From jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca Mon May 31 04:48:40 1999
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: "Godman" - Kirpal Singh (10/10)
From: jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca (James Shannon)
Date: 31 May 1999 11:48:40 GMT





                                 GODMAN

                                   by

                              KIRPAL SINGH

                               [Part 10]




                             CHAPTER THIRTY

                        THE WORDS OF THE MASTER 


          WHEN A PERSON comes to a Master, he must come
        with an open-minded outlook. Since he knows that all
        his actions hitherto, individual as well as social,
        have not so far secured him salvation, he should bid
        goodbye to them and ask the Master for his instructions
        in the matter of spiritual practices.

          Having obtained his instructions, he must then follow
        them scrupulously, and that alone should constitute his
        sole devotion. Whatever the Master ordains, that must
        be taken as Gospel truth, no matter whether it stands the
        test of mere human reason or not. Our intellect and our
        reason, after all, are limited and cannot reach the depths
        to which the Master penetrates. He knows the why and
        wherefore of his instructions, and like a fully responsible
        Field Marshal issues his commands.

          We must therefore learn to obey him implicitly like a
        true soldier, and do what he bids. Hafiz, in this context,
        says:

                Dye thy prayer carpet in wine if thy Master
                  so desires;
                For he is not ignorant of the turns of the
                  highway ahead.

        Mere lip loyalty to the Master never pays. The Master
        wants full devotion to what he says, for therein lies the
        ultimate good of the disciple. In the Gospel it is
        emphatically declared:

                If ye love me, keep my commandments.
                                                JOHN 14:15

                But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers
                  only, deceiving your own selves.
                                                JAMES 1:22

        Again, mere chatter about spirituality will be of no avail.

                The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses'
                  seat:... but do not ye after their works:
                  for they say, and do not.
                                                MATTHEW 23:2-3

                For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in
                  power.
                                                I CORINTHIANS 4:20

        As the body without the soul is a dead carcass, so talking,
        if it be alone, is a dead carcass. St. Paul says:

                Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
                  angels, and have not love, I am become as
                  sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
                                                I CORINTHIANS 13:1

        The same may be said of darshan or having a look at the
        Master. It may give you temporary peace and quietness
        of mind, but the moment you go away the mind begins
        to run riot again, and reigns supreme over body and soul.

          Thus, nothing but doing and performance count on
        the Path of the Masters. The Master's words sink deep
        into the heart; one can hardly think of not following
        him.

                If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you,
                  ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done
                  unto you.
                Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear
                  much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
                                                JOHN 15:7-8

                Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
                                                MATTHEW 7:20

                But he that received seed into the good ground
                  is he that heareth the word, and understandeth
                  it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth
                  forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
                  thirty.
                                                MATTHEW 13:23

        The world is compared to a harvest (Matthew 13:30)
        and men at harvest regard nothing but the fruit.

                Accept the Master's words as Gospel truth,
                  and harvest well the Fruit of Life.

        The words of the Master cannot be detached from the
        Master. It is from the abundance of the heart that the
        tongue speaks. The Master is embedded in the Word
        and his words are expressions of what is in him; that is,
        Word, Life-impulse, and power. How then can the two
        be separated from each other? His words undoubtedly
        pierce through the hearts of the aspirants and none other
        can know the sweet pangs from which they suffer.

                As longing for the Lord grew keen, words of
                  the Master pierced my heart; the mind alone
                  knows the pangs; who else can know another's
                  pangs?

        The more one gives weight to the Master's words, the
        more he grows in grace. True devotion to the Master
        consists in acceptance of, and doing, what he commands.
        Guru Ram Das exhorts us that the thought of the Master
        should ever be a companion, no matter what we may
        be doing. The Master is hidden in his words, and his
        words are in fact the real Master.

                Holy is the Word of the Master, and through
                  It one gets the Elixir of Life; for acceptance
                  of his words gives one immortal life.
                Remember ever the Word of the Master, for
                  herein lies real devotion and truth.
                Act in conformity to the Master's word; this
                  constitutes contemplation aright.

        The Word of the Master ever abides with the initiates.
        No power on earth can snatch it away. Fire cannot burn
        it nor can water sweep it off. It is indestructible and
        immortal. It fathers the fatherless and protects us at every
        step. It strikes at the root of all doubt and skepticism.
        Even the angel of death cannot come near it.

                Contact Ram Naam through the instructions
                  of the Master;
                This nectar can be enjoyed in the company of
                  Saints;

                Find thy native home with the help of the Master;
                  Then there will be no more coming and going.

        One cannot come into the treasure of Naam by the
        performance of deeds on the plane of the senses.
	All persons no doubt sing and hear the Gurbani, but
        only those benefit from that who really believe in the
        words of the Master as Gospel truth:

                Servants and disciples as they come to the
                  Master
                Chant the holy verses from scriptures divine;
                Chanting and hearing is alone acceptable
                From all who with faith accept the words of
                  the Master.

        Persons who time and again meet the Master come to
        love him more and more; and those who regard his
        words as Truth become beloved of the Lord.

	Whatever the command of the Master may be, it must
        be followed with unswerving zeal; so that you will be
        able to take hold of the Shabd, which will lead you back
        to your native home.

                Whatever the Master says, that ye must do;
                Following the Sound Current, come ye to your
                  own and win for yourself laurels with the
                  help of Naam.

                He who acts at the Master's bidding, true
                  comfort is his reward;
                By following his behests, O Nanak! one
                  fearlessly crosses over.

        It is absolutely necessary to serve the will of the Master,
        for in doing so lies the good of the disciple.

          Many people indeed meet the Satguru, but that is not
        enough. For salvation, one has to obey him in thought,
        word and deed.

                Everyone looks at the Master, yes, the entire
                  world;
                But salvation cannot be had by seeing, without
                  contact with Naam.

        The Master must be an adept in Surat Shabd Yoga and
        be able to make Shabd manifest within us; that Shabd
        which does not exist within the nine portals, but is the
        characteristic of the tenth alone.

          When such a Master has been found, it behooves a
        disciple to wholeheartedly submit himself to his yoke and
        mold himself accordingly. In doing so, he derives the
        greatest benefit from his human birth and renders a
        yeoman's service to his ancestors as well as his
        descendants, and has nothing of which to be afraid.

                Blessed indeed is the birth of those who follow
                  the will of the Master;
                For they save their families and bring much
                  glory to their mother.
                He who molds himself in the way of the Master
                  never gets any ill;
                In his way lies the Pool of Nectar and he easily
                  gets to it.

        A disciple who follows the will of the Master gets the
        Elixir of Life in his own right, and wins the Kingdom of
        God as, his birthright.

                O man! Follow thou the will of thy Master;
                Dwell in thy native home and enjoy life eternal.

        Who understands the will of the Master and follows it
        scrupulously? One in whom the grace of the Lord works.

                In whom the Lord's grace works, he alone
                  accepts and follows the Master's words.

        There is no person greater than one who, accepting the
        words of the Master, realizes God. We must therefore
        aspire for the Word and try to secure a contact with it
        through the Sant Satguru.

                O mind! Always remember the Lord's words;
                He who through Word gains his native home
                  is the crest jewel among men.

        The blessings of Hari Naam are too numerous to be
        recounted. One who becomes dyed in the color of the
        Word always chants the glories of God. All his works
        automatically take the right shape at the right moment.

          What he wishes must happen, for Nature herself is at
        his beck and call. He is freed from all ills and all evils.
        He loses all thoughts of I-ness and my-ness and never
        becomes vainglorious.

          He rises above the pairs of opposites: riches and
        poverty, comforts and discomforts, pleasure and pain, fame
        and obscurity; for he remains in a state serene and with
        equipoise.

          The poison of mind and matter can have no effect on
        him. While in the world, he is no longer of the world,
        but is unattached and carefree; he moves about wherever
        he likes.

          The illusions and delusions of the world do not affect
        him. He escapes the sway of Kal (Time) for time has
        no bondage for him, nor has space any limitations nor
        causation any spell.

          He gains life everlasting and once again wins back the
        Kingdom of God, the Garden of Eden from which he
        was driven because of his first disobedience to God.

          He not only saves his own soul but through the power
        of the Word saves the souls of many others who come
        in contact with him; yes, the souls of his ancestors and
        descendants as well.

          Blessed indeed is a person who has the good fortune
        to come into the fold of a Sant Satguru and thus gains
        the summum bonum of life.


                                   [End]

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              From the Back Cover of GODMAN by Kirpal Singh:


                "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
                 which is in heaven is perfect."

                                                MATTHEW 5:48

          Despite the long story of unfulfilled promise and wasted
        opportunity that is human history, here and there we find
        glimpses of lives that differ from the majority as an oak
        tree differs from an acorn. The ideal and possibility of 
	the Godman - he who has become one with God and is "perfect
        even as his Father in heaven is perfect" - is found in
        all religious and esoteric traditions; and most religions
        derive from the life and teachings of one or more of these
        giants, whose life work consists of demonstrating to us, by
        every available means, that we also have the capacity and,
        in fact, the birthright, to become Godmen.

          As the author points out in his preface, it was his
        privilege to spend twenty-four years at the feet of a genuine
        Godman - Baba Sawan Singh Ji of Beas, India - and this
        book, an exhaustive study of the origin, nature and mission
        of Masters of the Highest Order, based squarely on their
        own sayings and writings, was originally written in the
        days of his discipleship as a supreme act of devotion to
        his Guru. But time has added another dimension to the
        books authority: since Baba Sawan Singh's death in 1948,
        the author has, in obedience to his Guru's instructions,
        been functioning as a great Master himself; so that this
        book is the first of its kind - a complete and full study of
        supreme mystics by one who is himself a supreme mystic....

		
     	                  [End of Part 10 of 10]

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