From jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca Sat Mar 27 00:06:45 1999
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: The Ineffable Story
From: jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca (James Shannon)
Date: 27 Mar 1999 08:06:45 GMT





                            THE INEFFABLE STORY

                                     by

                             Sant Kirpal Singh Ji


                      This talk was given at Sawan Ashram
                      in Delhi, India and was published in
                      the Sept. 1973 issue of Sat Sandesh.
                      ------------------------------------

  
  There is no greater aim or goal for the soul, when it is born into the
human species, than to rejoin the Lord - to make its way back to its
Source, via the holy pathway. This has been the ultimatum of all great
Masters Who come to earth to help mankind realize this very aim. Having
received the good fortune of the human birth, which is the highest form
of all the species, this is man's most important task in life.

  To achieve this end, we must first seek the company of One Who has
already achieved His goal, and has realized the Lord. A man with but
empty words is of no use in this sphere of work. Likewise, success will
not be met if, having found the Master-soul, one does not obey His
instructions.

  When all the Masters tell us that God is indescribable - He cannot be
expressed in words, and mere speeches, therefore, are of no avail - then
how can the Lord be realized? It is a subject concerning experience,
through actual contact, and is not a subject for merely repeating, or
memorizing in parrot-like fashion, certain words uttered in some worldly
language. "Don't take the Name of God in vain, but take It with some
purpose in view." It is a subject of contact. And who is to experience
that contact? The soul.

  The soul, at present, is under the mind's influence; and the mind is
under the influence of the senses which, in turn, are being dragged around
by the sense objects - through enjoyment. The result is that the soul has
become the very image of the body and has forgotten its true nature. Until
it awakens unto itself, how can it meet the Lord? Reunion with God can
happen only to the soul. As long as the soul is under the control of the
senses, the mind, the intellect, pranas (vital airs), it can never meet the
Lord. So God is experienced by the soul, but we are all embodied souls; and
until we come to know and recognize our true selves through analyzing our
selves from mind, body, and senses, we will not meet the Lord. This is why
all the Masters have stressed the importance of self-knowledge; for, in
fact, self-knowledge is akin to God knowledge. After taking the important
step of self-knowledge, then God-knowledge becomes attainable. There are
no means of knowing God without the soul awakening, becoming aware of, and
knowing itself.

  It is often said that man cannot live by bread alone - that is only food
for the physical body. Similarly, reading, writing, and thinking help to
develop the intellect. To feed the soul, however, one must have contact
with God - without which the soul will never gain strength. For this the
Masters have introduced certain spiritual practices: upon awakening in
the early morning, one must sit in remembrance of the Lord and meditate
upon the Naam. In this way, the soul is fed before the body. But people
prefer to feed only the body, or the intellect, and usually the soul gets
nothing. Consequently, the soul becomes weaker and weaker, is fearful
and tremulous. The whole being becomes filled with fear.

  Know that the soul is the entity of God - it is a child of the Lion, for
God is above fear; He is valiant, intrepid. When the soul is the Lord's
entity, and its nature, therefore, is also fearless , then why is man so
full of fear? Simply because the soul is not conscious of its true nature -
it never gets its food, the Bread and Water of Life. The Masters say that
our first job is to feed the self, to know the self, to become strong in
the self, and then do other work. As a test, just sit calmly and quietly,
and you will realize that the strength for the whole of one's being comes
through the soul. For example, to take physical exercise, one must place
one's attention on that and then the body gets the strength to act.
Similarly, if you turn your attention to intellectual activity, you will
gain intellectual strength. If the attention is not focused at all, the
senses will not work, and the body will not function. So the actual source
of one's strength is within one's own self, the true self. Attention or
soul is a great power; but because we have never fed the soul since we
came into this human body, we are spiritually weak.

  What then is the food of the soul? The soul is a drop of All-Consciousness
and, therefore, should have gotten connected to the Greater Consciousness -
the Oversoul. Through that connection the soul's strength would have
increased magnificently, instead of which the little strength it had was
scattered in various directions in the outer attractions, and depletion
naturally follows. Soul has the same nature and caste as Sat Naam; it is
the child of the Lord, a prince of the Emperor and, therefore, no small
personality. However, by existing in outer expression only, it has receded
from the Truth. These are facts which cannot be readily seen by reading
and writing on the subject. Realization of the Truth can come only with
experience. While the attention - which is the soul or sruti - is not
withdrawn from outer entanglements, it is not possible for it to realize
the Lord. To extricate oneself from this predicament, one must go to One
Who has already freed Himself. A man who has actually seen something will
not waste his time on mere idle talk about the subject. This means that
God-realization cannot be achieved in any form of academic education,
though that might help one to understand to a certain extent.


                Tell the story of the Ineffable,
                  and how He can be realized,
                Give unto the Guru, body, mind, wealth,
                  and obey His commands.


  Body, mind, and wealth must be surrendered to the Guru; and to follow
His instructions implicitly is imperative for success. Having surrendered
all unto Him, there is no question of the body being too tired for
meditation, etc. If He says, "Sit for two hours," then sit for two hours.
When Raja Janak received initiation from his Guru, Ashtavakra, he was asked
to give these three things. Giving the body does not mean that you give
it away, but one must keep it as the Guru desires, pure and clean, and do
not use it for mere enjoyment - and one must sit in meditation. Whether
your heart is in it or not, you have given your body up to His
commandments; so follow them. Raja Janak agreed to surrender his body,
mind, and wealth; and Ashtavakra told him to go and sit among the shoes
at the back of the huge court. It was a difficult task for the ego of the
King to submit to such a lowly action before so many of his subjects.
Pride and ego are very bad traits, you see; but it was his Master's
order, and he had to do it. Having given one's word, then where does
hesitation or question enter into the matter? One must simply obey, but
such people are very rare who obey implicitly. Secondly, one should
consider whatever wealth and possessions one has, to belong to the Guru.
Christ told the fishermen to leave everything and follow Him. Take your
belongings and go with the Saint; leave the poisonous entanglements
behind. Usually the Guru will not tell you to leave home and family, but
instead teaches you to live with everything, knowing it all belongs to
Him. We should be attached to nothing and entangled in nothing. This is
what He means by giving up one's wealth. His third injunction is to give
up the mind. Mind is sold to the Satguru; then all the server's actions
will bear fruit. He who gives his mind to the Guru will never need to
worry and debate over his actions.

  Janak, powerful King that he was, readily obeyed his Guru. Forgive me,
but a little praise renders us reluctant to humble ourselves before
others - we prefer that others should bow before us. Such thinking must
all be pushed aside. Leave all concern for the world's opinions, likewise
the opinions of one's family. See for yourself what you really want - what
your true aim is. Ask yourself why you have come here. Have you come to
realize God, or for some other purpose? How did the Masters achieve
God realization? By putting all other considerations as secondary. Those
who are enamored of the worldly opinions will remain empty of spiritual
wealth. Those who have the Lord's intoxication, who know of the Ineffable
Story, will sit in mutual affection, gazing into each others' eyes. Only
those who do not have this realization will indulge in religious conflict.

  There are those who give their wealth to the Master, but they are few;
for most people would rather give the skin off their bodies than to part
with even a small sum. They will declare that they are prepared to obey
anything; but on the question of money to help the poor or any other
worthy cause, they cannot afford to give. However, for their personal
requirements or their family needs, the money magically appears and flows
like water. There are many who will not give to a spiritual cause, or to
help those in dire need. But remember, whatever sacrifice a person makes,
so will he receive in return.

  Surrender of the physical form means living a pure and chaste life, with
good actions. Remove yourself from immorality. Let all your physical
actions be guided by the commands of the Guru. He has commanded you
to sit in meditation. Do not dye your body in the immoral colors. As for
wealth: Repeat the Naam, and share your food. And remember this: that
whosoever achieved realization did so through sacrifice.

  Do you know how Kabir Sahib gave realization to Dhani Dharam Das? He
was a millionaire, but he gradually spent everything in his search for the
Truth. After many years of searching, without success, having spent all his
fortune in the process, he finally decided to commit suicide by jumping
into the river; but at the crucial moment, Kabir appeared to him. You can
say that this is true sacrifice.

  When King Janak had taken his place at the rear of the court among the
shoes, Ashtavakra asked him, "Where are you sitting?" The King replied,
"I am sitting in this lowly place." Ashtavakra wanted the King to admit his
present lowly status. He then said, "You have given all your wealth, rank,
and possessions to me; so stop your mind dwelling on these things." The
King found this very difficult, so he closed his eyes to shut out the vision
of his surroundings. When this was not effective, he also closed his ears to
prevent the distraction of the many sounds around him. But constant habit
becomes like nature, and the mind continued to dwell on his outer life -
his court, palace, his queens, his army, and so on. Again and again he
would tell himself that he had given all these things away, and his mind
would withdraw a little. The tug of war between the soul and the mind went
on for some time, until eventually Ashtavakra asked him, "Where are you at
present?"

  Janak replied that he was like a crow flying around a vast ocean, finding
no dry place upon which to perch. Ashtavakra told him, "You have given
away your mind, so do not fraternize with it. Think now with the Guru's
thoughts only - not your own; still the mind." King Janak was competent in
all yogic practices; and with the strength of his Guru's order, he stilled
his mind for a while, and the inner path was opened for him through the
attention of his Guru. The Light was revealed within, and he heard the
Sound vibrating. Upon completion of this experience, Ashtavakra asked
King Janak, "Have you received the knowledge?" The King replied, "Yes,
Maharaj, I have received the knowledge."

  The receiver must admit that he has received something. There are those
who will say, "Go, child, you have got salvation - your seat in Sat Lok has
been reserved." But brother, what have you received, what have you
experienced? - that's the point. If you have already received something, I
rejoice with you. If not, go and search until it is given to you. The True
Master gives some capital with which to start the spiritual journey. The
Saint has given me some capital. This capital is given through Their grace.
With Their life impulse, They give the true devotion. Through applying
Their life impulse, They rejoin the soul to the Lord with devotion.
Sometimes it happens that at the time of receiving, the receiver is unsure
of what he has received, especially if the experience is minute.
Nevertheless, with daily contact according to the Master's instructions,
that will show increase every day, thereby reassuring the initiate that he
has received some experience and is on the true path.

  Having admitted that he had received the experience, King Janak was told
by his Guru, "This body, mind, and wealth are returned to you as a parshad
(gift of grace from a Guru) - use them all in my name - do not misuse
anything." It is very rare to find anyone who gives complete obedience to
his Guru. Even those who are willing to give over their bodies are very
hard to find. We can obey the Guru just as much as the mind permits; we can
do as much spiritual work as the mind permits - how then will we realize
that Ineffable One? We should live pure and chaste lives, having no bad
thoughts about others. We should become embodiments of the Truth in
thought, word, and deed. God is in every being, so we should love everyone
and hate no one. Share the woes and trials of others; share your food with
the hungry person.

  The Guru is He Who brings forth Light in the darkness within the human
being. He gives this Light as a free gift. To live in the human form without
seeing the Light of God within is a waste of a human life; it is a life
without real meaning. Of what use is a tree that does not bear fruit? If
the Light of God is not manifest in you, it is a waste of precious human
birth. Without a thought you give food to the body, so why not feed the
soul also? Naam is the soul's food. Naam is the perpetual flow of God which
is All-Light, All-Completeness, Indestructible, Indivisible, and Perfect;
and that flow is forever on its course. When joined to this flow, the soul
will get its daily food. This is the Guru's work - to rejoin the soul to
this ever-flowing Source - so obey Him.

  When Guru Amar Das wanted to select the capable disciples from among
His followers, He devised a test. Remember, Masters always test Their
followers, each in His own methods. These tests are for the advanced
disciples - those who have advanced by the Master's grace - and usually
they are not aware of what is happening. Guru Amar Das told each of His
disciples to make a raised platform out of mud, and they were all willing
and anxious to begin. We are usually quick to jump and obey, but how long
can we keep it up? When they had each made one platform, He inspected them
and decided that they were not satisfactory, and should be made again.
They all remade them; but when the Master inspected the work, He told them
that they were still not satisfactory, that the clay was not the right
type and should be brought from another place. This was done, and the
platforms were remade. Again the Guru declared that they were not right,
and the disciples remade them once, twice, thrice more. When Guru Amar Das
inspected the platforms again, He was still not satisfied and told the
disciples that they should change the site, shift all the clay to a
different place, and there remake the platforms again. When they got to
the new site and the clay was moved there, the remaking started again.
Again and again the Guru rejected the work once, twice, ten, twelve times.
Again the site was changed and the clay carried over. You may wonder how
many disciples were left doing the work. Very few; for one by one they had
left, until only Jetha Ji remained. Jetha Ji later became Guru Ramdas when
He succeeded Guru Amar Das. But at the time of this story, Guru Amar Das
was over 120 years of age, and the people who saw Jetha Ji faithfully
doing this work told him, "Why waste your time like this? Your Guru has
become old and senile, He is not in His full senses; He tells you to make
and remake these platforms again and again - is this the action of a
sensible man?" When he heard these words, Jetha Ji cried. He was a soul of
no small enlightenment, and could see the Light of God working in his Guru.
He could not bear to hear people speaking of Him thusly. Through his tears
he said, "Brothers, you do not understand: the whole world's thinking may
be wrong, but never my Guru's, for He is the only Awakened One, the God-
realized Guru. If He tells me to make and remake these platforms my whole
life through, it will be a joy to do so, for I want only to obey His orders."

  It is a wonderful example of obedience. All Masters have emphasized the
importance of obeying the Guru. Christ told His followers, If ye love me,
keep my commandments. And what was His commandment? Love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength. And what
is the natural outcome if you follow this? You will love your neighbor as
yourself. God is in each being; and if we truly love Him, we will naturally
love Him in all others - wherever He is. It is said that this was Christ's
most prominent command; for in obeying this one commandment, other rules
of ethical life are automatically adhered to. For instance, if you love
someone, will you steal his goods? To follow this commandment completely
removes all danger of one's downfall from wrong actions. It is useless to
outwardly declare surrender of one's physical body or one's possessions,
if one does not obey His orders. This is not the way to realize the
Ineffable. Complete obedience to the Guru has been unanimously decreed by
all the Realized Souls as being the only way to realization of the Lord.
No one should do what the mind commands. Keep the Guru's wishes in your
mind always, whether the intellect agrees or not.

  Our Hazur used to give a very good example of this. On a battlefield, an
officer will order the men to fire. Does any soldier stop to ask why?
Ethical life is the stepping stone to Spirituality. His orders are that one
must be pure, chaste, humanitarian. Forget all pride and vain-glory. One
person may have pride of knowledge; another may have done a little
meditation and wishes the world to acknowledge him as a great devotee. The
consequences are that whatever little a person has gained will be lost, and
one will be left lamenting. Always remember that all spiritual progress is
solely due to the Guru's grace - be grateful, not prideful. If a million
rupees or dollars are placed in a treasury, why should the treasurer feel
proud? Whatever comes, whatever goes, it is all due to the will and pleasure
of the Guru; and the receiver should feel neither a sense of pride nor a
sense of loss. Humility is a very beautiful adornment. The fact remains
always that those who wish to tread the path of Spirituality will have to
learn to walk in obedience. Only those who obey will gain emancipation.
You may not bow to the Guru's outer form, which should be given all due
respect as the Temple of the Lord; and yet if you obey His commands, even
then you will get salvation. It is a law which has the unanimous approval
of all the Saints.


                Obey the Guru, and sing the True Word.


  To speak of the True Word means that there also must be some word
which is not true. There is the Word which is the Sound Principle. There
is also the outer word, which comes into worldly language, and this has two
types: the weak and the strong. The weak comes from unrealized people. The
strong word comes from People Who are realized. By outer word, therefore,
He is telling us to sing the True Word. The True Word or Sound Principle
lives forever; It is perpetual.


                The Guru's Word vibrates in all;
                He created It, and He Himself distributes It;
                Whoever repeated It was released
                  and entered the Perfect Place.


  The Lord is the Source of that vibrating Word. The Creator Himself
manifests It in whomsoever He chooses to shower this special grace. Such
fortunate souls cross the ocean of life and gain freedom. They reside
forever in their permanent abode. The Word vibrated in the four yugas
and made the Truth audible. The Word is also called the Sound Principle -
the Sound which has vibrated through all the four yugas, or ages. This
Sound spreads news of the Truth; It is a link with the Source. The outer
word of God has had a much shorter existence. For instance, some word
was started just about a hundred years ago with Swami Ji. Then about five
hundred years back we have the words from the Sikh Gurus. Thirteen or
fourteen hundred years ago the Koran was spoken. If we go back nearly
two thousand years, we find the birth of the words of the New Testament;
then the scriptures of the Jains and the Buddhists date back about five or
six thousand years. All these holy scriptures were made up from the words
of certain Masters.

  The Inner Word is invisible, but It becomes manifest through the grace of
 a Realized Soul. The invisible Word was made apparent. It means that the
Master has the key: The key to the treasure of the Limitless Word was
given into the Guru's keeping. He can make the inaudible Word audible
and the invisible Light manifest. Whosoever can do this amazing thing is
a True Master, indeed, for it is a connection with the True Word, which
comes only through the order from God Himself. The true seeker should
strive to find the connection and then meditate upon it regularly. What
happens to those who are not regular? Swami Ji calls them "thieves of
bhajan" when He says, Thieves of bhajan dive into anger and passion,
drowning themselves in a river of greed. This type of person lives in
attachment, the enjoyments of the senses.

  The first indication that the inner connection is working is shown when
the taste for outer enjoyments begins to become insipid.

  So the Master's command is to Sing the True Word. Have you understood what
the True Word is? It is not an outer word - even the words of the Masters,
strong as they are, come through the ether. The True Word is that Word which
is vibrating and permeating everywhere. It is called Word, Naam, Shabd; It
is called the God-into-Expression Power. As long as the attention remains
at the level of mind and senses, in the enjoyment of the senses, in the
greed, passions, and love of possessions, one cannot receive this higher
connection.


                Oh restless mind, no one received
                  this through cunning,
                Listen, oh my mind! No one received
                  this through cunning.


  This subject is not mastered by any cunning means or cunning talk because
it is not a subject which lies in the realm of intellect. Cunningness is
connected to the intellect, and the Upanishads say, Senses, mind and
intellect must be stilled, and then the soul perceives. There are four
phases of the mind: reasoning, desire, intellect, and ego. While any of
these four phases continue functioning, God cannot be experienced. All four
phases operate through the I-hood and if I-hood is there, how can God be
there? When mind is sold to the Satguru, his selfless service succeeds.
So Guru Amar Das is emphasizing that, in the sphere of spiritual progress,
nothing is achieved through cunningness. The same applies to clever
lectures, which are outer words. Remember the subject of the matter is the
Ineffable Lord, and this cannot be brought into words. He has never been
described - and never will be. The Masters have given many, many
descriptions of Him; but They always conclude by declaring that He cannot
be described - He is beyond worldly expression. Guru Nanak has explained
that if a devoted person read millions of holy scriptures and then with
devotion and an unlimited supply of ink and paper wrote continuously with
the speed of the wind, it would even then be impossible to accurately
describe what God is. How can we understand while we are in the sphere of
intellect? - for He is beyond intellect. If you think you have understood
what I am telling you, then take the next step and learn to still the mind.
Otherwise, the hidden treasure which comes into this life with you will go
back with you, undiscovered. We waste our whole lives entangling and
trapping ourselves in outer activities.


                Listen, oh my mind!
                No one received this through cunning;
                This enchanting illusion makes one forget,
                  in its forgetfulness.


  Illusion, another name for forgetfulness, starts when we enter this body.
We are really embodied souls, but from the moment of birth we become more
and more identified with the body; we see everything from the body's level.
The world's structure is changing every second, but this fact cannot
penetrate our minds. Only the soul is Truth, and all changing things are
untruth; but we are under the impression that the world and its affairs are
the truth. This means that our angle of vision is faulty; it is incorrect.
Illusion is something very enchanting and is ever attracting us in its
direction. Learned, unlearned, rich and poor both, even the cunning people
of the world, are all under its influence and control. How can an
individual awaken from such forgetfulness and get out of the clutches of
illusion?

                This enchanting latent Bani becomes manifest
                When you contact some Master Who
                  has got the secret.


  The question arises, where did this illusion come from? It is said that
the Creator made two power phases. One is the Negative phase, also called
the Power of Kal, which is said to be taking everyone into forgetfulness.
He Who created the world placed it into a vortex of illusion; and being
constantly dragged into this vortex, one loses one's true awareness.
Positive and Negative were made by the Lord to create this worldly play.
These two principal powers were necessary for the creation of that play -
one being Positive, the other Negative. If you realize the Lord of
Creation, all influence of forgetfulness or illusion will be banished
forever. Rejoin the Source of the power of creation, and illusion will
automatically fade into nothing.


                I sacrifice myself to He Who sweetened
                  this attachment;
                Nanak says you cannot receive through
                  the cunning trickster mind.


  No one ever received enlightenment through cunning, and no one ever will.
So leave all cunningness. As an aid to that, understand the theory in a
constructive way. Understand that the Maker of both Positive and Negative
powers is something else; the powers themselves are not ultimate. For
example, if a King makes someone a Viceroy and someone a Commander-in-
Chief, then both of these officials get their authority from the King. But
they are responsible for their own work. Similarly, this vortex of illusion
is under the authority of the Ultimate Lord.

  So the Masters tell us to get to know the Source from whence these
powers came, and this is the only means of escaping from the illusion. Now
Guru Amar Das tells us more about how to realize the Ineffable Lord.


                Oh beloved mind, always treasure the Truth.


This is the answer to the problem. It has nothing to do with speaking the
truth. O Nanak, know the True as the Truth. When the True One, the Lord,
came into expression, the Truth came into existence. Now He is Truth, He
was ever the Truth, He ever will be the Truth; O Nanak, this is also the
Truth. This constant, unchangeable, imperishable Power of the Lord came
into being long before time or age started. It was, It is now, It ever
will be in existence. The Name of that Power is the Truth. He advises
mind to get connected to that Truth and treasure It forever more. This
Power is called by various Names: Truth, Naam, Command (Hukam), Word, etc.
The mind should learn to enjoy that Power, that expression of the Lord.
At present, unfortunately, it is being dragged by the outer senses reveling
in the enjoyments; but in the experience of that Power of the Truth,
there is a greater bliss and happiness. So get connected to that Truth
and remain so forever.

  What is it that drags the mind so easily outward? There are two things:
one is form and the other sound. Beautiful objects attract the mind,
pulling it towards them. Melodious music has the same effect. These things
happen in the outer world, but just imagine the power of attraction of that
which permeates and vibrates in all creation. If you get connected to that,
the mind will change its attitude and direction; it will be charmed by the
sweetness of that Power and begin to enjoy the Truth, the Naam or the
Shabd. In that Naam there is an effulgence of Light, which increases in
each plane of progression. In that Naam, the Music of the Spheres is
constantly playing. Those same things, form and sound, which attract the
mind outwardly can do so hundreds and thousands of times more powerfully
within - within this human form. There is an abundance of beauty within; and
when the mind begins to become enchanted by this inner beauty, it becomes
still. When the mind is still, the soul ascends and transcends the senses
where the realm of physical matter ends. Ahead of this it is called
prakriti in the astral plane, and pradhan in the causal plane, wherein
illusion continues to operate. When, from this physical plane, the soul
rises beyond the astral and causal planes, it leaves the sphere of
illusion completely. This process of progression starts by rising above
the physical form and journeying from there.


                Oh beloved mind, always treasure the Truth;
                Family and friends, you see, will not go with you.


Children and acquaintances ensnare the soul even further into illusion's net.
For the sake of these entanglements, man will sacrifice everything - money,
sleep, reputation, everything - he dances to whatever tune they care to
play. The Masters see this tragic condition very clearly, and tell man that
he is getting deeper and deeper into this forgetfulness, that his True
Companion is the Lord within, the Naam, the Shabd, the Truth, his perpetual
Companion, the One Who will never leave him. Keep attachments to a bare
minimum. You have certain work to do among these relationships, which God
has given according to your karmas, which are the reactions of the past
actions. These relationships have come as wife, husband, child, friend, and
so on. Give to them whatever is necessary-pay your debts. Serve all men,
for God is in all men; and do not forget the Almighty Life Sustainer.

  If you do not gain freedom from illusion, where will you go when you die?
Wherever your attention, there will you reside. Everyone is anxious to
accumulate wealth for the benefit of their children and relatives, but is
reluctant to give even a penny to help some poor unfortunate that may be
dying on their very doorstep. Repeat the Naam, and share your food. All
human beings are interdependent upon each other in this world - we cannot
live without each other. Earn your own living, look after your family
obligations, but put aside a little to help those who are less fortunate
than yourself. Since the world began, it has been a natural law to share
one's good fortune with others. Give one tenth, or one-twentieth, or even
as little as one-fortieth of your income to aid the needy. Those who are
hungry will no longer hunger. India is a poor country materially, and it
is said that many loans have been taken from other countries. But brothers,
if each man would share his food, there would be no shortage in India
today, and no need to borrow money.

  There was once a Muslim who with great difficulty saved 300 rupees with
which to pilgrimage to Mecca. He was on the point of leaving for the
journey when he realized that the plight of some of his neighbors was dire
indeed. He was unable to bear the sight of the hungry children and gave his
savings for their sustenance, canceling his pilgrimage to Mecca. They say
that when the list of pilgrims accepted by God was read out, this man's
name was at the top. His pilgrimage had been accepted without his leaving
home. Brothers, you may go on pilgrimage; you may visit the temples; but He
Whom you are striving to please is dying of hunger in some nearby fellow
human being. If you have no care for your fellow beings, how can you expect
to earn God's pleasure?

  You may remember the life of Rabia Basri. One day she was accompanying
some others on a pilgrimage, and they stopped at a well to drink and gather
water for their journey. When they had finished, had packed away the rope,
and were on their way again, Rabia noticed a dog by the roadside who was
nearly dying of thirst. She mentioned this to her companions, but they
refused to stop and help the dog. Rabia herself went back to the well. The
others had taken the rope, so she took her clothes and tied them together;
but they did not reach the water in the well. She tore out her hair and
tied this on the end, and she was thereby able to wet the clothes and take
them back to the dog, who gratefully drank the water she wrung from them.
As she tended the dog, she heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Rabia,
your pilgrimage has been accepted."

  He for Whom we pilgrimage and He for Whom we search resides in each
and every being. Do we expect to be accepted when we ignore Him? Family
and friends will not go with you. This is a definite fact!


                None will go with you,
                  so why tie your heart to them?


  He is repeating this statement: none will go with you when you leave the
world, so where is the wisdom in tying oneself to perishable relationships
which cannot last? Do your service unto others, for God is in all; your
responsibilities exist insofar as your past karmas must be answered for; so
do your duties cheerfully. When traveling on a train one can pass the time
in cheerful companionship with one's fellow travelers; but when each one
gets off at his own station, will you cry and cling to one another? You
know that the company was to last for but a few hours and so feel no
sorrow at the parting. If only we would all realize that this is the true
situation of life in the world. Wherever the eye can see, who is our
brother, our friend? One has gone, one will go, the turn of each will
come. Each one must leave at the appointed time, even ourselves. So the
Saints advise, "Keep attachments to a bare minimum." Attach your heart to
He Who is the Thief of All Hearts, He Who will always be with you. When
outer conditions become trying, go through the difficulties cheerfully.
Give loving service to others, for the sake of He Who resides within them.
This is the cure of this disease of forgetfulness.


                Do no action to bring regrets.


Whatever you do, do with foresight; think of what the result will be. If you
do all your actions with awareness, you will save the regrets later on.

  There was once a King named Mahmoud. During his conquests in India he
went on looting, taking out millions and millions in diamonds and other
gems. One day he fell seriously ill on the journey and thought he was dying,
so he gave an order for all the looted wealth from India to be brought
before him. When the chests were brought, he said, "Open them up; I want to
see them once before I die." When his senior adviser heard this, he said,
"Your Majesty, this wealth cannot leave this world with anyone." The King,
although very ill, replied, "Is that so? Then if and when I reach home,
you may remind me about this." The adviser thought he was about to be
rewarded and promptly reminded the King as soon as they entered the palace.
The King told him that he remembered perfectly and called for the guards to
throw the adviser into prison. When the soldiers grasped the man, he cried,
"But your Majesty, what is my crime?" The King replied, "Your crime is that
when I was making children orphans and wives widows by killing their
fathers and husbands, and when I was looting their properties, doing all
kinds of atrocities to amass this wealth, you should have at that time
advised me to stop my actions. What is the use of all your wisdom
afterwards?"

  Why regret now, when the birds have eaten all the seeds? We go on
doing things from which only regret can be the outcome. When a man is
dying, tears come to his eyes. Why? Because he realizes that he is leaving
his body and his accumulated wealth. Very often his keys, all the
possessions he has earned with his own hands, are being grabbed by
others even before he breathes his last. All alone in pain and torment he
leaves his body with no one to help him. The tears flow more freely when
he thinks of all the work he should have done. At that stage, what is the
use of regret?


                Follow the advice of the Satguru,
                  which will be with you always.


  What is the Satguru's advice? To listen to the True Sound and get
connected to the Naam. The Word of the Guru never perishes; The Word
of the Guru cuts the noose tied by the Lord of Death. Follow His advice
and get out of this forgetfulness. Who will accompany you at death? Only
the Guru's Naam. In this world and in the worlds to come, in the higher
planes, He will always be with you. The physical form alone is not the
Guru - the Guru is that Power that works within the physical form. That
Power is perpetual; It never dies, but sits within the initiate and resides
there until the soul has reached its True Home. Did not Christ say, I shall
never leave thee nor forsake thee? You can call It Christ Power or Guru
Power, but the contact with It is given from whichever pole upon which It
is manifested. The Masters take up the physical form, and leave it at the
appropriate time. Today, where is the body of Guru Nanak, or Kabir, or
Christ? Each Master works for the length of His mission. Those who
received the contact through Their grace, found that Guru Power working
within Them. Today, if you withdraw inside, you can meet all these
Masters. The True Master, the God-Realized Soul, is found very rarely.
You may find thousands of so-called Gurus, but the True One is very
rarely met. The only criterion which is foolproof is the contact with the
Light and Sound within. He removes the veil from the eye and gives the
darshan of the Lord; Such a Satguru do I appreciate. This statement is
very clear. The True Satguru will not merely give fine talks and then
tell you to go on following the instructions and gradually you will get
something. If this method worked, then everyone would have got contact
with God. He Who gives a conscious contact to the aspirant at the start,
maybe some little capital to start with, is a True Satguru.


                Follow the advice of the Satguru,
                  which will be with you always;
                Nanak says, Oh my mind! you then
                  remain with the Truth forever.


To be connected to the Truth ensures your future forever. Meditate on
Naam and increase that contact daily, and you will never be alone.
Furthermore, your coming and going in creation will finish.


                O Thou the Inconceivable beyond comprehension,
                  no one has ever defined Thee.


Now we come to the crucial point of the Ineffable Story. He says, "O Lord,
You are Agam, Agochar - Inconceivable and beyond all comprehension - and
up to now no one has ever defined what You are."

  The Guru is the human Positive Pole. For instance, the electric power
from the powerhouse is sometimes distributed at one thousand watts,
sometimes at ten thousand watts; but the source of the power remains the
same powerhouse. Whatever Power the human pole is capable of receiving is
distributed. When He withdraws from the body, He merges with the All-
Consciousness; when He is in the body, He goes on connecting the souls
to that All-Consciousness.


                None can define You, only those to whom
                  You have made Yourself known.


Only God Himself knows how great He is. Even the Masters give up the
impossible task of describing Him. He is just Ineffable. You are the Ocean
of All-Wisdom; how can I, a poor fish, define Your depth?


                No one can describe even this play
                  which is Your creation.


Take the subject of botany. When I was in America, I met a man who had
written a thousand-page book describing a single plant leaf with all its
intricacies. It is hard to imagine that there could be so much description
for but a single leaf. But a leaf is a wonder of wonders. And as for the
rest of creation, there is no beginning nor end to it. Take the soil: it
produces sweet fruit, bitter fruit, sour things, flowers of myriad scents
and colors. How can all these wonderful things be described?


                Eyes do see whatever You created.


You have created the world; You can define it, and only You. Whatever
mercy the Lord wishes to shower, that much is manifested; and whatever
awareness He gives, that much is expressed by the receiver.


                Nanak says You are Inconceivable;
                No one has discovered what You are;
                Munis and gods who searched for
                  the Water of Life, found It
                  through the Guru.


Even advanced souls, different gods and goddesses, must follow the same
law of seeking enlightenment through the grace of the Guru; so this law
apples to everyone. Bhikha says, He who boasts he has received, has
received nothing. Truly Realized Souls come with humility - humility is
Their adornment - and They never say that They know everything. They
credit the Lord for everything. As the words come from God, so they are
brought into outer knowledge. This Water of Life, the Water of Immortality,
is given by the Guru. Guru Nanak says, You came to this world for the
Water; that Water of Life is given by the Guru. It is the giver of all
kinds of happiness; It immortalizes the person.

  Rise above all garbs - if you stick to them, that will result in
diversity and cunningness; these will bear no fruit. Remain where you are,
in your own religion, your own environment; but learn to rise above body
consciousness. Our connections with religions are but physical. The true
purpose of joining them was to receive the Water of Life; and for that, go
to any Realized Soul Who will give you the contact. Merely adhering to the
outer symbolism of religion will not avail you of this precious gift. You
will die bound in its chains. The true wealth can be received only from the
Satguru. Within is a deep bowl, overflowing with the Water of Life which
He extracts and distributes. Naam is like a deep well within you; so learn
to leave the body, rise above, and take a deep draught of this Elixir of
Life. We have a store of an abundance of Life within us, and yet we
continue to come into birth and death. Will we ever get a small sip of
that Elixir? All nine doors are valueless; the Elixir of Life is found at
the tenth. Our attention is constantly flowing out of these nine doors:
the two eyes, the two nostrils, mouth, the two ears, and the genital and
excretory orifices; and so we can never taste the Water of Life. When the
attention or soul inverts and gathers at the tenth door or orifice, which
lies hidden between and behind the two eyes, it finds that the Elixir of
Life is dripping there. Any soul that rises to that point may sip that
Elixir. It is a matter of inversion, and this inversion is taught by the
Guru. Meeting the Satguru, brother, inversion starts; Dying while living,
the mystery is unraveled. Just by meeting that great Personality and
placing one's full attention upon Him, the senses will incline toward
inversion. Then at initiation He gives an experience - you can call it
a boost - and the soul rises above the body consciousness; the body becomes
apparently lifeless. He then opens the inner eye and gives the contact with
the Light within. He opens the inner ear and gives contact with the Sound
Principle within. The Name of such a wonderfully competent Personality is
Guru, Satguru, Sadhu, or Sant. Dying while living means that the soul must
rise above the body. Unraveling the mystery means an awakening into the
Beyond. There is no other way but the way which is opened up by the Guru's
grace. If you think you can do it yourself, I will be happy to see you do
so; but remember this, and think very calmly over it: the soul is at
present at the mercy of the mind, the mind is under the control of the
senses, and the senses are being dragged by passions. What kind of
practices can the soul do, thus identified with the body and all its
senses? Yes, it can do any of the outer practices: reading, writing,
devotional prayer and song, rites, customs, fasting, pilgrimage,
austerities, and others. Identified with the senses, doing practices
involving the senses, how can the soul rise above these things? If you
admit you cannot do it, then take pity on yourself and get someone's help.
The Guru's greatness is shown to some extent when, with a little of His
attention, He opens your inner eye and reveals the Light within. You
yourself will admit that you have received something. It may be a little,
it may be more, but that must be increased day by day.


                Water of Life is received
                  by the grace of the Guru
                Who manifests in the true heart.


When the Guru gives the sitting, the experience, He manifests Himself in
the heart of the disciple. From the Beyond, God's command has come;
Without the Satguru, realization cannot come. The Lord has laid down
certain fundamental rules, and among these is the one which decrees that
without the Satguru there is no realization for any soul. Christ said, ...
neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal Him. He Who sees can make others see also.


                In all Your creation, few are there
                  who see and recognize You.


Very few men, in all God's creation, ever see Him and realize Him. Lord
Krishna told that one in a thousand walks toward Him; and if a thousand
such ones were found, then from them only one will take what is offered;
and if a thousand of those were found, only one from them will realize it.
In hundreds of thousands, there is none; In millions, there may be one.
What happens to the rest, then? They remain in the passions of the senses
and the sense enjoyments. Some are left on the astral plane, some on the
causal plane, some are here - on the mental plane. Your Servant, there may
be only one; all the rest are lost in business. Some desire only the world
and what it has to offer, and they remember God for this reason. How
many are there who remember the Lord for His sake alone? By the grace of
the Satguru, greed and pride are finished; Only His attraction remains.
No greed of the world - or of the other worlds - remains; there is only
a desire for God. All this happens by His grace, and this is why the
Satguru is so very attractive.


                Nanak says, Upon whomsoever rests His pleasure
                He gets the Elixir of Life through the Guru.


So finally, who realizes the Lord? Whoever is truly in search of Him.
Wherever fire bums, oxygen comes to help. Wherever there is a fire of
separation from the Lord, so the Lord Himself makes it possible for that
soul to meet the Personality in Whom He has Himself manifested. This
human Positive Pole, or Satguru, rejoins the soul back to the Lord. If
there is His mercy, then the Satguru is met; Connection to the Lord's Naam
is made. You must sacrifice three things: physical body, possessions, and
mind. Then, obey His commands which are: "Within you is the Naam; rise
above the senses and go within." He who does this gains freedom from
illusion.

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