My Visit in India

by Dr Dona G. Kelley

My long-desired wish, nourished during the lifetime of my own Beloved Sawan Singh Ji, has now been fulfilled through the loving Grace of our dear Master Kirpal Singh Ji.

It is a rare privilege indeed to be invited for such a visit – and one that can never be forgotten. I wish that all initiates could see Master in His own surroundings, where He is so relaxed. He means so much to His own people in India, whose devotion to Him is something for all of us to emulate. Master is truly their Father, both physically and spiritually.

From the moment of our arrival in India, Master’s hand was immanent in every situation. As we were going through customs there, the impatient attitude of another passenger irritated the officer at the desk, until it seemed that he was not going to give us any service at all. Noticing that this man was a Sikh, I showed him the locket I was wearing, bearing the picture of Beloved Sawan Singh. I asked him if he knew Master Sawan, to which he replied in the affirmative.

Then I asked,

Do you know Master Kirpal Singh?

He said,

Yes – good man – good man.

I then told him that we were going to Master’s Ashram, whereupon he said:

Wait – I will get the paper signed and you may go.

So, we were allowed to go.

Outside the Delhi Airport, Giani Ji was waiting with a taxi and took us to the Ashram, where we stayed for two days – dear Ram Ji and his wife and Bimla, the ‘House Mother,’ looked after our comfort, until the morning of the third day, when we left for Dehra Dun. Our ‘guide’ was a dear soul, Har Charan, who speaks perfect English. This trip, by way of Manav Kendra, is close to 150 miles, but we were made happy by the driver, Ram Sarup. who chanted praises to Master as he drove along the crowded highway.

Arriving at Manav Kendra, I saw Master standing among the busy workers down the long basin which when completed, will become the Pool of Amritsar.

What a warm and loving welcome was given us! Such heart-to-heart experiences can never be shared – they are something to be locked up in one’s heart and cherished for all time! In the small room which had been built for Master’s comfort, we were given tea, after which Master sent us to Rajpur, about seven miles from the Centre, where He lives. We were given a comfortable room there on Rajpur Road, where we spent most of our time. How peaceful and quiet it was there – a truly blessed place! Master granted us His Darshan each morning, out on a grassy spot surrounded by papayas and other tropical fruit trees. Then He would leave for Manav Kendra, where He would spend the day surrounded by about 200 volunteer workers who were engaged in the construction of the oval pool previously mentioned. Later in the day He would send a car down to Rajpur for us and we would join Him at the Centre, where He would discuss various phases of the work there. As we arrived one morning, we found Him down in the pool where the very first lot of concrete was to be poured – a sort of ‘Foundation Stone’ – He invited me down; after He had troweled the cement, I was handed the trowel; then He handed the trowel to Charles, so that we could share this part of the ceremony with Him.

I can give you only the highlights of our stay there, since we moved about a great deal. On the first Sunday in December, Master held Satsang at Delhi, with approximately 5000 people present. Master asked this poor one to speak, so she spoke a few words on Love through a very able interpreter … and so it went, day after day, with Master shedding His Grace and Love – all of which made me feel very humble. How could anyone deserve the tender, loving care, such as shown me throughout my stay there? Truly, it was a case where heart spake unto heart.

Each evening, Darshan was held in the front room of Master’s home – the disciples waiting patiently until He returned from Manav Kendra. At such times, all of us felt that we were over-shadowed by the very presence of Love – once He said:

You people will never know how much I love you.

One incident deserves special mention: Our trip to Rishikesh, to attend the funeral services of a renowned Yogi, Raghuvacharya by name, who passed away at the age of 115.

From what we heard about this man, his was a very remarkable life, since he passed twice through the portal called death. At one period, while Master Sawan Singh was alive, this Yogi ‘died,’ but was unable to go through the astral plane – Master Sawan brought him back, after opening up the way through the astral region. While Master Kirpal Singh was in retreat in the Himalayas, after the passing of Master Sawan, Yogi Raghuvacharya met our present Master and embraced Him, exclaiming:

You are a Great Saint!

Thus Raghuvacharya became the first person to recognise Him as a Living Master. Thus, there developed between the two, a strong bond of Spiritual Kinship. One evening, during our stay at Rajpur, Master was called to Rishikesh by friends of Raghuvacharya, who said that the Yogi was quite ill; when Master arrived there, the Yogi had died. Two days later, Master went up to Rishikesh, accompanied by all of the American Satsangis who were staying at Rajpur, to attend the funeral and cremation. We passed through many ancient villages on the way up. After a brief interval in the house where the body lay, and after many of the Yogi’s friends had come to pay their last respects, the body was placed on a catafalque and carried through Rishikesh. En route to the funeral pyre, joyous music was played, the marigold-bedecked Yogi was saluted by passers-by, a young man walked beside the catafalque, sprinkling the corpse with rose water – and in this manner a renowned Yogi’s body was laid upon the pyre, on the banks of the Ganges – a very inspiring ceremony, indeed. We were privileged to spend many wonderfully inspiring days with Master, Who was always aware of what was required to make us comfortable, and Who always asked about our health, as He greeted us each morning. There were days when we did not reach home until 11 p.m., yet He always came to us for Darshan.

One day, a volunteer worker was digging alongside the spring down in the basin – or pool –, when a very large snake appeared. The man threw out his arm and said,

Get out of here!

The snake, instead of leaving, bit this man, in several places, on his leg. Immediately thereafter, Master gave him two glasses of ghee (clarified butter), and sent him back to work. The following day, the man showed us the scars on his leg, and said something in praise of Master. Apparently, he had suffered no pain at all.

Another incident deserves mentioning. It concerns a very fine mechanic, who, while servicing a car with the motor running, slipped and fell. He threw out his arm to break the fall, and the arm was severed by the blades of the fan in the cooling system. In the local hospital – at Dehra Dun –, the surgeon had to amputate the forearm, a bit higher, on account of the torn flesh.

Master told the mechanic:

According to your karma, this is the day you were supposed to die; instead, you have been given more time here, with only your hand being severed.

Masters never speak of such incidents – we heard of the two outlined above, from those who are close to Him.

There is so much more that could be said about the wonderful days spent with the Beloved Master, but one would have to experience, personally, those times in order to know just what it means to be ‘in the Presence.’ Suffice it is to say that those precious hours were filled with the quiet Peace that passeth all understanding …

To be completely emptied of Self is to be filled with Love. The Disciples of Master are indeed blessed. May they continually grow in Spiritual Stature, always hugging close to their breast that priceless Jewel of Initiation!