3. THE PERFECTION OF MAN

 

A TRANSCRIPTION OF THE MATER’S TALK, DELIVERED IN ENGLISH

 

You have just heard how yoga is working in present times, and how in the midst of this darkness there is hope for light. the golden or higher age of Sat Yug will be born from Kali yug – it will not fall from Heaven all at once. The change has started: those who have eyes may see, those who have ears may hear. It is always darker before the dawn, but the more darkness there is, so the more light there is before us. The awakening is already there, and twinkling of light can be observed. Again I would say, those with eyes may see, those with ears may hear.

 

The basic teaching and ultimate goal of all yoga is to see him in ones own self, and ones own self in him. I am my Father are one. In the gurbani, Father and son for dyed in the same color. Man has two phases: son of man, and son of God. but the ultimate goal is where man becomes the mouthpiece of God. all yoga leads up to that. Karma yoga is complete only when you are not the doer. In Bhakti Yoga, you are to form a hypothesis. Ramakrishna Paramhans went to his Guru and told him that he saw the holy mother in all, but could not rise into unity. The Guru struck him on the forehead, and he at once rose into oneness. In Gian Yoga, one must draw inferences to have dips into the higher life. surat Shabd yoga is direct contact  with the God into expression power, which is the basic teaching of all a man told swami Sivananda about this. There were a number of foreigners present also, and the Swami replied that the basic teachings the man referred to are the same, but that one must go step by step to that: that is the primary class, but there is also a middle class, there is a higher class, leading on to the college teaching, etc.

 

Karma yoga relates to the body, Bhakti yoga to the heart, and Gian Yoga to the intellect. The basic teachings tell us we are all one in God – a very minute study of all scriptures will lead us to this fact – but what is wanted is that world see all these as  different stages leading to this. Let the child first crawl – I know that during my sickness I could not sit, then I began to sit up, then to stand, then I went on to walk with the support of a chair. Similarly on the way to perfection there are stages, and all these different phases are laid down in the scriptures, but the ultimate goal is the consummation of oneself with God. Master's come not to destroy, but to fulfill. They do not touch outer forms, but they say that truth is everywhere. In the Gita, it is said, to see me in all, and all in me.

 

So we are very fortunate, for here you see all yogas and the basic teachings. The highest is to rise into the Absolute. Rise above all different formations, because unless you rise above you cannot be taught the ABC of spirituality, for where the world philosophies end, there the religion starts. Re means “Back”, and ligio, “to bind”; once again to see in your self we are all one. We are already one; we have forgotten this fact, but the unity is there. You may remain where you are, for all stages are required fortunately, all the stages are available – Hatha Yoga, Prana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Gian Yoga, and this Surat Yoga.

 

When the Christ sent his disciples to preach he told them that whatever they had learned in secret, they should shout it from the housetops. So truly speaking, I and swamiji here, we all become the ambassadors of truth. The child must grow into a man, a full man, a perfect man. be ye perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect. The ultimate goal is before us, and we have got the highest rung in creation – the man body, in which we can become a man. all formations are meant to turn out men; they are like factories to produce men. Man is one who develops all around – physically, intellectually and spiritually – otherwise he is an amputated man. I would say that more than half of this age of darkness has passed. The barriers are being broken, and man is coming round to think that man should be a real man. that formation is best which turns out perfect men. Remain in your own formations, but with humbleness toward all humanity. You have manbody; God made you man. return to your true Nature. You are not man, you have got a man-body – you are spirit in man. God is spirit and spirit is God, and then excuse me when I say, you are none other than God, but the only point is that there should be realization of that. Blessed are you, I would say, that you have come to an awakening – to a place where teaching of truth are so clearly placed before you. it is a place of satsang, which is contact and company of true – the truth eternal – which can be followed and understood when, if you are fortunate, you come across a human pole within whom that truth is manifested one who has realized it; call him by any name. He may be wearing white, red, black or any other colored clothes.

 

Each religion or religious social body has the same goal, and leaving aside all else, a Sikh is one who sees the puran jyoti (complete Effulgent light) of God. know him to be the khalsa (true and pure disciple) in whose form the complete light is manifested. It is also said that only the righteous will reign in the world and all men who take refuge with them will be saved. So the Sikh social body has to turn out a khalsa, and the muslims have to make a Momin – the righteous one who sees God in everyone. A Hindu is one who sees the light of God within and everywhere, though he starts his ABC by taking outer symbols in the temple. The body is the true temple of God in which that light is already effulgent. Outer models – temples, churches, mosques – were made on the model of man, dome-shaped, nose-shaped, forehead-shaped. They placed in those models two symbols, one of light and one of sound. But the light and the sound are not the goal either – these form the contact which leads us to the ultimate worldless state, and that is our true home. So light and sound is the way back to the absolute God. A Christian also is one who sees the light of God, just as the mulsim who sees the Noor, the light of God. all the Saints have preached this aspect, shorn of outer symbols, which does not mean they did not respect the symbols, but they stressed more importance on that which man has forgotten.

 

When I went to the U.S.A. I simply told them that the unity already exists, but we have forgotten it. as a man, who or what are you? there is no label attached to this body; it is but a body which does not last long. You are the indweller living in the body, but yet with so many apertures – eyes, ears and others – you cannot run out of it. we should find out who the maker is of that which works and moves as long as you, the soul, are there. Something is condile which opens it's mouth and swallows anything nearby. It eats up very big men, full of pride and self importance in their vast worldly knowledge. If there is a courageous person in this world, it is he who has killed his mind. What is there to boast of in killing lions, tigers and so on? Really, he is courageous who catches a crocodile of mind by casting the hook of Nam, which is the panacea for control of the mind.

 

Man goes along in ignorance; and without the help of superior knowledge, by his own efforts, he wants to control his mind. How can he do it? he comes into the world crying and leaves it crying with so many regrets. Alsa, mind where have you led me? – money, property, people. Enmeshed in the world where there is not peace – how can the soul make spiritual progress? So go and get a fishing hook from some experienced fisherman – one who can give you the hook of Naam. Keep the company of God realized people, for in that circle there is a charging, a radiation. Tulsi Sahib says, his name is Satguru by seeing whom the mind is stilled; whoever meets him is at once given connection with Naam. Swami Ji Maharaj says, we know O attention, that you are unhappy / since the day you deserted the Shabd and befriended the mind. If we want to reach a state of true happiness we should begin by protecting our mind from the senses. All Master's recommended the same cure, although they express themselves in different languages: that without the Gurumat the influence of mind regains, and so does the cycle of birth and deaths. Birth and death cannot be finished, the actions you have performed must be faced and paid up.

 

Lord Krishna once asked King Dhritarashtra, “In which birth did you commit such sins as to warrant your present blindness?” the king said, “through my yogic power, I can go back one hundred births, and I have found nothing would cause me to pay with blindness.” But Lord Krishna was the great Yogishwar of that age, and in one moment he made it possible for the king to see farther back into the past, and there he found that one hundred and seven births back he had certain actions for which he had to pay with blindness. Just see how strong is the law of action and reaction! The only way of gaining freedom is to sit at the feet of a true Guru. There are many gurus, but very few with the right status. O Guru of the whole world what is your use, if my karmas remain? What availeth the lions protection, if the jackals attack him?

 

Brothers, take care not to violate the golden instructions from your Guru. Adopt non-violence, be truthful, save yourself, save yourself from the degrading traits which drag you down. Protect your brahmcharya – lead a pure and clean life. not even an impure thought should enter your head. Have no hatred or contempt for anyone; God is in every being and one should love all for his sake. Added to all this, do selfless service: make your life useful and be a help to others. While developing all these virtues sit at the feet of some realized soul who will take you above the senses and give you a contact with the God power in you – the perpetual Naam power. Increase that contact daily, and though there be actions ahead, yet you will live through whatever destiny has decreed with flying colors. The souls food is Naam, and your soul will gain strengthen rendering the effect of karmic reactions powerless. Furthermore, through Naam practice the sanchit karmas which are stored up in your account will be burned – erases forever. This way a person becomes neh-karma (unaffected by karma), for seeds or grain once roasted will never sprout in the earth again.

 

Through ego, the poison came about;

When the Shabd resounds, the poison leaves;

While he is the doer, he remains in the womb.

 

Illusions started through I-hood there. So man is doing the actions and taking responsibility for them, thereby gaining their results, good or bad. However, by connections with the Shabd, man, who has been sleeping for birth after birth, will awaken. That Shabd is already within; it vibrates in every atom, but can be experienced only through the grace of the Satguru. He who gives the contact is a Satguru, who can take one above all illusion and negative control. For such achievement, this is the only path – the only way. It is an unchangeable law.

 

Those who get connected to the Truth are free from lower influences;

Call those free who have cast out their ego.

 

On the subject of truth, Guru Nanak says also, Before the Yug, yet was it truth; even now is it truth – the unchangeable permanence. The Saints never say that salvation is only for those who are dead and gone, but rather it is for the living. Our Hazur used to say that the well-read in this life will be learned after death, but how can an illiterate man become a teacher by merely leaving this world and entering the next? Whatever one is now, so will one be when this life is finished. Merely passing a boundary does not change you. true knowledge, true freedom in life without ego – with no thought that one is the doer. This higher expression of life can only be lived when the inner eye is opened and one begins to see that God is doing everything. In this way, the devotee can become the conscious coworker of the divine plan, completely rid of all ego.

 

You came with ego, you died with ego;

Ego is the sickness, but the remedy is also there;

By his mercy the Guru’s Shabd is earned.

Shabd burns the ego and attachment, gurumukh gets the everlasting light;

Saying “you, you, you,” I became you, there was no I in me;

Everything was erased, I saw only you.

 

Freedom is not a matter of declaring oneself free; one must become the obey of orders and the knower also. Guru Nanak has also said, O Nanak, he who obeys with awareness is not affected by ego; the world is tied with attachment and cannot discriminate. In ignorance manmukh has forgotten both birth and death; the knower of brahm has no attachment. The realized soul works in the world like other men, but has no attachment in the world. The whole world is tied up in attachment, and will go on in this bound condition, for it is not awakened and cannot differentiate what is true from what is not true. At a blinding speed it is going headlong down, and must pay for all deeds; that is the law. Kabir Sahib says that all men are asleep. Man awakes only when the hammer of death falls.  When the end comes and the soul is leaving the body, then man begins to realize: “What have I done? What is happening?” but then it is too late; what can be done at that late hour? If while living he had learned about the lords ways – how to rise above the body consciousness and go into the other realms within – he would not have been in that ignorant position. As a conscious co-worker of the divine plan, ones coming and going is finished, but as it stands at present one must pay the debts, which means coming again and again to the world. We eat the poison and lament over it; but we go on eating it.

 

If you know you must go, why continue suffering?

With all your mind you attach yourself to the house you must leave;

Why do you car for this house?

You have to go Beyond death one day!

You are so firmly attached to this house of the human body that it has become your religion your God. you are not worried about leaving it one day, where you will go, what you will do. No one has ever lived in this world permanently and no one will in the future. All are lost men who never think of what kind of life they are living; but the same fate awaits everyone regardless, and that is the great final change called death. Such abundance of ignorance and forgetfulness is all due to not meeting a Master soul, not becoming a Gurumukh. With the Guru’s protection one is free; through absorption in the true Shabd. When the Guru raises the consciousness and opens the inner eye, the body is seen in it's true perspective as just a mound of earth. He who gives the sound that comes from above, he is my Gurudev. Guru Nanak also says, he is a Satguru of the highest order who can show the true home in this house. It is also said that wherever the five sounds are vibrating that is the indication of the Shabd.

 

Tulsi Sahib says, Four, eighteen, nine – reading this truth was lost. Without contact with the Shabd, he is like the chandool bird. Four, eighteen, nine: that is the four Vedas (Basic Hindu scriptures), the eighteen Puranas (secondary Hindu scriptures), and the nine Vyakran (the sections of Sanskrit grammar, as well as knowledge of the shastras). The chandool is a bird which copies any sound he hears. The great Saint is indicating that no matter how deep the bookish knowledge may be it is all wilderness; there is no way out. all the holy books say that God is within you, and that the soul is imprisoned in the mind and senses. The books also give the solution of rising above it all and contacting the Naam; but just reading about it is not sufficient. The ships captain the Guru, guides us across the ocean of life, and one day when we are immune to the effects of the worldly poison, we become as he is, realizing what he has realized. There is a great difference between a Saint and a touchstone; the touchstone turns iron into gold, but the makes us like himself. Unlike the ordinary man, the Guru is free from mind, free from dominance of the senses, is not only connected to Naam, but has reached Anaam (the nameless) and is the mouthpiece of God. the same potential is within us, but at present it lies invisible. My beloved is in each being, no place is without him; but I worship that form in which he is manifested. Man comes to the world starved, and dies starved, for the soul and God, who both reside in the same house, do not meet each other – what a sorrowful state! God is not in books, although he is mentioned in them; he is in fact the very soul of our soul.

 

If the parrot talks in a cage of love,

He eats the truth and drinks Amrit;

When he flies, he flies once only.

 

The body is like a cage; but if the cage becomes one of love, the soul will love on the truth, the Elixir of life, by connection with the Naam. The world is a two edged sword, cutting in two in one. The very criterion of love is to absorb oneself into someone or something, so a lover is a true renouncer, renouncing all other thought, save of that which he loves. He may be surrounded by thousands, but he is alone with his love. A man without love will never realize the Lord, so make this body a cage of love, and then talk. If no love is developed through outer practice, what is the use of it? such practice is a mere performance of gymnastics. Unless we remember him with tears, it is a dry remembrance; the remembrance that comes form a heart overflowing with love will bear fruit. The tenth Guru says, Hear ye all, I tell you the truth: God is realized by those who love. God is love, and the soul is a drop of that very Essence, and therefore also the image of love. What kind of love has he who boasts of loving the Lord but hates his brothers? Sheik Farid says, if you desire to meet the beloved injure not any heart. A true devotee of God will have no enmity toward any other being. Shamas Tabrez says, hundreds of years in prayer will not make you a namazi (true worshiper). He in whom there is no love awakened cannot fathom the secrets of the Lord. So live in a cage of love if you want to realize God, and that love will drag you toward him. Life will become an agony, a yearning, a restless lonely misery without him, for love is a sea without a shore: there is no end to it, save in the all-encompassing absorption in him when you give your whole life to him.

 

How can this love be developed? It is not grown in fields or sold in shops. There are only two ways to develop love. One way is to sit beside one who is love, from whom you will catch an infection of that love. From life, so is life created. A glimpse of love can be seen only in a true lovers eye. These things are mentioned in books, but words cannot really express what love is. the other way to develop love is through remembrance. If one loves someone, one cannot forget that person; his face is always before the vision, in the heart, in the mind, even vibrating in ones blood as it runs through the veins. One should remember him so much that one can never forget him, and that constant remembrance will drag one to him.

The overpowering yearning to meet the Lord grows into a oneness, a blend with him. These are the stages of love. Kabir sahib has explained it this way: if you go to a perfume vendors shop, he may not give you any perfume but you will return home with some of the fragrance. However, if he gives a small bottle of that perfume, then? – realized souls are the true lovers of the world. A Gurumukh has forgotten himself so much so in the Lord that he has also completely forgotten the world.

 

The tongue of love is very sweet, and full of humility. The sweet tongue of  remembrance, inbued with humility is the very basis of all virtues. The tongue of a realized soul is filled with sweetness; his heart is brimming over with the nectar of love. Out of abundance of his heart, a man speaks for the words are charged with whatever lies in the heart. Master's have love for everyone, and their words are filled with love, and so have a particularly attractive quality. If the parrot talks in a cage of love, he drinks the Naam; his soul leaves the body without effort, at will. If you sit in the Guru’s company with single pointed attention, and listen to the inner sound regularly, your soul will stilled, it is due to lack of love. The true Lord can be realized through the Guru’s bhakti, and with ease he will manifest. So when you sit in meditation, forget the world, and let the Guru alone be before you and you before him – there should be nothing else. When our Muslim brothers sit for prayer, they spread a prayer mat in front of them to remind them that there is nothing between God and the devotees. Sit for practice in this way and you will not even aware that you are withdrawing. This is the true way to realize God – to travel across the ocean of life.

 

There are various ways of separating spirit from matter; both difficult and easy. Prana Yoga and other yogas are difficult, especially in this age for we are not fit for them, nor capable enough. That is why the Master's have dispensed with those methods in this age. They saw that man does all the mundane things – eating, thinking, reading, writing, etc. – without any thought of prana or breathing, etc. all these things are going on automatically: the food is digested, the blood is circulated, the hair and nails are growing, and all this without our being conscious of it. so the Master's considered that why should not Gods work also be done without any thought of prana? To concentrate through the prana force, many difficult sadhnas must be performed, and during this present age man is not capable. Such practices are also very time-consuming, taking many years, and in this age man’s life span is very short. So the Master's left aside the prana force and concentrated upon the attention, or spiritual current. Then they gave the extra boon of opening the inner eye, so that even a small child could do the sacred practice.

 

So know that if you meet a true Guru, you have met the Lord. He is not only a Guru, but a messenger from God, come to take you back to him. Go wherever he leads you. if you obey him, you will become what he is. if not, if your minds steps in and interferes you will not be able to get anywhere near him. Those who have met a perfect Master are greatly blessed. Those who have not should go and search until they find one, for this is not a theoretical subject but one of practice, to rise above the mind and senses. The theory has it's place; but it precedes the practice.

 

Sometime before king Janak met Maharishi Ashtavakra he held a holy gathering, and Yajnavalkya rishi was the only who stepped forward to give the king the desired information. But he could only explain the theory. In those days they were very honorable people, so he frankly admitted, “I know the theory of this spiritual science, but not the practice.” Kind Janak called another gathering of holy men, and during this Maharishi Ashtavakra stepped forward and gave the king the practical experience.

 

Only an experienced person can give an experience of higher knowledge. Outer practice and outer learning are not enough, although each and every one has his own mission in life, and my best wishes are with all sincere efforts in Gods name; but if one desires an experience of the truth itself, it can only be experienced through one who is experienced in the truth. This law has ever been, and ever will be.