Harmony – to be in tune with oneself and with others

Dr Harbhajan Singh, extract from a Satsang held at St. Gilgen (Austria), 11 July 1993
^{(published in “Sayings of Sant Kirpal Singh” edition 1992-1)}

You have just listened to the talk of the Master. He spoke about harmony. What is that harmony? To be in tune with ourselves, and then see this harmony within all.

Masters come into the world only to bring a change in the heart of man. He does not change the outer man, though He changes the outer habits of man. That is what man-making means.

Guru Nanak said,

“O Nanak, the whole world is in flames,
the whole world is burning.”

Which is that fire? The hidden fire in man that gives rise to a lot of problems to himself and creates problems for others as well. So this fire is that of attachment, passions and otherness. This fire creates otherness because man thinks that he knows much better and in spite of all doings – good or bad doings – he takes himself as superior to all.

In spite of the fact that he is at fault, he justifies himself as to be true.

This is his habit. How is a habit created? When man does something wrong, there is some awakening; a voice from God saying that you should not do it, that it is not right. But man does it, then he does it a second time, a third time, and a fourth time. Always he is getting some warning, but he does not respond to it. Man does whatever he likes.

When one does it many times, it becomes a habit, and with the habit reaction is there. So in this way man is bound with habits and it is very difficult to leave the habits. Especially old persons are more bound with their habits because they have got used to them throughout their lives, one after another.

So Guru Nanak says that there is only one solution for all these problems:

“O Nanak, the whole world is in flames;
if there is anyone who just rises above,
put Your gracious hand on him, save him!”

This means just to take work from his awakening. Then man thinks over, “I am not doing good, I am bad, I am worse than everything. I want to be good, I want to solve the riddle of my life.”

When these questions arise in man, it is awakening, it adds to the awakening, it increases the power of discrimination. Master says, “Such a person raises his head.”

As Guru Nanak says,

“If somebody raises his head,
then put Your gracious hand on him,
so that he is saved.”

Once this gracious hand of the Master is on our head, He gives us holy wisdom. We are devoid of this holy wisdom only due to our ill thoughts, ill deeds and ill actions. So if really we want to bring this harmony in us, we should beg it from the God Power. When we beg for something, He will give us something.

A mother will not give poison to the child, she will give nourishing food to the child. As it is in the holy scriptures, there is a provision: there is water for the thirsty and bread for the hungry. This thing is there within man, and one can have it.

Guru Nanak saw that the whole mankind, all human beings are suffering from one and the same problem. He said,

“O God, give peace to all the children,
peace be all over the world.
O Lord, bless my children
with peace and harmony.”

This is from the heart of a competent Master, because He does not discriminate. He loves all, also those who do not follow Him, even those who slander Him. Even for those who create problems for Him, He has good wishes.

He wishes a better atmosphere, better chances for them to think of God. So Master is gracious to all, He is not the enemy of anyone. He begs for this grace from God, He is gifted with it and gives it to others.

Baba Sawan Singh used to say,

“After midnight this Power comes with the grace.
He comes full with grace
and this grace is for all human being.”

But when He comes, He sees some are indulged in passions, others are dreaming about the passions, some are drowned in other ways. Some are thinking of worldly things, but there is hardly anyone who yearns and weeps for Him. But He gives everything to the one who yearns for Him. He says, “Well, you take it because He doesn’t want to take it back with Him.” So we see that it is only the grace of the Master which can create harmony in us. Otherwise there is no chance because man has the power but he does not know how to use it, that is the problem.

Master said that the problems of the world are self-created, and that the highest way is to forgive and forget. The second thing (that we should become aware of) is that we have to leave this body.

This body we have got is due to which problems? It is due to problems that we have created for the body, that we created for our self-existence in this world.

So there is no problem with the body, the problem is with ourselves, with the mind and whatever we created through the mind. It has become a big attachment, it has become a forest of problems. We have created lots of thorny bushes before us, which we have to weed out again.

As long as we do not weed out all those things, we cannot get rid of this body (and we must come again into the world). And we cannot create harmony in us.

Master explains the primary steps. How to take our steps in this direction? For that we have to finish with everything. Master said that whatever we got from this world – out of wishes, out of mind, out of our relations – we have to detach from it completely, rather we have to burn it altogether. You know the cremation of the dead, what does it mean? That we have burnt everything (that belongs to the world). “Now we belong to You.”

What is the meaning of the tree of life? (It means that) you have to bear abundant fruit. And this fruit is not for the tree, it is for others. So this means, once you know that you have to go back, then you don’t live for yourselves but you live for others.

This means to give, give and give. Don’t hope for receiving anything.

If you hope for receiving anything in the world, you have to come back into the world. So Masters always tell us to give, give and give. This is what is meant by the tree of life.

We have to bear abundant fruit with good thoughts, good words and good deeds, and we have to distribute them everywhere. We have to live not for ourselves but we have to distribute to all others.

So those who get the fruit will also change their angle of view. So both are benefited, also those who come in contact with such a personality in the world, because they are blessed with the gift of real life. This gift comes from you, and it is given on to others; it is our heritage, the heritage of all of us.

❊

There was one king, named Patry, who renounced the world for gaining self-realization. Before he left to go to the forest, he sought some advice from his mother, who was a very holy lady.

His mother said, “Well, my child, you should keep the bed warm and have a sound sleep there.” He replied, “Mother, I am going to the forest, how can I have a warm bed and a sound sleep there?”

She answered, “The sweet remembrance of the Master, the devotion to the purpose why you are leaving the world, that will give you the warmth within. The devotion to the Master will make you forget everything!”

Pleasure and displeasure of the world is for those who take it to their heart. Those who do not take it to their heart, they rise above both, they do not discriminate between pleasure and displeasure.

Further she said, “Sleep only, when you really need it, not before. Sleep only, when you are fully tired, then you can sleep even on the floor.”

Then his mother told him, “Have a good diet, a nourishing diet there.” He said, “Mother, what can I get from the forest? How can I cook all this food there?”

She answered, “Take the food only when you are fully hungry, that will help you. It will keep you very healthy, and you can meditate very much.”

Then she said, “Well, you are a king, you should live in a fort.” – “Mother, there is no fort in the forest. I have to live under the trees.”

She said, “The fort is the grace of the Master. You live according to the commandments of the Master, that is a fort, that will protect you from all sides.” You know, when really we live directly under the grace of the Master, under the protection of the Master, you may be sitting anywhere in the forest, and this forest may even be full of beasts, they will not touch you at all.

❊

You know, sometimes, when Sant Kirpal Singh was in Dhera Dun, there used to come one lion, only to have the darshan from Master. The lion was very punctual, he always came at four to see the Master. When Master raised His hand and said, “Well, go now”, he did not stay but immediately moved away. He obeyed the commandment of the Master.

Similarly there was one very big snake, and it also used to be there at four early in the morning. It used to look towards the Master very attentively and once Master raised His hand, it used to creep back into its hole. It was also very obedient.

One day, when your Biji (Surinder Kaur) and I were there, Master said, “If you want to see it, come along with me at four.” It was His grace that He showed it to us. Man is supreme, he has the highest rung in the creation. This whole world is a servant to him, but he has forgotten it. He has to live in harmony by living for others, but instead man is living on others. We are feeding ourselves on others, how can we live in harmony with other beings? How can we create love in the heart of other people in this way? (If you are really in harmony with God), even the beasts and very dreadful animals will love you.

One time Guru Nanak was tending the grazing buffaloes. It was very hot and He fell asleep in the scorching heat of the sun. A snake came and held his head in a position to give shade to His head. People passing by said, “O, the snake is giving shadow on the face of Guru Nanak. He is a holy person.”

I mean to say, when Masters come into the world, they do not only teach us human beings, they also teach the beasts, the lower species in the world; they bring this harmony everywhere. Their purpose is to bring harmony and peace. Now I tell you, where will this tiger go, where will this lion or this snake go? It is said that none has come in the world, none has got this human form without the grace of the Master. It is very, very difficult to come back into the human body, if one goes into the transmigration.

We have to create harmony by living for others, by leaving all attachments, and thus becoming human beings. And a human being is only one who knows his purpose of human life. The purpose of human life is that we have to leave this body for all the times.

We must not come back into this man-body. Master says, “If then you are sent into the world, you are sent as a doctor, not as a prisoner.”

A doctor also goes to the prison, but not as a prisoner. He goes to treat the prisoners, that is the purpose. So our purpose is to become fully conscious of the aim of our life. If we are conscious of that, we can be conscious of many things. And I tell you, everything will rise out of you, not from outside. It will grow out of you and it will spread outside; it will spread wide.

❊

There is a beautiful example Master used to give:

Once Lord Vishnu invited gods, goddesses and demons. It was a rare chance that both, gods, goddesses, and non-gods got together. Beautiful dishes had been cooked and were spread on the tables.

The host, Lord Vishnu, said, “It is all for you but with one condition: while taking the food you must not bend your arms.”

So all thought, “O, the food is very delicious but we cannot take it.”

Those demons were not able to think much about it, so they went away. They were angry and said, “No, we are not treated well, we will take revenge on Vishnu.”

The gods, however, thought, “Since it has been spoken by Lord Vishnu, there must be some meaning behind it, so we must think it over, we must solve this puzzle.”

At last they decided, “There is no problem, you feed me and I feed you. Then we need not bend our arms.” Are there any persons who do not “bend their arms” (who always think of others first)? We must not bend our arms.

❊

Masters come into the world to live a hundred per cent for others. And by living for others you create (a sphere of) harmony for others. Master lives for others, He creates harmony in the whole family. He develops one person in the family, and thus He creates harmony in the whole family.

He creates harmony for the whole world, for all people who understand Him and rejoice in His grace. I tell you, this is not difficult, it is only that we have not understood it (our purpose). Nobody has realized it. When Masters come, they realize it and say, “It is your purpose, you do it, you live with it and you will find (it is true).” Once we have experienced this, we say, “O, it is a very good thing.” If really you help somebody, you will feel a certain radiation, which you have never felt before in your life. Then you say, “It is good to live for others, it is good to help others.”

Master is the Power who teaches us to serve God and to serve others. Service unto others means service to God; therein lies the fruit of life. The attention of the Master bears all that we need. It bears our eternal life. His attention transcends even the seven oceans. He can transcend and go everywhere in the world.

❊

Once a man phoned from USA. He was very sick and had to stay in the hospital. He said, “Master, I have not seen you but I have heard about you. I am very sick, I am very restless lying in the hospital, can you help me?” Master simply said, “Put your attention at the back of the two eyes.” (And He explained something more to him.) The result was, that he was happy. He phoned back, “Since I heard your advice, I am free from all problems.”

So Master is a wonderful phenomenon in the world. He gives this harmony in the heart of other people. He was sitting in India and within a moment He could help somebody in USA. I mean to say, it is the Master Power alone who creates harmony, nobody else can do it. Some people can give you a lot of things, can provide more humanity in the world, but not this harmony. Harmony means this inner peace, not peace for the mind, but peace for the soul. The soul must understand, “I am the owner of this house, I am the highest of all.”

❊

This is the harmony that the soul must get. All is in the hand of the God Power, provided we become like children. A child can get everything from the mother, because mother knows that the child knows nothing except her love, and it demands everything from her. The child knows only that much that her mother is great and she has everything, and she can provide everything for the child. When the child grows older, it says, “O, this my parents cannot do, that my father cannot do, he is not capable of giving me what I want.” Later on the child knows, but when it is still a small child, it sometimes becomes even very naughty, “No, you can do it, you must do it for me!”

A child is very proud of its mother. So we should become like children, then we can get everything from Him. But it is only possible when we do not let our intellect and our mind become a barrier. The child has still to develop intellectually, its mind has still to be developed, it is more conscious within. So as it is conscious, it is very proud of the Master Power, the God Power.

So it says, “Whatever I demand, that will be given to me.” Thereafter, (when intellect and mind are interfering), one becomes narrow-minded. The more one becomes narrow-minded, the more he is away from the reality, the more he is away from the grace, and the more he lacks the harmony within – this harmony that is within the child when it is born. We all had this harmony, we were blessed with this harmony. And also this promise which we gave to our Father, that we will fulfill our purpose of human life and come back, that concerns to this inner harmony. I mean to say, this harmony is not a separate subject; it is the root cause of our doing.

❊

How can we create this harmony? Master described it beautifully – forgive and forget. The law of forgiveness is also the law of grace. The one who forgives and forgets becomes gracious and loveable to all because he is full of devotion. Whatever he wants he can create for others.

❊

There was one disciple, whose Master’s name was Bheek. He was a very intoxicated person and always remained in the sweet remembrance of God. But whenever he went above the body-consciousness, people asked, “O Bheek, where are you?” He replied, “I am with God, I am God.” They asked, “What is your religion?” He said, “My religion is Bheek.” – “And who is your Master?” He answered, “My Master is Bheek.”

According to Islam they called this man an “unbeliever” and so he should be beheaded. The king (who had to confirm the death-sentence) was very wise, so he thought, “Let me ask Bheek and hear what he says.”

The king asked him, “Bheek, who is your God?” He answered, “He is Bheek by name.” – “And who is your Master?” He said, “Bheek.” – “And who are you?” He said, “I am Bheek.” At that time there was a very big drought, all the fields were drying and so there was a starvation already in this country.

The king said, “Bheek, there has not been any rain for many months, can you ask your Bheek to help us with some showers of rain?”

He said, “Yes, no problem, I will ask Him.” The king let him free. On the second day there was heavy rain.

Then the king asked him, “Bheek, maybe you have to spend much, I want to give you some villages as a donation.”

But Bheek ran away shouting, “O king, I don’t want to bring such worldly things to my Master, to Bheek. My Master doesn’t want these things, and I am also fully detached from them. You tell, whatever you need, my Bheek will give you everything because you want it for others.”

So if you want something for others, this will be given to you; if you want it for yourself, God will not give it to you. You cannot have two things together: you want to go back and still you keep some wishes in your heart – that is impossible. Rise above the wishes! Conscious is one who has no wish at all. He becomes a conscious co-worker of the divine plan. He knows, “I must become wishless, desireless.”

❊

Thank you, I am wishing you all the gracious hand of our Master. Take Him as the Supreme Power in the whole creation. He is the saviour, He is the sustainer, and He belongs to all human beings, His hand supersedes all. All are bowing before Him.

He is the God-into-action-Power. He can do everything for us. And the highest is: He can take you back to your home eternal. And that is our wish, to go back home, this is the cry of the soul.

If you really are at the level of your soul, devoid of your mind and intellect, your soul will cry out, “O God, I am disconnected from You, I am alone, help me!” This is the cry of the soul, and when the soul cries, help is there.

So to gain this inner harmony, the peace of soul, we have to detach from the world. We have to live for others, we have to live for the Master. Master lives for others. So the mission of the Master is just to separate you from the world.

This has always been the mission run by the Master Power: To separate you from the worldly level, and while you are separating from it, you help others. People see you living in the world, but you yourself feel that you are above the world.

That is a way of life. This is how we can detach from the world, while we are living in the world of attachments, how we can remain unattached in the world of attachments.

This is the only way:

To live for Master, to live for the Mission,
to live for others – this alone is the way.