Extract from Prakashmani Gita:

Translated from Hindi by Mahant Shri 108 Jagdish Das Shastri
Edited by Dr. J. Das, Kabir Association of Canada

Published with permission

RKUK:

Link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/263548

Panth Shri Hajur 1008 Prakashmani Saheb was a great scholar of spirituality and was the second Acharya (head) in line Shri Kabir Dharm Sthan Kharsiya, and 16^th in line from Shri Dharamdas whand he wrote several great literatures since the first disciple Dharamdas. This Gita is a theological explanation of the inner path to reach God realization in this life.

Satguru came into the world to remove bondage from the souls. Those who had positive and good thoughts and pure hearts came close to Him. He showered his grace on them and freed them from the worldly bondage. Whenever the devotees called for him, he appeared and, with the power of the Word, alleviated their suffering and taught them the essence of all knowledge. We need to take refuge in the Satguru who is the manifestation of the Word.

All the souls in the world desire to know their real nature. The soul that resides in all of us is called Jiva. But what is Jiva? Jiva is the destination, or the object of meditation. He is Himself the meditator, the act of meditation and the object of meditation, which is a state of non-duality. He is thus the knowledge and the guru. He is immortal and is the Inner Light of every living being, as the Light of Consciousness. I bow down to Him. His Word is like the boat that takes people across this worldly ocean. Who created that boat?  Kabir Saheb. Again I bow down to him. I pray to his Light that destroys all the darkness of ignorance. With his power, the water of his washed feet brought life to the dry branch of a banyan tree.

Again I bow down to him.

When a devotee performs his devotion with pure thoughts, then Satguru bestows on him the gift of God's name (initiates him into the secret of the Name). The devotee then attains liberation (moksha). It is, therefore, the duty of the devotee to serve the Satguru and have all his karmic bondage and fear of birth and death removed.

Devotee: O Satguru, Ocean of Compassion! Please explain to me the significance of Nij Nam, by which the Sar Shabd (Essence of the Word) would manifest in my heart.

Satguru: Nij Nam is that which enlightens a person. It is for the welfare of the soul. It is also called Sar Nam and Adi Nam. It is the means by which the soul obtains liberation. Though there are many names, one does not obtain salvation through them. But when one meditates on Nij Nam and realizes it in the depth of his heart, he is assured of salvation.

What is Nij Nam? Nij means the Self or Atma (Soul). Nam is the reality of the Self. Atma is Sat which means Eternal Existence. Sat also has the attribute of making the devotee realize his own "form" i.e. to know himself. Therefore, those who want salvation must rely on Satnam. The Sat Shabda (Eternal Word) appears by reciting the Name over and over, and when combined with meditation the Word becomes steadfast in his heart. When the name is always in the devotee's heart, it removes the sins of many births. He then becomes pure and can do perfect devotion to God.

A diamond just taken from the mine is rough and lacks brilliance and beauty when compared to a cut and polished diamond. In the same way the devotee who attains the Name and recites it, is likened to the diamond that is cut and polished. When you wash clothes with soap and clean water all the dirt is removed. In the same way, with the recitation of the Name, the mind of the devotee becomes pure. It then becomes easy for the mind to concentrate on Sat Purush (God) and merge into the Ocean of God Consciousness or Shabda. Just as a drop of water merges into the ocean, in the same way the consciousness, which originated from the Shabda (Word), merges into the Shabda again. When you take a drop out of the ocean, the drop is not the ocean, but has the same qualities as the water of the ocean. The drop by itself is a very small quantity, but when it merges into the ocean, it becomes the ocean. In the same way, the soul feels separated from God and limited in power, but when it merges into God, it becomes one with God, as there is then no separation. Devotion to the Word is the stairway and destination to the immortal residence. To obtain it, devotion to the Word is the only proper way.

“All the saints state that when someone ties the knot with God using the Sat Shabda (Eternal Word), then death does not break that knot”