Chastity and Forgiveness

I

The supreme ideal of human life is the realisation of God. Religions were made to perpetuate the teachings of Great Souls Who had attained enlightenment. They have left an account of Their personal experiences for the guidance of posterity. They have all said that God is omnipresent. Whatever we see around us is undoubtedly His manifestation, but the question is how to see Him?

We find in the Jap Ji,

The Lord’s Word is all pervading; there is no place where His Word does not exist.

The Gurbani tells us:

We have seen the glimpse of God.

One can experience God only by rising to His level of super-consciousness. Although the atmosphere is full of microbes, nothing is visible to the naked eye. Does that mean that there is nothing in the air? We can see thousands of tiny objects through a microscope. Now, there are two possibilities. Either whatever is present in the air is made to magnify so as to correspond to the visual level of our eyes, or our vision should become so subtle as to see these tiny germs clearly. So, it is impossible for us to see the highly subtle and indescribable Lord with our physical eyes. When we are able to develop super-consciousness and subtlety of His level, we can have some experience of Him. The question is one of developing the Third Eye. Who can open the Inner Eye? Only the Master’s Grace can do it.

In the Gurbani we find,

Through the Grace of a Godman, you will see the temple of the Lord within.

The human body is the temple of God. In order to attain super-consciousness one has to withdraw from all the physical attachments. So long as we remain identified with external objects, we cannot assume a subtle form.

Tulsi Sahib says:

The Lord dwells within us, but we remain ignorant. Cursed is such a life.

Even after getting human life, if He is not manifested within, it is a great curse because we can accomplish this task only in human life.

Oh Tulsi! The whole world is suffering from cataract.

Doctors do not give vision to cataract patients. They only remove the thin membrane covering the pupil of the eye. Similarly, the Lord is within us. He is our Controlling Power. The entire universe is His manifestation. He can be realised within, but not before our subtle eye is able to pierce through the darkness within.

Tulsi Sahib and Shamas-i-Tabrez both have said the same thing:

See the Lord with your own eyes and hear His Eternal Music with your own ears.

If we see through the darkness inside, we can experience the Divine Light. Tulsi Sahib says that you will not be able to penetrate through the darkness without the help of a Perfect Master. In this lies the greatness of a Master-Soul, Who can dispel our darkness and give us the Inner Experience of Divine Light. This is possible when our attention is withdrawn from outside and we rise above body consciousness. This is not easy. Despite years of meditation, past sages and seers could not always get this experience – of Divine Light. They used to practise Kumbhak – Hatha Yogic exercise –, and after passing through the six ganglionic centres, got a little Inner Experience in the centre of the two eyebrows. This practice takes hundreds of years.

Swami Ji has clearly stated:

Only the all powerful Master can pull the soul up; He alone can free us from the prison of oblivion.

Who can rise above body consciousness? One who is unattached and is not engrossed in sensual pleasures can do it. Only such a person can easily tap inside. Ethical and chaste life is, therefore, very essential. Even if the Master, by His own Grace, lifts someone whose life is not pure above body consciousness, the latter will not be able to withstand it. It is crystal clear that there are two main obstacles in the way: passionate desires and anger. To lead a chaste life is not enough. We have to overcome all desires. In anger the soul flows out. Self-indulgence and anger lead to various other vices. Unless these two enemies are disciplined first, others – greed, attachment, and egotism – cannot be controlled. One who succeeds in conquering all these five enemies is free from suffering. The senses derive their power from the mind and the mind from the soul. If our attention is concentrated at the seat of the soul, the senses become powerless.

Saints show us the Way back to God through Surat Shabd Yoga. Where is the seat of the soul in the body? At the time of death, the soul withdraws behind the two eyebrows after leaving the lower regions. Anyone who is able to withdraw his sensory currents at this point in his lifetime can open his Inner Eye. But, this can be done only through the Grace of a Perfect Living Master. First, the Master helps us in withdrawing our attention from external worldly objects with which it is identified. In this body – the temple of God – dwell both our Controlling Power and we. The Master has great power to pull the soul above the plane of senses to the seat of the soul. He opens the Inner Eye. Thus, the Spiritual Aspirant has a first-hand experience and does not require any other evidence.

Until I see the Truth with my own eyes, I cannot be fully convinced of what the Master says,

the Gurbani tells us very clearly.

Unless the senses are controlled, the mind is stilled, and the intellect too is equipoised, the soul cannot realise itself. Gyan Yoga will not be of much help. We draw inferences only to acquire knowledge. But, the True Knowledge has to be experienced. Only an Adept Who has had a first-hand experience can give you a taste of it. Similarly, only One in Whom the Divine Light is manifest can show you Light. Intellectuals and religious preachers cannot do this work. True Inner Experience can be given only by the Grace of a truly Competent Master. By infusing His own Life-Impulse, He puts us on the Spiritual Path and then unites us with the Power of God. One who has subdued the senses qualifies for the Divine Grace.