Follow the Satguru in Love

by Dean Schumaker

It has been said that Love is the Universal Solvent for all ills. But Love has always been a badly abused concept. The Great Master has stated that ahimsa – non-injury to other beings – is the highest cardinal principle. Now ahimsa is compassion and compassion is Love.

According to Hindu cosmology, at the beginning of the Manvantara, the immensely long period of creation, there was a kind of fragmentation of the One into ‘many.’ We have the Biblical allegory of Adam and Eve in the division of the sexes. In any event, if we are to accept the Spiritual Traditions from many sources, there was a general ‘break-down’ of the sexes into polarised opposites, male and female.

Understandably, through progressive generations, the separated jivas – halves –, were ‘lost’ from each other in the sea of maya. The possibility of an ideal reunion, due to sinful nature of man, was to be denied in the phenomenal worlds. Disobediance to Divine Law resulted in both degeneration and perversion. Reproduction continued to perpetuate the species; but inharmonious unions between men and women brought dire consequences to the race. Thus the misuse of the creative and procreative power of sex brought much misery into the world, and the permissive degradation of present day society is bringing the world to the brink of disaster. Contrary to some misunderstanding, the Great Master has not forbidden harmonious marriages between the devotees; but He does enjoin chastity, self-discipline, moderation and purity in our attitudes and conduct. And this for our own good!

It should be noted that there are some wholesome and encouraging trends in the thinking of western psychotherapists – away from Sigmund Freud who relegated or related all love to sexual compulsion. Some are saying that he was largely wrong!

The emotion of love is an exceptionally far-ranging, immensely deep-seated feeling that stems from the very fundamentals of human existence.

Dr Frank Harris

We may love a human being more than ourselves, enjoy infinitely his presence, delight in giving to his mental and physical happiness, lavish on him a thousand caresses, and yet not experience the flash of desire!

Andre Triden – French Psychoanalist

You can abstract everything from the word ‘love,’ the whole blue heaven above, everything that has grown into the spirit.

Wilhelm Bolsche – German Naturalist

One can love another because the other feeds, shelters, relieves one from pain or fatigue.

John Dollard – Noted psychologist

And Sigmund Freud says:

He fails to comprehend the dynamic character of love, for he attempted to fit it too narrowly into his libido theory.

As our Loving Master has stressed on numerous occasions, our primary goal is to reform ourselves rather than others. We will continue to violate the core of ahimsa, which is Universal Love so long as we fail to suspend judgement, fail to introvert, fail to look within to the Satguru for guidance. Those who are deluded by the maya of the world will continue to violate the cardinal principle of ahimsa. And after all, what is to be gained in rushing about the world in the mad effort to enhance one’s position or advantage, to correct real or imagined wrongs – especially in the de-humanising processes of war? Should we not leave something to God – the immutable Cosmic Law? One thing I have learned at the Lotus Feet of the Great Master.

We should balance all action with contemplation –

that is we should evaluate the consequences of our thinking and doing! This is not only the mystical Path; it is the practical and sane way of life ; the great re-discovery of our identity with one organic whole.

To sum up, we should refer to excerpts from the Great Master’s address before the World Fellowship of Religions:

No one can prove his Love of God unless he knows how to love his fellow beings. […]

All mankind is One. The world of spirit is above religious (or political) differences. Are our minds co-extensive with the creation of God ? Do we bleed inwardly at the sight of the down-trodden and depressed? Do we pray for the sick and suffering humanity? If we do not do any of these things, we are far removed from God and from religion no matter how loud we may talk and be pious in our platitudes.

Love knows service and sacrifice. We should sacrifice our lives, if need be, for the good of others: but not sacrifice others for our personal ends!