The Master at Parliament – Background & Description

India’s system of government is patterned upon the English style, with a Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, equivalent of the British House of Commons and House of Lords, together constituting a Parliament or seat of government. Members of Parliament are elected by the people at the time of voting, through selection in the various constituencies all over the country, and so everyone is represented by his own local Member of Parliament – or M.P. The very term ‘M.P.’ has a magical sound in India – except for film actors, no one is more idolised.

The Indian seat of government is at New Delhi, housed in a rather splendidly designed circular building, nonetheless imposing for its now outmoded style.

The Master, having been specially invited to address interested members of the Lok Sabha, was received there on 1 August 1974, with dignity. This invitation set a precedent, being the first time a spiritual or religious leader has been invited to Parliament to address the members. A large conference room was set aside for the occasion, and one by one the members entered and took their seats. The room was arranged conference-style, with the tables set in a large square, topped with imposing looking microphones, one before each chair. Around the room, loudspeakers were on the wells.

Awaiting the arrival of the Speaker of the House, a gentle hum of conversation settled over the room, a high-ceilinged, wood-panted apartment, cool because of this; but due to the high humidity of the monsoon, the inevitable ceiling fans were whirring away, suspended on their thirty-foot poles.

In India, a liberal number of women take part in politics, and there was a fair attendance from women M.P.’s. One lady told the writer her name was Mrs Gregory, and that she and a male colleague had been nominated by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian – Christian – population of India; and that the Master’s universal approach to the Oneness of mankind appealed so much to her because she herself believed and practised the same principle. She smilingly admitted that those who came to her for help numbered many more non-Christians than Christians, thus proving her point.

Dr Gurdial Singh Dhillon, Speaker of the House, was unavoidably late, but two or three other members recounted some of the highlights of the Master’s service to mankind. Dr Dhillon has his own notable history, and was a commander under the revolutionary hero, Subhash Chanda Bose. This day he claimed the honour of introducing the Master, remarking,

We should all have gone to Him, but He has very kindly come to us.

Listening to the Master’s talk, it was interesting to observe that the words He spoke to the members of government, who have the control of the country and the welfare of the people in their hands, were the same words that He has spoken to the ordinary public everywhere, with the exception of one or two remarks. It is surely re-confirmation that all men are indeed One.

His words today were reminiscent of a remark He made at the last Kumbha Mela at Hardwar:

We squeeze the blood of others for the sake of gain – money – and the result? Those worldly things remain here and our sins go along with us!