A talk given by Sant Kirpal Singh
published in English Sat Sandesh issued May 1970
It is said,
“Thousands have seen You, O Satguru,
but very few could see what You truly are.”
Who were those who saw the Truth? Whomsoever He revealed it unto. Christ said that the
Son knoweth the Father, and also
to whomsoever the Son may reveal Him.
The Child of Light — the Master — sees, and so do others to whom He chooses to show the Truth.
What is a Guru or Master? All Masters who have come have given various indications. First, we should remember that God is in each being and no heart is without Him, but where He has manifested Himself is beyond praise. A perfect Master, therefore, though having a physical form, is something more than that. He may be seen going about the world like an ordinary person, but His soul has become the mouthpiece of God.
“Howsoever God’s words come,
that knowledge is imparted to you direct.”
His physical form seems to be imprisoned in the world like all others, but, in fact, He can fly beyond the Brahmand (consisting of the three main divisions of creation) at will.
Who can give us news of God, and who can meet Him? If He has no brother, father, or relatives, then who can arrange a meeting? It is a plain and simple question to be answered without any philosophizing. One must know who can tell of God and who can give a contact with Him. The Masters speak of this matter in two or three ways — some in the third person like Kabir:
“Kabir says, We are the knowers of that far away home,
bringing orders from the Most High.”
He explains that the Masters know the secret of that True Home which is very far away, and that They bring instructions from God Himself to help the people to understand the Truth. If people listen quietly to what the Masters have to say, they will find that They give descriptions of Their own, through small stories or by indications, so that people may know who They really are.
Baba Sawan Singh Ji once said,
“When We come into this world,
We bring Our own staff to work with Us.
When the work is completed in one place,
We are sent somewhere else.”
It is an indication of Their elevated purpose in this world.
The tenth Guru of the Sikhs said,
I was absorbed in God, as it were one —
I was reluctant to come to the earth.
God persuaded Me to go and do the work saying,
“I am sending You as my Son.”
— Guru Gobind Singh
Christ also said,
“I and my Father are one.”
Guru Arjan Sahib said,
“Father and Son are imbued in the same color.”
Shamas Tabrez Sahib said,
“Oh my brothers, do not judge Me
by My outer apparel, old and torn;
just see within Me what a great Emperor I am.”
Outwardly He seems to be poor and lowly — one should not dwell on the fact that He has no money, clothes, or house, but see within that He is full of invaluable jewels. He once said, “I am a very big Tabib” (a doctor or specialist).
People asked Him, “Do you feel the pulse or look for disease in the eyes?” He replied, “I do not feel the pulse or look for eye diseases — I just enter into every pore by looking into the eyes.”
So they asked, “What medicine do You give?” He replied, “We from Sat Lok or Sach Khand (the True Region) draw on an Elixir (Naam or Shabd) and freely give the same to all. We put Life into the corpse.”
When I was in America, I gave a talk on December 25, the birth anniversary of Christ. I told the audience that Christ lived before Jesus. It is nearly two thousand years since Christ was here, but He was here even before that. He indicated this by saying,
“Before Abraham was, I am.”
Masters give indications or token references. The world is never without a Master. Whenever God manifests Himself in a certain human pole, we call that pole a Master.
So Guru is what God is.
Born of the Infinite, He who, from the beginning to eternity is the same, manifests Himself in some human form and is called a Guru. Satguru is eternal — do not think of Him as merely a human being.
“God’s true servant is like God Himself;
do not consider there is any difference.”
O Children of Light, a Guru is not a human being, for the Guru is not the physical body, but in Him God resides who is the Unchangeable Permanence. The Guru comes whenever there is more sin in the world.
When Guru Nanak Sahib came, the Hindus and Muslims were fighting against each other’s religions. Kabir Sahib was also here at that time. They both taught that God is One, and all are His children — and all are embodied souls.
The soul’s caste is the same as whatever God’s is. The religions were made to free us from all bonds, but instead they became fetters. “We started on the way to meet God, but half way our mind came in between.” We joined the religions to realize God — to know Him, to become one with Him, and to awaken in Him, but although we wear the various labels of religions, we have become prisoners of them.
The same old custom corrupts itself — the same which were made for the noble purpose of knowing God became stagnated and deteriorated. We have failed in our purpose. We thought we were in the army of God, but forgetting God, the armies began fighting each other, and in this way, millions of people died in the name of so-called religion.
This fighting between religions was going on when Baba Sawan Singh Ji came.
When Guru Nanak was asked, “Who are You?” He said,
“If I say I am a Hindu, you will kill Me —
Muslim I am not;
I am that puppet made of five elements
which has the power to vanish within seconds.”
He tried to explain to them that although a Hindu by outer appearance, He would be killed if He admitted it — because of the people’s narrow-mindedness; and that He was not the kind of Muslim known by the outer forms and rites.
When they persisted in knowing what He was, He described that His body was made of five elements, but He Himself was actually that invisible power which is controlling the body. This is the great lesson that we have forgotten.
The Masters come again and again to revive this Truth, and what is Their first task? To bring all children of God together to sit on a common ground. When my Master came He had to bring together the Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims — and what kind of foundation could He build for them?
Feelings, emotions, and drawing inferences are all subject to error; seeing is above all. Those who see, their religion is one. Amidst the turmoil of those difficult conditions at that time, He suggested that a common ground be made on which the brothers of all religions could sit together, have chaste lives, and know God.
He (Baba Sawan Singh) said it should be named Ruhani (spiritual) College, or Ruhani School, or Ruhani Satsang. He was a free man and came to bring freedom to all mankind. When someone suggested to Him that He should make another sect, He replied,
“Where are already so many wells,
what is the use of digging another?”
The Truth is already here, existent; all those who have seen it have the same thing to say, and those who have not seen continue to wrangle about it. My Master’s teaching was to sit all men together that they might learn and understand that all mankind is one, born the same way, having the same outer and inner construction. Man is ensouled body. Soul is of the same essence as that of God, and the same God Power is controlling the soul in the body as well as the whole of creation.
When in America, I gave a talk in the Unity Church in Chicago telling them that although they had recently built that Unity Church, unity has existed since the world began. From the level of man, we are one with two eyes, nose, two hands, two feet, etc. From the level of the soul, we are conscious entities, and whatever type of worshipers we are, God is the same; He is not a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, etc. In this place where you are sitting at present, there is no “ism” upheld.
A Hindu should remain a Hindu, Christian should remain a Christian, Muslim remain Muslim, and so on. Whichever religion you belong to, remain there and keep the outer observances, but the important work which is most necessary, is to know yourself and to know God — that must be done.
Truth is above all things, and true living,
imbued with love and flavoured with humility,
is still higher than Truth.
An electric bulb which is clean and polished gives more light than one which is dirty. This was a lesson which my Master used to teach; in this manner, He would help the simple people to understand the Truth. Spirituality is the only hope left for the world.
When Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was alive, I once had a private talk with him for about fifty minutes. He listened to all that I said with much attention, and after that, in all his talks he would say that …
Only on the ground of Spirituality can all men sit together;
for the masses, for the social leaders,
political and religious leaders, this is the only cure.
— Jawaharlal Nehru
We are all devotees of the same God — all human beings — all men. Outwardly, if your custom is to wear white, blue, or black, then wear it — there is no difference — but sit together.
The Vedas (Hindu holy scriptures) say,
“Sit amongst thousands
and sing the praises of the Lord above.”
My Master was inclined to revive the teachings of the Vedas which are not new, but merely forgotten. They are the oldest of all the holy books, containing the words of many rishis and munis (holy men).
The latest collection is the Guru Granth Sahib in which are contained as many words of the Masters as could be found and collected. We should respect all Masters who have realized God, no matter in which age They came.
In the Koran it is written,
“We have sent Masters to different places.
Who is a true Muslim?
He who keeps full faith in all true Masters.”
And who is a true Sikh? He who believes in all that is written in the Guru Granth Sahib — the words of the Masters. This book is like a banquet-hall of Spirituality. If this same lesson was taught in every family, in all religions, in every country, and in all walks of life, then peace would descend on all mankind.
I had the chance of meeting many political leaders in the West during my tour, and I reminded them that they had been given children of God to take care of, and they should do so in the best possible way. Live and let others live; this is India’s greatest principle. If those ruling a country cannot adequately provide for the needs of those whom God has placed in their charge, then other countries should go to their assistance.
What is the use of shedding the blood of millions? Many of the leaders understood and agreed: in two places, war was averted. I am raising these points simply because the only answer to all the difficulties in the world today is purely through Spiritual Science — only on that ground can all men sit together in the name of God.
Even when sitting together, problems do arise, for each man has a different way of thinking.
Guru Arjan Sahib gave excellent advice for this:
“Get together, all my brothers,
and let us get rid of all our differences.”
Learn to sit together; try to change these dualities.
We are already one, but on what kind of foundation can we sit? “In the name of God, sit together.” In remembrance of God, for we are all worshipers of the same Lord.
“There are many lovers, but the Beloved is the same.
Castes and religions are different, but the aim is the same.”
Does it not make us feel as one by just hearing these words? One more thing, Guru Arjan Sahib has said on the subject that it is necessary to sit at the feet of a God-realized soul; otherwise, one will be misguided. He also says,
“A true Gurumukh spreads that kind of prayer-mat”
(on which all religions can sit).
What is a Gurumukh? He who becomes the mouthpiece of the Guru.
What is a Guru? He who is the mouthpiece of God. I am pointing out that all Masters have said the same things, so that any existing doubts may be removed.
Kabir Sahib says,
“In this world, there is no greater giver than the Guru.”
What the Guru gives, no one in the whole world can give. What does He give?
“The Guru gives that Knowledge
which cannot be had through the senses,
and He shows the True Path.”
He gives that which is above the senses and the mind, and He gives because He can give; He gives because He has got something to give. Those with worldly or bookish knowledge, with skill in oratory, cunningness, acting or posing, cannot help in this field. Then Who can give?
“By giving His whole life in devotion, He became one with God.”
Who is He? He has become one with God Himself.
“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” —
“God became one with Guru and distributed the Shabd.”
God becomes one with the Guru and joins back His children unto Himself, through the Guru.
When God Absolute expressed Himself, there was God-in-action, and if you cannot find God-in-action, you will never find God Absolute. This is the reason why the Guru has been praised higher than God Himself. The God-in-action Power is the same as the Absolute.
The Absolute power is expressed in the Guru. However, a layman sometimes can understand better through the question of one past Saint:
“Guru and God are standing together —
now upon whose feet shall I fall?”
One is God Absolute, the other is God-in-action, so to whom is one to bow down?
One is the Powerhouse, the other is the switch to hand. We have never seen the Powerhouse, but the expression of that is near, which can be seen. Unless one has a contact with the God-into-expression Power, God cannot be realized.
So this is the true Guru. We should also have great respect for the human pole, for God has made it with His own hands and has manifested Himself in that heart. If after understanding this one can still think of the Guru as a mere human being, then
“He who thinks of the Guru as only a man
will for generation after generation
go around in the lower forms.”
What is the value of an electric bulb if no light shines from it? The bulb should be clean and free from dust. Kabir says,
“The mind became pure,
limpid like the water of the Ganges;
God then followed him calling ‘Kabir, Kabir.’ ”
It is good for the mind to become pure that the light may shine forth as through a clear bulb, but even this is of no use if the attention is not on the light but on outer things. In all religions there is repeated reference to the Light. We are all worshipers of the Living Light.
“When the Full Effulgent Light is lit in the physical form,
then He is called the Khalsa (Pure One).”
What is a Khalsa?
Guru Gobind Singh Ji says,
“The Khalsa is my own image,
the Khalsa is my abode;
the Khalsa is my Complete True Master.”
— Guru Gobind Singh
He also added,
“I take Guru Nanak Sahib as witness to what I am saying.”
So all Masters regard everyone from the level of the physical form, or the level of the soul, or from the general Controlling Power in all, which, in whatever heart it manifests, is the true Guru.
“A great Guru drags the soul out.”
A great Guru can drag the soul out from the human form, from out of suppression under the mind and senses, and join it back to the Source. No less competent being can make this connection, for that which He gives is beyond the knowledge of the senses, and only that type of Guru should we accept as our Master.
Who should accept Him? Everyone — man or woman. The Husband is the guru of the physical body of a woman, but God is the Guru of the soul, irrespective whether of man or woman.
God has joined the husband and wife and will see them through. But the soul’s Guru — wife’s or husband’s — is God. As an example, you may take Parvati, Lord Shiva’s wife. Why did she accept Narad Muni as her Guru, when he was only a devotee of Lord Shiva? It is written thus in the holy scriptures. In certain religious sects, they insist that a woman should not have a Guru or Spiritual Master; but my friends, the terms man and woman apply to the physical form — not the soul.
The Guru of the soul is God Himself.
The soul may be working in either man or woman’s form. Both man and woman must work together to realize God, for the true meaning of marriage is to take a companion in life. God Himself has united them, and God alone should disunite. Living in the world they should help each other, and both should realize God within themselves. To beget children is merely one duty. I have told you all this many times before. In the past, parents, after getting one or two children and bringing them up, would leave for the forests to do their meditation and to realize God.
Swami Ram Tirath very frankly advised, “So long as husband and wife do not lead a life of purity like brother and sister, there is no hope for India.” This can be applied to any country.
There is no harm in married life — to have children, live in companionship, and work together throughout the life, but the real purpose in the end is to realize God together. Unfortunately, married life has been turned into a machinery of worldly pleasures and vice. The Masters come, and they also have children. The greatest lesson we can learn from my Master’s life is his observance of a chaste life. He lived with his wife for a total of only six months during the whole of his married life. In most cases, husbands and wives cannot live apart for this length of time. It is a valuable lesson.
In the olden days, degrees were given to brahmcharyas (persons living chaste lives). The lowest was for twenty-five years, the next for thirty-six years, and the highest for forty-eight years. Forgive me, but if only we could learn something from their lives, would we not improve?
Even if you tried, it would be hard to find a brahmcharya of one year only. We can learn many things from the Masters, for they have the same qualities as God. We also have these virtues, but due to the influence of the mind and senses, we are lost in the world and the physical body — our true selves and God are forgotten. When true Masters come, they show us the right road, give us the right understanding, and the straight path to God.
There are many types of yoga — some to keep the body fit, and some to lengthen one’s life. There is Bhakti Yoga, which develops love for God. Even the desire for higher knowledge can keep the human being from retrograding to lower forms of life.
At one period in his life, Ramakrishna Paramhans was the devotee of a Goddess. He was so much absorbed in Her, that wherever he looked, he saw Her form; but he was caught up in a duality and was hindered from proceeding further. Then he met His Guru who helped him to rise above it.
Gian Yoga is a matter of inference and is work for highly intellectual people — it is not a path for everyone. Yoga has been described by Patanjali Rishi as control of the mind. Truly speaking, it is a helping factor in one’s life.
Yajnavalkya Rishi says that through yoga the soul can meet God; but there is a way beyond this, and that is to self-awareness when one can know oneself — who and what one is.
Guru Nanak says,
“Without knowing yourself,
you cannot surmount the illusion.”
Also,
“As long as we do not rise above the physical form,
we will not awaken unto ourselves.”
We have to go beyond the physical, astral, and causal planes which are like covering upon covering, and all come under the category of illusion.
Shankara has described the facts by saying,
“O Lord, I know that between You and me,
there is no difference;
however, I am yours, you are not mine.
A wave can be of the ocean,
but the ocean cannot be of the wave.”
There is self-awareness, then comes cosmic awareness, and then super-cosmic awareness.
The Masters are not the monopoly of anyone; they come for everyone, not for any one group of humanity or another. They give a knowledge which is beyond the senses, which is an ocean of intoxication — a mighty effulgence of bliss. This bliss is within each human being but has been suppressed by the mind and senses, and is, therefore, not enjoyed.
The Masters give a way up by dragging the attention upward. They are in control of Their attention, whereas we are not, for our attention is given out to the worldly affairs and has become very weak. The sun’s rays cannot burn us; but if those rays are passed through a convex lens, they can burn any object upon which they fall. Similarly, we should control our outgoing faculties and concentrate our attention within us. Through the attention, the senses get strength, as indeed does the mind and the intellect; but if it were to be detached from these, controlled and concentrated, and become the mouthpiece of the Greater Attention, what a wonderful achievement that would be!
With one thought, God created all creation. Soul is also a drop of the Ocean of all Consciousness — can we not, when fully withdrawn from outside, create even one small town? The ocean of all intoxication is overflowing in the Masters — they are intoxicated without drinking anything.
Mira Bai, a great Saint, once said,
“Without drinking anything,
I am perpetually intoxicated.”
Without eating, they are satisfied. In the Gurbani it is written,
“With getting the Naam, the mind is satisfied.”
The Masters are like emperors hidden in disguise — they are a green shadowy tree in a hot arid desert, and if through great good fortune, such a personality comes into your life whose soul has that intoxication, remember that the eyes are the windows of the soul. He will give you whatever color his own soul is dyed in.
The true Master’s soul is charged with God. They all have Their own way of remembering God’s name.
Whenever Guru Nanak used to say, “Sat Kartar”, He would get intoxicated through repeating those words. Anyone who heard Him would also get a little of that intoxication by absorbing the radiation surrounding Him.
There was a Master called Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and His words were “hari bol” (glorify God). One day He met a group of men washing clothes, so He stood beside one of them and said, “hari bol.” Every person sees others from his own level, and the washerman thought He was a beggar; so he ignored him. Chitanya Mahaprabhu repeated it once, twice, a number of times, and the washerman replied sharply, “I am not going to say it!” But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu put all His attention on him and said, “You must say it.” Even one glance of a Master is enough to uplift the soul, because it reaches the very depths, so the washerman thought, “Oh well, He is very insistent, I will say it.” And he repeated the words “hari bol.”
Immediately he became so intoxicated that he started dancing while repeating “hari bol, hari bol.” The other men wondered what had happened and drew around him asking, ”What is the matter with you?” He said, “hari bol!” Now, whoever said, “hari bol” got intoxicated and began dancing — so in the end the place was full of people dancing with joy, all repeating, “hari bol, bari bol, hari bol.”
Even if one were to read the world’s complete stock of religious literature, one would not get one drop of the intoxication that is given by a Perfect Master. That intoxication is such that all other kinds are overpowered by it.
Shamas Tabrez says,
“O Wine-giver (Saki = Master), give me that wine
which is God’s own intoxicant,
that my soul may get peace.
O Wine-giver, give me that wine
which cannot be got from heaven.”
Bhai Nandlal has expressed the same thing:
“If I drank two thousand pitchers of pure wine,
it would not give me the intoxication I would receive
from one sip of Thine own intoxicant, O Master!”
One is to fully understand that there is no worldly state which can compare to the spiritual bliss of the Holy Naam.
Again, Shamas Tabrez says,
“I have the Wine with which I can intoxicate myself
and the whole world,
for if in my blissful state I raise but one word,
all mankind would become intoxicated.”
However, God’s laws are such that His Power is never so openly revealed in this manner; so how can this great blessing be available to man?
“Through words, you cannot reach it, but only by seeing.”
Bheek Sahib has said,
“He who knows will not speak of it;
he who says he speaks of Him, surely knows nothing.”
So this Science cannot be explained in words; it is a science of perception through seeing.
Maulana Rumi Sahib says,
“If I want to, I can turn all atheists into believers.”
This is the grand purpose for which the Masters come to the world. He has said even this much:
“If I die and you make my body into manure
and scatter it upon the land and make bread
from the wheat grown there,
not only the baker who bakes the bread,
but the server of that bread will also become intoxicated;
even the heat of the oven will vibrate with bliss.”
So one can well imagine the condition of those who would eat the bread! The Gurus show us the straight road — not through yogic paths, but by a direct contact with God.
All types of yoga have their own scope, but the Surat Yoga can be taught to everyone.
Gum Amar Das Ji got this wealth after seventy years of searching. He then said,
“If you have good karmas,
God brings you to the Satguru
who gives you the selfless service of Surat Shabd.”
He gives you the opportunity of doing the highest selfless service through connecting your Surat (attention) directly to God (Shabd).
Philosophy deals with theory, and mysticism deals with reality — direct contact with God. A true Master will connect even a small child to the Light and Sound within, which is the God-into-expression Power. This is the path of Light and Sound which takes one directly to the Formless and Nameless Region. It is no hypothesis. It is not a middle way, but is through a direct contact.
My Master (Baba Sawan Singh) was a great giant in this Surat Yoga. It is a science which has been brought down through the past Gurus, starting with Kabir Sahib and through various others until it came to Tulsi Sahib; then came Swami Ji, Baba Jaimal Singh Ji, and then Hazur (Baba Sawan Singh) — my Master. Today, all that you are now getting is through His blessing.
Now regarding dhyan (visualizing a form) — whose dhyan should we do? How can we visualize God whom we have not seen?
Truly speaking, to visualize anything is dangerous. If the Master is perfect and you have seen Him, it is alright; but, may God forbid, say that he is not perfect — if you visualize him, you will become like him.
About fifteen days after my initiation, I went to my Master and asked, “Maharaj, if one has learned to withdraw from outside, but inside one does not get anything, then what should one do?” Very serenely He replied, “Brother, we go on visualizing our children, friends, even donkeys sometimes — is it a very bad thing to visualize a Sadhu?” —
“God Himself took the physical form of a Sadhu (Master).”
After a few days I again asked my Master, “Regarding this visualizing, what are your orders?” He said,
“When a Guru initiates a disciple,
He takes His abode within him —
to visualize Him or not will make no difference.
Simply rise within — you will find Him through light.
Guru is not a mere man, He is God-in-man.
When He initiates someone, He sits inside him
and does not leave until He has taken him to the True Home.
He will never leave — one is but required to invert inside.”
Decide for yourselves — whom should one visualize? Those who saw my Master were greatly blessed, and for them there is nothing better than to visualize Him. However, there is one great difficulty. If one visualizes anyone who is on one’s own level, that form might very easily appear, but it is very hard to visualize someone who is higher than yourself. We can do our best by thinking we have seen Him in this way or in that way — sometimes only the turban will appear, sometimes one arm, and so on. But, on whomsoever He will shower His grace, to that person will He Himself appear.
That is why I do not instruct any student to practice visualization; though it be true, it is a very intoxicating thing — but a most dangerous practice. At the time of initiation, one-quarter to one-third of the people see the radiant form of the Master, but some see also Baba Sawan Singh Ji’s form, many of whom have never seen either Him or His picture.
So it is far better to leave everything in the Master’s hands. He is God-in-man. God knows everything, including which level He is working. On whatever level He manifests Himself, He is that. Furthermore, at times more than one form will come at once, for the Light is the same — there should be no conflict between old and new initiates, no matter from whom they received initiation. Be sincerely grateful for the wealth that has been given — work hard and increase it.
When you join the Master inside, you will be able to perceive all things from the beginning to eternity.
Guru Arjan Sahib says,
“When the Guru Dev makes the Light apparent
through the inner eye, all illusion disappears.”
If the radiant form of the Master appears inside, half the bhakti (devotion to the Guru) has been achieved. It is not necessary to visualize. It is helpful to pray to Him — “O Lord, wherever You are, appear to me,” and most definitely He will answer, if the prayer is sincere. He has appeared to sincere people who have never seen or heard of Him. History has shown, and even recent incidents have proved that prayer is answered.
There was a case of a man who used to see the form of the Master inside, and when he was in San Francisco in 1955, by chance he saw me and recognized the same form; so he joined the Satsang that was being held there. In different parts of the world, even in Pakistan, people have seen the form of the Master many years before initiation and before knowing anything about Him. I myself used to see my Master seven years before I met Him physically.
The devotee should have a sincere prayer in the heart — “O Lord, have mercy on me?” During my early search for God, I knew that without a Guru, there would be no salvation, but I was unconvinced by the mere words of the gurus I met. I started praying to God, saying, “O Lord, there is no doubt that Thou art there, but please guide me to wherever Thou has manifested Thyself.” So seven years before meeting my Master, I started seeing His form inside — I did not know who He was and thought He was Guru Nanak. I wrote many poems of my experiences.
I have always been a lover of rivers, and whatever town I happened to be in, I would find the nearest river and spend many hours there, mostly at night. When I was in Lahore, I once had the desire to visit the River Beas; so one Sunday morning I left my house and arrived in due course at Beas Station. I approached the station-master there — I was wearing the same type of clothes that I wear today — and I asked him to direct me to the river. He said, “Have you come to see the Saint?” I replied, “Does a Saint live here, too?” He answered, “Yes, at the edge of the river.” I told him that I would be happy to see the Saint and the river also, and made my way to the Dera.
In those days there were no restrictions for those who wished to see the Master — no walls around, and no guards — so I walked straight in. Hazur was taking his meal, but when He came out, I was astonished to find the same form I had been seeing within for so many years. I asked Him, “Maharaj, why this delay in meeting Thee?”
The purpose of relating these happenings is to help you to realize that if a Master is true and competent, He can appear to the seeker at any time. Once you are initiated, you will progress within and see the Master within you, face to face, to talk to you and guide you further.
During the last days of Maulana Rumi’s life on earth, He unfolded many facts. He once said,
“O brothers, what do you people know?
What a great Emperor resides in Me!
Do not look at this image made of matter,
but see the Emperor inside.”
If the disciple becomes like that — a Guru-man — his work has been accomplished.
I have talked principally of two things — first, that everyone should sit together in remembrance of God, which is the answer to all the world’s problems. The second thing is, I have told of that which the Masters give which cannot be obtained anywhere else.
So when you meet a true Guru, do not look at His body alone, but absorb the benefit of the radiation which emanates from Him.
Maulana Rumi said to His Guru, Shamas Tabrez,
“If I do not see God in the mirror of Your countenance,
O Master, then I am the worst of unbelievers.”
Do not think of the Guru as a man — He is God-in-man. To be near Him is to be near God, and to be far from Him is to be far from God. Only God can bring you unto Himself; and so His beloveds tell their own stories.
Bhai Nandlal, a great Gurumukh, referring to a couplet of Hafiz Sahib saying, “If one wishes to realize God, what should one do? Should one leave all hearth and home?” gave a beautiful answer:
“To leave the world and go away?
A perfect Master will never advise that.
When you meet a true Master who has
achieved perfection, He will give you
a perfect way to follow which,
when followed, will give you salvation
while living in the world in a normal way.
God is in front of you — see Him through the eyes.
What is there in the forests?”
— Bhai Nandlal
Guru Ram Das also says,
“God, manifested in the body is now called Ram Das.”
Those disciples who regard the Guru as only a man are not true disciples, but are actually just on probation. When the Guru appears within the disciple, he sees the past and the future. Here it is Guru from a physical level, ahead of this it is Guru Dev, and farther still it is Satguru.
As an example of a Gurubhakt (true devotee of a Guru) I am especially remembering Bhai Nandlal Ji today. He says,
“Just to see Thy face again, I once more took the physical form.
Thy face draws my heart out with its beauty.
Just to see that reflection of God I came again to this world;
otherwise, what reason was there to come?”
These are the words of a true devotee.
He says again,
“Because of the desire to be Thy devotee once again
I took this physical form;
otherwise, what is there in this world for me?
I have no interest in it.
Those years are the best of my life which are spent
in remembrance of Thee;
otherwise, what was the use of my coming
beneath this blue sky?
What is there in the world for me?
O Satguru, when I forget Thee
those moments are like death.”
A true disciple’s life is the remembrance of the Guru, just as a baby’s life is in the mother’s milk. He should drink the Guru’s milk — the water of life — the blood of life — and the Guru will look after him.
What does a small child know? He plays in the dirt and filth and the mother picks him up and washes him clean. If he sleeps with his mother, he may wet the bed, but the mother will sleep on the wet part and put the child on her breast to sleep undisturbed.
The child does not know how much the mother is doing for him. Forgive me, but we do not know our Guru — we know only that which He wants us to know of Him. It is something like a child saying, “Oh mother, I know you.” What can a child know of his mother? Only a Master can know a Master.
One Saint has said,
“I would sacrifice my heart, my life,
for the earth on which these Pure Souls step.”
What do these people give? The holy wine pours out from Their eyes. Remember, that from life you get life. Even though one may read the whole world’s holy scriptures, unless one has met that Personality with Life in Him, one would achieve nothing.
Spirituality cannot be taught — it can be caught.
This is a scientific method which was revealed to me through the blessing of my Guru (Baba Sawan Singh). He taught this age-old science of Spirituality. All Mahatmas (great souls) did awaken the souls but revealed the science only to a few. Through my Master’s blessing, this revelation is being given to all. That Power never dies — the physical form merely changes from one to another. When I gave initiation, nearly two hundred people saw the form of the Master inside. It is no acting and posing, but actual facts.
So we should all work hard and become worthy sons and daughters of the Father.