Integration of Mankind Day – An illustrated Report¹

by Jeffrey Broadbent

The following words are intended to convey something of the depth and beauty of Integration of Mankind Day held in sweet memory of Param Sant Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj at Manav Kendra on 31^st March, 1^st and 2^nd April – 2^nd April being the anniversary of the departure of Baba Sawan Singh from the earth plane in 1948.

The term integration of mankind describes the work being done at Manav Kendra, the man-centre: a further flowering of the Great Spirit which continues to work through the physical form of the Master, Satguru Kirpal Singh Ji, and a wonderful manifestation for us, for which we owe abiding gratitude.

Unfortunately the writer, enmeshed in delusion, could only shallowly perceive what was actually taking place. Therefore to write of it is like an oyster trying to describe the ocean by speaking of the water inside his shell. Approaching the Master’s presence is like climbing a steep mountain, but someway up the slope when our hearts get confused or despairing, an angel appears to fill us with cheer and make us remember that the goal we thought so far away is really here. We can then climb onward joyfully.

In Rajpur, at the Master’s retreat, we Westerners can unwind our minds and notions. When the intellectual chatter clears a bit, His Grace comes drip-dropping in like echoes in a silent well. In the tree-filled garden behind the house and in the very air, His strength, fragrance, and aura glow subtly. When some of the dross is washed away in the crystal waters of meditation and the iron of True Living begins to smooth away the ugly creases of worldly ways, we can lift our heads and clear our eyes enough to perceive.

The Master is often in physical presence at the new residence in Manav Kendra. He has said,

I have no home,

but His loving disciples have built a stopping-over place, tempered with the tongue of Simran! Truly, the Spiritual Basis of matter – that ungraspable indefinable radiant energy basis that even the electron finally resolves into – is nowhere more evident than in the simple bricks and mortar holding the limpid waters of Manav Kendra’s Mansarovar, the beautiful elliptical pool symbolising the Water of Life within man. In the calm evening sunset, the water reflects – as God reflects in peace our frenzied game of life.

On the evening of 31^st March we travelled from Rajpur, passing through the clangour of the markets of Dehra Dun, and sounds of the struggling world filled our ears – of mankind upon mankind eking an existence from each others’ flesh – the story of most of the world, unfolded like a dream. A heavy saggy black buffalo crossed in our path and the Volkswagen microbus screeched to a halt, throwing everyone forward into a surprised lump. The buffalo, unconcerned at having been one foot short of a charging VW, plodded slowly on with a patient motherly glance.

Driving through the gates of Manav Kendra we saw a sign reading ‘While here, be in sweet remembrance of God.’ Where was the clangour of the market place? Where was the burden of the buffalo? The chains of matter seemed to break, like Christian’s burden in The Pilgrim’s Progress, which fell off at the sight of the cross. We pilgrims also felt as if a shelter, a rest station, had been reached. We drove in, surrounded by flowers of every hue, and on our left the incredible softness of the rippling Mansarovar – the silver lakelet encircled by a walk of stone where sunrise and sunset meditation melts man and nature into one. Turning the first bend, on our right the raised dais framed with glass windows and curtains, and behind it the broad canvas tents shading the sunshine from the vast crowd.

It is evening as we enter, and dusk fades over the quiet pool, a cool breeze floats in the air. My mind, full of fears and delusions, pride and confusions, turns and turns upon itself. I think, who am I? Why have I made so many mistakes? Why do I so often create a self-made hell? Why do I fall and fall and fall again? What strange conflux of agonies has tied this knot of my maya-creating mind? Such questions go on and on inside me.

Across the front of the dais is written ‘In sweet memory of Param Sant Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj’ and underneath ‘Integration of Mankind Day.’ 

I wonder, what does integration really mean? And then, like the angel on the mountain coming to comfort us in our travail, Master ascends the dais and begins to speak. I am so exhausted; but somehow, in that unclutched faint of will and mind, the quiet voice from the dais begins to flow in, saying:

… twenty minutes looking into the eyes of the Living Master with no other thought in mind is worth one hundred years of good meditation – but only if the disciple becomes receptive can he receive the waves of Grace emanating from the Master. The cup must be below the pitcher in order to receive; if the disciple is pulled up with his own pride, he cannot receive the full benefit.

St Augustine says,

The three prerequisites to Spirituality are: first humility, second humility, and third humility.

So when I sink in the swamp of discouragement, what do I find at the bottom? His gentle face which lifts me up again and out of my old small self into a simple world free from the complex problems which arise when we carry that small self around.

The Master continues:

When seen from the height of Spirituality, the frenzied pursuits of the world seem useless and futile. We think others are mad, and they think we are mad.

The gentle humour of His words soothes me.

He says:

You have only two jobs – meditation and selfless service. Spirituality is not intellectual learning but is practice and living.

Night had fallen as many thousands sat in the midst of Paradise listening to the discourse of the Master. The evening was peaceful and we were exceedingly joyful.

*****

On 2^nd April 1948, Baba Sawan Singh Ji left the earth plane. So, while there were three-hour Satsangs held both morning and evening of 1^st and 2^nd April, in the spirit of the occasion the morning of 2^nd April was the most intense. The scene was set with thousands of attentive devotees sitting on rugs under broad tents; and in front the beautiful raised and roofed dais, its square lines of pastel yellow, light tan, and the pale blue curtains forming a serene frame for the row of simply clad, cheerful religious leaders and philosophers who sat below. The Master, seated in the centre, seemed like a special stillness and innocence within that serenity. Behind the dais, rows of vibrant yellow, orange, purple, red and blue blossoms cried aloud the joy of God; and beyond them the Mansarovar rippled in the breeze, reflecting the light laughter of the early sun.

The Master put us all into meditation at 7:30 a.m. and one hour later counted those who had seen Light within – approximately three thousand individuals.

A devotee chanted the heartfelt melodic Sikh scriptures, saying,

In the Master’s presence the Elixir of Life showers upon us; in His presence it is easy to meditate.

Another devotee sang a poem written by Master Kirpal Singh at the time of Baba Sawan Singh’s departure from this world, expressing deep grief and saying that although the Spiritual Presence is still with us, yet the value of the physical presence of the Master is inestimable.

Pundit Sunder Lal Ji, an 87-year old Indian revolutionary, spoke lengthily, and one story from his talk recounted how he met Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam some time back, and had tea with him. Chairman Ho sat at a plain wooden table, and Pundit Lal could count three holes in his undershirt. Afterwards Chairman Ho had his photograph taken with the visiting leaders, and then arranged that another picture should be taken of him in company with their drivers. Pundit Lal Ji was emphasising the simplicity and humility of great men, and spoke also of the Master’s humility: describing how the Master had repeatedly attended to His driver, Ram Sarup, who had broken his leg.

Another disciple of the Master, a former politician turned poet, recited a short poem:

Blessed is the moment spent in the physical presence of the Master, for that will count toward your Spiritual Progress.

Mrs Lucille Gunn of California said,

We are all spokes of a wheel, with the Master as the hub. We must all cooperate for perfection.

The Master remarked,

Having drunk oceans, your lips should be dry. Having progressed spiritually, you should never exhibit your progress.

An orange-robed yogi said,

Do not worry about public response – just follow the right way. ‘To be’ is just to live a true life; no question of preaching. You will find that you will serve the cause and affect others beneficially. Master Sawan Singh is within the form of Master Kirpal Singh. The palace of Love is so high that you must leave everything to get there.

The Music Master Pratap Singh Ji, singer of scriptures, sang another bhajan and the Master added,

If you get rid of the ego, you will become God. Put all scriptures into the fire, but let your heart be blooming with God’s Love. The Way back to God is to merge into the Master.

The Master’s son, Darshan Singh, recited one of his own poems:

Listen to the cry of the spirit. The anguished cry of the spirit invokes Divine Grace. When the spirits of the world cried out in anguish, God sent Sawan Singh for their salvation, and that work continues through Sant Kirpal Singh. The Satsang of the Master is the Valley of Light, wherein we recognise we are all brothers and sisters. Outwardly people look like different flowers, but they emit the same Divine Fragrance.

Darshan related that when he brought this poem to our Master, the Master added the last couplet which says,

When stones of different colour are struck together they produce fire; when people of different races sit together, they produce God’s Love.

The Master introduced Yogi Raghuvacharya’s successor, telling us that when He went to find some solitude in the foothills of the Himalayas in 1948, out of the many yogis He met, Raghuvacharya was the only one who could rise above body consciousness through yoga and step into the astral plane. (Raghuvacharya passed on at the age of 115, two years ago.)

The successor, a handsome man with long black hair, said that he was full of gratitude to the Master, and that he had been drawn here like iron filings are drawn to a magnet. (The Master interjected and said that it was through God’s Grace that he came.)

An elderly lady, initiate of Baba Sawan Singh, said that through the Master’s darshan all vices and yearnings flee away.

A Sufi sage stressed the importance of the Universality of religion, and that one should not castigate another’s religion but pick up the goodness therein. He then emphasised the value in the motto which the Master gave to Manav Kendra on its inauguration:

Be good, do good, be one.

A Sikh initiate of Baba Sawan Singh Ji recited a rhythmical poem about the Grace of Sawan Singh, and telling that during the Hindu-Muslim conflict over partition much slaughter occurred; and this was at the time of Baba Sawan Singh’s last severe illness, which was the outward manifestation of the karma the Master had absorbed to lessen that great tragedy. (Our translator here commented that the present Master’s operation had taken place at the time of the Bangla Desh crisis.)

The Master then put us into meditation once again, and we sat in deep peace. After this the Master graciously revealed a little of His heart when He told us,

In His last moments, Hazur was all peace. When He breathed His last, I put my head upon His Feet and said, ‘The Sun of Divinity which had risen, has set, and I have no words to express my grief’ – but the Master-Power never dies, and instead of saying too much we should sit in His Presence.

Bibi Hardevi Ji sang, in a clear pure voice that seemed to ascend to the very steps of Heaven, the Master’s own poem:

Oh Ye Divine Cupbearer, grant us that Divine Wine, so that we may remain in the Divine Presence.

The pain and glory of her unceasing devotion radiated from her as she sang, like a shimmering light from a higher world.

The moth is devoted to the flame, and similarly the True Disciple is so devoted to the Path that he sacrifices his own comforts, his own life. 

She concluded by singing the Master’s poem written in 1930 about the passing of Baba Sawan Singh – 18 years before the event took place in 1948. As the last crystalline notes echoed into the black night and up to the stars, we sat in silence.

Twice a day therefore, for the three-day program, we were graced with the Master’s darshan. At different times other speakers also made very interesting points. Dr Asher Eder of Israel, newly initiated on the Master’s Path, presented an etymological analysis of the names of the major religions, showing that all have the same or similar root-meaning.

• Christianity comes from Kristos, meaning the anointed of God;

• Buddhism from Buddha, meaning the enlightened one;

• Sikhism from Sikh, meaning a pure disciple;

• Judaism comes from Yehudi, meaning one who confesses to or thanks God;

• Islam derives from Salaam or Shalom, meaning the complete one or the whole one;

• the word Aryan originally referred to the ancient Persian religion, and means friend of creation;

• and a follower of the Sanatan Dharm – which is how Hindus refer to their religion in their own language – is one who strictly abides by the eternal moral codes.

This gives linguistic concordance to the Master’s emphatic statement that all religions ultimately spring from the same type of profound experience, which is one.

Madame Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, sister of the late Prime Minister Nehru, former first woman President of the United Nations General Assembly, a notable figure in Indian politics and society, addressed the 2^nd April evening gathering, stressing the need to put into practice what the Master is teaching.

Later that evening, as we stood out under the brilliant stars, the Master’s car drove by. We ran after it, hoping for another second of His darshan. He got out of the car and walked to the canteen that had been specially organised for the function, looking into the food containers and mildly inspecting; then He went on to other buildings. If He watches so carefully over material conditions, how much more so over the precious human souls!

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Editorial Note 2012: The insertion of the pictures will follow.