THE MASTER'S SEARCH FOR US
by
Sant Ajaib Singh Ji
This Q & A session was given on
July 12, 1977 in Glenwood Springs,
Colorado and was published in the
February 1979 issue of Sant Bani.
----------------------------------
QUESTION: What is the value of learning the art of sound, of chanting,
of doing sacred dances like the kalma from the Sufis? I've found that
certain mantras are very effective as a means of elevating my personal
awareness and as a means of healing myself when physically ill. The only
trouble is that sometimes I find myself doing Simran to the melody of one
of those chants and sometimes I find that I've switched to the other
mantra in the process. The difficulty of course is that Simran doesn't
have any set way to be sung inwardly. How do you feel about us using
devotional chants from other traditions other than our own when we
prepare our spirit for Satsang?
THE MASTER: All this outward music or chanting, whether it is devotional
or not, can only intoxicate the mind because it is done on the level of
the mind and intellect. That's why it can do only a little bit of good
through the Mind. Our soul gets intoxication and happiness only when she
listens to the music of the Shabd Which is within us. Our soul isn't
intoxicated because of outward music, chanting devotional songs or
whatever. It dances only when it hears the Shabd, and only with the help
of Simran can we make our souls hear the music of the Shabd and make her
dance. These other things have value and are good after we have perfected
ourselves in meditation, after we have taken our soul up from the limit
of the mind. Then, it is good to listen to other forms of music; but if
we do this before we have separated our soul from the mind, our mind will
make us forget Simran and we will become involved in all these things so
much that it will not be good for us. The satsangi needs Simran and it is
not good if he spends all his time in learning the notes and chanting. If
you do these things to earn your livelihood then it doesn't matter. But
for real devotion there is no need to take help from any outward instrument
or playing drums or things like that. You need only to do Simran.
Anyway, you can chant bhajans in which you feel so much of Master's Love.
Further, we should always sing the bhajans without too many instruments
because they spoil the real meaning of the words. Once we were sitting in
satsang and there were some people who wanted to sing bhajans and bring
some instruments. The satsang hall was very small. So, after satsang when
I allowed them to play the music and sing the bhajans, the sound of the
instruments was more than the sound of their voices and that spoiled all
the tranquility of the satsang. So it is good to chant without playing any
instruments because it is more natural. Kabir Sahib says, "To play all
these musical instruments is an obstacle between us and God, because we
spend all the time thinking about them. In that much time we could do a
lot of Simran." You see, when we are singing the bhajans without using any
instruments, our attention is always toward the Master and in singing, we
are thinking about Master. But, if we are also playing instruments, our
attention will go into the instrument since we will always be afraid of
making mistakes. This is no good. Those who are playing instruments, even
if they are sitting in front of Master, are not looking at the Master but
always have their attention on their instruments. It would be better to
go within and listen to the sweetest melodies coming from within so that
you will not become slaves to the outward senses. As far as Sant Mat is
concerned, all these outward forms of music, chanting, etc., are child's
play.
Q: I want to thank Him for coming here, for being with us.
M: I appreciate all the dear ones' love here. You are very loving people.
Q: When Sat Purush granted this boon to Kal, He must have known that
Kal would abuse the gift. So why in that light did He grant the boon?
M: Because Kal served Sat Purush, God was pleased by the seva of Kal
and He came in the control of the seva. That's why He gave him this
boon. He gave him a place to create the creation. He gave him the souls.
Further, if there was no Negative Power the souls would not have
come into its control. When the soul undergoes the cycle of birth and
death and, after finally getting the human body goes back to Sach Khand,
she then realizes all this. When Bulleh Shah went to Sach Khand, the
souls who were there lovingly asked him, "How are You? Did You get
anything from the world? What have You brought from the world?" He said,
"What was there to bring here? My face is blackened. I have come back
with a blackened face and nothing else."
Q: How can we best fulfill Master's wishes and still respect Him?
M: The way to have the greatest respect for the Master is by obeying
whatever He says. And, you should never try to compete with Him because
He is the ocean and the disciple is a drop of that ocean. He is Almighty.
He can do whatever He wants. If a disciple doesn't respect his Master,
he can not progress. One who has respectful love for the Master is the
only one who can succeed. Hazur Maharaj Kirpal asked Master Sawan Singh
only this thing: "Give me the boon of respectful love for You." All the
Masters, those who are going within and those who are perfect, all ask
for the same boon - that their Master should give them respectful love.
In Rajasthan, there was a wrestler named Purlin Singh. He was from a
place named Nagar. One of his disciples, after learning wrestling from
him, challenged his master to wrestle with him. Purlin Singh said, "You
know I am older than you and my body is not as strong as yours but still
if you will challenge me I will come and try to beat you." Even though he
was very old he went there because he was the master. And that disciple
defeated his master. Even though this incident happened 25 years ago
the people still remember it and still remark that such a disciple
challenged his master and made him face defeat. So, in the worldly
matters, if we take anybody as our teacher, we should never try to
compete with him. We should never try to understand ourselves as equal
to our teacher because we have gotten everything from our teacher.
It's good for us to respect the disciples of our Master also. Once
Bulleh Shah had a wedding in his family so he invited the Master Inayat
Shah to come and attend the wedding. However, because Inayat Shah was
very busy, he sent one of his disciples who was from a low Muslim caste.
Because Bulleh Shah was of a very high caste, he and the other guests at
the wedding showed no respect to the disciple sent by Inayat Shah. They
didn't understand that their Master was residing within this disciple,
and mistreated him. When that disciple went back to Inayat Shah and told
him how he was not welcomed at the wedding, that he was not shown any
respect and was very badly treated, Inayat Shah became displeased with
Bulleh Shah. Finally, when Bulleh Shah came to Inayat Shah, He said,
"Oh Bulleh, I am very displeased with you. It is a sin to drink water
which is brought by you." After that, Inayat Shah didn't give any grace
to Bulleh Shah and all the color of Naam in which Bulleh Shah was dyed
soon went away. When Bulleh Shah realized his mistake, his Master again
started giving him grace. So it is better to show respect to even the
disciples of our Master.
Those who seek more respect, more love, for the Master are the ones
who succeed in this Path. Only they can go ahead. Master has respect for
everybody - all the people in this world - and even for all the animals.
It doesn't matter to Him whether a person is an initiate or not - He has
respect for everybody. So naturally it is also expected that those who
have respect for everybody should get respect from other people. Guru
Nanak Sahib says, "Satguru is thinking about everyone's good. Those
who are thinking ill of Him - what are they going to get?"
You see, even in this worldly life when we love somebody it should be
full of respect. If we are not having respectful love for other members of
our family, it will spoil the loving atmosphere in the home. If sometimes
we love and other times we don't we can not maintain the love and loving
atmosphere at home. Our Beloved Guru was always allowing me to sit next
to Him on the dais. But still I was so much afraid of Him that I can't
describe it in words. And many times when He would embrace me, I was
feeling so afraid that it felt as if all the blood in me went dry because
I had so much love and respect for Him. Satguru is all-conscious. He
knows everything that is going on within our hearts. He is Almighty. A
disciple is afraid of Him because of his own failings. That's why he
should have respect for God.
Q: If an initiate dies and has to come back to this world, will the Master
be sure to find him?
M: You see, Master always comes and searches for the disciples because
the souls are blind and Master sees everything. Until a blind man calls
upon that person who sees, how can he get help from the person with
vision? The initiates of Master Kirpal who are in this country should
realize that Master came here and searched for them and that then they
went to Master.
Anyway, the satsangis are never given birth again in this world. If a
satsangi has done very bad karmas which can not be forgiven in this life,
only then is he given another birth in this world. And then also will he
come in contact with Master and Master will take care of him in the next
world.
We do not know what it is which inspires us from within to go in the
company of Saints because we are away from God now and are in the kingdom
of the mind. That desire which comes from within is coming from God. You
will see that the mind will always tell you to go away from these things.
Hazur used to say, "Those who are saying that they are going to the
satsang, that they are doing the meditation, have not yet had their inner
vision opened and do not know what it is which is making them do all
these things. But, when their veil is lifted and when they see what is
happening within, then they will say that Master is doing everything.
Master is bringing them to satsang, Master Himself is coming into
satsang doing meditation and making us meditate."
If a satsangi is given one more birth in this world then his thoughts
will also be much more rarified than the other people and right from his
birth he will have thoughts of God. Until he gets Master he will not have
any peace of mind. Hazur Maharaj Sawan Singh used to relate one incident:
"There was a father and son living in Agra when the plague was spreading.
When the son was on his deathbed his father was weeping bitterly and the
son said, 'Father, you don't have to weep because I'm not going to die.
I'm going to get a new birth. I'm going to get a new life. In my last
life I was a tree when some disciple of Swami Ji Maharaj came and took
one of my branches. It was given to Swami Ji Maharaj and he used one
piece of the branch for a toothbrush. And because He was a perfect Saint
He graciously gave me this human body. But, because I came from the body
of a tree my intellect was not sharp and was not fully developed. That's
why I didn't get anywhere in this lifetime. But next time, Swami Ji
Maharaj is going to give me a new life which will lead me back to my
home.'"
Satsangis should always try not to think about the next life. They
should always request Master, "O Master, never bring us back again into
this world. Liberate us in this lifetime." Master used to say, "Some of
us are like spoiled prisoners who are always returning to the jail. When
they are set free they say to the jailer, 'Keep room for me. Take care of
my clothing and vessels. I'm coming back after a few days.'" So Master
used to say, "We should never tell Kal, the Negative Power, 'Keep room
for us in the world. We are coming back.'" Master Sawan Singh Ji used
to tell about one place of pilgrimage in Rajasthan called Pushkar where
the people think that by bathing in the holy water of that place one
gets the human body in the next lifetime. Once, a man was going there to
have a holy bath and a person asked, "Why are you going there? What's
the importance of bathing there?" He replied, "One gets a human body
in the next lifetime." So that other man laughed at him and said, "Why
are you expecting to come back again? Whatever you are supposed to do
in the human body, why wait for the next lifetime? Why don't you do it
now?" So Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say, "Whatever we are supposed
to do should be done in this lifetime. We should not expect to be given
another human life in which to do it."
You see, God has showered much grace and mercy on us and that's
why He has given us this human body. He has given us the opportunity
to unite with Him. All the bodies are enjoying themselves in all the
things of this world - all the pleasures, all the pains and unhappiness.
We have got parents, mothers, fathers, relatives in all these bodies.
Further, all these bodies, human bodies, animals, plants, spirits,
insects - everybody is enjoying happiness and suffering pain. If there
is any special importance in getting the human body, it is only that we
can do such a thing with this human body that others cannot do and that
is the devotion of God.
The Path with which we can realize God and unite with God is made
by God Himself and nobody can alter that Path. No Mahatma, no Master,
can ever increase or decrease the Path and nobody can do anything at all
to alter it. All the perfect Mahatmas, whether they came five thousand,
two thousand, five hundred, or two hundred and fifty years ago, have all
put souls onto the same Path back to God. And the Mahatmas Who are coming
straight from the Kingdom of God, Sach Khand, show the same Path to the
souls. In the future it will also be this way, because this Path is the
natural Path. By practicing this Path we need not practice any outside
rites or rituals. When God creates the body in the womb of the mother,
He knows when He has to attach the eyes, nose, legs, hands, and everything.
And when He is doing that job, He Himself is creating the body, He Himself
is fixing all the parts of the body in the right way. At the same time
that He is creating the human body, He is also giving the soul the Path
which will lead it back to God. Further, He Himself comes to us in the
bodies of Mahatmas and tells the secret of that Path to the souls. When
Mahatmas first come They lovingly help us to understand that God, the One
Who has created us, the One Who is the sustainer of all creation, is not
on any high mountain, nor in any temple, mosque or church, but is within
us. Everybody's God is within them. The Mahatma is telling us to practice
this Path in order to realize God because that Mahatma has already realized
God by the same Path.
To give Naam initiation is not only to give the knowledge of human
birth but it is the attention of the Master. At the time of initiation
into Naam, Masters explain very carefully how we are to collect our
scattered thoughts within us for Simran and how we are to rise up. But
very few people come on this Path; only those chosen by God in Sach Khand
come on this Path. Only they can practice this Path. Kabir Sahib was the
first Saint to come in this mortal world in all the four ages. Whenever
He came, the Negative Power gave Him a very hard time. He always tried to
fight with Him because any soul who is initiated by a perfect Master will
never come into the snare of the Negative Power again. Whenever Kabir
Sahib came, the Negative Power told him, "You have come here to spoil
my creation." And when Kabir Sahib didn't stop doing His work, the
Negative Power would say, "All right, if You are not going to stop Your
work, I'm going to start my work. You are telling the souls not to eat
meat and drink wine. But I will do such a thing that not only the men
but even the women will start to eat meat and drink wine. Everywhere
people will eat meat and drink wine." And then he said, "You will go
and tell people not to eat meat and drink wine, not to do any bad deeds,
and to do the devotion. But since Your devotion is very difficult, I
will spoil the people's minds from within and in that way nobody will
believe in You."
This is the reason we are hesitating to come onto the Path of the
Masters: because Masters tell us to give up eating meat, to be
vegetarian, and to get up early in the morning and meditate. If anybody
would tell us that we could go on eating meat and drinking wine and all
the other things which we are doing and still get God in our next
lifetime doing only outward practices, we would be very happy to do
them because in that way we wouldn't have to sacrifice anything. But
without sacrifice we cannot get anything even in this world. You see
how we keep the temples, churches, and mosques - all the religious
places where we think that God is residing - how we keep them pure and
how we appreciate them since we created them with our own hands. But
the churches, gurdwaras, and temples are not the real churches. This
human body is the real church which was made by God Himself. How we
are defiling this body! Sometimes we put meat into it, sometimes we put
wine, sometimes we do bad deeds with this body. How can you think that
God who is very high and pure will come inside when we are eating meat
and drinking wine? Nobody likes to sit in a dirty place. Not even a dog
will do that. He will first come and clean that place before sitting
there. So how can God come and manifest within us, the dirty people?
We can deceive the world and we can even deceive our own selves by
not doing the devotion of God. But the God Which is residing within us
cannot be deceived. Our Master used to say, "If you want to store the
milk of a tigress, you need a golden vessel." In the same way, if you want
to manifest God within you, you need to make your heart very clean and
pure.
Only those souls on whom God is very merciful come to do the devotion
of God. When God sees that these souls have wandered in many bodies and
have had a very hard time with much suffering and pain He knows that they
need to get the human body. Now He wants them to do the devotion and come
back to Him only through this Path. Guru Nanak Sahib says, "Oh Nanak, only
they can meet the Master who were suffering in that way. Only they are
made to meet the Master - those who are chosen by God." Guru Nanak Sahib
says, "The unfortunate ones can never realize God no matter if Master is
sitting right next to them or they are always in His company. But if God
is not showering Grace on them, if God is not merciful on them, they can
never get any benefit from the Master." You can read in the history of
Guru Nanak how people came from far-away countries like Ceylon and from
many different parts of the world to get His darshan. And even people of
India came from all over to see Him and get initiation from Him. But His
parents didn't understand Him and didn't get any benefit from Him - His
father even used to give Him beatings and rebuke Him!
To get the devotion, to start doing the devotion, is just like getting
a jewel. You go and ask those who have got the wealth of devotion.
Nothing from this world is going to go with us - no relatives, no wealth,
no materials of this world, no kingdoms. Nothing will go with us. If
people could take the worldly wealth or materials or anything from this
earth what would have happened? Those who left this world, our forefathers
and other people, would have taken all the wealth and they would have left
nothing for us. So when all these things didn't go with them, how can we
expect these things will go with us? The only thing which will go with us
is God. So it is better to realize God and see God before we leave. But
where is God? Kabir Sahib says, "Just as there is oil in the seed and fire
in the stone, in the same way your God, your Beloved, is within you. If
you can manifest Him, if you can awaken Him Who is residing within you,
you should do that before you leave this earth."
Mahatmas do not come to make any new religions or to break any religions
of yours. They say, "Remain in whatever religion you like. Do whatever
practices you want to do. But, remaining in your society, your community,
do that which we are telling you. And remaining in your society, your
community, your culture, you can still practice this Path and go back
to your real home, Sach Khand."
Q: Master, can I tell a meditation experience from when I was little?
M: Yes.
Q: Usually when I was lying down and was sick Id rise up to, I'm sure it
was the third eye, and I would have no body. My body would shrink right
up to that point and I would be in a state of all light. I wouldn't see
any form, it would just be all light. I wondered if that was where that
was?
M: In many people the light starts coming right from childhood. When a
man is involved in lust, the light goes away which was there previously in
his childhood. If chastity is maintained and all the semen is stored in
the body, that storage of semen gives such light that one feels much bliss
and happiness enjoying that light. Before I got initiation from Baba Bishan
Das, he would talk about the light inside. Because I was seeing light
inside me I was happy and I thought that I was seeing the same light which
he was talking about. But that light doesn't lead us anywhere. This is
also a type of deception. But one who is having this light, one who has
maintained his body and kept it chaste, if he gets initiated he can
progress by leaps and bounds. Nothing in this world can be an obstacle in
his way.
Only the jeweler knows the value of the jewels. Those people who
recognized Master Sawan Singh were seeing two flames of light always
going on in His forehead. Master Sawan Singh's face used to be such
that those who were having a little bit of control over their soul and
those who were keeping a little bit of concentration would always feel a
pull whenever they would see Him. But those who had bad karmas would not
feel that pull when they saw Him because they were dirty. The pure souls
would feel a great pull when they would look at Master Sawan Singh.
This pull would come through His face. People who were not initiates of
Master Sawan Singh would also praise Master Sawan Singh's beautiful
face. They would say, "We don't know what this inner beauty is, what
miracle He performs from the inside, but outwardly He is so radiant, so
beautiful, that from every single hair of His beard the light comes out.
His face is so beautiful that we have never seen another like it before."
Physically, He was so beautiful that I have never seen another person as
beautiful as Master Sawan Singh. He came into this world in such a form
that I have never seen any other person like Him in all the parts of India
in which I have traveled. That's why Master Sawan Singh used to lay great
emphasis on maintaining chastity and storing our vital fluid.
Q: Could You speak about the relative importance of becoming set in
meditation in relation to having Master's darshan as much as possible?
M: Becoming set?
Q: Set, regular and really applying oneself as much as possible. The
comparative relative importance between really applying ourselves to
meditating as much as possible or to be trying to have the physical
presence, darshan of the Master.
M: The real meaning of meditation is to manifest the Radiant Form of
the Master within and have His darshan. As long as you have not done this,
you need to have the outward, the physical darshan of the Master. If you
have contacted That within, then there is no need to come for the outward
darshan. I've talked about a devoted disciple of Master Sawan Singh who
would go and embrace the feet of animals saying, "Master Sawan Singh is
sitting there." And when Master Sawan Singh would do the satsang, he would
not go. Some people complained and asked him, "Why aren't you coming to
satsang?" He'd tell them, "Why do I need to go there? Whatever He is
telling me to do, I am doing it here. He is sitting here; why do I need
to go there?" So the same people went to Master Sawan Singh complaining
about that disciple. Master Sawan Singh replied, "You should also become
like him." This is not a normal thing. Not everybody can do that. Only
one in a million can do it. You should not copy them, those who have
reached the court of God. That's why in this case we should try to take
advantage of darshan because darshan also pays off a lot of our karmas.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACK TO CONTENTS
