Some people have come to Maharaj, frustrated that their relatives—particularly their mother– don’t understand why they come to Gobind Sadan, where everything is so materially simple, unlike other gurdwaras.  Maharaj then gives them a beautiful talk about Gobind Sadan’s spirituality. In part, he says:

                In vairag (detachment from the world, with deep intimacy with God) there is no scripture. Guru Ram Das said, “Inside me there is only Love. I don’t want salvation, because You might not be there. I want to stay at Your feet. You are greater than any religious discipline.”

                The love between men and women is not like this. It does not last.

                A mullah was doing Namaz. He said, “My only thought is when I will meet Him. How can I speak of my Beloved?”

                The dangerous thing is that people speak of enlightened matters with having enlightened wisdom. And without doing the practical things—such as getting up early in the morning and bathing [before spiritual practice]—one will not attain enlightenment. Now the difficulty in the world is that people don’t know what to do.

Guru Nanak called the inner light jyot (oil lamp). Without fire in the wick, one is spiritually dead.

If a wife orders her husband to bring home vegetables from the market but he forgets, she is not happy. Children also give orders to their parents to bring them things, and are very upset if they don’t. Similarly, if a person does not obey God’s hukam, God is not happy.

Some women prefer men with long hair; some are allergic to them. Everyone has their personal choices. God’s choice is that we should speak truth, and not hurt others.

Dogs are so much more faithful than people. They will wait and wait for you at the door.

If a person is loving, where is his home? Wherever he sits.

Ask people what they have come for. If it is enlightenment, that comes by reciting Nam and sitting in Samadhi. Perhaps there is not the right environment for that in your home, even though God is there too. It doesn’t matter whether you eat here or not; you can eat at home. But what you can get here you cannot get at home.

What we have here is enlightenment and peace, not material things. Take this spiritual Prasad. Other places have great worldly things. We have only Nam, the Guru’s Prasad.

There is no point in hanging around in the langar or on the lawn here. This is not an ordinary gurdwara. The Light is at a very high level here. We have made the gurdwara our home. Whatever we have is yours. It is not like a temple or other religious place. It is our house and the Light is here.

This is God’s house. It is all Gobind’s. We don’t want to offer you material things. Rather, we offer you enlightened things. Whenever you come, take something when you leave. Take Jaap Sahib—in which there is enlightenment, in which there is Light. Take the hukam and go.

You have come to a holy place. We don’t take any fees. Whatever we have we will share with you without any demands. You are welcome here, but don’t think much about material things when you come here.

Very few people come here to do seva. When you come here, sit in Samadhi for 10 to 15 minutes. If you are allergic to that, take Jaap Sahib and read it. If you are allergic to that, do Chaur Sahib and go.

What happens here doesn’t happen everywhere. Where can people find enlightenment? It is priceless.