Questions answered

The Master receives from devotees queries on various aspects of Spirituality. These may be personal or academic, but the Master’s answers have universal appeal for Spiritual Aspirants. We reproduce here some of the questions and answers from the Master’s book, ‘Spiritual Elixir,’ for the benefit of our readers.

Question: Must we forgive all who have wronged us before we die in order to progress on the higher planes after death?

Answer: We should learn to forgive and forget which is a golden principle of life for attaining peace and harmony so very much helpful for having a calm and contemplative mood, which in turn will bless us with successful meditations. He who forgives is twice blessed. Taking revenge is cowardice, but forgiving the lapses of others is an act of virtuous nobility. The initiates are advised to take the stock of their karma everyday before retiring to see whether during the course of their working day, they have incurred anybody’s displeasure or have wronged anybody. If so, they should repent and pray for Divine Grace. Similarly, if others have in one way or the other done any harm to them that should be forgiven in the name of the Master. There is a very good example in Bible, where it is said that before one stands for prayer, he should forgive the lapses or shortcomings of his brother who has wronged him, so that the Father in Heaven may condone his shortcomings. Evidently we must inculcate such a sense of forgiveness by daily practice. We must forgive all who have wronged us before we depart from this earth-plane, which will be helpful for our soul’s progress on the Inner Planes.

*****

Question: If one practises the Sound Current, but does not go far or hear the higher Sounds, does the weight of karma become lighter?

Answer: Yes the load of karmic debt gets lighter by listening to the Holy Sound Current even if it is in its lowest links for It holds the keel of one’s barque steady on the stormy sea of life and saves it from running aground among shoals, sand-banks. and submerged rocks. But one must strive to catch higher Sounds for it is the latter that exert a powerful pull upon the soul by following which one is led to eventual liberation. These higher Sounds can, by loving devotion and practice, be easily differentiated and communed with by the Grace of the Master-Power which is ever ready to extend all feasible help to the aspirants on the Path.

*****

Question: Why is mind considered a formidable barrier to Spiritual Progress?

Answer: Mind in its present state is burdened with huge karmic load of past lives. It is enthralled by the outgoing faculties of senses and is thus driven helplessly into the mire of sense-gratification. The alphabet of Spiritual Progress commences with the control of mind. It is said that unless mind is controlled, senses are disciplined, and intellect is stilled, we cannot have experience of self-realisation. Human body is just like a chariot wherein soul is the rider, mind is the driver, intellect is the reins and senses are the powerful steeds running amuck in the mire of sensuous gratification. It is for this reason that for having a retrace of the facts, the senses are to be disciplined, intellect stilled and mind controlled so that the Inner Experience of soul can be had. Mind is accustomed to roam about externally through ages. Unless it is offered something more joyous within, it cannot be controlled. The four main attributes of mind as discussed above have to be divinised before any perceptible right understanding of the subject can be arrived at. Just as at present we are so greatly impressed by the facts of externality of life that we have little or no knowledge of the higher Spiritual Truths full of Divine Beatitude; which is gross ignorance, similarly unless we have firm conviction of the life of the beyond, there is no hope of our mind taking the right turn. It is only in the presence of the Living Master, Who has full command and control on His mind, that we find radiant reflections of Inner Stillness and equipoise of the mind.

*****

Question: How can I prevent going to sleep during meditations? Sometimes I seem to drift into a kind of dream and yet I do not truly seem to be asleep. Sometimes with all the will in the world to meditate it is hard to remember that I am meditating, because of this sort of dream state which comes over me.

Sleep during meditations can be prevented by keeping the Inner Gaze constantly fixed into the middle of whatever you see within and mental repetition of Charged Holy Names, to be done very very slowly, may be at intervals, so that the Inner Gaze is not disturbed. Sleep or stray thoughts intrude only when the Inner Gaze or attention is slackened, and it requires a good deal of strenuous effort to develop the habit of staying wide awake and fully conscious, during meditations. The fact remains that when going to sleep or meditating fully the soul is collected at the seat of the soul which is at the back of the eyes, while in the former state soul descends into gullet centre when she sees dreams and into solar plexus when it goes into sound sleep, in the latter case body sleeps but soul remains conscious and ascends into the higher realms and enjoys the flights consciously. The one is called the ‘dream’ and the other is termed as ‘vision.’ In dream you have simply a hazy idea of what you have seen and not at the time of dreaming.

Prophet Mohammed when asked about sleep said:

My body sleeps and my soul does not sleep.

Guru Nanak says that such a soul remains always awake and never seen asleep.

*****

Love knows selfless service, sacrifice and self-surrender. Let no one interested in Spiritual Advancement perform service for the sake of appreciation. Selfless service is a great reward in itself.

Kirpal Singh