From jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca Mon May 31 04:32:23 1999
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: "Godman" - Kirpal Singh (5/10)
From: jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca (James Shannon)
Date: 31 May 1999 11:32:23 GMT





                                 GODMAN

                                   by

                              KIRPAL SINGH

                                [Part 5]



                             CHAPTER THIRTEEN

                     MASTER AND THE HOMEGOING OF JIVAS       


          MASTER comes from his spiritual abode to call the
        jivas back home.

                No man can come to me, except the Father
                  which hath sent me draw him.

                                                JOHN 6:44

        Our spirit is exactly of the same essence as God's. Having
        been separated from that ocean of bliss it has become
        imprisoned in the prison-house of body and mind. Saints
        also come down from their spiritual abode to take back
        home such spirits as are prepared for the return journey.

          It is, in fact, God Himself who comes in the garb of
        man to lead the jivas out of the tentacles of the Negative
        Powers, after they have served the period of probation.
        This is the fulfillment of the grand covenant or the
        great law - Man is to be the teacher of man - teaching
        the true redemption, and home-going with rejoicing.

                When the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son
                  of God ... they that hear shall live.

                                                JOHN 5:25

                He who sent thee into the world calls thee
                  back. Return ye to thy native home in Sahaj
                  (beyond the three-fold regions, physical,
                  mental, and causal).

        One with God, they come into this world under His
        behest as His plenipotentiaries to administer His law
        concerned with home-going. This is their noble mission, and
        gracefully they fulfill His purpose. Shamas-i-Tabrez tells
        us about himself:

                Little can you imagine what type of birds we
                  are, and what we keep warbling all the time.
                  We may look to be a beggar, but our actions
                  are more than kingly. We may appear to be
                  poor, but we are richer than the richest
                  mine. When we are king of kings we care
                  not for the brief stay in this prison-house of
                  the world. We are just a pilgrim here, and
                  cannot remain for long. We hold a covenant
                  with the Lord and stand true to our troth.
                  So long as we are in physical raiment we do
                  not get annoyed with anybody nor do we vex
                  another. Like a veritable paradise we are
                  ever filled with kindly light and heavenly
                  grace. Happily do we live with a cheery
                  heart and a smile on our lips.

        Guru Gobind Singh likewise tells us of himself:

                Casting off the duality, I had become one with
                  the Lord. Never did I like to come down
                  again into the world, but it was at His bidding
                  that I had to yield, and I came to fulfill
                  His purpose.

        Kabir Sahib also says:

                Kabir comes from the celestial abode of the
                  Lord and holds a direct commission (instrument
                  of instruction) from Him.

        Again, in the Gospel, we have:

                I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath
                  taught me, I speak these things.

                                                JOHN 8:28

        In Gurbani, we also come across similar references:

                O Lalo! I speak nothing from myself. I simply
                  utter what the Beloved puts into my mouth.

                Poor Nanak opens his mouth only when he is
                  bidden to do so.




                             CHAPTER FOURTEEN

                          MASTER AND HIS MISSION

          MASTER SOULS come into the world out of sheer compassion
        for suffering humanity.

                Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
                  heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

                                                MATTHEW 11:28

        They have of necessity to put on the physical raiment,
        full of impurity as it is, because they have to work on the
        physical plane among human beings.

                God clothed Himself in vile man's flesh, that so
                  He might be weak enough to suffer woe.

                                                JOHN DONNE

        The way in which they come into and go out of the
        world is, however, quite different from ours. They come
        and go of their own free will; while we do so under the
        irresistible force of karmic pressure, just as a prisoner
        would enter a prison under a sentence of penal servitude.
        They come for the benefit of mankind - to grant the
        Life Impulse to such embodied souls as yearn for Life.
        Disembodied and eternally free, they come as Saviours
        of souls.

                They that are whole have no need of the physician,
                  but they that are sick. I came not to
                  call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

                                                MARK 2:17

                Birth and death affect them not, for they come
                  as Saviours for the sinners. By transmitting
                  their own life energy, they transform the
                  disciples into Saints.

        A Master Soul is the greatest benefactor on earth. His
        work is of the highest order. He comes to liberate the
        souls from the vast prison-house of mind and matter, so
        that he may take the exiles back to their glorious home
        and restore them to their rich heritage. A kindly soul
        may direct the prison warden to provide delicious food
        for the prisoners under his charge. Another may grant
        the boon of delicacies to them. A third may order for
        them good clothing and lodging and so on. Each of
        them no doubt may do something to ameliorate their lot
        for the time being.

          But if someone were to throw open the prison gate
        and ask them to escape the squalor and misery of the
        jail, his work would naturally be counted as one far
        excelling the works of others.

          This is exactly the nature of the work of a Master
        Soul. He reveals to us the Lost Kingdom, and restores
        us to Paradise from which Adam and, through him, his
        progeny were driven out for the original disobedience
        to God's Commandment.

          Man had an ignoble fall from the Garden of Eden,
        and none could restore him to the good grace of the
        Father and bring about reconciliation except the Son
        of Man. He takes upon himself the vicarious
        responsibility for the sins of man, purifies him of all
        ignominy and by a transfusion of his own Life Impulse
        makes him arise into cosmic awareness and gain everlasting
        life.

                He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
                  life.

                                                JOHN 3:36





                             CHAPTER FIFTEEN

                           MASTER AND HIS WORK

          MASTER is like a wish-yielding tree. He always grants
        the wishes, whatever they are, of the seekers. The
        rich and the poor, the high and the low: everyone comes
        to him for something. His greatest pleasure, however,
        lies in liberating spirits from the clutches of body and
        mind. Irrespective of his denominational character, he
        attends to the spiritual needs of all.

          He neither creates new "isms" nor does he denounce
        the "isms" in existence. He comes not to break the law,
        but to fulfill the law. All "isms" (spiritual), in fact,
        receive strength and solidarity from him.

          In his inimitable loving way, he takes everyone from
        the line of least resistance. He does not interfere with the
        creeds and beliefs of a person, whatever these are, nor
        does he meddle with the social order of things. He simply
        talks of the spirit, its intrinsic nature, its seat in the body,
        its various operative processes, its latent capabilities, and
        how it can be developed in its relation with body, mind,
        and with God, and how it can be liberated, made self-poised
        and turned Godward.

          His appeal is directly to spirit, and his words sink
        deep into the very depths of the soul. He deals with
        ready cash at the counter and does not make people live
        in hope till the end of their lives or thereafter. He
        teaches:

                Believe not the words of a Master Soul unless
                  you see the things he tells about with your
                  own eyes.

        It is just for the sake of experiment that we have in the
        first instance to accept the words of a Master. But when
        we find the truth of what he says, by actual experimentation,
        then the hypothesis is turned into conviction.

          When a person once sees the light of the sun, he cannot
        deny the existence of the sun even though the bats
        of the world may unite in denying the solar phenomenon.

          Unless the inner vision is approached, the Truth of
        the Reality does not dawn, and the jivas or embodied
        spirits remain groping in utter darkness and ignorance
        of the highest and the greatest magnitude.

          Whenever a Master of Truth comes into the world,
        the spiritually hungry and thirsty gather around him
        and quench their hunger and thirst by the manna and
        the Elixir of Life that he freely gives to the aspirants.

          Gradually their love develops into a steady devotion
        that befits them more and more for the saving grace
        of the Master, and helps a jiva to travel quickly home.





                             CHAPTER SIXTEEN

                         MASTER AND HIS DUTIES

          COUNTLESS are the duties and responsibilities of a
        Master. His first and foremost work is to link once
        again the created with the Creator; to win for him the
        Kingdom of God and restore him to his ancient and
        forgotten lineage and heritage. This he does by means of
        Shabd or Word, which carries the spirit to its native
        Home.

          Like electromagnetic waves, the Shabd or Word is
        vibrating everywhere, but, unfortunately, through the
        overpowering density and weight of matter on the physical
        plane we are unable to feel it and harness it to our
        benefit.

          A Master, by his personal guidance, frees the spirit
        from the dead weight of matter, disengages it from the
        sensory organs, withdraws its everspreading rays and
        collects them at its center, behind the two eyebrows,
        thereby enabling it to experience a little of the Light of
        God and to hear Shabd, the Voice of God; both of
        which by continuing practice can be developed in course
        of time.

          The jiva then finds himself attracted by that magnetic
        power, the Sound Principle, which carries him step by
        step to his ultimate goal. A mere knowledge of the science
        of the Masters cannot be of any avail, and intellectualism
        by itself, however keen, cannot be of any aid.

          An ethical life is a stepping stone to spirituality.
        Cleanliness is said to be next to Godliness. A Master,
        therefore, begins his work with man-making. Cleanliness in
        thought, word and deed is an essential which cannot
        be over-emphasized. As self-knowledge precedes God-
        Knowledge, a Master has first to impart in theory and
        practice the knowledge of the spirit, to liberate it from
        the shackles of mind and body.

          Gradually the spirit is enabled to cast off the various
        coverings or sheaths with which it is enshrouded, until
        it becomes spirit clean, untrammeled and unalloyed, and
        exultantly cries out, "I am Spirit!"

          After this comes training in God-Knowledge, which
        is the climax and the crest jewel in the science of
        spirituality, and enables the spirit to attain Godhead.

          Once the shepherd takes charge of a lost sheep and
        brings it to his fold, he takes over the entire
        responsibility. Once a Master, always a Master, is a well-
        known dictum. Master on earth, he is Master in the various
        regions, subtle, causal, and beyond. He does not rest until
        a spirit is safely escorted back to the Father's mansion
        in Heaven.

          The process of home-going and progress on the path
        is entirely at his discretion, and he is the sole judge for
        the time and measure of each step Godward.

          From the time the spirit crosses over to the astral plane
        and comes face to face with the self-luminous form of
        the Master, the jiva has nothing more to do and strive
        for. It is the Master's job henceforth.

          Apart from this a Master is a child of Light, and like
        a lighthouse over tempestuous seas sheds his kindly Light
        throughout the world. Like the good shepherd he has to
        look after and tend many sheep. Whoever has anything
        to do with a Master Soul is ultimately to be prepared
        for the path and helped through in his probation and
        apprenticeship.





                             CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

                              GURU IS GODMAN

          MASTER is in truth the perfect manifestation of God.
        Filled with Godly Light he is the torch-bearer of
        God. He is the pole from which God works out His plan
        of redemption. God, having made man after His own
        image, placed an iron wall between Himself and the spirit,
        owing to the first sin of disobedience to Him. Man
        was thus driven out from the Garden of Eden and placed
        in the physical world, so the story goes, to earn his bread
        with the sweat of his brow, and to work out his salvation
        through a Saviour - the Son of Man, in which garb God
        Himself comes with the key to unlock the Kingdom of
        Heaven for leading in the lost sheep.

          The Word becomes flesh and dwells among us, God's
        Light shines through his eyes, God's voice speaks through
        him, and God's Grace works out salvation for those who
        hunger and thirst for Him. Like a common man) he lives
        among us, shares our joys and sorrows, gives us
        instructions in spirituality and guides us on the path.
        Embedded in the Father he works out His Will.

                All things are delivered unto me of my Father:
                  and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father;
                  neither knoweth any man the Father,
                  save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son
                  will reveal Him.
                                                MATTHEW 11:27

        Maulana Rumi also says:

                In the Master is lodged both God and the
                  Mediator. There is in fact not the least
                  distinction between the two. Drive all
                  thought of duality from thy mind, or else
                  thou shalt get lost in the wilderness,
                  and so also shall be the fate of thy first
                  lessons in spirituality. He who considers
                  the two as separate entities has not yet
                  learnt anything from, or known anything of,
                  the Master.

        Master is the form of the formless God - the form that
        we can see and have relationship with. It is this very
        form that imparts to us the knowledge of God, and again
        it is this very form, luminous of course, that
        accompanies us on the journey Godward and directs our
        footsteps on the path.

          In each plane, physical, causal, and beyond, there is
        increased splendor of the Master, and his limitless sway
        and power becomes more manifest to the companion
        spirit as it travels along.

          Godman as he is, in the world his form is the Kibla
        and Kaaba of the Muslims, the altar of the Christians,
        the eternal light of the Zoroastrians, the temple, the
        synagogue and the Gurdwara, for he alone is fit to be
        worshiped.

          Like electricity in the atmosphere, the universe is
        charged through and through with God. There is no
        place where He is not, and yet He is hidden from view;
        and Guru or Master is the mighty switch, the source
        and fountainhead that makes it possible for us to witness
        His greatness and get glimpses of His power.

          In short, Master is the pole at which God actually
        works, and therefore he may fittingly be called polarized
        God as distinguished from the latent state in which He
        is at one with everything and yet we know Him not.

          The greatness and the puissance of God is manifested
        in the Master in abundance. So long as a person does
        not come in contact with some Godman, God just remains
        an idea with him, a mere figment of his everyday mind,
        a shadow with no real substance at all.

          In the Godman, one finds a living God on earth, just
        as anyone talking and smiling with us, guiding us by
        word and example and helping us through from stage to
        stage. Blessed indeed is a spirit that can establish a living
        contact with, a living Master - the greatest gift of God
        to mankind.

          Man indeed is the teacher of man. Unless a Godman
        gives us Light, we cannot have the Light of Reality, and
        like blind men we grope in utter darkness.

          In the physical world we, with physical eyes, can see
        nothing but physicality around us. The subtle vision can
        see the subtle world, and the causal can view the causal
        universe. Master of all three and even beyond, he bestows
        inner Light that illumines the inner darkness and one
        begins to witness an endless panorama of spiritual vistas
        ever expanding and bringing to view new delights at
        every step. All this work he does by means of the
        Sound Current or the Voice of God, hearing which the
        dead are quickened with Life and attain life everlasting.
        He is the connecting link between a soul and the Oversoul.
        With roots embedded in God and branches spreading
        throughout the world, laden with flowers and fruits of
        Paradise, he provides spiritual food to all who come to him.

        Maulana Rumi in this context says:

                O Friend! sit near one who knows the condition
                  of thy heart (and who can make it whole).
                  Rest a while under the shade of a tree that is
                  laden with fresh and fragrant flowers.
                  Loiter not in the market place from shop to shop,
                  as idlers do. Go straight to one who has a store
                  of honey with him.

                Take hold of the garment, O brave soul! of one
                  who knows well the various planes: physical,
                  mental, supramental, and beyond; and is
                  able to remain with thee like a true friend,
                  whether in life or in death, in this world or
                  in the next.

        The form, physical or astral, of the Master or God-in-man
        which helps us through in our journey Godward, is better
        by far than the native invisible form of God which is
        beyond all thought and contemplation.

          Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ishwar (Niranjan) and Parmeshwar
        (incarnations of Brahma) are all worthy of our respect and
        adoration.

          We have read much about them, religiously, in sacred 
        lore. They figure as heroes and heroines in mythological
        tales, but as such are nothing but figments of human
        imagination.

          When Satguru or the Master of Truth takes charge
        of a spirit (at Gaggan), He gradually reveals the true
        significance and way of each of them. All of them have
        existed since creation, and are engaged in carrying on
        the duties assigned to each of them.

          But we cannot know them or their handiwork and
        authority unless the Satguru takes us along and shows
        us the nature of this mysterious hierarchy.

          God Himself in the garb of man (Saints and prophets)
        informs us of His Own Natural Self. Guru Amar Das has
        therefore declared:

                It is the basic principle of God that without a
                  Master of Truth, no one can even think of
                  Him.

        Sant Kabir also tells us:

                The Master is greater than God. Ye may very
                  well think over this dictum. Devotion to God
                  keeps a person entangled on this side (in the
                  physical plane); but devotion to the Guru
                  leads him across to God.

        The greatness of the Master lies in this: that he connects
        the souls with the Unknown Reality, and puts a stop to
        the cycle of births and deaths. The Oversoul, even when
        with us, could neither manifest Itself directly nor could
        It take the soul out of the physical plane and liberate it.

          Only through instructions from a Guru (Master Soul
        or Godman) and association with Shabd (Word or God-
        in-Action) can one achieve these wondrous results.

                Without Word one can have no escape (from
                  bondage).
                Word Personified is the Master and he can
                  manifest It in us.
                God may turn His back and one may not
                  mind, but if the Master does so, none can
                  bring about reconciliation.

                                                        KABIR

                If Siva gets estranged, the Master can reconcile
                  us to him; but who can reconcile us to the
                  Master?

        In this respect Sehjo Bai, a lady devotee, sings to us in
        melodious strains of the greatness of her Master - Charan
        Das:

                I may give up God, but cannot for a moment
                  forget the Master, for God Himself cannot
                  come up to him.
                God drove me into the wilderness of the world,
                  but the Master has snapped for me the
                  ceaseless cycle of transmigration.
                God set on my heels the five deadly sins (desire,
                  anger, greed, infatuation, and egoism),
                  but the Master taking pity on my helplessness
                  saves me from them.
                God entangled me in the meshes of the family
                  ties, but the Master cut asunder these bonds.
                God delivered me to disease, decay and death,
                  but the Master with his yogic powers delivered
                  me from them.
                God bound me hand and foot in the web of
                  karmic reactions, but the Master revealed to
                  me my true nature - and I have now found
                  out that I am soul, the spirit of the universe.
                God in me hid Himself behind a curtain, but
                  the Master with his torch of Truth revealed
                  God to me.
                Again God created both bondage and salvation,
                  but the Master put an end to all these
                  chimerical fantasies.
                I would sacrifice my very body and soul for
                  Charan Das, my Master. I would rather
                  surrender God for the Master's sake.





                             CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

                                 GURUDEV

                (The Astral or Self-Luminous Form of the Master)


          THE TERM Dev is derived from the Sanskrit root Div
        meaning "Light." The words Guru Dev are therefore used
        to denote the astral or luminous form of the Master as
        he appears in astral regions, after leaving the physical
        plane to guide the spirit as it transcends the physical body.

          Theosophical literature refers to the luster of Master
        Souls in subtle and causal planes extending for miles
        and miles. Tulsi Sahib likewise tells us that the nails of
        the Guru's feet shine like Mani (a crest jewel in the head
        of a toad that shines forth like a flashlight in darkness).
        This astral light bestows vision to the third eye.

                Blinding Light flashes forth from the nails of
                  the Master's Feet and illumines the very soul
                  of the devotee.

        Maulana Rumi speaks of It:

                As the Light of the Master dawns in the soul,
                  one gets to know the secrets of both worlds.

        A real Guru is the true manifestation of God. He is, in
        fact, Satguru or Master of Truth, and manifests in the
        world the Light of Truth.

                O Nanak! Guru is the Satguru; I would like
                  to touch the Feet of the Satguru.

        The term Guru Dev, therefore, signifies the self-luminous
        form of the Master, which is free from and far above
        his physical body, and which the spirit actually perceives
        with its inner subtle Light. When the spirit comes face
        to face with the astral Master, all doubts vanish and its
        labors get the crowning reward - the summum bonum
        of life.

                Guru Dev gives vision to the eyes. All doubts
                  become airy nothings and love's labor
                  receives its crowning glory.

        Jesus Christ in the Gospel speaks thus:

                If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body
                  shall be full of light.

                                                MATTHEW 6:22

        Guru Arjan tells us that the Blessed Form of the Master
        manifests itself in the forehead of a devotee.

                The Blessed Form of the Master is in my forehead.
                  Whenever I peep within I see him there.

        A Muslim Divine also speaks like this:

                The image of the Beloved is in the mirror of
                  my very heart. I see him with just a little
                  turn of the head downward.

        It is this astral or self-luminous form of the Master that
        leads a spirit Godward. through various planes intervening
        between the physical plane and Sat Lok or the Region of
        Truth. There is no distinction between Guru and Guru Dev
        and Satguru and God.

          It is one and the same current of divine compassion
        that assumes different names at different regions.

          Following the law of similitude, the Divine Current as
        It materializes on the physical plane for the benefit of the
        aspirants is called Guru or Master, who by word of
        mouth imparts the spiritual instructions as any other
        teacher would do.

          As the spirit of an aspirant leaves the body and is
        ready for the journey in the astral or subtle planes, that
        very Divine Current assumes a subtle form for the soul's
        benefit and guidance.

          This subtle form disengaged from the bodily form of
        the Guru is termed Guru Dev. It is self-luminous and
        lustrous with Light extending over miles and miles.
        Satguru or the Master of Truth is the Power of Truth or
        God that works through both Guru and Guru Dev. With
        roots firmly embedded in Sat or Truth, he directly
        derives his inspiration from the eternal and unchangeable
        permanence, Sat, hence is known as Satguru.

          Thus we see how the Sat Dhara or the current from
        Sat flows down, creating regions upon regions far below,
        ending with the physical plane.

          It is this very current that also helps in taking the
        jivas back home, and is differently known as Guru, Guru
        Dev and Satguru, at different places, until the very roots
        of Sat are reached, and here the spirit cries out in
        wonder Wah-i-Guru, which means, "What a glory is thine,
        O Guru!"

          Indescribable and beyond comprehension! So we have
        in Gurbani:

                Guru Dev is Satguru, Par Brahm, and Parmeshwar.
                  O Nanak! a Salutation to Guru Dev is
                  Salutation to Hari or God.

        This very Sat or Truth is at one with the Guru as he
        works on the physical plane. Hence, it is said:

                Blessed is the physical form of the Master, filled
                  as it is to the brim with full power from above.

                The Greatness of the Master is indescribable
                  and beyond all comprehension, for he is Par
                  Brahm, Parmeshwar, beyond perception and
                  knowledge.

                Guru Dev can neither be known nor measured.
                  By following the instructions one can penetrate
                  far into the mysteries of the past, the
                  present, and the future. It is through his
                  sheer Grace that one begins to know something
                  of the unknown and the unknowable.

        In the physical, world he works and acts like a Guru or
        Master; but when a jiva after some spiritual practice and
        discipline is ready to leave the Pind or body and is about
        to enter And (the subtle plane), the Guru comes to his
        aid in subtle shining form as his Guru Dev. Here he
        works as a connecting link between Guru and Satguru
        for he takes over the charge of a spirit from the Guru
        in the body, and leads her across to Satguru and Sat
        Purush.

          Guru Dev meets and greets the spirit as it crosses the
        border lying between the physical and subtle regions by
        passing through the stars, the sun and the moon, spoken
        of in the Vedas as Devian and Pitrian Margs (Paths).
        This astral form is exactly like the physical form of the
        Master, but much more beautiful, luminous, and magnetic.

        Maulana Rumi tells us:

                Should you desire to see this refulgent Light,
                  turn homeward like Ibrahim. Pass through
                  the big star and the sky and the blue beyond.
                  Steadily walk over the sun and the moon,
                  and then you will find yourself in the
                  heavenly Presence.

        Guru Nanak refers to this illuminated path, thus:

                The Luminous Form of the Master is wondrously
                  enrapturing and enchanting. Only a Perfect
                  Master can manifest this to a spirit.

        This lustrous form of the Master always accompanies a
        spirit in the various planes, ending with Sach Khand
        or the Home of Truth. When his luminous form descends
        to the focus of the eyes, a devotee has nothing
        more to strive for. Herein lies the devotion of the
        devotee. Half his success has been achieved, and hereafter
        the Master's astral form takes over the charge of the
        spirit with full responsibility for leading it to the final
        goal. Even the Saints also adore this form and derive
        ecstatic delight from it.

                The Blessed Feet of the Beloved Guru Dev are
                  worshiped by the Saints, the beloved of
                  God.

        Khwaja Moeen-ud-Din Chisti also talks of the Luminous
        Form of the Master:

                O Master! The sun cannot stand the resplendence
                  of Thy Face.
                The moon also has covered herself with clouds
                  to escape Thy Dazzling Light.
                The sun having borrowed his brilliance from
                  the dust of Thy Feet has pitched his golden
                  pavilion on the blue sky. If a single ray of
                  Thy Face were to shoot forth into the sky,
                  the sun would in shame go behind a veil. In
                  the very Person of the Nabi (Prophet), the
                  Light of God has taken up a material form
                  just as the light of the sun does in the body
                  of the moon.

        Maulana Rumi also refers to the lustrous form of his
        Master thus:

                What dost thou know of the King of Kings that
                  keeps me company?
                Cast thou a glance within me and be not deceived
                  by my outer appearance.

        St. John has similarly described in the Bible his experience
        with the Luminous Form within:

                I was in the Spirit ... and heard behind me a
                  great voice, as of a trumpet,...
                And I turned to see the voice that spake with
                  me. And being turned, I saw ... one like
                  unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment
                  down to the foot, and girt about the paps
                  with a golden girdle.
                His head and hairs were white like wool, as
                  white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame
                  of fire;
                And his feet were like unto fine brass, as if they
                  burned in a furnace; and his voice as the
                  sound of many waters....
                And his countenance was as the sun shineth
                  in his strength.

                                        REVELATION 1:10, 12-16

                After this I looked, and, behold, a door was
                  opened in heaven: and the first voice which
                  I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking
                  with me; which said, Come up hither, and I
                  will show thee things which must be hereafter.

                                        REVELATION 4:1

        In the Sar Bachan of Swami Ji Maharaj, we have a
        similar reference:

                Wondrous strange was the Form; No words
                  could this Glory write.

        Hafiz, a mystical poet of great reknown, tells us:

                Like the newborn moon the pure of sight may
                  see;
                His Glory would not manifest to every eye.

        The astral form of the Master Soul is unchangeable
        and permanent. It is the form that guides aspirants to
        their goal.

                Guru Dev is in the beginning of creation. He is
                  in the beginning of each age and continues
                  from age to age. Through Guru Dev alone
                  can one reach Hari.

        Guru Arjan speaks of Guru Dev:

                Salutations to Guru Eternal (Har Rai)
                Salutations to Guru of the Age (Sat Purush or
                  Ram Rai);
                Salutations to Satguru (the manifestation of
                  Sat Purush); and
                Salutations to Guru Dev (the Refulgent and
                  Self-Luminous Form of the Guru, the
                  connecting link between Guru and Satguru,
                  responsible for guiding and leading a spirit
                  through various planes).

        Guru Dev is the greatest and highest manifestation of
        Sat Purush. He is the controlling power of God and can
        grant salvation. By devotion to him one gets all comfort.

          Nothing but Sat is Guru Dev; false is all worship
        apart from his.

	Guru Arjan in his memorable words sings of the
        greatness of Guru Dev thus:

                Gurudeva is father; Gurudeva is mother; and
                  he is the Master and God Himself;
                Gurudeva is a real friend; dispeller of dark
                  ignorance and breaker of all ties;
                Gurudeva is the bestower of Naam, an
                  incantation of which chases away all evils;
                Gurudeva is the embodiment of peace, truth
                  and intelligence, and truly a philosopher's
                  stone;
                Gurudeva is a place of pilgrimage, fountain of
                  the Elixir of Life, and light of reason;
                Gurudeva ordains everything, destroys sins and
                  purifies the sinners;
                Gurudeva is ever eternal from the creation and
                  beginning of each age, and his Word has a
                  saving Grace;
                Gurudeva is the greatest gift of God, which, if
                  granted, saves the worst sinners;
                Gurudeva is Satguru, Par Brahm, and Parmeshwar.
                Salutations to him, O Nanak.

        Gurbani tells of the immense benefit that one enjoys on
        meeting Guru Dev:

          The five deadly sins-desire, anger, greed, infatuation,
        and egoism - just vanish.

          Myriads of Karmic impressions of countless ages are
        destroyed. He pulls a jiva from body and mind
        consciousness and ushers it into cosmic awareness, where
        it no longer experiences the fires of the world in which
        the entire humanity is trapped.

          Even in the world all the soul's desires are fulfilled.
        His course is soft and smooth thereafter, and receive
        acclamations from every side.

          In this Kali Yuga (Iron Age) of iniquity and darkness
        Guru Dev serves as a beacon light on the storm sea of life,
        and safely pilots sinners to the Heaven of peace and bliss.
        A saved soul in its turn pulls along all who are near and
        dear to it.

          The manifestation of Guru Dev depends purely on the grace
        of God and one's special merits in one's progress on the
        spiritual path.


                             [End of Part 5]

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