With Master in Punjab
by Wolfgang Sprenger with the assistance of Randy Budington
The word was out that Master would soon be travelling to different cities in the Punjab. However, none of His Western children knew whether He would allow any of them to accompany Him. The prevailing uncertainty was resolved at once when the message came that Master had hired a mini-bus with 22 seats for their travel convenience. Cheers! Now all of us could go along. There was quite a bit of packing to be done because in India it is the custom to take one’s bedding along when travelling.
So on 12th October at 5 a.m. sharp the mini-bus loaded with happy souls left Sawan Ashram for Amritsar. The Great Master had left on the previous day to hold Satsang in Chandigarh; He met us in Amritsar the following morning. By then we had travelled almost eleven hours through the fertile plains of the Punjab, planted abundantly with sugar cane, rice and wheat. Of course, the long bus ride had been exhausting but after having Darshan from the Master briefly, we all felt refreshed. By His Grace a local disciple offered his beautiful home near the Ashram grounds to everyone for the three-day stay.
The evening talks were given in the downtown area on a large square in which a shamyana (open tent), lovingly decorated with colourful lights, had been erected. At the end of the first night’s discourse the Master asked the whole congregation to sit in sweet remembrance of the Lord by saying:
Pray to God to help you; just for two minutes.
There seemed to be a tremendous wave of Love pouring out from Him – as if the Heavens opened to shower blessings on the Sangat.
Sometimes Master gave heart to heart talks in English at the Amritsar Ashram for the benefit of His Western children.
Some excerpts follow:
The Highest Form of prayer is to have sweet remembrance of the Master. When you think of the Master, then think of the God in Him. Don’t think of His flesh and bones.
Kabir says,
If you think the Master to be a mere man then you will reincarnate as a dog.
What is the Master? He is the Power that permeates all creation. He is also Someone Who is in full control of His attention. He can put it on something and take it away as He likes.
*****
Time and tide wait for no man. It is high time to strike up friendship with a Saint. They come to detach us from the world – which is a very difficult job.
Christ said,
I have come with a sword to separate mother from daughter and husband from wife.
*****
It is so easy to be attached to the world because we have been identified with it ever since we were born. The baby inside the womb enjoys the Light and Sound, but at birth these principles are taken away. When the baby cries, just attract his attention with a bell or light and he will be quiet.
*****
We are all mere stones and the Musler will carve a beautiful face out of each one of us.
*****
Here the Master explained about the spiritual incompetency of so-called masters:
An engineer may know all the parts of an airplane and how they are all assembled together, hut it takes pilot to take it up into the air. And all the people that want to go with the plane have to be prepared to leave the earth behind – otherwise they can’t go along.
*****
People come to the Master to ask for different things. He is actually approached through four separate doors. Those that come through the first door ask for health. The ones that come through the second door ask for wealth. Others approach Him through the third door and ask for improvement of family relations, such as sons, daughters, husband and wife. Rarely does anyone come through the fourth door and ask the Master for God.
Whenever possible Master gave the foreigners accompanying Him opportunities to participate in group meditations at the Ashram. He would usually ask us afterwards what we had seen inside. Once a young lady had a vision of Christ’s mourning face on the cross. While His Holy Face faded slowly away, the shining face of Master Kirpal Singh Ji rose from behind.
During the stay Master personally visited the sleeping quarters of His dear ones from the West. When He walked into the large living room Master took a seat beneath a large picture of Himself. The host’s family and all the guests gathered at His feet.
Then He asked, pointing at the picture above Him:
Who is better, that one or this one? (pointing to His body)
Someone answered that the Living Master was better by far. He remarked:
That’s right.
By permission of the Master the Westerners who wished to were allowed to visit the nearby Golden Temple, a place of pilgrimage for the Sikhs. Operating on ashram principles by providing free accommodations and food to pilgrims, and having been the seat of at least two of the Sikh Gurus, the temple was an inspiring place to visit.
The following morning the Master went to a small village to lay the foundation stone for a future free eye clinic. Preceding that function, a Satsang was held on the clinic grounds. Judging by many utterances of pleasant surprise amongst the Indian members of the Sangat, the Master was serving them most delicious food.
Initiation was scheduled for 16th October at 8 a.m. From one of the trees near the ashram a bird sang its song. It sounded as if the bird was singing the phrase,
He appears, He appears,
over and over again – at first slowly, but then faster and very emphatic.
In fact, the Beloved Master did appear to many. Out of 250 newly initiated souls that morning, about 75 saw His Radiant Form within.
Very regretfully did the Amritsar followers of Master see the day of His departure come. However, some representatives of Sawan Ashram in Pathankot had already arrived to confirm their local program with the Master, Who was scheduled to arrive there on 17th October.
On the way to Pathankot the Master was invited to stop over at the place where the famous Baba Buddha used to live. Baba Buddha had come to Guru Nanak at a very young age. One night Guru Nanak noticed this young boy in the gathering among His followers. He asked the boy why he had come to the Satsang. The boy explained that he had observed that little twigs were consumed quickly by fire, whereas it took longer for big logs to be burned up. In the same way, he felt that children were more vulnerable in the face of death than adults.
Hearing this, Guru Nanak said to him,
You talk like a Baba Buddha (old wise man),
and accepted the boy as a disciple.
Baba Buddha rose to a high position among the Sikhs, being given the honour of publicly installing the Sikh Gurus, after they had been selected as the proper and due successor by the preceding Master.
The road leading to Baba Buddha’s place was narrow and very dusty. There was seemingly no end to the large dust clouds surrounding Master’s auto caravan when eventually a small village came in sight. In loving memory of Baba Buddha, a Gurdawara, Sikh temple, had been erected on top of a nearby hill with a humble public school located at its foot. Master paid a visit to both places.
Satsang was held inside the temple with Master reading directly from the Sikh scriptures, the Granth Sahib, and giving the true interpretation of one of its hymns. The peasant audience was so overwhelmed by His true and powerful words that many of them gave way to remarks of awe and surprise.
Master gave some loving parting words to all the villagers and soon His caravan, veiled by dust clouds, vanished from their sight. Although the further travel went very smoothly the hot midday sun, after some time, began to cause cravings for refreshment among His Western children. Suddenly Master’s car turned off into a side street and stopped in front of a doctor’s home who was also an initiate. Everyone was asked to go inside where cool soft drinks and plenty of fruits began to be served to all. What a break – after so much dust and heat!
One of Master’s children who was running a fever had the opportunity to receive prompt treatment in the presence of the Beloved.