From jamesjs@interchange.ubc.ca Wed Nov 10 23:33:16 1999
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: "Gurmukh and Manmukh" - Kirpal Singh
From: James Shannon <jamesjs@interchange.ubc.ca>
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 23:33:16 -0800






                          GURMUKH AND MANMUKH

                                  by

                          Sant Kirpal Singh Ji


               This Satsang talk was given at Sawan Ashram,
               in Delhi, India, and was published in the
               November 1968 issue of Sat Sandesh Magazine.
               --------------------------------------------

    The Vedas and scriptures of all the religions have glorified
the Spiritually Great Who came into the world from time to time.
Some have even gone to the extent of exalting the position of Guru
above that of God. This is just a way of expression, for who can
be above God? The term "Guru" is not something new. It is as old
as the creation itself. Whenever practical teachers of pravidya,
knowledge of the Beyond, come into the world, They give correct
understanding and right lead to the people. After the departure of
such teachers, deterioration sets in. Guru Nanak was once
questioned as to Who His Guru was? He replied: "Shabd is the true
Guru and Surat is the disciple," meaning that the Sound Current
was His teacher and His attention was the disciple. What is this
Sound Current? God is Wordless and Nameless. He is absolute
in Himself. When that Absolute God comes into expression, He
becomes God-into-expression Power. This Power is described as
Shabd or Naam. The Power of God in Its fullness is called Shabd
or Sound Current. Christ called It the Word.

    Similar questions were put to Kabir as well: "Where does
Your Guru dwell and where does the disciple? How are the two
related together?" He simply said: "My God dwells in the Gagan
(sky) within me; and the disciple, too, resides therein. When Surat
(attention) gets united with Shabd, there can be no separation
thereafter." What does it mean? When we say that Guru resides in
the Gagan, it means that He is the indweller of the body and not
the body itself. This human frame then is a wonderful house in
which we - the God Power and the spirit in man - live. He Who
has created such a wonderful house must be a Master-architect.
Let us for a moment examine this house. It has a number of
outlets - eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, and the two openings below.
Despite all these outlets, we cannot run away from this house
(body). Everything is going on with a certain rhythm and order.
The exhaled breath cannot remain out for long. There is some
Power which pushes it back, and we are alive with the breath of
life going in out. The beauty of this house remains so long as that
Power is in it. Man is man so long as the Father is in man. It is
said:

            The body lives so long as the God Power is in it;
            The moment the God Power departs,
              the body becomes a heap of dust.

    We are in the body but not the body itself, and yet we are
not free to escape from it. There is something that is keeping us
a prisoner in the body and is controlling this relationship. When
that something departs, we have to leave the body. It is this Power
which is controlling and sustaining the various planes and sub-
planes in the creation. All these innumerable regions are moving
rhythmically without colliding with each other. When this Power
withdraws, there follows dissolution and grand-dissolution. As
said before, this Power in the terminology of Saints is called
God-into-expression or God-into-action Power. It is this very Power
that is called Naam or Shabd: "O Nanak, the entire creation is the
result of Naam; one can contact It only when He wills." Again,
"They alone come to It who have the Father's name writ in their
foreheads."

            The universe comes into being through the Word
              and dissolves by its withdrawal,
            And it is through the Word that it again
              comes into being.

    We have now to find ways and means of contacting this
Power within us. It can be contacted only at the place where the
soul-currents withdraw at the time of death. We have to locate the
seat of the soul in the body. You might have seen a dying person.
The death process begins when the lower Chakras (ganglions) give
way because of withdrawal of the soul-currents therefrom.
Beginning from below, this process continues on and on until the
throat-center gets involved. It is then that the eyeballs turn
upwards. This happens when these currents get collected at the
eye-focus. It is from here that the soul sitting in the body keeps
the body in control. This then is the Gagan, and here lives that God
Power together with the soul; and when the soul and the God
Power become one, They live eternally. This is called the union of
the disciple and the Master. Speaking of the Guru Power, Guru
Gobind Singh tells us: "From end to end, the God Power remains
with us; consider that God Power as our Guru." It is this God
Power within us which is the connecting link between the material
body and the immaterial soul, quite disparate in essence. This
Power is All-Pervading and immanent in each one of us:

            My Lord is enthroned in all, and there
              is not a place where He is naught,
            Blessed indeed is the human-pole from
              where it shines in full effulgence.

    We all live by this God Power, but we are unaware of It.
The God Power is manifest in the Guru. We adore the human-Pole
from where this Power works. Who then can contact us with this
God Power? God Power is complete in Itself and has no relationship
in the earthly sense of the word. Who then can do this job? None
but this manifested God in man. It is the lighted human-pole that
can contact us with the Light of God. A Guru never claims any
perfection for Himself. He always says that the contact is given
by the God Power and not by Him. He lives in His Will and has no
will of His own. "Let Thy will be done and not what I will."
Again, Kabir, speaking of Himself, says:

            Kabir is just a dog of His Master
              and is known Mutia.
            He moves about wheresoever
              He is led by the nose-string.

    Those who consciously dwell in God become, in course of
time, conscious coworkers of the Divine Plan; and such Personages
are known as Disciplined Souls and Saints. Thus, we see that the
Word is the God Power in the Guru - the Word made flesh - for
man alone can be the teacher of man. He dwells amongst us to
instruct and guide us. This is what the Gurbani says: "God
Himself in the Guru doles out the gift of Shabd." Guru then is
the human-pole on which the God Power manifests and carries on
the work of redemption. "He lives among the people, but His soul
dwells in Him." In the world, He acts as the mouthpiece of God.
Nanak explaining to His friend Lalo said: "I only express that
which comes within me from above." While living on the earth,
His spirit dwelleth in heaven," said a Muslim Saint. Outwardly we
see Him busy in the work of the world as any one of us is. For
His livelihood He may be working in the field or carrying on some
business or be engaged in service. He, too, like us may lead a
family life. But He can rise above the body and bodily relations
the moment He may so like. In the human frame He is nothing but
a manifested God-in-man or a veritable man living in God.

	On the other hand, we are a slave of the mind and senses
and are entrapped in the maze of the world, so much so that we are
identified with them and have forgotten our real nature - the soul
behind the mind and sense, giving life and light to all that is. It
is the flow of our attention outside that is sustaining the world
around for us. Sometimes it so happens that by seeing we do not
perceive and by hearing we do not understand. What is the reason for
this absentmindedness? It is because our attention is somewhere else,
and we are not our own at that moment. It is just like removing
the belt from the flywheel of a machine, and the entire work comes
to a standstill. The various departments in our body carry on their
functions in the light and life of the spirit. It is the spirit that
gives strength and power to the mind and the various sense-organs
connected therewith. It is the spirit that has to be controlled and
manipulated and made the director of the body and the bodily
functions. We must strengthen our spiritual power and be able to
use it at our will rather than allow it to flow along with the mind.
With the spiritual power well developed, one can do what he likes
as a master of the house in which one lives. One Who can do this
is a Sadhu, a Saint, or a Mahatma. Bhai Gurdas says: "He Who has
disciplined His outgoing faculties is called a Sadh (a Disciplined
Soul)." Again Kabir tells us: "One who is lost in the nine portals
of the body cannot get to the Reality." A Person Who has acquired
this gift becomes the mouthpiece of God. Of Him it is said: "His
words are the words of God, though seemingly coming out of a human
being." Speaking of himself Nanak says:

            The humble Nanak opens His mouth when
              He is bidden to do so.

    This is what is called right understanding; and each one of
us has the capacity to understand things rightly, provided one has
his attention under control. The attention of the worldly-wise is
flowing out into the world. If one could by self-analysis separate
his attention from the mind, he can become the knower of himself
and the knower of God. Hence, the aphorism: "Know thyself."
"O Nanak, without self-analysis one cannot get out of the grand
delusion."

    One Who knows the Self or the human in Him, knows everything.
In His company others, too, can become the mouthpiece of God as He
Himself is. He does not inject anything from without. He makes us
understand what is what: "He alone is our friend, by whose
instructions we are reformed and transformed." A friend like him
tells us in detail of the great wonders that lie in the wonderful
house in which we live. Human body is the temple of God, and God
verily dwells in it. All the scriptures sing highly of it. It is
called Brahmpuri because Brahman can be made manifest in it. It
is a place with nine portals and six ganglionic centers and is
described as Ajudhya or the Kingdom of Lord Rama. All the gods
and goddesses reside in it. Hence it is called Nar-Naraini Deh, or
the abode of man and God. Even the celestial beings aspire for the
human form because it is in this deiform that they can hope to
attain salvation. In brief man is next to God. He may be said to
be even a micro-god.

	With the gift of the human body we can meet the Power-of-
God within. What do the Enlightened Souls tell us in this context?
Of Guru Amar Das it is said that for full seven decades and over,
He went from place to place in search of God and tried to find Him
in all possible ways. It was after this long search that He came
to the feet of Guru Angad and found the Reality within Himself.
Now we are taking one of His hymns for discussion. Let us see
what He has to say:

            Blessed indeed is the human body in which
              God manifests Himself.

    It is said that when God made man He commanded the angels to
do obeisance to him. In Tritiya (third) Upanishad, we read that
the Rishis and the Munis prayed for a human habitation for themselves.
Fortunately, we have got this advantage; and we must make the best
use of it and try to make manifest within us the Power-of-God - the
Self-luminous Power - which is already there. But where that Power
is already manifest, we have a veritable temple of God. How can
we know that?

            It is only by the grace of some Master-saint
              that one realizes this.

    By ourselves, we cannot understand the truth of what is
said. It is only a God-realized Soul Who can make us understand
the Truth. We may consider this body as something full of filth.
We do not realize that in this human frame God Himself resides;
and, as such, it is a beautiful temple. We, in our own way, try to
beautify it with cosmetics on which we spend a lot of money. If
we begin to live consciously in the God Power within us, there
would hardly be any need for cosmetics. The outer application of
toiletry cannot do the trick that we wish to play. It is our
thoughts that give color and scent to our body - If our thoughts
are pure, we hardly need these outer aids. One Who has developed
His psychic eye can at a glance see through the inner working of
any person who comes before Him. The real nature of a person
comes out in bold relief.

    The physical body is a mere covering. The beauty beneath
this covering lies in contentment, equipoise, and inner quiet, all
of which come when one is inwardly united with God. The soul feels
restless until it rests in the Oversoul. He Who is in tune with God
will have a rhythmic blood circulation and will emit forth radiant
rays. It is on spiritual health that the life of both body and mind
depends. Everything needs its own food - body, mind, and intellect.
The spirit, too, needs its own food: the Bread of and Water of Life.
As you think, so you become and likewise create a personal aura of
your own. A loving soul will have eyes full of love, while one who
is obsessed with lusts of the flesh will send forth rays of envy,
jealousy, and anger. Eyes are the windows of soul, and they reflect
outside the color of the mind within.

    Every thought has its own peculiar smell and its own color.
Should you like to have experience of this, you should stand in the
sunshine with your back to the sun so that you are able to see your
shadow on the ground or on some wall in front of you. Now try to
see the color of this shadow. A lustful person will cast a shadow
with a black tinge in it, while one in whose anger predominates
will cast a shadow tainted with redness. Similarly, there is a
peculiar smell in the body of each. The former emits a foul smell
as coming from a flock of sheep, and the latter as that of a half-
burnt rope. One who is settled in God has peace of mind and thinks
well of the whole world. He may not use any toiletries and still
you would have sweet fragrance as if coming from a lily, provided
one has love in him, for love beautifies everything.

    I remember to have read long ago of a girl who was not
comely in appearance and no one would, therefore, like to marry
her. Like one disgusted with herself, she went out of the town and
began to frequent a church where she would get lost in the love of
God. After a year or so a person accosted her saying, "I want to
marry you. What do you think of my proposal?" The girl could
hardly believe her ears. "Who would like to marry one who is
ugly?", she said. The young man said: "You are not what you say.
I see a kindly light in your eyes." So, beauty emits from beautiful
thoughts. Have you ever seen the eyes and forehead of high souled
persons? There is always a kind of radiance in their eyes. Their
bodies have a personal aura which is quite different from those of
ordinary persons.

    Everyone emits a peculiar light from his body. But we do
not perceive it, because we have not developed the single eye that
is capable of seeing this radiation. Theosophy tells us that
everyone has his own radiation, the length of which varies from
person to person. In some cases, it extends just to a few inches and
in others to a few feet. The Enlightened Persons radiate Their light
to a considerable distance; and whosoever comes into the field of
Their radiation, he becomes magnetized.

    Guru Amar Das solved the enigma of life when He came to
the feet of Guru Angad. His contact with His Guru transformed
Him altogether. He got a kind of new light from His Master Who
was God personified. He now became, in His own right, the
Master of His body and bodily senses. One Who is a manifested
God-in-man can give you contact with God. God is not something
outside you. He is the Soul of our very soul. Some say that there
is hardly any need for a Guru, while others say that there is such
a need. Who is a Guru after all? Not the human-pole that you see.
He is God-in-man, or if you like, you may call Him man-in-God.
One in Whom the God Power is manifest in fullness. He alone can
collect our wandering wits at one focus. He has a soul-force in
Him; and with its help, He can lift you above body-consciousness
and open your inner eye wherewith you will be able to see
inwardly. This inner perception is in each one of us, but we never
had an opportunity to use it. This Power cannot come overnight.
Every Saint has His past and every sinner a future. What a man
has done, another can do, of course, with proper help and
guidance. Under the Guru's loving care and attention, we, too,
can become a Saint. He casts you in His own mould and gradually
you will be able to channelize your thoughts in one direction -
Godwards. The more you will practice concentration, the more you
will develop your likeness of the pattern of your teacher. With
inner peace and steady contemplation, there would come a change
in you. The secret of success lies in His company. The breeze
that blows from a mountain will be cold and fresh, while the desert
winds are hot. Similarly, the words of a Master-saint are charged
with the Divine Power in Him. So the human-pole that has the Divine
Manifestation in Him will manifest the divinity in you. It is the
thoughts that make the man. You have to change your thoughts for
the better. With this change, you will have inner peace for yourself;
and whosoever will come in touch with you will also have serenity.

            Blessed indeed is one in whom the God Power
              manifests through the grace of the Guru.

    God alone is our Eternal Consort. We are so constituted
that we cannot rest until we rest in Him. Atman and Paramatman
(soul and Oversoul) must be linked together and consciously learn
to live together. All the souls are but sparks from the same fire.
When once the soul is linked with the Oversoul, there comes about
an eternal union.

    The pleasures of the world are short lived - may be for 10
years or 100 years. We meet but to part. This, too, is a necessary
phase in one's life. We should live happily with those among whom
we are born and discharge our worldly duties and obligations. But
above all, the soul is to get united with the Oversoul. Such a union
will give us eternal happiness. How can this union be effected? It
is possible only through Guru-Shabd, the Word made manifest within.
There is no other way besides this. Without this inner manifestation,
the human life goes in vain. So long as we are in company with the
Power of God in us, we are sentient beings. And when one comes in
contact with that Power Itself, one becomes a Godman. It is,
therefore, said that without the Life-Principle in us, we have no
value whatsoever. The Enlightened Persons generally address
Themselves rather than addressing others:

            O man, what hast thou gained by coming
              into the world?
            Alas! thou hast not gained anything
              while thou art here.

    The human birth is a great blessing. God verily resides in
the human body. It is an opportunity for us to realize Him so that
we could get out of the cycle of births and deaths. This is eternal
union. Mira Bai speaking of herself has said: "Mira is eternally
happy with her eternal Lord." Gurbani also tells us: "One may go
the world over, but without a perfect Master one cannot achieve
this." It comes as a gift from a theocentric Saint, a Person centered
in God. One Who is in tune with God alone can make us attuned to Him.
We have advanced a lot in the field of science and technology, but we
have not done that which is so very necessary in life. We must make
hay while the sun shines. Although much time has been lost, we still
have some time left. We must, therefore, make most of the time that
is still with us: Once we slip from the top rung of the ladder in
life, the life goes in vain. The Human body is the temple of God, and
its sanctity must be preserved at all costs. It is a vehicle of great
importance and must be kept in good trim:

            Always remember the Lord within, and His
              Name must be on the lips;
            O Nanak, the body is to be preserved only for
              this purpose and nothing else.

    The Power of God is within you. Perceive that Power with
your own eyes; and having perceived It, sing His praises. Take
care of the God-given body. Maintain it as best as you can. Protect
it from heat and cold. Give it enough so that it lasts as long as
possible. But for what purpose? For self-realization and God-
realization. This is the summum bonum. of life. If it is not done,
then:

            Accursed are all the activities of life: eating,
              drinking, sleeping, and clothing,
            And accursed also is the body and bodily relations
              if one does not get unto the Lord.

    Married life is no bar to Spirituality. It is just a first step
in life. It provides one with a life companion in weal and woe, but
it is not something that is lasting. One of the two has to depart
before the other. On the other hand, the companionship of the
Lord is of a permanent nature. God is the Lord of all, and God
resides in each one of us. We live because of Him. All that we
need is a Godman Who is the chosen vessel of God. To be in the
company with such a Godman is real Satsang. To be a disciplined
soul is a great thing. In the Sukhmani, Guru Arjan, speaking of
the greatness of a Sadh or Sadhu, tells us of the advantages that
one gets in His company:

            In the company of a Sadh,
              one is washed of all impurities;
            In the company of a Sadh,
              one becomes a true devotee;
            In the company of a Sadh,
              one is transformed completely;
            In the company of a Sadh,
              one gets to the indescribable.

    A Sadhu gives us inner perception. To start with, He gives
us some capital to carry on the spiritual business. The soul, by
being constantly associated with the senses and the sense-organs,
becomes identified with them. It is because of this identification
that we try to find God on the sense level. Little do we know that
the Power of God dwells above the plane of the senses. How then
can we find God in the field of the senses (world)? It is only the
spirit in man that can approach and realize God, Who, too, is Spirit
and can be worshipped in spirit. So long as this knot between the
spirit and the senses is not snapped, there is no possibility for the
spirit to turn upwards. We, therefore, before everything else, have
to become spirit. To become spirit is called self-realization. The
moment one realizes the Self in him, he becomes capable of knowing
the Overself. Self-realization then precedes God-realization.
Light alone knows the light. And blessed is the body wherein the
spirit having extricated itself has an experience of the Great Soul
or God within. This is called eternal friendship, the union between
the soul and the Oversoul. Be ye ever blessed in the love of the
Lord and gain eternal communion. This communion can be established
only by the grace of some Godman.

   Thrice blessed is man. He has in him untold possibilities of
which he is not aware at the moment. What these possibilities are
we shall see presently:

            One who revels in the love of the Lord
              loses his egotism.

    Love unites two souls, the lover and the beloved, so much
so that one loses his own existence and becomes one with the
beloved. God is Love and the human soul is a spark of that love.
The whole is in every part of its own, and every part is in the
whole. One immersed in the love of the Lord is truly an undivided
individual and is wholly detached from the affairs of the world.
While living in the world, he is not of the world. His soul is ever
in a state of divine intoxication. Nanak speaking of Himself says:
"Nanak is eternally in a state of Divine Inebriation." When Guru
Nanak met Emperor Babar, the latter offered Him a cup of hemp.
Nanak, with a twinkle in His eyes, politely said: "O King, this cup
gives you a momentary forgetfulness. You have to help yourself
again and again to hemp for maintaining this continuity. I have
within me a cup of Divine Elixir which keeps me in a state of
continuous bliss." When one forgets himself in holy ecstasy, one
automatically rises above body-consciousness, leaving all thoughts
of duality far behind. A disciple ceases to be a disciple when he
loses himself in the love of the Godman. A Muslim Saint said: "My
being is so filled with the love of the Lord that I have lost all
thoughts of my `self' and I have become dead to my self." Saint
Paul says: "It is I, not now I; it is Christ that lives in me."

    We have not seen God. How can we love what we have not seen.
We have, therefore, to contact the manifested Power of God in us.
But who can manifest the God Power? Only the Godman in Whom the God
Power is working in fullness. To come near a Godman is essentially
to come near God. To be away from a Godman is to be away from God.
It is the God-in-man or Godman Who brings us to the Power of God
within us. He is the human-pole that guides us to the Power in us.
There is no other way to the God Power except through a Godman. All
the philosophies of the world have not been able to solve the riddle
of God.

    The greatness of God is beyond measure, and human imagination
fails to have any conception of Him. Still in the realm of relativity
it is said: "When God and the Guru both manifest Themselves, one
wonders to Whom he should pay his obeisance. Blessed indeed is the
Guru Who led me to Satguru or God." It is just a way of explaining
things on an intellectual level. When one is lost to himself, he
escapes from the bondage of I-ness and becomes forever free. So
long as one feels that he is the doer, he continues in the cycle of
births and deaths.

    The question is one of right understanding. All mankind is
one. All men are embodied souls. Soul is of the same essence as
that of Oversoul or God. And God is the mainstay of all creatures.
When this knowledge dawns, we would think good of the entire
creation and love all mankind. This state comes only when one is
dyed in the color of God: "Strait is path of the Guru; none can pass
through it without merging in the Guru."

            Wondrous is the Word of the perfect Master,
            A perfect Master makes It manifest and It leads
              unto Truth.

    What is Truth? Nanak says: "O Nanak, know ye the Truth
as true." This, of course, refers to Absolute Truth or Truth in
abstraction. When the Formless Absolute manifests Himself, then
it is said: "Truth was in the beginning (of time); Truth was in the
beginning of each age; Truth is and Truth shall remain forever,
O Nanak." We have here two phrases that need to be distinguished:
Gurbani and Guru-ki-bani. By Gurbani we mean the scriptures
coming to us from the Gurus. This hymn, for instance, is from the
Gurbani as it is recorded in the scriptures. Guru-ki-bani is
something different from Gurbani. It is defined as: The Word of
the Guru is in fullness in each one of us; God Himself has placed it
and Himself makes it manifest.

	In the Gospels we have: "In the beginning was the Word;
the Word was with God and Word was God." As to the antiquity
of this Bani (the Holy Word), it is said: "The Holy Word has been
resounding from age to age. It is true in Itself and leads to Truth."
Thus, we see that Guru-ki-bani is nothing but a Sound Principle. It
has music in it - Music of the other world (Udgit). Gurbani tells
us that one should contact a Word-personified Saint - a teacher
in Whom the Word is fully manifested - for He alone is capable of
manifesting the Word in others, and that Word becomes instrumental
in leading us Godwards. The Holy Word has two phases - Light and
Sound. "By communion with the Word, one comes to testify the
effulgence of millions of suns." And again: "The All-Pervading Word
is resounding everywhere." So we see that the Holy Word is Sound-in-
light or Light-in-sound and this is an axiomatic truth. The Gurbani
serves as a pointer to Guru-ki-bani (the Holy Word) which the Master
manifests as a means of contacting the soul with the Oversoul.

            In the human body are all the grand divisions,
              planes and sub-planes (though on a
              smaller scale).

            The macrocosm is in the microcosm. This body is the
wonderful house in which we live.

            The human body is on the model of
              Brahmand (cosmos),
            Whosoever searches in himself gets
              a veritable of it.

    In the cosmos there are three planes - physical, astral, and
causal. God has also provided man with three bodies - the physical
(the tabernacle of flesh); and within it, the subtle (or feelings,
emotions, and thoughts); and lastly, the causal or the seed body.
And for what? So that we may be able to work in any of these
three worlds as we may like. The pity is that we have forgotten
to transcend the human in us. At the time of death, the physical
covering goes off. This is the very experiment of rising above
body-consciousness which the Master gives to those who are
initiated into the mysteries of the Beyond. This experience is
exactly akin to actual experience of death, but with the difference
that it is voluntary and leads to awakening in higher consciousness
while living in the body. With the experience of death-in-life, one
mocks at death; and by daily practice one goes to and comes back
everyday from the valley of death. But this is not the end. There
lies the infinite before us. It is after crossing the astral and
causal planes that we reach the threshold of the Kingdom of God.
All this and much more is to be unraveled in the laboratory of mind
in the body.

            In the body is the Life-Principle
              of the entire universe;
            And that Life-Principle is sustaining everyone.

    We are not separate from the life in us. We, in fact, are the
very life that is the life of the universe. In the Holy Quran it is
said: Kanzan Mahphian (I am in you like a secret treasure). This is
just what all the Saints (tell) us in Their own way. We have to rise
above the body to get to this hidden treasure (life eternal). "Learn
to die so that you may begin to live," the Gospels ask us. Without
traversing the body we cannot enter into the Beyond where each
plane is vaster, richer, and more beautiful than the one preceding.
Beyond these three planes lies the real world of the spirit where
there is All-Beauty and All-Glory.

	The God-in-man is competent to give this experience at the
time of initiation. It is a practical process of inversion by gradual
self-analysis. This He does by transferring His own life impulse
into the initiates. His greatness lies in giving a practical
demonstration of what He teaches on the physical plane. His
Light-form then guides the soul from plane to plane where there
are worlds greater than the universe in which we live. Even of
this universe, we know nothing. There are numberless stars and
spheres, whirling around and around, of which human imagination
cannot have any conception. Now you can well understand what
would be the expanse and magnitude of the astral and the mental
worlds. The more one rises above body-consciousness, the more
one knows of the secrets of the higher worlds within him. But how
many of us are prepared to die while living? We want to live on
and on, even if it be a few hours beyond the allotted time. Why?
Firstly, we are afraid to leave the body. Secondly, we do not know
what is beyond this body. But if we once know the grandeur that
lies ahead of us, we would not like even to come back in the
physical world:

            He who can, by the grace of the Master,
              learn to die while living can
              know the Divine Will,
            O Nanak, one who begins to understand
              the Divine Will loses all
              thought of himself.

    A conscious coworker of the Divine Plan always visibly

sees the invisible hand of God working in and around him, and he
becomes eternally free. It is, therefore, said: "O Nanak! a death
like this is a gateway to life eternal." This is called re-birth
or resurrection of the soul, Dwijanma, of which all the Great
Souls have spoken in glorious terms.

            Blessed is the Person Who is in constant touch
              with the Word made manifest in Him.

    God is Nameless. But God-in-action Power is called the Word
or Naam. Most of us are always in communion with our mind and, as
such, have become the mouthpiece of mind (manmukh). In contrast to
this, there is "Gurmukh-Naam" to which one gets an access through
the grace of the Guru. While the mind works in numberless diverse
ways, the Holy Word or the Gurmukh-Naam is of one pattern: "O mind
be thou in communion with the Holy Naam. A treasure of Naam comes
only through a perfect Master." There is no greater name than the
Holy Word - It is the Power that is sustaining the whole creation.
This Sound Principle is reverberating in the entire universe. It has
to be explained in so many words. We have to understand the theory
on the level of the intellect. Having once understood the basic truth,
we have to go ahead to get to the Truth and hold on to it. As this
Sound Principle is very rhythmic in Itself, It makes those who come
in touch with It rhythmic; It gives them equipoise and frees them
from all ailments and lusts of the flesh.

            He Himself resides in the human body,
              but it is so subtle that one get to it.

	In this temple of God (human body), God verily dwells. One
cannot comprehend Him with the aid of the senses and sense-organs,
although it is the very life of them. Unless one rises to the
level of God Power, one cannot apprehend the said Power. The
finite cannot get to the infinite. What then is the remedy? The
scriptures tell us: "A Saint Who lives in the Kingdom of God may,
in His grace, put us on the path Godwards."

            The unwise do not understand the secrets
              and go in search of Him without.

    Guru Amar Das has defined Gurmukh as: "Gurmukh is One Who has
been duly initiated by the Guru and practices the spiritual Sadhana
as is enjoined by the Guru." Again it is further explained: "When
one meets the perfect Master and gets a practical demonstration of
the inner science, he comes to know the secret of the Divine Science
and begins to explore within."

    Now about manmukh: "All those who are ignorant of the Sound
Principle fall into this category and those who have no idea of the
love and fear of the Master." The inner Sound Principle is working in
Its fullness. We cannot apprehend It on an intellectual level. Even
after meeting a perfect Master, we still remain, for the most part,
a manmukh since we do not develop love and fear of the Master. As
such, we still wander in the wilderness.

            When the Reality lies elsewhere and we search
              in the wrong place, how can one get to it?
            Kabir saith, we can get to it only when One Who
              knows the secret of it assists us.

    We usually search for the Truth in the holy scriptures. The
study of the scriptures has its own value, but the scriptures cannot
by themselves deliver the goods. The books, at the most, can give
us an idea of the subject. But for practical demonstration, we will
have to go to One Who can demonstrate the Truth to us. He, too,
helps us to understand the theory with the help of scriptures: "The
scriptures are handy aids with the Master; and with their help, He
enables us to ferry across the sea of life (Samsar). Without the
perfect Master, we cannot possibly understand their true import,
for He is the veritable human-pole from where God Power works."
Spirituality is both a science and an art of life. Like the medical
science, there is the need in Spirituality to demonstrate what is
given in the books. The manifested God-in-man Who has unraveled
this mystery can help us to unravel it for ourselves. It is He Who
can give us a practical experience: "O Bhika, it is something
mysterious and cannot be explained in so many words. He who knows
cannot speak, and he who speaks does not know." Similarly a Chinese
Saint has also said: "He who speaks sees not, and he who sees
speaks not."

            He who follows the commandments of the
              perfect Master basks in His sunshine;
            To him the perfect Master manifests
              the unmanifest in him.

    Christ also laid emphasis on strict obedience by His followers.
"If ye love me, keep my commandments." Again it is said: "Blessed are
they who have implicit faith in the perfect Master, for they become
hearers of the Word made manifest in them." Here the question arises
how to judge a perfect Master? Kabir tells us: "He Who can bring down
the celestial harmony from above is the real Master."

    All the Great Souls, more or less, speak in much the same strain.
The term "Guru" stands for One Who brings light in darkness or, in
other words, makes light visible in the enshrouding darkness within.
"Light shineth in darkness, and darkness comprehendth it not." What
does the Guru do? He, by making the Holy Light visible within, makes
one apprehend the same. He makes one the seer of the invisible Light
which is the mother of all lights in the world without. This is the
touchstone of a Sadhu, Saint, or Mahatma. Search for such a One. You
would undoubtedly come across many who would talk to you of Jnana
and Vijanana and give you lectures on the performance of rites and
rituals, formulas and formularies, and enjoin reading of scriptures
and epics. This anybody and everybody can do with a little training.
They cannot unravel the mysteries of the Beyond and give a
demonstration of the Truth in you.

    Who on earth has the power to pull up sensory currents to
the seat of the soul? Who can open the all-seeing inner eye? It can
be done only by a perfect Master. It is, therefore, said: "By
meeting the perfect Master, one is rid of the darkness within. By
meeting the perfect Master, one sees the Holy Light with his own
eyes." Again, it is said, "It is only a Sant Satguru Who can make
the invisible visible." The scriptures are so very clear on this
subject. If, in spite of this, we go astray and search for God
outside, it is our ill-luck. "If the blind leads the blind, both
shall fall into the ditch," is a common saying. "Those whose Master
see things darkly cannot but do deeds of darkness." Again, it is said:
"A blind man cannot put you on the path when he himself does not
know it. One who has his eyes would not lead people astray."
Further, in this context we have:

            One who has not enough for himself,
            What can he spare for those who
              depend on him?

    This is the experience of Guru Amar Das Who came by the
spiritual riches after a long quest of no less than 70 years. But
when He came to realize the Truth through the grace of His Master,
Guru Angad, He then tried to expound and elucidate things in a
proper perspective.

            In the human body there are countless riches
              of inestimable value;
            It is by devotion alone that one gets to these riches.

    Spirituality is the path of devotion - devotion to One Who
has solved the mystery of life for Himself and can help us to solve
it for ourselves. He gives us some inner experience to start with
and guides us inwardly until the end. He does not rest until He leads
the disciple soul into the Kingdom of God. All the scriptures are
full of praise for the Guru. It is a pity that Gurus nowadays are
looked down upon with disfavor. The reason for this is very clear.
A real teacher is difficult to find these days. But, at the same
time, the world is not without Enlightened Souls. God, Godway, and
Godman are interlinked with one another. Without a Godman to put us
on the Godpath, we cannot move Godwards. There is not much in the
repetition of the formula unless the formula is delivered to the
initiate with the charged-impulse from the Master. It is this
life-impulse that opens the inner eye of the initiate:

            The human body is on the pattern of the
              universe and abounds in spiritual riches,
            In the human body is the Power of God and
              untold treasures which one can get by
              communion with the Word.

    We are all fortunate enough as we have the means wherewith we
can get into contact with the God Power in us. But alas! we have not
known the value of the human body and are wasting our life in vain.
It is long since that we are in the world as a human being. We, no
doubt, have for quite a long time been in one or other social order.
But we have never for a moment tried to understand as to where we are
and what we are. All social orders have, undoubtedly, God as the
highest common factor. The basic teachings are the same in all
religions, irrespective of the different modes of expression:

            Within man there is Light and therefrom
              is coming the eternal Sound Principle;
            By attuning to this Sound Principle
              one gets a contact with Truth.

    The scriptures tell us of this Sound Principle. They constitute
the record of the valuable experience of the Enlightened Souls and,
as such, are very precious for us. But, we have to experience the
inner Light and Sound of which the scriptures speak. The Upanishads
tell us that sage Ingris unfolded this secret doctrine to Lord Krishna.
Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle taught the same thing each
in his own time. The Hindu scriptures also lay emphasis on "Sruti,"
that which is heard. The Muslim divines call it Noor and kalame-
kadeem.

            In the human body sits the Balance-holder,
              balancing every one aright;
            The mind within is a mine of diamonds, rubies,
              and jaspers of inestimable value.

    The God Power within sees to the needs of all of us and
knows them before we do. Accordingly, He looks to them, gives
whatever is just and necessary. The said Power has also provided
us with a valuable instrument called Mana or the mind. As at
present it is working into the world without. All that one has to
do is to change its direction. It is a connecting link between the
material body and the immaterial soul which are two disparate
things: "Thou art consciousness and thy body is a lump of
clay -  how are two linked together?" Mind is a great force that
stands between the two and takes on the color of both. When
connected with the sense-organs it works through the senses. But
if it could be introverted, it follows the spirit. Like fire, it
is a good servant but a bad master. When under control it moves
inwards. It has, of course, to be put on the path Godwards. The
Master-soul helps in linking it with the God Power within. When
it gets a taste of the Light and Life of God, it loses all charms
for the world. Such a Master-soul with a competency to manifest the
saving life-line within is a great gift of God.

    It is said: "Mind follows the world while a disciplined soul
follows the teacher." We are slaves of the mind. We follow the
mind, wherever it drags us into the fields of senses. We follow
the Master only to the extent that is acceptable to the mind. An
Enlightened Soul has an all-seeing eye. He sees where we are and
how we are helplessly drifting along the current of time. He
knows that human spirit is of the essence of God, and that the
Power of God also works in us. He pities us in our sad
predicament. It is out of pure compassion that He tries to take us
out of the wilderness of the world. He tells us to make friends
with the mind. When the mind is yoked from day to day, it becomes
a matter of habit to do a thing. We have simply, like a good
pointsman, to turn the point inwards, and give it a new direction.
Who would give this direction? It is we who have to do it. When
can we give this direction? Only when we become conscious of the
Reality within us. The Enlightened Soul gives us a living touch
with the consciousness already in us. Besides this He imparts
inner direction and help. We must, therefore, take the words of
the Master as Gospel truth and follow them to the very letter:
"Let my words abide in you and you abide in me," is the
exhortation of Christ.

            Take a firm hold of the words of the Guru and
              keep them firmly tied in the closet
              of your heart.
                                                -Gurbani

    There is just one way to live in the heart of another person:
"Love begets love." When you love a person, it is but natural that
he will respond to your love. If the disciple remembers the Master,
the latter, in turn, attends to him: "Master takes care of the
disciple with every breath of His life." It is nothing but the law
of action and reaction. The great Master very lovingly tells us of
the Balance-holder within. Now, all our weight is in the pan that is
on this side of the world. We have gradually to shift the weight to
the other pan. But how? Under the guidance of Somebody Who can
assist us in shifting the balance. Mind, no doubt, is like a wild
elephant; but it can be controlled with the help of a piked iron
rod with the Master: "Mind runs after the pleasure of the world,
but the Word of the Master attracts him the other way." The Holy
Word has a great attraction in It. It works like a magnet and pulls
the mind around: "The field of sense-pleasures lose all their charm
when one once tastes the Elixir Divine." Engrossed in the world,
the mind is now not aware of the happiness that lies in the world.
It is just a matter of contrast. We have to weigh the one against the
other. The music of the world works this miracle: "So long as one
does not taste the Elixir of Life, one does not get any peace." How
can we have this taste for the Divine? The Gurbani tells us: "The
power, pelf, and intellect are of no avail. A Sadhu alone may help
you to it." The term "Sadhu" is difficult to define. The scriptures
tell us: "Sadhu is just a human-pole on which God Power works."

            How can we evaluate Naam or the Holy Word
            When we cannot get to it without the
              help of the Guru?

    Naam is something inestimable and has a vast potency in It.
"Those who commune with the Word, all their labors end." The
societies and scriptures cannot help us to Naam. If the Guru wills,
then alone we can get to It. Guru gives us correct understanding
and actual experience of It: "Guru demonstrates the Truth to us."
It is a direct experience that counts. It is Aham Brahm, or "here is
Brahm," so to say. Generally, we are told to tread the path step by
step and then we get to it. But what path do we really tread?
Sitting at the plane of the senses, our path lies through the senses.
The Truth lies far above the senses and mind. We may all our life
be engaged in virtuous deeds, and we will reap the fruits thereof.
Good deeds, too, are enough to bind the jivas as the bad deeds are.
We have, therefore, to rise above the field of karmas. This
ascension becomes a possibility in the company of a Saint, for He
gives an experience of it. It is through the instructions of the
Guru that we begin to commune with the Word. This experience forms
the basis or stock-in-trade with which we have to proceed further.
It is, so to say, our subscribed capital to carry on the business
in the practice of the world. Without such initial capital, no
business can be started. It is not enough to know merely the formula
without actually making a preliminary attempt to work it out. The
words given for repetition are but words to help in the withdrawal
of the sensory currents; but beyond that, they cannot help in opening
the inner eye. This is done by the transmission of the life-impulse
from the living Master. This is why it is said: "Do not attempt to
commune with the Word without the help of the Guru." Similarly, we
have in the Gospels: "Take not God's Name in vain." It is the Son
of God Who can reveal God and His Power in man. "No one knows the
Father but the Son and they to whom the Son may reveal." So, it is
a question of revelation and not mere instruction. Nanak in Jap Ji
tells us:

            You have no power to speak or to be silent,
            No power to ask or to give.
            You have no power over life or death,
            No power over wealth or state for
              which you are ever restless.
            You have no power over spiritual awakening,
            No power to know the Truth, or to achieve
              own salvation.
            Let he who thinks he has the power try.

    Thus, we see that salvation depends on His Will alone.
One has to surrender himself to His Will and then wait and watch.

            Only those who are ordained, they alone
              can take to communion with the Word.

    Similarly, in the Revelation it is said: "Those see the Power
of God Who have the Father's Name written in Their foreheads."
It is the inner Light that makes one Khalsa, or the Pure One. When
does a man become pure? The scriptures tell us in this context:
"When one gets into contact with the inner Light in Its fullness,
then alone one becomes pure; otherwise, not." Guru Gobind Singh
speaking of Himself says:

            Khalsa is my own form, and I reside in the Khalsa;
              and my Satguru, too, is Khalsa.

    True devotion consists of the manifestation of the Light within
and of the inner Music. And whosoever succeeds in this process is
true to himself, no matter if he is a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian,
or a Sikh, or anything else. The secret lies in becoming a Gurmukh
or a chosen vessel of the Guru in which His grace may descend. The
right to approach the Father is the birthright of each one of us.
It is not reserved for any particular community or sect, as most of
us think and believe. In preparing the Sikh scriptures, Guru Arjan
tried to collect the spiritual experiences of all the past sages
and seers that He could lay His hands upon. In them we have the
sayings of Ravi Das, the cobbler Saint; Kabir, the weaver Saint;
Dhanna Jat and even Sadhana, the butcher by profession at one time.
We have, therefore, to search for a Person Who has manifested in
Himself the Power of God. Such an Enlightened Soul would naturally
give both oral instructions and inner experience. He tells us: "Man
is man first and man last - recognize this as a fact." This is the
fundamental principle. The religious labels come afterwards. The
main purpose of these labels is to keep societies free from
corruption. And next, He makes us Gurmukh. Now, Who is a Gurmukh?
Gurmukh is One Who penetrates in Himself (for the Light of God).
This then is the mission of a perfect Master - to demonstrate Truth
in us and to make us consciously aware of Truth.

            In the human body one must cultivate fear and love,
            And then one sees the Reality through the grace of
              the Guru.

    We can certainly know, understand, and contact the God.
Power with the help and guidance of a Godman. Where there is
love, there is fear also. With faith in the perfect Master - One
Who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent - who would dare
do anything wrong? And then the love for Him would give an added
strength to one's faith. "Listen ye to the instructions of a
perfect Master. And you will see Par Brahm within your reach."
This love and faith also come with the grace of a perfect Master.
It is He Who can help us to get both love and faith.

            It is in the human body that all the
              gods and goddesses abide,
            And all the creation is being sustained
              by them.

    The whole world worships the three Powers of God - the
Creative-Principle (Brahma), the Sustaining-Principle (Vishnu) and
the Destroying-Principle (Mahesh). All these three principles are
working in the body. Brahma, sitting in the regenerative organ, is
carrying on the work of procreation. Vishnu, at the navel (ganglion),
keeps the body in well trim by digesting food and converting it into
life-giving energy to the body. Mahesh or Siva at the heart center
winds up the life-processes by etherealizing the lower elements into
a vaporous form. When the sensory currents get to the eye focus at
the seat of the soul, the three powers have already taken leave by
winding their respective affairs. You will thus realize that the seat
of the soul at the eye focus is much higher than the elemental centers
below. Why is it so? Because soul is of the essence of God. Nanak, in
this context, says:

            The Great Mother, conceiving, brought
              forth three regents:
            The first creating, the second sustaining,
              and the last destroying.
            What He desires, they perform.
            They work under His Will.
            But great the wonder, though He
              watches over them, they
              behold Him not.

    It, therefore, behooves us to worship the Supreme Being.
We should have respect and regard for the various God Powers,
but God Himself is alone worthy of our adoration and worship.
These God Powers can take Their devotees after death to Their
own respective regions or spheres, but They cannot free us
from bondage.

            The True One has set up the stage of the world
              on which the actors come and go.

    It is with the help of these three powers born of the Great
Mother that God is carrying on His plan and purpose of creation,
and we are playing the fact that we occupy a much higher position
in the scale of creation than these Powers Themselves.

            The perfect Master Himself manifests the Word;
            And this Word becomes the means of liberation.

    It is the perfect Master Who shows us, while living, the
planes and sub-planes in the Brahmand (universe). A real teacher
does not ask us to accept things on faith or credit. He wants us
to see with our own eyes and to hear with our own ears - of course,
inner eyes and ears - while we are yet living in the world. How
can one trust the uncertain future that may or may not give anything
at all? Seeing is believing. A direct perception is greater than
all theories or dogmas. Now we have to work out the initial
experience as far as we can by following the instructions of the
teacher. He gives us the inner eye, without which we are all blind.
Defining blindness it is said: "They are not blind who have no eyes
on their faces. A blind is one, O Nanak, who does not see the Lord."
When the inner eye is developed one begins to see the Light of God
in him and understand the working of the Divine Will. The Audible
Life Stream is the stream of life and an experience of It gives us
All-Wisdom.

            That human body is really human that
              worships the Satguru;
            Such a human body is verily the
              handiwork of God Himself.

    We build temples, mosques, churches, and Gurudwaras with our
human hand. But this temple of the human body is raised by God Himself,
and His Power works in fullness in it. When in this bodily temple we
are able to manifest the Power of God in us through the help of a
Master-soul, we become really blessed.

            Without the Holy Word there is no place of refuge,
            And we cannot escape the cycle of births
              and deaths.

    We, all of us, are sitting in the giant wheel that is carrying
us up and down in the mighty maze of the creation; and there is no
peace for the soul. Among the Hindus, when the last moments of life
draw nigh, it is customary to light an earthen lamp and place it
near the head of the dying person; and he is asked to look straight
into the flame, meaning thereby that the flame may take his soul
upward along with it. This is just an outward ritual of the real
Light which alone helps the soul on the onward journey. Of this
Light it is said: "This lamp burneth eternally." An Enlightened
Soul gives us a touch with this life to start with on the Spiritual
Path. To ferry across the sea of life, one needs both the inner
Light and the inner Sound Principle. These inner manifestations
are possible in the company of One Who Himself has manifested
them in Himself. One who has not yet got this inner contact still
remains in the sphere of time and is to render account of all his
deeds:

            With the revelation of the Power of God inside,
              the book of deeds is wound up;
            O Nanak! such a one is not to render any
              account to the just King.

    Satguru settles all the accounts of His disciples. He pulls
the soul up out of the world. "It is only the Guru Power that can
pull the sensory currents out of the body."

            It is only a fortunate one who meets
              a perfect Master;
            And He links the soul with the Sound Current.

   A real Saint gives an actual inner experience. He says:

            Never take the words of a Master on
              their face value,
            Unless you see for yourself the truth
              of what He says.

	A personal experience works for conviction. The study of
the scriptures creates in us some interest and prepares us for an
experimental test.

            O Nanak! one understands the greatness of God,
            When God Himself so wills in His grace.

    It is the grace of the God that one meets a Truth-personified
Saint. And such a Saint gives us a way in. Then He gives us an
actual demonstration of what He says. Last but not the least, He in
His radiant form guides the soul within from eye-focus upwards.
The company of such a Saint is a real blessing.

            O Nanak! snap all thy ties with the
              people of the world and
              search thou the eternal
              friendship of some Saint;
            While the people of the world shall
              leave thee in the world at one
              stage or another, while He
              shall stand by thee to the end
              both here and in the hereafter.

    All this and much more is the work of a theocentric Saint.
It is He Who can grant you salvation through the Power of the Word
made manifest. We have had this sermon from Guru Amar Das. His
appeal is not to this or that sect, but to the humanity in general.
"Enlightened Souls give out Truth which is common to all."

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