Follower:
Gurudev, my salutations to you.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Salutations, my son. Salutations. Tell me.
Follower:
Gurudev, we see nowadays that it's not just we Hindus who are practicing the Sanatan Dharma. People of other faiths are also discussing and exploring it.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Of course.
Follower:
In the comments of one of your episodes, a gentleman named Abdullah Khan asked a very high-level question. He wanted to know: "Is it possible to go deep within through meditation?"
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Of course it is possible. It is only through meditation that you can reach the depths. Look, you have a refrigerator at home where you keep things, but the most important items go into the deep freezer. Why? Because it is extremely cold. Similarly, as we meditate—whether you are doing it or I am doing it—what do I see? I see Ram. You might see Rahim. It is the same thing. I see Ram, you see Rahim—it's all about meditation.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Through meditation, everything can be known. If one goes into very deep meditation, some cannot even return because they leave their physical body behind while the soul travels. They experience many things. Meditation is the only way to truly "see" God or receive His blessings. These rituals we perform—the prayers, the chanting—they don't have much value on their own. You are right; He is only found through meditation.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
If meditation is deep enough, sometimes the soul doesn't function the same way; the body remains, but the soul has moved beyond. It happens. So, I say, definitely meditate. Through meditation, you will find God and receive His guidance. Whether you are Muslim or Hindu doesn't matter. In our meditation, we see Ram; you see Rahim. The difference is only in the name. Hindu Sanatan Dharma exists, yes, and your religion is yours, but regardless of the religion, meditation works the same for everyone. There is no point in dividing people into Hindu or Muslim.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Our Ram will appear, and your Rahim will appear. It is the same divine connection. You can meditate whether you are Hindu or Muslim. You will receive Allah's guidance, and I might receive God's guidance. It's just a difference in names. People wander around names—you say Allah, I say Bhagwan—but they are one and the same. Perhaps our eating habits are different, our family structures are different, but we shouldn't create divisions here. He is found in meditation and gives guidance there.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I don't believe in castes or divisions. Many Hindus and many Muslims have taken initiation from me. They call me "Bap-jaan" or "Abba-jaan." There are many such people. It feels good to see you moving past this rigidity. Your religion has a certain rigidity about what to do or not do, but the point you raised is of a higher level. I bless you, my son. Practice meditation, and you will receive Allah's guidance. Allah sent you, and God sent me. What has Allah told you? He said, "Do not do anything for which you have to give an account to me." You say this often. We say the same: "O God, you sent me; what will I bring back to you? A bag full of sins?" We say the same thing, just in different languages.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
You are a human, and so am I. There is no difference. If there is an accident and a blood transfusion is needed, does anyone ask whose blood it is? Many Muslims donate blood. Can I proudly say I am a Hindu and refuse it? Many Muslims give blood, especially during the month of Ramadan when we often face a blood shortage. I know this. At other times, the blood supply is steady. So, there is no need to be proud about whose blood is going where. When you need blood to survive an accident, you will take blood regardless of whether it's from a Hindu, a Muslim, or a Christian. We talk big, but in my eyes, these divisions are not right.
Follower:
Gurudev, we, your disciples, see that you are a very secular and open-minded person.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Tell me one thing: when a person needs blood, does he know whose blood it is? Does the doctor know? No. But the blood is given. It could be a Muslim's blood keeping a Hindu alive, or a Hindu's blood keeping a Muslim alive. So, what is the point of being proud? This pride is for narrow-minded people. No wise person does this.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Abdullah Khan, I bless you. Start meditating on God, and you will find Allah. There will be no problem.
Follower:
You said that through deep meditation, one can receive God's guidance and find Him.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
You will receive the guidance and you will see Him. But you must go into deep meditation, just as you said.
Follower:
Gurudev, he had another question: "Can one attain the Paramatma (the Supreme Soul)?"
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Why not? Everything is possible. If you attain the Paramatma and see God, you will live in supreme joy. He won't give you lots of money, food, or gold jewelry. But if He reveals Himself or if the Supreme Soul awakens within you, there is only joy—eternal bliss, Satchidananda. If you are truthful and have that divine energy within you, you will experience immense joy. That joy is the greatest thing for a human.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Try to understand. What do we get by seeing God? We get an unending, pure joy that no one else can give you. You will be immersed in it. If the Paramatma or the Brahma awakens, it gives you nothing but that bliss, which you have never experienced before. You will be intoxicated by it, much like how a person is intoxicated by wine, but this is a divine intoxication.
Follower:
Thank you, Abdullah Khan, I hope you have received your answer. On behalf of Shanti Kunja, we offer you our salutations.
Follower:
Gurudev, moving to another topic... we saw that Bamdeb Baba was often called "Khepa" (the eccentric or mad one). When people tried to approach him, he would sometimes chase them away or be irritable.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
No, he would also sit and talk with them. People troubled him a lot. Later, when they understood him, they would come to him in the afternoon and have long conversations. Think about Durgadas Kaka—he even beat Bamdeb Baba once because of some fire incident. But that same Durgadas returned, apologized, and learned so much from him. Bamdeb Baba was a different kind of soul.
Follower:
We heard that when he chased people away, it wasn't out of anger but was actually a blessing.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Well, we also don't want to chase people away, but look at the current situation with COVID. If fifty people gather here, the neighbors come running, asking why there's a crowd. They threaten to call the police. The police have come several times and warned me not to see people right now because of the pandemic. So, I promised the neighbors that as long as COVID is here, I won't bring crowds here.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
But when people come, we observe them. We see everyone who comes, whether we are inside or outside. Out of a hundred people, we might help five or ten in a way that even their ancestors wouldn't know. We stay at the Mother's feet and pray for them. Sometimes people get better without us seemingly doing anything. I just look at them and mention it to the Mother. Everyone comes with their own troubles. We listen and tell the Mother.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
And when I "chase" someone away, I don't just use a stick; I use very harsh language. But people say, "You can curse me or hit me, but I know I will be blessed. The more you scold me or if you kick me, the better my life will become." How can you break that kind of faith? It's impossible. I have scolded people harshly, and they just say, "Please scold me more, it will bring me success. Step on my head, and all my sins will vanish." We are sinful people, and they tell me that clearly. I tell them stories, talk to them, and from among them, I identify those who truly need help.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Like the other day, someone came from Diamond Harbour in an ambulance. Even with COVID, I helped that girl. We keep an eye on who truly needs help and who is just here because they heard someone got better. If someone truly needs me or the Mother, we work for them, but I don't talk about it. If I do something for someone, their entire lineage won't know I did it.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Bamdeb Baba used to do the same. I once asked him, "Baba, you have shown so many miracles. Give me something so I can show miracles to people." And he gave me things I can never forget. He showed me great compassion and gave me exactly what I asked for. But these things are not to be publicized. It is not right to speak of them. What I received from him is between us.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
People think, "Oh, his guru is Bamdeb Baba, so he must have great powers." Yes, I have powers, but they are not to be shown off or misused. Sometimes I get angry, my head gets hot. But those who can tolerate my anger and stay with me are the ones who are saved. That is the truth. I deal with a lot of pressure—people complaining about the crowds during COVID, threats from the police. There are often a hundred people here. If I turn them away for safety, they go outside and complain that I was rude or chased them away.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Bamdeb Baba was like a coconut—hard on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside. He would help people without them even knowing. I know a story about him. A gentleman from Bangladesh came to him, having lost everything to legal cases. He was entangled in court cases with no way out. He heard about Bamdeb Baba and came to Tarapith. He stayed there for days. Bamdeb Baba knew exactly why he was there, but he didn't call him or speak to him. One day, the man got very angry and said, "You help everyone else, but you haven't done anything for me!"
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Bamdeb Baba still didn't say much. He just said, "Go away, go back to Bangladesh." The man went back and found that all his legal cases had been settled and he had become the owner of vast property. Bamdeb Baba hadn't said a single word to him about the cases. The man returned from Bangladesh and fell at Baba's feet, crying, saying, "I got everything back because of you." Such things happen, my son.
Follower:
Friends, you heard it from Gurudev himself. He does not believe in religious divisions. He explained through the analogy of blood that we are all one. Our secular Gurudev answered Abdullah Khan's question beautifully. I brought up Bamdeb Baba because people see you turning others away sometimes...
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I don't "chase" them; I just tell them it's COVID and they shouldn't be here, and that I won't see them. But even then, some people just sit there stubbornly. They won't move even if you scold them. Then, at the right time, I might call ten or fifteen of them and help them. They say, "You say one thing but do another." My heart gives in. They have come from so far in distress, so I help them.
Follower:
Offering our pranam to the Mother and Bamdeb Baba at Shanti Kunja, and to you, Gurudev.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, my son. Yes.