          Ends and Means
          Issued November 22, 1956 as Circular Letter #3
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          Whenever one takes upon himself a duty, he must be clear about
          his responsibility. This need for understanding the obligations
          that are entailed with any piece of work is of much greater
          importance for us--the members of the Ruhani Satsang--for we have
          taken upon ourselves the most important and the most difficult
          task in the world--i.e., enabling ourselves and our fellow beings
          to attain self-knowledge and God-knowledge. We must, before we
          can be of any real service, be absolutely clear about the
          fundamentals of Para Vidya or the Path of the Masters.

          2. The Para Vidya literally stands for the Knowledge of the
          Beyond. It seeks to make the human soul one with God by
          transcending the physical, the astral, and the causal planes of
          existence. It has therefore nothing to do with outer forms and
          ceremonies--rites, rituals, sacrifices, fasts, vigils,
          pilgrimages. These are outer practices. We have to make the best
          use of them. If they are adhered to literally at the sacrifice of
          the spirit, they are positive hindrances on the Path. For,
          instead of leading us beyond the world of the senses, they fix us
          more firmly therein. In our Satsangs we should not mix up the
          science of Para Vidya with any other kind of movement which deals
          with other than this science. We should understand that this is
          the highest of all movements, which is the goal of all religions
          as taught by all Masters who came in the past, including Jesus
          Christ. Of course, our Satsangs will be universal and serve as a
          common ground or school of spirituality, devoid of all forms and
          rituals, for all Masters who will be welcome to give Their
          valuable talks on the theory and practice of science of
          self-knowledge and God-knowledge. Our main aim of life is to know
          ourselves and to know God. We must never waver from this, and in
          every action we do we must consider whether it takes us nearer to
          or further away from our ideal and we should ceaselessly try for
          the same.

          "Awake, arise and stop not until the goal is reached." -
          UPANISHADS

          3. What is God and how can we know Him? God, as all the
          scriptures and the Saints have said, is nameless and unknowable.
          Then how can we know God? The answer is that the Absolute is not
          knowable, yet makes Himself known by manifesting Himself as Light
          and Sound Principle. Most religions tell us that the creation
          began from these primal manifestations. Now the Divine Light and
          the Divine Soul or "Word" (known variously as Shabd or Nad among
          the Hindus, Kalma among the Muslims) may be contacted by rising
          above physical consciousness. They exist in a latent form in all
          of us. Our goal must therefore be to develop them and contact
          them within us. To do this we must, through meditation, learn to
          withdraw our soul to its seat behind and between the eyes. Having
          once contacted the Inner Light and Sound, we can progress toward
          their source, passing from plane to plane until we reach God.

          4. To succeed on this Inner Path, we must find one who has
          explored it to its utmost limits. A Living Master is an
          inevitable need and indispensable means to the attaining of
          self-realization. On the purely physical level, He serves as a
          living example of a Perfect Life. He tells us of our True Home
          and the way that leads to it. On the spiritual side He gives us
          details of the Inner Path, its intricacies and difficulties,
          provides us, by using His own attention, with an actual
          experience of withdrawal from the body and of the Inner Light and
          Sound, and guides us through the more difficult parts of our
          Inner Journey till we reach our goal. The Master Saint is a human
          being like any one of us, but through the blessings of His Master
          and intense spiritual discipline, He has risen into Cosmic
          Awareness. He has become One with God and is a conscious
          co-worker of His Divine Plan. He is a living embodiment of God's
          Love and does nothing of Himself. He is not tormented by any
          self-interest, but works for the benefit of suffering humanity.
          If we can sacrifice our personality to Him, as He has sacrificed
          His to God, following all His commandments, then alone can we
          make spiritual progress. To obey the Master is, in fact, to obey
          God; for it is God who works through the human pole.

          5. The spiritual Path is a difficult one and requires a rigorous
          self-discipline. We must forever be on the alert against anything
          that draws us away from the Path. We must carry out our Master's
          instructions to the very letter, devoting regular time to
          meditation. We must learn to overcome self-love which is a fire
          that consumes and destroys, and cultivate love for God, which is
          a fire that purges and purifies.

          "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
          all thy soul, and with all thy mind... Thou shalt love thy
          neighbor as thyself."
          - MATTHEW 22:37-40

          We must constantly remember that our aim is God, and must not be
          concerned with anything that makes us forget that aim. We must be
          above party spirit and avoid party factions. Our whole life must
          be built upon love and humility, which are inseparable. If we
          make any spiritual progress, we must guard against pride. Instead
          of looking down upon our fellow beings, we must thank God for His
          grace and repay it by humbly helping our brethren in their
          material and spiritual needs. If there be those who do not
          understand or who do not wish to understand the Truth, we must
          not feel irritated with them. They are as much God's children as
          we are, and must be won over by love and persuasion. We are all
          laborers in the Vineyard.

          We are all engaged, as you know, in fulfilling the great cause of
          the Great Master, which is the cause of God. We must, therefore,
          form ourselves into a band of selfless workers united in
          indissoluble bonds of love and fellowship. We, the initiates,
          whether old or new, are all seekers of the one God, and are
          equally dear in His eyes. The same Master Power is helping us all
          alike. Should there be any honest differences of opinion, we must
          try to resolve them by mutual discussion in a spirit of good will
          and amity, rather than breed rancor and discord that may go to
          widen the gulf between individuals and groups. In cases where we
          cannot decide, the Master may be approached for final decision.
          We stand for secularity and not sectarianism. In the grand and
          glorious service of God, there can be no thought of high or low,
          for all of us are moved by a spirit of true comradeship.

          6. It is very necessary to distinguish clearly the ends from the
          means. To lay too much stress on the means is likely to make us
          gradually forget our objective and to become fossilized. Once we
          know, for example, that abstinence from all kinds of meat diet
          and spirituous liquors helps us on the spiritual Path, it is
          enough that we avoid them. But to take it as an end in itself is
          to miss the goal. Offending others because they eat meat is worse
          than meat eating itself. Hate the sin, but love the sinner. Live
          and let others live. Welcome are those who choose to come on the
          way, but we have no right to hate or offend others because they
          eat meat. The vegetarian diet is essentially a helping factor for
          those who would prefer to follow the teachings of the Master.
          Hafiz, a great Saint, says, "Drink wine, burn the holy
          scriptures, and put Kaba, the House of God, on fire. You may do
          all this but never offend or molest anybody." If you are really
          anxious to meet God, you should not offend or molest the heart of
          anybody, which is the dwelling house of God. It may however be
          stated that if one adheres to a strict vegetarian diet, that will
          help a good deal in having a normal life, but does not
          necessarily result in better tempers, controlled sex life, or
          detachment from gross thoughts, desires and actions, worldly
          ambitions, possessiveness, lust, or greed. Kabir says, "If you
          leave hearth and home and retire to a secluded place and live on
          pure vegetarian diet, even then the mind does not leave off its
          base habits." Alongside such essential and positive aides, we
          must religiously devote regular time to the spiritual practices
          of contacting the Light and Soul so as to cut down the
          ramifications of mind, which is so very necessary for
          self-realization and God-realization, and mold our life
          accordingly. I would like to add that for the aspirants on the
          Path it is but necessary that so long as one is in the physical
          body, vegetarianism should be strictly adhered to. The unholy may
          be sanctified and made holy only when one is altogether above
          body-consciousness. And relaxation in the matter of diet would
          not only be a positive hindrance in meditations but would
          unnecessarily contract Karmic reaction. No doubt there is life
          principle in all type of diets; yet in the vegetables, it is in
          the lowest form and, as such, the least harmful. The real goal is
          to use every means possible to rise into full God-consciousness.

          7. Similarly the philosophy of Karma, too, has a specific place
          in the system of Spiritual Science. But it should on no account
          be made to induce morbidity and breed a spirit of frustration
          among the initiates and non-initiates. Man is the maker of his
          own destiny. Though we cannot alter the past yet we can forge the
          future as best we may. "Thus far and no further" is the deadline
          which the Master draws for each one of us and it should on no
          account be transgressed. When you are put on the Path of true
          pure Yoga, you become free of past holds of stress and tensions,
          physical and subtle. Calmness and harmony are experienced, and
          purification and true detachment are only realized by the average
          man through the consciousness of the Saint, which if a true
          Master, gives through His Divine Grace; so the heavy mountainous
          loads of the past actions become molehills, and molehills become
          nothing. Guru Nanak says, "What is the good of coming to your
          feet, O Master, if our Karmic debts are not nullified? It is no
          use taking refuge at the feet of a lion if jackals still be
          howling on him." The Master has to do His job and the initiates
          their own: to push on with full confidence in the Master. There
          are too many leaners on idealistic imagination amongst the
          initiates and too few who practice. The meditation period should
          not be one of pretty emotional feelings only. The initiates
          should surrender their all to the Master and be willing to die
          and give up their life for God. "Learn to die so that you may
          begin to live." The Master knows how to deal best with it. Ours
          is to act well in the living present, as enjoined by the Master.
          If we act up to His commandments, He will never forsake us till
          the end of the world. But we feel, on the contrary, that after
          the Initiation we are absolved from all obligations and are free
          to do what we may by simply putting our trust in His Grace. This
          attitude is a great stumbling block on the Path and retards all
          real progress. It does not pay in the least to purposely close
          our eyes in self-complacency to the stern reality of the
          situation that places rights and obligations in equal proportion
          on each and every individual. We cannot pick and choose as we may
          like. We must, therefore, guard against such a frustrated
          mentality and have to work our way ourselves, for there are no
          short shrifts in the Science of the Spirit. It is a long and
          laborious process of unfoldment for the spirit, and we have of
          necessity to take care of the higher values of life at each step
          if we are keen in our search for Truth. It is a steep path which,
          if we have to tread without stumbling, we must tread with our
          heart forever fixed on the goal and on the steps immediately
          before us, for there is no time to look behind. It can only make
          us shudder and tremble. Ignorance is the only disease from which
          the soul suffers. It can be cured only by knowledge and the
          knowledge is the action of the soul and is perfect without the
          senses, though on the physical plane it cannot do without the
          service of the senses. True knowledge only dawns on the
          supramental plane where physical senses can be of no avail. But
          until that stage of direct communion with the Radiant Form of the
          Master is attained, one has to take care in every thing, for the
          path is slippery and strewn over with hidden traps that may at
          any moment catch the unwary pilgrim on the path. Once one slips,
          the golden opportunity is lost and one does not know when one may
          be able to get a human birth once again. When we lay too much
          stress on the means, viz., vegetarian diet and Karmas, we should
          lay still more emphasis on inversion and withdrawal from the
          senses and put in more time for the purpose.

          Again, the Master, as you know, does not accept anything for
          Himself. All His personal needs He meets on His own account. He
          has nothing to do with the voluntary contributions of the Sangat
          or the brotherhood. These funds constitute the public trust and
          must be utilized for the public good in America and abroad
          everywhere whenever needed. This can be utilized in a constant
          flow of literature and current instructions from the Master
          through the mail. Money voluntarily contributed by the followers
          can be used only by the Master for the uplifting benefit of
          thousands. All Masters did use such money for the propagation of
          Their mission. Every initiate must remember that if they receive
          any literature, etc., from the Master, that they are only taking
          what was paid for by someone else. We must see and think in a
          healthy way about all this. There is no greater service than that
          of putting people on the God-way that may ultimately take them to
          the True Home of their Father. In the discharge of the public
          obligations, we must needs be scrupulously clean and chaste.
          Every penny that is spent for any of the recognized purposes must
          be well spent and be properly accounted for. The accounts of
          income and out-go should be periodically checked, audited, and
          the nature of expenses be thoroughly gone into, so that not a
          cent of the hard-earned money of the initiates goes to waste and
          we are able to fearlessly render account whenever called upon to
          do so. We ought to avoid all grandiose schemes as may strike our
          fancy and serve to pamper our vanity. The mission of the Great
          Master aims at simple living according to the relative values of
          life. The highest ideal of life being the knowledge of self and
          the knowledge of God, all our acts and deeds must be judged and
          measured by this touchstone alone. If we live by the Law of God,
          the Law shall uphold us; and if we fail, howsoever little it may
          be, we transgress the entire Law and are found and judged wanting
          in our ideals.

          Last but not least, I repeat what has so often been said time and
          again, "By love serve one another," for love is the master key
          that unlocks the door leading to the Kingdom of God. Loving faith
          in God and selfless service of His creation are the two
          commandments by which stand all the Law and all the Prophets.

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