From jamesjs@interchange.ubc.ca Thu Apr 13 09:58:41 2000
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: "Solve the Mystery of Life" - Kirpal Singh
From: James Shannon <jamesjs@interchange.ubc.ca>
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 09:58:41 -0700






                          SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF LIFE

                                     by

                            Sant Kirpal Singh Ji


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


       All creation was made to serve man; man is the highest over all.

    God is supreme, but after Him, man is the highest in all creation; it is
    therefore the greatest good fortune to be given the human birth. When God
    made the human being, He ordered even the angels to bow to man. In the
    Upanishads is written that after enjoying their earned rewards, long
    sojourns in the heavenly regions, the souls of the Rishis when returned to
    earth were glad to live in the human form again.

    What then is so praiseworthy about the man-body? The human being has a
    higher potential. All other species are expressing indulgence only, and
    although many human beings also continue this indulgence of the senses, yet
    there are those who, to a great extent, are above this degradation.

    As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Certain karmas which have come to fruition in
    this present life are called the pralabdh karmas; they have shaped the
    course of this life, in order that certain debts and credits may be
    balanced. For the shape of the future, we have the opportunity now to trace
    the kind of pathway we will tread. Once, we were in the Lord's lap but
    since we left it we have, up to now, not returned there. Had we done so, we
    would have arrayed in some other glorious existence.

    So what is the value of the human form? What can be done while living the
    life of man which cannot be done in any other species? We can reach the
    True Home - we can return to the Lord's lap. We can realize God. God made
    man, and He gave all men the same privileges. All are born in the same
    manner, they have the same outer features: hands, legs, eyes, ears, etc.,
    and the inner construction of the body is the same: heart, brain, liver,
    kidneys, and so on, including the "municipality" which throws out the waste
    matter daily.

    The great Rishis and Masters who came to the world solved the riddle of
    life, discovering that man is a three-part being. He has a physical body,
    and he has intellect, but he is a conscious entity which is called soul.
    The soul is a drop of the Ocean of All Consciousness. Now man should be
    perfect in all three parts, in the whole trichotomy. He has achieved
    considerable success physically, in the study of the physical form, its
    functions and maladies and the cure thereof, through various systems of
    medicine: allopathic, homeopathic, naturopathic, vedic, and unani systems.
    Man has enlarged the use of his intellect to encompass a great deal of
    knowledge. He can travel the globe in a matter at hours; he has landed on
    the moon and is trying to reach other planets; he has invented television
    through which one sees objects and people from thousands of miles, and
    radio through which one can hear sound from similar distances. With all
    this mental and physical advancement, yet man is not happy, and why is
    this? Because he has not even directed his attention toward the third and
    most important part, and that is his true self or soul, of which he is in
    complete ignorance.

    The machinery of the body works only as long as we, the soul, are with it.
    When we leave the body, no one will care to have longer proximity with it
    than is necessary. It is a very wonderful machine, there is no doubt, but
    it will work for as long as that power is within it and no longer. In the
    Upanishads the question is asked, Who is the Great Craftsman that created
    the human form? It is an amazing creation with a number of apertures: eyes,
    ears, nose, etc. and yet the indweller cannot run out of it, for there is
    something which keeps us within it We must get to know that power which is
    in control.

    God is Nameless, Absolute, but when He wished to become from one to many,
    His Power came into expression. That Power is known as Naam in the terms of
    the Masters. It is also known as Shabd, as Kalma, as Word, and other names.
    That Power is the creator of all things, it is controlling all things. Just
    see, there are so many planets in existence, some of which have been five
    thousand years in orbit - one becomes dizzy considering such wonders, and
    yet they do not crash into each other. It is very obvious that something is
    controlling them, and that same power controls us in this body. You can
    call it God, or you can call it Naam, but all creation is the manifestation
    of that great Power.

    On a small scale this body is the temple of God. The body is the temple of
    God, in which the Light of Truth is effulgent. Soul is the Lord's entity,
    and consists of consciousness alone. The Lord is Ever-Existent, All-Wisdom,
    Perfect Bliss. Soul, being a small particle of God, a drop of the ocean of
    All-Consciousness, also reflects these attributes. Soul is an unchangeable
    permanence. A man often witnesses other bodies like his own being taken to
    the cremation ground and consumed. Sometimes he lights the fire with his
    own hands. Does he not believe that his own body will never meet the same
    fate? The feeling of being everlasting, not subject to death, comes from
    the natural reflection of the Truth within us, of which we do have some
    awareness. As we, the soul, are an entity of the All Wise Lord, so the
    reflection of that wisdom is in us, and you will find that even a small
    child thinks there is none more clever than he. Everyone has this awareness
    and the feeling of greatness and knowledge in varying degrees.

    When God is all bliss, all joy, all happiness, one may well ask how it is
    possible for man to be so full of misery when he is the very entity of the
    Lord. Guru Nanak declared, O Nanak, the whole world is unhappy. Most of the
    Masters have made similar statements. Kabir Sahib said,

            I have not seen one person in the physical form who is happy;
            Whomsoever I see is unhappy.

    Soami Ji Maharaj said, O attention, (soul), you are unhappy, we know it. He
    then asks, since when has the soul been unhappy, and replies, Since the day
    you separated from the Shabd and developed friendship with the mind. When
    the soul got herself entangled with the mind, she became its very image,
    and under the influence of the senses she in turn became the image of the
    body and the world. The machinery of the body functions because the soul is
    present. If one is deep in thought about a particular thing and the
    attention is not connected to the ear, we do not hear anyone calling us or
    speaking to us. If they complain that we were not listening to them, we
    usually reply, "Oh, my attention was elsewhere." Similarly, if one is deep
    in thought or engaged in activity, people may pass in front of one's eyes
    and yet one will not see them. The sight does not register when the
    attention is concentrated on something else, and this is true of all five
    senses, which do not function without the attention being directed through
    them. The attention is the outward expression of the soul. After unraveling
    the mystery of life themselves, the Masters exhort the people to do the
    same: Oh man, who are you? What are you? What is your connection with the
    body and the world outside? What is your relationship with the Controlling
    Power which controls you and all creation?

    A Master is he who has realized himself, and who can help others to realize
    themselves. A master is not a person who wears a certain type of garment to
    denote what he is. The true Master, although working in the human pole, can
    rise above the body at will whenever he so chooses. So how can the soul
    realize its happiness? In its attention there is a serene bliss, a little
    of which is experienced when that attention is attached to something and
    remains so attached. If the object of attachment is removed, there results
    a great sorrow, because of the attention being uprooted, for when the
    attention is focused on something it becomes the very image of that and
    thereby enjoys a certain amount of happiness. In spite of our nature being
    all bliss, yet we are miserable most of the time, and the Masters tell us
    that there is only one cure for this malady: He who desires perpetual
    happiness should go under His protection. He is the Controlling Power in
    everything, including the physical form. In the same company, in the same
    house, but the brothers do not converse. The two brothers are the soul and
    God, who both reside in the house of the physical body, but they never talk
    to each other because the soul has gone into outward expression alone, and
    has become the very image of the body, mind, and senses. If it would only
    withdraw within, it would reverse its direction and consequently start to
    enjoy the inner bliss.

    All Masters advise: Man, know thyself. The ancient Greeks said, Gnothi
    Seauton. The Latin philosophers said, Nosce Teipsum. This has been told to
    the world through the ages by all great teachers. One Persian saint said
    that although man has gained knowledge in the physical and mental phases of
    life, yet if he knows naught of himself then he is but a fool. Guru Nanak
    stated very plainly, Nanak says, without knowing one's self, the illusion
    will never fade. If you do not learn to analyze yourself from mind and
    matter and experience the Truth within you, then you remain under the
    control of illusion.

    What is illusion? Illusion is a name given to anything which appears to be
    one thing and yet is in fact something else. Man's soul is the Truth, the
    true part of him, but because of its connection with mind, body and senses
    it has identified itself with the physical form and the form of the world
    outside. The body is made of matter, which is ever changing. The world is
    made of matter, and is likewise changing, at the same rate. When these two
    things are changing at the same rate, and we are identified with both,
    naturally the inclination is to accept everything as stationary, permanent.
    This is a vastly powerful optical illusion in the influence of which we are
    imprisoned. There is but one way of gaining release from this entangling
    situation, and that is what all the Masters have prescribed, to know
    oneself.

    The common practice for attempting to attain this knowledge of the self is
    by methods involving either feelings, or inference, but such methods are
    subject to error. Seeing is above all. Those who know - the self-realized
    and the God-realized personalities - tell us that man can only know himself
    through a really scientific method, and that is by self-analysis. If this
    is my watch which I can place in front of me, and this is my handkerchief
    which I can remove and put here, and this is my coat which I can remove and
    put aside, then can I say that this is my body, and this is my mind, and
    these are my senses, and likewise remove them? Can we remove these
    coverings from the self? Can we rise above them? This can only be done by a
    practical self-analysis, and only then will we discover who and what we
    truly are.

    The Gurbani says, With the Guru's blessing you unravel the mystery of life.
    A realized person, who has already unraveled this life's enigma, can
    demonstrate how to rise above body-consciousness and still the senses, mind
    and intellect. When these faculties are stilled the soul is able to rise
    above, and with the grace of the Guru it is reunited with the Oversoul. If
    you come to know yourself, your whole angle of vision will change, and so
    will your attitude to life. You will see who your lifelong Companion is,
    and who is the operator of the body's machinery - that same Power which
    controls all creation. The soul and its Companion do not converse, because
    man has adopted the illusory image of the world and its environments,
    through perpetual outgoing expression of the faculties. The soul must
    withdraw from this outgoing expression before it can see within itself. It
    is a play of the attention, and one must withdraw that attention and
    invert, which is what Shah Inayat meant when he told his disciple Bulleh
    Shah, who asked how one can meet God, What is there to meeting the Beloved.
    Just uproot it from here and plant it there. Masters have their own mode of
    expression, and Shah Inayat was a gardener by worldly occupation.

    If the attention is withdrawn, we can peep into the Truth. First, one must
    concentrate upon oneself and one will come to know that one is truly a
    conscious entity - a soul - and one will start to see from the level of the
    soul. Without analyzing soul from mind and matter we view everything from
    the body's level only, and that is why we remain in illusion.

    The true Guru does give a demonstration of how to rise above
    body-consciousness. This very demonstration used to be given in the Hindu
    religion when small boys of five, seven, and nine years of age were made
    "twice born" and were given what was termed the Gyatri Mantra. They were
    shown practically that the first birth is in the body and the second is in
    the Beyond. But these days only the mantra is given without any
    demonstration of the science. Christ also spoke of the second birth, and
    said, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
    Nicodemus, who was a man of some repute in the community, could not
    understand how anyone could re-enter the mother's womb and be reborn, but
    Christ explained, That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which
    is born of the Spirit is spirit. To be reborn is to rise into the Beyond.
    Learn to die so that you may begin to live. It is a practical, scientific
    self-analysis. Spirituality is not spiritism, nor spiritualism, it is not
    hypnotism nor mesmerism. Self-analysis means to know one's self, and know
    God, face to face. This is the true advancement. Saint Plutarch also
    mentioned the second birth and explained that the souls of those initiated
    into the mysteries of the Beyond have the same experience of leaving the
    body as at the time of death. Guru Nanak says, O Nanak, master such a yoga
    through which you can die whilst living.

    What kind of death is experienced while living? And how can one invert the
    senses from the outgoing faculties? When these questions were put to Guru
    Amar Das Ji, he replied,

            When the Satguru is met, one inverts, O Brother;
            By dying whilst living, the mystery is solved.

    So if you meet someone who is one with the Truth, who knows who and what he
    is and has experienced the Lord, through his help your senses will invert,
    you will withdraw from the outer world and will be able to see inside. At
    death, a soul withdraws to the "seat of the soul," a point behind and
    between the physical eyes, where the "window" opens into the Beyond. When
    you go through that window, you will be able to see who you are, and will
    see that Controlling Power at work. Such experience can only be had in the
    man-body and in no other species in all creation, and for this reason alone
    is the human form considered as the highest. Those who are living in the
    human form are greatly fortunate, whether they realize it or not.

    We should be attached to something which will never die, for the soul's
    nature is to be attached to something, and while it is attached it enjoys a
    fraction of that bliss; but when the object of attachment is removed, then
    misery sets in. What is that which will never die? That is God, who is
    known by many names. But man is steeped in the forgetfulness of illusion.

            The whole world is sleeping in attachment and illusion;
            How can one awake from this forgetfulness?

    What is the cure then, for this dreadful condition? Illusion is another
    name for forgetfulness, and how did the forgetfulness start? This body is
    the beginning of illusion. We see everything from the body's level, and
    when we rise above the body and see things in a clarity of truth, our whole
    conception of life will change. This is why to rise above the body is the
    very ABC of spirituality. It is the first true step of all yogas. And what
    is above the body? In my Father's house are many mansions... There is Pind
    (physical), And (astral), Brahmand (causal), and many other stages.

            That which is Brahmand is also this body;
            He who seeks it will find it.

    First we must get out of the body's influence, rise above its level, to get
    out of the illusion of the body.

    Whatsoever you desire there will you go. The soul being a conscious entity,
    should have rejoined the All-Consciousness, but instead it attached itself
    to the world and directed its desire toward worldly things. O Soul, you
    have the attribute of hans (mythical swan-like bird which can separate milk
    from water). The soul can differentiate truth from untruth, so taste the
    Truth within you, and make the best of the untruth. Why are people afraid
    of death? Because we do not know how to leave the body, and we do not know
    where we are going. If one learns the science of leaving the body at will,
    all fear of death is banished.

    In past ages only those were authorized to preach who had kept 25 years
    brahmcharya (pure and chaste life), and who were fully conversant with the
    Vedic and Shastric scriptures, and who after living a normal family life
    with two or four children had gone into the lonely jungle ashrams to put
    into practice the theories they had learned in the scriptures. In this way,
    those who succeeded in solving the mystery of life would return to worldly
    existence and preach what they had experienced. This type of life was
    called Sanyas (renunciate's life). This is the true renunciation. All the
    basic teachings are one and the same, for Truth is one, but they must be
    put into practice.

    God is absolute - He is Nameless, formless, wordless, soundless, although
    when He came into expression He began to be known by different names. There
    is Naam, Shabd, Word, and various others. Through Naam, all Khand and
    Brahmand was created. In the New Testament it states, In the beginning was
    the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So all creation came
    into expression when the Lord expressed Himself. Through the vibration of
    that expression, two aspects came forth and they are Light and Sound. God
    is Light, God is Sound, God is Naam, God is the Music of the Spheres. By a
    parallel study of all religions you will find that the basic teachings are
    the same. Even the Greek philosophers had experience of this basic Truth.
    Socrates said that he had heard a voice which had taken him to another
    world, and Pythagoras spoke of the harmony of all harmonies. Zoroaster used
    the term Sarosha, which means the Unstruck Sound. When Lord Buddha was
    about to leave the world he asked each of his principle disciples to state
    how they had achieved Golden Samadhi, the state of rising above the body
    and entering the beyond. After each one had described his experience of
    Light, Sound, etc., Lord Buddha declared,

            Hear ye all, Oh coming generations;
            The way back to Golden Samadhi is only through intrinsic hearing.

    Intrinsic hearing is another term for contact with Naam, contact with the
    Sound Principle. All great Masters have given this teaching - the Path of
    Light and Sound - and these are the only two paths within, which reach the
    outcome or the Absolute Lord. The Absolute Lord cannot be described. He is
    neither this nor that, but His expression of Light and Sound is the way or
    path back to Him. Until I see with my own eyes, I cannot believe even the
    Guru's words. So, In the Guru's company the Light becomes apparent.

    What will you find in the holy places and places of pilgrimage? They have
    built temples there, that is all. Temples, mosques, churches, all are made
    after the image of man dome-shaped, forehead-shaped, nose-shaped, etc.
    Within them you will find symbols of those two phases of the
    God-into-expression Power which is within man the Light and the Sound. When
    Guru Nanak was asked to describe the house of the Lord he described the
    human form: twelve bastions (joints of arms and legs) fifty-two turrets
    (nails and teeth) and two windows (eyes).

            At this elevated palace the Lord is dispensing the baang
             (a sound for calling Muslims to worship).
            The unfortunate are asleep, only God is awake.

    Enter the foxhole of the brain and center your attention there at the seat
    of the soul, where you will experience the Light and the Sound of the Lord.
    This is the basic teaching which lies inherent in all religions. What is a
    Sikh?

            The form in which the Effulgent Light is manifested is pure;
            Think of that only as the Khalsa.

    A person's religion is recognized by various outer indications, but only
    when the Light is manifested within can he be called a Khalsa. We are the
    worshippers of the Living Light.

    Symbols of Light and Sound can be found in all religions: bells, candles,
    drums, etc., but the true temple of God is the human body in which the
    Light of Truth is burning, and the controller of this temple is the
    indweller, the soul.

            As long as the companion inhabits, the body flourishes;
            When the companion leaves, it crumples to ashes.

    Who cares for the lifeless body when the soul leaves it? But what keeps us
    imprisoned in the body? That Power which controls everything, which is
    called the Naam.

            O Nanak, Naam is in control of all;
            Those with great good fortune receive it.

    Also,

            Within this body dwells the Lord's Naam;
            Giver of the nine pleasures of amrit.

    Great is the intoxication of the nectar of Naam. Guru Nanak refused a cup
    of a certain intoxicant proffered by King Babar, and told the king that the
    effect of it would wear off in a short space of time, whereas, I have an
    intoxicant the effect of which never fades. That intoxicant is the Water of
    Life, the Bread of Life. Christ also described it as the Living Water.

            Hundreds of lovers, but the Beloved is the same;
            Sects and religions are different, but the work is one.

    To fully understand that all mankind is one, is the right understanding.
    Men are born with the same privileges from God: intellect, physical body,
    etc., and much has been achieved in these spheres, but man is ignorant of
    the most important part of himself. Man's knowledge is from an intellectual
    or literary level, and he has no knowledge from practical self-analysis and
    has therefore never discovered who is the controller of this physical form.
    You can say we are animal-driven. The outer enjoyments drag our senses
    around, the senses in turn rule the mind, and mind rules the intellect; the
    poor soul is in the midst of it all, helpless, even though the entire
    machinery is running on the soul's strength.

    First, we are men, then we are the conscious entity which controls the
    machinery of body, mind and senses - the soul. The soul is a drop of the
    Ocean of All Consciousness, so there is only one Truth which works
    everywhere. The question is approached according to the individual's
    attitude of mind, the level of which allows him an understanding of that
    much only. Whatever he understands becomes all truth and finality to him.
    Through the different levels of approach of the various leaders, men have
    become separated from each other through narrow-mindedness and bigotry. But
    in truth, God is one and mankind is also one. Through the teaching of the
    Masters who come man does gain right understanding, which gives right
    thought, and so right speech and right action are developed.

    Credit goes to the rulers of certain ages past who had the wisdom to be
    guided by spiritual men, the sages and seers. The kings and rulers would
    consult them for lawmaking etc., and would receive expert advice at the
    level of man. One word from the wise soul was enough for the king. I am
    relating these things to stress the value of a man knowing himself in
    truth, not at the level of feelings or emotions, or inferences, but at the
    level of the soul. Seeing is above all. This is accomplished by
    self-analysis, by rising above the body-consciousness. Maulana Rumi prayed,
    O Lord, send the merciful One who will take us out of this box. We can only
    get out of this box of the body when we rise above body-consciousness, and
    then we see that there is a Power working everywhere. Kabir Sahib says,

            My mind rejoices in that which the whole world fears;
            Through this death alone does one attain supreme bliss.

    There are two reasons for the fear of death. One is that we do not know how
    to leave the body, and the other is that we do not know where we are going
    when we leave it. Usually those who have not solved the mystery of life and
    have not learned how to die, suffer difficulties at the time of death. But
    with the mercy and help of the Guru you can learn who and what you are and
    how to rise above. Some will get to know the Lord's commands. In this way
    you will eventually become the conscious coworker of the Divine plan. O
    Nanak, one who dies this kind of death will get true life. This is life's
    mystery, which can only be solved while living in the human form.

    The biggest temple of all is already provided, the sky above and the earth
    beneath. The world which you see is the form of God, in which He is seen.
    The other natural temple is the human form. By the Guru's grace, you will
    see that God's temple is within you. The mystery of life is solved in the
    company of those who have already solved it. Through the Guru, witness the
    Light, which becomes apparent. We cannot solve this riddle by ourselves,
    because the soul is at the sense-level, and identified with the body and
    the world, so whatever practice we attempt can necessarily be performed at
    the sense level only. How then can one rise above the senses and the body?
    Some people, due to a little good background, do see Light within but very
    often misunderstand it. They need teaching and further guidance, that they
    may progress into advancement instead of remaining at that stage.

    The Guru, having accepted the seeker, should give a demonstration of rising
    above body-consciousness, to see the God-into-expression Power, by opening
    the spiritual or third eye. Christ said that he had come to make those see
    who do not see, and that those who see are really blind. Who are those that
    the Masters consider to be blind?

            He is not blind who has no eyes;
            Blind is he, O Nanak, who sees not the Lord's Light.

    What do the Masters do in this respect?

            They sing of what they see;
            Such a song bears forth fruit.

    There is great difference between seeing, hearsay, and reading. During the
    seventy or more years of Guru Amar Das's search for his Guru, he tried
    almost every form of practice and austerity, and when he finally came to
    the feet of Guru Angad Sahib, he said, Without seeing, it is but a blind
    man's earnings. So the Masters tell us that we should not believe unless we
    see for ourselves.

    In the Upanishads it says, Awake, arise, and stop not until the Goal is
    reached. If you have not awakened up to now, when are you going to awaken?
    Awakening starts when we begin to love the Lord. Kabir Sahib says, Awaken
    now, and love God, but how to love God if we have not seen Him? We must
    awaken into ourselves, within this human form which we are so fortunate to
    have received, and for the knowledge of this the Masters say, Take the
    advice of the Satguru.

    Satguru is that personality who has experienced the Truth, and is the
    mouthpiece of God. Satguru is the very Form of Truth. Guru Nanak Sahib
    says,

            He who knows the Supreme Lord is called Satguru;
            In His company one gains salvation, O Nanak sing the Lord's
            praises.

    And what happens in His company? By meeting the Satguru, one sees with his
    own eyes, because the Satguru opens the spiritual or single eye; and then,
    Concentrate on that invisible point upon which Shiva meditates. Certain
    Hindus make a sign on the forehead which represents this point, and they
    call it the Shiv Netra, Shiva's eye. When the inner eye is opened the Light
    will be apparent, and in this simple statement one has the very basis of
    the Master's teaching.

    Kabir Sahib says that a man should be true to himself - free from cunning
    and hypocrisy, with his heart, tongue and mind in agreement. If he has no
    spiritual knowledge, he should say so. He should be humble in mind and in
    action. All these things being so, The Guru will Himself appear. St.
    Augustine gave three excellent prerequisites for success on the spiritual
    path. He said that the first should be humility, and then the second
    humility, and the third also humility. A person who is truly humble will
    recognize his incompetence and ask someone for help, but unfortunately most
    men are intoxicated with their own ego. The cup which is below the vessel
    will be filled. Go to the Guru with the thought of learning something, for
    what you already know will remain with you, and if you are prepared to
    listen you might hear something you have not heard before. Remember, only
    God knows the true condition of our hearts, and whose heart is really
    yearning for Him. Only God can make the arrangement for His child to meet
    the One in whom He Himself is manifested, and then the connection is made,
    within man, within that form in which He already is residing.

            My beloved is in each form, no place is without Him;
            But I rejoice in that Form wherein He has manifested.

    The God Power which has manifested in the Guru, the human pole, is also in
    each being, but the difference is that the attention of human beings is
    going into outer expression perpetually, and they are identified with the
    body and the world. The Satguru withdraws that attention, and brings it
    within, and above the body-consciousness, and then gives the contact.

    You will note that I have not kept any religious symbols here, which does
    not mean that I disapprove of religions. Religions are necessary, for
    without them there would be more corruption in the world, and new
    formations would have to be started. You should remain in your religion,
    but also learn that for which the religion was formed, and that is to
    realize God. He cannot be known by senses, mind, intellect or even the
    pranas(vital airs). He is experienced and known by the soul only, so first
    one must learn how to know oneself, and then go on to God-knowledge. This
    is the way taught by the Masters, it is the science of knowing the self.

    From an early age, I had this single-minded purpose. I was very fond of
    reading, and after the study of many books, I came to the conclusion that
    man-making is the highest ideal. Man-service comes next, and land-service
    third. In the Manav Kendra, all three ideals have been incorporated. Even
    as a young man, I loved to serve people, particularly those sick in
    hospitals, who I would attend morning and evening before and after my daily
    work, and I would help those who could not afford to buy medicines. Here in
    Manav Kendra we have started a hospital for the poor who will get free
    treatment. For the homeless, aged people who are indigent the Father's Home
    has been started. In land-service there are agriculture and dairy farm
    sections. There is the Mansarovar, elliptical in shape with dimensions of
    350 feet by 200 feet, the surrounding of which is an ideal place reserved
    for meditation. Nature has helped us by providing a strong spring of pure
    water which feeds the Mansarovar and supplies all Manav Kendra. As is very
    evident nowadays, the present system of education is defective insofar as
    it does not cover moral education, which is the very basis of good
    citizenship and brotherhood. This will be included in the Manav Kendra
    Education Scheme which was inaugurated by the Uttar Pradesh Finance
    Minister who was greatly impressed with the proposed scheme. We have
    started with a small school, but the facilities will be enlarged to meet
    requirements up to university level. There is also a probability of
    starting a language school, that thoughts may be exchanged by people of
    different tongues. The library, which will hold books of all religions and
    philosophies, has also been started. If you study the scriptures of all
    religions, you will find the one basic teaching of the Masters rooted in
    them all. They teach that all Mankind is one and that the way back to God
    is also one alone, and that is by direct contact and connection with the
    Light and Sound Principle, innate in all beings. This connection with the
    God Power can only be made while the soul is in the human form, and in no
    other species. Remain in your own religion, but do not rest until you have
    been connected back to God. He Himself will then take you back to Himself.

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