From jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca Sat Mar 28 12:41:39 1998
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: Why Don't You Follow the Guru?
From: jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca (James Shannon)
Date: 28 Mar 1998 20:41:39 GMT


  
  
  
  
                      
                      WHY DON'T YOU FOLLOW THE GURU?

                                   by 

                          Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
      
                              (1894 - 1974)                           
   
                 
                   This talk was given by the Master on
                   Apr. 2, 1963, and sent to the United 
                   States on tape. It was later published 
                   in the Dec. 1973 issue of Sat Sandesh.
                   --------------------------------------


   Ladies and Gentlemen: Last year (April 1963) a short discourse in 
English was recorded and sent to the States through Mrs. Lucille Gunn 
when she returned homewards. The idea was greatly appreciated; and I 
have, since then, been receiving numerous requests for sending similar 
talks from time to time. I have accordingly decided to speak to you 
once again.

   God made man and man made religions. The underlying urge for the 
creation of various religions has always been the desire for the 
liberation of the soul in man from the bondage of mind and matter, and 
thereby an end to the endless cycle of births and deaths. All the world's 
religions have this idea at the core, in one form or another; and if we 
were to make a comparative study of the different scriptural texts, we 
would come to the same conclusion. The bedrock of all the religions is  
the One Reality - Truth - the Alpha and the Omega of all creation. Truth 
is, of course, one, though It has been described variously by the sages
in the language of the time and place in which they lived. It is around 
this central idea of the one Truth that the various religions have grown.

   Again, the cardinal principles of all religions are akin to each other, 
in spite of the seeming differences in the non-essential details pertaining 
mostly to rites and rituals as fostered from time to time by the priestly 
order. Love for God and man is the keynote of all the prophets and Saints, 
and search for the One Reality is their sole theme. In this mighty quest 
they had to delve deeply into the recesses of their own Self within, the 
treasure house of untold riches of Spirituality apparently lost to man 
mightily engaged in the pursuits of all that is of the world; for in his
overbearing love for the worldly gifts of God, he forgets and forsakes the 
divine, immanent in all forms. The scriptures, whatever their origin, are 
nothing but the record of the experiences of the Godly Souls, carried on 
in Their effort to bring out the basic life principle, enlivening all 
souls, for the benefit of posterity in general and the aspiring souls in 
particular.

   Godmen come into the world not to make any new laws, nor destroy the 
laws as they exist, but only to uphold the Universal Divine Law, 
unchangeable as it is. Their message is one of hope, fulfillment, and 
redemption for those in search of the divine in man; and, as such, They 
constitute a great cementing force transcending all denominational creeds 
and faiths. Presenting a workable way out of the theoretical polemics of 
the so-called religious strongholds, They soar high into the ethereal 
atmosphere of the spirit, and like a skylark, establish an abiding link 
between the mundane life on earth and the free and untarnished spiritual
haven. All religions are Theirs and yet none binds Them, for They place 
before humanity what is sublime in essence at the core of each.

   I am reminded of an episode in the life of Guru Nanak Who, in His long 
travels, once came to the town of Multan, a place greatly reputed for its 
sanctity and, at that time, the abode of so many religious divines, both 
Hindus and Muslims. The latter, fearing that a new addition among them 
might mean a strain on their income from offerings, sent a cup of milk 
bubbling to the brim symbolizing that the place was full to overflowing 
capacity and could not accommodate any more teachers.

   Do you know what Guru Nanak did? He plucked a few jasmine flowers that 
grew nearby, gently placed them on the surface of the milk, and asked the 
cupbearer to take the bowl back to the divines, thus showing that a truly 
religious person could just float over without disturbing the contents of 
the bowl of worldly riches; for His was a purely divine mission, meant 
only to diffuse sweet fragrance to all and sundry, irrespective of caste, 
color, or creed. Thus you will observe the great gulf that separates the 
so-called religious teachers and pontifical heads of the world on the one 
hand, and a truly God-intoxicated Soul on the other; for the latter acts 
as the Divine Pole on which the divinity of the Great Divine, the source 
of all life, works in the tumultuous sea of life. The Master-Soul or 
Murshid-i-Kamil combines in His person all that the scriptures contain and 
much more besides. He is a living embodiment of all that is truly religious
- the spirit lying dormant in others. He is an Awakened Soul, transcending 
time and space and causation, holding the past, present, and future in the 
palm of His hands as an open book - the Master of the creative life impulse
throbbing in all things, visible and invisible, and competent to work
simultaneously on all the planes:  physical or terrestrial, subtle or 
mental, causal or ethereal, and even beyond into the Parbrahmand of the 
Upanishadic texts.

   In His person He is at once a Gurudev or Radiant Master-Soul working 
in the higher supramundane planes, and a Satguru, the veritable Lord 
controlling and sustaining the universe itself in all its stages. He is 
in fact the Word made flesh and dwells among us to lead the aspiring souls 
gradually back to the Eternal Home of His Father, from plane to plane with 
varying degrees of density. His teachings promise a practical Way Out from 
the dense matter into the pure sunshine of the spirit by means of the Word 
Power or the Holy Ghost, manifesting in Him and revealed to those whom He 
may so choose.  His is a direct experience of the soul, unlike the so-
called teachers who work on the intellectual plane and quote scriptures in 
support of what they preach. In the case of a True Master, the scriptures 
come as handy aids to correctly explain and interpret the mystic experience  
of the soul in its journey Homeward, in addition to the actual practical 
inner experience granted to the individuals, leaving no room for doubt and
skepticism. All our present knowledge is based on sense perception or is 
derived from intellectual reasoning or, in other words, is purely 
inferential. The knowledge that a genuine teacher imparts is direct and 
immediate, coming from an actual experience of the soul apart from the 
senses. His words, coming directly charged with the spirit currents surging 
within Him, sink directly into the souls of the listeners, leaving no doubt 
about the whys and wherefores of things.

   When Naren (as Swami Vivekananda was known as a boy before coming in 
contact with His angelic Guru, Paramhansa Ramakrishna) questioned his 
Master as to whether He had seen God, the reply was, "Yes, my child, I have 
seen God, and more plainly than I see you." This had an electrifying effect 
on the young man, who then and there bowed at His feet and was given the 
necessary God experience. In the same way, my Master, Hazur Maharaj Baba 
Sawan Singh Ji, once remarked that He had not only seen God Himself, but 
could make others see as well, if they followed His instructions.

   It was not an empty assurance when St. John declared, "If the son 
(Jesus Christ) shall make ye free, ye shall be freed indeed;" for had not 
Christ said, "I am the Light of the world; he that followeth me shall not 
walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life"?
     
     
   "Religious experience," Plotinus says, "is the finding of the true home 
by the exile" (i.e., the exiled spirit); and language has no means of 
conveying the supersensuous  experience of the mystics. As light comes from 
light, so does life from life; for mysticism, which is described as "the 
core of religion," can hardly be taught, though it may be possible to 
catch it from a true mystic.

   "The human understanding," says Bacon, "is like a false mirror, which, 
receiving rays, irregularly distorts and discolors the nature of things 
by mingling its own nature with it." But "there is a direct communication 
between mystery and mystery, between the unknown soul and the unknown 
Reality, (and it is) at one particular point in the texture of life (that) 
the hidden truth seems to break through the veil." (Middleton Murray)

   From the foregoing it is clear that the Science of the Soul is purely 
an experimental science. It is more positive than any of the physical 
sciences and yields results which are truly verifiable with mathematical 
accuracy. "An all-knowing mind," it is said, "embraces the totality of 
Being under the aspect of Eternity. As we gain our entrance into the world 
of Being, a total vision is ours."

   With these few preliminary remarks, we take a hymn from the 
compositions of Swami Shivdayal Singh Ji. Please hear attentively and 
try to understand the basic concept of Spirituality which it conveys.

                
                O Man! Why don't you hurry to follow
                   the Guru?
                The earthly time allotted to us so far
                   has passed away in delusion.


In the opening verse of the hymn, we have a sketch of the human life as 
ordinarily spent in idle pursuits. The Master is addressing humanity at 
large, all the embodied souls: Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, or 
persons belonging to any other denomination, wherever they may happen to 
be, and of whatever profession or avocation. He asks us just to pause, 
look around, and take stock of the situation as to how we have fared until 
now. With one mighty sweep, He tells us that all our past life up to this 
moment has been spent in utter delusion and is a dead loss so far as it 
has gone. We have never cared to weigh the problem of our spiritual 
emancipation, and whatever little we seem to have been doing is all at the 
level of our own man made religious beliefs, which, though helpful to a 
great extent, are not an end in themselves.

   If you look at suffering humanity, you will find that it is only a very 
small minority which has anything to do with spiritual enlightenment. The 
majority of people are groping in the dark and are wholly engaged in the 
gratification of their sensual desires and have no time to attend to their 
Self and the Overself. It is only rare souls who, due to the evolution of 
some noble Karmas in the past, think of finding a way out from the 
labyrinthine depths of sense-enjoyments and yearn for spiritual 
enlightenment.

   Fortunate are those blessed few who have a craving for the Lord and the 
Master and endeavor in this direction. When fire burns, oxygen comes to its 
aid. There is food for the hungry and water for the thirsty. These words 
are for the chosen few who have been blessed with the rare boon of right 
understanding. So the Master says that we have cared little for following 
the instructions of the Guru. You will feel alarmed from such a sweeping 
generalization, but it is a fact; and you will understand how it is so. You 
see, it is the Guru Who first loved us and picked us up for acceptance into 
the Holy Path, putting us in contact with the saving lifelines within.

   Now we are to see to what extent we have accepted the sacred teachings 
of the Master and adopted them into our workaday life, and to what extent we  
have cared to follow His commandments. It is a matter of personal evaluation. 
Each one of us is the best judge for oneself and can testify to the extent 
he has succeeded and what remains to be accomplished. So, like a loving
Father, the Master reminds us to consider this momentous issue of our life 
dispassionately, and see why we are not true to the Guru and to ourselves.  
He tells us that the time passed so far has been spent in vain, and it is 
exactly so. If you carefully review your past, you will find that you were 
for all these years under the spell of a long dream. Similarly, when the 
hour of final change, commonly known as death, comes, the entire life looks 
like a fearful nightmare. Each passing moment is hurrying us toward this
final change. The Masters have always laid stress on the necessity of making 
the best use of the physical existence, which is the highest rung in the 
ladder of creation. Should we once miss this rare opportunity, we will once 
again find ourselves in the endlessly moving gyres of life; and who knows 
when this opportunity may come again? So the present life is the best suited 
opportunity for the achievement of spiritual emancipation.

           
                Wife, children, friends are the thieves who
                  rob us of everything.
                Why are you sleeping among them?


Swami Ji Maharaj pulls us out of a sense of deep stupor and awakens us to 
the naked reality of the great illusion. He tells us that if an honest 
person happens to be among pickpockets, there is every possibility of his 
being robbed. As we are all sleeping soundly in the company of cutthroats, 
how can we be safe? Now, who are these dangerous miscreants? They are no 
other than one's children and kith and kin, the loving relations to whom we 
are so devotedly attached all the time. You may be a little surprised to
hear this. Just think calmly for a moment. If a dacoit comes and takes away 
all our goods, yet we are saved. Another comes and plunders everything and 
also breaks our legs, and we are still saved. The third one comes and takes 
away our life as well. Who is the most dangerous of all these? Surely the 
third one.

   Our children and other dear ones always command our attention, which is 
the outward expression of our soul. They keep us always engaged in one form 
or another and leave us no time for the spiritual way, so they are the most 
dangerous dacoits in this form. Does this mean that we have to leave our 
hearths and homes and lead the life of a recluse in the jungle? No, it is 
not so.

   Please realize that it is your inner craving and fondness that keeps you 
bound hand and foot, as it were, to your dear ones; and this attachment or 
infatuation makes you worried and miserable all the time. You see, the very 
ties of affection which should be a source of happiness become fetters of 
bondage, as you are always in the grip of fears which, to say the least, 
are imaginary and baseless. The heart, as you know, is the seat of the Lord 
God. It is an asset entrusted to us for a higher purpose of life, viz., 
self knowledge and God-knowledge.
     
   Where the heart goes, everything follows on its own.  So herein the 
Master warns us against our attention being directed always toward our 
worldly relationships, which always cause distraction and disturbance. You  
know very well that the impediments which stand in the way of the child 
disciple and recklessly intrude upon him in the precious moments of holy
meditation are the family ties that drag us down, again and again, from the 
seat of the soul, the eye focus. We have, of course, to live in the world, 
yet in a completely detached manner, just as a lotus flower, which grows 
out of mud, holds its head aloft and above the muddy pond, retaining its 
pristine purity.

   Similarly, we are to attend to the mundane duties entrusted to our care 
without being concerned with the worries and cares of our relations who, 
apart from us, are sufficiently protected by the gracious Master Power.

   You can very well understand it by a simple example. A man traveling in 
a train has a box beside him on the berth. Now, both the man and his box 
are being carried by the train. If the man were to put the box on his head, 
he would surely be a fool, for he would break his neck for nothing. This is 
exactly the state of affairs with the worldly wise. We generally lack faith 
in the gracious Master Power and unnecessarily create problems for our
bondage as, otherwise, everything would progress smoothly in the well 
established Divine Plan. You might well have noticed that disturbed waters 
do not reflect. Always try to resign your precious little self in favor of 
the gracious Master Power, while sitting in your holy meditations, and 
thereby prepare a receptive ground for the inner Divine Grace to descend 
within you and fill you in abundance.

                
                Why, O Man! do you not think gravely?
                The world is truly not lasting but
                  impermanent.


Here again another divine fundamental has been expounded. It has a very deep 
significance. The Master says: Know ye for certain that the great panorama 
of life is constantly changing and that the world is surely an illusion; 
for after all, it is not a place for permanent living. The scriptures also 
echo the same thing: "Lead us from the unreal to the Real, from falsehood to 
Truth, and from darkness to Light."

   We usually do not pay heed to these sacred scriptural truths. But the 
Master, Who is a liberated Being and stands aloof and apart from the world, 
does see that everything in the world is constantly changing, and nothing 
is stable and steady. You can understand it from a simple illustration.

   A man standing on a river bank sees some people drifting downstream in a 
rudderless boat. The man standing on the bank can see vividly that the boat 
and the persons therein are going downstream and cries out for help so as 
to save them. The people sitting in the boat cannot see the person on the 
shore and look at the boat and the water around it, which are moving at the 
same speed and so seem to be stationary. They remain unconcerned and
continue with their idle pleasures in which they are fully engrossed.

   This is exactly the state of affairs in which we are. We are ensouled 
bodies and are identified with the body so much so that we consider 
ourselves as bodies. Our bodies and the world are made of matter, which is 
changing at the same speed. As the particles of the world and the bodies 
are changing at the same speed, to those who behave at the level of the 
body, the world appears as stationary. Thus the learned and the unlearned 
both are under a grand delusion.

   The worldly wise do not care to pay heed to the gospel of the Master 
Who, like a person standing aloof, is witnessing the drama of human havoc 
as vividly as we see each other; but the people at large fail to respond 
to His compassionate call. So the Master affirms with conviction that this 
place is not the place of permanent abode for your soul, but a halfway 
house for a limited period assigned to you for the higher purpose of  
spiritual perfection. If you will view things from this lofty viewpoint, 
you will find that our life so far has been as futile as anything. It is a
matter of deep concern for each one of us, and we must assess the position 
carefully before it gets too late in the day and we are forced to fight a 
losing game.

           
                Mind is a great stupid, stuck fast to
                  the outer attachments.
                How can it be disentangled?


Step by step the Master is opening up new vistas of right understanding by  
telling us what the root cause of this misconception is. He says that it 
is foolish for the human mind to be attached to outer fancies, infatuated 
by the colorful shell, and caring little for the sweet kernel within. The 
mind may be likened to a parasitical plant which has no roots of its own, 
but draws its sustenance from the host tree to which it tenaciously holds.  
In exactly the same way, the mind in itself has no separate existence per 
se, but is a sheer projection of one's mental make-up and is inextricably 
mixed up with the sense objects through the senses. It, at its lowest level, 
is bound to the body, while at its other end - the highest level - it is 
subtle enough to draw its sustenance from the soul.

   Herein lies a great gulf between the ideologies of the East and the 
West. The Western psychologists regard the mind as a nonentity, while the  
Eastern sages accept it as something substantial, an important link between 
the body and the soul, which has in the nature of things a divine function 
to perform. Like fire, it is a good servant but a bad master. It is a very 
good link between the physical and the astral worlds. If you can own your
mind and master it and learn to harness its faculties, it will serve you 
best. Just look at the great scientists, scholars, and other intellectuals 
who have achieved laurels in their respective fields.

   But they could benefit still further from mastery of the mind if they 
could but learn the sacred technique of self analysis and withdrawal of the 
sensory currents from the body. Here you will certainly agree with Swami Ji, 
Who says that the human mind is gravely foolish in having fallen prey to 
outer sense enjoyments and is endlessly entangled in worry and misery. You 
know that the mind at present resents inner silence and stillness, as it 
has a tendency to roam about without for aeons and aeons without end. You 
can keep it engaged in outer pursuits for hours at a time; but when you 
attempt inner silence and stillness, it cries out and runs riot like a 
little baby locked in a dark cell, who shrieks, cries, and knocks to get 
out.
     
   Now, if the baby were provided with some sweets to eat and toys with 
which to play, it would stop crying. Exactly similar is the case with the 
human mind.

   The living Master holds the key into the Beyond; and when He provides 
the child disciple with the inner links of divinity which carry him into  
higher regions, the latter gets a feeling of satisfaction. You know that 
the inner bliss is supreme and unrivaled. There is nothing like it on 
earth; but alas! the mind is so much intoxicated with the lust for woman, 
wine, and wealth that it fails to see and comprehend the greatness of 
spiritual beatitude within. But patient and persistent efforts to keep 
the mind still will gradually unlock the treasures of divinity within you 
with the grace of the Master. Always be buoyant and fresh when you sit for
meditation and wait patiently, like a loving baby looking up into the eyes 
of the nursing mother.

          
                Without the Guru, you cannot curb the
                  ramifications of the mind.
                Thousands of ways were tried, but
                  with no success.


Having described the sad state of affairs, Swami Ji pities the abject 
condition of the foolish mind, since it does not know how it can become 
liberated from the clutches of the senses. In the first place, it is 
foolishly clinging to the sense pleasures; and secondly, having lost all 
power of resistance, it is easily led on from one false step to another.

   The Master says that the mind, with all kinds of endeavors, cannot 
possibly break through without the grace of the Satguru. The mind is now 
so much caught in the whirlwinds of passion that it can hardly think of 
liberation. You see, if a tightly stretched wire is struck, however 
lightly, it continues vibrating for a long time. Exactly similar is the 
case with the mind.

   Inextricably caught in the meshes of sensual gratification, it knows no 
rest. It is through the good grace of the Master if one is led to the 
knowledge of his utter helplessness. It has been seen that after Initiation, 
when the dear ones have meditated regularly for some time, that they become 
aware of this state of utter destitution. So you will agree that daily 
introspection of one's lapses and shortcomings is very necessary for 
weeding them out, one by one.
     
   The emphasis on maintaining the diary prescribed for the purpose has a  
much deeper significance than is realized. Spirituality is not something 
difficult to achieve; but it requires a proper receptivity of mind, willing 
cooperation to abide by the Holy Commandments, and patient effort in the 
right direction. Far from being difficult, it is just a simple change - 
and that for the better. Just as a baby becomes quiet and feels happy with 
its toys and sweets, similarly the mind, when it obeys and introverts, will 
be blessed with inner unalloyed bliss and harmony with the grace of the 
Master. It must, however, be remembered that it is complete self surrender  
to the Master within that will create loving receptivity.

           
                To control the mind, contact the 
                  Naam, O friend!
                This you will have by inverting inside
                  and waiting there patiently.


After describing the manifold diseases of the mind, the Master now comes to 
our rescue in offering the tried remedy. With deep compassion, He tells us 
to accept and pin our faith on the Holy Naam granted by the Satguru. This 
Naam or Word is the God-into-Expression Power described variously by the 
sages as the Comforter or the Holy Spirit, Kalm-i-Qadim or Bang-i-Ilahi, 
Naad, Sarosha, or the Voice of the silence. It is the Audible Life Stream,
the life-giving Voice of the living God, creating and sustaining the
universe. The lowest link of this divinity already existing within each 
one of us is manifested or revealed to the child disciple upon Initiation 
into the mysteries of the Beyond, and can be developed to any extent one 
may like by practice from day to day. Now the Master tells us how to 
develop this Divine Power or Naam. He says that by austere patience and 
deep gratitude one should sit within and look ahead in front of him for 
the Divine Grace.

   Please note that you have neither to create anything, nor premeditate, 
nor visualize; but simply keep on looking lovingly within, in the middle 
of whatever you see in front of you between the two eyebrows, and mentally 
repeat the charged names which carry with them the life impulse of the 
Master.

   Just see how simple and easy it looks, but it requires much perseverance 
and steadfastness for attaining proficiency on the Path. You are simply to 
maintain a reverential silence within for enjoying the full fruits of the 
Divine Grace, which will manifest Itself in great abundance. Please note 
that if you call at the door of some rich man and wait regularly for some 
days continuously, he will one day surely ask from you the purpose of your 
daily calls on him. It is but a worldly example; and if you mentally wait 
at the celestial door of Divinity, accurately and with firm patience and 
all humility, don't you think that He will respond to your supplications?  
Most surely He will. You just wait patiently and see within.

           
                Wait with complete surrender to receive
                  the Will of the Lord;
                Whatever He will do will be in your
                  best interests.


Systematically, just like a shrewd architect laying brick by brick in the 
spiritual edifice, Swami Ji admonishes us for our betterment that we must 
develop patience and inner perseverance and learn to surrender completely 
to the Divine Will and pleasure, taking all events as they come as in our 
best spiritual interests.

   You know that we are constantly being torn between two false dragons, 
one of which is the past, and the other the future. Very few are fortunate 
enough to rest their oars and devote their wholehearted attention to the 
problems that face them in the living present. The majority of people are  
obsessed either with irretrievable happenings in the past or imaginary 
fears ahead in the unknown future.

   Both these occupations, you will admit, are useless and a sheer waste 
of time. The past is dead and buried; and repentance, though good in itself, 
cannot cure or undo it, while the future is chiefly based upon the reactions 
of the past karmas and is affected to a great extent by what we are doing 
in the living present. So, if we take care to live an honorable and honest 
life in the living present, abiding by the Holy Commandments of the sages 
and seers, there should be little to worry about for the past and nothing
to become anxious about for the future.

   We must, therefore, pay proper heed to the sowing and not to the 
harvesting, for the harvest will come of its own from the seeds sown. Guru 
Nanak has beautifully said: "It may be all very well to worry about events 
contrary to the Divine Plan, but what is destined will happen in spite of 
us." Learn the sacred technique of doing one thing at a time, with one-
pointed, wholehearted and undivided attention. In this way you will 
accomplish much more in less time and with far less effort. So the Master 
tells us that all we need to care about is our spiritual perfection, and 
to take the routine round of the fated karmas as exactly what we need for 
soul emancipation. In this way we will cultivate a state of perpetual
contentment which will be helpful in holy meditations.

           
                Your intellect is misdirected and
                The vicious mind grows worse.


The Master once again reminds us that mind is very wicked and tricky, for 
it will not readily accept the gospel of the Guru, however reasonable it 
may be. Knowing full well that we cannot avoid the decrees of heaven by 
any amount of wishful thinking, the mind continues planning and maneuvering 
otherwise. Our intellect, finite and limited as it is, cannot possibly 
comprehend the subtle activities of the mind which goes on thinking 
endlessly. The only remedy for taming the hydra-headed mind is that of the 
Holy Naam. By contacting the Sound Current and heaven's Holy Light within, 
it becomes docile and forgets everything else around it. This is the 
sovereign remedy for all the ills of the world, a panacea that cures all 
diseases of the body and mind. By administering to it regular doses of 
the Celestial Music emanating from the Throne of God, the mind gets rid of 
the lower propensities and begins to enjoy and take delight in the higher 
ravishing bliss of Divine Intoxication, which is the greatest gift of the 
Master. Never agree to the dictates of the mind, as it has a hundred and 
one ways to keep you stuck fast in the physical body and the terrestrial 
plane.

   Victory over the mind is victory over the world. You have been granted 
a yardstick for measuring your spiritual attainments in the form of an 
introspective diary, and you can surely judge things for yourself and see 
how far you have advanced on the Path.

           
                You cannot understand the mystery,
                As you are stuck fast in delusion.


Now, the Master conveys to us another sublime truth by telling us that we 
have been caught in the spider's web, having prepared a vast net of 
attachments and binding ourselves down in the mire of delusion and 
deception. Just like a spider weaving fine threads of its own secretion 
and then getting tangled therein, it is our own mind which has developed 
an unnecessary attachment with the physical body and its allied relations.  
Do you know what is the underlying basis of Maya or delusion? Its roots 
lie in the physical body from where it springs and spreads around like a 
gigantic Upas tree. We readily forget that we are ensouled bodies and not 
merely physical bodies. It is the soul currents which permeate through and
through the physical plane whereby it is enlivened; and they, in turn, get 
their sustenance from a higher life principle known as Naam or Word. So 
long as that Divine Power is working in us, we are alive. As soon as that 
Power is withdrawn, the whole structure collapses like a pack of cards; 
and it is then said, "Dust thou art and unto dust returneth."

   Besides, in our daily talk and behavior we are sensible enough to say, 
"my turban," "my shoe," "my coat" - because we can take off these things 
as and when we will it. Yet in actual practice, we have never realized that 
we have the power to take off this physical raiment around our soul. Where  
the world philosophies end, there true religion starts. The Master grants 
this unique experience of life-in-death by making us rise above body-
consciousness. This singular power of revealing the lifelines within
differentiates the Living Master from all other teachers. Feelings, 
emotions, and inferences arrived at on the intellectual level are all 
subject to error; seeing is above all. When you see for yourself that you 
are the indweller of the physical house and not the dwelling house itself, 
which you tenaciously believed up to now, your angle of vision is 
altogether changed; and you begin to see everything with a different 
vision. It is the reflection of your own soul current which, when attached 
to anything, gives you a feeling of pleasure or enjoyment. For example:  
you are sitting in an opera house enjoying the show along with others 
sitting around you. The play is on, and everybody is immersed in the 
so-called pleasure. All of a sudden a messenger comes to the hall and breaks
the news to you that your son has accidentally fallen off the roof and is 
lying unconscious.

   In spite of this harrowing news, the play is going on as it was, but 
your attention is distracted: you are overtaken by sorrow on account of 
your great attachment to your dear son lying hurt, with the result that 
the same delightful show which so much engrossed your attention is now 
insipid and void of all pleasure.
     
   This shows that the pleasure was not inherent in the show, but was just 
the reflection of your own single-minded attention which you had bestowed 
on it. This very principle works everywhere and at all times. The Master 
knows it and sees it working as vividly as we see each other. Now He comes 
to our rescue and tells us to bind our attention with something which is of
a permanent nature, and enjoy everlasting happiness or bliss. All that we 
see with the aid of our physical eyes is in a perpetual state of flux and 
is constantly changing in form and color.

   The Master points out the still point within us which is at the eye 
focus, and grants us the charged names for consolidating our outgoing 
sensory currents at this center, so as to attune ourselves with the 
perennial source of divine ecstasy already existing within but lost in the 
out-of-bounds recesses of the mind. It is this Unwritten Law and Unspoken 
Language which are manifested and revealed to the child disciple, enabling 
him to live a life of perpetual bliss under the protective guidance of the 
Master. This is the secret of all spiritual success, and He directs that all
efforts should be put forth for recapturing this inner Vocal Silence or 
Radiant Sound at the seat of the soul, now lying smothered under the dead 
weight of mind and matter. So it is of the utmost importance for us to 
understand the great mystery of the living lifelines which the Master 
graciously reveals to we who are lost in utter bondage within the manifold 
limitations of the physical body and its correlated attachments.

           
                Know ye for certain and have full faith:
                There is no true sympathizer other than
                  the Master.


Now the Master exhorts us: it is on this score that you should pin your 
deep faith in the competence of the Master, which is unique and unrivaled.  
Nobody can adequately help you release yourself from this state of sheer 
helplessness and utter hopelessness. Those who are obedient and devoted 
within grow strong in faith when they see for themselves that the Master 
is all in all here and hereafter. We know with His grace that the Master 
is the Word personified (Word made flesh), and it is through His Will that 
the Holy Naam or the God-into-Expression Power is revealed and made 
manifest. We should always look to the Master to guide us within, as 
nobody else can. It is, therefore, of great importance that we should be 
constantly aligned with the Master and owe lasting allegiance to Him, and 
not allow anybody to come between Him and ourselves. All the brothers and 
sisters in faith should lovingly cooperate for this highest purpose of 
life and in no way allow themselves to be distracted by anybody - however 
apparently he may look to be highly evolved or developed. It is an 
undivided affectionate obedience which stirs the ocean of compassion and
mercy within; and the gracious Master extends His kindly protection and 
timely help to the child disciple, whether he knows it or not.

          
                Look devotedly at the door 
                  of the Master,
                And fasten your attention on the
                  Sound Current coming therefrom.


Here is discussed the technique of introversion. The Master tells us to 
look at the door of the Master within at the eye focus, and attune the 
soul with the Holy Sound Current coming therefrom by complete absorption 
and single-minded devotion. The inner Light and Sound should be looked at 
and listened to with rapt attention. The heavenly melody, when listened to 
in this way, will grow stronger, ultimately come from above, and drag you 
up into the Beyond. You may well ask why the Shabd Dhun (the Sound Current) 
does not exert that magnetic pull now. It is so simple. You know that iron 
filings when put near a magnet are at once attracted to it; but if some 
earth is placed between them and the magnet, or if the filings themselves 
are covered with rust, the magnet, though lying close, is unable to attract 
them. Similar is the case with the soul, which is not yet wholly freed from 
the entanglements of mind and matter. The Sound Current grants it a 
treatment which is at once curative and constructive. It is a constant 
cleansing process, for which the time factor is a necessary must. It is by 
constant and patient practice that we learn to bind our attention to the 
Holy Naam within; and once it learns to ride the Sound Current, it is 
carried in no time to higher spiritual regions.

           
                Without the Shabd, there is no way
                  to be extricated from the
                  entanglements of the body.


The Naam is the only tried approach which can take us out of the quicksands 
of delusion. You have seen that all human efforts at the intellectual level 
or the senses cannot help us to rise above body-consciousness and become 
attuned with the Holy Word. The Shabd Itself is the divine principle which 
alone can release us from the meshes of mind and matter. All past Masters 
bear testimony to this great Truth. Swami Ji Himself has dealt with the 
same theme elsewhere in His writings, saying, "Besides the Holy Word 
there is no way through which you get a release from the limitations of 
the physical body" - Shabd being the only tried medicine which has been 
found highly efficacious in granting you spiritual emancipation.

           
                Therefore take the key from the Master
                And open the closed door to receive the
                  Sound Current.


Swami Ji once again stresses the importance of the Master Who holds the key 
which opens the Way into the Beyond. He says that this is why I again advise 
you to open the door within by taking the key from the Master Who will 
reveal to you the Sound Current. Here the physical body is described as a 
prison house which is locked by Providence. You see, there are nine 
openings or doors in the body citadel, and yet the imprisoned soul cannot 
escape. There is some Power within which is controlling and sustaining it.
The tenth door, which opens into the Beyond, is locked by the Creator. For 
opening the locked house, you have to look for the owner of the house; He 
is no other than God Himself. No one else can grant you an ingress into 
the Beyond. It is the same God Power, working on some chosen human pole 
known as the Living Master, Who opens the great prison door blocking your 
way. Ordinarily, we fail to appreciate the grandeur and greatness of the
Master, Who compassionately rends asunder the golden gate blocking the way 
to your divine heritage within when, at the preliminary sitting at 
Initiation, He grants you a glimpse thereof and provides you with a means 
of finding your way inside.

   It is the climax of Divine Grace when one is accepted and initiated by 
the Master. Those of you who are privileged to invert within with His Grace 
know for yourselves what supreme bliss has been bestowed upon you. The 
Master is Master, indeed, for all times and for all climes; and the 
growing child disciple is gradually blessed with the sacred boon of right 
understanding, as by loving obedience and humble supplication he goes 
ahead and makes his way from plane to plane in company with his Radiant 
Companion.

            
                Thus enter the mansion of the Lord
                  by becoming devoted to the Master;
                For such a one there is no "no admission"
                  into it.


The Gurumukh - the true disciple of the Master - will be blessed with 
this inner inversion, as there is nothing to prevent him from entering the 
eternal Home of the Father: he has got the passport in the form of the 
sacred charged Names, and he is obedient to the Will of the Master. You 
should know that Gurumukh is a very important term in the terminology of 
the Masters. Gurumukh means "Guru's mouthpiece" just as St. Paul said, 
"It is l, not now I, but Christ Who lives in me."

   It is by complete surrender to the inner Master in His Radiant Form that 
one becomes a Guruman or Gurumukh. The astral planes within are infested 
with much subtle Maya, wherein there are numerous obstacles for the soul, 
if it is not granted the protective guidance of the Master Power.

   You know there are various organizations everywhere engaged in the 
pursuit of their mental satisfaction and claiming to be spiritualists. They 
do not know that what they are professing and promising to their followers 
is all deceptive illusion and liable to further enmesh the soul. The 
Negative Power has a vast dominion engulfing the first three planes, and 
those who happen to fall prey to the allurements of their mind - subtle or 
causal - are caught in finer fetters or bondages. The Masters of the 
Highest Order Who came in the past have left behind some useful treasures
in the form of Their precious experiences for our guidance so that we may 
safely tread in Their footsteps. Complete inner inversion for meeting the 
Radiant Form of the Master  within in all consciousness is the threshold 
of the inner journey. A disciplined initiate is, in due course, blessed 
with this rare privilege; and then the Radiant Form of the Master takes 
charge of the pilgrim soul in its onward journey.

           
                Those who are devoted to their own minds
                  and are given up to the senses
                Fail to rise above body-consciousness
                  in spite of all their efforts.


Those who are led by their mind impulses are known as manmukhs. Such 
persons cannot rise above the body-consciousness. They do try from time 
to time, but they always keep their minds above the Master, with the result 
that time and again they fall helplessly. If they could pin their deep 
faith in the competence of the Master and rely less on their own 
intellectual reasoning, they could be blessed with this rare privilege 
of inner inversion and enjoy the supreme bliss.

            
                They do not stick to the Master's behests;
                How can He make them understand?
                They will not give up the lead of the mind,
                But prefer to find fault with the Master.


Such dear ones cannot achieve inner stillness and silence. The Master tries 
to make them understand in one way or the other, but they are so filled 
and intoxicated with their mental merchandise that they fail to comprehend 
the greatness and sublimity of the Holy Path. Please understand that the 
mind has its various grooves to which it clings fast. Basically, it is 
only when we try to sit silently that we come to know where the shoe 
pinches. The alphabet of Spirituality commences with inner silence, which  
necessarily requires solitude and seclusion. It is only during these sacred
moments of silence that we can understand the basic principles of
Spirituality and imbibe their right import.

   The Negative Power puts two strong impediments in the way which are 
encountered by initiates. First, the mind will always be doubtful about 
the efficacy of meditation; and we will start missing the meditation and 
get devoted to alternate pursuits: mere routine readings of the scriptures, 
etc. Secondly, it will bring forth the argument that there is no more need 
for him or her to call on the Master, as Initiation per se is sufficient 
for proceeding on the way back to the home of our Father. Complacency 
retards inner progress. We are living on a plane which is governed by the
Negative Power and where the inexorable Law of Karma works supreme. The 
mind is the agent of this Negative Power and one way or another it will 
entangle you and keep you tied to the many limitations of the body and 
worldly possessions. Such a skeptical mind, instead of doing anything 
useful, will find fault with the Master and the Path.
           
           
                They would not live up to the instructions
                  of the Master -
                How could they derive spiritual benefit?
                They toss about under the control of Yama.


Here the Master reveals the naked truth which ordinary people will not be 
able to understand. He tells us that the manmukhs, or those governed by 
their deluded minds, will not believe in the words of the Master and will 
not adapt themselves to His teachings. Such a course of life will 
eventually culminate in misery at the final hour of death, when they will 
have to accompany the angel of death known as Yama or Yamraj. The initiates 
of the Living Master have a rare privilege, for they are granted Divine 
protection at the time of their final exit from the world. Such 
disciplined souls are greeted at the last moment by the Radiant Form of 
the Master, Who escorts them into the inner planes for further progress 
on the Path as may be necessary for each individual. There are many
living instances of those leaving the earth plane for good who bore
testimony to the Master's presence and made a happy transition, with His 
Grace.

            
            
                Radhasoami says, Hear ye all:
                Make friends with the mind and
                   go your way.


In conclusion, Swami Ji gives us wise counsel: the mind is undoubtedly 
our enemy and is too superior in strength to be annihilated. It is an 
innovation introduced by Swami Ji to make friends with the mind, which is 
an agent of the Negative Power and, in its present state, an enemy of the 
soul. Instead of fighting with it right and left and to no purpose, we 
should make the best use of the mind in a friendly way. You know that mind 
has a tendency to tread on beaten tracks; that is, it creates grooves of
habit and mechanically acts in a repetitive manner. Just see for yourself:  
if you do something at a fixed time and continue doing so for a number of 
days at the same time, a habit is formed; and after some time it will 
become part and parcel of your daily routine.

   So, this is the easiest way of overpowering this powerful idiot, instead 
of fighting with it outright in an unequal struggle. We can turn this 
weakness to our advantage by devoting regular time to the holy meditations, 
at a fixed time, with religious zeal and punctuality. It will be seen that 
after some time the inner revelations will arm you with something far 
superior; and the mind itself, which used to resent inversion, will start 
relishing it and gradually give up its past pleasures. The Master gives us 
a positive approach for the solution of this riddle, which becomes so easy 
and interesting to solve if we make a friendly alliance with the mind
instead of making it an inveterate foe.

   Swami Shivdayal Singh Ji was a Master in the nineteenth century, and the 
term Radhasoami was coined by His beloved disciple, Rai Saligram Ji, Who 
succeeded Him at Agra. In His original writings, Swami Ji concluded each 
composition of His with the words Satguru Soami or Sahib Soami, meaning 
the True Master and Lord, or the Overlord of All, as used by Tulsi Sahib, 
Who was His older contemporary. But later on Rai Saligram Ji, Who was a
God-intoxicated sage, gave out the name Radhasoami, meaning "Lord of the 
Soul," and made an addition to the many Names of the Nameless One. This 
Name was substituted for the original Names in the sacred scriptures. So 
it is for your information and guidance that "Radhasoami Faith" is no new 
religion, but a new term given out by Swami Shivdayal Singh Ji's followers.  
It is in essence nothing more nor less than the age old Science of the 
Soul, and is being kept and maintained in its original pristine glory
through the sacred forum of the Ruhani Satsang.

   Herewith I conclude my talk and wish you one and all Godspeed on the 
Inner Path of Spirituality. Love God, love all mankind and creation, and 
love one another. You have love for me, and I have love for you. If you 
love me, keep  my commandments. My love and best wishes go to you all, 
wherever you happen to be.  Thank you.

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