True Master and His Mission

VIII

When Master-Saints come to the earth plane, people are attracted by the Divine Glow of Their eyes and the soothing radiance They emit from the pores of Their body. At first sight, They appear to be dignified gentlemen. As one comes nearer to Them, one finds something unearthly about Them. Gradually this changes into the light of other-worldliness which in time forms a Divine Halo around Them until They look nothing short of God, for one begins to see the Power of God working in Them. They are then God-in-action, manifestations in flesh of the Absolute God Whom no one has seen or can see.

In a state of Divine Ecstasy, Bhai Nand Lal, a Great Mystic Poet, says:

Here and hereafter I sacrifice at the feet of my fair-faced Beloved.

He goes on to explain as to why He does so:

None of them can compare with the beauty of a single hair of Him.

Hafiz, a Persian mystic, speaks in much the same strain when He says: Should that ravishing beauty of Shiraz (Murshid) accept my suit, I would just for a mole on his check give away the Kingdoms of Smarkand (meaning both worlds here and hereafter) in dower unto Him.

If ever any beauty I did see, which I desired, and got, it was a dream of Thee. 

John Donne

This then is the vein in which the devotees speak of the really Great Saints, for they get from a single glance of Theirs an ecstatic intoxication which even thousands of barrels of the purest wine would not give. They come to serve Divine Vintage to the thirsty by imparting Their own Life-Impulse. The Sacred Books, however great, are mighty bloodless substitutes for life. They constitute a valuable treasure house of the recorded experiences of Their authors, experiences that They had in Their search of Their own Inner Self and of God. They, of course, inspire us and encourage us to emulate the sages and seers of the past, but by themselves, cannot impart the life experience which comes only through the Grace of a Living Competent Master. Spirituality cannot be taught, but It is caught as an infection from a God-infected soul.

I saw Kaaba (house of God) whirling round and round an entrance to an avenue where Lived a Man-of-God; oh God, what type of man is he? Is he really a man or an enchanter practising black magic?

Maulana Rumi

One is really astonished at such strange utterances. But they contain a marvellous truth in them. A Godman is a mouthpiece of God Himself:

God Himself speaks through a Sadh (an Enlightened One). 

Gurbani

When such a Master accepts you, He will never leave you. He is always with you wherever you may be. He becomes a constant friend and companion, a sure and unerring guide in the most unpredictable and bewildering situations, even after the much dreaded physical death that ends all worldly connections. Even before the judgement seat of God, He appears as an intercessor and leads the soul on its upward journey, bypassing all perilous pitfalls and warding off dangers. He never leaves the soul even for an instant until the soul reaches the mansion of the Lord and is safely enthroned there. He is commissioned from God to gather the lost sheep and to bring them to His fold.

After having discharged His commission in one part, Christ went to another remarking:

I have yet to tend many more sheep.

Every Saint, like a good shepherd, has to tend to many a sheep, here, there, and everywhere. From place to place, He moves the world over, administering to the Spiritual Needs of the hungry souls, regardless of personal hardships and privations, public taunts and rivalries, and open persecutions and indignities. All these trials and tribulations He undergoes and to what end? Just to help the helpless, to soothe the lacerated hearts, and to put people on their own feet on the Path of self-knowledge and God-Knowledge.

We can only have a fleeting glimpse of Their Inner Greatness and grandeur, occasionally and in passing as They may drop a hint here and there, just as Kabir did:

Kabir knows fully well the Divine Mysteries, and He has come with a message from God.

Other Saints, too, have spoken likewise. Hazur also gave such like hints:

When we come into the world, we bring our staff with us. When our work is finished at one place, we are commissioned to go elsewhere.

It is His pleasure that He should now reveal Himself to the Americans.