Reflections

by Kurt Hilger

We made a Christmas card for Master, with a picture of Baba Sawan Singh on the outside. The card was put on Master’s chair as we were sitting waiting for Darshan. Just as Master came in the card fell over in the seat of the chair. Master greeted us and sat down on the card. We were all talking at once to tell Him there was something underneath Him in the chair. He gets up, picks up the card and looks at it. He sees Baba Sawan Singh’s picture and all of a sudden He looks very sad, very grave. He sees the greeting inside and chuckles, then He tells us how very fortunate we are to have a Living Master, to be in the physical presence of a Master. We are all deeply moved.

On the same day we make up little munchy bags; we would ask Master to bless them and hand them out as parshad Christmas presents among us westerners. At the evening Darshan, we ask Master to do this. All of a sudden He gets very stern, and tells us how lightly we take the matter of parshad, how little we know of the True Nature and meaning of parshad. We are taken aback – such a reply we did not expect. But how right He is. He takes the little munchy bags, opens them up and spills the contents into a small heap in the seat of a nearby chair. Then He dips His hands into the pile of nuts, raisins and candy, over and over again He runs His hands through the pile. We look on, astounded. Master turns around and looks at us. He tells us that for every piece of parshad we must meditate one hour more than the daily minimum; but we are really out of it by now; this totally unexpected turn of events has blown our mind. We don’t understand what Master says; His stern loving glance on us has petrified our reasoning faculties. Finally we snap out of it. Master challenges us to come forward to take of the parshad, seeming not to understand our hesitation. Then we come up, one by one, and take as much as our hands will hold – our hands are full and our hearts are overflowing. What a treasure! We are mute with joy. Then we sit down and the blessings continue.

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There are those people who, unaware of the Grace and power of our Master, have expressed their doubts regarding the wisdom of following and surrendering to a Master; for example:

‘How can you worship a man?’ ‘It’s dangerous to follow leaders; Hitler was a leader, too.’ ‘He’s a dictator.’ ‘Mankind must grow up, and each man find and train the King within himself. That is as it should be. To depend upon a leader is to fail to develop one’s own strength or strive for clear vision.’

It is in pondering these statements that the following answer came:

When we follow Him we are following our greater Selves, and when we listen to Him we are listening to our Inner Voice. For He is the embodiment of our own latent Divinity.

Although many look upon Him as an authority figure, father, mother, brother, or friend, He is no less that which we are; and when we look upon Him as a father, mother, brother or friend, we are no less looking upon our own Selves.

We are in Him us He is in us. To look upon Him as something or somebody apart from us is folly.

Though it may seem, even to us, that we depend on, and obey, a leader, we are only following and obeying the King Who is our soul; of which He is the manifestation. Yes, He is the manifestation of our souls, and much much more besides.

Steeped in ignorance as we are, we have yet no knowledge of our soul; so how can we become something of which we have no clear vision? He is that which we, by His Grace, are becoming. In Him lies our goal, and He makes our vision clear.

So let us love Him without restraint; let us cherish Him, respect, obey and surrender to Him without doubt; and give ourselves to Him – body, mind and soul.