Hari Naam is the essence of all religions. All religions are deeply rooted in the Naam. There is no religion Higher than that of the Naam. Verily, verily the true study of Naam, which is the Bread of Life. 

When the Masters come they bring Light into the world, which is in deep darkness. By giving a little Light, the darkness is dispelled. Unfortunately, there is no right understanding, for the mists of delusion are disseminated so densely that one hand cannot find the other, though it be attached to the same body! The Masters have always said very frankly, we bring no new thing, but that which has existed from thought the beginning-right understanding. What is right understanding? In a simple manner of speaking it is a matter of common sense, a case of knowing whom one actually is. Have you ever given any thought to it?

Man has acquired great knowledge has given birth to intellectual giants. Highly informative lectures have been given, and the number of books available for reading is innumerable. Much has been learned about the physical form, and with the help of the intellect many new discoveries have been made in various fields. The world can be encircled in a matter of hours, rendering it somewhat like a small town; the moon has been landed upon, and now the heretofore hidden knowledge of the moon is gradually being opened up to mankind. Is it not ironic and regrettable that with all this knowledge, we yet know nothing of who we truly are? Through systematically feeding the body we have become physically strong and we are intellectually strong because we have fed all kinds of knowledge into the mind, but what food have we given to the soul?

When a man is born, is he at that time a Hindus, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist or Jain etc.? He is just a human being a member of mankind. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, said, “The true religion of man is only one.” The outer and inner construction of the physical form are the same. God has not sent man with a brand of a certain religion on him, but rather he sent him into the religion of Mankind, and the different labels have been attached afterwards by man himself.

When the world was created, there were no religions existing. For instance Sikhism came into existence after Guru Nanak, when later the tenth Guru organized the followers into a fold, and established the Khalsa. Fifteen hundred years back there was no Muslim, and two thousand years ago there were no Christians. If we trace back as far as five thousand years we would find no Buddhists or Jains-all were made in the course of time, after the great saviors who came to guide the child humanity. 

Though God has given all men equal rights relating to the birth process and physical composition, as yet man is ignorant to what he actually is. We have all got a body, but we are not the body- we are connected to it- we are the indweller. All is well while the two companions dwell together, but when one leaves, the other turns to dust. The companion of the physical form remains alive in this world only for as long as we, the soul, are with it, but when we are separated-no one keeps it even for half an hour; they send it out of thought house. When a person dies, everyone is anxious to quickly prepare the body and send it away. So the Masters teach us that we are actually conscious soul, and the body is glorified only for as long as that conscious soul dwells in it.

The physical form is a wonderful house in which we live. It has nine outlets-eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth, genital and excretory orifices, but the indweller cannot leave through any of them. Some Power has tied it within the body and it is imprisoned. When that very Power is withdrawn, the indweller also has to leave the body. That same Power is controlling millions of worlds throughout creation, which abide in perfect rhythm and do not clash with one another. There are stars, which can be seen on their orbits only after five thousand years. That power is called Naam, or word, and when it withdraws, dissolution occurs, and in due course of the Divine Plan, grand dissolution. Guru Nanak says, “Naam is the controller of everything; he whose destiny is great will achieve it.” 

The ultimate Lord is nameless, but He expressed himself, and that expression is called naam which is permeated through each atom-there is no place without it. If we search into this human form we will find the knowledge of it. It is profound subject worthy of deep thought. To make anything one requires tools and machinery of some kind, but what tools are in the womb of the mother to create the child’s eyes, ears, nose, hands and feet etc? Have you ever given any thought to this? There is some power, which is in control, is their not? It is this Power which we must know- the sustainer of all life, both within the womb and without.

We are all children of the same Lord. When the Life-Giver is one and the same, though He may be known by different names, then where does the question arise of fighting each other? This is a great lesson repeatedly forgotten by mankind throughout the ages and the Masters continue to come to remind us. Hundreds of lovers, but the Beloved are the same. Caste and religion are different, but the work is the same. We also have, everyone glories in his own Friend; the target is one but the arrows are May. This is the supreme mystery of life, which we must unravel. The Master’s have realized it, and so have those who came into contact with them. In the desire to keep a particular Master’s teachings alive that more and more people may realize the truth, so the religious formation was founded. So long as the self-realized persons were here to fulfill those teachings, the formation prospered successfully, but on their departure stagnation and deterioration slowly reduced the performance of them to mere forms and rituals

Who can realize God? He cannot be realized through the mind, intellect or senses, or through pranas involving the breathing process. He can only be realized through the soul, and as long as the soul has not realized itself, it cannot realize God. For this very reason, all rishis, munis, Mahatmas and Masters who ever came to the world up to the present, no matter to which country or religion they belonged, stressed the same injunction –O man, know thyself! Even if by theory, through using the intellect, we have come to believe that we are the soul and we have got a body, is this truly scientific knowledge through actual self-analysis? Have we succeeded in rising above the senses, at will? When a true Master comes to the world he gives the seekers a demonstration in full consciousness, how to rise above the body consciousness and still further above the senses and mind-not from the level of the intellect, but practically. This can only be experienced through the help, and the mercy, of a self-analysis and God -realized man. Until this happens, our soul remains in it's deplorable condition-surrounded by the mind and the senses so much so that it is just the image of the body and the world. It has completely forgotten itself and the Life-Sustainer, and has forgotten it's way back to the knowledge of all this. God dwells with us in the same body, but the tragedy is we do not talk to each other.

He whose soul is strong will find that his heart, mind and physical body remain in good working order, because the body and the intellect derive their strength from the soul, so upon the spiritual health depends the life of mind and body, both. The Master feeds the soul with the Bread of life. This is the basis of right understanding. They say our true friend is he, by seeing whom all wrong understanding ceases. This type of Master is found very rarely, and if one is fortunate enough to meet one the worldly attractions diminish-all narrow-mindedness fades away.

When Guru Nanak Sahib and Kabir Sahib came, the two castes of Muslim and Hindu were strongly opposed. There was like a shroud of dense darkness over India. Guru Nanak once described the condition by saying that the Moon of Truth had been eclipsed by a black night. The princess had become butchers and all honorable conduct had taken wings and flown. What teaching did he give out? He said, “ We are neither Hindu nor Muslim- Allah or Ram are the breath of this body,” meaning that there is only one Power and we are the devotees of that- call it Allah or Ram- and that Power is the very breath of our life. We made Hindus and Muslims. Kabir Sahib voiced this in a similar way; we are neither Hindu nor Muslim-think of us both as one. Whether we do puja or namaz, both are for him.

A Muslim maulvi or priest once challenged Guru Nanak by saying, “ If you think that the Hindus and Muslims are one and the same, then come and read namaz with us!” Guru Nanak readily agreed, and accompanied him to the mosque. The Maulvi Sahib performed the namaz, and the Kazi Sahib and all others followed him, but Guru Nanak did not do so. He was afterwards asked why he had not prayed with others, and he said, “With whom should I have prayed?” He was reminded that the Maulvi Sahib had been performing, but Guru Nanak replied, “ But he was not really doing so; his mind was on his calf at his house and he was worried that it may fall into the well.” The Maulvi Sahib was shocked into silence, but the Kazi Sahib promptly asked, “ Why did you not pray with me?” Guru Nanak turned to him and smiled-“You” – you were buying horses in Kabul!” With fear and shame they whispered, “Who are you?” Guru Nanak said, “If I say I am a Hindu, you will kill me, and Muslim I am not!” By this he meant that they would judge him by his outer Hindu appearance, and not by his soul-and that he was not their idea of what a Muslim should be.

The outer forms and rituals are all right, but are superficial, like monograms to show which school a child is attending. Obviously, only that school is praiseworthy from which many children graduate, having achieved the purpose of their studies. So they asked Guru Nanak once again, “Tell us, who are you?” he replied, “If you want to know the truth, Nanak is a puppet made of five elements, and that invisible Power is playing within that body- people called that Nanak. When he went to Baghdad, Guru Nanak made a statement, that “I have renounced all religions.” People asked him, “Then, what is your belief?” He said, “Love God, and as He is in every human being, love everybody.” This is the true teaching given by all realized souls.

We have political troubles, countries are fighting against each other, and there is only one solution to this miserable problem, and that is to find out who we really are. It is a common-sense matter, and no philosophy is required to understand that the unity already exists as man body, soul and thought same power we worship-but we have forgotten it, that is all. It is a subject of practical self-analysis, during which the consciousness has to be separated from the matter. In the past, the furtherance of this teaching has always been the free work of self-realized souls, but in this day and age it is a world of paid preachers and material motives. If we go back in history we find people like Maharaja Ranjit Singh who was ordered by his priest Akali Phula Singh, is the Holy Temple, to “Go back, you have committed a sin –you are not fit to enter.” He was a King, but he obeyed implicitly- can any priest today order any man at all, and hope for obedience? No, because each is concerned with his own selfish motives. Kabir Sahib said, ”Everything is forgotten when the stomach is in question, meaning that all principles are cast aside in consideration of earning for the stomach. He also said, “ some have used the Holy Scripture and some have used donkeys (or any beast of burden) to earn their living.

O brother, when you get the human form, it is your turn to meet God. No actions will avail you- keep the company of a Saint and repeat only the Holy Naam. It is with great good fortune that you have got this human form, and it is thy turn to meet God. In the Rig Veda, this human form is called Brahmpuri- the place where God can be realized. It is also called the real Ayadyapuri of six centers and nine doors, where Ram resides. While living in this human form, the most important work we have is to realize God. All other creation lives a life of the senses only-they have no free will. Due to the element of akash tatwa within man, he has an awakened ness with which he can differentiate the truth from the untruth, and is thereby able to adopt the truth and make use of the untruth or illusion. We have all had this form for various numbers of years, but how far have we progressed in reaching our aim? We must give careful attention to those things, which will help us.

We are advised to keep the company of a perfect Master, and repeat only the Naam. Who is a perfect Master? Guru Arjan Sahib has written pages upon pages in describing a perfect Master. A Master is a human being, born like all of us, but there is also a great difference, for he has freed his soul from the mind and senses, and according to his own will he can work through the senses. He is in constant contact with God- he sees him as I am seeing you and you are seeing me. The Master has taken the human form, and there is no difference between God and the Master, the word made flesh. Master is not a name given to those who wear a particular mode of dress, but to one who is God-realized. And what does a God-realized soul give? Through the company of a Master you get the empyreal gift. He gives the connection with God himself-he introduces you to the Holy Naam. One may have traveled to many places of pilgrimage, have sung the praises of the Lord constantly, but if one has never seen Him, of what value is all that?

Guru Amar Das Ji Sahib, who spent seventy years searching for the truth, said, “How can a man whose inner eye is not open, open the eyes of others?” Without seeing Him, singing God’s praises is just like a blind man declaring that the light of the sun is very strong. God’s form is Light itself, but man has not seen it. He is a true worshipper, who first sees it and then sings the praises of the Lord. When seen, and praises are sung, then the songs will bear fruit. And he who sees can make others see, for, No man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the son will reveal Him. Those who have seen Him have reached His lap. In the very last stanza of the Guru Granth Sahib, it written, O God, may I be able to see Thee. It is an appeal Himself. Think with a cool head-if you have got somewhere, then my Congratulations are with you, otherwise go and seek someone’s assistance.

Today, we have an abundance of Holy Scriptures by many Masters, so it is of the utmost importance that one should seek carefully and seriously for a true Master who is God-realized-whose inner eye is open and who can open the eyes of others that they may see the effulgent Light of God. It is that very Light which is working in all humanity which opens the inner eye, but which is shining in all fullness in the perfect Master. In the Sikh religion there is a prayer –To meet a Gurumukh –to keep a Master’s company-to be drenched in the color of Naam-O Lord, it is the most beloved meeting, in which Thy Name comes out of the heart, Guru Nanak prays in this way, Nanak, thy servant, prays only for this happiness-that thou wouldst bring me to a Saint. What is a Saint? My Beloved is very awakened, and (without saying so) he is known as a Saint. He is manifested God in man. Nothing is bereft of Him. Full of joy, I prostrate myself before thought one in whom He has manifested Himself.

If the Life-Giver, residing in the human temple, sees that his child is in torment of yearning for a glimpse of Him, He makes it possible for the child to be brought to that human pole in which He has manifested Himself. Who are these most fortunate children? Those who have no guile or cunning, but desire to serve; are humble and have love in their hearts for all. When He sees a child like this, then-When Thou calmest, the guru appeared. Otherwise, how can a blind man search out one with sight? We, the blind, lost in our blindness, how can we walk as the Guru desires? Why are we the blindest of the blind? Because the poison of illusion has submerged us in it's foulness, and he who has taken poison is not clear in mind, or in heart. How can such a person walk in the Guru’s footsteps? 

For an example, there is the story of a small child who was playing alone in a room, when he fell and hurt himself. Full of fright, he tried to hold the wall and rise, but fell again. He clutched at the tablecloth, and then at a chair, which tumbled over and again he fell. In helpless despair he cried, “Ourselves mother!” his mother was in the kitchen boiling the milk, but when she heard the desperate cry she ran out, picked him up and comforted him, returning with him to the kitchen. By this time, the milk had boiled over and more than half of it was lost. Seeing this, the child asked, “Mother, do you love me very much?” The mother told him that indeed she did. In his simple way of thinking the child considered that it was very easy to make his mother run to him, by just calling her, and after a few days he tried to get his mother’s attention by shouting, “Mother, oh mother,” but she did not come. Disappointed, he went into the kitchen and asked her, “Mother, what are you doing?” She said, “I am cooking lentils” (a very inexpensive food). He was amazed and said, “That day you left the milk to boil over and today you are only cooking lentils, and you did not come to me-have you stopped loving me?” She replied,” No, my child, but that day there was pain in your voice.” So, ask your heart what it wants, and if you really want God, He will come. He does not reside beyond the skies, but within your own self- he is your Life-sustainer.

My Hazur used to give the example of the calf which comes from the fields to drink his mothers milk, and the ticks which are clinging to the udder of the cow night and day do not get this nectar but only suck the blood. There is a valuable jewel within, but only with the Masters mercy can it be reached. You only need the Masters single purposeful glance, to have a glimpse of that jewel – He will never tell you to do this or that and then you’ll get something. From the first sitting the Master will start your experience and then tell you to go ahead from there. This is a token or mark by which you can recognize his competency. He who vanquishes the dark veil to reveal the Light within – a true experience of the Beyond – is called a Sadhu, Sant, Mahatma or Master. His company is called Satsang.

This period is most critical in the life of Sadhak. Until actual self-realization he is in a state of perpetual restlessness, tossing back and forth. He belongs wholly neither to the world not to God. While in the eyes of worldly people he is a man of piety, yet in the heart of his heart he knows he full of iniquities.

Farid the sinful is still robed in black,
Though the people address him as Darvesh.

In this state of uncertainty the sadhak at times tries to snap away and escape from the struggle; but after a time the inner urge once again comes upon him and he takes courage and starts Godward.

When one undertakes to reach a certain goal in any field of human activity, it is necessary to take stock of one’s progress form time to time. It is only through such stock-taking that one can become conscious of one’s shortcomings and errors, eradicate and uproot them and plan out future progress. Having put our shoulders to the wheel of the great Master’s cause, it is necessary that we should, in like manner, review our activity and achievement, from time to time. Without such self-analysis and self-criticism, no real advancement is possible and it was to encourage this practice and make it a daily habit that, in the case of individual initiates, I insisted (and continue to insist) that they maintain a daily record of their thoughts, words and deeds and of the period of meditation. What is necessary for us as individual initiates is even more necessary for us as members of a large movement.

Reviewing the work done in the past few years, there is much, I find, for which we may be grateful. Many have shown remarkable capacity for selfless service and others have made commendable progress on the inner path. Nevertheless, while noting this with pleasure, I cannot help observing the growth of tendencies which must be a matter of concern for all of us. In spite of repeated exhortations and persuasions, I find growing and springing up amidst us the weeds of discord and disharmony. Competition seems to have taken the place of cooperation, rivalry that of love, and distrust that of trust and good faith.

The emergence of such fissiparous tendencies has marked the beginning of the decline of any great movement. Unless checked, they multiply and lead ultimately to serious rifts and divisions. The original goal is completely forgotten in the heat of controversy and debate and the purpose we set out to achieve lies wholly neglected. If we are to escape this fate we must zealously watch ourselves of any undesirable traits that may be imperceptibly developing in us.

Why such disharmony should keep up is not difficult to tell. The Master cannot be present in His physical person everywhere and at all times. His mission must be carried on with the assistance of His disciples. These disciples are individuals inspired by spiritual longings who have been put on the road, but have not necessarily reached the goal. The ultimate end is not easy to attain and very few indeed reach it within this lifetime. The Master’s cause must, therefore, be carried on with the aid of men and women who, inmost cases, are yet on the path and have not attained perfection. Their vision is individual, not universal, and the viewpoint from which they see and judge is limited by the degree of spiritual development attained by them. When they are entrusted with any responsibility it is inevitable that they should discharge it within the terms of their own vision and insight. And when in discharging this responsibility they have to collaborate with others like themselves, others whose viewpoint is equally individual and distinct, the roots of discord begin. So long as they work directly under the guidance of the Master, all is well, but the moment they have also to work in collaboration and cooperation, controversy begins. They should understand that they are all laborers in the field of the Master, working for promoting the holy cause leading the seekers to the Goal of Life. The man who could see, could resolve at a touch the contradictory statements regarding the elephant made by the proverbial six blind men, but left to themselves, they could only wrangle and debate; each considered that he was right and the others had to say.

If six men lacking full vision could not agree about the Nature of so limited and well-defined an object as an elephant, it is not surprising that those with limited vision should be unable to harmonize completely on so vast and unlimited a subject as spirituality. And yet, while it is natural for those who lack full vision not to agree fully on such matters, we must not allow this limitation to create division and dissention. For if we fail to find a remedy, we will ultimately have to sacrifice the “cause” which brought us together, and what a great loss that would be.

What is the love of which all mystics, Eastern and Western, have spoken so insistently? It is like the love of the earth that we know? If you study the bonds of earthly love, you will find that at some point or another a trace of self-assertion is present in every case. Parent and child, friend and friend, man and wife; each is involved in more or less strong drive for possession. It is a love that can often rise to great heights of self-sacrifice and yet it is a love that is not wholly selfless.

But the Love of which the mystic speaks is a love that must be completely purified of the self. If one has not attained complete purification in this respect, one’s love is still not perfect and not truly acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. And so the love of mystics is one in which one completely and unreservedly surrenders one’s self to one’s love. The seeker who, having found a true Master, has developed such absolute love for him, steadily purifies him of all imperfections and make himself a fit recipient of Divine Grace. You may well ask why there is this insistent stress on complete self-surrender on this mystic path. The answer is simple: without this absolute surrender of the last vestiges of ego and selfhood and without such complete absorption in the object of one’s love, one cannot attain that unwavering Concentration of all one’s faculties which is the prerequisite of all inner progress. Absolute love and self-surrender are only other aspects of complete and flawless concentration. The moment the “self” enters into the picture and the question of “I-ness” arises, the single-pointed ness of concentration is dissipated and inner advancement is made impossible. Besides, the goal of the spiritual aspirant lies far beyond the limits of individuality. His goal is union with the Absolute and such union must necessarily be a denial of the limits that separate us from each other. He who cannot rise above the ego, the faculty which creates these very limits, cannot hope to attain to that station which is the denial of all individuality and a realization of the oneness of all life.

Hence it is that mystic of all tradition have been untiring in their stress of the need for absolute self-surrender. It was this cross of sacrifice of the self, the ego of which Jesus spoke when he exhorted his disciple to bear their cross daily. For in every little act, word or thought, the ego is seeking to dominate us and if the seeker is to triumph over it, he must be prepared to crucify it every moment. To achieve this degree of self-surrender, one must not look up to the Deity in its Abstract form but in its human form as the Master. For how else is one to know God’s will directly, in order to surrender one’s self to it? what one may take as an intuition inspired by the Divine may be really one’s own self speaking in disguise, and surrender to such seeming intention may be really surrender to the self, the ego. However, if one has found a true Master, who is attuned to the Lord and is his mouthpiece, and obeys him in all things completely and absolutely, he will surely destroy the hydra-headed serpent of the ego and reach his heavenly home one-day. There will be moments in the course of such love when one, judging from one’s limited understanding, doubts the validity of the Master’s instruction, but such moments are only tests to make our self-surrender to the will of the Lord embodied in the Master, has been the keystone of the teachings of all mystics and especially so of Sant Mat. Your main task as disciples, as initiates, is to cultivate these qualities to the very utmost and leave the rest to the Master. There will, of course, be moments of doubt of questioning, but if you can pass through them with your love and your faith unscathed, you will find the spiritual road within steadily unfolding itself before you and all things being added unto you. The path is certainly not easy, but for one who has made such love the cornerstone of his life, nothing could be easier or more certain. Jesus never promised the peace and comfort with which the world is familiar. It was the cross he offered. We have to suffer; to reshape ourselves, to destroy the old and forge the new.

We have to face the ridicule of our fellow and the organized opposition of orthodox institutions. But if we have anchored ourselves in such a love of complete self-surrender, nothing can disturb the peace of our minds or distract the spiritual harmony that is ours. Initially, perhaps, it is easier in the East to take to the mystic path than it is in the West. There in India for example, a long standing tradition of seeking and following a living Master; a tradition that is foreign to those to whom religion has been taught in terms of a closed revelation. Nevertheless, this initial advantage is not a great as it might at first appear. For the essential advantage in the field of spirituality is to be found not without but within. It lies not in the absence of outer opposition but in one’s inner capacity for complete self-surrender and love; and outward obstacles may in fact act as tests and stimuli for the development of this capacity. This ability to conquer the ego and to submit oneself to the Higher will is a rare in the East as in the West, and wherever it can be found there you shall observe the true grand mark of spirituality.

It is this capacity that you must cultivate and develop if you really wish to make substantial progress in the spiritual field. I repeat that the path is not easy. You must crucify your ego and lay your selfhood at the altar of love for your Master. Rome was not built in a day and the True Abode of the Lord is not to be attained with a few weeks labor. Most seekers want quick results. They want miracles and sudden transformations. But the seed generates rapidly only in thin soil and then withers away. The seed that must grow into the life-giving tree must grow more slowly. The science of spirituality as it has been taught by all Masters and as it has been given to you, is perfect science. Its truth has been demonstrated by some initial experience. The rest depends on your effort. The Divine Grace is ever ready to pour itself into the vessel, but the vessel must first be ready. The power to perform miracles is not very difficult to acquire, but it is not to be confused with true spirituality, which must be paid for with complete self-transformation and self-surrender.

This then is the task before you. If you aspire for spiritual salvation, then do not lose a moment in seeking to reform yourselves. Man making is the most difficult part of spirituality and if you have perfected yourself in that field, then God realization is not difficult. Let your Love for the Master is absolute and your obedience to his wishes uncompromising. Work for his cause to the best of your abilities, but do not let the individuality of your limited vision inculcate feelings of opposition and resentment for your fellows. So long as one has not attained to exist. But id one has understood their cause, one will not allow them to disturb one’s peace of mind. Whatever the outer opposition, whatever the opinions of others, if one has surrendered oneself completely to one’s love, then nothing can ever disturb one’s equanimity or obstruct one’s spiritual course. He who is upset by what others have to say is without question one who is still controlled by the ego and has yet to conquer his self. He has yet to learn the rudiment of spirituality.

Let me therefore, command you as a Father, exhort you as a Teacher, persuade you as a Friend, to turn to the reformation and conquest of the self if you seek to progress on the inner path. Try to help others and do the best for them, but be not concerned with the fruits of what you do. That is something that you must leave to the Master. Make your love for Him so complete that, beholding his hand in everything, you rise above all feelings of enmity, rivalry and resentment. See him present in all and remember that He is always with you, ready to assist whenever you turn your thought to Him. And above all do not forget that he is to be won not by words but by deeds: “If you can do this; if you can conquer the self and surrender it at the feet of the Master; if you can learn to see Him working through all things; if you can accept the fact of your own limited vision; if you can undertake a ceaseless and zealous watch over thoughts and deeds, weeding out all evils and imperfections – then you shall not only win salvation yourselves but enable others to do likewise. Your example shall shine like torch in the darkness, an men even those who may first oppose you, will turn to you for guidance and help. You will find a new sense of peace surging through you, a peace that does not depend on the absence of outer disturbances, but an inner state of mind that stands unshaken even in the most tempestuous situations. And this same quality shall enter not only your individual lives, but also the larger life of the Great spiritual movement of which you’re a part. Instead of being disrupted and divided, it shall proceed single and purposeful toward its goal.

No true Master has ever been interested in attracting large numbers to him and quantity has never been my aim. It is quality that counts and I would rather have a handful of disciples, nay even one, who can sacrifice his ego on the spiritual alter and learn to live by love, than millions who understand not the value and meanings of these virtues. I have suggested these before, and I emphasize these again that a seeker should studied more carefully and his/her background learned more before doing being recommended for initiation. If, after understanding the basic principles of the sciences, he is willing to undertake this complete remolding of him that its practice requires, then and then along can he become a fit recipient of initiation. And how much more in this need for self-transformation to be stressed in the case of group leaders and representatives. They are the foundations of the movement, and if the foundations are weak, how shall the super structure stand firmly? Their responsibility is much grater and their effort must be much greater than that of the ordinary initiates. if they really love education me more than their little selves; if they only knew how deeply I suffer when I see them divided and wrangling, they would never have permitted matters to come to such a pass. I am not happy to say this, but I am left no choice. 

The chief element that results in disharmony between the representatives, group leaders and other initiates can also be traced to the word “distrust” or some sort of fear that some of them have acquired certain Powers; viz., mind reading or seeing or listening on others at a distance, or psychic dominance over others, etc., which they misuses. If any one misuses such Powers, those are taken away by the Master immediately. Moreover they are armed with the repetition of five names by which they have no cause to fear anyone.

Take it as an exhortation, take it as a command, but from this day, this very movement, make love and self surrender (and the two, as I have already said, are really one) the corner stones of your life. Do this and you will find your life becoming daily as a blessing. I am always with you, waiting for you to turn away from yourselves and towards me. Let not the Light that has been planted in you become darkness, but let it flame forth into a blaze that shall illuminate the word. The path is strait and narrow and difficulty, very difficult and exacting, but for one who is truly willing, every help is promised, and he can attain the goal in this very life; a goal that sets all other goals ton shame; for beside it there are no goals at all, but empty baubles and toys, at best half way houses. 

SPIRITUAL healing is prohibited by the Master’s. It has reasons and deeper significance behind it, which ordinarily people ignore, considering the face value of the profits accrued and attributing it as service to the service to the suffering humanity. The inexorable Law of Karma is supreme and demands adjustment of each farthing. The human body is the higher rung in creation granted by Providence for the spiritual perfection of soul during this incarnation. The soul in man being the essence of God Himself has the same attributes as lost its true heritage. Soul in its present state is gravely enmeshed by body and bodily attachments, which are more or less the reaction of past karma, which it has been contracting all through up to the present incarnation. The present earth life is passing phases in the long journey of the soul form the lower categories of creation on to the True Home of the father. Physical body is material but the soul is spiritual, but when reaction of Karma occurs the man is bound to suffer pain and pleasure.

Now the sufferings demanding spiritual healing fall mainly in the domain of physical troubles, which may include even mental agonies such as nervous breakdown, etc. These, being the reactions of the past Karma, must demand adjustment and as such are to be borne by the victim. The healer, whoever he may be, conducting this service takes the karma on his head, to be borne by him at a later stage. Besides, the bit of spiritual attainment he has attained in silencing his mind, is dissipated in such gestures of a miracle healing. Moreover, this process of healing is administered on weaker minds, which usually fall a prey to their sentiments. What can ordinarily be cured by undergoing a bit of suffering and medicine is exchanged for spiritual dissipation, and the debt remains standing, awaiting adjustment at a later stage. Again, this sort of healing becomes professional and at times encourages corruption and misery. It not only invites malpractices, but also brings in more mental agony and wretchedness in multiplied form added with interest. This is a casual postponement of payment for a future date, and adds strong fetters over the soul.

Contrarily, the Master’s advocate right living and right thinking. A disciplined devotee of the Master is advised to lead a pure, clean, chaste life thereby pursuing a spiritual goal under the protective guidance. The implicit obedience of the dietary regulations and leading a simple truthful life leads to happiness and joy. If, however, some suffering due to the evolutions of past Karma comes, its severity and duration in much toned down by the intervention of the gracious Master Power, like a penny for a pound, or a needle prick for the gallows, and the disciplined child disciple comes out unscathed with the grace of the Master.

The healing which is said to have been administered by Jesus or others was of a higher quality, as when you merge in the cosmic awareness, and lose your identity, you become so spiritual that even thinking of a person or those touching the hem of your garment will get healed, as termed colloquially in the Bible. You have not to exert on your part to heal others. Yet above all, it is the faith which cures, and the sincere initiates do not indulge in these things and rather aspire incessantly for the attainment of their spiritual perfection, which is the highest goal of earth life. The soul which has to go far higher to merge into the Over soul, is retarded by engaging herself in lower pursuits. The initiates are, therefore, warned not to administer this spiritual healing in their own larger interests, which would result in spiritual dissipation and bankruptcy. It will add strong fetters over the soul and karmic debt will be very heavy to be repaid.

I do not advocate the macrobiotic diet that is apparently being followed by some of the initiates and advise all those who are presently following this diet to eat in moderation a balanced diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables and diary products as referred to above.

The best thing would be to follow the diet (vegetarian) which suits one.

If the animals are permitted to eat fruit, at least man, who is the Roof and Crown of all Creation, should also be permitted to eat it.

Initiates should be guided by the Teachings of the Master only in all phases of life, whether material or spiritual. To allow other concepts to creep in is to sully the Teachings and confuse the initiates.

Answer: You are kindly advised to leave all such studies well alone and devote you precious time in holy meditations and the study of the sacred books of the Master. The holy Path of the Master’s offers a direct conscious contact with the divinity within after rising above body consciousness. This sublime principle differentiates the holy path from all other schools of thought ...

Desire is the root cause of all disturbance and suffering. You will become desire less by regular listening to the holy sound current for sometime. It is considered the tried panacea for that. It is the mergence of the soul in the Holy Shabd which grants such ineffable bliss and harmony, that the roots of desire are crippled for good.