BABA SAWAN SINGHon THE SCIENCE OF THE MASTERS Books that mater, as distinguished from trash,
are accounts of the experience of persons reduced to writing for the benefit of
others. If anyone wishes to learn, say chemistry, he studies books on
chemistry, he studies books on chemistry. Thus he learns something about
chemistry. But if he gets instructions directly from a chemistry, he obtains a
better grasp of the subject. If he sets up a laboratory and begins to
experiment, he will gain still better knowledge of the subject. And last of
all, if he caries on his experiments under the personal directions of an expert
chemist, he will avoid many a pitfall and will, in due time, become a chemist. Again, one book
on chemistry may appeal to one student and may not appeal to another; for the
mental make up of the two may not be the same. One may have his analytical
faculty developed, while in the other the synthetically faculty may
predominate. A book, therefore, is not all comprehensive. The author has
written it from the angle characteristic of himself and it will appeal only to
persons having a touch of the same qualities. Also the same book may appeal to
a person at one time and may not appeal to him at another time; for man is a
variable creature, and his intellect is a variable factor. Again there is the difficulty of exact
expression and of correct understanding. You cannot convey a correct idea of a
railway train or a modern motor car to a person familiar with only bullock
carts as means of conveyance. A radio agent without receiving apparatus, will
carry but little conviction as to the marvel of radio among persons who never
before heard of the radio. Even with a radio ser at hand, he is likely to be
taken as a juggler. So, when ideas about material things cannot be
conveyed correctly in words, either
written or spoken, ideas about non material things, such as mental and
spiritual experience, cannot possibly be expressed, with any degree of
clearness and exactitude, to persons who never have had any such experiences. Yet
mental and spiritual experience on the mental and spiritual planes are as real
as are the experience of anyone on the physical plane. A boy who leaves school after learning the
three R’s says, “Knowledge is unlimited.” A student who completes the common
school course but who has not yet entered the university also says, “Knowledge is unlimited.” The graduate of
the university also says, “Knowledge is unlimited.” A University professor who has encompassed the limits of learning
afforded by all universities also says, “Knowledge is unlimited.” How the boy,
the student, the Graduate, and the professor all use the same expression; but
evidently they do not mean the same thing at all. The boy, the student, the
graduate, and the professor all use the same expression; but evidently they do
not mean the same thing at all. The boy’s idea of knowledge is very shallow,
while the idea of knowledge as held by the professor is deep –a sea compared to
a pond. Books therefore convey but little at best, and
are often misunderstood. The more critically a beginner examines books, the
more discrepancies he finds, and the
result is usually confusion of thought. Hence the need for association with
living teacher; also the need for actual experience of converting theory into
fact, or individual realization. So, books, by their very nature, are imperfect
and serve but a limited purpose. Man himself is the perfect books; for all books
have come out of him. Inside of him is the creator with all his creation. Study of books gives second handed
information; while study of man gives first hand information; that is, the
study of what lies within ourselves. So why not enter within ourselves and see
what is there? From the books we are to grasp the central or
basic idea upon which the book is based. If you examine books in that spirit (I
am not defending all books, and I am sorry to say that the English language is
poor in teal literature on spiritual subjects) you will find that the central
idea of sant mat, and of other religions also, is the practice of the sound
current. Many different names are used to express the idea. Christ, Mohammed,
and the Vedic Rishis practiced and preached the same. It may be said that they
had studied or risen on this current to different heights; but the fundamental
idea of all of their teachings is this sound current. The type of language, or the setting which this
basic idea is given, depends upon the place and the people the Master work
among, their customs, the manner of
their presentation and their own intellectual development. And as these
customs, manner of their presentation and their own intellectual development. And
as these customs, manners, etc, change with time, their books to go out of the
date. Hence the necessity of giving the same principle of the sound current
afresh. The message must be kept modern , and so adapted to the times and
people to whom it is offered. This current is present is man all men. It is
natural in man, nor artificial. It can neither be altered nor artificial, it
can neither be altered nor modified, nor added to nor subtracted from. All else
in this world is changeable, and
changes continually, but nor this current. It is an emanation from or
wave of, the great source of all the supreme creator, by whatever name you wish
to speak of him. Each individual is a spark of him. Each individual is a spark
or drop of that same infinite source. The creator is at the top of this current and
the individual soul is at the other end, other end, the current thus acting as
the connecting link between them. by that current the life even the very
existence of the individual is sustained. The individual feels no touch with it
on the account of the thick veils of mind and matter which covers it at this
end. But it is there, in man and in all forms of creation, in the eye focus,
whence it permeates the whole body below the eye, and then goes out from the
body through the various senses organs. To catch it, the scattered and scattering attention must be
controlled and held in the focus where connection is established with the
astral, mental and the spiritual planes, and the same finally merges into its
source at the other end. The first essential thing, therefore, if to
enter this laboratory within ourselves, by bringing our scattered attention
inside of the eye focus. This is a slow process. But we are not justified in
saying that we cannot do it, or that it, is impossible, or that it is useless. Here
is a worthy pursuit for the application of our critical and other faculties. If
we cannot control and subdue our thoughts, arising within us, who else will? It
is our job and we must do it, and we must do it now, in this very lifetime,
while we are men; for man is the highest from of creation. There are many ways of doing this; but from
experience, saint find that “repetition”, called Simran, done in the manner
explained at the time of initiation, is the best and most effective way, as
well as the simply way. If thoughts, of the material world take us out of the
focus, thoughts, of the inner worlds will take us in that direction. When we
are inside of the focus, we have disconnected ourselves form the material world
and are on the threshold of the astral world. We too have cast off our material
frame, and we are of the same stuff as the astral world, and are now in a
position to function there, the same attention that was working in the material
world is now capable of working in the astral world. And just as we now call
this lower world real, we will find the astral world as real, or more real,
than we now find this one. After reaching the astral plane, the same
attention, now purified from the material dross, hangs onto the sound current,
becomes further purified and rises on it to reach the spiritual planes. With
every inch of ascent inwards and upwards, the soul is casting off the covering
of mind and matte and is awakening from the deep slumber of ages. Needless to
say that in this process the soul is not helpless, but it goes in and stays in
and comes out at will. We may
look at this matter in another way: the creator is Existence, knowledge and
Bliss, or Power, Wisdom, and love. And atom or a spark of this essence of
existence is the soul which, encased in its covering of mind and matter, forms
the individual will know itself attain “Self Realization” and will in turn be
able to know its creator. Wrapped in its coverings, the soul merely hears of
its source from others or reads about the creator in books, makes guesses and
draws imaginary pictures to satisfy its intellectual curiosity. It also
manufactures creeds. If a lantern were wrapped in a thin Muslim
cloth its light would be dimmed. If there is another enveloped of thick, coarse
cloth over the muslin, the light will be cut off entirely and the lantern will
cease to serve the purpose of a lantern. Man is much like a covered lantern. There
is light in him. There is the spark of pure existence, knowledge and bliss in
him; but the envelops of mind and matter dim his light and he gropes in
darkness. Real existence has degenerated and appears in him as reason,
intellect and instinct. Bliss has degenerated into fleeting experience of
pleasure and pain. Clothed in our dark coverings, we are incapable
of understanding our source. And the extent to which we succeed in
removing our covering marks the degree
of our capacity to understand our source. These remarks about the books, the
creator, the individual and the sound current, will help us in answering your
three fold question: 1 –The Original Home so often referred to, whence we came, 2
–Why
we left that Home; 3
–Will
we ever leave it again? The individual, as he is constituted now, is
incapable of understanding what has happened or is happening at the source. The
saints, who come from that end and have access to that end at will, know what
is going on at that end at will, know what is going on at that end; but by the
very nature of things they are handicapped in trying to convey information to
the individual at this end. They attempt, in various ways, to satisfy their
audiences. Some are convinced, and some are not. No matter what answer is given
to these questions, we can always find fault with it, and even if reason and
intellect are satisfied for the time being, the necessity for converting theory
into facts of experience and personal realization still remains. But the point is that saints do not wish to satisfy their audiences by empty words. They
offer to take the inquirer to the other end, and thus give him first hand
knowledge. One beauty of it is that, at that end, these questions do not arise.
So if the curious questioner would exercise a little patience and faith, most
of his questions would be answered automatically as his experiences increase. Suppose a man finds himself at the bottom of a
deep well where he is very lonely and uncomfortable. Another man happens to
pass that well. He carries a long rope. Finding this man in the well, he lets,
down his rope. Finding this man in the well, he lets down his rope and offers
to pull the man up, if only he will catch into the end of the rope. But our man
in the well enters into argument with the man above, and demands to know just
how he came to fall into that well, and what is the guarantee that he may not
fall into the well again, if he is pulled up. The utmost that the man with the
rope can say is that he will take him out of the well and then he can study the
situation for himself. But if the man in the well does not take advantage of
his time has not yet come to escape form his imprisonment. Predestination versus free will: a will is free
only so long as it has not acted. Once it acts, then that very act becomes
binding on it. The second time it acts, it does not act as a free will, but as
a “calculating will” for it carries the experience of the first act with it. And
calculating will is not a free will, but a limited will. The very creations or
acts of a free will work as limiting factors upon it and guide in its future,
activity. So, the more world one has, the more his will is guided it in its
future activity. So, the more experiences one has, the more his will is guided
and thus limited. And this is real predestination. There is thus no antagonism between
predestination, fate, karma, and free will. We were free at one time. We acted,
and then our acts became binding upon us. They curtailed initial freedom. They
now act upon us as unavoidable fate. Since our experience have become complex
and varied, these experience now appear in us as joys and fears, hopes and
desires, each of which in its turn moulds or fashions our reason and intellect. Intellect, reason and feeling, being what they
have been fashioned to be, now determine our actions and make us choose the
predestined course. Thus the acts of one life determine the frame work of the
next life, like farmers, we are now living on the crop we gathered last, while
we are preparing the soil and putting in the seed of the now crop. Although we
must undergo our fate there being no escape from it, yet all is not lost if we
use the little freedom we have in such a manner as to lead to our ultimate
rescue. We wish this age long wandering from life to
life to come to an end. And so it will, it we choose the means of escape. The
easiest, the safest, and in fact the only way out is association with the free.
Saints are free by virtue of their practices of the sound current. And they
come among us with one single mission that of connecting us with the sound
current and so making us free. And this is the only path of spiritual freedom. Facts versus theories: That which may be a fact
to one man, may not necessarily be a fact to another. And it will not become a
fact to him until he has had a similar experience. Facts of sant mat are
reproducible, like facts of any science, and can be demonstrated in the
laboratory of sant mat. The laboratory of sant mat, as said before is inside
man. Anybody who enters this laboratory (brings his scattered attention within
himself at the eye focus) can see, feel, and realize what the saints say and he
can repeat the experiment as often as he likes. Sant mat deals with facts only, not with
theories or beliefs. It lays down a practical course for its devotees. It is
practical through and through, and it can be executed by young or old, male and
female, wise or simple minded while at the same time they are enjoying the
fullness of home life. Life duties: sant mat is natural, and hence
rational. It expects its devotees to live a normal life and to do their duties
better than others. Sluggards do not make any headway here or elsewhere. Sant
mat creates detachment in attachment, living in the world and yet not of the
world. With mind under control, stimulated by a personal knowledge of other and
better world, the disciple viewpoint of life and of its duties and
responsibilities changes. The life here actually becomes unreal and its
values are assessed accordingly. Things which others lay much stress upon
become of little value to the disciple. And often that which others may consider
valueless, and even foolish, may become more value to the looks down upon life
below the eye focus (our present condition) is not better than a dream. If people would go inside the focus and enter
the upper worlds, they would become eternally happy. Empty talk would cease. They
would contemplate the grand reality. So, first you are to control your mind and
rise within yourself to the eye focus, and the other man is to do the same
within himself. When inside the eye focus, and the other man is to do the same
within himself. When inside the eye focus, you and he have both Cast off the material coverings, and matter is
now no longer a hindrance in your study and upward march. Neither is it a
hindrance in your communications with each other, while you are both above the
eye focus. To do this, it is not necessary to leave home
or country. Anybody who goes inside of his focus is independent of time and
space, and he can, from his own experience, given guidance to another who has
not reached so far. He who rises still higher, and has access to other who has
not reached do far. He who rises still higher, and has access to other and
higher worlds, is capable of guiding others
to those higher worlds. As in all branches of study, a student who
occasionally meets his teacher and covers freely with him has a distinct
advantage over one who takes only a correspondence course. The same is the case
here in sant mat and the development on this path. But the beauty of it is that
when you gain access to the inner light and the worlds of the light within, the
elements of time and distance so completely disappear that you stand face to
face with your teacher and Master, and he will always remain right there to
instruct and to lead you as well as to strengthen you. You need not accept anything which does not
appeal to you in books, or even in my letters. You may leave aside for the time
being the ultimate object of life and its how and why. You may start your
inquiry from this end, and then take as your objective the attack upon the eye
focus. Reach that point as best you can, by this or any other method. Draw up
your own planes, if you wish. Only make and execute some plane to reach that
objective. Bring your plan into action. That is the main thing. And then if you
find it does not work so well, come back to this plane. The main point is to
reach the eye focus somehow. You will be dealing with your own attention. If
you succeed in holding it inside of the focus, you have won the battle of life. You say in eight weeks since your initiation
you have made no progress. Sant mat does not fix any time limit. Let us
appreciate the situation. Ever since our birth, at which time we left the eye
focus and came out of it and established our connections with this world, we
have not gone inside of it. Sometimes, when we have a deep intricate problem to
solve, we close our eyes and try to think by holding all our attention in the
eye center. We do it for a short time, but soon run our again because we have
acquired the bad habit of always remaining away from the focus. Poets, painters and musicians receive inspiration
from this point. All great thinkers get their ideas clarified here. Whatever
scientific progress the world has made has all been derived from this source. This
focus, back of the eyes, is the fountain of all inspiration which has produced
the world masterpieces. And whatever further progress is to be made in the
future, the source of information and inspiration and inspiration will still be
this point. Here is where divinity comes down to meet the struggle man. And what holds us outside this focus? Why does
not everybody in the world rush, with his utmost ability, to enter this magic
fountain of inspiration and wisdom? Because our attention has always been, and
is yet, attached to our bodies, to our near relations, to our homes, to our
countries, and to our pleasures; sometimes to our pains and sorrows. We have so
much identified ourselves with these things that we have lost our identify. Unless
now we start ditching ourselves from these outside connections, begin to
develop the capacity to switch our attention on and off at will, we can make
but little progress on the path. We are to re-establish our identity, to assert
our supremacy over our minds and bodies. Mind must be made to work when we wish
it to, and to remain motionless when we wish it to do so. We must become able
to enter this body when we wish, to function in this world when necessary, and
them to go out of it at will when we wish to function in another world. It is
the attention which is to go inside and see, and so long as it is running outside,
who is to see inside, his complaint is not justified. This detaching the attention from the external
connections is a slow affair. Habits become second nature. It takes time to
from new habits. But slow and steady wins the race, and practice makes perfect.
Follow your mind for a minute and see what keeps it away from its headquarters.
Avoid whatever interferes and accept what helps in reaching your objective, I
have already given you the saints method, based on long, long experience. If anyone is sure that he is on the right path, then he is on the right path, then if he takes bur one step a day he is still approaching his destination, and is sure to get there some day, no matter how distant his destination may be. You will perhaps say, “How an I to know that I am on the right path?” I give you the means of proving it for yourself. Until you have proved it for yourself, you must, per necessity, accept something on faith. You would have to do the same if you were building a bridge. . . . . . Lucky indeed is he who spends his short life in the Masters company. “If a man is a true seeker, he should give himself up to the sat guru and drop all else.” It has been said already how the attention of man is attached to all sorts of worldly relationships and things. There is hardly any attention left for the study of self and for seeking God. Look about you. Who has time for all the needs of his own soul? He should take time, but he thinks he cannot. His attention is so monopolized by trifles that he has no time for most vital concerns. A true seekers who gives undivided attention to the things of the spirit is a rare bird. Bur men follow after that which they love best. A lover cannot be kept separated from his beloved, for he has given himself over to his beloved. His beloved is his life. The quoted passages only point to the ideal. A saint is lucky if he gets one or two genuine seekers during his whole lifetime. |