The Master’s Talk: Out of Bondage
God is known as Sat
(ever-existing),and the world is Asat
(changing). In the Hindu holy scriptures it states that the world is all Asat,
and only the soul is Sat. Why is the
soul called Sat? Because it is made of one substance only, and that is All
consciousness. If anything is made of
one substance, there is no question of its disintegrating. Why is the world Asat? Because it is made of matter in
the form of elements, which in turn are broken down into atoms, neutrons,
protons, etc., and any admixture of substances is subject to
disintegration. Our body is an exact
copy of the Brahmand or the three divisions of creation, for we have three
bodies within us, corresponding to the physical, astral and causal planes. God has given us a body made of matter,
through which we are working in this world, which is also made of matter. At the time of death, we leave this body and
use the astral body which works in the next plane, sometimes know as the “other
worlds.” Ahead of this there is the
causal body. The purpose of these
bodily coverings is to enable us to work in all three worlds whenever we in the
right light and are going along in are so inclined, and if we feel like it, to
take off all three coverings and go into God’s lap. When we come to this world the greatest knowledge we can
have is that only in the physical form can we realize the Truth or God. How can we know God? He cannot be know
through the senses, mind, intellect or through the pranas (vital airs). If God is to be realized, only the soul can
do it. When can the soul get this
experience of realization? When it has freed itself from the mind and the
senses. What is the condition of the soul at present? The soul is
everlasting and cannot die, but because it has come under the influence of the
mind, it has become jiva (soul with
coverings), and as such it must therefore travel on the cycle of birth and
death. Furthermore, by the connection
with the senses and outer enjoyments it has identified itself with the body and
the world, so much so that it has forgotten its true self and God the
creator. We are the soul, in human
form: All consciousness, having a physical covering. In this human form we can realize God, but only when we first
come to know ourselves. As long as we
do not know who we are, we cannot comprehend what God is. Just consider, that this body is the temple
of God, and it maintains its glory while the soul is in it; but we are
imprisoned in the body-imprisoned! In the Upanishads the question is asked, “who is the maker of this wonderful body?”
It has got two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, mouth, genital and excretory
orifices, and yet the “indweller” cannot run out of it. The breath goes out, but it does not stay
out. Some power pushes it back into the
body. It is that power which we have
to know, and that is the power we call God. While we are with the body, it is glorious, and for how long are
we with it? For as long as that power keeps us with it. When that power leaves, we must leave also. This very same power is controlling all
levels of creation-there are innumerable planets, stars, etc. it is obvious
that they are all working with perfect rhythm and control and do not crash into
one another. When that power leaves the
different levels of creation, dissolution and also grand dissolution occurs. So all rishis and saints, no matter from which country,
caste or creed they came, have advised mankind in similar words. “Oh brothers, this body has been given to
you that you might know yourselves!” The upanishads and other scriptures state,
“know thyself.” There are many
different ways of doing so. Some people
just say, “I am not the body,” but merely repeating the fact does not give
knowledge of it. They are drawing
inferences that they are not the body.
They repeat, “This is my body, this is my mind; I am not the body, I am
not the mind.” “I have got intellect.” Such people should also ask themselves,
“If this is mine, can I take it off? Can I separate myself form this?” It is
one thing to feel that one is not the body, mind intellect and pranas, but has
one ever separated oneself from them? For example, this is my watch; I take it
off and leave it there. This is my
handkerchief, and I put it aside. This
is my book-I can place it where I like; and all these things, because they are
mine. This body is also mine. Can I take it off? Can I separate myself
from it at will? On death we do separate from the body, but if we could
leave it while living we would see everything with correct perception. As it is, we do not see things an
illusion. When we do not know
ourselves-what I mean is, the soul has to free itself from the mind and the
senses, and thereby know itself- if this does not happen, we have not done
anything in life. To see is something different, for it is not enough to
use the intellect by doing so, but one cannot get out of the
forgetfulness. That power which
controls us, whom we call God, also resides n this body with us, but to see God
is impossible unless we first know ourselves.
So you see, the question of whether we can or cannot see God is a very
specialized subject. Before going further into this talk, I want to explain
that this spiritual science is not any particular sect or religion. Whatever religion you belong to, I
congratulate you, and you should stay in it.
All religions are like schools into which we have been admitted. What was the reason for our admission? Was
it not to realize God? Naturally, that school is best from which more boys
graduate. Say that a certain school is
very well built, with beautiful playing fields and smart uniforms for the boys
to wear, but no boy graduates from that school- what is the use of that? How did all the various religions come into being? Always
when a self-realized and God-realized man came, who had analyzed himself from
the mind and the senses and had experienced the Lord. Just as I can see you and you can see me, so they saw God. Whoever came into close contact with them
became capable of seeing the same, after freeing themselves of the mind and
senses. I have just given an example
about my body, my mind, and, that one has to rise above this to experience the
Lord. In this way they became the ones who could see the Life Sustainer. When they left the world, the religions were
formed in order to keep their teachings fresh, but up to then they themselves
had formed no sect or religion. The real purpose of forming a sect was to enable everyone
to sit together to realize God, as that particular Master had taught them. Is that not so? Man is a social being, and
so the social organizations or sects were formed. However, when the sect were formed, customs, rites and rituals
were also introduced, and these come under apara
vidya or exoteric knowledge. All
this is useful as preparation of the ground.
If one’s deeds are good, then one will gain a reward. But the cycle of life and death will not
cease in this way. It can only finish
when one is able to see that “He is the doer and no I.” If a person continues
to consider that he is doing everything, then whatever he sows he will reap,
and good deeds will bring forth good fruit, bad deeds the opposite. Lord Krishna said that both these types of
karmas are like gold or iron chains which bind. So the subject is one of self-analysis in a practical
way, and when you have come to know yourself, then only will you see God. When we think that we see and understand
something, we really only see through the eyes of some past Master, by reading
his words in the scriptures. They all
say, “We have seen God.” Have we also seen Him? This is the question we must
put to ourselves. When you ask a small child, “who are you?” he gets
confused, opens his eyes and mouth wide, and tries to concentrate. He has some awareness of consciousness, but
as he grows older the sanskaras or
outer impressions have their influence on him.
Then he starts saying, “ I am Singh, Khan, Jones, Smith,”etc. Ask him who he is a few years later and he
will say, “ I am a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain,” and so on . Isn’t that forgetfulness? A small child is
more conscious of his true nature. Who are we? We are conscious entities. All Masters in the past have said that we
should know ourselves and then think about getting to know the Ultimate
Reality. Whenever they come they tell
us, “Oh man, this body has been given to you through great good fortune.” The devi
and devta, rulers of the various
upper regions, are striving to get back into a human form, so how fortunate we
are to have that for which such exalted souls are yearning. Have we realized God? If so, it is good, but how many can
say that they do see, and can also make others see the Light of God? There are very few. We have merely bookish knowledge, or
knowledge through hearsay. A Master’s
greatness lies in the fact that He sees and can show others what he sees. How? He withdraws our attention from the
outer environments and takes it above the mind and the senses. He then makes us
realize that we are not the physical body.
This what is called an inner experience. Through the intellect we have been declaring that we are not the
body, but in truth we must see the
fact, and not just say so. We must
separate ourselves from the physical, astral and causal bodies. On rising above all three, one will know
that “I am the soul.” One is then capable of seeing the Controlling Power
called God. Even rising above the
physical body alone will bring the knowledge that “It is not I, but He who is
the doer.” It is most important to have this practical
experience. Our minds are like huge
libraries full of books containing the words of past Masters, throughout which
is written that this Master said this, that Master said that. No doubt, all Masters have spoken the truth,
and they wrote what they saw, but have we seen anything? Have we, in truth,
separated the Life form the matter? Words cannot fill an empty stomach. The food for the hungry soul is the Holy
Naam (God-into-Expression Power), and the food for the body is bread and
water. Food for the intellect is to read,
write and reason. Even those who
sincerely try to understand God through books are very few in number. So neither feelings, emotions nor inferences
will help us. There is some power in control, which is called God. Saints or Masters have called that power
Naam (Name). That Naam is the
Controlling Power or god-into-Expression Power. It is that power which is
upholding us and has tied us to this body.
The past Masters have expressed in the books the helping factors and
hindrances on the spiritual path. Such
books are most valuable, and we are blessed that we can read about their
experiences. However if you go to one
who sees, he will say, “Come, sit down and I will show you what I have seen,”
which is vastly different. There have always been very few such spiritual Masters in
the world at any time, and even now there are not many. However, the world is not without them. For feeding the intellect one can find many
masters. To be very frank, if a person has not broken free from the delusion,
how can he give Light to anyone? He will say,
“It is either this, or it is that”- but in truth, what is it? No one can
give an experience unless they are themselves connected. “. . . And no man knoweth who the Son is,
but the Father; and who the Father is, but the son, and he to whom the son will
reveal him.”(Luke 10:22) These are the facts about True Masters. They also ask, “How was your body made?”
Have you ever thought about it?
Just from one small sperm. And
what is the power that makes the form in the womb of the mother? The eyes are
made, nose is made, hair, etc.; everything perfectly made. Is there not some power doing all this? There must also be a power, a maker of this
world. Have we seen that power? Just
think, there are millions of stars in the sky and in what rhythmical control,
they are moving! There are some planets
which are seen by man only after the passage of five thousand years. To consider all this, one’s intellect
reels! These stars do not collide with
one another, for there is some power which is holding them in their correct
positions. The same power is holding
us. What is that power? The Masters say that you may want the answer
to this great mystery, and you will get it, but you have to know yourself first. Kabir Sahib, a past Master, said that there is no
difference between the soul and God.
God is all-consciousness, and the soul is a drop of that all-powerful
consciousness, millions of worlds were created. Our soul is also very powerful, but can it even make one small
city? What is the reason for this? We are micro-gods too, but we have become so
weak and helpless. We have come under
the influence of the mind and the senses, and all our power is scattered
outwardly. If we could but control it,
withdraw it, and release ourselves from the mind and senses, to become
single-pointed, then our soul would be very powerful. This is a practical subject.
We have got such power that we could give strength to others, but we
have become the body, we have become the senses and the mind. So all Masters have said again and again,
“Man, know thyself.” Both Kabir Sahib and Tulsi Sahib in almost identical
words have said that God and soul are one and the same. The soul is eternal-Surat or attention, is full of bliss, just as God is. It has the same quality as God- on a
miniature scale it is a reflection of God. I will give you an example to illustrate this. Many times we have helped to take dead
bodies to the cremation ground by carrying them on our shoulders, and have
perhaps lighted the fire with our hands, but even then we cannot seem to
realize that we also have to go. Why is
this? Because this body contains the reflection of God. If there is a big fool among other fools, he
will think there is none more clever than himself, because of that reflection
of god in him. Everyone is eternal in
himself because he is the same as God.
The Masters say that we are so much in God that our soul is in God and
God is in our soul. When we meet a spiritual Master, we begin to understand
what Sat or Truth is. He gives us an experience means that he
frees us from the mind and the senses and makes us see who we are –not through
intellect or feelings. First we should
know who we are. We are conscious
entities. We are the children of a lion
and have great strength but we have made ourselves weak and helpless. For another example: the rays of the sun do
not burn us, but if we pass them through a convex lens, those rays become
concentrated and can burn anything upon which they fall. So we have got that power of God, but it is
not concentrated. If it is concentrated
it can become the mouthpiece of God. All Masters have confirmed Guru Nanak’s words: “it is not I who speaks, but I say whatever
God makes me say,” They become the conscious co-workers of the Divine Plan, and
in all clearness see God doing everything, thereby knowing they are not the
doers themselves. We also say that we
are not the doers, but we do not see the fact.
It does not matter how often we declare this, for in the end we will
still feel that we are doing everything- we just cannot believe it. We must break this I-hood, otherwise we will
achieve nothing. Karmas or actions come under the heading of Karma Yoga,
which means being bound by our own actions.
How can we go through action without getting a reaction? Only when we
truly see that self is not the doer, but God is. It is useless to merely say, “I am not doing it? Deep in folds
upon folds of the mind we are thinking that we are the doers, and while this
continues we will have to continue to pay for your actions. If you sow a chili seed, the plant which
sprouts forth will bear hundreds of chilies.
Similarly, if you plant a mango sapling in the same ground, you will get
mangoes. Therefore the sharpness of the chilis and the
sweetness of the mangoes will come out from the same soil. Whatever you sow, you will have to accept
the similar fruit, and there is no escape for anyone, as long as we do not
become reactionless in action. Only
that person who enjoys the inner experience of the Holy Naam will come to see
that God is doing all, and not himself.
He will then be called neh-karma which
is to be actionless in action, as a conscious co-worker with the power of God,
in accordance with the Divine plan. One Muslim fakir said that the great wrong we have done
to ourselves could not even be done by one who is not only blind without eyes,
but blind in reasoning also. That wrong
is that we have forgotten the owner of this house-we, the soul, the indweller
of the body. That which is controlling
us in the body is called God, so God and soul are both residing in the same
house. When one starts seeing the
Truth, one’s I-hood will break away from one’s heart. We have forgotten ourselves in the Maya (illusion) of
forgetfulness, which started when we became conscious of the physical
body. This conscious of the body
quickly developed into acceptance of the body as our identity. From then on we regarded the world from the
level of the body. Now, the body is changing and the world is changing at
the same minutely slow speed. Having
decided that we are the body, we consider that this is the Truth and nothing is
changing. What a great
forgetfulness! The literate and
illiterate, the rich and poor, are all affected alike. For an example, a boat containing a number
of people is drifting on the river. The
speed of the boat and the water are both the same. One man gets out and stands on the shore. He shouts, “Oh brothers, come out quickly,
for the boat is drifting away!” The
people gaze at the water and at the boat, and think they are at a standstill,
so they shout back, “What nonsense are you saying? We are not moving at all!”
If only we would come out of our worldly “boat” and see that in truth we are
drifting away! The Masters tell us, “You are building castles out of sand,” for
they have seen the Truth and we only draw inferences. Those who have seen continue to admonish with such words:
“You are the soul, a part of God who is residing within you. Through the illusion of the body you also
became attached to material objects, and the result is that wherever your
attention is, so you become that. You
are under the influence of the mind and senses, are feeding the senses through
the outgoing faculties, and the more you feed then the harder the mind will
work and the more strength it will get.” As the mind is surrounding the soul, the soul must take
the consequences and suffer. It is true
that the soul never dies, but because it is tied to the mind it has to be
responsible. This knot has to be
untied, and then it will know who it truly is.
This human being is really both attention and awakened attention. Outward expression of soul is called surat –attention, or dhyan. There is no doubt that we have got this human form
through very high destiny. In this form
we can do that great work, and in no other form. What is that great work? To realize God. We know so much about the body: how to keep
it healthy and how it becomes sick.
There are many kinds of doctors attending on it. The ayurvedic practice is the oldest, then
unani came, and after that the allopathic system, homeopathy, etc. On how to
keep the body fit, our knowledge is vast. Intellectually, we have also advanced with amazing
strides. A dog has circled the world in
one and one-quarter hours. Across
thousands of miles we can hear and see things, through radio and
television. This is all due to the
intellect. In olden days, when blind
King Dhritarashtra could not see the progress on the battlefield during the Mahabharata war, Sanjay, an advisor, related
the proceedings to the king in his own palace many miles away. This proves that there was radio and
television in those times, but all that advanced science was destroyed in that
great battle, and the process of learning had to begin again. Day by day the
world is becoming smaller through the accomplishments of the intellect. A plane has been designed recently which can
reputedly travel from America to India in a few hours. You can breakfast in America and dine in
India. The question is, however, has
all this brought us any happiness? Most definitely not, and the reason? The third part of us, the soul, is extremely
weak. We are the true picture of
consciousness, but having lost our identity in forgetfulness we have become one
with the body, and regard all things from this level. The result is attachment! This human form is also known as an action ground. Christ said, “ As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”
All Masters have said the same thing in their various languages. Guru Nanak said, “This body is the field of
tomorrow-whatever you sow, you will have to harvest yourself.” Tulsi Sahib said, “ You will have to taste
the fruit of your actions in whichever way you plant them.” Those who have
solved the riddle have to repeat the same thing again and again, for Truth is One. All spiritual aspirants should think of this life as a field, and
should sow carefully whatever they desire to harvest. As I mentioned at first, there is no special caste of
creed here. We have taken the first
step-that is, we have entered a school.
I congratulate you for that, and no matter what thought has led you to
this step forward to realize God, you should now do your best to succeed. For good reason, this Ashram is called
Ruhani Satsang, which means a spiritual school. There is no need to change anything, either religion, name, outer
appearances, etc. Having taken the first step, the second should be to see the
true “doer” so that you may become action-free. Good actions will no doubt bring their reward, but you will still
be a prisoner. Perhaps some will go
into a Class A prison, some Class B, some Class C. Some might get the pleasures of this world, and some the
pleasures of the other worlds. Heaven
and hell will come again and again, for this circle cannot be broken unless one
gets out of the illusion. A woman saint, Sahjo Bai, said that all living species of
the land, sea and air are under the Law of Karma. Just look at the lower expressions of life; for instance, the
dog. Some dogs are starving, without
even a piece of bread, and some are looked after like princes with two or more
servants to care for them. See the life
of a camel: his nose is pierced and a rope drawn through it with which to
control him. in the deserts he is
pulled from place to place, be it very hot or very cold, and he has to suffer
all this. Take the donkey, who has so
much weight loaded upon his back, and is driven around by the stick. When he gets tired he is then pulled and
made to work. The whole world is in a
sorrowful state, all through the results of karmas. The human form, because of the soul within it, is the
highest in all creation, and is accepted as the form next to God. It is next to God, a part of God, having the
same nature, is itself a conscious
entity, and yet with all this it is full of misery. Having tied itself to the mind, the passions and attachments of
the senses are dragging it from one place to another. The pleasures of the world control the senses, the senses control
the mind and the mind controls the intellect.
This process is called kam
(passionate desires and other appetites). Kam also means work, and if we put
this desire or drive into reverse and become engaged in the opposite type of
work, then we will achieve the true peace of being. A true Master always prays, “Oh Lord, keep my intellect in Your
control.” At present the whole system is wrong, for the horse
should have been pulling the cart, but instead the cart is in front. The soul should be giving strength to the
mind as and how it wishes, but the mind, intellect and senses are stealing the
strength to the mind as how it wishes, but the mind, intellect and senses are
stealing the strength, with the soul a helpless slave to them. It is all
wrong. That is why Masters have advised
to “know thyself,” for it is the only way to cut evil from the root. Have you been able to control your senses
and make them do whatever you wish, stopping their action whenever you desire
to? Have you reached that stage? A certain piece of machinery has an electric
motor which is connected to the powerhouse.
There are many sections comprising this machine, and one can switch off
any section in a second. Similarly, we
should be in control of our being, and be able to switch off our whole
machinery if we wish to. Sometimes with our eyes open we do not see, and with ears
open we do not hear. Many people have experienced this. We may be sitting
deep in thought and someone calls once, twice, three times, but we do not hear
a word. At last when the person says,
“I have been shouting at you, why do you not hear me?” the reply would be
something like, “My attention was engaged somewhere else.” So this attention works wherever it connects
itself. If the attention is not in the
ears, we will not hear a sound. The
ears may belong to us, but if we do not give life to them, they are as
dead. Sometimes our eyes are open an
someone passes in front of us, but we do not see them. A person can sit down beside us, and after a
while get up and leave, and we would not even know they had been there. Anything might happen behind our back, but
we cannot see it because our attention is not there, our eyes are not directed
there. When we look in front of us with
attention, we can see. This all
indicates that we, as soul, are giving strength to everything. We can control ourselves if only we will withdraw
ourselves from the outgoing faculties, for the world is attractive only as long
as our attention is on it. If we
withdraw our attention and know what we are, we will then be able to see God
within us. The overflowing pen of God writes our fate according to
our present and past actions; so whatever seed we have sown will bear that kind
of fruit. If we can see the
God-into-Expression Power, that seed can be destroyed, even after sowing, by
being conscious of the Divine plan. There are many kinds of karmas or actions. One type is our everyday actions-that is,
the new seeds we are sowing. When we
got this human form it was through the prarabdha
or fate karmas. Some people are poor,
others rich-some are happy and some unhappy, and all this due to the prarabdha
or destiny of each. There are also
those karmas called sanchit which are
accounts of deeds in past lives upon lives, lying in store and hanging over our
heads. It is said that when King Dhritarashtra was asked what he
had done to be blind from birth, he stated that for one hundred lives back he
knew by yogic power that he had done nothing to cause such affliction. Then Lord Krishna gave him power by which he
was able to see that in the one hundred and sixth life back he had committed
that action for which he was now paying with his blindness. This shows us that the load on our head is
heavy with the karmas of life upon life.
We can only be rid of these sanchit karmas when we get a human form and
succeed in seeing the Reality within. Otherwise the account will remain and we
will continue to add to it. When the Masters come they wind up our karmas. How do they do it? By drawing a line across
the account and advising that in future one should cease further
transgressions. They advise the dear
seekers to adopt the way of true living; do not lie, cheat or steal, do not
take anything by fraud or squeeze anyone’s blood for self-gain. It is most important to be truthful. If you have read the account of the mahabharata, you will know that when the
five Pandav princes went to school, their teacher, Dronacharya, once gave them
the lesson that they should speak and live the truth. The next day four of the princes came to school, but the fifth,
Yudhishthira, did not attend. After
four or five days of non-attendance the teacher asked, “Why is he not coming?”
Word was sent to Yudhishthira who sent back the reply, “ I am studying the
lesson you gave me.” After many days he
came to school and reported, “I have learned this lesson about truth.” This is
really the way to learn. They say that
through his whole life he never told a lie. The Masters say that one should have true living, and
also lead a chaste life in thought, word and deed. All human beings are the temples of God, in which God
resides. All are His own children, so
we should never look down on anyone with hatred or dislike. Through their karmas, some people are
sitting on chair while others run around to bring chairs for them. Very often,
because a man is more learned or rich, or in authority, it goes up like wine to
his head and he starts to look down on others.
This should not happen. Masters also tell us that as God is residing in every
human being, we should do selfless service toward each other. If someone is physically sick, look after
them. If a person is starving or
thirsty or has no clothes, then share with them whatever you possess yourself. Through thoughts, words and actions we
should not be violent toward anyone. Thoughts are very potent. There is a story about King Akbar, who had a minister named
Birbal. Once, Birbal was telling the
king that thoughts are very potent, and whatever one thinks will affect other
person. The king’s head was uncovered
at the time. When Birbal saw a man walking toward them, he said, “Your
majesty, think something about this man.”
The king did not utter a word but in his mind he thought, “I would like
to shoot him.” When the man came near, the king said to him, “Speak truthfully
and you will be forgiven for whatever you say, but tell me, what were your
thoughts when you saw me?” The man replied, “The truth is, your majesty, that
when I saw your bare head I felt like smashing it with my fist.” This was the result of a thought. One should never regard anyone by thought, and even by
tongue no wrong should be spoken against any person. No harm should be done through actions. If we really want to realize God we should consider how unlikely
it is that He will appear to us if e are harming His children. Which father would? When Masters come they do not disturb the prarabdha
karmas, although in one way they do:they start giving food to the soul. To feed the physical form we have to eat and
drink. To strengthen the intellect we
read, write and think. All these words
are food for the intellect. The soul is
fed only with the Bread of Life, which is experience of the Beyond. With such food the soul becomes very strong,
and though unhappiness and sorrow may come it will not have so much
effect. If there is a thorny road to
travel and one puts on heavy boots, then one will not feel the thorns. Say there are ten people, and they get
beaten up physically. One of them is
very weak, and after a slight bating he collapses. The others admit they were beaten up, but did not feel it
much. Similarly, if the soul is strong,
happiness or unhappiness may come, but will not have any drastic effects. “Oh Supreme Master, what is the use of calling you my
Teacher, if my karmas have not been wiped out?” A guru’s work is to wind up the
karmas. It is also said, “What is the
use of going to a lion for protection when even the howling of a jackal can
frighten you?” A guru’s work is very important- such work that no one else can
take over. Only a true guru can do it,
because God works through him- because his soul has become one with God and he
has become the mouthpiece of God. There
is no difference between him and God. Perfect Saints always show us a way to lead our lives so
that we are freed from bondage, that we may never return again to this
world. They make us wear strong shoes,
that the thorns may not prick us on life’s journey. There are two kinds of Masters who come: one is called a sant or saint, the other an avatar.
Both work with the same power,
just as electricity can give us both fire and ice, even though the source
remains the same. The avatars explain,
“ Whatever there is more sin in the world, and righteous living is gone,
then I appear.” So you can see that the working of that power is
different. They are not bound by
karmas, but come only for a great purpose.
That is why they advise that one should not meditate on the outer form
of the Master but on the true form of the Master-Word made flesh. The avatars’ work is such that they
sometimes have to take a sword in hand to further their task of punishing the
wicked and upholding the righteous.
They must keep the world in proper balance. The saints say, “ Whosoever comes to me, I will connect
him back to God.” The difference between
saints and avatars can be further illustrated by taking an emperor who has a
viceroy ruling the affairs of on eof his countries, and a commander-in-chief
over the army. Both these men have
different ways of dealing with matters.
The viceroy will never order anyone directly but will say, “In the name
of the emperor, I order you to do this,” while the commander-in –chief will
say, “I order you to fire.” The latter
knows that he is under the emperor, but is in complete control of the army,
giving promotion or demotion, and will never allow anyone to go out of his
jurisdiction. The viceroy never orders,
but says that he is announcing the wishes of the emperor. Kabir Sahib says, “I know the Truth, but I have come to
tell you the wishes of my Lord.” So avatars improve the condition of the world
by giving punishment and reward, and saints give salvation. There are many prisons in the world, and
supposing a man visits one of them to give an uplifting talk to the inmates. He notices the lack of good food there, and
so makes arrangement for the food to be improved at his own expense. Another man also visits the same prison and
seeing that the prisoners’ clothes are torn and ragged, he kindly supplies
large quantities of new clothing for their use. A third visitor finds that the prisoners’ cells are dark and
unventilated, and so he volunteers to remodel the buildings to provide better
living quarters. All these things have
vastly improved the life of the prisoners, but unfortunately they are still
prisoners. Finally another man comes,
and he opens the gates of the prison sawing, “You are all free, I release you.”
Who do you think was the greatest benefactor out of all these men? When true Masters come, they release the soul from the
wheel of births and deaths. A perfect Master is not a small thing. He is the
supreme power, because God Himself is working in him. Though one can see that
the voice is coming from his physical form, it is not he who is speaking but
God in him. Kabir Sahib says, “Leave this world and go to Sat
Lok. That is your true home.” Swamiji Maharaj says, “Your true home is an
imperishable place, but you have tied yourself to this earth, which is merely
perishable matter.” He continues, “Go
to your own home—why do you want to stay where you do not belong?” We do not belong to this place. With great kismet or fortune, this body has
been given to us for just a few days.
It is the highest form in all the 8,400,000 species. During this life we must unfold the Truth
within us, and find some way of getting out of the body while living. Maulana Rumi Sahib has said that this human form is a
prison and we are all prisoners; that the body is alive, but we are the Life;
and that we should make a hole in the top of the prison and climb out! He is referring to the nine holes in the
body and the tenth which lies in between and behind the two eyebrows, to where
the soul withdraws at the time of death.
These Masters desire us to know that this is the only way out of the
body to realise the true bliss. Kabir Sahib says, “I have not seen anyone who has got a
body and who is happy.” Again, “The
mendicants are unhappy; the whole world is full of unhappiness. The ascetic’s sorrow is double that of
others. Hopes and ambitions—no one is
without them. Only a saint who has
conquered his mind is enjoying true peace and happiness.” Guru Nanak similarly says, “We are all true
students in one class or other, but we cannot get that bliss without conquering
the mind.” How can we win the mind around to surrender itself? This is a thing which we have to understand
fully before we can proceed further on the spiritual path. The mind is a lover of attractive and
delicious things. Guru Nanak explains
this by saying, “Oh man, you are eating a sweetmeat which is coated with
sugar,but is bitterly poisonous inside.”
The consequences are very bad and we come again and again to this
world. The real happiness is inside.The
more we search for happiness, the more unhappy we become. We are all
bliss. If we get any happiness at all
here, it is because for a short time we place our attention upon a certain
thing, and are with that thing itself, which plainly indicates that the
attention and the happiness lie within.
If we separate ourselves from the mind and the sense, all thes illusory
things will lose their meaning. This
separation, combined with the connection to the Lord within us, will bring true
and permanent happiness. Our attention is
on small and insignificant things, and when these are taken from us, we become
unhappy. Those who desire the permanent
happiness will only find it at the feet of the Lord. Where is God?
There is no place that is
without Him but He is most near to us in our own temple of the human body. We are in it, and God is also. The true cause of our misery is that God is
within and we are scattered outwardly.
Our very soul is a part of Him—His own nature, but the soul and the mind
are tied together. The poor soul does
not know how to unite himself, and so, more unhappiness results. The holy scriptures contain wise counsel on helping
factors and hindrances given by those who have not only untied this knot but
have realized themselves and God. We
can say that these scriptures are the past Masters speaking through books. Their words are invaluable, but to
understand them correctly we have to approach a true spiritual Master, for if
an intellectual man reads something he will draw inferences through his
intellect. I am placing before you, that
everlasting happiness is within all human beings, but the attention is on
things which are perishable. Through
the great forgetfulness, we are entrapped in attachment and cannot find any way
out. Such a heavy imprisonment—first
the world, and then this body! As I have related, we have to go out via the tenth door,
the knowledge of which we do not possess.
The beautiful soul has forgotten that God Himself is sitting at the
tenth door awaiting her, but the poor thing is frantically lost in the maze of
the other nine doors, and cannot experience her Lord. This body is in truth the real temple of the Lord. The outer temples have been made as copies
of this human temple, and in those we also light lamps and ring bells. They were made to remind us that the light
is shining brightly within us. He who
lights this inner lamp while living becomes the one who sees the Reality. That Reality, we can say, is God which has
expressed Himself, for the Ultimate God no one can see. He is Nameless and Formless, and is the one
with whom we must unite and become One. The God within is the God of all—Muslim, Hindu,
Christian, etc. All human beings are
one and the same. We may have labeled
ourselves variously, but first we are human beings, with the same soul, the
same caste, as God above. That religion is the highest into which more true
devotees of God are born, but in truth we are children of God. All Masters have said the same thing in
their own languages. The Muslim fakirs
have said in their language, that all human beings have got such a close relationship
with each other just like different parts of one body; and all are born in the
same way. When will man realize that to
have this human life is a golden opportunity, for in this form and in no other
form is it possible to know oneself and to know God. A Diwali Wish The Diwali lamps shine bright,
but
They shall
soon die out. O! Kindle the
lamp within, whose Flame
illumines forever. And this day
make free that wine, whose Fire knows no
abating. May Thy tavern
continue forever and Thou its
Cup-bearer! Darshan |