Dadu

Dadu Dayal was a saint from Rajasthan in northern India. "Dadu" means brother, and "Dayal" means "the compassionate one". He lived in the second half of the sixteenth century (1544-1603).

The Creator has many and diverse names:
Choose the name that comes to mind; thus do all the saints practice remembrance.
The Lord who endowed us with soul and body-worship Him in your heart ;
Worship Him by that name which best suits the moment.

Wonderful is the Name; it holds the truth of the three worlds.
Considering this, 0 heart, repeat it night and day.
Wonderful is the Name; let the heart never forget Hari.
Let his image dwell in the heart; cherish it with every breath.
When you cherish Him with every breath, one day He will come to meet you.

One sits fearlessly by repeating God's Name;
the Negative Power can never consume him.
When thou ridest the elephant, 0 Dadu,
then dogs bark in vain.
When love and devotion arise,
one is firmly established in blissful meditation.
With the grace of the Master,
he then drinks the divine Nectar, 0 Dadu.
By being dedicated to the Lord,
millions of obstacles are removed.
A tiny spark the size of a mustard seed
burns a huge amount of wood, 0 Dadu.
Impurities and blemishes of the mind
are burnt up in the fire of separation.
The separated lover will now see
the vision of the Beloved, 0 Dadu.

An Outer Guru that is not an Inner Guru, not a Qualified Teacher

The whole world makes an outer display,
whereas the practice of the Saint is within.
This is the difference between the two;
hence no accord is found between them.

A new pot taken from the potter's furnace
may be decorated with many pictures outside;
But of what use will it be to thee,
0 Dadu, without any contents?
Such are the ones who make outer display of religiosity.

From one who bears no outer religious symbols,
but has unfathomable riches within,
Receive the wealth and keep it within
thy heart, 0 Dadu, and be obedient to such a Saint.

There is a great difference between a Saint and a mimic,
the two are as far apart as earth and sky.
The Saint is absorbed in God, whereas
the mimic pins his hopes on the world.

The One alone dwells within my heart,
Day and night I repeat His Name.
The Name of God alone is true;
keep that within thy heart.
Forsake all hypocrisies and cumbrous practices;
this is the teaching of all Saints, 0 Dadu.

My enemy "I" is now dead; now none can slay me.
'Tis I who have slain myself; I have died, arid yet live.
While the thought of self remains, so long are there two.
When this selfhood is destroyed, then there is no second.
Then only will you find the Beloved, when "I" and "mine" are wholly lost.
When "I" and "mine" are no more, then shall you find the pure vision. "I" and "mine" are a load upon the head; you die with the weight of it.…
In front of [the true] I, stands the [false] I; for this reason, He remains hidden.

When I am not, then there is One; when I intrude, then two.
When the curtain of "I" and "Thou" is drawn aside, then do I become as I was [in the Beginning].

I am nothing and can do nothing
Truly even a fool may reach Thee by Thy grace.

Without love all is false, try however hard you may.
The pain of separation is not born of words; desire [for God] is not born of words.