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BOOK
EIGHT Deeksha
Initiation IN
ALMOST all the scriptural lore we come across, in one from or another, a term
that stands for "initiation," i.e., introduction of a personinto the
principles of the inner science. The
Muslims generally use the word "baet" for initiation, while others
call it "deeksha." Among the Christians, the admission to the church
is known as "baptism." The hindus call it "duojanma" or the
second birth. This initiation or
introduction into the tenets of a new science is not something formal or by
word of mouth only. Its singnificance
is far deeper than is generally understood.
It is tantamount to adopting an individualinto the very life and spirit
of the tenets that are introduced to him in theory. It is conveying a Life-impulse to theinitiate and giving him
first-hand experience of the source of life.
It thus has a two-fold aspect: theoretical as well as practical. At the time of the
initiation, the Master explains to the individuals concerned the theory of the
spiritual scinece or Para Vidya (the Knowledge of the Beyond). It is an admitted fact that theory precedes
practice, for a correct understanding of the subject is of paramount importance
before one can put the theory into practice.
A successful application and experimentation with verifiable results
cannot becarried onwithout a correct knowledge and understanding of the
subject. As apirituality is the
science of the spirit or soul-a Living Principle, the very Breath of Life--and
adept inspirituality must impart to every initiate a particle of his own
Life-impulse (called "Jia Dan") before the initiate can understand
what the "life of the spirit" is, as distinguished from the
"life of the flesh" that he has beenleading hitherto; for it is the spiritor
sou alone that can apprehend and experience the Oversoul, whenfreed from the
trammels of the flesh, and mind, the pranas or vital airs, and all the outgoing
faculties, all of which constitute the outer man as engaged in the world and
worldly pursuits on the sensual plane. By imparting his own
Life-impulse, he instills true devotion in a person and unites him with the
Lord. *1 GURU
ARJAN Who is competent toinitiate? The initiation into the
esoteric science of the soul can successfully and rightly be granted by some
perfect Saint or Master--an adept in the art and science of Para Vidya or the
Knowledtge of the Beyond. One who has
not himself extricated and freed his spirit from body bondage and transcended
into higher spiritual regions and who has not seen Reality face to face and
whohas not, by spiritual practice, become established in Truth, cannot possibly
do anything in this behalf. A Saint of
the highest order alone is competent toreveal the Path and lead Godward,
regardless of what we cll him: Saint Satguru, Murshid-I-Kamil, Prophet, Messiah
or Master-soul. As light comes from
light, so does life from life. The
scriptural lore, by itself, is unable to impart this life-impulse. Meet a Satguru and take his
initiation, Surrender thine all and peep
within. *2 Repeat, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
*3 …ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light… *4 ST.
PETER For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or
free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. *5 ST.
PAUL The instruction in the
esoteric teachings consists of th exposition of Simran, Dhyan and Bhajan, that
is to say, repetition (mental with tongue of thought only) of the words which
are charged with the Power of the Master; concentration or meditation (fixing
consciousness or gaze) at the center of the two eyebrows; and linking the
spirit with the daving lifeline within, ever reverberatingin the form of the
perennial Sound Current, the very life-breath of the Universe, of which the
Master himself is the living embodiment.
As soon as a devotee is able to transcend the physical body, the Radiant
Form of the Master (Guru Dev) appears in the subtle plane and becomes a guiding
force to the spirit on the journey into higher spiritual realms, bringing him
back to the True Home of his Father.
Henceforth the Master-spirit never leaves the soul, but continuously
helps and directs, visibly and invisibly, directly and indirectly, in this life
and the life hereafter, as the occasion may demand. Lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world. *6 And him that cometh to me I
will in no wise cast out. *7 CHRIST Everyman, I will go with
thee,and be thy guide, In thy most need to go by
thy side. EVERYMAN No man, however learned he
may be, however high his morals be pitched, can by his own unaided efforts rise
above body-consciousness. The
experience of the spirit withdrawal while living can be vouchsafed only by a
Master Saint and by no one else, and without this transcendence one cannot peet
into the world beyond and take hold of the Sound Principle--the Divine Chord in
man, the link between the Creator and His creation. It is the Divine Law that
none can conceive of Him without a Satguru.
*8 GURU
AMAR DAS No man cometh unto the
Father, but by me. *9 Neither knoweth any man the
Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. *10 CHRIST Initiation from a
Master-soul is of paramount importance, for herein lies the secret of all
esoteric teachings and esoteric experience.
It means new birth and a new life, entirely in a new setting. This spiritual birthor birth in the Master
is called a second birth, and enables a person to turn over a new leaf, to say
goodbye to the past and march forward to this original Home, the long-forgotten
paradise--New Jerusalem, the Holy City, Muqam-I-Haq or Sach Khand. Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. *11 Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. *12 CHRIST The Kingdom of God: Where it
is The Kingdom of God is at
present a lost dominion for us. Ever
since the fall of man, for his first disobedience to God's commandment, we
stand ostracized from the Garden of Eden and have no access to it. Under the overbearing pressure of the world
and worldly pursuits, we have become entirely extroverted and have no thought
of God and His Kingdom within. The kingdom of God cometh
not with observation; Neither shall they say, Lo
here! Or, Lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. *13 CHRIST The priceless Waters of
Immortality lie buried and lost within the depths of the human soul. The call of the Master is: He that findeth his life
shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. *14 For the son of man is come
to seek and to save that which was lost.
*15 CHRIST All this leads to theone
inevitable conclusion of death in life, for without it cone cannot rise into
Universal Consciousness or cosmic awareness.
This higher life of the spirit depends entirely on the grace of a living
Master, capable of imparting his life impulse and granting the saving lifeline
within. I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and
gave himself for me. *16 ST.
PAUL With initiation and
spiritual sadhna or practice, one gradually becomes a aware of his shortcomings
and tries to weed them out, and the mofe he purifies himself, themofe he grows
into Divine Life. As the scales begin
to drop off, the true values of life become more and more apparent. The spirit gradually gets freed from the
shackles of the world and is enabled to transcend the physical body and make
flights into the higher regions.
Hereafter, " he walks not after the flesh but after the
spirit." *17 Living in the world, he is no longer of the world. He now delights in the bliss of higher
spiritual regions and not in the pleasures of the senses and
sense-objects. The gift of Naam or Word
comes only from a Master-soul who, by injecting his own life-impulse, befits an
initiatefor the spiritual journey. The measure and speed of
advance, however, dependson theindividual's own make-up, the groundon which he
stands, and the preparation that he may have made in past incarnations. As each one hasa different background, each
one has his own starting point. The
seed is sown, butits unfoldment, growth and development depends on the nature
of the soil in whichit is planted. The Master injects hisown
consciousness, Light and Sound, into each initiate. Once the contact with the Divine Link is established and the
spiritual experience gained, however little it may be to begin with, at the
lowest level, it can, by regular day today practice, be developed to any length
one ikes until it becomes quite natural and normal, a matter of voluntary
withdrawal of spirit currents as and when one likes. The devotee of the Master
comes and goes at his will and pleasure, with no let or hindrance. *18 Each one however, as said
before, takes his or her own time for efflorescence and fructification. The dormant spiritual faculties begin to
quicken with life and the initiate feels within him a sort of fullness, a
satiety, a b lessedness. This is a gift
imperishable andindestructible. It can
neither be stolen nor washed away. The
seed of spirituality once sown in the innermost depths of the sul must bear
flowers and fruits, in the fullness of time.
No power on earth can stand in the way of its growth or stifle it in any
way whatever. He who has once been
initiated by a competent Master is assured, once and for all, his libeation
from the bondage of mind and matter; it is but a question of time. The seed of spirituality sown in him is
bound to sprout and fructify. The spirituality when awakened and the spiritual
experience gained must develop, and the Master Power cannot rest contented
until the child owned is reared and taken home to the house of the Father. The true knowledge dawns
only with initiation, for without initiation from a Master-soul, one can have
no knowledge. There can be no jnana (true
knowledge) without meeting a Master-sul, nor meditation with a first-hand
experience. *19 GURU
ARJAN But one who is fortunate may
have the experience of both truth the grace of a Master Saint. It means taking in a particle of Life's
Living Principle through some Godman or polarized God; i.e., a pole from where
the Power of God works in this world.
In the light of this knowledge, the mind gradually loosens its
tentacles, which are holding the soul in hoops of steel, so that the spirit is
able to free itself from the mind, and know and perceive her own true nature. O Nanak! without knowing
oneself by self-analysis, One wanders ever in the
wilderness of delusion. *20 GURU
TEG BAHADUR The whole world is in the
throes of attachment and infatuation, A rare devotee of the Master
escapes from the mighty maze of mind and matter, This infatuation keeps in
perpetual motion the wheel of life, And it take one time and
again into the grip of Kal. *21 GURU
NANAK The process of liberating a
human soul from the labyrinth of the sensual plane lies in the hands of a
competent Master of Para Vidya or the Science of the Beyond; competent both in
theory and practice. One who has
himself liberated his soul and can at will go to the higher spiritual regions,
can take others as well. It is a work
of great trust and responsibility which the so-called Master, with which the
world always abounds, cannot do. Those
who prescribe outer yogic practices or the performance of rites and rituals,
sacrifices and austerities, pilgrimages and the like are yet ignorant of the
Inner Path that begins from the headquarters of the sul above the sensory plane
and for which transcendence above body consciousness is the primary
condition. It is there that one has
"to knock," as Christ put it, and he guaranted that "it shall be
opened." *22 The philosopher Emerson calls it
"tapping inside." In Ramkali War, Mohalla 5, of the Guru Granth
Sahib, we have a pen picture of the Masters of Apara Vidya or empirical
knowledge of the Word: He, while working for
religious merit, takes upon himself a load of sins, And goes begging from door
to door by offering initiation, He himself has no faith in
the Vedas and other scriptures, And wants all worship and
adoration unto himself. Being a Kazi, he sits in
judgment over others; While telling the beads, he
ventures to expound Godhead; With birbes, he tramples on
the rights of others; To the question, he offers
quotations from the scriptures. GURU
ARJAN We live in the tumultuous
sea of life without any moorings and are carried alone by the fearful currents
of attachments and infatuations. A rare
devotee of the Master may be able to successfully face the storm and stress and
cross over to a haven of safety, but the rest float down helplessly. If even after initiation an initiate takes
recourse to disciplines and practices other than those enjoined by the Master,
he cannot rid himself of worldly ties and takes a longer time to reach his
Native Home. All are drowned in the love
of the world, A rare devotee of the Master
may ferry across. Because of attachments, one
comes over time and again, Trapped in infatuation, one
cannot but abide in the realm of death. Even after initiation from
the Master, people engage in rites and rituals, Neither can they snap the
bonds nor reach the goal, It is His glance of grace
that can pull down the mighty maze, And then, O Nanak! One may
get absorbed in Him. *23 GURU
NANAK The true initiation is
nothing but anintroduction to Naam and a contact with the live creative
Principle of Sound, which can be listened to, experienced and practiced from
day to day. Only the predestined get in
touch with a Master-soul, With the Water of life (Hari
Ka Naam) he grants the true initiation (deeksha). *24 GURU
NANAK Live ye in the haven of a
Sadh, And leave all thy wisdom and
knowledge, Let the Master's
Instructions (Guru Deeksha) abide in thy heart, This, O Nanak! may happen
through the Writ of the Lord. *25 GURU
ARJAN |