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Sants according to GURU GRANTH SAHIB JI
Why are so many Sant Mahapursh despised and ignored in modern times ?
In all walks of life there are those who will exploit and mislead, and the Sant tradition is no different. But why are all Sants tainted with the same brush?
Let us take an analogy, doctors are always in the news for behaving in an unprofessional manner with their patients. Do we stop going to the doctor when we require medical attention, no we do not. Our physical body needs attention and we rush to the doctor, but when our spiritual body, our soul, cries out we say that all Sants are the same, that they are after money or self glory. We deny our soul the nourishment it requires.
Guru Granth Sahib Ji refers to Sants many time and explains the virtue of the sangat of a Saddhu.
It is suggested by some learned people that all the references to ‘Sant’ in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji refers to the Guru or Akal Purkh himself. That the shabads do not refer to earthly Sants at all, that they are words used to describe the True Guru. This is true in many cases, but not all. The distinction between Akal Purkh the Sant and the saddhu sant is definite and precise.
kabeer sayvaa ka-o du-ay bhalay ayk sant ik raam raam. Jo daataa mukat ko sant japaavai naam. ||164||
Kabeer, it is good to perform selfless service for two - the Saints and the Lord. The Lord is the Giver of liberation, and the Saint inspires us to chant His Naam. ||164|| p.1373
Here in the bani of Bhagat Kabir Ji there is a precise distinction between Akal Purkh Sant and a Saddhu Sant. Akal Purkh is the giver of mukhti or liberation and the saddhu sant is the one who shows you the way to meditate on Gods name. The word Sant here cannot refer to Akal Purkh because Kabir Ji has already addressed Akal Purkh as 'dataa'.
Let us look at a shabad by Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
The Supreme Guru has sent me for the protection of Righteousness:
I shall propagate righteousness everywhere, seize and destroy the sinful and the wicked.
I have taken birth for this purpose.
Let all holy men understand this in their minds.
I have come for spreading Divine religion and to protect the Saints, and for annihilating all tyrants. (Bachittar Natak )
Can the saints referred to by Guru Sahib Ji here be any other then the Saddhu sants?
It is the duty of a Sant to show people the way of the True Guru, they will guide you and tell you of the pitfalls to avoid. One can understand the thought process of many learned people who may feel that by going to a Sant one is some how betraying our Gurus by deviating from the right path. This is not the case, rather then deviating from the path we are actually reinforcing the path.
If you have a query about a shabad of a line from a shabad then a Sant Mahapursh will spend maybe an hour explaining just the one line, this is the depth of their knowledge of gurbani and they will stay true to the Guru without any hidden agendas. We can go straight to Guru Granth Sahib Ji, but who has the depth to understand this ocean knowledge ? Guru Sahib Ji has said that his Sikh must not drink alcohol, eat meat or cut his hair and must become an amritdhari, this is the precise line a Sant will take and he will repeat these hukams even if he is barred from getting up on stage at the Gurdwaras because this kind of language may hurt the sensibilities of the congregation or of the committee members, most of whom will not be amritdhari’s themselves.
one can understand the reluctance of a Sikh to go to a Sant because he/she may feel that one is turning away from the Guru, but if you look within gurbani it the Guru who instructs us to seek out a Sant for he will attach you to the Guru’s feet, in effect the Sant is a bechola or go-between.
If you look at the lives and teachings of some of the Sants. Some Sants spent their whole lives in the service of the panth, putting people on the right path, performing Amrit sanchars and creating new members of the Khalsa panth, taking people by the hand and attaching them to the Gurus feet, how can we not be truly greatfull to such great souls?
One Sant made around 700000 (7 lakh) Sikhs to Singhs and that’s by teaching Sikh Guru’s teaching. This Sant always allow anyone to have AMRIT only after person in question puts 2.5 hours of path everyday for one whole year, because Sant ji always say that having simply AMRIT is good but not enough as Guru Gobind Singh has specially asked SINGHS to devote 2.5 hours each day. So, one should practice 2.5 hours Path before having AMRIT.
These days I do agree there are lot and lot of fake Sants, but it does NOT mean that everyone is that way. And our minds are NOT of that much capable to distinguish between actual and fake Sants. So, it’s always better NOT to indulge in Nindea (backbitting) or saying bad to any Sant, because if by chance we said anything bad about true RAAB de bagat, then GOD will NOT be happy. Infact Sikhism directs us NOT to say bad about anyone.
Now, if anyone is NOT satisfied with the above (from Gurbani), then instead of saying bad to Sants, please say WAHEGURU.
