Your Life should show Criteria

II

It happened to me when my daughter died. It was night, and I had to go and give a talk somewhere – a duty given to me by my Master. So I told someone,

Please get everything prepared according to the custom.

The custom was to throw the body into one of the sacred rivers. The person replied, 

All right, you leave everything to me and I will carry out all that is necessary.

My son once fell ill, and the doctor announced that his condition was so dangerous that within three days he would probably die, and so I should take leave from my work and sit beside his bed day and night for he might pass away at any moment. Of course I took the leave, but it happened that one of the three days was a Sunday; and it was my duty, as ordered by my Master, to give a talk at the Satsang at Amritsar. Faced with this I said, 

All right, we are all in the Master’s lap, we cannot control life and death, it is all in His hands.

I left home and went to Amritsar to give the talk. After the Satsang, it was about noon time and, as the Master lived in Beas, just about twenty miles away, I thought, well, let us have a glimpse of the Master. The day was bright with sunshine and I reached the Dera at Beas about 2 p.m. When I entered the Master’s house he was upstairs, and though I gave no intimation of my arrival, He sent a man down saying,

Call him.

The Master was lying on His bed, but He sat up and asked me,

What about your son?

I told Him what the doctor had said, and that I had followed His advice and taken leave from my office work to sit beside his bed. When Hazur asked me for further information I told him that I had done my Sunday duty at the Satsang, for all life and death was in the Master’s hands: and that I had left the Satsang and come straight to Beas for His darshan. The Master sat very quiet, with His head in His hands.

I spoke to Him:

Hazur, whoever has even a single thought of You for a moment is released of all his worries, and yet you are sitting like this. How can that be?

He replied,

Well, Kirpal Singh, you have thrown all your burden on me.

Do you follow this? If we leave everything to the Master, we are saved. – This son lived for many more years.

You may have seen men from a certain section of the Sikh faith – they wear very big turbans covered with hoops of metal. Well, one such member of this sect was once ordered to climb a tree. He was carrying all of his belongings with him, for they have no permanent place of residence, and he promptly started climbing the tree clutching all his belongings to him. A bystander was observing this, and asked him, Dear friend, you have to climb a tree, but you are coming down again; why not leave you belongings here? The Sikh replied, When I get to the top, how do I know that I will not get another order to go on from there? So I must be prepared.

Such criteria show that we follow a Master. Merely seeing a Master is not enough. If you listen to His words, that will only give you one third of His knowledge: His commandments. The other two thirds are received through receptivity, and for that you have to develop devotion.

There are hints or tips I am giving you; judge for yourselves. People may speak very highly of you, or me, or anybody else, but you should see for yourself where you stand. It is a great achievement to be free from the dangers and onslaughts of the dacoits of lust, anger, greed, ego and attachment. Taking your food, your thoughts will be elsewhere, and you will not taste sweetness of it, to such an extent that at times you will not know how much you are eating. People judge you from these things I am pointing out. They cannot know how far you have progressed inwardly – to the first plane, the second, or third, or fourth, or fifth; they can only judge you from outward things, as I have explained. Take note every day how far you have proceeded. Your progress to date may be good – I am glad – but it is not sufficient. The real ABC of the matter stems from the things I have just been explaining: your living should show that you have met the Master.

See things clearly, and you will not be led away at heart. Often when I used to meet my Master, there were objections: ‘Oh, he has gone in to the Master again’ – so much opposition. It is but natural.

If you put duck’s eggs among the hens, after the hen has sat on them for some time the little birds will all be born – some chickens and some ducks. When they all go near the edge of the pond, the little ducks will plunge in, for they have a natural affinity to water; but the hens and chickens will stand on the edge, crying,

Oh dear, you will drown, drown, drown!

I was the first man in my village to be initiated, and it started some trouble. I was called to temple there and I tried to explain to them, finally saying, 

All right, there is a difference; why not take a few men, say four or five, and we will go and talk together heart to heart – you may choose the most learned men.

A number of people took a vow to kill me as a result; they fixed a meeting place, choosing the time at ten o’clock at night, with the purpose of killing me as I walked through the village to the appointed place. But when the hour came and I walked to the meeting place, they did meet me on the way, but had no courage to attack me. Some months after this incident, the ringleader of this plot came to Lahore and I met him one day in the street. I at once invited him to my home, telling him,

Come, dear friend, have your food with me today.

When we reached my house, he sat down and cried. Naturally I asked him what was wrong, and he replied,

You knew I was the one who led that plot to kill you, and yet you have welcomed me to your home.

He was quite overcome. This is the kind of attitude one can have towards life. You will remember that Christ said,

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

Such criteria will show people that you have met the Master; even when things go wrong and everyone is against you, glaring at you with hatred, yet within yourself you will be calm and quiet and unaffected by it all. If, on the other hand, you are praised with all honour and Grace, even then you will remain quiet and unaffected – not puffed up with pride. Others judge you by these things, and you may also judge yourself.

We are all children of God, brothers and sisters in God. We were born the same way, with equal privileges, and He Whom we worship is one and the same Lord, though He is called by different names. Some of us sit on a chair like ministers, and some of us are standing to attend, to carry out orders. Such positions are given according to the reactions of our past, and when one really understands this, he remains unaffected by praise or criticism. One receives honour or hatred in the same calm and quiet manner. There is no other way to judge. The more you advance, the more such criteria will take their place in you, without the necessity of praying or demanding for them. Guru Nanak tells us that if one continues hearing the Sound Principle, all virtues find their abode in that one. All virtue will find its abode in you. He also gives an example of grass which when cut is laid down in a certain place preparatory to having the seed removed. That place has a special name, all the grass is taken there for the removal of the seed. So it is something like that, and if you continue contacting the Light and Sound all virtues will find their abode in you – of themselves.

You may ask why it is necessary to keep diaries. Because, we are just on the way. In the past ages, the people had to sit at the Master’s feet for many years before they received anything.

You must have heard of King Ibrahim Adham, who left his crown and kingdom to become a disciple of Kabir. He lived with Kabir for three or four years, during which time he displayed a calm and quiet manner, acted in full obedience to all orders, never objected to anything, ate and wore whatever he was given, sat wherever he was told. Loi, who was the housemaid there, one day asked Kabir Sahib, Well, he has been here so long now, can you not give him something? But Kabir replied, He is not yet ready. Loi was surprised and asked what more signs of readiness could there be, when the king was showing implicit obedience and so forth. Kabir said, All right, when he leaves the house tomorrow morning, throw a basket full of the household refuse on his head, and listen to what he says. Loi did this, and the king cried, Oh, had this happened in Bokhara (his kingdom), someone would have paid for this! He was a king, you see, and that kingship was still in his head. Loi reported the incident to Kabir who merely said, I told you he was not ready.

It is a good illustration to show us that outer form and action mean nothing, and one cannot judge by a person’s action outwardly; it is a matter of heart, in our very make-up, and how that develops.

A few more years went by, and one day Kabir Sahib said to Loi, He is now ready. Loi was astounded, and said, But he is no different; he shows the same obedience and humility. So Kabir told her, This time take the night soil waste in a pitcher, and as he leaves the house in the morning, pour it on his head. She did this, and the king cried, Oh God, I am still worse than that!

The goal is still ahead, please; never think you are self-sufficient. You may be the head of some department, or a co-worker among others, or anything else; but regardless of your position you must have veneration for all around you and under you. Never feel offended. Everything is due to God’s Grace, you see, and as a reaction of the past we are given different responsibilities here on earth, but we should never feel the weight of them. The True Attitude to life will come when you truly meet the Master.

When on tour outside India, I gave these things in a nutshell; but here there is more time and we can have a heart to heart talk. I wish all of you progress, so that on your return people may easily see and judge that you have been with the Master. You are not the same person, each one of you; you are changed. If you have not changed, people will ask themselves, ‘Is there anything in this science?’ The medicine given to you is a panacea for all the ills of every day, but you have not progressed if you have not kept the commandments and have also not developed receptivity to the Master. As I have told you, one third of the teachings are given by the word of mouth, and they are for your obedience; and the other two thirds are given by receptivity, for which devotion is necessary. Others will judge you by this, and you can judge for yourselves also.

The more you progress while in the body, the more blessed will you be. On leaving the body, you will be whatever you have achieved while in the body, here and now. By merely leaving the body at death you cannot become a Saint, overnight or in a flash just like that. You are in the make. Guru Amar Das tells us, I was once like you, but now I have risen above with the Grace of God. Remember, with the Grace of God descending through someone. If I pick up my watch, my fingers may be holding it, but really it is the hand holding the watch – through the fingers. Similarly, God works in the Godman – the Grace of God descends through the Godman – and if this happens, one is no longer that which one was before. What were we before? Drowned in the poisons of the outgoing faculties – like anything – but have now risen above them, by the Grace of God.

You are meant to be ambassadors; all your future depends on this – you are the budding hopes of the coming generation. Every Saint wants His followers to become Saints. Every king wants to see his son a king, not merely a minister. The more you work for it, the more you will progress. For instance, you may put in two hours normally, but two hours are a must; and when you come here you put in more time, and progress. I am giving you these sweet sugar pills when you leave, and if you want to oblige me, then take one sugar pill for every hour of meditation you put in over and above the two hours which are a must. Then I will be obliged to you – for two reasons. I am pleased to see you progress on the way; also my labours will be crowned with success, and I will enjoy too. When children gain the first division in their examinations, is the teacher not pleased? And those who pass, they are honoured too.

This is why I always impress upon everyone: please, this is your work; only you can do it for yourself – you and you alone. No one else can do this work for you. The Guru is a help, the way up, a protection; He is everything to the disciple, just as a child entrusts everything to its mother, to learn to stand and walk and run; but we must be receptive. This is most important. First, if you love Him, you must keep His commandments; that is one third of the education. And for the other two thirds: develop. Develop devotion and receptivity.

I was so pleased to have you all here at this time, at the plea of the Conference which was held at the level of the human body. I think this was the first conference of its kind since King Ashoka – centuries ago. Many conferences have been held at the level of religions, but at the level of man it was a great revolution – to which those who were here will bear witness – to tell you a Great Truth.

I wish you all to continue and progress. This is your own special private work; all other things are but a question of paying off your debts, as a son or as a father, or a daughter, or mother or brother. Do these things lovingly, because you have been united by the flowing pen of God, which writes according to the reactions of the past. We should enact that part which God has given us, and pay off our debts. And then? We must go back Home. You are leaving us; all right; I wish you all progress. But see where you stand, and if you do progress, I will be overjoyed.

When they gave me a medal – the Order of St John – I was called to Pandit Nehru who was Prime Minister of India at the time, and he told me,

It is an honour to my country.

When you progress, it is an honour to me, you see. To do something worthwhile is an honour to your Master. People will ask, ‘Who is your teacher?’ just as an academically learned man is asked, ‘Who has taught you?’ Is this not so? I repeat, in my heart of hearts I wish you progress while the time is imperative and the golden opportunity of the human body is yours – make the best use of it. How calm and quiet is it. All right; go; and God bless you.