CHAPTER SEVEN

 

PAST SAINTS

 

TODAY a person who is ill cannot have the benefit

of medical advice from Dhanwantri (the progenitor

of medical science), nor can a litigant ask Solomon to

decide his case, nor can a lady marry Adonis and bring

forth children.

 

Similarly, Saints who appeared in the past from time

to time and conferred spiritual benefit on those who

came into contact with them, cannot do anything for

the present generation. Each had his commission, and on

completing it, entrusted the work of regeneration to his

successor. Man can learn only from man, and God works

His ways through living Saints.

 

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he

revealeth his secret unto his servants the

prophets.

AMOS 3:7

 

Some people think that past Mahatmas continue to

live in spiritual regions and can even now confer spiritual

benefit on the aspirants. Let us see how this holds good

in the light of reason:

 

1. Each Saint has his mission in life and comes with

a definite instrument of instruction. As soon as he

completes his job, he retires from this world (physical

plane) and goes back into the Spiritual Ocean from which

he sprang, leaving the work of further reorientation to

his successor.

 

2. Again, in accordance with the Law of Nature, even

if the predecessor has had to do something for his

followers, he does it through the living successor to whom

he entrusted the work on retirement; and only the latter

as a brother-in-faith or Gur-bhai may help and guide

his brethren on the physical plane.

 

3. It is only when we are able to leave the physical

plane at will or at the time of death that we can contact

the Master who initiated us if he has left the body

Even while living on this earth his resplendent and

luminous form never comes down from the Gaggan (astral

heaven), for he always awaits human spirits at the

threshold of the materio-spiritual regions.

 

4. Again, in the hope and belief that the ancient

Saints and sages can even now help us, we begin to

attach great importance to ill-shaped and ill-formed

currents and undercurrents of thought and feelings, and

try to work on the suggestions of our own subconscious

mind, little understanding its true import, and taking

for granted that the impressions are from this or that

past Master.

 

These manifestations may even have been stirred up

by some agency other than that of our Isht Dev, or the

past Master of our choice. This cannot be seen in its

proper perspective unless one is first gifted with inner

vision (Divya Drishti), which can successfully penetrate

through the veil of mind and matter and see clearly and

judge correctly the nature of the ill-conceived inner

urges, as they swim up indistinctly to the mental surface.

 

5. Alongside the above, we cannot possibly understand

the working of a prophet whom we have never met

and seen with our eyes, nor have we the means to verify

his modus operandi. In these circumstances, we can easily

be deluded by any wandering spirit or will-of-the-wisp,

or may even fall easy prey to the Negative Power, with

its diverse ways of enticing untrained souls.

 

6. If, for instance, it may for the moment be admitted

that the ancient sages can still lead us on the spiritual

path and the present Master is not needed for spiritual

instructions, then the very idea of having a Guru at any

time in the past or present is at once eliminated, for

God can directly teach man easily without any prophet

or Messiah.

 

7. The very fact that a sage or seer appeared at one

time or another and helped people Godward is in itself

proof, conclusive and positive, even in this age, that

there is need of such a Godman; for without him one cannot

know of God or move Godward.

 

8. God by Himself can teach man only by becoming

man, for man alone can teach man. He has perforce to

put on the garb of man-call him what you will: a

Sadh, Sant, prophet, Messiah or Rasul. Like attracts like

is an incontrovertible dictum.

 

God appears as a Sadh.

God takes on the appellation of Sant.

 

This does not mean at all that past Masters are dead

and gone. Far from it; they have attained Immortality.

Having finally traversed the physical, the subtle, and

the causal planes, they are at One with the Cosmic

Awareness. If with all their devotion and spiritual

advancement, they were still to wander under the moon,

they would have wasted all their endeavors.

 

It will not serve any useful purpose to enter into

theoretical discussion and disputation. Everything will

become clear if one searches for a real Master, well

versed in the art and science of spirit, and learns from

him an easy and natural way of approach to God.

 

There will be no need to wait for the result until

death. If the seed is sown properly and watered, the

fruit must appear quickly and in abundance in one's,

very lifetime.

 

A living Master can grant eternal beatitude in its

fulness. A simple touch with the dynamic power of the

higher consciousness in him is enough to charge one with

the radiating waves of spirituality. The spirit is drawn

inward and upward and riding the magnetic-like radiant

strains, crosses from plane to plane. Blessed indeed is

the spirit that contacts such a Master and comes under his

protection.

 

It is a matter of common experience that a person

bound for any foreign country consults directories,

collects data about shipping companies, the various boats

scheduled by each, the facilities they offer, the ports of

embarkation and call, the route that each boat would

follow, and the time that each would take, the places of

interest on the way, and ultimately where he would stay

on reaching the destination.

 

After having laid his plans, he has to obtain a passport

from his own government, without which he cannot

leave his country; and he also has to arm himself with

a landing permit from the government of the country to

which he is bound.

 

In exactly the same way, a person who intends to

leave the physical plane for any of the spiritual planes

has to obtain a passport and a landing permit from some

competent authority, some vice-regent of God (a Saint),

who works on all the planes.

 

This is granted to him at the time of Initiation, when

acquainting him with the various ports of call on the

way, the different signs and signals wherewith to

distinguish and recognize each place, the difficulties of

the journey and the like. In this way, he grants the

traveler the necessary passport, and a landing permit for

disembarkation. Once the seed of Naam is sown in a jiva,

it cannot but fructify, and he must one day reach the

Kingdom of God, the Garden of Eden, from which he has

been an exile from time immemorial. And no power

here or beyond can stand in the way of his homecoming.

 

The next thing the Master does is lay down the correct

path that leads to God. Like a veteran seaman, he

plans the entire route for the traveler, as without it he

cannot, with all of his sincere devotion and steadfast

effort, reach the destination.

 

The correct lead Godward is the second preparatory

stage for this venture on the unknown seas. The Master

himself charters the boat and underwrites the disciple's

safety en route, by telling him of the shoals and the

submerged rocks in the way and other dangers besetting

the journey, and how best to avoid them.

 

He does not stop here. Master of both Heaven and

Earth, he every day traverses at will the various

spiritual, regions. Sach Khand or Muqam-i-Haq is his

perpetual abode from where he comes down every day to

the earth plane, to discharge the lowliest duties cast

on him.

 

Type of the wise, who soar, but never roam;

True to the kindred points of Heaven and

Home.

 

Since he has a personal knowledge and actual experience

of the journey which he performs so often every day,

and is a resident of the highest plane, he gives a cheery

call to the world-weary:

 

Come ye all, my unhappy brothers and sisters,

into the Kingdom of Heaven and into the

Gracious Presence.

 

He not only gives us first-hand knowledge of the

Kingdom of God, plans our itinerary for the journey and

books our passage homeward, but also offers to accompany

us and be our guide. He may even pilot us, and

does not rest content until he escorts us to the mansions

of the Lord.

 

We can verify for ourselves some salient features of

the account given by him, by reference to the directories;

and should the latter seem to support him in broad outline

we take courage and depend on him and his competency with

confidence.

 

The scriptures are nothing but directories which record

the personal experiences of those sages and seers

who in the past traveled on this path, and a living Master

refers to them in his talks and discourses simply because

we by nature have dogmatic faith in them, and he wants to

take us up from the line of least resistance.

 

We may break the and ground by careful study of

scriptures, but these per se cannot help in liberating the

spirit from body and mind consciousness, and in leading

her across to the spiritual regions. It is the strong and

long arm of the living Master that can accomplish this

Herculean task of cleansing the Augean stables, of carrying

the spirit beyond all limitations and concepts, and

steering her course safely and getting back for her the

lost Kingdom.

 

It is the fundamental Law of God that no one

can think of Him unless he is reminded of

Him by some Master Soul.

NANAK

 

Bhai Gurdas says:

 

Endless queries, without treading the Path,

cannot lead thee to thy Beloved.

 

One cannot understand God by means of intellect alone,

however sharp and keen it may be. How can an instrument

by nature limited in its scope measure the Limitless?

Some higher consciousness can lead the little

consciousness to the Great Consciousness, for he serves as

link between the two:

 

If one could reach God alone, why then the

pangs of separation?

Meet Him through a Sadh, and have beatitude,

O Nanak.

 

A quest in the wrong direction cannot lead

to success. O Kabir, take with thee a guide

and find the great jewel. A sure guide will

help thee to reach the goal quickly, however

distant it may seem to be.

 

We feel the need of a teacher at every step. A student

in cookery, for instance, has to learn it from one expert

in the culinary art. A student in medicine has to seek

the aid of a professor of medicine. A novice in surgery

has to master the art from some reputed surgeon, and so

also a pupil in engineering, painting, and so forth. Books

and learned treatises on these various subjects cannot

by themselves make a student expert in the subject.

 

It is the practical demonstration, the experiment at the

table, and the actual operation in the theater under the

guidance of an adept in the profession that matters.

 

If all of these physical sciences that belong to the

realm of Apara Vidya and are studied and mastered

on the plane of the senses require the help of a teacher,

the need of a teacher is still greater for spiritual science

(Para Vidya), which is an inner process far beyond the

ken of the senses, to be studied in the depths of the mind

and experimented with in the laboratory of the soul.

 

It has been locked up for ages upon ages and is

enshrouded in stark darkness and there is no visible

approach to it. The fact is that a person who denies and

derides the necessity of a Master in Truth and yet wants

to learn Truth all by himself does not in fact want it.

His case is just like that of a man who prefers to dig a

well for himself rather than quench his thirst at a spring

of cool and refreshing water nearby, with a waterman

ready to serve him.

 

Bhai Nandlal says in this context:

 

None but a lover of rubies can understand the

value of a ruby.

 

It is only the jeweler's eyes that can at a glance

give value to it.

 

The need of a Guru or Master is absolute, and there can

be no exception to the rule. Suppose, for instance, a

person wants to have a joy-ride in the air. No one will

allow him to enter a plane by himself. Even if he enters

it surreptitiously, he will find the machinery locked.

If somehow or other he overcomes this obstacle, he will

not know how to handle the various parts of the machine.

Should he dabble with it and the plane starts, he cannot

take it up for want of necessary training, nor can he

bring it down, nor steer it correctly. The result, sooner

or later, will be a crash and loss of life. The mechanism

of the human body is much more complicated and delicate

than that of any machine; therefore the need of a

spiritual adept is all the greater, both for success in

the practical process of self-analysis and also for the

approach to God Himself and the understanding of the

working of the divine Will.

 

The spirit imprisoned in the body cannot per se separate

itself from it. With its seat above the focus of the eyes,

it permeates the entire system, and the two are indissolubly

intertwined with each other. Should it somehow or other

find itself freed momentarily and collected and gathered

up at its center, it cannot enter the airliner of Shabd.

If it may find a way in, it does not know where to go,

how to go, and how to return.

 

But if the master pilot (the Sant Satguru) could be

there to take the spirit along with him, and the two could

enter the plane and take a few joyful rides together in

the spiritual realm, the spirit could also learn how to

handle the heavenly liner, and to repeat the spiritual,

experiments.

 

One well-versed in the mechanism of the human body

(which is composed of three coverings: physical, mental,

and causal, plus the living sentient entity underneath),

a habitual traveler to the heavenly regions, day in and

day out, can initiate a spirit into the mysteries of

spiritual knowledge, and by a practical demonstration

show her a "Way Out."

 

By actual guidance and help, the Master himself steers

her safely from plane to plane, and explains on the way

the dangerous signals and points, sharp turns and twists,

and the dangers of the unknown and untrodden spiritual

realms. Blessed indeed is the spirit that comes across

such an adept in the science and art of Spirituality.

 

Nothing but ill luck would dog a spirit's footsteps if

she were to spurn his offer and attempt the divine

journey by herself, unattended and unaided by a Master

soul.

 

Maulana Rumi, therefore, in no ambiguous terms

warns against such a course:

 

Find a Master Spirit, for without his active

help and guidance this journey is beset with

untold fears, perils, and dangers.

 

In essence, Naam or Dhun Atmic Shabd (Word) is an

unwritten law in an unspoken language, and, hence, It

cannot be had from scriptures and other holy books.

This wealth can be obtained only from some adept in

Naam, for he is Word personified. He alone is competent

to make It manifest to the spirit, and no one else can.

 

It is a fundamental Law of God that none can

manifest Naam except Satguru (Master of

Truth).

 

The Shabd of a Master Soul can be heard only

through His Grace, and no one else can even

make It manifest.

 

A Master of Truth is fully conversant with all the

mysteries of spirituality; hence his testimony carries

weight and his charged words drive home and prove

effective.

 

Listen to the true and infallible testimony of

Saints, for they have a first-hand experience

of what they say.

 

Gurbani also in unambiguous terms emphatically declares

the imperative necessity of a Master Soul. The embodied

spirits for ages upon ages have been leading a life of

the senses, and have never known that there is another

side of the picture as well. Truth can neither be known

nor experienced except through the grace of a Master of

Truth.

 

Without a Master no one ever found Truth

in the past nor in the present. The Crest

Jewel of Naam has been kept in the hands of

a Master, and He is competent to manifest

the same in the jivas.

 

It is through God's Grace that one comes

across a Master of Truth. After a spirit has

passed through cycles of births, then the

Master makes her hear the Sound Current.

 

Listen ye all with attention and learn that

there is none so great a philanthropist as a

Satguru; for he bestows upon jivas the gift

of precious Naam. Those who are prepared

to lose their lives (i.e., come above the

physical life of the senses), shall find Truth

on contacting a Master Soul.

 

All Saints with one accord declare that without a Godman,

one cannot reach God and attain Godhead. Go Himself

made this abundantly clear:

 

It is a cardinal principle of God that one

cannot even think of Him without the Grace

of a Satguru.

 

Nanak has learned from God that one cannot

gain salvation without the active aid of a

Master.

 

Satguru is a great ophthalmologist and an expert eye

surgeon. We are all stark blind. God is within us, and

darkly we grope for Him without. But a contact with

a Satguru restores to us the lost vision and we begin to

realize and experience God in the laboratory of the

human mind:

 

The entire mankind is blind and is blindly

engaged in deeds of darkness, and finds not

a Way out. O Nanak! when a spirit meets

a Master of Truth, she begins to see with

her own eyes (inner, of course) and she

realizes the Truth in the depths of the soul.

 

We are nothing short of truly blind, for we see not,

regardless of physical eyes. Blindness consists not in

the loss of eyes, but in keeping away from God. Nanak

says:

 

Call them not blind who have no eyes, O

Nanak!

Such in fact are blind who see not the Light

of God.

 

Guru Arjan tells us that even a person with eyes may

yet be blind, if he sees not God Who is the very soul

of his soul, and thus he commits sins:

 

A person in full possession of his senses may

yet be blind; if he considers that God, the

very Soul of his soul, is far removed from

him, and thereby he shamelessly engages

in evil.

 

With physical eyes we witness the physical world

around us. But the Shiv Netra or Third Eye in each

of us is closed. When this eye opens, we can see the

wonders of the subtle and causal worlds, and even those

of the purely spiritual world beyond these:

 

Blind is one who performs deeds of blindness,

because his inner eye is closed.

 

All of us are concerned with matter, and know not

there is anything else.

 

Ever engaged in mind and matter, he does not

even think of God;

Bound for Hades, he is ever in perpetual

misery;

Blind and deaf, he does not see beyond;

A slave of the mind, he is immersed in sins.

 

It is impossible for anyone to enter the higher regions

by his individual efforts. It is imperative for an aspirant

of these to take with him an adept who daily treads the

sun and moon in his heavenly journeys.

 

Maulana Rumi says:

 

A person desirous of making a pilgrimage

should take with him an experienced pilgrim

for the purpose - no matter whether

that pilgrim be a Hindu, a Turk, or an

Arab.

 

The Satguru, like a master surgeon, can restore vision

to the inner eye.

 

Shamas-i-Tabrez tells us:

 

Should you like to see God, apply the dust of

a Godman's feet to thine eye, for he can give

sight even to the born blind.

 

Naam or Shabd is the collyrium that makes a person

capable of seeing heavenly visions. Without Its use one

forever remains blind, and human birth avails him not:

 

Without contact with Shabd, a person is both

blind and deaf, and gains naught from

human birth.

The greatest asset is the blessed Bani, which

restores the sight that can apprehend God.

 

NANAK

 

 

God is permeating through and through, but we do not

see Him, as we suffer from myopic vision:

 

Accursed is the person who sees him not,

though He is within;

All persons, O Tulsi, suffer from cataract over

their eyes.

 

Eyes are a great blessing. Without them a person gropes

in the dark. The whole physical world is just a blank

sheet to a blind person. But how grateful would he feel

if some expert surgeon were to restore his sight by means

of an operation.

 

The inner eye is a thousand times more useful than

the outer one, as without it one cannot see anything

beyond the physical plane, and for ages upon ages he has

been blindly staggering, ever since the dawn of creation.

The Master of Truth bestows vision to this third eye

that has long been lying sealed as it were by constant

disuse. Is it not a pity that such a valuable organ should

be rendered useless, and that we have not taken the

time even to think of the helpless state in which we are?

Such indeed is the overpowering influence of mind and

matter upon the embodied spirit.

 

It is not only human beings, but also the gods that

stand in need of Light for the third eye, for without

It they, too, cannot see anything beyond themselves and

their surroundings. Located as they are in the descending

order, one below the other, they cannot even see their

own Mother-Shakti (Energy) - from which each of

them has sprung.

 

The entire creation is born of Shakti (Energy),

which works through three distinct agencies:

Brahma (Creator); Vishnu (Sustainer);

and Shiva (Destroyer). Though all three

are under her direction and control, yet

strange as it may seem, they know her not.

 

Tulsi Sahib also tells us that none can safely cross the

sea of life except through the Grace of a Guru:

 

None has ever crossed the fearful stream of life

except with the aid of a Guru, no matter if

he may have been an intellectual giant, like

Shankara.

 

When great personages like these stand in need of

guidance and help of a Guru, the puny child of clay

simply cannot do without a Master Soul.

 

Without a beneficent Guru no one finds a way

out, although he may perform myriads of

charitable works and deeds of merit.

 

Again, Tulsi Sahib says:

 

Tulsi, without the aid of some Murshid-i-Kamil

(perfect Master), you cannot have salvation

nor can you see the way thereto.

 

In Gurbani we find emphatic reference to the need for

a Guru:

 

Let there not be the least doubt in the mind of

any, for none has ever crossed the tempestuous

and fretful seas of life without a Guru.

 

The world is a fearful ocean. The Word of the Guru

is the boat, and he is the captain thereof. It is with his

grace that one can reach God, and there is no other way.

 

Guru is at once the barque and the captain,

and without him none can cross. God is the

veritable gift of Guru, and the way to

salvation lies through Him.

 

In the scriptures of the Hindus also, we find many

references. In Katha Upanishad I:ii, we have:

 

Very few indeed are the persons who have the

good fortune to hear of God, and fewer still

who can know of Him. Blessed is the high

souled one who talks of Him, and blessed

are they who have access to such a personage,

and truly blessed is he who with his help

and guidance finds God within him.

 

Mere thinking and contemplation are of no

avail. Without Initiation one cannot know

of God. Unless you learn of God from some

Master Soul, you shall not experience Him.

 

He is so subtle that thoughts fail to reach Him

and intellect cannot apprehend Him.

 

 

In Chandogya Upanishad IV:ix-3, we have:

 

From the pious and the holy who are just like

Gurus, we have heard that without a Master

Soul we can neither know nor experience

the true nature of the Self.

 

In Mandukya Upanishad (I Mandukya, Khand 2, Shalok 7:12),

we read:

 

It behooves a Brahmin to disengage himself

from the desires for the fruits of Karmas and

acquire a spirit of detachment, for God is

self-existent and cannot be attracted by

deeds of merit. To know Him, he must, like

a true seeker and disciple, go to a Guru who

is adept in the knowledge of Brahma and is

fully embedded in Brahma.

 

Without a Guru one cannot even have true import of the

scriptures. In Svetasvatara Upanishad VI:23, it is

recorded:

 

He who is extremely devoted to God and has

the same amount of devotion for his Guru,

he alone can understand the significance of

the text herein.

 

Let us now turn to Manusmriti, Chapter II:

 

A disciple must stand before his Guru in

perfect equipoise, with full control over his

body and bodily organs.

 

SH.192

 

A disciple must everyday before the commencement

of his daily lessons and after completion of

the same do obeisance at the feet of his Guru

and act according to his instructions.

 

SH.71

 

Those who try to follow the Vedas on hearsay

authority only, do a great disservice to the

Vedas - for none can truly learn the Vedas

without a Guru - and such go to hell.

 

SH.116

 

Whosoever imparts to you knowledge either

exoteric or esoteric is worthy of your respect.

 

SH.117

 

In Bhagavad Gita IV: 34, we have:

 

The practice (of spirituality) can best be done

at the feet of a Master Soul, fully conversant

with the Reality, for such alone can guide

properly.

 

We cannot know the spiritual path without the help of

a Godman and our search should, therefore, begin with

the latter. In the Holy Gospel, it is said:

 

No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

JOHN 14:6

 

No man knoweth ... who the Father is, but

the Son and he to whom the Son will reveal

him.

 

LUKE 10: 22

 

No man can come to me except the Father

which hath sent me draw him.

 

JOHN 6:44

 

He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he

that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

 

MATTHEW 10: 40

 

 

In short, the sacred books of all religions repeat the

same thing; to wit, that man cannot gain salvation

except through a Master of Truth.

 

The Shastras, the Vedas and the Smritis all converge

at one point: no one can have salvation except through

grace. Right contemplation will bring home this universal

Truth to you as well.

 

The easiest and the quickest way to reach God is

through devotion to some Master Soul. The Prophet

of Arabia, while exhorting Ali, said:

 

O Ali! thou art a lion in the cause of Truth,

brave and steadfast, but depend not on thy

prowess and strength. Far better it would be

for thee to take shelter under a tree laden

with flowers and fruits.

 

O Ali! of all the ways leading to God, choose

one that is of the Beloved of God, for long

and strong is his arm and he can easily

take the seekers after Truth into His Holy

Presence.

 

Maulana Rumi also exhorts in the same fashion:

 

The ever oscillating mind cannot be stilled

unless it comes under the overpowering

influence of some Saint. Should you come

across one, take hold of him with a firm

grasp. Take rest under the shelter of an

accepted one, for the proximity of a liberated

Soul shall liberate thee as well.

 

Dove-like sigh thou night and day and search

for the hidden treasure from some darvesh

(man of God).

 

Again:

 

There is no Friend greater than Satguru; He is

the protector here and everywhere.

 

Search for such a one right and left, high and

low, and never rest until he is found.

 

Never turn away from the holy and pious, but

diligently try to understand them and their

real greatness.

 

The path of spirituality is strewn with dangers and

difficulties and cannot be safely trod except with the

help and guidance of a Master.

 

Every soul is clothed in three distinct sheaths; the

physical, the astral, and the causal. It is through each

of these that she can operate in the three corresponding

planes. Her native plane, however, lies beyond the three.

 

The physical plane itself is beset with terrible snares

and difficulties. The astral or subtle plane is full of

inconceivable temptations from which it is impossible for

a jiva to escape unscathed.

 

Similarly, still greater glamor awaits a jiva in the

causal plane. Again, it is no small adventure to enter

spiritual planes by oneself alone. This path is strewn

with thorns and is sharp as a razor's edge.

 

Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which

leadeth unto life, and few there be that

find it.

 

MATTHEW 7:7

 

It is, therefore, all the more necessary that a seeker after

Truth must first find an adept in Truth, fully conversant

with the spiritual path leading to Reality, and obtain

his lessons from him, and practice them under his direct

supervision, guidance, and control. Without these

prerequisites there cannot be a ghost of a chance for

success. In Katha Upanishad, we come across a dictum:

 

Awake, arise, and stop not until the Goal is

reached.

 

The knowledge of God can be had from a man of God.

At every step an aspirant feels the need of the Master's

strong and long arm, which alone can reach him, save him,

and keep him on the path and lead him correctly.

Maulana Rumi says:

 

First find a Pir (adept in the line) for without

a Pir the way is beset with dangers,

difficulties and tribulations.

 

Whoever attempts to walk on this path by himself

is sure to be led astray by Satan and

thrown down the precipice.

 

Without the overpowering influence of a Godman

you are bound to become bewildered by

the howling cries of ghouls.

 

Many a wise and intelligent person attempted

this path alone but by the wiles of the negative

powers came to a sad end. Many a time

the ghouls imitate the sounds of the Master,

and these may drag thee to perdition.

 

It is through the loving grace of the Master that a spirit

can get out of the prison-house of the body. From here

the Luminous Form of the Master directly takes charge

of the spirit, and protects her at every step with his loving

grace.

 

The intricate and bewildering turns and twists

of the path are easily passed through with

the help of the Satguru.

 

The subtle and causal planes are a vast wilderness for

the soul, and it is unsafe for her to traverse them by herself.

Maulana Rumi tells us in this context:

 

Take a fellow traveler with thee and travel not

alone on this path. Do not venture in this

wilderness by thyself alone.

 

Hafiz Sahib also gives the same advice:

 

Do not attempt these stages alone.

In the bewildering darkness,

you are sure to lose your way.