From jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca Sat Jan 23 04:38:43 1999
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: Sant: The Master
From: jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca (James Shannon)
Date: 23 Jan 1999 12:38:43 GMT

                




                            SANT: THE MASTER

                                   by
                         
                           Sant Kirpal Singh Ji


                 SANT: THE MASTER was first issued in the
                 1950's in mimeographed form, then went out
                 of print for many years. It was published
                 in Sat Sandesh in August 1970, and has
                 remained in print as a pamphlet ever since.
                      The footnotes are the author's.



  PERHAPS one might ask, "What sort of a person is a Sant
about whom so much has been said, as distinguished
from commonly known grades of Masters, such as Sanyasis,
Rishis, Munis, Tikhishwars, Munishwars, Yogishwars, past
Masters, founders and ministrants of religions, etc.?"

  No doubt a Sant (or Sadhu) is an ordinary man to all
external appearances. He is, however, a great deal more:
a "perfect man" with experience of outer and inner life.
Outer living may be different in various countries, but
inner experiences wherever known are the same; although
they speak of differing phases according to the degree of
inner approach. These are not denied as far as they go,
but direct and full phases are announced by Sants who
also offer experience along with their theory. What more
is needed by man?

  Voluminous books recording experiences of Sants in
this science of Nature are full of their praises. Still, it
is very difficult to know more about a Sant even if he is
your nearest neighbor or daily passes on the same road.

  History shows that once the Czar of Russia, moved by
the fate of certain exiled subjects of his dominion working
as shipbuilding laborers on a far-off coast, went in disguise
to them, worked with them for a number of years, and persuaded
them to return to their homes. The laborers protested that
they had been turned out of the dominion and there was no hope
for them. The Czar assured them that he had influence with the
royal court, including some with the Czar, and that there would
be no trouble. Those who believed him agreed to accompany him
to their homes. On the way their faith in their fellow worker
was confirmed when the Czar disguised as a laborer was warmly
greeted by his men. At last when all saw in the end that the
distinguished laborer was none other than the Czar himself
sitting on the throne before their eyes, they heaved sighs of
relief. How could they have known him or believed him
before?

  The Unseen High One uses a very selected human pole,
who, by dint of his continued, untiring and unending
endeavors, unequaled in self-sacrifice and boundless love
for Him during life, contacts Him within himself, becomes
His conscious co-worker, and is utilized and assigned the
mission of giving solace to afflicted seekers of Him, to
rescue them from the worries of the world and to unite all
such ones to Him who owns them.

  Man needs man to understand, and so a Sant is the
High One in the guise of a man to whom those longing for
Him can approach. The Unseen Almighty has His own law
in this respect. Thus, Sant is God plus man. He is a mouth-
piece of God, or if one is pleased to accept it, he is God
in person, "personified God." He is most sacred "personal
God" (1) invested with all powers and authority and is a
living altar to pray to, to seek solution of man's problems
from birth to death and after; in short, to extricate man
from the network of worries and bestow true salvation.

---
1. One might feel aversion at this expression, but if one thinks
deeply he will realize that holy personalities in every religion
were men in physical bodies duly contacted with the High Lord, and
advised, healed or talked of the Holy Father only as savior from
sin and giver of salvation. God has no co-sharer is the general
belief, and as such God, through the selected human pole, spoke
each time and not man. The Divine Science brings to light this
important fact and has more respect for all such. personalities
and their teachings than any religious circles today.

  Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras (U. P., India) once, accompanied
by some of his devoted disciples, visited a fair in the locality
there. Among some visitors who gathered as inquirers and seekers
around him happened to be a queen, Tara Mati by name, who
leaving her state carriage at a distance, came for darshan of Holy
Tulsi Sahib.

  Casting a glance over the thousands of people in the fair,
Tulsi Sahib uttered a few words: "If anyone or the whole multitude
comes to me and says that they want to see the True Lord on
High, I will take them to Him just now." Queen Tara Mati, who
heard him, stepped forward with folded hands and said, "Please
take me to Him, 0 Holy One." She sat with eyes closed on the
ground and was given the experience right there on the spot.
When she came back into the physical body from the high regions
and opened her eyes, she said, "You were on the high seat of the
Great Lord. Why did you not tell me so before?" Tulsi Sahib
replied, "You would not have believed me then."
---

  Thus God moves as ordinary man in disguise. As a man
externally no one can recognize him, but only one who
contacts a Master Saint within himself according to the
science, i.e., the laws that He has laid down for man.
Externally, if one takes a Master Saint as an ordinary man,
he cannot derive any more benefit from him than he could
from anyone of the level that he takes him for. If one takes
him as a superman, much more benefit can be derived, and
if he is taken as all-in-all, still more. If one contacts a
Master within himself, he gets all and everything. It is not
a matter of one's thinking range, which is blind faith.
It depends on the extent of understanding of this Divine
Science. That which comes from the heart will go to the
heart.

  A question was once put to Hazur Baba Sawan Singh
Ji Maharaj: "Bodies of all men are made of the same mud
(i.e., material flesh, blood, etc.), what superiority is
attached to the personal body of a Sant which makes him
superior to any other man?"

  Hazur replied: "No doubt, all bodies are composed of
mud, but the body of a Sant is made of the purest particles
of it available in the universe. Every word, every look,
every move, every touch, even the aura of a Sant is en-
dowed with mercy, love and grace of God. His society is
specially electrified and the atmosphere charged. The purer
the heart of a man, the more he realizes and feels. Even
those who listen to him, accept and absorb what he says,
are not left blank. They are benefited.

  "When a Sant walks on the ground, the land becomes
pure and sacred. When he walks over the grass or in
walking crushes any worms or insects, they get a man's
body direct, irrespective of the cyclic order and stages of
evolution of creation of life on earth in Nature's science.(2)

---
2. As a description of this subject as revealed by the Sants
would take too much space, it is omitted here.

  Swami Ji (Sant Shiv Dayal Singh Ji of Agra) when casting off
his physical body at will which Sants do, said as his last words,
"In the phenomena of life on earth each variety of embodied
creation has been lifted to the next grade of category. Selected
ones (among men) with high virtuous living will be inclined to
this side (the inner science)." (Life of Swami# Maharai, fourth
edition, 1938, p. 117)

  (Sant) Maulana Shamas Tabrez once said, "When I die and
my body is burnt and my ashes are used as manure in a wheat
field, and that wheat is made into flour and bread is made of it,
and that bread is served to be eaten. then not only the eater
but the server of the bread will be intoxicated (with the love of
Him) to an extent beyond expression."
---

  The fruit trees and plants from which the cereal comes
which a Sant uses in his diet also get human bodies di-
rectly. The tree, a portion of a branch of which the Sant
uses as his datan (toothbrush), and the cows who provide
milk for the Sants also get man's body direct. Similarly the
mares, etc., Sants ride, the ants or worms whosc bodies
touch the flowing water in which a Sant bathes, or any
flying bird who happens to see the naked portion of the
body of a Sant also get the same advantage."

  An ordinary man would take this as an enigma or joke
and would hardly be prepared to believe because his testing
stone is his intellect, and he knows nothing of the
Power of God, or such powers delegated to or concessions
inherent in the bodies of Sants, unless he acquires
experience in the noble science that has been designed by God
Himself for man. It is true. that God is unseen to external
eyes, but He has not left man all forlorn on earth so far
as approach to Him is concerned. The door of approach,
the starting point, for any search or research in this con-
nection lies within man. The Sant is the means.

  Man therefore must adopt a course different from that
upon which he is attempting to make headway; but proud
of his "learning" in many fields, he goes astray, just as
one examining a bowl found in the ruins of a far-off country
begins to ponder, speculate and concentrate his imaginings
on the potter who made it'long ago. He draws a sketch
of the potter in his mind, makes images of him and his
implements, and in so doing writes books, one after the other,
trying to impress others and prove that his findings are
true and deserve praise. Alas, man is far from the right
track.

  Simple is Truth and still simpler the language of Truth
spoken by the Sants, whose simple and brief words uttered
from the heart satisfy, pacify and console the most
bewildered and troubled souls. They speak involuntarily
and unaffectedly.

        A Sant is the mouthpiece of God, and God Himself
          speaks through the human throat.

                                         MAULANA RUMI

As a man, a Sant is always submissive to His Will in
happenings in life. Bear and forbear is a Sant's creed. He
is like a sandalwood tree on which a feller's axe strikes its
blows, but the tree continues to give forth its fragrance,
even to the edge of the blade which cuts it.

  In the company of a Sant the agitated mind becomes
still. He stands for the good of man and does his work as
a friend or brother, if one's mind is not prepared to
accept him as a guide. He remains concealed, but by his very
concealment is added fame to fame and glory to glory.(3)

---
3. A Sant will never say that he is a Sant. Hazur, when he
was told that he was true Guru Nanak, used to say openly before
thousands in Satsang that he did not bear any likeness even to
the dogs of Guru Nanak. This humility places Sants above the
level of the highest cultivated human beings, who are often prey
to egotism. It is the summit of merits of Sants as men.

  Concealment is the essential attribute of Sants. It is inherent
in their character. God is concealed and prefers to remain so,
from the external view of man. This Law is from the High One
for those bodies in which the Lord is pleased to work. Disregard
of this Divine Law results in bodily punishment. For this reason
also, a Master Saint never shows any miracle for attracting souls
from mundane life for purposes of initiation. A student or disciple,
however, sees any number of miracles at each move in this
world or next after initiation. Sants neither dress themselves
distinctly nor bear nor keep any mark, sign or symbol with them.
They do not say they are high of self, but mention'their own
Masters. When told they are great, they reply that it is none of
their doing; it is the kindness and mercy of their Master.
---

  He does not see who a person is, what position he holds,
or to what school of thought or race he belongs. He simply
sees that one coming to him is an ensouled human
being - man. The Sant is so watchful and alert a merchant of
his precious goods (i.e., the spiritual science) that anybody
who thinks himself the most clever, the wisest, the most
highly educated, a performer of miracles, etc., cannot get
even the scent of what he has, though one may try his
very best. The Sant loves theists as well as atheists, or
even the worst sinners or those who are drowned in sensual
pleasures of the world, just as a loving mother will not
throw away her child completely covered in dirt and filth.

  It takes a Sant to know a Sant. A Sant alone can describe
a Sant. His presence in the midst of any society or
social group is its most precious adornment. He may be
seen going from one place to another but he does not go
there for any propaganda or selfish motive, but is attracted
by the strong silken ties of love in certain hearts. He is
the uplifting leader of moral cleanliness and spirituality.
Whether a metal be gold or iron, it is mere metal to a
Sant. He is not affected by offers of position of dignity or
indignity, honor or dishonor, nor moved by joys and sorrows,
praise or censure. Sovereignty, wealth and beauty of
women are no attractions for a Sant. He is far above the
influences of lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. He is
unaffected.

  Sants or Sadhus (4) are above the three gunas. They are
selfless and reveal the Truth only. They are "Children of
Light"-beacons of the world. It is very seldom that one
comes across them-real ones. Like wrestlers, they are
not made in one day, nor are they from any school of
academic learning. They have had the experience of several
past fives. Every Saint has a past and every sinner a future.
They are common assets of humanity. They are experienced
personalities who have analyzed themselves and realized
God and can help to put us on the same path. Whatever one
has, he can give it to another.

---
4. Sadhu is another common name for a Sant, and there exists
a great deal of misconception about this term. The word as used
here is not meant to refer to the millions of people who wear the
colored robes found in India and generally known as Sadhus. A
distinctive dress is not necessarily proof that a man has made
inner progress.
---

  How can the ordinary man know that a Master Saint
(Guru or Satguru) visits the heavens daily, takes charge of
his disciples' karma, winding it up and liquidating it under
his care and supervision? There are thousands of disciples
and how can the Master manage it? Man hears of these
things only occasionally. Sit by a Sant and you will feel
mental composure, calmness, and a tranquillity never
experienced before, and much more too. The minds of
those who have the least spark of love of God in them,
experience an awakening even when they just hear that
there is a Master who can really guide them to the
threshold.

  In going to a Master we acquire:

  1. Reciprocity of heart;

  2. Staying still behind the eyes;

  3. Contact with the "Divine Link."

In the places of pilgrimage, the holy ones of olden times
bestowed at least these three boons which are stepping
stones to direct spirituality. Words and theories have now
been substituted for these prerequisites of the Divine
Science.

  The teachings of the Sants are, in brief:

Man has valuable treasures of Divinity hidden within
him. Acquire the knowledge and experience that
made the Masters so high and holy, and unlock the
doors giving entrance into the Divine in practice - not
intellectually - right now, during your present lifetime.
Purity of heart and the simple request is all that
is needed. You have to pay nothing for this Science
of Nature.

Into the society of Sants come men of all characters,
including those proud of their ideas, good or bad. Sants,
however do not employ police to keep away those who in the
eyes of the public are undesirable, and the strange thing
is that their own censure is the only doorkeeper that
automatically keeps them away.

  The problem now before man is how to recognize and
identify a true Master from among so many he meets,
hears and reads about. We are used to seeing outwardly.

  There are hardly any universal or common marks on the
person of a Sant. Still, we need some clues, some key. We
may point out, "Rishis and Munis are defined as those who
possess knowledge of the past, present and future. Yogis,
in addition to that, have miraculous powers to exhibit and
attract. Of gods, it is said they do not cast a shadow. At
least something must be said about genuine Sants and
Sadhus by either the ancients or modems."

  The reply is that for the ordinary layman and the
negative-minded man, there can be hardly any indications that
a man may be a Sant. For the slightly advanced on the path
of love of God, and for those of astute observation, there
can be given some hints and clues. Much patience is
needed, however, to discover them:

  1. Sants say that God is within man. (This is emphasized
and repeated everywhere today, so it is not a convincing
clue for modern man.)

  2. The eyes and forehead of one genuine Master bear
a strange contrast and striking resemblance to another.
(This is realized by very few of those who have lived during
the lifetimes of two such Masters and who have minutely
observed these features or signs in their faces. It is, in
fact, the one Benign Power working through two different
human poles one after the other, or even side by side,
which is also the case occasionally.)

  3. They make visible or invisible three vertical veins on
their foreheads at will. (5)
(This remarkable sign by which a Sant can be recognized
is mentioned by the ancients and is not discernible by many
until they learn of it and desire confirmation by this
means.)

  4. When sitting in the presence of a real Sant, even with
open eyes, the sensory current of the body begins to convene,
gather up, and rise involuntarily and unknowingly until felt.(5)
(This experience is given by a Sant to a very few of the
selected ones. Ancient seekers aware of this "test of self"
have corroborated this.)

---
5. For (3) and (4) cf. Yog Vashist.)
---

  5. Sincere aspirants are given the experience of withdrawal
of the spirit current at the very first sitting at the time
of initiation.
(This is open to all coming under the protective fold of
the Master. He may be a new disciple or an old one who
comes to the Master to realize and correct any mistake under
which he may be laboring. This experience is also open to
those who received instructions from a self-styled master
in whom he has had faith, but from whom he has had no
experience.)

  As a matter of fact, no one can know or find a true Master
unless and until the Master is pleased to reveal his own
identity himself to the innermost satisfaction of one
desiring to confirm his faith in the Master. This is done
according to the extent of one's receptivity, and to the
degree that his capacity to understand and his love entitle
him. It depends wholly on the kindness and sweet mercy of God
through a Master. Some are given clues according to their
desires. The faith of some in their Master is confirmed
when a disciple is saved miraculously from some danger.
A favorable response to the prayers made to the Master
confirms faith in others. There are others who have book-
knowledge and are satisfied by the examples of others, so
they get confirmation that way. Masters have the knowl-
edge of measuring the capacity and range of everyone's
intellect and bestow faith accordingly. Sants know the
merits and evils of everyone but they never disclose them.
Divine Grace is never slow. A good mother says not,
"Will you?" but gives. From among the aspirants, they
are given the lion's share of Divine Faith in the Master
who come with downcast heads, heavy hearts and the
shuddering anguish of a lost soul, speechless with anxieties,
to unburden their worries. Meekness is no weakness. It is
a strong, cemented road of humility which leads to the
Benign Reality.

  Experience is the only criterion. If a Master is able to
give us experience, we can accept him as one who knows
the Divine Science. One who is connected and can contact,
can give us contact. If one is in the first or second
grade and someone else sits by him for a whole lifetime,
he will never attain a high degree of education.

  Man hesitates and fears to approach a Master Saint because
his living is tarnished, maybe less in one and more
in another. Never fear to go to a Master Saint because you
are a sinner. He is meant more for sinners than for others.
He has a remedy for every wound. Approach him and
through him will be found a way to become rid of sin. If
one is far away, he can be contacted through correspondence.
He has means and methods to meet every case. He is competent.

  It will be easy now to realize that Para-Vidya has a
scientific basis, though it differs a bit from the ordinary
system. It is not a scholastic system of philosophy based on
intellectual cleverness, much less is it a new code of social
or moral conduct, which are elementary steps. It is no blind
faith, but a to-the-point digest and clear-cut practical
science dealing with self-analysis, i.e., knowledge of self in
man, for the one who observes minutely. All authority is,
of course, vested in the practical Master Saint.

  When a man is in one crowd, he will talk as the crowd
talks. If he joins another crowd he will talk as it does,
and so on. But if he takes his seat on a high mound he is
able to see and hear all, and to judge the actions of man
better. A Sant is like such a person. He looks down from on
high upon the world. He speaks of the state of man struggling
for existence, pretending that he knows all, when in
reality he knows little. Man does not know how to live,
what to do, what to eat, how to act in life nor why. He
has to depend upon his parents and teachers from child-
hood to youth, for all of his physical troubles he has to
depend upon his doctor, for earning his livelihood upon his
employer, and employers in turn upon their subordinates.
For instruction in all mundane affairs he is dependent upon
society; when faced with unforeseen dangers and surrounded
by suffering and when not comforted by any thing, he depends
upon the words of his minister or priest; and finally he
finds that all he can do is submit to Nature and her laws.
In vain he puts his trust in bodily strength and in the
stability of the future; at the same time he makes his own
way by heedlessly pushing others down the ladder. Little does
he know that he can stand still in a flowing stream, but not
in the world of mankind.

  Sants pity man. They care not for their own personal
comfort, and day and night advise man that his life is
short, very short, but the worth of holy Masters has been
underrated ever since wealth and pleasure have been over-
rated. Repeatedly Sants have warned man that in this
Kali Yuga (iron age) man has been allotted a limited number
of breaths in one lifetime. He has been given roughly
26,000 breaths a day (the amount varies from person to
person and is determined by the prarabdh or fate karma).
While sitting he spends 12 a minute; when walking, he
spends 18 a minute; and in sexual intercourse, 64. These
breaths are his entire legacy and wealth in bodily life.
Sants advise man to put this wealth in a secure bank of
proper adjustment in order to lengthen life and derive the
utmost from it. They emphasize that there is no other
way; but man will not listen. Sants further say that man
is subjected to the law of evolution in 8,400,000 kinds of
embodied creation and gets one body after the other and
in each body is further chained with iron fetters of the
inexorable law of Nature, Karma: first "work and act'
and then "cause and effect," and he must rid himself of
this cycle of repeated births and deaths in order to attain
peace. With open eyes, man watches living beings, even
man, suffering, dying with untold pain and agony, but he
smiles away the Truth as revealed by Sants, saying, "We
know better. We have our own solid science based on
facts, we have our inventions, our atomic energy, etc."

  Thus the less man thinks, the more he talks, and
things not understood are admired. Notwithstanding all
this, the Sants continue pushing on with their mission with
perseverance and offering experience in the Divine Science,
Para Vidya, to those who come to them. The Name of
the Lord is a very strong tower. The sting of reproach is
the truth of it. Self-evident Truth requires no proof. The
sun can be seen by nothing but his own light. YOU CANNOT
BE LOST ON A STRAIGHT ROAD.

----------------------------------------------------------------------


