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Prayer February 27,
1971 Do one thing at
a time fully. If you form that habit, then naturally. There will be some
discipline. We have not developed that habit. It is better to
sing some hymn in your own tune, maybe of love, maybe of devotion, some sort of
prayer before sitting. Sing some hymn of love or devotion, of prayer, anything
in your own tune. That will help, I think. That will create a better atmosphere
for meditation . to sit like a wrestler to catch Him will not help. Master, is Simran, done correctly, with full attention, considered a prayer? Prayer, you
see, prayer is uttered by a weaker man to a strong man for help. In prayer you
need something. You want help from someone. A poor man will pray to a rich man
who can give him something. Prayer means that. Or in prayer we can have a
review of our life: “We have fallen. We are separated from you. will you kindly
help raise us?” do you follow? And the aim of prayer is –love, devotion, and
separation. To pray will help you. prayer has it's own categories; either of
two will help. Have you read prayer, book of prayer? What I am telling you now,
and all phases of prayer, have been discussed in there. Master, can you speak on the significant of thinking of the form of the Master? I never advice
that. I never advice anybody to do that. And there is a reason. All Master, all
gurus, all teachers say, “think of the Master. meditate on the form of the
Master.” to think of the Master is good. To pray before a Master is still
better. But there is a vast difference between the two. To think of the Master
as a form, visualizing the Master form in this and that way, and to meditate on
the form of the Master can have a different meaning . to pray to Master, and
sit is something else. But there is one danger in meditating on the form of the
Master. If the Master is, God forbid, not perfect, not the Master, or he belong
to the lower class, then you will only become what he is. some scriptures say,
just think of your Master, meditate on the Master. Which Master? Whom you have
seen, not the one whom you have not seen. There is a difficulty that will
arise. You can meditate or visualize any form of whom? One who is your own
level or blow your self. That form will
come at once. The form of one who belongs to a higher category than you are
cannot see the arm, sometimes the back. Your mind will be running everywhere to
where you have seen Him. That’s the criterion. Of course if you’ve got a very
loving heart –just like I was gave you an example the other day of when a glass
is coated with wax, there on the back, you will see your face. That’s another
thing. But generally I never advise
anybody to meditate on the form. Why? They identified with it. You saw at the
time of the last initiation more than 200 saw the form of the Master; 250-300
were there. He is God, who comes of himself. So prayer and
sit, that’s all right. Then try everyone go in and you will find Him. He is
waiting for you. we may keep the photograph of our Master's form, just like
some relative or dear friend , for remembrance, but that’s all. Not for
meditation. If , now consider, Master is a real Master but at the outset you
cannot believe that he's a Master unless you have got some faith already
developed within you . . . . That’s another Master, thing. If you meditate on
the form, you'll just go up. But if he is not a Master, I mean not a full
developed Master (now may I add that word), what will you become? You will
become what he is. so any form which comes of itself, that Power is perfect.
God is making that form of the Master in whom he is working. He knows
everything. We do not know. He knows. So you see,
when a Master initiates somebody, he resides within him at the same moment in
astral form, and never leaves him –unless he takes him to the sat purusha to
the end of he world. When you enter this room and somebody is sitting in there,
will you not find without pray to Him or not (matter of fact in the extreme).
Just enter the room and you'll find him. So Master is
word personified. Word made flesh. He is residing within you. just tap. Enter
the room. You'll find Him. Whether you pray to Him or not pray to Him (even if
you think of me or not), if you enter, you will ultimately find Him. So prayer
is better; it's significance becomes more. Do you know the
significant of visualizing the Master form? Your questions was that. This is
all right [to think of Him, to look at his picture] for sweet remembrance. You
think of your brothers, your relatives, your friends. but you cannot
visualizing the Master who is above you all at once, except if you have very
overwhelming love. That’s a layer of wax behind the glass; then you see with no
effort. You may think of the Master, if you’ve seen Him, but sometimes you'll
find Master's form appears to those who have not seen the Master. There are
many cases like that, even now. Once, when I
went to Pakistan, I met a Mohammedan Sufi Saint who used to do his penances in
his own way and when he went in, he found Master's form therein. He was
wondering who this Sikh gentlemen was whom he had never met. He had never even
heard about me. but when he came up to me at Lahore, he said, “I was seeing you
inside.” I used to see my Master seven
years before I met Him physically. God appears, manifested in whatever form he
is working to those rare hearts who are really after Him, maybe Hindu,
Mohammedan, Sikh, Christians, or Jew. That makes no difference. Generally
people are asked, “visualizing my form.” What is the result? That’s all right
to help you concentrate for a while, but you will become what he is. as you
think, so you'll become. If you know a Master is a Master, that’s all right,
even if you have not seen Him. So prayer is a separate way. Enter the room and
you'll find Him. He is waiting for you. In the
beginning it is just like somebody is with you, hovering around you. you'll
feel his presence like that. When that develops, his form will manifest. When
that form can materialize like a physical body, it will guide you, give you
writing. Ask - - - . he used to write to me every week, “Master came and sat
down on the chair and dictated this and that to me.” a book was published. You
see, that form will materialize, come and talk and even dictated to you. but
when a man thinks himself sufficient,
he's cut off. Do you remember
I told you the story of Bulleh Shah the other day? he was initiated by Inayat
Shah, who was a gardener. Bulleh Shah was a sayed, the highest class of
Mohammedan, belonging to the lineage of prophet Mohammed. He was initiated by
the gardener, Inayat Shah, but was ashamed to be called the disciple of one who
was below his level –Mohammedan class. So Master sent other disciple, “go and
tell the people Bulleh Shah is our brother in faith.” Some went there singing
and dancing . “Where is Bulleh Shah? He is our brother. We are disciple of
Inayat Shah.” Bulleh Shah was ashamed he said, “I am not your brother.” “All
right, we’ll not give water to that field from today.” It is with attention
that Master rears up the disciple who are in, tune, who are receptive, more
than others. Then naturally what he had within him was cut off. Now he was
helpless. What to do? Master is sometimes a very hard task Master, mind that.
He was a very hard task Master. He would not listen to please. “He says he's
not mine. Let him go.” He thought, how to please Him? His Master used to hear
the hymns, or the songs sung by the dancing girls every week. He thought of
what to do to please Him: he became the
servant of that dancing girl, served her in
every way and learned singing and dancing. After some time, he became
adept in that. And one day, when that dancer was supposed to go to sing before
the Master, he said to her, “if you give me your cloths, I’ll wear them. I’ll
sing today.” She agreed, so he put her cloths on himself and went over there.
Anything that comes out of the pining heart will attract Him. He was dancing
and singing in ectacy, and Master knew he had come. He stood up and embraced
him. The other said, “What happened to our Master. what is he doing? We found
Him hovering over a dancing girl.” People see from their own angle of vision. Naturally smoky glasses will see
smoke. Then Inayat Shah said, “Well, look here, take off your cloths.” “Oh
Bulleh, Bulleh!” it was Bulleh. “I am not Bulleh. I have forgotten you. forgive
me.” so he came around after that. He had the truth. So the Master gives water
–that is the point. If the disciple simply becomes a mouthpiece of the Guru,
then . . . . he’ll know. It's a very
delicate point. Little ego, little self sufficiency, spoils the whole show.
When the hymns are from the heart, coming from heart, pinching of the heart,
such like hymns of separation, due to a little concentration, you are cut off
from all the world over. you are all alone, even in the midst of thousands. If
you have love for somebody who is sitting in the throng, even with so any
hundreds of people there, your attention is riveted on Him. You don’t know how
else is sitting. There's ruling passion in your heart for Him. That is due to
extreme concentration, real renunciation. What is real
renunciation? When you renounce all other things except for one, that is
renunciation. Not leaving your heart and home. Have sweet remembrance: how can you forget
your friend? Can you? he is ever within you, ever watching you, like a mother
of a child who has not yet even learned to walk or talk and is lisping . so it
is first he who loves us, not we Him, you see. Our love is only reciprocal. He
is love personified. That is, he is overflowing with the Love and intoxication
of God. so when you have developed in that way, he appears –the radiant form
within you. and ultimate seems to be the very sat purusha. Indra mati, a
very highly developed follower of Kabir sitting as sat purush. She told Him,
“it was you who was the real sat purusha. Why didn’t you tell me on the earth
that you are the saypurusha?” and he said, “You would not have believed on the
earth that I a the sat purush.” So Master work from different levels, and never
say, “I am God.” if the disciple develops ultimately later on, then he finds
Him like anything. So sweet
remembrance is what is required. Just like a man with whom you leave all your
heart to give that sweet remembrance, heart beating within for Him. It is just like
a wound you have bandaged by the doctor. Outwardly you don’t appear to be in
pain but the pain is there constantly. So remembrance is like that. Sweet
remembrance all the time. don’t you love for somebody who also comes to receive
you at the time of death. What more is wanted? He is forever
watching, extending all help and protection. Even if you do not know. He is son
of man of course, but he is something else, too. Master behaves from two
levels; like son of man, working at the level of man as an ideal man should be.
But the is something else too, you see. If he is not that, how can he give you
contact with that Power? God alone can give you contact with Him, is it not so?
If somebody gives you aspect –he is a son of God as well as the son of man.
what did Christ say as son of man? “Father, you have forsake me. what did
Christ say as son of man? “Father , you have forsake me.” this is what you
find. That was spoken as son of man. when they are in tune they are sons of
God. he behaves like a man and all the same he gave the other way. Now you have
heard the two aspects of the Master. All these
things are not explained in books. Even godman gives salient points, but not in
detail like this. One criterion; he never says, “I an God.” he says, “my Father
has done, my Guru has done.” At heart of heart, really, his words are imbued
with humility. He sees somebody, else. Christ never said, “I am doing.” He
said,” it is the Father in me.” Christ asked
some disciple to answer at their level, “do you know who I am?” everyone said,
you are the son of such and such a man. you are a carpenter. You live in such
and such a place. But Simon said, “You are the son of the living God.” “Well,
Simon, what you have said was not form you but from my Father who has spoken
through you.” he's always conscious of what he is but all the same he behaves
like man. otherwise, if he says, “I have come from heaven ,” we say, “Oh, he
has come from heaven; what can we have to do with Him?” instead he says, “I am
a man like you who has passed through life, as you have. So there is a way out
for you also. In man body you can become that. Have that higher purpose of life
before you.” He never acts
and poses. Simple way of living, simple talk. But in simple talk he give you
all the secrets of the teachings of the Master. Sometimes I wrote in my
letters, “Well, if you develop receptivity, that’s good. You can have that
benefit from thousands of mils; all right.” You'll become a channel. But
physical presence cannot be underrated, you see. You can sit by the fire. So
sweet remembrance has got to be developed. God is love and
love is God, you see, and our soul of the same essence as that of God, and the
way back to God is through? Love. Love. That’s
all. So for that purpose you have been a contact with that God into expression
Power, which is all love. The more you absorb yourself into that Light and
sound, the more love will overflow from you. so that will give you a boost, you
see. Sweet remembrance is all right. God bless you. |