True Master and His Mission

VI

God is the Soul of the universe. He willed to manifest Himself into so many forms of different patterns and colours. From one current of His power, multitudes of creations came into being.

The soul in us, too, has innumerable capabilities but is engaged in outer pursuits. Master-Saints tell us to gather in and collect the outgoing Spiritual Currents at one centre, the eye focus.

They give us an experience of the withdrawal of the life-currents. By daily practice we get into a habit which in course of time becomes a second nature.

Sur Das says:

As one proceeds along, the mind follows suit.

We wish to do this but have not the will to do it. We need some Competent Master to help us on the Path – One Who has trans-humanised the human in Him, and has become the mouthpiece of God. 

Nanak says:

Nanak opens His mouth only when He Is bidden to do so.

Similarly, Christ says the same thing:

I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

A Master-Saint by His own Life-Impulse gives a green signal to the human spirit lying smothered under the dead weight of mind and matter, and gives to it a glimpse of the way up. We, too, have been gifted with that power but are helpless as our life-currents are every moment flowing downwards and outward into the world of matter and towards all that is material. A Competent Master, like a powerful magnet, pulls the spirit currents up and magnetises them into a living and conscious soul. In this temple of the body, we dwell along with the spirit of God.

The human soul is like an over-loaded donkey, burdened with karmas of the past, out of memory, and incurring more and more karmas from day to day, it is deeply stuck in the quagmire of sensuous life. In this sorry and woebegone state it is well nigh impossible to take a single step forward unless some kindly Godman takes pity, lightens the smothering karmic load, and pulls us out of the quicksand of life. We are filled to overflowing with the thoughts of the world and all that is worldly and are so enchained hands and feet that we cannot possibly find a way out. In this sad plight of utter hopelessness and helplessness, we do stand in need of some powerful Friend Who may be able to lend a helping hand and infuse in us courage and persistence through His Grace. He, at a single sitting, by His concentrated attention, helps a gathering of ten, twenty, or hundreds of persons and gives a practical Inner Experience to all as the Sage Ashtavakra gave to Raja Janaka.

It is the work of some God-centred Saint Who can make us transcend the self-conscious self-hood to witness the clear Light of the void – beyond. With this initial experience, we can develop our Inner Life, which at every step opens out new vistas into the innumerable realms beyond. Being anchored in the Power of God, He does not lose anything by imparting His Life-Impulse. An ocean would suffer no loss if millions of creatures were to drink from it to their fill. The yogis and munis and the rishis with all their laborious practices for years and years never had a glimmer of the inward Light. But a truly Great Sage may, by His kindly glance, open the Inner Vision.

In the Gospel of St Matthew we have:

For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

I remember how my son, when at the age of four or five, once accompanied me to Hazur and made a request for initiation. Hazur gave him some sweets and he was satisfied. Next time when he went again, he prayed for that gift which had been granted to his father. Hazur took him inside, made him sit in front of Him, and asked him to concentrate and see within. In an instant the lad witnessed a star-spangled sky and Hazur asked him to open his eyes saying that it was enough at that stage. He came running outside saying that he had got Naam as far as the stars and inquired up to what stage had I been taken. Herein lies the greatness of a Saint.

While soaring into ethereal regions, He remains true to the kindred points of heaven and earth which are verily linked by the Power of God working in Him in a manifested form. He is the Human Pole from where the invisible hand of providence works visibly. Whosoever comes in contact with Him and implicitly follows His instructions, he, too, is alchemised or transmuted from dross into sterling gold. The Master is sent into the world to salvage souls for the Kingdom of God. From the Wordless state, the Word is made flesh to dwell amongst us for regeneration of mankind:

This much that man was made like God before, but that God should be made like man much more […] God clothed Himself in vile man’s flesh, that so He might be weak enough to suffer woe.

John Donne

Being One with the Divinity, a True Saint gives us first-hand knowledge of His experience with the Divine. All the scriptures of the various religions are nothing but fine records of the Spiritual experiences of Their authors with God. In fact, a Living Saint is much more than all the scriptures put together for He, being in direct contact with the God Power, is able to impart God-Knowledge directly, and grant actual experience of the saving life line. He gives us a correct import of the ancient scriptures. While reconciling the seeming inconsistencies, He presents an integrated picture of the science of the soul which has eternally been the same and shall be the same in spite of linguistic differences born of geographic variations and historic backgrounds:

Attend ye to the True Testimony of the Saints, for They tell us of Their own actual experiences.

Gurbani