Book VIII / II
Who is competent to initiate?
The initiation into the esoteric science of the soul can successfully and rightly be granted by some perfect Saint or Master – an adept in the art and science of Para Vidya or the Knowledge of the Beyond. One who has not himself extricated and freed his spirit from body bondage and transcended into higher spiritual regions and who has not seen Reality face to face and who has not, by spiritual practice, become established in Truth, cannot possibly do anything in this behalf. A Saint of the highest order alone is competent to reveal the Path and lead Godward, regardless of what we call him: Sant Satguru, Murshid-i-Kamil, Prophet, Messiah or Master-Soul. As light comes from light, so does life from life. The scriptural lore, by itself, is unable to impart this life-impulse.
Meet a Satguru and take his initiation, surrender thine all and peep within .
Guru Nanak, Gauri M1
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
St Peter, Acts 2:38
[…] ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous Light […]
1 Peter 2:9
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
St Paul, 1 Corinthians 12:13
The instruction in the esoteric teachings consists of the exposition of Simran, Dhyan and Bhajan, that is to say, repetition (mental with tongue of thought only) of the words which are charged with the Power of the Master; concentration or meditation (fixing consciousness or gaze) at the centre of the two eyebrows; and linking the spirit with the saving lifeline within, ever reverberating in the form of the perennial Sound Current, the very life-breath of the Universe, of which the Master himself is the living embodiment. As soon as a devotee is able to transcend the physical body, the Radiant Form of the Master (Guru Dev) appears in the subtle plane and becomes a guiding force to the spirit on the journey into higher spiritual realms, bringing him back to the True Home of his Father. Henceforth the Master-Spirit never leaves the soul, but continuously helps and directs, visibly and invisibly, directly and indirectly, in this life and the life hereafter, as the occasion may demand.
Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
St Matthew 28:20
And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
St John 6:37
Everyman, I will go with thee, and be thy guide, in thy most need to go by thy side.
Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Everyman
No man, however learned he may be, however high his morals be pitched, can by his own unaided efforts rise above body-consciousness. The experience of the spirit withdrawal while living can be vouchsafed only by a Master-Saint and by no one else, and without this transcendence one cannot peet into the world beyond and take hold of the Sound Principle – the Divine Chord in man, the link between the Creator and His creation.
It is the Divine Law that none can conceive of Him without a Satguru.
Guru Amar Das, Bihagra War M3
No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
St John 14:6
Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
St Matthew 11:27
Initiation from a Master-Soul is of paramount importance, for herein lies the secret of all esoteric teachings and esoteric experience. It means a new birth and a new life, entirely in a new setting. This spiritual birth or birth in the Master is called a second birth, and enables a person to turn over a new leaf, to say goodbye to the past and march forward to his original Home, the long-forgotten paradise – New Jerusalem, the Holy City, Muqam-i-Haq or Sach Khand.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
St John 3:3
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
St John 3:6