Jaigurudev Baba belongs to the a tradition of north Indian saints who are generally classified as Sant Mat. They include Kabir, Ravi Das, Nanak, Dadu and many others. In the more recent times Sant Kirpal Singh and the Radha Soami sect based in Beas, and in the West, the Eckankar sect, are all prominent representatives. Some of the their principal ideas can be found here: Surat Shabd Yoga, Sant Mat, Contemporary Sant Mat Movements, etc. This article will give some idea of what he teaches, but I make no guarantees of accuracy.
Additional notes taken from Jaigurudev Temple in Mathura (hi.brajdiscovery.org)
The Guru is not hungry for your money
Sant Baba Jaigurudev Maharaj said that there is no worship without the guru. And at the same time, if you have done puja of the guru, you can say that you have done all the necessary puja. Just like all rivers flow into the sea, all worship culminates in the worship of the guru. One who does even a moment’s devotion to the guru can easily cross over the ocean of material suffering.
Sant Baba has been lecturing over the past few days at the Jayguru Ashram on the Mathura-Agra Road in Mathura. This is the biggest annual festival of the year and many thousands of disciples and admirers come from all around the world on this occasion.
He said that the glories of the guru are unlimited and that no one can fully describe them. The guru has no need or desire for the disciple’s money. One who has proper understanding spends his money in the service of the guru and gets benefited from it in that way. When the soul rises through sadhana then one will see the guru in his own image.
The Sant said that when one gets older then he becomes like an old ox. No one binds an old ox, so similarly there are no restrictions on the old. This is the influence of time. So do everything while you are young and it will be better for you. The human body is a rare gift and it should be used for worshiping God.
Baba Jaygurudev’s real name is Tulasi Das. His guru’s name was Ghurelal Ji from Chirauli village in Aligarh district. Baba lived with him for many years. His guru then told him to establish an ashram in a secluded place in Mathura city to serve the poor.
This he did in 1953 after the death of his guru. The first ashram was in Krishnanagar called Chirauli Sant Ashram. Later on in 1962 Baba Jaigurudev he purchased the 150 acre property on which the present ashram is built. Because he remembers his gurudeva’s name with every single thing that he does, he became known as Baba Jaygurudev. Very few people know him by his original name Tulasi Das.
One of his significant ventures was the beginning of a political party, the Doordarshi Party, which contested a couple of general elections in the 1980’s on a message of social reform and social uplift, with little success.
Separation in Sadhana
Baba Jaigurudev said that the Surat or spirit is the divine realm. There are no subdivisions or ingredients there: it is pure, permanent, undivided, and single. Within it 44,000 candles burn. No one can describe its beauty, only some indication can be given. The sadhak who recognizes the signs and takes up the path can reach this supreme abode. One who does not recognize the signs will never get there.
Many pilgrims have come to the Guru’s ashram to garner merit at the time of the Guru Purnima. In his lecture, Baba Jaigurudeva said that when the Surat first comes into the world, then first it takes on the names and forms, and then slowly the veil of karma falls over it. Karma takes over the mind, intelligence, and chitta.
You should relax your materialistic activities somewhat. Whatever you do, do it with industry and honesty. This is the way to get the grace of the sadhus. Always chant japa of the Name. Keep on doing sadhana until the Holy Sound manifests itself. When the Holy Sound manifests then your mind, intelligence and chitta, and your spirit, will all be cleansed.
Baba said that the suffering of separation in sadhana makes a devotee feel as though the entire world is empty. Everything seems to be inadequate. The great souls cried and lamented and by so doing crossed into the True Land. No trace of material conditioning is left on them.
He said that the material nature merges into earth, earth into water, water into fire, fire into air, air into ether, ether into Maya, Maya into Ishwar, Ishwar into Brahma, Brahma into the Para Brahma and Para Brahma into the Mahakala Purusha or great form of time. And when he so wishes, this entire creation expands outward again.
Give the treasure trove of your breath to others, says Sant Jaigurudev
Baba Jaigurudev said in a lecture yesterday that great souls come and do their work in the world. Then when they leave, whatever breath they leave behind they pass on as a gift to others. And when the time comes that energy is activated.
On Sunday, during the Guru Puja, Baba spoke to the assembly of devotees. He said that the external worship of the guru can be seen with the two physical eyes, but the true puja is seen with the third eye. When you look toward the guru with your inner vision, then you will see that all around him there is only light. When the guru is in the assembly, you can see above and below him. But in fact, the guru is in the divine realm of Sat Loka. In fact, the genuine guru is the one who is present throughout the world as Sat Loka.
Sadhana is only the external cause. In fact, everything is being done by grace. The sadhaka can only tolerate the light of illumination when the guru reveals his form to him. Otherwise, he will close his eyes to keep from being blinded. The divine sound becomes so powerful that the sadhaka cannot tolerate it and may even die. The guru slowly gives the disciple the capacity to tolerate it.
The great saints all instruct their disciples to remain on the path of spiritual practice and truth by eating vegetarian food, keeping away from intoxication, and promising not to harm other men or animals.
On this occasion, Baba gave initiation (Nam Dan) to many people, as well as marrying a number of couples without dowry. Booths for buying tickets for travel were available on the ashram grounds, and the ashram itself had several thousand volunteers driving cars to those destinations.
The Path of the Kali Yuga is Service
The clear road to spiritual attainment in the Kali Yuga is service and devotion. If the jiva learns to consecrate his life then all success will be his: his life will be filled with joy. In this age people are so riddled with flaws that without the mercy of the spiritual master, no one can go through life without a struggle.On the fourth day of the Guru Parva festival at his Mandir, Baba Jaigurudeva said to his disciples that after a disciple gets guru, then there is nothing left for him to obtain. His bondage to repeated birth and death comes to an end. The devotee no longer has to take birth or die again. If he is devoted to the guru then the mercy of the spiritual master will take him across the ocean of miseries in a single moment.
Baba said that like birth and death, the time for encountering a saintly person is fixed in one’s destiny. But this is the most wonderful opportunity in a person’s life. The moment has been decided even in a previous lifetime. Through the good deeds that lead to good fortune, one also gets the shelter of a saint. But without the mercy of Lord Hari, we do not even give any attention to the company of saints. We must never forget the Lord.
Baba blessed thousands of devotees and their families individually. He blessed them and asked that they stay on the path of truth, eat vegetarian food, and remember the name of God. Another feature of the celebrations was that many poor boys and girls were married without dowry.
A crowd gathered to get the blessings of Baba Jai Gurudev, a Hindu holy man, during the annual Hindu festival of Guru Purnima, in the northern Indian city of Mathura. (K.K. Arora/Reuters)
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