Excerpts from talks by Dr Harbhajan Singh from 6 Nov, 15 Nov and 26 Dec 1991
(Published in “Sayings of Sant Kirpal Singh 1992-1” with the original title below)
Only by knowing Master’s Competency you can overcome your shortcomings
Whatever Master did in the world, whatever experience He gave unto His children, is supreme.
If we make a parallel study of the different experiences of the competent Masters, we are impressed that we have been blessed with the highest of all.
Whenever somebody said, “Master, as per Holy Scriptures one can stay in this world for four births — one can go in four births”, Master answered,
“Why do you think about four (births)?
Why not the first, why not now?”
— Sant Kirpal Singh
Because there is a possibility; this possibility is due to His highest power, is due to His competency. He is capable of taking us back to home eternal in this very life. Master said,
“We are very old, old disciples of different Masters.
Then why should you remain here?”
— Sant Kirpal Singh
What is the cause of our stay in the world? There are some people who come as staff-members. Every Master has to give some (disciples) as staff-members, and these staff-members have to work from one Master to another Master. But what about others? The whole world is full of (such people) who could not solve (the mystery of life), who could not do what their Master said. Sant Kirpal Singh was sent — it was (known) through some practical experiences which He gave — that He is commissioned to take all of us back. In 1972 He said,
“So far I have not initiated any new ones.
They are all the old, old (disciples).”
— Sant Kirpal Singh
We are all old (disciples), and He spoke about those disciples who were already initiated and who are still in the world. So those problems, which made our stay in this world like a permanent stay, I would say, are (still) there, they are innate in the soul.
You know, when Master comes into the world, He gives a radiation everywhere in the heart of everybody. Who yearns for Him, he gets this radiation from Him. It is something between the negative and the positive power because, when the highest power comes, then He brings lots of hopes for us. Then He is able to cut the very root-cause of our deficiencies. Some people say, “If you remember the name of the Master, you will be benefited, even if you are not initiated.” (That is right,) provided He is a competent one, because by remembrance one can overcome lots of problems in the physical body.
Master comes into the world for a very special job. His purpose is to develop us from outside as well as from inside. But how to prepare for Him? He would like to take us as high as He is. There are so many incidences — even some people who were not initiated, they were taken back by Him. (*)
They were able to tell something about the competency of the Master. Our Master was not even initiated — physically, as you may say, He was never initiated. He came and He started the work. Baba Sawan Singh said, that He who is initiated within cannot be initiated outside. Because such personalities come direct from that place (the highest plane). They have already worked in this world.
When Masters come into the world, They come from different planes. We say, “They are all one.” — (Sorry) they are not all one! Some masters come from the first plane, and the first plane is divided into many, many parts. They describe these regions and say, “Yes, God is there.” Only on the first (plane they are), and they make many degrees and say, “Yes, it is God. This is all, beyond this there is nothing.” Those who transcend into the second plane, they say, “Above the second plane, there is no place.”
So Masters tell us that you must rise above (all these lower regions) because, if you determine to reach that place (the highest plane), you will be blessed, because we know where we have to go. If we do not know where we have to go, then it is a very big problem. If your master is not competent — you may or may not know — that will not affect you, that will not benefit you. But if your Master is competent, you must know all about His competency. You must know where He will lead you and where you have to go. It is a must. (1)
❊
When you sit in the company of such a person, you will not learn only by the mind or intellect. He will still your soul, He will still your senses. He will still your mind and the outgoing faculties of the mind and will give you the first-hand experience, how to rise above body-consciousness. It is not a difficult job for Him. Even if you don’t get it, His association is like a perfumery-shop. The smell is free, you can enjoy the smell. You may or may not buy any bottle of perfume, but the smell is free. So the company of Saints is just like (being in) a perfumery-shop — there you get food for your soul (by their radiation). So Master tells us,
“Leave the company of bad people,
those who are feeding themselves with ego,
pride and hatred for other people.”
They are never your friends, I tell you. There are a hundred thousand so-called masters in the world, who really want to preach themselves and preach the negativity in certain persons. They want to keep other persons under their control. They would never let you go anywhere. That is their purpose. They will fulfill your wishes, I tell you, they can never be pure from the heart. One condition is there: You are loved by such persons — but what is the worldly way? If people love you, they see some goodness in you, they only love you for your goodness. Once this goodness is spoiled, they will hate you. They will leave you, they will keep distance from you.
So the first criterion is: Who is the one who can lead you? First see him from the level of his character. How can he, who does not have a high character, be the Doer, I tell you? And He, who is the Doer, He will never tell you that He is the Doer. He says, “Master is the Doer.” He will never claim Himself as the Doer. So there is something basic: Masters say, that there are two (opposite) things — either Naam or Kam. (**)
Either this Naam is there — what is this Naam? That will bring you back to Home Eternal. And what is Kam? Master tells us that there is a lamp-pot, filled with oil. The flame is going up. But if there is a leak in it, if you make a hole in this pot, the oil will go down. And what will be the condition? How long will this lamp burn? The oil is going down so much, I tell you, and it will not burn. Either Naam or Kam! Those people who are affected with it (lust), those people who attach others only on their sexual levels, they are never true to themselves, and they can never be true to you. What is going on in the world? People are keeping company only on this level. Is this Spirituality? It’s a shame! It is never Spirituality! I tell you, I have seen this phenomenon, I have come in contact with this phenomenon in the West. It has filled me with shame, and others should also feel shame. Those who are affected, they came to me, and I asked them, “That ‘master’ is …?” They said, “Yes, he is controlling us (in this way). He is now bearing our karmas.” Is this a way to bear the karmas of other people? It is a shameful path, I tell you. I have seen this thing while I was on tour in the West. I saw these things — it is a shameful act. They told me (about it) and I said, “I tell you from the Holy Scriptures, a Saint is like a diamond, which has no shadow.” Nothing can touch Him. He is free from all those things, He has risen above. He loves everybody on the level of soul, I tell you. Whom does He need? The pure ones.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Those who are not pure from heart, how can they show the way to other people? The whole world is going down in this direction, I tell you. Master tells us that there are a hundred thousand such (so-called) devotees who claim themselves, that they are doing everything. They say, Master is helping this way or that way; but I tell you, it is all nonsense, because all these things are contrary to the Teaching. Either those Holy Scriptures and the past Masters are true, or these people are true. Both things cannot go together, I tell you. (2)
❊
Inside there are some illusions. If you know about the illusion — how it happens, how it comes and how you are affected with it — when you are there, at the same time you know it and you can get rid of it. Only by knowing you can overcome the illusion. Illusion is within the three worlds, and in the three worlds your mind and intellect (are working) — at least your intellect must be very sharpened.
If your intellect is working and it is helping you, it will work wonderfully in the three worlds. In the three worlds — the physical, the astral and the causal plane — we have to know much intellectually.
(Whereas what is) beyond that, nobody can know (intellectually). Then other planes start, and there something more is given. You know, there are many things; they come one after the other. But when you transcend those three planes — physical, astral and causal — then you are fit to move above.
Now there in St. Gilgen, as well as over here, those who can understand about the competency of the Master, they could experience more. To know much more about the competency of the Master, we have to surrender fully, because He is the life-giver, and we need life. So far we have not attained the life. Life does not only mean this physical, astral and causal, but the life beyond all that.
Guru Arjan Dev has explained that, if really you live with the life while in the physical body, you will (after leaving this physical body) be transcended to that plane for which you are fit. You can go there. If you learn (to live like that), then you have the fear and love for the Master Power. Then you will attain more. If you want to get something, you have to surrender. In the worldly way, if you want something from somebody, you have to surrender, too: “Okay, please, I need this, give it to me.”
If we want to get something from the Master Power, naturally, we have to surrender. How to surrender? Master says, “No, not in the worldly way.” When in the worldly way we want something, for that purpose we surrender. But here with the Master, we have to lose all our wishes. We have to surrender in another way. We have not to create any wish, but have to lose all our wishes. Only to lose the wishes, we have to surrender to the Master Power. So the devoted disciples of the Master pray:
“Oh God, bless us in this way that we don’t need
anything in the world. We only want You!
Bless us with Your experience and appearance.”
That is prominent, in this everything is there. What more do we want? All these worldly things come automatically. What you need and for what purpose you need (something), that Master knows.
When you surrender your wishes to the Master Power, then He selects you for the higher cause. He says, “My child leaves everything.” He will give you everything.
But for what purpose?
Only for the higher cause of life, not for the lower cause of life. And when He will give it to you, then He will keep you under His control, so you cannot misuse the virtues, you cannot misuse the heritage of your Master, because whatever comes from Him, that comes not in the worldly way, but it comes in another way. So there is life (in it). You know, we have experienced it while Master was in the physical body.
What do we have to learn?
It is the very right time, the very high time, because we can overcome our difficulties, our problems. And you know, with each step and each breath the mind would create problems, this is for sure, because mind has lots of tentacles. It is said that mind is a thousand-headed cobra. So it can clutch you at any moment this way or that way.
As I told you, with one breath we say something, but with each breath there is a contradiction, and this contradiction is from the mind. And when we cling to the contradiction, when we hear this contradiction, it can soothe our opinion.
And what happens?
We do not decide anything and we remain (undecided). We (should) say, “Okay, we have to do it.” Let the contradiction be there, we should not pay attention to what the mind tells. Even if the negative power would overcome your thought theoretically, not practically, (that counts), because whatever goes on within, that is practical.
This is “the tongue of thought”. When you do it with the tongue of thought, then this thing becomes practical. But when we think in the worldly way, then by doing it in the practical way the effect will be there. When we go on doing something with the thoughtless thought and contradiction is there, the result is not in the favour of the Master.
So we must overcome our thoughts. Whenever we think something in the interest of the Master, or in our own interest, in (the interest of) the development of our soul, we should not pay attention to the second thought.
Let this first thought be very potent and positive, and you should live up to that. If we give even little place to think over what we have thought, then there can be some contradiction and we can only while away the time for little, little reasons. So this is a way.
This is a somewhat difficult talk — maybe it is not all understood — but it shows the way how the mind overcomes us, how the mind can make us slaves of our own thoughts. Thoughts must be potent. If you say, “Yes”, then it should be yes. If outwardly you say, “Yes”, but then you think it over, “Oh, it can be like this, it can be like that,” then you are in a haphazard condition.
When you forget all and surrender to the Master Power, then He comes and helps you. He will do each of your work. Master said, He is your unpaid servant. You are not paying anything, but He will do everything for you. What will He do? He will clear your way. He will control your mind. He will try to control such things which have to come in your way and which you have to repent over. He will clear all these ways. Something miserable can come in your life, but He is responsible, since you have surrendered to Him, He will clear it beforehand.
“Oh my child is coming, he should not pass
(through all this).
He should not come in contact with it,
because I have to cut short his journey.”
Master wants to cut short our journey in the worldly way, but He wants to give us much more life for the spiritual progress, for the spiritual development. Suppose one is fully fit, Master knows: “My child will work, he is spiritually developed, he is disconnected from the world.” Then He will say, “Okay, you are now dependent (on the Master Power) and you have to do some work.” Then the Master Power says, “Okay, you remain in this world.” Even if you want to go, He will not allow you to go.
You know, that your Biji had to go back in 1971 and Master had given the time. She had already left the body up to the throat-ganglion. I could not feel her pulse, but she was talking, and she was telling all that was needed for everybody, regarding his background, regarding his meditation — all she could tell at that time.
But I phoned Master and said, “Master, she must not go!” Master said, “If you want, she will not go.” And she came back.
She came back into the body, and for what purpose?
Only to serve the cause of the Master. If really you are to serve the cause of the Master, then Master Power is there to help you. Then He will give you the real life. Master Power can give you the real, the spiritual life, the very pure life to work in the world with the very spiritual way of life. Then you will become more and more conscious and you can never be separate from the Master Power even after leaving the physical body.
Such things are there, which rather I would say are not only possible, but it is so potent and positive that you get at once the grace of the Master.
If this decision is now limited — by whom?
By us, because we have certain limitations due to our mind and intellect. Let this limitation finish with the mind and the intellect! Let this mind burn in its own fire. If really you learn how to overcome the intellect and the mind, then where is the problem?
If you surrender to the Master Power, you will be blessed with the Higher Values of Life. It will be the beginning, but even the beginning will be very beautiful, I tell you. If you start with the beginning, you will get something in your life. So life is there, but we have forgotten. A haphazard life, however, that does not take a person anywhere. It will throw us half the way.
Kabir and our Master taught the practical, the spiritual aspect of life. Take it for granted that the teaching of Kabir and of our Master is one and the same. Our Master wanted the same very (high) standard of life, where Kabir stressed us very much. In Hindi-Satsandesh I have seen that in every talk Master preferred the Teaching of Kabir. He always used to take one Shabad from Kabir. And He also gave the practical experience. What did He show us? He gave the very high experiences of some higher Power who manifests within, even to guide you, indeed. During His own life-time He could guide us through many Master Powers. If we think our Master has gone — no, (He is not gone). (1)
❊
You know, when Master left the body, the whole Sangat was crying. In the evening His body was put to flames. (While His) body was burning, on the other side His own tape was being played. People became tired and slept. Master caught hold of the hand of some persons and said,
“You are dead, I am not dead.
I am still doing my work.
I have no time, I have to work.”
— Sant Kirpal Singh
So Masters live with eternal life. (3)
❊
There are some Masters who have not even left the physical body. They were never bound with the body, so they are not the body. Once they have created it (the body), they can either live in it, or can leave it. Only they know how to materialize and manifest, and to remain in it. I say, this is the condition in Kirpal Sagar. We simply feel the radiation, but such Powers come and stay — this place is never vacant at any time. It is all the time graced by some Masters. Because it is not the work of one particular religion or one particular Master — it is God-work. Sant Kirpal Singh told about the Universal Teaching, about God-work and not about any faith or religion or sect. All the positive forces are there, working on behalf of this Mission. And how will this Mission lead in the world? You are experiencing it and you will experience it more and more. Master says, “You are late,” but Master is not late. We are late, His grace, however, is there, but His grace is pending due to our being late. If we overcome this delay, then more and more grace will come.
If one knows the competency of our Master, I think he is fit for everything. He can be fit to live with Master, He can be fit to live with the disciples. He will be fit to live together (with others), he will have the tolerance, compassion and love for everybody. He will have all qualities which a disciple must have, and so he will be a contented one. He will have the full contentment in him, provided he has fully known about the competency of the Master.
Only by knowing the competency of the Master
you can overcome a lot of your shortcomings.
This is the time (now), this is a special grace, I tell you. If you know more (about His competency), you will be more perfect. If you work accordingly, Master will give you His grace. This grace, which is now put at your account, that will save you for all the time to come. (It will) not only save you, but that grace will help you according to how your attention works. Such things we are experiencing here. Little, little things do happen all the time, one here, one there. And we see that it is entirely the grace of the Master (flowing) through the disciples who are working for the cause of the Master. So such things are very, very beautiful; they come up — but we have to determine something and we have to live (accordingly). (1)
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I may tell you only a few more words: In the life of me and my wife we never had a desire except to serve the Master, except to live for Master. Those who came in contact with us in 1974, they know how we are living for the Master, how we are speaking about Him, and how we are advising all to live with Him.
Because for us to live consciously was more than to meditate. To live consciously with Master is a great blessing. Then let Master think about what to give you. When one lives consciously with Him, he should never desire anything from Him; it is enough for Master to give him everything. He says,
“Okay, this child is very conscious, I will give everything to him.”
This is His blessing. He who has not learned, how can he stay (on the higher planes)? Why should he create a wish to meditate to reach the fourth plane? First he should live consciously in this physical body. With one look Master can attract you there. It is the work of one night for Him to withdraw him to that place. In this night He can withdraw you as well. Even if He does not give you anything, He keeps every cash with Him and (says at the time of death), “Take it and go!” I have seen such persons who really lived for Master and Master said,
“Here is everything, it is a cash payment,
it is a gift of life — take it and go back!” (3)
References:
(*) At the time of death they were received by the Master Power and could still tell something to the people who were present.
(**) Naam: the Word, the Light- and Sound-Principle — Kam: lust, desire
(1) Tape, November 6, 1991
(2) Tape, November 15, 1991
(3) Tape, December 26, 1991