From jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca Thu Feb 12 03:27:49 1998
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: Naam or Word: A Study of the Sound Current (9/9)
From: jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca (James Shannon)
Date: 12 Feb 1998 11:27:49 GMT




                             
                             NAAM OR WORD
   
                                  by 

                         Sant Kirpal Singh Ji

                             (1894 - 1974)                           


                               [PART 9]
                            


MUSICAL MELODIES WITHIN

  The Primordial Form of the Lord is the Sound Principle,
and myriads of tunes are playing at His Door all the time:
    Fortunate I am to have the Lord as my friend and
      companion,
    For endless Symphonies keep playing at His Door. 177
                                                       
                                          GURU ARJAN

It is through Shabd that the creation came into being, with
its various divisions and sub-divisions. Each division has
its own peculiar musical notes which one hears as one rises
from one higher plane to another. All the saints have given 
detailed account of these Sounds and in Gurbani particularly 
we have an elaborate exposition on the subject.
  
  It is a matter of common knowledge that the Hindus as
they visit a temple strike the big bells hanging over the
doorway. The Christian churches are invariably provided
with a belfry and the bell is pulled by the bell ringer
beore the commencement of the church service. In the
earlier Sikh temples either a conch was blown or a gong
was struck, though this has now been replaced by playing
a big drum (Naqara). A careful research on the subject
reveals that all these outer things, viz., bells, gongs,
conches, etc., are but symbolic representations without of
the inner Sound Principle. Again" a careful study of the
structure of all these places of worship also helps us to
understand a significant religious element involved therein.

Hindu temples have a dome-like shape with a big saucer-
shaped bell hanging from the center of the dome, and
whoever goes in for worship first clangs the bell. In the
temple of the human body also, in the dome-like structure
of the head, the pilgrim soul, as it enters the astral region,
hears a sound that resembles that of a gong or a conch.

Similarly the Christian cathedrals are either in the 
formation of a big dome resembling the human head or are
steeple-shaped, reminiscent of the ascending human nose,
over which, as the soul concentrates at the still-point
behind and between the two eyebrows, a bell-like sound
is heard. Khawaja Hafiz, a mystic poet of great repute,
speaks of It thus:
   
   None knows where my Beloved abides,
   But sure enough comes the sound of a bell therefrom.


In Sikh scriptures it is stated:
          
          The Sound of the gong is heard everywhere. 178
                                                           
                                              GURU ARJAN

The Buddhist monasteries are also dome-shaped and are
always embellished with two drums: one on the right and
the other on the left. The scriptures of all religions 
contain references to the ringing sound of bells or the 
blowing of horns and conches: the reason being that this 
is the First experience of the soul as it rises above 
body consciousness and enters the temple of the Most High, 
the way to which begins from the root of the nose behind 
the two eyebrows. In the same way countless melodies greet
the soul as it proceeds onward on the Path; but five of
them are generally considered and accepted as of immense
value in leading and guiding one on the journey Godward.
These melodious tunes interchangeably lead from plane to
plane until one catching the native Melody reaches the
Home of his Father, with the proper help and guidance
of some Master-saint.
 
   In the Wars of Bhai Gurdas, one comes across many
references in this context:
    
    The soul hears the playing of Singhi (Zither). 179
    
    The unending Music plays and the Light of Toor
      appears. 180
    
   In the silence of the soul there is effulgent Light,
   Be ye absorbed in the sweet exhilarating Music. 181


Hafiz says:
      
      Listen ye to the heavenly orchestra,
      With notes of dulcimer, flute, zither and guitar.


These inner musical notes, which can be contacted through
a Master, help in liberating the soul from the walls of 
finitude and take her up to the high home of the Father
- the Kingdom of God; for that is the only Highway.


MUSICAL MELODIES WITHOUT
 
   We see in our everyday experience that music, 
instrumental or vocal, plays an important role in religious 
congregations, whatever the nature, whether of the Yogins,
the Hindus, the Christians or the Sikhs. We see the 
practice of Qawwali among the Muslims, the rich music in 
the quatrains of Omar Khayyam, and the poetical 
compositions of Shah Niaz, Khawaja Hafiz, Shamas Tabrez 
and Maulana Rumi. All the teachings of the Sikh Masters 
in the voluminous Granth Sahib are arranged on Rag forms
 -musical compositions. The fact is that effusions from 
the depths of one's soul flow in unpremeditated numbers.
Poetry is, in fact, the language of the soul, as much as
prose is of the intellect. All these outer musical aids have,
however, an inebriating effect that lull a person to a state
of intoxication but cannot rouse in him Super-consciousness 
gradually expanding into the efflorescence of Universal 
Awakening and Cosmic Awareness.

   
   All the wild ecstatic dances in accompaniment with
     the outer music are of no avail to the mind that is
     both blind and deaf. 182
                                                        
                                              GURU AMAR DAS


There are several reasons for this ineffectiveness. In the
first place the music that one very often hears is not an
out-pouring of the soul. It is a cheap commodity and
merely a means of livelihood.
    
    
    A musician makes use of his tunes for the sake of
      earning a living
    And makes all sorts of gesticulations, waving himself
      from side to side.
    With rattling ripplets at the ankles, one calls himself
      a devotee of Ramdas and thereby earns a living,
    Another shows himself off with the observance of
      fasts, vigils and performance of set rituals,
    And still another sings out hymns and verses with a
       mind an utter stranger thereto. 183
                                                            
                                              GURU ARJAN


With the dog of hunger gnawing at the very vital chords
within, one cannot possibly get over his sense of doubt
and skepticism, with the result that he remains in darkness,
far removed from Reality.
  
  Secondly, most of the musicians spend all their time and
energy in setting right the tunes and strains of their 
instruments, vocal or otherwise. A searching investigation of
some of the Ragis (professional singers) revealed that
they live in constant fear of losing their gift of popular
tunes and thus always try to show off what they may or
may not actually possess. With the attention riveted all the
time on the tunes alone they simply sing off the Bani
regardless of its true import and thereby not only lose
sight of the inner meaning it conveys but more often than
not make such phonetical blunders that the true significance 
itself is distorted and lost.
        
        
        The Yogin plays the part with his hands,
        But the tunes do not ring in true. 184
                                                        
                                              GURU RAM DAS


The hearers too cannot understand the verses properly;
unless they are well acquainted with it beforehand, they
lose it in the strains and tunes of the accompanying music.
The saints have, therefore, not attached any special 
importance to outer music for it fails to develop true 
concentration and consequently one cannot contact the 
Reality within, lose the sense of I-ness and get above 
body consciousness, nor achieve inner peace and ecstasy.
    
    
    O Yogin, with the music of the zither you cannot
      develop concentration nor reach the Truth,
    O Yogin, your zither shall not give you inner peace
      nor shall it rid you of your egotism. 185
                                                           
                                              GURU AMAR DAS


The time spent in preparing tunes and strains is a dead
loss without any yield whatever. If this time were spent
in attuning the soul with the inner Word, according to the
instructions of the Master, one could gather many untold 
treasures of Divinity.
    
    
    How long will you adjust to play the ripplets and the
      guitar?
    Why not spend the time in the Word instead of in
      preparing the tunes?
    How long will you dance and extend your hands? 186
                                                        
                                             GURU RAM DAS


It is no good to emotionalize, sing and dance wildly to the
accompaniment of music, tire oneself out of breath and
then faint away, sinking into oblivion that leads the spirit
nowhere. The outer musical aids no doubt do help temporarily 
in gathering in the scattered outgoing faculties and
wandering wits, but cannot lead one to higher Consciousness. 
On the other hand, they take one to a state of forgetfulness 
both of one's self and of God. Beethoven tells us that music 
is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. 
We seem to enter into a new mental world of our own which, of 
course, is superimposed on us by the musicians. But it fails 
to wean the mind from the inner cravings for the world and 
all that is worldly. In brief, the teachings of the Masters 
are crystal-clear on this subject.

We may be attracted by and get absorbed in the outer
music and all of us fully enjoy it, yet with all that we 
cannot break loose from the three Gunas and transcend into
the beyond. Without the aid of the True Music of the Soul
that is going on everywhere and all the time, one remains
a constant prey to sorrow and affliction in the realm of
mind and matter.
    
    
    Engaged in useless pursuits, the musician keeps the
      people spell-bound in Ragas,
    He remains within the snares of the three Gunas and
      goes round in transmigration,
    As without contact with the AII-pervading Word one
      remains in suffering and sin. 187

                                            GURU NANAK
    
    
    It is only the Word that can take one out of the
      delusive matter. 188
                                                        
                                         GURU AMAR DAS


The saints have, therefore, never recommended any course
of discipline, neither of music, nor yogic practices nor 
anything else. They have always laid stress on the love of
Naam or Word, the primal Sound Principle of Godhead.
       
       
       Some engage in the music of the bells,
       Some in fasts, vigils, beads and the like,
       Some smear their bodies with sandal paste.
       But I have only the Lord for my devotion. 189
                                                       
                                         GURU ARJAN


The Muslim devouts also preferred the practice of Kalam-
i-qadim, the most ancient inner Call of God, to all kinds
of outer musical melodies.
    
    
    Take the stop-cock of doubt and distrust from your
      ears,
    And listen to the Melody that is floating down from
      above.
    O brave soul, rise above the sensory plane,
    And hear thou Heaven's Music.
    What a pity to remain in the prison-house of the
      body,
    And not to listen to the Voice of the All-Merciful.


Bhai Gurdas, in his Kabit Sawais, tells us that by Nad-Bad
(outer ragas and raginis - tunes and melodies), one cannot 
have access to the True and unending Melodies.
          

           So long as one enjoys ragas and raginis,
           He remains far removed from Anhad. 190


The ragas and raginis (musical notes) have just a sensual
appeal and one engaged in them remains entangled all his
life, trapped unawares like a swift-footed stag or a mighty
elephant, both of whom, in their ignorance, fall an easy
prey to the wiles of the hunter.
    
    
    Just as a stag by listening to the music of the drum
      gets drenched in ignorance,
    So man without Shabd remains without peace and
      happiness. 191


Far beyond Nad-Bad (outer music) lies the Anahat or the
unstruck self-supporting Music.
    
    
    One has to go far beyond the musical tunes for union
     with the Anhad. 192


It is only by communion with Anhad that one can rise
above the physical plane of the three Gunas. This Godly
Music helps us in breaking through the bondage of the
world, and while remaining in the world we cease to be of
the world. Henceforth, like a lotus flower we keep above
the muddy water which is our natural habitat, and like a
sea-fowl always keep high and dry, unaffected by the
natural element in which we live.
  
  In the Sikh scriptures the Nad-Bad has often been 
described as Bikh-bani or Bikh-Nad, meaning Bani or Nad
with a mortal sting in it, for it injects one with a deadly
poison from which one can find no escape.
      
      
      Through palate and eyes we are all entangled,
      And we get deadly poison through the ears,
      Without the Shabd we are lost all the time. 193
                                
                                           GURU NANAK
      

      The ears get so attuned with the false music,
      That the Music of God does not appeal to us. 194
                                                       
                                           GURU ARJAN


It is only by substituting the Nad-Bad with the Divine
Melody that we can have any honor in His presence:
    
    
    Leave off Ragas (outer music) and commune with
      the Word,
    Then shalt thou be honored in His Court,
    O Nanak! by meditating on Him according to the
      instructions of the Master, one rids himself of all
      vanities. 195
                                                 
                                           GURU RAM DAS


The worldly-wise keep busy all the time in Nad-Bad which
is nothing but sound arising from matter:
        
        
        O Man! how shall I describe all this?
        It is all but a false rattle from matter. 196
                                                         
                                           GURU ARJAN


The Path of the Masters starts where all these ragas and
raginis (musical notes and tunes) come to an end and one
transcends the plane of the senses, beyond which the 
unstruck Music ceaselessly plays of Itself. One who is in 
tune with this Dhun-atmak Shabd (Song of the Soul) may 
sing as much as he likes and it benefits him to do so.
              
              
              He who has seen the Reality,
              His songs are acceptable, and
              He is honored in His Court. 197
                                                   
                                           GURU RAM DAS


It is only by contact with the Word that one can escape
from the sea of delusive matter; outer musical notes of
whatever description are of no avail.
    
    
    The mind keeps oscillating when sitting in devotion,
    But by listening to the Master's Word it gets stilled,
    The True Sound drives away all worldly attachments,
    The Shabd opens the eye to Reality. 198
                                                  
                                           GURU AMAR DAS
    
    
    While engaged in sinful pursuits one sings Ragas
      (songs) and bears testimony to the truth of what
      they say, little knowing that without the Word all
      is a farce. 199
                                   
                                           GURU NANAK


The inner Music of the soul is the real song. Its tunes are
self-existing and self-supporting and need no outer aids
of hands, feet or tongue and lead to the source from
whence they come, the Minstrel divine.
   

   The sweet symphonies of the Music float without the
     aid of hands and feet,
   Whoever communes with this Music, he beholds the
     Truth. 200
                                                                       
                                           GURU NANAK
           
The strains of the Heavenly Music become manifest only
to one who is a true devotee of the Master; through a
Master-soul many get benefited:


   A devotee of the Lord sees and sings of His glory,
   He hears the playing of cymbals, bells, zither, guitar
     and flute,
   He surrenders his all to Him and gets to the Truth,
   Whoever believes in Him gets on the Path and ends
     his round of births,
   He doth escape the fires of hell, O Nanak! and truly
     comes to his own. 201
                                           
                                          GURU ARJAN
           

The Yogins and Derveshes, however, make use of the
outer music as an aid in developing the transcendental
hearing.

   The Sufis, in particular, call music a divine or celestial
   art, not only because of its use in religion and devotion, 
   and because it is in itself a universal religion, but
   because of its fineness in comparison with all other
   arts and sciences. Every sacred scripture, holy picture
   or spoken words produces the impression of its identity 
   and leaves its own image upon the mirror of the soul, but 
   music stands before the soul without producing any 
   impression whatever of either name or form of the objective 
   world, thus preparing the soul to realize the infinite .
                 
      The Sufi, recognizing its importance, calls music
   Ghiza-i-Ruh, the food of the soul and uses it as a
   source of spiritual perfection; for music fans the fire
   of the heart and the flame arising from it illumines
   the soul. The Yogins and ascetics blow Narsinghas
   (big-horned instruments) or Shankha (a conch or a
   big shell), to awaken in them the inner tone. 
   Derveshes play Nai or Algoza (a double flute) for the
   same purpose. The bells and gongs in the churches
   and temples are meant to suggest to the thinker the
   same sacred Sound, and thus lead him towards the
   inner life. 202
                                           HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN


Music used as the art of arts and the science of sciences,
containing the fountain of all knowledge, is helpful in
developing the finer sense of hearing; but if practiced for
exhibition and show or as a means of earning a living it
loses its inherent charm and real utility.
  
  The saints at times press music into their service as a
handy aid in collecting an audience, for people are 
generally attracted more by music than by anything else.
 
 Again, it is out of the abundance of heart that a man
speaketh. As the true saints are imbued with the 
intoxication of the inner unstruck divine Music (Anahat), 
the spontaneous songs welling out of the depths of their 
soul bring about a tremendous impact on the listeners and 
at times transform their very being, instantaneously 
leading them to full spiritual efflorescence.
  
  From a study of ancient tradition we see that the first
divine messages were given in songs; the Song of Solomon, 
the Psalms of David and the Gathas of Zoroaster. The Vedas, 
the Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Zend Avesta, 
the Kabala and the Sikh Scriptures are all in verse. Kabir, 
Nanak, Baba Farid, Hazrat Bahu, Surdas, Dharamdas, Sadna 
and other saints used mostly verse for disseminating their 
ideas. The very atmosphere in the gatherings of the saints 
is charged with spiritual vibrations and often some of the 
devout listeners get into Wajd or a state of intoxication 
at their very sight. The two simple words "Hari Bole" 
addressed to a washerman by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the sage 
of Bengal, turned the very washing ghat into a veritable 
ring of dancers with the chant of "Hari Bole" on their lips. 
This then is the power of real music coming from within the 
secret chambers of the heart.
                        
                        
                        REFERENCES 

                        
        BOOK TWO - SHABD
       
        1. Majh M3
        2. Basant M1
        3. Asa M4
        4. Jap Ji 2
        5. John 1:1-5
        6. Parbhati M3
        7. Janam Sakhi M1
        8. Malar War M1
        9. Majh M3
       10. Asa M4
       11. Parbhati M1
       12. Sri Rag M5
       13. Basant M5
       14. Majh War M1   
       15. Tao Te Ching 1   
       16. Chandogya Upanishad, 1; Maitreya Upanishad, 6    
       17. Page 112           
       18. III:l7-6 and 9-3   
       19. Bhairon M3                                
       20. Bhagavad Gita        
       21. Shalok 31               
       22. Vak-Ambrani          
       23. Sukat 30             
       24. Shalokas 80,81, 83-84, 92, 95-98, 101, 105          
       25. Al-anwar of Maulana Sheikh Mohd. Akram Sabri                 
       26. Ibid., p. 106        
       27. Bhairon M1          
       28. Sorath M3            
       29. Bihagra War M4       
       30. Maru M3              
       31. Sri Rag M1          
       32. Matthew 13:14        
       33. Isaiah 30:21         
       34. Nad Bind Upanishad, Shalok 33, 34                
       35. Hidayat Nama         
       36. Tazkra-i-Ghousia     
       37. Sarang M3            
       38. Sarang War M4        
       39. Matthew 13:15       
       40. Basant M1            
       41. Sri Rag M3           
       42. Sorath M3            
       43. Pran Sangli          
       44. Ram. War M3          
       45. Matt. 7:13-14           
       46. Luke 13:24           
       47. Gauri Kabir          
       48. Majh M3              
       49. Ramkafi M1           
       50. Ibid.                     
       51. Ibid.                   
       52. Sorath M1           
       53. Gauri M5
       54. Majh M3            
       55. Sarang War M4      
       56. John 1:4-5, 9-10   
       57. Isaiah 30:14       
       58. Basant Rag M1    
       59. Sri Rag M3       
       60. Vadhans MS       
       61. John 8:51 (Jerusalem Bible)      
       62. John 7:37-38       
       63. John 4:10, 14     
       64. Jeremiah 2:13      
       65. Sri Rag M3         
       66. Sorath War M4      
       67. Ibid.              
       68. Vadhans M3         
       69. Majh M3            
       70. Parbhati M1       
       71. Ibid.              
       72. Asa M3             
       73. Sawai M4         
       74. Suhi M3          
       75. Basant M3        
       76. Parbhati M1     
       77. Shalok MS        
       78. Sri Rag M1      
       79. Ramkali M1      
       80. Asa M3           
       81. Malar M1         
       82. Ramkali M3      
       83. Ramkali M1       
       84. Ibid.            
       85. Ibid.            
       86. Maru M3          
       87. Jap Ji 38        
       88. Majh M3          
       89. Gauri M3         
       90. Ibid.            
       91. Sarang War M4    
       92. Sarang War       
       93. Sri Rag M3       
       94. Basant M1        
       95. Pasbhati M3      
       96. Ibid.            
       97. Asa M1
       98. Sri Rag M3
       99. Gujri War M3
       100. Sri Rag M3
       101. Sarang War M4
       102. Gond Kabir
       103. John 3:3, 5-8
       104. Ezekiel 36:26-27
       105. Galatians 2:20
       106. Matthew 10:39
       107. Ramkali M1
       108. Nut M4
       109. Prabhati M1
       110. Jap Ji 4
       111. Asa M1
       112. Ramkali M1
       113. Sarang M3
       114. Prabhati M1
       115. Shalok Kabir
       116. Bhairon M3
       117. Asa War M1
       118. Bhasron M3
       119. Basant M1
       120. Asa M3
       121. Kalyan M4
       122. Malar M1
       123. Sri Rag M1
       124. Malar M4
       125. Asa MS
       126. Gauri M1
       127. Asa M1
       128. Basant M3
       129. John 6:35, 51
       130. John 4:14
       131. Gauri MS
       132. Sorath MS
       133. Asa M1
       134. Asa MS
       135. Ramkali M1
       136. Ramkali M1
       137. Jaitsri M1
       138. Sarang MS
       139. Bhairon MS
       140. Ramkali M1
       141. Vadhans MS
       142. Ramkali M1
       143. Majh M3
       144. Sorath Kabir
       145. War 19: P. 8, 20
       146. Suhi MS
       147. Sri Rag M1   
       148. Asa MS        
       149. Gauri MS      
       150. Bhairon M3    
       151. Sarang  M1    
       152. War 13       
       153. Parbhati Kabir   
       154. Kanra War M4                                   
       155. Ramkali Beni Ji   
       156. Suhi M1           
       157. Jap Ji 16                                      
       158. War 29          
       159. War 6           
       160. War 7, Pauri 5   
       161. Bhairon M3       
       162. Sarang M4        
       163. Ramkali Kabir    
       164. Malar War M1     
       165. Isaiah 30:21    
       166. Kanra War M4     
       167. Ramkali M3    
       168. Maru M1      
       169. War 3        
       170. Ramkali M5    
       171. Ramkali Kabir   
       172. War 5           
       173. Bilawal M1      
       174. Sri Rag M3      
       175.  Malar  M4      
       176. Ramkali M1      
       177. Bilawal MS    
       178. Asa MS          
       179. War 20, Pauri 11   
       180. War 23, Pauri 13   
       181. Kabit 22           
       182. Asa M3             
       183. Maru MS           
       184. Asa M4             
       185. Ramkali M3         
       186. Asa M4             
       187. Ramkali M1         
       188. Maru M3            
       189. Ramkali MS         
       190. Kabit 12           
       191. Kabit 412          
       192. Kabit 11           
       193. Gauri M1         
       194. Suhi MS           
       195. Bilawal War M4     
       196. Gauri MS           
       197. Suhi M4
       198. Majh M3
       199. Asa M1
       200. Ibid.
       201. Asa M5
       202. The Mysticism of Sound

                             
                             [End of Part 9]
___________________________________________________________________________

                      
                      Sant Kirpal Singh Ji (1894-1974)
                                
   Kirpal Singh was born in Sayyad Kasran, in the Punjab, on February 6, 
1894. A lifelong search for God led him to many Sufis, yogis and mystics, 
but he refused to take anyone as his Guru until he had direct proof of his
competence. In 1917 his prayers for an inner manifestation of God were
answered, and he began seeing the form of a bearded man, made of light, in
his meditations. In 1924, while visiting the Beas River, he was directed to
a nearby ashram, and there, in the person of Baba Sawan Singh Ji, he met
the same form on the physical plane that he had been seeing in his
meditations for seven years. He was initiated the following day, and
devoted the rest of his life to the practice of Surat Shabd Yoga, the
spiritual discipline taught by Baba Sawan Singh.

   He was married at an early age, had three children, and supported 
himself and his family by working as a civil servant in the Indian 
Government. He worked his way up to as high a post as was available to a 
native Indian, and retired in 1947, having won the love of Indian 
subordinates and British superiors alike.

   He sat at the feet of his Guru for twenty-four years, and very quickly
penetrated deep within. By the early thirties, Baba Sawan Singh was
mentioning his name to those who asked if he had any advanced disciples; 
by the late thirties, he had been assigned the job of writing GURMAT 
SIDDHANT a two-volume spiritual classic in the Punjabi language which was, 
at Kirpal Singh's request, published under Sawan Singh's name. In the year 
1939, he was asked by his Master to initiate 250 persons at the regular 
monthly initiation -- an unprecedented honor for any of Sawan Singh's 
disciples, and one of the traditional ways by which a Master indicates his 
successor. All through the thirties and forties, he held Satsang regularly 
at Lahore and Amritsar, and often gave discourses with his Master sitting 
by his side; as he used to say, "I talked to my Master and the people 
enjoyed!" 
   
   In fact, he was holding Satsang on April 2, 1948, at the Dera Baba 
Jaimal Singh -- his Guru's ashram at Beas -- when the news came that Baba 
Sawan Singh had died. Just the day before he had received the transfer of 
spiritual power through the eyes, which verifies and makes possible the 
continuance of the power from one human pole to another; he had previously, 
on October 12, 1947, been told by his Master that he would succeed him. 
At that time, he had begged Sawan Singh to stay on in the physical form 
and just give orders as he willed; but that prayer was not answered and now 
he was gone. Heavy of heart, he left for Rishikesh in the Himalaya Mountains 
with three close disciples and spent the next five months in almost 
continuous samadhi or absorption in God.

   During this period, he adopted the traditional way of life of a sadhu 
or renunciate, removing his turban and letting his hair (uncut since birth, 
as is the Sikh custom) hang loose, and wearing a simple white dhoti. It was 
at this time that he met the Maharishi Raghuvacharya, then in his early
nineties, who became his close friend and disciple. The Maharishi, who had
penetrated into the astral plane by means of strenuous Ashtang Yoga
practices involving pranayam, etc., at once recognized that here was a
great soul indeed, and got up from the circle of disciples where he was
sitting and bowed down before Kirpal Singh -- thus demonstrating the
greatness of both of them. Kirpal Singh in his turn always treated 
Raghuvacharya with respect and deference, even though the latter freely
told everyone that Kirpal Singh was his Guru. Raghuvacharya died in 1971 at
the age of 115; he was a pundit or Sanskrit scholar as well as a great
yogi, and to see those two giants together was the sight of a lifetime.

   Finally, having drained the cup of spiritual ecstasy and become one 
with his Father, he received orders from within: "Go back into the world 
and bring My Children back to Me." Returning to a newly independent India,
still reeling from the shock of the secession of Pakistan and the
unbelievable suffering that that entailed, he went straight to Delhi, the
center to which the Punjabi refugees were pouring, and began his work
there. By 1951, he had established Sawan Ashram on the outskirts of the
city, and the satsangs were being attended by five thousand or more souls.
His work continued to grow, with one expansion after another; in 1955, he
made his first foreign tour, spending several months in the United States
and Europe. This was the fist time that a Saint of his stature had visited
the West, and the first time that the Surat Shabd Yoga had been explained
there by an authentic Master of the system. In 1955, the recognition of the
depth and relevance of Oriental ideas and spiritual practices that is now
so all-pervading had barely begun; he presented these profound concepts
with complete simplicity and clarity to an audience almost totally
unfamiliar with Eastern thought. As a result of this tour, hundreds of
Westerners took initiation and began to follow the Path of Sant Mat. Small
centers of disciples sprang up, and representatives were authorized to
convey initiation instructions to new seekers in his absence (after prior
sanction from him). The number of initiates began to grow steadily.

   In India the work continued to grow at a headlong pace as the Master's
reputation, as a holy man who actually lived up to what he preached, and to
what the scriptures said, grew more and more widespread. In 1957, he was
elected the first President of the World Fellowship of Religions, an office
he kept until 1971, when, after four World Religions Conferences, he
resigned after it became evident that nothing more could be accomplished in
that direction. In 1962, he was awarded the Order of St. John of Jerusalem,
Knights of Malta, for his spiritual and humanitarian work; the first
non-Christian in history to receive this honor. On this occasion, Prime
Minister Nehru sent for him to offer his personal congratulations; they had
a long talk, and the Master's unofficial but intimate connection with the
Prime Ministers of India began. (He advised both Prime Ministers Shastri
and Indira Gandhi on several occasions, and they reciprocated by addressing
the various Conferences presided over by him.)

   In 1963, he made his second world tour, this time, as President of the
World Fellowship of Religions, meeting national and religious leaders on
their own terms and applying the healing gospel of love to the very thorny
world of practical politics. He met Pope Paul VI, the Patriarch of the
Eastern Orthodox Churches, and many European royalty and government figures
on all levels; and to them all he presented the idea of the unity of man.
Side by side with his work on this level, he continued initiating seekers
into the Path of Sant Mat.

   As the work increased in the West, more and more seekers after truth
yearned to sit at their Master's feet in India. The first who stayed at
Sawan Ashram was Rusel Jaque; his account of his six months visit in 1959
(Gurudev: The Lord of Compassion), encouraged others to come an see for
themselves. And they did--a trickle at first, then more, until by the early
'70's there were almost always forty or fifty Westerners in residence at
the Ashram for periods ranging from three weeks to six months. During his
last year, the number skyrocketed upward, as he, knowing he was leaving,
threw open the gates and issued a general invitation to all his non-Indian
disciples to attend the World Conference on Unity of man in February 1974.

   One of the final facets of Kirpal Singh's many-sided mission was the
building of the Manav Kendra or Man Center in the foothills of the
Himalayas at Dehra Dun. The plan was to establish five of these centers
throughout India -- one each in the north, south, east, west and center. 
Each center was to be eventually self-supporting and would serve as an
agricultural example for the farmers in the area--combining traditional
Indian methods with scientific know-how. Each center was also to include a
free hospital, a free elementary school, a home for the aged, facilities
for studying languages, and a library of comparative religion and mysticism, 
in addition to the esoteric instruction and "man-making" program that was 
to be the core. During the years 1970 and 1971, the master personally 
labored twelve hours a day to get the Manav Kendra built and functioning.

   On August 26, 1972, the Master left on his third and final would tour. 
This time he was greeted by crowds numbering in the thousands, most of them 
young people who had been initiated in the last few years. Although his body 
was showing signs of deterioration and his extraordinary vigor and staying
power were at last diminishing, he nevertheless put in fourteen- or fifteen
-hour days throughout the tour, gave countless talks, saw thousands of 
people in private interviews, and initiated more than two thousand new 
disciples before the tour ended.

   The outward climax of Sant Kirpal Singh's mission was the Unity of Man
Conference seven months before his death. The conference was attended by
two thousand delegates -- religious and political leaders from India and all
parts of the world -- and approximately fifty thousand non-delegates. His
last major effort on behalf of unity took place at the Kumbha Mele in
Hardwar, where, on April 2, 1974, he organized a large number of sadhus and
holy men into the National unity Conference, pledged to work together for
the elimination of religious strife and for the economic uplift of the poor
people of India. This was the first time in the known religious history of
India that anyone had been able to persuade the traditionally independent
sadhus to join together for a common good; as he later said, "It was very
difficult to bring them to sit together."

   At the great Bhandara in honor of his Master, at the end of July, he 
gave his last Initiation, giving Naam to more than one thousand aspirants. 
A few days later, on August 1, he addressed a session of the Indian 
Parliament at the request of its members -- the first time in history that 
a spiritual leader was invited to address the Parliament. Three weeks later 
(after a brief illness, during which he continued to share moments of love, 
grace and spiritual encouragement with a small number of western disciples, 
in spite of obviously increasing pain), he stepped out of his body in full
consciousness. His last words were of love and concern for his disciples.
His life bears eloquent testimony that the age of the prophets is not over;
that it is still possible for human beings to find God and reflect His will.

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