Kirpal Singh

III. On Receiving the Abhinandan Patra

This is the conclusion of the address given by the Master on being presented with the Abhinandan Patra on 7^th February.

These are a few things that I learnt at the feet of the Masters: man-making, man service, and land service. They have been my hobbies from the very beginning. To pursue these hobbies further, I sought admission in a medical college and an agricultural college, but family circumstances did not allow me to continue with my education. So the little understanding that I got through the Grace of God, I am giving out to you. This is the basic teachings of all Masters. The best school is that where a large number of students pass the examination. Likewise, the best social formation is that which turns out the maximum number of perfect men. One should remain grateful to those who moulded him, and remember them always. But to each other we are all brothers and sisters in God. Real integration is possible only on the level of man. There is nothing new in all this; these are the same old teachings handed down to us from time immemorial. To err is human; we forget; and Masters come from time to time to awaken us and to revive the teachings.

All that has been done so far, I do not claim any credit for it; I know that it is God’s Grace working. The understanding that I have gained through parallel study of religions, or by studying the lives of great men, I am putting before you. And this has appealed to the people. You have Love for me; I too have Love for you. At the Manav Kendra hundreds of men and women belonging to different social bodies and status in life toiled ceaselessly, inspired with the spirit of selfless service. In the bitter cold of the winter season they worked long in the night, sometimes to 2 a.m. Judges, barristers, engineers, college principals, high officials, worked side by side with common labourers and merged their separate identities into one common purpose. Seeing them work, it was difficult to spot who was who. And they all sat together at one place to take their meals. This is the basic thing in the teachings of all Masters.

Remain in the social formation to which you belong; while remaining in it, reach the goal for which you have joined it. It is a blessing to be in a social formation. While there, one should achieve the purpose of being there, which is to know God. ‘Knowledge’ means service, fellow-feeling, and culture; leading to humanity. You have given me this honour; I am ashamed of it because the credit is not mine. I am trying my best and hope to become man some day … God is already there in man, but we have forgotten. Unless we advance spiritually, we cannot reach the goal. These few words that I have spoken come from the understanding that I gained through the Grace of God by sitting at the feet of the Masters. The credit that you have given me for it goes to the Almighty, and to the Master at Whose feet I had the good fortune to sit and learn. With these words I thank you all. …