Guru, Gurudev and Satguru
"I have heard that many have seen You
But actually none has known You,
what You really are."
Satguru, myriads upon myriads of people greet You and
bow in obeisance at Your feet, but few recognize Your greatness in the
measure in which You may choose to reveal. "Son knows the Father and
those to whom the son may reveal." He is a living embodiment of the
Father of Light and it is only through His Grace that He manifests this
Light of God in others. I shall now tell you what the Guru is. It is best
to know of Him from some Gurumukh; that is, One Who has become a mouthpiece
of the Guru, for it is said: "A Prophet alone can recognize the Prophet."
All great Masters the world over have presented the same
eternal Truth, each, of course, in His own inimitable way. They say that
the Divine Power-of-God resides in every human heart, but the heart wherein
it is manifested the most is worthy to be adored. A perfect living Master
is an embodiment of the Power-of-God and, as such, He is much more then
what He appears to be. He does live in this world but is not of this world,
as the soul in Him is in tune with the infinite.
"0 Lalo, I do not speak anything on my own; but whatever
I utter, I am inspired by Him."-Nanak
Though physically He, like us, may look to be a denizen
of this world, yet inwardly His soul is free from the shackles of mind
and matter and is in perfect harmony with the universal life-principle.
All great Masters bear testimony to this sublime Truth. Who can give us
the tidings of God? Who can unite us with the living lifelines as provided
by Him? Since He is peerless, self-created and the causeless cause, how
can we possibly get to know Him and realize Him and with whose help? It
may, therefore, be taken for granted that merely by our own manifold efforts,
we cannot get near Him. If there is God, there must also be a God-way which,
in turn, leads to the irresistible conclusion that there should be a Godman
Who has practiced God and is competent enough to lead us on the God-path.
Without such a human polestar, we cannot know of the Pole. It is just a
plain talk. It does not involve any ratiocination nor is there any ambiguity
about it. Sages and seers have always spoken in the third person for our
guidance. "Kabir (speaking of Himself) says that He is conversant
with tile Mysteries of the Beyond and has brought a message from the Most
High."
My Master, Hazur Sawan Singh Ji, also was a messenger
of God. If we were to hear directly from such Master-souls, we would get
from Them sublime Truths illustrative of Their inner greatness. Once He
said: "Whenever we come to this physical plane, we bring with us our
own staff to work with us. When our work is finished on one side, we are
deputed on to the other." You can well understand what this signifies.
Similarly, all other Masters in the past have said the same thing. The
tenth Guru (Guru Gobind Singh) says: "Having become one with Him,
I had no intention whatsoever to come back to this world; but willy nilly
I was made to do so to fulfil the Divine purpose."
Christ also said the same thing. "I and my Father
are one. He who has seen me, has seen the Father. Father knows the son
and the son knows his Father."
Guru Arjan says: "The Father and son are dyed in
the same color. The Father and son have entered into a Divine partnership.'
All Masters have given Their own version of the same thing.
Shamas-e-Tabrez says: "0 people of the world, do not look at my tattered
clothes; just try to peep into the innermost recesses of my mind, for then
you will know of the vast Kingdom of God to which I belong. Do not take
me as a poor mendicant or a helpless being like yourself . I am much more
than what I appear to be and blessed with untold treasures of spiritual
riches." Continuing in the some strain He says: "We may be likened
to an experienced physician. We need not feel the pulse or test the urine
of the ailing patients, but through their eyes we look deeply into the
deep-rooted maladies of the mind. We have with us a panacea for all ills
of life and freely dispense the same. "
During my last tour in the USA, I happened to give a talk
on Christmas Day. I told the congregation that Christ lived long before
Jesus did. It is just 2,000 years ago when Jesus come into the world, but
Christ Power was always there working for the spiritual welfare of the
humanity at large. Significantly enough Christ remarked: "I am that
I am." The Master-soul never dies. It is eternally present from end
to end. The great Divine Power when manifested at some physical pole is
known as the living Master. Just try to understand that Guru Power is nothing
but the Power-of- God.
"He who is the ever-living God Power is called a
Guru when It adopts some human-pole for working in this world."
"Satguru is the great immaculate Power;
Do not mistake Him for the human-pole from which It works."
"The servant of Hari (God) is like Hari Himself.
Please do not be mistaken by the physical raiment of the Servant."
-Gurbani
As explained so many times, Hazur was the Sun of Spirituality.
He is ever with me and lives with me.
The Spiritual Stalwarts come whenever the world is in
need of Them. Guru Nanak came when there was a tremendous rift between
Hindus and Muslims. Kabir also came in the same period. Both of Them preached:
God is one and all mankind is one. All persons are ensouled bodies. The
soul is of the some essence as that of God. The various religious orders
were set up for just one purpose: spiritual emancipation. But, alas, they
have degenerated into strong fetters and manacles for our hands and feet.
"We had started Godwards, but unfortunately got stuck
fast on the way."
We had entered into religious orders for God-knowledge
and God- realization, but became contented with the labeled liveries of
socioreligious forms and formularies. The result is that we have failed
hopelessly in our search for God. We had joined the different social orders
just to equip ourselves for the realization of God but sidestepped God
and got engaged in internecine quarrels with each other in the blessed
name of religion. Millions of people have been sacrificed on the altar
of religious fanaticism. Hazur, too, come at a critical juncture when many
sects, at variance with each other, were at loggerheads.
Guru Nanak, when questioned as to Who He was replied:
"If I say that I am a Hindu as apparently I happen to be with all
the outer hallmarks of Hindus, you will surely kill me; but at the same
time I am not a Muslim either in the sense in which you take it to mean
by outer signs. My real character is that my physical being is made of
five elements of nature, while within me the God's Divine Power is at work."
As we are usually apt to forget this great lesson, the
Masters come to revive it as and when necessary. The first problem the
Masters tackle is to knit the children of God in the silken bonds of love,
sacrifice, and service of one and all. They have to bring all children
of God together to one common platform. My Master came to the earth plane
when there were many diverse sects in Christianity, Sikhism, Hinduism,
Islam, and many other creeds. He delivered His Divine message to the people-to
learn to sit together with love and to try to understand the basic concepts
of the one Divinity that is working in the entire creation.
"The wisdom of the seers is all alike." -Gurbani
Those who have realized their own self regard all mankind
as one. The various sects, creeds, and religions are like so many schools
of thought and outward forms like so many hallmarks adopted by us. But,
all the same, in spite of these seemingly differences, we are basically
human beings; and the soul in man has the same attributes on a miniature
scale as those of God. From this lofty viewpoint, all are alike. It was
Hazur's great desire that there should be some common platform for teaching
the science of soul to all, despite differences in their outlook on world,
color, or creed. Ruhani Satsang was the name suggested by Hazur for such
a forum. He was a Jivan-Mukt, a liberated Master-soul, and had come for
the liberation of humanity.
It was once suggested to Hazur that He should form a distinct
sect or religious order dealing exclusively with Spirituality. You will
be surprised to know how gracefully He replied: "What earthly good
will it do to dig more wells where too many already exist." All that
was needed at the moment was to find out the Water of Life already referred
to in various scriptures. Truth or divinity is already existing in man,
and those who have realized it say the same thing. But those who have not
seen the Reality are vainly engaged in fighting the varying ideological
beliefs and doctrines. The principal aspect of His teachings was that we
should be able to sit together in love for understanding the divinity that
forms the common bedrock for the humanity. We are already one and must
try to know the One in us. We are blessed with the same type of eyes, ears,
hands, feet, etc.; and from the level of the soul, we are also one. The
God we worship is also One for the whole human race. He is the Lord of
us all. As we are likely to lose sight of this fundamental Truth, the Masters
come from time to time to revive It. So the first lesson which we get from
the Master is that we should, while remaining in our respective religions,
strive to realize our true self, and then realize the self of the universe,
and finally the great Truth which is the very life of all creation. To
find this Truth it is necessary that we should know what is "true
living."
"True living is higher than knowing the truth."
-Nanak
A truly blessed life flavored with Divine Love is above
everything else. Such a living is conducive to spiritual uplift. Just as
an electric bulb when clean and neat sheds clear light, so does a life
free from all blemishes. The purity of life -or man-making, as it is called-
was the outer work which my Master accomplished, and it is admittedly the
only way that leads to the welfare of humanity and prepares the way for
spiritual development. It is Spirituality alone that offers any hope for
the security of man.
I once happened to talk with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,
the first Prime Minister of India. He listened to me with rapt attention
for about fifty minutes. And since then in his speeches he used to emphasize
that Spirituality was the only common ground where mankind could live in
peace and amity. Spirituality then is the only remedy for all ills of mankind;
and leaders of all thoughts, social, political, or religious could derive
their inspiration from it. We are all worshippers of One God. As men we
are all alike.
It is on this common ground we can meet, irrespective
of differences in religious creeds and beliefs, social customs and living
habits, which are of little consequence. The Rig Veda exhorts us to participate
in congregational prayers in which thousands may join to glorify the Lord.
This great lesson of the Vedas has once again been revived by the great
Master (Hazur). It is not something new. It is the ancient science. Since
we had forgotten it, He came to remind us of it. Historically the Vedas,
which contain the wisdom of the ages, is the oldest of the scripture; whereas
the Guru Granth Sahib is the latest compendium incorporating the teachings
of as many great souls of different times and climes as could possibly
be collected at that time. We have great respect for all who have enriched
our spiritual heritage and have left for our guidance a valuable record
of their personal experiences with the great "Self" within.
All great Masters have, in fact, said the same thing,
of course, in Their own language. The holy Quran says that God sent His
Prophets to different parts of the world. A true Muslim is one who believes
in all the Messiahs of God. Similarly, a real Sikh is one who accepts the
teachings of all Masters as recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib, a veritable
banquet hall of Spirituality. If this Divine message is carried to all,
then peace and harmony will reign supreme in all homes, societies, and
countries.
In my last tour of the West, I had an opportunity to meet
political leaders of different shades of opinion, and I always dwelt on
the principle of "live and let others live." God had put so many
children of His in their loving care, and it was their duty to serve them
as best as they could. If one country could not, for one reason or another,
properly look after the welfare of its people and attend to their legitimate
needs, let others extend their helping hand to them. Why resort to violence
and shed the blood of millions of His creatures. By the Grace of God, the
timely realization of this basic truth actually helped in preventing a
crisis on two different occasions when things were getting out of hand.
I received an S.O.S. from a third place as well. I am placing these facts
before you just to stress the importance of spiritual unity which is the
only way out from our present difficulties, as it will enable us to get
nearer to each other and be able to solve our problems. But here there
is one difficulty: differences in views and cross purposes. Guru Arjan
has, therefore, suggested a remedy: "Let us put our heads together;
and in a spirit of friendliness, iron out all our differences with a determined
will born of burning faith in God."
Just learn to sit together in love, leaving aside all
thoughts of duality for we all are children of God. Do we not worship one
God Who is God of all, though our modes of worship may be different according
to the environments in which we are born and brought up? When we are already
one on the common ground of Spirituality, like rosary beads of different
designs and colors, then where is the scope for conflict?
"Let us get united in the Name of the Lord, for we
are not apart from Him." -Gurbani
So this is the way that leads to unity in diversity, for
diversity circles around the center, the unchangeable permanence. Guru
Arjan has also emphasized: "Sit together shoulder to shoulder in the
company of one Who has become Gurumukh." Gurumukh means the mouthpiece
of the Guru, Who is the human-pole from which the Power-of-God works. I
would like to stress the importance of spiritual understanding. Kabir says:
"In this world there is none more munificent than the Guru. In fact,
He alone is the giver of all gifts."
The blessings of the Master are indeed very precious.
Let us see what He actually bestows upon the disciple.
"Satguru has granted me a priceless boon (the Holy
Naam) and has explained to me the Mysteries of the Beyond." -Gurbani
This is something that lies beyond the pale of the senses,
mind and intellect. He alone is in a position to grant such a boon and
no one else can for none can give what he does not have himself. It is
something that one cannot acquire by mere learning and wisdom by the study
of the scriptures. Who would give the wonderful of the Power-of-God?
"He grants us His own life-impulse and makes manifest
the saving lifelines within.
Who can do this?
None but a polarized God on earth." -Gurbani
Guru Arjan also says like this: "Having manifested
Him in the Master, He Himself distributes the holy Shabd."
On the one hand there is the Absolute God, and on other
is the Power-of-God or God-in-action; and unless the Power-of-God becomes
manifest in us, we cannot possibly have a contact with God. As it is the
living Master Who can grant us this contact, His importance to begin with
surpasses that of God Himself. Though the two are but one and the same,
yet in finite terms, have to differentiate between the two:
"When the Master and the Lord both are standing before
me, to whom should I offer my obeisance?"
"Definitely, I will bow to the Master Who has been
the means of uniting me with Govind (the Lord)."-Kabir
God the Absolute is an abstraction that no one has known
and can know, and hence can bow only to the personified God where God's
Power works. Just as there is a powerhouse that you have not seen, but
you see in your house a small switch that serves your purpose. Similarly,
the living Master is in possession of all the Divine virtues and powers
granted to Him by the Absolute God for the spiritual welfare of humanity.
Thus it is quite clear that we have to adore a living Master, for the physical
body of the Master is superbly Divine, having been made by invisible hands
for a specific purpose - to work through Him in bringing about a union
of human souls with Himself. If with all this we still regard the Guru
just as any one of us on the human level, it is our misfortune. Kabir says
those who take the Master as nothing more than a mere human being will
come again and again in lower forms of creation. Again He says, "Kabir's
mind has become so subtle and pure that even the Lord is now after Him."
One whose mind is pure and intellect is at rest will surely
reflect the Light of God. We are to be worshippers of the Light of life,
no matter to which social religion we owe allegiance. Every religion speaks
of this Truth.
"In Whom the Light of God shines in its fullness,
He alone is Khalsa (the pure in heart).
Khalsa is my own form and I reside in Him. Khalsa is the
true Master All-Powerful." -Guru Gobind Singh
When such great Souls come, Their mission in life is to
unite all mankind in one great family of God. One Who views all beings
from the soul-level is really a great Master for God works through Him.
What does He give after all? He gives something that the
senses cannot comprehend. We have to find such a Guru Who can do this.
This quest is one of supreme importance for all of us, irrespective of
sex. The physical relationship between man and woman ends with the holy
wedlock. Next comes the spiritual relationship: the wedlock of the soul
- whether of the male or female - with the Oversoul. The scriptures tell
us that Paravati, the consort of Shiva, accepted Narada as her Guru. Sita,
the consort of Rama, took Anasuiya as her Guru. Those who consider that
there is no necessity of a Guru for women are mistaken. Both men and women
do need a Guru for the emancipation of their souls from the meshes of mind
and matter. The spirit of each one of us cries for liberation no matter
in what bodily raiment it may be clothed.
The institution of marriage only provides us with a life
companion, a standby in weal or woe in the life's journey. This stage of
a householder (Grihastha Ashram) is an important integral phase in one's
life and must, therefore, be gone through happily. Marriage is no bar to
Spirituality. It rather helps in spiritual advancement when both are engaged
in spiritual sadhna (practice). Procreation is one aspect of married life.
In the bygone days the married people were contented with just one or two
children and thereafter they would renounce the world and retire into jungles
for meditation and God-realization. Christ has emphasized that husbands
should love their wives as Christ loved the church. It is good to be married;
but after begetting one or two children, the rest of the life span should
be dedicated to the highest purpose of life- God-realization. It is a pity
that we regard marital life as a means of sense-enjoyment. Some Masters
in the past were householders and had children.
In ancient times there were gradations in brahmacharya
(period of celibacy), the minimum being that of 25 years. These days we
can hardly find one who observes complete brahmacharya -in thought, word,
and deed - for even one year. With this sad state of affairs, how can we
aspire for a truly spiritual life?
The one great lesson that we learn from the life of Hazur
is that of brahmacharya (continence). He married before attaining the age
of 25, but His wife died before consummation of marriage. He married a
second time after He had attained the age of 25, which meant an observance
of complete brahmacharya for all these years. His wife lived with Him intermittently
for brief spells that hardly totaled six months. Besides, He had in Him
all Godly virtues. God is immortal and so are our souls. He is All-Truth,
All-Wisdom, and All-Bliss; and our "self," too, is endowed with
all these attributes. But the "self" in us, environed as it is
by mind and matter, has forgotten its essential pristine nature and has
so identified itself with the body and bodily adjuncts that we cannot see
anything beyond this physical world. Whenever great Souls come, They tell
us of the right path and give us right understanding and a correct lead.
Now, where lies the path homewards? There are so many
yogic systems; some aim at physical development, others provide the means
for prolonging the life span. There is Bhakti Yoga that tells us how to
develop love and devotion. So long as man remains in constant search for
spiritual enlightenment, he does not descend to lower gradations of the
creation. Ramakrishna Paramhans was the worshipper of God as a Divine Mother,
and he saw Her immanent in all creation. He thus remained in a state of
duality and could not transcend into the beyond. When he went to Guru Totapuri,
the latter gave him the secret of the eye-focus, behind and between the
eyes, and then hit him hard in the forehead with a piece of glass and directed
him to meditate at that point. It was then that he was able to transcend
body-consciousness and pass from duality to oneness. Then there is the
path of Gyan Yoga of ratiocination and inference, fit only for those gifted
with strong intellectual powers. It cannot be practiced by everyone. How
are the young, old, and imbecile people to benefit from it?
The great sage Patanjali has defined yoga as yogish chiaavriti
nirodha; i.e., stilling the vibrations of mind. In reality this, too, is
but a preparatory stage that paves the way to God-realization. The sage
Yajyavalkya has defined yoga: yogish atma Paramatma sanyog (the union of
soul with the Oversoul). But, there is something beyond this. It is self-realization
or constant awareness of the "self" which comes as you rise above
body-consciousness; gradually cast off physical, astral, and causal vestures
and develop cosmic and super-cosmic awareness. And last of all, you are
a wave of the Ocean of All-Consciousness. How can this be achieved?
"Nanak, without self-analysis the miasma of delusion
does not disappear."
So long as you do not rise above body-consciousness, you
cannot even get an idea of the "self" within. You have to uncover
your "self" from the various enshrouding sheaths of physical,
astral, and causal, all of which are illusory. Even the great Shankara
hinted at something far above and beyond when He said: "0 Lord, I
know that there is no difference whatsoever between You and me. Yet I am
Yours. You are not mine for the river has its waves, but the waves do not
have the river." On the one hand, there is self-awareness; and on
the other is cosmic-awareness; and yet transcending them is the state of
super-cosmic-awareness. Saints have always referred to this state of super-cosmic-consciousness.
All great Masters have done the same and are known for Their catholicity.
Hazur used to tell us that He was for all and accepted all, and that it
was the foremost duty of a real Master to unite all children of God.
All human beings, all religions, all nations, and all
countries are His in spite of seemingly differences due to geographical
and climatic conditions, because they live on the same earth and under
the same blue canopy and are charged with the same life impulse. Saints
give to all alike the same inner contact with the overflowing Ocean of
Divine Intoxication lying hidden in every soul and long since forgotten
because of the heavy pressure of the work-a-day life. The Master helps
us to gain access to the Divine Nectar by raising us a little above body-consciousness.
A great Master has His soul-currents well under His control, while ours
are flowing out through the sense organs. The sunrays do not ordinarily
burn; but when made to pass through a convex lens, these are collected
and burn anything on the other side of the lens. It is our own attention
that gives life to mind and intellect. If instead of flowing outward through
the senses, it could be collected at the center of the soul, you could
well understand its potentiality. It is a subject of actual experience
and not of theory only. The living Master then is a great Ocean of Divine
Bliss and Harmony: "A Godman is ever in a state of Divine Intoxication."
Those Who really become Men of God, They need no outer
aids to get lost to Themselves. This is why Mira Bai exclaimed that she
remained in a state of constant intoxication without any wine.
"It is not by bread alone that man lives." -Christ
"The mind remains fully engrossed in the music of
the soul." -Guru Ramdas
The living Master is just like a blooming tree laden with
fragrant flowers and luscious fruits. Blessed indeed is one who happens
to meet such a Master. Please remember that the eyes are the windows of
the soul. The power that a Saint has within is imparted through the eyes.
His soul is charged with Divinity. This realization one can have from Him.
Every Master has had His own "bola" (a chosen
form of remembering God) and whatever the "bola," it is charged
with all the magnetic force of the Saint. Guru Nanak very often used to
exclaim "Sat Kartar," meaning that the Creator was All-Pervasive.
Similarly, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went about saying: "Hari Bol"
(take ye the name of the Lord). Once he happened to pass by a pond where
washermen were busy washing clothes. He asked one of them to say "Hari
Bol," but the latter did not pay any heed, taking him to be a beggar.
But when Chaitanya once again emphatically asked the washerman, the latter
could not resist but repeat the words "Hari Bol" and began to
dance in ecstasy with the refrain of the words. Very soon other washermen
nearby caught the rhythm of the charged words and the whole place began
to ring with the merry chant "Hari Bol" in rhythmic unison. You
see, my point is that the words of a Master-soul, no matter whatever they
be, are highly charged on account of His personal contact with the God-head
within Him and, as such, cannot but profoundly affect the hearers and help
them in spiritual advancement. The eyes are the windows of the soul, and
a single love-laden glance from His God-intoxicated eyes is enough to raise
the spirit to heights immeasurable.
"0 Master Divine, give me just a draught from the
holy vintage which may bring peace to my lacerated heart."
"0 Master give me that elixir of life which is not
available even in paradise." - Shamas-e-Tabrez
"A single tumbler from the Water of Life is more
exhilarating than two thousand barrels of wine." -Bhai Nandlal
"It is not a subject of discussion on intellectual
level but one of seeing yourself." -Guru Gobind Singh
"He who knows does not speak out as it is not given
to mortal imagination.
It is a subject of seeing only. Those who speak out that
they know, they really do not know." -Bhika
"If I were to tell something of this state, then
all the infidels of the world would instantly turn into Godmen." -Maulana
Rumi
After all, what do the Masters give? It is something supremely
Divine and defies description. The great Maulana then goes on to say:
"If after my death, manure were made of my body,
And if that manure were scattered in a field of wheat,
The cook and bearer of chapatis made therefrom will dance
in ecstasy,
And even the very oven will start emitting flames of
love."
The Maulana has said this much, without telling us what
will be the state of one who partakes of the food thus prepared, for that
is ineffable.
The Path of the Masters is a straight one involving no
physical yogic practices. He gives a direct contact with the strands of
life within. This consists of linking the soul-currents with the Power-of-God
in which we actually live, move about, and have our very being. It is a
matter of direct inner perception quite apart from all kinds of reasoning,
feeling, emotion, and inferential knowledge that are all fallible. Actual
seeing is believing, leaving no place for scepticism. Guru Amardas came
to this rich heritage at a fairly advanced age of seventy; and when He
experienced God, He said: "If one is fortunate enough, one may get
in touch with a Master-of-Truth (Satguru) and get from Him communion with
the Holy Word or contact with the inner Sound Principle, the Light of Life."
While philosophical treatises deal with the theoretical
aspect of religions, the mysticism brings you face to face with the Divine
Power-of-God.
Even small children can be attuned with the Light of God.
Nothing is taken for granted and no make-believe is required. It is simply
a direct and conscious contact with the God-into-Expression-Power within,
the primal manifestation of Light and Sound Principles. Hazur was an adept
both in the theory and practice of Surat Shabd yoga. In this modern age,
this science started from Kabir and the Sikh Gurus, and, in turn, came
to Tulsi Sahib of Hathras and on to Swami ji, Baba Jaimal Singh Ji, Hazur
Sawan Singh Ji, and the same Power is now working through the living Master.
It is Hazur's Divine Grace that everybody, without exception, is being
blessed with inner experience of Light and Sound. It is indeed a Priceless
Gift. Guru Nanak speaking of It said: "Nanak remains all the time
in a state of continuous ecstasy."
I was talking to you of meditation and the natural question
you would like to ask is: What should one meditate upon? One cannot meditate
upon something one has not seen. In other words, how can we meditate on
the Abstract and Absolute God? Contemplation is a dangerous thing. If you
are lucky enough to get in touch with a perfect Master, then it may be
well. But if perchance, and God forbid, your teacher is not competent to
fulfil his promise and you contemplate on his form, you will be lost in
the wilderness. During the early days of my discipleship, I once questioned
Hazur as to what one should fix one's attention on after the withdrawal
of one's sensory currents. He smilingly replied: "We all the time
usually think of our children, friends, and other worldly possessions.
So where then is the harm to contemplate for some time on the form of a
Sadh?"
"God Himself comes in the form of a Sadh." -Gurbani
After some time, when I once again questioned Hazur about
dhyan (meditation), He lucidly explained: "When the Master initiates
a person, He, in His radiant form, becomes a constant companion of the
disciple. You may, while sitting for contemplation, think of His form or
you may not; but when you will progress within, you are sure to meet Him
there. The Guru, after all, is not a human being as one may generally take
Him to be, but something much more than that; for in Him works the Power-of-God
in Its plentitude for the benefit of humanity. He does not leave nor forsake
His chosen souls till they are safely led to the true home of His Father.
Fortunate are they who had the privilege to get holy communion or inner
contact from Hazur Maharaj Ji. The contemplation of His holy form is all
that is needed.
But herein comes another great obstacle. We can easily
contemplate on any human form like our own, but it is not possible to visualize
the form of a highly advanced soul like the Master's, which is one with
the Divine. We may try to visualize His form within by thinking of His
milk-white flowing beard, His radiant face, His turban, His tall stature,
His regal gait, or anything else associated with Him; but it will be our
make-believe and not the real form and hence of not much benefit. It is
because of this that do not advise anybody to contemplate on any form,
even of the Master, but to look straight ahead into the eye-focus and therein
see intently whatever comes into view -light or darkness- and mentally
repeat the charged Names very, very slowly, may be a intervals, so that
the inner gaze is not disturbed. As the loving gaze will grow steadily
in intensity, the Divine form of the Master (the radiant pole at which
God is working) will appear of Itself within and begin to stay, at first
momentarily and then for a longer time with the development of inner perception.
On initiation here in India, it generally happens that some 25 to 30 percent
of the initiates do see within them the radiant form of the Master and
ofHazur Maharaj, even those who had never met Him at all. The appearance
within of the Master may, therefore, be left up to Him. It is His job.
We can do nothing much in the matter. He is God in-man and knows best the
level from where and how to work. He may come alone or along with His Master
or any other benign soul, for They all are children of the Light of God.
Guru Arjan says: "The Gurudev (the radiant form of the Master) has
opened my eyes (the inner eye) to see His Light. I have now no delusions
and all my strivings have come to an end."
With the coming in of the radiant form of the Master,
half the bhakti (Gur-bhakti) is accomplished. We must, therefore, unceasingly
pray to God to bring us to the Divine pole or the live switchboard where
His power is fully manifest. The immutable law of demand and supply works
equally at all levels. There is always food for the hungry and water for
the thirsty. There are instances of lovingly devoted souls who get inner
experience of the Master's form much before they actually come in contact
with Him on the physical plane. In Pakistan there are still many persons
who used to see the radiant form of Hazur though they had never met Him
before. In my case, Hazur's lustrous form often visited me inside seven
years before I actually met Him and got my initiation.
I was telling you that our prayers must spring from the
bottom of our hearts. Frankly speaking, I did not favor the idea of having
a Guru, though I knew that without a competent Guru one could not make
headway in Spirituality. I was, however, afraid of the fake Gurus in which
the world abounds. But how was I to find a true Master when there was a
swarm of them and each held out high hopes and was ready to bless you for
a pittance? So I used to pray earnestly: "0 God, grant me inner guidance
in my quest." My humble prayer was granted and Hazur began revealing
Himself to me and continued to do so for seven years before I was formally
initiated. I did not know then Who He was, and always took Him for Guru
Nanak. I also composed some verses in praise of Him.
I was extremely fond of rivers. Wherever I happened to
be, I would look for a stream nearby and find a solitary spot for my meditations.
When I went to Lahore, I had river Ravi. And so it was at Jehlum. For hours
together I would sit by the riverside absorbed in thought. While at Lahore
it struck me to see Beas river. It was this lure of the flowing water that
led me to Beas. It was a fine Sunday morning that I took a train for Beas.
I inquired from the stationmaster at Beas the location of the river. Surprisingly
enough, he asked me if I had come to visit the sage of Beas. I exclaimed
as to whether there was any sage living there. He then told me of Hazur.
Thus the visit to Beas was amply rewarded. It gave me an opportunity to
see both the river Beas and to meet my Master-to-be.
On reaching Dera (colony), my surprise knew no bounds
when I discovered in Hazur the likeness of the radiant form that had visited
me in my meditations all these years. I imploringly inquired as to why
He had delayed our meeting for such a long time. He, with a benignant smile,
replied that that was the most opportune time for the meeting.
A competent Master reveals Himself even before initiation.
There is hardly any need to conjure up any images while engaged in spiritual
practices. The Master plants His own image at the time of initiation and
His radiant form comes in of Its own when we completely get into the eye
focus. The secret of success lies entering into the eye focus completely
and entirely, and the real Master's form does come regardless of any invitation.
This is comparatively easier and the most natural way of God-realization.
Guru Bhakti is the surest way back home to God, but the Path is quite slippery
as well. When the end of Maulana Rumi approached near, He said: "Little
doest thou know of the great King within me; See thou the radiance in this
house of flesh and bones."
When a disciple rises to this level and becomes a Guru
man, he becomes truly blessed. I have told you just two things that the
Guru does: Firstly, He teaches that all the children of God should sit
together, for this is the only way out for the entire human race to escape
from the trials and tribulations of the world. Secondly, He gives us such
a Divine wealth as cannot be had from anywhere else. It is, therefore,
of supreme importance that while looking at the physical form of the Master,
one should be conscious as well of the spiritual radiation emanating therefrom.
Maulana Rumi says: "0, Shamas-e-Tabrez, if I see somebody other than
God in the mirror of Your face, I would be worse than a infidel."
To meet a real Master is to get closer to God, whereas
to be away from Him is to be away from God. Whenever the Master come into
the world, They do so to serve us with the Nectar of Life. It is said:
"The scriptures are useful to the Guru for teaching the masses. Without
a living Master, we cannot even get the right import of the sacred books."
It is God alone Who can lead us into Him. The Master the
true lover of God and is competent to narrate the story of His Beloved.
"Get hold of a perfect Master and follow His instructions
fully,
Then shalt thou gain salvation even while engaged in
worldly duties.
God is with thee from eternity;
Thou hath but to turn thy face unto Him." -Bhai
Nandlal
"God has come to assume the name of Ramdas."
-Guru Amardas
For Guru Arjan, Ramdas (His Guru), was not only a mere
human being, but was an embodiment of God Himself and God verily dwelt
in the form of Ramdas.
A disciple who does not see in his Master
the Power-of-God is not yet a true disciple. He is yet on probation and
continues to be so until he sees in him the glory of God; and this, in
the true sense, happens only when the Master reveals His radiant form within
the disciple. It is this resplendently luminous form that guides the soul
from plane to plane in the spiritual journey Homewards. When this radiant
form comes, you may converse with Him, for then many problems will resolve
of themselves. The Guru, Who works as a human guide on the physical plane,
is known as Gurudev when He manifests Himself in His astral radiance; and
the same Power, when It escorts the soul on to the highest region of unalloyed
bliss and harmony, is called Satguru (Truth personified or Master-of-Truth).
Those who are Gurubhaktas, they see something superb in the living Master.
A Sikh disciple truly lives in sweet remembrance of the
Guru. Just as an infant depends for his very existence on the milk of his
mother, so does the disciple depend on the "Water of Life" or
the "Blood of Life" with which the Master continuously feeds
him. He loves him with every breath of His life and constantly takes care
of his well being in diverse ways that the poor infant does not know. How
fondly the mother takes care of her baby, herself undergoing all sorts
of privations to make him comfortable. A Master does much more than this.
It is a pity that we do not realize the greatness of the Guru. We know
only that much which He may, in His Grace, choose to reveal to us. If a
mother were to ask her child if he knew her, he may say "yes"
but "how much" can he? Similarly, we the disciples cannot possibly
fathom the greatness of the Guru.
After all, why all this adoration? What do They give us
to merit such encomiums? They impart to us Their own life-impulse and transmit
to us that Divine ecstasy of which we have read so much in the scriptures.
All this is done through Their magnetic eyes from which highly charged
spiritual currents pass on to us. Life comes from life as does light from
light. A really living Reservoir-of-Life can help us to find the Fount
of Life, and nobody else can do this. This is the immutable law of nature
and admits no exception whatsoever. Our Hazur was a limitless Ocean of
the Life-Giving Water.
"The teachings of the great Masters are the same
for one and all.
Listen ye to the direct testimony of the Saints for They
speak of what They actually see with Their inner eyes." -Gurbani
The testimony of Saints, then, is direct and immediate
and not one based on hearsay or on the authority of scriptural texts. In
succinct and lucid terms They tell us of Their inner experiences with Their
own "Self" and with God. Having a direct contact with the Power-of-God
within, They are able to give us correct interpretation of the various
scriptures, ironing out the seeming differences, and present an integrated
picture of the Reality as seen by sages and seers of all times. It is said:
"Those who see God face to face shall all tell the same thing.
The differences come in only because of the means of approach
in each case, the language of the time employed, the mode of expression
then prevailing, and the intellectual level of the age. Again, these differences
are not in essentials but only in nonessential details.
To "sit together" is a sovereign remedy for
all the ills of mankind. What the Masters give is an invaluable gift of
pure Spirituality which cannot be taught but may, like an infection, be
caught from the radioactive rays that emanate from Them.
I may tell you that Spirituality, too, is a kind of science
not unlike other sciences. It is a science of metaphysical experiences,
the results of which can be verified with precision and exactitude. The
credit for presenting It as a regular science and for the scientific approach
to the abstruse and abstract subject that has ever baffled mankind goes
to Hazur. With the change in the temper of the people in this scientific
age, it was He Who conceived that it could appeal most only if it was presented
in a spirit in conformity with the present times. It is an age-old subject,
the most ancient, coming from time immemorial. It is to our advantage that
Hazur revived this as a science of soul. Though spiritual awakening is
given by many, yet the Divine Revelation is granted by few. It is due to
His good Grace that so many are acquiring the inner experience of holy
Light and Sound principle which can, of course, be developed by practice
with loving concentration.
Let us strive to be worthy sons of our Father. Try to
understand the facts of Divine life. Hazur has not gone away from us. His
Divine Power is ever with us in spite of ostensible change of covering.
And even now the same Divine Grace is working in abundance.
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