                         The Outer Aspects of Life
 The first of the 'circular letters', issued May 1, 1956, shortly after the
                         Master's First World Tour
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With the grace of my Master, my tour to the United States and Europe has
been successful, with the loving cooperation and sacrifice of all over
there, for whom I have great appreciation in my mind.

On my return from the tour, it has come to my notice that there exist
misapprehensions, which if not guarded against or checked might prove
harmful to many interested in the path. These are mostly concerned with the
outer aspects of life. It is, therefore, considered advisable to clarify
the position in this respect.

Spirituality - A Creed of Loving Faith: The subject of the spirit is the
most ancient and the most authentic of all subjects. Its history is coeval
with that of man. It is based on two cardinal principles of love and
service, or in other words selfless service. "By love, serve one another,"
has been the slogan of all sages through the ages.

God is love and He loves those who love His creatures.

     He prayeth best, who loveth best
     All things both great and small;
     For the Dear God, Who loveth us
     He made and loveth all.

Again, it is said, "He prayeth well, who loveth well/ Both man and bird and
beast."

We may take any scripture we like, we find an exhortation in most emphatic
terms on love. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee that God manifests Himself
to one who knows how to love.'

IMPORTANCE OF LOVE: Loving and selfless service to humanity is the
cornerstone of all religious philosophies and no man can make any progress
on the spiritual path without cultivating love within him. The seed of
spirituality that the Master so lovingly sows in the arid soil of our
hearts, has to be nurtured with the waters of love, if quick results are
desired. We must so mold our life and conduct that all our acts bespeak His
love. We must transform the desert of our heart into a veritable garden of
love full of lovely blossoms and luscious fruits. From our heart should
spring an eternal fountain of love, so that whosoever comes in contact with
it is drenched with love to the very core of his heart.

SPIRITUALITY---A DIVINE CAUSE: The cause of the Master is the cause of God.
It is no religion in the commonly accepted sense of the word and yet it is
the highest religion based on love alone. We cannot keep the illimitable
God in watertight limited compartments. God Himself has declared, "I
neither live on the high heavens nor on the earth below, yet the wonder of
wonders is that I live in the heart of a Momin or Godman."

Again, spiritual teaching and training is a living and practical subject,
quite different from secular and sectarian dogmas and so many creeds that
we have today. Life, light and love coming from a living Master well out
spontaneously from the heart and not from any books on theology. No doubt
everything has its own value, but in a world of relativity, the values are
all relative. A positive contact with the live principles of living God is
something unique. It stands on a footing which is entirely different.

SPIRITUALITY AND THE COMMON MAN: In this vast creation, everyone is gifted
with an individual perception. The heredity, the environment and the
teachings inculcated, all combine to make one what he is. We cannot blame
anyone for thinking differently in his own way. Everyone has his own
temperament and his own way of thinking. They must differ and they do
differ vehemently. There is no help for it. It is, on the other hand, the
sign of sentient life. We must not therefore, on that account, cross swords
with them. Even if in their ignorance they, at times, may talk ill of the
spiritual teachings and use harsh words, they cannot help it. But that
should not disturb the true seekers after Truth. We must be polite and
gentle and even humble in our conduct. Bandying of words does not help. We
may try to remove misunderstandings if any, sweetly and gently, but not in
an antagonistic spirit. It is advised that individual persons (including
representatives, group leaders and other old and new initiates) should not
enter into any sort of discussions or disputes with any religious bodies,
circles, faiths or sects, etc. If any such bodies do enter into such
things, they may be directed to refer to the Master for an appropriate
reply. It would be better to turn aside rather than to break your own head
in an attempt and injure the great cause for which we stand. God knows His
purpose well and has diverse ways to fulfill the same, without you and me.
So it will not pay to quarrel with our neighbors. It is said that those who
try to live by the sword, perish by the sword. The entire Christian
philosophy is summed up in two memorable precepts of Jesus Christ. "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind"; and "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Matthew
22:37, 40). And, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven: . . . Be ye therefore perfect even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:44-45, 48), and so said
all other Masters who came in the past. If we live up to these teachings,
there could be no trouble at all. The royal monk, Ashoka, in one of his
rock edicts tells us: "He who reveres his own sect but disparages the sects
of others, does great injury to his own for he lacks the essentials of a
religion."

SPIRIT OF SERVICE--INTER SE: The above remarks apply equally in your
dealings with one another. You are all knit together by the loving grace of
the Master in bonds of common fellowship. Honest differences of opinion may
arise and at times do arise; but these must be resolved happily by friendly
exchange of thought and mutual discussion free from bitterness and rancor.
If in spite of this, these persist, a timely reference to the Master would
be a welcome resort rather than to indulge in widening the gulf between
ourselves, by encouraging fissiparous tendencies.

HARVEST IS MUCH! LABORERS ARE WANTED: All those who help in the Master's
cause in whatsoever way are the chosen ones. Whenever a Master spirit comes
into the world, He brings His own staff with Him. Whoever puts in a stone
in His edifice, does service to Him. It therefore behooves all the more
that such selfless workers should present a true model of common
brotherhood rather than to add another discord where there is already so
much.

Again, service is service and must be rendered in a true spirit of service.
Service must come before self. All thoughts of self must be sacrificed at
the altar of service. That service alone is acceptable to the Master as is
voluntary, free and untarnished by even the least traces of self. It must
not be rendered in an animal spirit, a fighting mood, just as a matter of
right or routine, all of which tend to lower the true spirit and dignity of
service. There is one more point that may not be lost sight of, in respect
of service. Nobody can render service or even think of rendering it, unless
he is so actuated by the Master Power, permeating in the very fibers of his
being. So one should never think, with all that he does, that he has done
any service. It is therefore said that one living in the house of the
Master, and carrying out His behests, should never feel that he has done
anything. And this in fact is the veritable truth, because all credit goes
to the Motor Power or the Great Dynamo, working in and through each
individual. One must, therefore, feel and see the Master Hand working
behind the scene. All such service is glorious indeed, as it is free from
all taints of the self.

The Master Power works regardless of all limitations of time, space and
causation. Even when acting through certain authorized persons in distant
lands, the sole responsibility remains with the Master. The agents are just
mere instruments to arrange preliminaries, to fill in applications of
persons desirous of initiation, to convey the instructions of the Master,
and after due approval to arrange sittings and meetings, etc. The
transmission of the life impulse, the coupling process and the like, all
come from the Master directly and nobody has any hand in them. None can,
therefore, claim any superiority over his colleagues, because of this. All
from the highest to the lowest get their inspiration from the Master, and
owe the good fortune of being helpful in one way or another. We must,
therefore, work in a team spirit of brotherly love with no thoughts of high
and low, for all service is one--the divine service, of which we all are
the members. The arrangements, however, exist for the sake of discipline
and maintaining order in the smooth running of the spiritual work. But as
said above, none should feel elated or entertain feelings of superiority
over others. All of us have to work shoulder to shoulder under the guiding
inspiration of the Master. The persons selected as representatives are the
elders and more experienced and should be respected. In case of any
difference of opinion, the matter may be referred to the Master, and until
then no one should go on strike or over-rule them but work in close
cooperation with them. Such selected ones (representatives) should be in
complete harmony with others working in that capacity as they are selected
to carry on the work of the Master. When opportunity is afforded they
should meet each other for consultation of any important points. This will
ensure uniformity and inculcate love in others and afford variety of talks
to the groups situated in the various, areas. The representatives should
submit quarterly (April, July, October and January) a regular report on the
working of the Master's Mission in their areas, with constructive
suggestions, if any, touching all important points with names of group
assistants carrying on work in different centers. I would also be glad to
hear from those in charge of the various centers at regular intervals about
any important events occurring at those places. I have a loving
appreciation of all the work done by them.

SELF REFORMATION: Purity of life in thought, word and deed is of prime
importance in the service of the Master. A divine cause can flourish and
fructify in abundance on a pure soil. We must all learn to look within and
not without. It is far easier to see a mote in another's eye than to see a
beam in one's own. We must try to inculcate the habit of
self-introspection, so as to weed out all infirmities one by one. The
importance of maintaining and submitting of a diary by all for this purpose
cannot be overemphasized. All initiates should devote regular time to the
spiritual practices with due regard to ethical life and abstinence of all
meat, fish, fowl or eggs, and maintain their diaries for submission to the
Master after every three months. They should guard against the five deadly
sins of desire, anger, greed, infatuation and vanity, and develop instead
the virtues of truth, chastity, non-injury, universal love, and selfless
service.

FINANCIAL CONTROL: The work of spiritual regeneration is carried on only
with voluntary contributions from the sangat or the brotherhood. There are
no hard and fast rules in this behalf. Everybody is free to contribute
whatever he can easily do for the service of the sacred cause. There is no
question of imposition or taxation in the matter. No financial aid from
persons outside the brotherhood is accepted and there is a reason for this.
We want funds from the earnings of those honest souls who earn their living
by honest means and are touched by the love of God. It must be noted that
Master does not accept any gifts or offering from his disciples. All his
personal needs he meets from his own pocket. All voluntary contributions
are collected only for the work of the sangat. It is therefore necessary
that proper account should be kept of all income and out-go, on regular
scientific lines so as to eliminate all chances of misapplication of the
funds and to ensure its full utility on economic and efficient lines. It is
necessary that suitable arrangements be made for periodical checking of the
same, and every effort must be made to minimize the expenses to the bare
needs and requirements of the time and occasion. All such things can be
arranged by mutual consultation in a spirit of friendly good will. Selfless
or honorary service with love in preference to paid work is advised except
in rare cases where a sincere worker needs help which may be in the form of
honorarium.

CORRESPONDENCE: The Master personally attends to the work of correspondence
both foreign and local, in spite of heavy demands on his time, and has to
sit till late hours in the night. Satisfactory arrangements are made to
safeguard against any loss of correspondence received in the Ashram. At
times he goes out of the station in answer to pressing calls from different
places; then too letters are issued on his personal instance in each case
and the replies are delayed on account of absence on tour. To save heavy
postage on account of the abnormal receipt of letters (over one thousand
from India and abroad monthly) it has been started as trial measure to send
off replies in closed covers weekly or so (except in urgent cases) to a
central station where they could be sent by post, duly stamped, to
different stations in foreign countries.

TOUR PROGRAM: All invitations for spiritual discourses from foreign or
local places are most welcome to the Master. But the sponsors of such
meetings have to make suitable arrangements for temporary stay, halls or
open spaces for meetings or talks and for visitors coming from long
distances so that nobody is inconvenienced in any way. The Master while
appreciating the loving warmth of his disciples, does not like fanfares and
display of material show at such meetings.

GENERAL: The Master is a Master for all humanity. All are equally entitled
to the spiritual heritage of God like all the gifts of nature: light, air,
water, etc. He distributes freely amongst all. For him there is no East and
no West.

The dictum of Rudyard Kipling, "O East is East and West is West, and never
the twain shall meet," no longer stands with him. In fact all points of the
compass converge in the Master and equally draw their inspiration from him.
The different countries of the world are but so many rooms in the mansion
of His Father. All nationalities, all religions, all creeds, and all
philosophies are His, and they all end at the highest sensory plane from
where the spiritual path just begins. His is an unwritten law and unspoken
language and the eloquent silence that guides from plane to plane.

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