chanting the name of a god. He says no, That is good for just calming an agitated mind. Please use it when it is required. But that is not the highest truth. There is still somebody behind who knows that this mind is agitated and is using japa or chanting of some god's name to calm itself down. Very clear? Jap. Naame tapme. Not in any penance. Penances also include hours of meditation. Penances also include people walking without clothes to get over craving. People hitting themselves, Walking on the coals of fire. All kinds of penances are there. Whatever comes to mind I am saying but if I have forgotten something you know. He is saying I am not in all this. I am not in Bharat and ukwas. What is that? Not feeding the body. People fast. Especially because Kabir was a Muslim. The mullah would come to him and say what kind of a person are you? How can you not fast for the 40 days of Ramadhan? You should fast. So he was very clear about it. By fasting, By keeping this body starving and desiring for food will I find the highest truth? He would just very gently question the person and the person would then not push it anymore. He would never be mean or hurt or argue with anybody. He just wanted one thing. He had only one thirst. The thirst for the highest truth. To know who am I really. That is the real thirst. Yes? Ask yourself this question. Do you have the highest thirst to know who you are really? Na mein kiriya karam mein rehta. I am not in rites and rituals. We do a lot of rites and rituals. Especially Banaras is famous for all rites and rituals from birth all the way to death. So he says great. Do the rites and rituals. They will just make you feel happy or spiritual entertainment. Good. Keep it till there. But now don't start thinking oh I have baptised this kid and now he has attained God. Okay now you are going a little too far he says. Just because somebody has taken a dip in the Ganga and has chanted some mantras at that time it does not mean he has attained God or he has found the highest truth. No the highest truth is not in Ganga. The highest truth is not in wearing the thread, The Janiyum. That's the biggest ceremony most people go to Banaras for. He says do it. All good. All fun. Yes? But be very very clear that it is not more than that. It is not going to take me to the highest realisation of who am I. Clear? Again let me repeat. He is not condemning any rites or rituals. He is just telling you the difference between spirituality and religion. Two different things. Very very clearly he is putting them on the table. Rites rituals belong to a religion. Japa, Tapa belong to a religion. A particular Murat means a particular idol belongs to a religion. A particular temple or church or masjid belongs to a religion. Spirituality is higher. It's different. What is spirituality? Actually recognising who am I. It has got nothing to do with religion. Yes? He was very clear that God has created all of us absolutely equal. God did not create us as Hindus or Muslims or Jews or Parsis or Christians. That is a man-made divide. Yes? God created us equally and there are very beautiful songs of Kabir in that. That we have come naked and we go back even without any covering. Absolutely naked. Yes? We are all equal. Everyone is equal. Yes? So these divides are man-made. Divides are made by a very poorly functioning mind. He says. Divide is only made to create violence, To create hatred in society. He would always preach that drop the divide. Drop the divide. We are all one. It doesn't matter if we have different colours. One is white in colour, One is black in colour, One is brown in colour. Even better. We are like the rainbow. That's so beautiful. Appreciate the differences. He says. Embrace the differences. Finally, All the colours of the rainbow are nothing but one single white light. So again and again, I want to emphasise. He is not putting anything down. He is just bringing out a deeper reality, The hidden truth that we are all one and if you drop this superficial divide created by the mind, For you it is one moment's work to get to the reality of who am I. The people who are not able to drop the divide, They can never get enlightened. Impossible. They can fake enlightenment. That's a different thing altogether but they can never get enlightened. So he is very clear in this that he is not in any Kiri Akaram, Not in any rites and rituals and not even in yoga and sannyas. Lots of people do sannyas. They leave their homes and they go away and drop the world. That is called sannyas, Renunciation. He says I am not in your renunciation of the world because finally who will renounce? That so called mind and body is going to renounce. It still has its ego and it says see I am the renunciate. Look at me. I am such a great person. Even sannyas just builds the ego. When you become a yogi and you are doing yog sadhana, What does that do? That also just builds the ego. You see all these practices, All yogs, All sadhanas, All tapas, All that you are doing is only for the mind. It's not wrong when your mind is agitated. You need to do something to calm it down. So simple explanations, If your mind is all scattered, All over the place, You have lots of turbulence going on in your life and too much emotions, Too much problems going on. What do you do? You make an effort to gather this mind, To calm it down. Yes, So yes for that purpose use it. Use your yog, Use your sadhana, Use your breath, Use all those meditation techniques, Use music, Use notes, Chants, Japa, Mantra, Use everything but be very clear all this is only helping the mind calm down. It is only helping the body to relax. It is not going to the highest truth. The highest truth is one step behind, Behind the mind. The witness consciousness, The one that saw that the mind was agitated, The one that says okay now the mind is not agitated anymore, Now it has come after doing this yoga or tapasya or japa, Whatever. That one did not change at all. That was continuous, Consistent, Unchanging. Yes, That is who I am. Slowly, Slowly with these songs and dohas people really started understanding what Kabi was saying. The beauty started blossoming slowly. Then people who were sadhus who were like meditating up in the Himalayas, They started coming down to him okay and they are doing all that pranic meditations and all those things. So let's see what he tells them. He says, Nahi prana me, I am not in your prana. Prana also is in front of the witness. The witness knows that the prana is high right now. The witness knows that the prana is low right now. How much ever prana you take from the base of the spine to the top of the head, The witness is aware of that. So the witness is finally the highest truth. Nahi pinna me, I am not in your body postures. So in those 15th century India, People had these beliefs that if you stand on one leg for the whole day, Then you will attain the highest truth. There were lots of such beliefs. So it is basically body. You are working through the body. So he said, Nahi pinna me, I am not in the body. So don't try to torture your body and get to me. Na Brahman Akash me, I am not in the sky. Don't start looking for me in Brahman Dhan Akash. This goes to the belief of there is a heaven up there. And I will whatever do good deeds and then because of my good deeds, I will get promoted to heaven. So he said, No, No, I am not there also. Yes, I am not there. Na me prakrti pravargufa me, Neither am I in nature. So this is told for those people who in those days there were different kinds of people who believed in different things. So there was a section of society that believes in the wind as the god, The sky as the god, The rain as god or this entire nature is god. There is nothing else other than that. That is god. So he says, No, I am not there in prakrti also, Not in this nature also. Nahi shvaso ki shvasme, Neither am I in the breath. I am not in the breath. You keep doing your breathing techniques. That is good, He says. You continue but know that it is only for the mind and the body. The highest truth of who I am is beyond the mind and beyond the body. Yes, That is the witness consciousness. The one who is witnessing the body, The one who is witnessing the mind, That is who I am. The last one is khoji huwait turat mil jao ik palki talashme. If you really are a sincere seeker, If you're really sincere, In one second's search you can find it. In one second. How? See right now, You're looking at me through those eyes, That is the body. Squeeze your eyes, Close your eyes, Again open them, Again close your eyes, Again open them. The mind knows that the eyes are open now, The mind knows that the eyes are closed now, The mind is behind the body. Yes, But now there is one more layer of witness consciousness, The background screen that knows that the mind likes what it is saying, Dislikes what it is saying, Agrees with what it is saying, Disagrees with what it is saying. Yes, The mind that knew that the eyes are opening and closing, There is something beyond that, The witness, Sakshi. See, In one second you found it. Only if you really did this exercise with it, That thirst has to be there. That is who is God, That is consciousness. It is already there inside you, Where were you looking for it? Where were you looking for it? Warning for the word Vishwas, It is not faith, It is not blind belief. This is a translation from Avdi into the Rajasthani dialect. So, What is this really? Vishwas is a direct translation of Parthith. Parthith means directly coming face to face, Knowing it face to face. Yes, Now there is no single word to translate Parthith. That is why the word Vishwas was used. But you should know what it means. Vishwas here means conviction. The moment you recognize that, Oh, I am the witness. Yes, That's it. You have a conviction. I am that witness. I am not the body. I am not the mind. It is that simple. In coming face to face with the truth, In conviction, In assurance, I am that. Yes, Very clear. Yes, Very clear. Yes, Very clear. Yes, Very clear. Yes, Very clear. Yes, Very clear.