CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

 

THE BLESSINGS OF GOD AND THE MASTER

 

 

THE PATH OF SPIRITUALITY is not a highway that one

may tread easily. It is an arduous and an uphill task,

tortuous and difficult.

 

In Katha Upanishad, we find:

 

Awake, arise and get illumination by sitting at

the feet of Masters. The wise say this way is

sharp as a razor and as difficult to walk on.

 

Farid, a Muslim divine of great repute, says:

 

O Farid! Get up and tread the world over in

search of some Godly man, for then alone

can you be truly blessed.

 

In the Holy Koran this path is termed Pul-i-Sirat, and

is described as "sharp as a razor's edge" and "narrow as

a hair."

 

Bhai Gurdas also speaks of Gur Sikhi (Master's Path)

in the same words, "narrower than a hair and sharper

than a razor's edge."

 

Because strait (narrow) is the gate, and narrow

is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few

there be that find it.

MATTHEW 7:14

 

In the Vedas, too, there are texts prescribing countless

rules and regulations for the performance of yogic asans

and sadhans so difficult that the thought of them makes

one's hair stand on end.

 

With such hardships ahead, how can a puny child of

clay, powerless as he is, constantly ridden by mind and

matter, entangled in the meshes of blind infatuation and

beset with desires, anger, greed, attachment and egoism,

escape unscathed by himself and become a successful

pilgrim on the Path?

 

In such a weird setting, all baffling and bewildering,

with no way out, God takes mercy on His creatures. He

Himself comes down in vile man's attire, to suffer woe

so that His children may be blessed. But again the same

trouble confronts us.

 

To understand the teachings of the Master and strictly

follow them from day to day, to confide in him and to

completely surrender one's self, body and soul, to his will,

is not an easy thing to do. Unless God and Satguru both

take pity on a jiva, he cannot possibly see through to

Reality and escape from bondage.

 

Himself the Master of the Universe, He may

draw in a jiva, and effect a union.

 

We with our limited understanding cannot even listen

comprehendingly to the Master's words.

 

But in the fullness of time when it so pleases God, He

brings about a meeting between a jiva and a Sant Satguru,

who establishes his contact with Naam - the power of God

or God in action - the Primal Sound Current, wherewith

a jiva is gradually led on and on until he reaches the

source and the fountainhead of Shabd or the Sound Current.

 

Those who serve not Truth wither away like a

broken reed,

O Nanak! Whom the Master blesses gets linked

with Naam.

With a special merit alone one meets a Satguru;

and he brings about a union between

Surat and Shabd.

Meeting with a Master is a pure gift of God,

and so is the union with Hari Nam (God).

 

The Master is in the likeness of God, though in physical

raiments. He, too, is endowed with the same attributes

as God Himself. He, too, comes to save the sinners and

administer His Saving Grace among the rest. He washes

the jivas clean of their sins and gives the gift of Naam,

which acts as a sovereign remedy against all ills,

physical, accidental and spiritual.

 

My Master takes away all sins and I depend

on him. Forgive all my trespasses, O

Master! Nanak prays for this alone.

Great are the blessings of a perfect Master.

With the worship of Hari comes eternal bliss.

The union with the Lord is the gift of a perfect

Master. Eternally forgiven, I now soar limitless

and free.

 

The seventeenth century English poet Dryden, speaking

of Christ, tells us:

 

See God descending in thy human frame; the

offended, suffering in the offender's name.

All thy misdeeds to Him imputed see; and all

His righteousness devolved on thee.

 

The grace of the Master is as limitless as his greatness,

so much so that he forgives even those who talk ill of him

and accepts them as his very own.

 

One who talks ill of the Master may yet turn

around,

To find his saving grace leading him to his fold.

 

Countless are the persons whose sins are forgiven and are

safely ferried across the sea of life.

 

With Shabd he burns to ashes the Karmic

impressions of many a soul;

Like a Captain, he pilots the ship through

many a shoal.

 

The Master truly is God. He is a sea of heaving compassion.

All kinds of gifts eternally flow from him like perennial

springs of cool and refreshing water.

 

Narain (Creator) in Guru is compassion incarnate

and a true friend;

In his pleasure is everything, and Nanak is a

sacrifice unto him.

 

The greatest gift of God and Guru is just one thing - Naam.

They always bestow upon their devotees the blessings of Naam,

and thus bring about their salvation.

 

Devotees of God ever revel in Naam; with saving

grace they ever march on.

The very sight of Him is a rare blessing; the

truly blessed can have it; with the mercy of

the Merciful, Satguru confers the gift of

Naam.

 

In this world and hereafter, there is no gift greater than

that of Naam.

 

Priceless is the treasure of Naam; a True One

may grant it at his will.

 

One can secure the gift of Naam and thereby find an

approach to God through Satsang and Satguru.

 

Whomever the Master may bless, he may have

the Love of the Lord.

The compassion of God comes into commotion

when one is truly blessed by a Sadh, O

Nanak.

 

The saving grace comes through contact with Naam,

and continuous cherishing of His love and saving grace

in turn helps the other way. Both grace and Naam work

in reciprocity and help in developing each other.

 

O Nanak! Naam comes from grace alone.

There is no friend other than Ram Naam.

Getting above the Pairs of opposites, stick to

Naam and He shall bless.

The moment I forget Truth, that moment is

wasted.

Remember Him with every breath, and His

grace shall be with us.

 

His grace descends by acceptance of His bhana (will)

and recognition of His hukam (commandment).

 

He who knows His hukam has no occasion to

regret;

O Nanak! engrave the gift of His Naam on thy

soul.

 

The seed of Naam, once sown by a Saint, cannot but

fructify - no power can stop it; and the jiva must sooner

or later reach the goal, viz., self-realization and God-

realization.

 

Truth one gets through grace alone; none has

the power to stop Its growth.

Naam is watered by death-in-life, and Gurumukhs

do it; God grants them this treasure

and none can snatch It.

 

Even Kal (Time) and Maya (Delusion) can have no

effect on the seed of Naam, for It is conceived in a region

much higher than their domains.

 

Besides, the sower of the seed - the Satguru - is Sat

Purush Himself (His manifested form); and so Ishwar

(Niranjan, Lord of the Subtle Region) and Parmeshwar

(Om, Lord of the Causal Region) cannot interfere in

his work.

 

The gift of the Guru is eternal; It has the

saving grace for the recipient.

The Shabd of the Master reigns supreme,

O Nanak! The Master is no one but God.

 

The blessings of the Supreme Lord are limitless and do

not at any time suffer from scarcity, but one partakes of

them only by extraordinary merit. A particle of grace is

enough to save a jiva from the ceaseless cycle of

transmigration.

 

Once He showers His blessings, there is an

end to endless births;

As comings and goings cease, one at home finds

eternal rest.

 

It is only the Gurumukhs who get this grace and not the

manmukhs.

 

O Nanak! He does all by Himself, and Gurumukhs

enjoy His favor.

The bitter words of the Master taste sweet;

His sweet words are a boon all his own;

His words, whatever they are, bear fruit in

abundance,

But the idle words of others go in vain.

 

One works out Naam through His grace alone.

 

Thy grace alone helps in developing the power

of Naam;

Without any shortcomings, one ever engages in

Naam.

 

Man by himself is just a helpless creature and can do

nothing. He must not therefore feel vainglorious for what

he seemingly does.

 

God alone is the Doer of all acts; He knows the

innermost secrets of all hearts.

 

The panacea for all ills and the only way to win God's

grace is perfect surrender in all humility at the feet of

the Master Soul.

 

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