BAIKUNTHA (VAIKUNTHA)

BAIKUNTHA (VAIKUNTHA) Everyone talks of going there, but I do not know the situation of Baikuntha. They do not know their own secrets, they only mention Baikuntha in their talk. As long as the mind hopes to go to Baikuntha, till that time, it cannot abide at the Feet of the Lord. I do not know the temple of Baikuntha, its moat, citadel and the plaster. Except this what can we say, says Kabir, that only the Saab Sangat (congregation) is the Baikuntha.

(Bhairo Kabir, p. 1161) Wherever the saint puts his feet, there are sixty-eight pilgrim-stations; there is Baikuntha and the Name of the Lord is uttered there. (Ramkali M. 5, p. 890) The salvation and Baikuntha are there in Sadh Sangat, the man of God abides in the Abode of the Lord. (Dhanasari M. 5, p. 682) Baikuntha (Vaikuntha) is the heaven of Vishnu, said to be situated on Mount Meru. In Mahabharata it is stated that Vaikuntha is entirely made of gold.

Its circumference is eighty thousand miles. All the buildings are made of jewels. Vishnu is seated on white lotuses and Lakshmi sits on his right hand. The fragrance from her body spreads to eight hundred miles.The references given above state cleariy that for a man of God, the Vaikuntha is only Sadh Sangat or holy congregation, where the Name of the Lord is repeated and the Praises of the Lord are sung.

References :

1. Kohli, Surindar Singh, Dictionary of Mythological References in Guru Granth Sahib, 1993