I am entering into the evening of my physical life after passing through the seventy five years of age with the grace of my Master (the Word-made-flesh) and find that the Word — holy Naam — is the stake of my life here and hereafter, and so far each one of you whom God has sent to me. That is the Bread of Life and Water of Life, which nourishes the soul.
On spiritual health depends the life of mind and body both. Without that our lives have no worth as an elephant which has no ivory teeth; a well which has no water to give; a fruit tree which bears no fruit; the earth which gives no vegetation without rain or water; or the night which is without moonlight. This is the most important aspect of our lives.
“What does it profit a man
if he gains the possessions
of the whole world
and loses one’s own soul.”
While enjoying the bliss of holy Naam, the mind — an agent of negative power — creeps in stealthily to devoid us of the bliss of God-intoxication, considering that one is indispensable in whatever line he/she is placed. We are fortunate to have been selected to do certain jobs in the setup of God’s work, and each of such ones should feel thankful to God and put shoulder to the wheel. The devoted children live in harmony with each other in the noble cause of God. The Master is fully aware and has appreciation of each one’s loving devotion and sacrifice and doles out to him/her the loving intoxication to the capacity of each one of them.
Big and small wheels in a machinery have to play their own part, to keep the machinery agoing smoothly by oiling with the fragrant oil of loving devotion. You must be careful not to be deceived by the crafty machinations of mind by turning your face to the Master Power, which resides in each one of you at the time of initiation and never leaves you here and hereafter. This can be done lovingly by keeping his commandments.
I wish to see you progress on the spiritual way and become ambassadors of Truth during the evening of my life — sooner the better as time and tide wait for no man. Let us unite, one and all, to loving embrace of the Master forgiving and forgetting petty differences created by the mind to retard progress and bring the blessings of the Master Power working overhead.
I wish each one of you to join with me in the prayer in the words of Guru Ram Dass Ji and Guru Arjan Dev Ji as under:
O Lord for sake not me, Thy slave.
Take me in Thy loving embrace: O Lord out of Thy old love.
It is Thy innate nature to purify the sinners;
So heed not Thou my errors and sins.
Thou art the life of my life, my peace, my riches;
So burn down Thou, in Thy mercy, the curtain of ego that screens me off from Thee.
Without water how can the fish abide?
Without milk how can the child live?
Slave Nanak craves for the Lotus Feet of Thee,
O Lord, seeing Thy vision doth he gather the essence of joy
As a last resort I go to surrender myself to Thee, o Lord;
As I have come to Thy refuge, it is up to Thee to accept or kill me.
The clever sycophancy of the world, this I have cast all to the fire.
Now say the good or evil of me, I have surrendered myself (to Thee my God)
He who cometh to seek Thy refuge, o Lord, him Thou pro tecteth in Thy mercy.
Nanak hath come to Thy refuge, o Lord, now keep Thou my honour.
O Thou Fount of Mercy, abide ever in my heart;
And awaken that intuition in me that I begin to love Thee.
Always keep me in the holy dust of the Saints’ Feet that I apply it to my fore head.
Though most sinful, I may become purest of the pure, by tuning
with the music of all harmonies and ever sing Thy praises.
That Thy will be sweet to me, and I be pleased with whatever Thou doest;
And whatever Thou givest I be satisfied and I wonder not about to knock another’s door.
I may know Thee always nearer me and be the dust of all in all humility.
In the company of Saints all this can be achieved and we can have a vision of God.
We are ever Thy children, o Lord, Thou art our Master and King
Nanak is Thy child, o Father and mother, and in his is the milk of Thy name.
Yours affectionately,
