Circular
Letter 1 Kirpal Singh This is the
first in the series of extraordinary circular letters which Master began
issuing shortly after his 1955 tour of America and Europe, and which has
continued until the present day. This
first circular is dated May 1, 1956, and has been long out of print. With the grace of my Master, my tour to the United States
and Europe has been successful, with the loving cooperation and sacrifice of
all over there, for whom I have great appreciation of my mind. On my return from the tour, it has come to my notice that
there exist misapprehensions, which if not guarded against or checked might
prove harmful to many interested in the path.
These are mostly concerned with the outer aspects of life. It is, therefore, considered advisable to
clarify the position in this respect. SPIRITUALITY- A CREED OF LOVING FAITH: The subject of the
spirit is the most ancient and the most authentic of all subjects. Its history is coeval with that of man. It is based on two cardinal principles of
love and service, or in other words selfless service. “By love, serve one another,” has been the slogan of all sages
through the ages. God is love and He
loves those who love His creatures. He prayeth best, who loveth best For the Dear God, Who loveth us All things both great and small; He made and loveth all. Again it is said,
“He prayeth well, who loveth well / Both man and bird and beast.” We may take any scripture we like, we find an exhortation
in most emphatic terms on love.
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee that God manifests Himself to one who
knows how to love.” IMPORTANCE OF LOVE: Loving and selfless service to
humanity is the cornerstone of all religious philosophies and no man can make
any progress on the spiritual path without cultivating love within him. The seed of spirituality that the Master so
lovingly sows in the arid soil of our hearts, has to be nurtured with the
waters of love, if quick results are desired.
We must so mould our life and conduct that all our acts bespeak His
love. We must transform the desert of
our heart into a veritable garden of love full of lovely blossoms and luscious
fruits. Form our heart should spring an
eternal fountain of love, so that whosoever comes in contact with it is
drenched with love to the very core of his heart. SPIRITUALITY – A DIVINE CAUSE: The cause of the Master is
the cause of God. It is no religion in the commonly accepted sense of the word
and yet it is the highest religion based on love alone. We cannot keep the illimitable God in
watertight limited compartments. God
Himself has declared, “I neither live on the high heavens nor on the earth
below, yet the wonder of wonders is that I live in the heart of a Momin or Godman.” Again, spiritual teaching and training a living and
practical subject, quite different from secular and sectarian dogmas and so
many creeds that we have today. Life,
light and love coming from a loving Master well out spontaneously from the
heart and not from any books on theology.
No doubt everything has its own value, but in a world of relativity, the
values are all relative. A positive
contact with the live principles of living God is something unique. It stands on a rooting which is entirely
different. SPIRITUALITY AND THE COMMON MAN: In this vast creation,
everyone is gifted with an individual perception. The heredity, the environment and the teachings inculcated, all
combine to make one what he is. We
cannot blame anyone for thinking differently in his own way. Everyone has his own temperament and his own
way of thinking. They must differ and
they do differ vehemently. There is no
help for it. It is, on the other hand,
the sign of sentiment life. We must not
therefore, on that account cross swords with them. Even if in their ignorance they, at times, may talk ill of the
spiritual teachings and use harsh words, they cannot help it. But that should not disturb the true seekers
after Truth. We must be polite and gentle
and even humble in our conduct.
Bandying of words does not help.
We may try to remove misunderstandings if any, sweetly and gently, but
not in an antagonistic spirit. It is
advised that individual perceptions (including representatives, group leaders
and other old and new initiates) should not enter into any sort of discussions
or disputes with any religious bodies, circles, faiths or sects, etc. If any such bodies do enter into such
things, they may be directed to refer to the Master for an appropriate reply. It would be better turn aside rather than to
break your own head in an attempt and injure the great cause for which we
stand. God knows His purpose well and
has diverse ways to fulfill the same, without you and me. So it will not pay to quarrel with out
neighbors. It is said that those who
try to live by the sword, perish by the sword.
The entire Christian philosophy is summed up in two memorable precepts
of Jesus Christ, “Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind;” “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
(Matthew 22:37,40). And, “Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and persecute
you, that you may be the children of you Father which is in heaven : . . . Be ye therefore perfect even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect” ( Matthew 5:44-45,48), and so said all
others Masters who came in the past. If
we live up to these teachings, there could be no trouble at all. The royal monk, Ashoka, in one of his rock
edicts tells us: “ He who reveres his own sect but disparages the sects of
others, does great injury to his own for he lacks the essentials of a
religion.” SPIRIT OF SERVICE – INTER SE: The above remarks apply
equally in your dealings with one another.
You are all knit together by the loving grace of the master in bonds of
common fellowship. Honest differences of opinion may arise and at
times do arise; but these must be resolved happily by friendly exchange of
thought and mutual discussion free from bitterness and rancor. If in spite of
this, these persist, a timely reference to the Master would be a welcome resort
rather than to indulge in widening the gulf between ourselves, by encouraging fissiporous tendencies. HARVEST IS MUCH! LABORERS ARE WANTED: All those who help in the Master’s cause in
whatsoever way are the chosen ones.
Whenever a Master spirit comes into the world, He Brings His own staff
with Him. Whoever puts in a stone in
His edifice, does service to Him. it
therefore behooves all the more that such selfless workers should present a
true model of common brotherhood rather than to add another discord where there
is already so much. Again, service is
service and must be rendered in a true spirit of service. Service must come before self. All thoughts of self must me sacrificed at
the altar of service. That service
alone is acceptable to the Master as is voluntary, free and untarnished by even
the least traces of self. It must not
be rendered in an animal spirit, a fighting mood, just as a matter of right or
routine, all of which tend to lower the true spirit and dignity of
service. There is one more point that
may not be lost sight of, in respect of service. Nobody can render service or even think of rendering it, unless
he is so actuated by the Master Power, permeating in the very fibers of his being. So one should never think, with all that he
does, that he has done any service. It
is therefore said that one living in the house of the Master, and carrying out
His behests, should never feel that he has done anything. And this in fact is the veritable truth,
because all credit goes to the Motor Power or the Great Dynamo, working in and
through each individual. One must,
therefore, feel and see the Master Hand working behind the scene. All such service is glorious indeed, as it
is free from all taints of the self. The Master Power works regardless of all limitations of
time, space and causation. Even when
acting in distant lands, the sole responsibility remains with the Master. The agents are just mere instruments to
arrange preliminaries, to fill in applications of persons desirous of
Initiation, to convey the instructions of the Master, and after due approval to
arrange sittings and meetings, etc.
Transmission of the like, all come from the Master directly and nobody
has any hand in them. None can,
therefore, claim any superiority over his colleagues, because of this. All from the highest to the lowest get their
inspiration from the Master, and owe the good fortune of being helpful in one
way or another. We must, therefore,
work in a team spirit of brotherly love with no thoughts of high and low, for
all service is one – the divine service, of which we all are the members. The arrangements, however, exist for the
sake of discipline and maintaining order in the smooth running of the spiritual
work. But as said above, none should feel elated or entertain feelings of
superiority over others. All of us have
to work shoulder to shoulder under the guiding inspiration of the Master. The persons selected as representatives are
the elders and more experienced and should be respected. In case of any difference of opinion, the
matter may be referred to the Master, and until then no one should go on strike
or over-rule them but work in close cooperation with them. Such selected ones (representatives) should
be in complete harmony with others working in that capacity as they are
selected to carry on the work of the Master.
When opportunity is afforded they should meet each other for
consultation of any important points.
This will ensure uniformity and inculcate love in others and afford
variety of talks to the groups situated in the various areas. The representatives should submit quarterly
( April, July, October and January) a regular report on the working of the
Master’s Mission in their areas, with constructive suggestions, if any,
touching the important points with names of group assistants carrying on work
in different centers. I wold also be
glad to hear from those in charge of the various centers at regular intervals
about any important events occurring at those places. I have a loving appreciation of all the work done by them. SELF REFORMATION: Purity of life in thought, word and
deed is of prime importance in the service of the Master. A divine cause can flourish and fructify in
abundance on a pure soil. We must all
learn to look within and not without.
It is far easier to see a mote in another’s eye than to see a beam in
one’s own. We must try to inculcate the
habit of self-introspection, so as to weed out all infirmities one by one. The importance of maintaining and submitting
of a dairy by all for this purpose cannot be over-emphasized. All initiates should devote regular time to
the spiritual practices with due regard to ethical life and abstinence from all
meat, fish, fowl or eggs and maintain their diaries for submission to the
Master after every three months. They
should guard against the five deadly sins of desire, anger, greed, infatuation
and vanity, and develop instead the virtues of truth, chastity, non-injury,
universal love, and selfless service. FINANCIAL CONTROL:
The work of spiritual regeneration is carried on only with voluntary
contributions from the Sangat or the brotherhood. There are no hard and fast rules in this behalf. Everybody is
free to contribute whatever he can easily do for the service of the sacred
cause. There is no question of
imposition or taxation in the matter.
No financial aid from persons outside the brotherhood is accepted and
there is a reason for this. We want
funds from the earnings of those honest souls who earn their living by honest
means and are touched by the love of God.
It must be noted that Master does not accept any gifts or offering from
His disciples. All His personal needs He meets from His own pocket. All voluntary contributions are collected
only for the work of the sangat. It is
therefore necessary that proper account should be kept of all income and
out-go, on regular and scientific lines so as to eliminate all chances of
misapplication of the funds and to ensure its full utility on economic and
efficient lines. It is necessary that
suitable arrangements be made for periodical checking of the same, and every
effort must be made to minimize the expenses to the bare needs and requirements
of the time and occasion. All such things
can be arranged by mutual consultation in a spirit of friendly good will. Selfless or honorary service with love in
preference to paid work is advised except in rare cases where a sincere worker
needs help which may be in the form of honorarium. CORRESPONDENCE: The Master personally attends to the work
of correspondence both foreign and local, in spite of heavy demands on His
time, and has to sit till late hours in the night. Satisfactory arrangements are made to safeguard against any loss
of correspondence received in the Ashram.
At times He goes out of the station in answer to pressing calls from
different places; then too letters are issued on His personal instance in each
case and the replies are delayed on account of absence on tour. To save heavy postage on account of the
abnormal receipt of letters ( over one thousand from India and abroad monthly )
it has been started as trial measure to send off replies in closed covers
weekly or so ( except in urgent cases ) to a central station where they could
be sent by post, duly stamped, to different stations in foreign countries. TOUR PROGRAM: All
invitations for spiritual discourses from foreign or local places are most
welcome to the Master. But the sponsors
of such meetings have to make suitable arrangements for temporary stay, halls
or open spaces for meetings or talks and for visitors coming from long
distances so that nobody is inconvenienced in any way. The Master while appreciating the loving
warmth of His disciples, does not like fanfares and display of material show at
such meetings. GENERAL: The
Master is a Master for all humanity.
All are equally entitled to the spiritual heritage of God like all the
gifts of nature: light, air, water,
etc. He distributes freely amongst
all. For Him there is no East and no
West. The dictum of Rudyard Kipling, “O East is East and West
is West, and never the twain shall meet,” no longer stands with Him. In fact all points of the compass converge
in the Master and equally draw their inspiration from Him. The different countries of the world are but
so many rooms in the mansion of His Father.
All nationalities, all religions, all creeds, and all philosophies are
His, and they all end at the highest sensory plane from where the spiritual
path just begins. His is an unwritten
law and unspoken language an the eloquent silence that guides from plane to
plane. |