Be witness, not just the Doll

Saint Ravidas was a unique saint of his times. By profession he was a cobbler. But had just one thing important in life – Remembrance of The Divine. In this pada, he describes the condition of human and at the end also provides us an opportunity to overcome the tragedy of our life.
Describing Man Ravidas says: “Mati ka Putra kaise Nachat hai, “
We have been seeing movies, plays or the puppet shows. In each of them there are 3 roles to be played namely – the director, actors moving according to the direction of director and the audience – the watchers.
One thing is sure – God, That Ultimate name, Omkar, the Existence is the director.
But yet we are left with the choice to be those puppets/actors or the watchers/ audience. You can either be Sakshi the witnessing consciousness or just dolls in the hands of directors. You can be the part of this entire huge drama show going on or else a witness – the observer.
But most of us are just those puppets doing their entire daily chorus and being unaware of the self.
He further makes fun of human condition and says:
“Dekhe dekhe sune bole, doryo firat hai kaise nachat hai…”
What is that a human being does and a puppet can’t? The puppet or in today’s day the Robots are much more efficient than the humans in performing their daily tasks and performing their duties. Computer and several machines have replaced humans in most of the fields. Puppets also dance, sing, laugh and cry like us. What can create a difference between the puppets and us –The difference is the factor of awareness. Our consciousness can make us stand apart from those mechanical devices.
Describing the pitiable condition of mankind Ravidas informs us:
“Jab kuch mile tab garva karat hai, maya gai tab rovan lagat hai…”
When we get something prestigious, the prizes, the rewards, appreciation we also feel enchanted in the similar way as of those puppets and when we lose something, we cry or feel bad.
Like an onion, we can peel off the layers over layers; there are certain layers in us too.

• The first layer is of ego, ‘I ness’, belongs to me.
• The second is that which is called as “Asmita” or amness.
• The third layer is Atma, our real self or isness.

Kabir says it well to explain this: “goongat ke phat khol re tohe piya milenge.” Similarly, He also says at another place: “khotri me khotri param khotri vichar.” It means within the room of ego is another room of amness or Individuality within these two is hidden our True self.

There are many uncertainties in life but one thing is certain from the day you are born that you will die one day or the other. Sooner or later death will knock your door. If someone you like, love or is a near and a dear one to you passes away or leaves you, betrays you then we will get unhappy or sad. Same is the case with those puppets. Or that’s all is happening in the movies. To an incident or rather to a fact we add many fictions of ourselves to it.

Each incident has three parts of it – fact, fiction and the truth.

• Fact – tathya, or the incident that took place. For an example - Death of your parents is the fact that took place.


• Fiction – kathya, or our prejudices for or against the situation. It is our fiction that the person met an untimely death. For us death at any age whether childhood, youth or old age is always untimely. It’s also our fiction that what happen if that would not have taken place then it would have been far better. If our parents wont have died, it would be possible for us to serve them in much sophisticated manner. Ask those whose parents are yet alive do they serve them well or till the time your own parents were alive did you serve them the best. If not in the present, then how about the future.


• And third part of an event is Truth- satya, the moral or the lesson we learn from it. Each incident can teach us something. In this case, you can take a lesson that death will also come at your doorstep. And one day you will also leave others and go away. So before that it’s better to search if there exists something immortal. Some bliss that the mystics have talked about. If you learn from an incident you are free from its bondage and it can’t ever make you sad again.
  If you are still sad about the incident that took place in the past means that you haven’t learnt anything from it and it will trouble you still in the future by coming to you again and again. But when you learn from it, know the essence behind it then you are left with happiness as your companion. Our life is just the combination of various events.

An intelligent person is one who not only learns by committing mistakes in his own life. He also grasps ideas from the things that occur in other’s life.
As there is a story of Gautama Buddha: On a round in his chariot he sees a sick person, a dead body, and a sannyasin. Similarly, in the life of Master Osho – His grand father’s death shook him and started a journey for the unknown in his life at the age of 7 years.

Guru Ravidas further tells us:“Man bach kram ras kasahi lubana, binas gaya jai kahu samana…” We get fascinated in the new releases, or as there are toys for kids so are for elders. Money, fame, prestige, name are toys for us and we get engrossed in them and forgetting the reason for being in this life. It’s just the same cycle takes place – birth, teenage, youth, old age and then the death, a new birth again and it goes on… At the end Ravidas concludes:

“Kahe ravidasa baji jag bhai, Bajigar sau mohi preeti bani aai.” Life is like a magic. If you want to know its tricks you need to be friendly with the magician. To know about the syllabus you need to work according to the teachers. So is the role of Guru. If you want to know Gobind – the Existence, you have to be friendly with a Living Master.

Kabir says: bazigar dank bajai,sab khalak tamase aai. The word dank means ‘Damru’. It is symbolic. It’s an indication about that song of infinite the sound of silence that is happening on its own accord always. Be Witness not the Doll. To be in love and friendliness with the director of our life – omkar, moving on his path and being in gratitude to your Master is the pathof Sahaj Yoga.