XXI / V
Various Topics
It is better to avoid looking into the eyes of others and this includes animals.
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I understand you mean by the presence of pets like cats or dogs presence in the room during meditations. If so there is no harm provided these do not disturb you to be there during meditations.
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Please do not grieve over your inability to be more receptive to the Divine Grace. Slow but steady wins the race. Fragrant flowers are fashioned into fairness delicately under Divine Will. Your sense of deep gratitude and overwhelming joy for the gracious protections shall unfold to you several hidden mysteries of life to benefit from them. You are so dear to me and I wish you more of spiritual and all-round progress.
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I appreciate your loving devotion and implore for the rare boon of faith. Faith evolves in sincere, pure and humble hearts. A life full of dedication and complete self surrender invokes Divine Grace. You must not brood over the past and always look ahead with eager expectations for successful Holy Meditations. Every day brings in novel vistas of Divine Glory when you can benefit from the ever present gracious protection of the Master-Power. A well poised mental equilibrium will bless you with untold peace and harmony to face the worldly affairs with a new look full of right understanding.
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Your deep gratitude for enjoying the constant presence of the Master-Power is appreciated. The faithful, obedient and disciplined are blessed with such like rare boons of celestial order. You will be blessed still more in due course. A keen desire to improve spiritually coupled with earnest efforts bring in radical change in the thought pattern of the initiate and the entire life undergoes change for the better. You should be more steady, humble and polite in your dealings.
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It does not matter if your time schedule is limited yet the Inner Loving Devotion and outer right mode of living will bless you with untold peace and harmony. You must not be sceptic about your Inner Progress as it is beyond the ken of human comprehension to gauge the Inner Growth. The Divine Love of the Master is just like a spark of flame which reduces everything to ashes in good time. Your deep gratitude for enjoying gracious protection in all spheres of your life is appreciated.
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As regards your joining (the) army, you may decide the issue independently on merits. The observance of strict dietary regulations in military life may not be a possible hindrance which will, be detrimental for your Spiritual Progress.
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I have perused the lovely poems and blank verse composed by you in loving adoration of the gracious Master-Power; and appreciate your efforts in this behalf. There are several loveable odes to the Master when you have tried to eulogise Him in all reverential humility and deep gratitude. You are fortunate to bear personal testimony for the very many and untold rare blessings enjoyed by you under His gracious protection.
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The hymns or songs given out by Masters out of the abundance of Their hearts carry the higher life impulse to those who hear or recite them. The others composed by others will carry whatever they are having themselves. The former poems should be recited in Satsangs and the latter may be read in local Satsangs now and then. If there is any demand of the same, there can be no objection to the printing thereof.
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Your Sacred Aspirations for Spiritual Progress are appreciated. You should benefit from these Sacred Impulses by more of humility and loving devotion. You have been blessed with the Bread of Life and Water of Life in the form of Holy Naam. The more you partake of It more of Divine Grace and Love shall fall to your share. You should try to assimilate the Divine Love by eliminating your own self. He is always with you and you are so dear to me.
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I am glad that you are enjoying your Holy Meditations at the blessed ashram, Sant Bani, along with other dear ones over there with the Grace of the Master. Congenial environments do have their own unrivalled effect when you can enjoy overwhelming bliss from the charged atmosphere and Divine Radiation which is extended abundantly.
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It is so good that you enjoy the good company of the dear ones over there when you share your woes and joys amongst one another. The Father is always pleased to see the children laying their heads together for the common Holy Cause of the Master. I am glad you are doing your best to help the cause of the Master at your own level which has my appreciation.
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I appreciate your sense of right understanding when you have assimilated the rare loving life impulses of the Master conveyed through the Messages since released this year. May you all grow in this right understanding and prove worthy disciples of the Master. Those who relish to serve the Holy Cause in a spirit of selflessness and dedication are abundantly rewarded in their Spiritual Progress. Each one of you have a huge amount of work to do, and if you will be sincere and true to your own self and the Master within, you will earn rich dividends.
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Mutual trust and toleration amongst the dear ones open new vistas of right understanding and cement the inviolable ties of fraternity by virtue of Holy Initiation into the mysteries of the beyond. May you grow more and more in right understanding and serve the Holy Cause with zeal and enthusiasm.
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Your increased awareness is a happy prelude. Spiritually illumined do see everything in its right perspective. The present earth life is an asset when the dear ones spotted and singled out of the masses are blessed with the rare boon of Holy Initiation into the mysteries of the beyond. Karmas of a virtuous nature go a long way in assuring emancipation from the cycle of birth and death. Yet you are to undertake noble karmas in a spirit of dedication for the sake of your Inner Spiritual Progress.
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Out of a truly grateful heart will grow all virtues. Be comforted in the knowledge that the Master is ever present with you and will always be there to help you if you fall. Hold Him in constant remembrance. My blessings are with you.
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Your earnest desire for helping the people at large is appreciated. When the candle is lit, it should not be kept under a bushel but it should be placed prominently at such a place wherefrom others may take inspiration. You can discuss the Sacred Teachings of the Masters – but not the Inner Experiences – with your friends and acquaintances, and guide them to take up the Holy Path. Spiritually illumined owe much for their less gifted brethren, who can be led to the Living Master, under His Divine Will.
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In the beginning there was no need of any corporation being made, but as the Mission is appealing to seekers after Truth being most natural and as such much easier, and they are growing in number, in different places of the world and as physical presence of the Master was not possible at all the places, a corporation was considered necessary after long loving discussion amongst the dear ones at Washington and Chicago, as a result of which the present corporation came up.
The main purpose is to keep the teachings of the Master alive and expanding and for its achievement a sort of organisation was necessary. The casing is necessary for the preservation and safety of kernel. Your reference to Baba Jaimal Singh is noted which was written by me. He separated from Agra for two main reasons: 1) He was against any organisational set up apparently under the control of imperfect hands. Moreover there was no need for formation at the time as the number of initiates was less; 2) He did not like to impose taxation on one and all initiates, rich or poor alike. The present organisation is not military organisation and there are no hard and fast rules of civil binding whatsoever and will be working under the guidance of the Living Master.
You need not bother about the number of initiates being less in your group. You may submit application for membership for your town – whatever number available – and work wholeheartedly in a spirit of dedication for the Holy Cause of the Master. The ready souls of the area will be coming up for initiation in due course with the Grace of the Master.
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I appreciate your deep gratitude for the manifold blessings enjoyed by you in all spheres of life. Prayer and gratitude are akin. A gratuitous heart becomes the abode of all virtues.
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Your problem of wanting something from others might be attributed to same habit forming attitude all along during past, which should be corrected carefully. It is rather wrong to accept anything from others when you do not repay it. However, to accept gifts from your parents is alright, yet you must repay adequately lest these result in karmic debt.
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I have noted about your problem for which you are advised to draw a thick curtain over the past and just forget everything which has since passed as no amount of repentance or resentment can do it. You must start a new pattern of life, the commandments which would enable you to progress physically, mentally, and spiritually with the Grace of the Master.
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There is nothing to fear you should forget all about your past and start anew. Just learn to live in the living present and making best use of time at your disposal. The precious moments of earth life spent in meditations and honest work, count much for Inner Spiritual Progress.
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You are furthermore advised to please refer to the various circulars and messages since released from time to time which will enrich your Spiritual Understanding and many things will become clear to you with the Grace of the Master.
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You should not grieve at the loss of Divine Presence of the Master-Power, but try to consolidate your scattered attention by attuning within with the Holy Naam. An intense longing of the soul and burning desire to meet the Lord within invokes His Mercy. When the heart wells up and involuntary tears flow, much of the Inner Dirt and dross of the mind is washed away.
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Pride should be replaced with a keen sense of self abnegation. You should try to increase the time for meditations gradually so as to have the target of two hours every day in the larger interests of your Spiritual Progress.
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It is high time you should bid farewell to your scepticism and devote yourself to Holy Meditations with great zeal, deep faith and renewed earnestness in accordance with the instructions given in my letter of 31 January.
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Disobedience to the Holy Commandments by the child disciple affects Inner Progress adversely. An implicit faith and obedience invokes Divine Grace.
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If there is no other alternative (on innoculating child) and medical law enjoins these may be had if absolutely necessary as a safeguard for health. I think there may be some alternative in Homoeopathy.
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Faith evolves in gratuitous hearts full of Divine Bliss and Harmony. Any moment you feel depressed you should resort to the counting of manifold blessings granted to you by the gracious Master-Power. It is a great blessing to be accepted and initiated into the mysteries of the beyond when you pass your earth life joyously under the protective guidance of the Master and insure perpetual bliss in the beyond.
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The letters should be short and to the point on which further clarification is required.
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The looking into the eyes of others should be avoided lest you are affected by their radiation. Eyes are the windows of the soul. It helps you a lot to remain aloof from the harmful effects of others lives when you can attune within with Holy Naam undisturbed.
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Forget the past and never care to probe into it lest you be caught in unnecessary hallucinations thereby breeding morbidity and gloom. Always look ahead for the very best you can achieve by sincere and honest effort …
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There is no objection to your using one of the Master’s quotations on the back of your personal calling cards.
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It is difficult to go through life without going through the motions of give and take. It is this very give and take which has to be worked out by the pilgrim soul that brings us back to this world. There is no harm in accepting small gifts from those with whom you come into contact in your business or family connections provided that you have been or are in a position to do them some service in a direct form. For example, your boss may give you a token of his esteem at Christmas. Likewise, small gifts may be exchanged during this season of goodwill among a family. However, it is not wise to accept gifts from acquaintances, business or otherwise, who are outside your areas of immediate contact with whom you have no give or take.
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All beauty and Glory lie within you. Once you have learned to rise above body consciousness and transcend into the beyond, you will regain the knowledge of former lives. The Overself or God, which is the Controlling Power in the body, is within you. The Master is also within you. You have but to invert your attention within to find that both are one and the same. The main helping factor to realise this Truth is to give implicit obedience to the commandments of the Master. It is the work of the Master to give His children that which is in their best interests.
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Everything will be given to you in due course of time if you follow His behests and live up to what He says. Every day you are given tasks which are intended to help your Spiritual Growth. Unfortunately, most people look for a very special assignment to be given to them by the Master personally before they accept it as a task from the Master. They do not see that their day-to-day dealings and behaviour with other people in their work, the responsibilities they have to assume in their other mundane duties and how well they fulfil them, are all tasks given by the Master. If you watch closely your reaction to situations that confront you in life you cannot but be aware of how much you have grown spiritually. This is the most important part of Spirituality as far as the disciple is concerned. He must first complete his course in man making with full honours before he can be given higher tasks to carry out.
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All those who are initiated into the mysteries of the beyond by a Living Master were destined to become His disciples. It is not a question of one choosing the Path or the Path choosing the disciple, but rather one of the disciple’s background.
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You are correct in your assumption that the Path of the Masters is the Path of pure bhakti. The pearl of Divine Knowledge can be preserved securely in the casket of bhakti – or loving devotion. Bhakti in its pure and pristine form is Love Divine.
But one must practise the elements of all Yogas – though not in their extreme degrees – in order to obtain the fruits of this Path. For example, the practice of Hatha Yoga is inherent in the fact that we must lead a clean, chaste life, living in accordance with the laws of nature by eating satvic foods, to ensure that the body gets a reasonable amount of exercise and abstain from all harmful habits of activities that will affect our physical health. Similarly, the arts of Gnani Yoga, and Raja Yoga are inherent in the diary form that you are asked to maintain every month. The observances of non-violence – control of anger –, truthfulness, and chastity are all qualities that must be built into the mental habits of the mind and become second nature, before the mind will be purified from its present dross and dirt. The correct practice of these ennobling virtues will give you the full fruit of Gnani Yoga, which is self-knowledge.
The form of Bhakti that you are asked to develop has nothing to do with the emotions. You are asked to develop Love for and faith in the Master and to obey His commandments. If you can do this – and it is by no means easy to obey the commandments of the Master –, you will have that Bhakti which will give your soul its freedom far quicker than the most accurate practice of Raja or Gnani Yoga can give you.
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I note about your present state of affairs. Such like periods of Spiritual Draught interfere caused by the reaction of past karma coinciding with the present circumstances when the dear ones are placed in a dilemma. Howsoever an upright conduct based on Divine Ethics and a keen sense of deep humility serve as sure sheet anchor against such hazards. The gracious Master-Power working overhead sets in motion all forces of nature to save the child disciple under all circumstances. An intense yearning, an imploring and fervent prayer coupled with sincere effort will never fail you.