Sant Bani Magazine Jan. 1991 The Voice of the Saints

i

A Prayer for Peace

Sant Bani Magazine The Voice of the Saints

January 1991 - Volume 15, Number 7

The Broken Seed Sant Ajaib Singh Ji

from the Asa Ji Di Vars January 25, 1987

The Holey Jholi Jack Dokus a story about giving

Sant Ji's 1991 Tour Russell Perkins important nofice

A Prayer for Peace Sant Ajaib Singh Ji January 1, 1991

The Universal Language Sant Kirpal Singh Ji October 24, 1972

The Laughter of the Saints Sant Ajaib Singh Ji

a question O answer session Nozwnber 30, 1988

Love, Faith and Devotion Sant Ajaib Singh Ji atz underground room talk January 5, 1991

Photocredits: Cover, Carlo Massarini; pp. 1, 11, Charlie Boynton; pp. 2 (both),21, 22, 23, 25, 26, & 28, Jaime Trujillo Garcia; p. 14, Kent Bicknell; p. 17, back cover, Bobbe Baker

SANT BANIlThe Voice of the Saints is published periodically by Sant Bani Ashram, Inc., Sanbornton, N.H., U.S.A., for the purpose of disseminating the teachings of the living Master, Sant Ajaib Singh Ji, of His Master, Param Sant Kirpal Singh Ji, and of the Masters who preceded them. Editor Emeritus: Russell Perkins. Editor: Richard Shannon, with kind assistance from: Christian Allegre, Terry Barnum, Edythe Grant, Russell Perkins, Susan Shannon, and Mary Swan.

Annual subscription rate in U.S. $30.00. Individual issues $2.50. Back issues $2.50. Foreign and special mailing rates available on request. All checks and money orders should be made payable to Sant Bani Ashram, and all payments from outside the U.S. should be on an International Money Order or a check drawn on a New York bank (with a micro-encoded number). Correspondence should be addressed to Sant Bani Ashram, Franklin, N.H. 03235, U.S.A. Articles, including stories and poems, on the theory and practice of Sant Mat, are most welcome. Views expressed in individual articles are not necessarily the views of the journal.

The Broken Seed Sant Ajaib Singh Ji

P REACHING the Shabd Naam, giving the teachings of Naam, and giving

initiation into Naam, took Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj into many dif- ferent parts of India; and when He went into the Himalayas, on the moun- tain of Sumer, He met a group of siddhas-renunciates who had left their homes to live in the jungle, who were doing yogic practices there, who were living on fruits and vegetables only, and who believed that only by sacrificing everything in this way could they achieve liberation. In those days, many great kings and emperors had become followers of the siddhas or Naths: Gorakh Nath, Gopi Chand Barthree, and many other kings and powerful people had gone to such yogis, so their subjects also went to them and they developed a large fol- lowing. The path of the yogis was very popular in those days, and it had been a long time since those yogis had left the world and gone to the Himalayas; so when Guru Nanak went there, they asked him, "How is everything in the world? How are things happening there?" And they also asked many questions about realizing God: How one can realize God, whose refuge one should seek, and where should one go

This talk, the eleventh in the series of commentaries on the Asa Ji Di Vars of Guru Nanak, was given by Sant Ji at Sant Bani Ashram, Village 16 PS, Ra- jasthan, on January 25, 1987.

January 1991

if he wants to learn the way of realizing God Almighty. So Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj lovingly explained the an- swers to those questions in detail in this hymn which will be presented to you now. You should listen to it care- fully.

Siddhas and yogis had long lives, and Guru Nanak had a short life. Be- cause of their yogic practices, the sid- dhas and yogis lived long. So when the siddhas saw Guru Nanak coming to that mountain of Sumer, they won- dered how He who had such a short life was able to come there: "because," they thought, "we have been able to reach here and stay here only because of our yoga and our siddhis (super- natural powers), so how can Guru Nanak and His two attendants, Bala and Mardana, come here? So," they asked Him, "What is happening in the mortal world nowadays?"

There is a famine of Truth. False- hood is spread all over.

(The souls are) ghosts of the dirt of Kal.

He says, "0 siddhas, what should I tell you about the mortal world? From the world, from the physical plane, the Truth has vanished: everywhere there is untruth. Buried under the swamp of sins, the soul is getting kicked and knocked, and everyone has stopped telling the truth: they all speak lies. Because the soul is buried under the swamp of sins, she has become a

ghost: the people who live there are like ghosts."

They have taken the Seed (of Truth) and its glory;

How can fhe daal, the broken seed, grow?

Now He says, "The people who came in the Golden Age took away with them their honor, glory, Truth -- and now only false things remain in this world." It is as though they took the seed of Truth and left only the dual or split pea: you know that the split pea cannot grow because the seed is bro- ken. He says, "In the Golden Age, just by accepting the Truth and giving a little bit of attention to it, the soul was able to go up; and one was able to do the devotion of God because everyone was truthful. But now the Truth has eloped and no one does the devotion of God."

In the Golden Age or Sat Yuga, Truth was the means of liberation. In the Silver Age or Treta Yuga, perfor- mance of austerities was the means of liberation. In the Copper Age or Dwapar Yuga, worship and outer rites and rituals were means of liberation. But in this Iron Age or Kali Yuga, the support of Naam is the only means of liberation.

It would grow only if it were whole,

And only if it is the proper season.

Now he says, "All seeds have become like daal or split peas, which will not grow. And also the season is not favor- able." He means that in the earlier days there were Rishis and Munis of a high degree who used to perform aus- terities and do outer rites and rituals. They were very devoted in doing those practices, and they became successful.

And in those days there were also rich people who used to support the Rishis and Munis in performing those auster- ities, and that is how they used to achieve liberation and do the devotion of God. So He is saying that now, in the present time, we have neither those Rishis and Munis who are competent in performing austerities by which they could achieve liberation, nor do we have any rich people who would wholeheartedly contribute to the per- forming of those austerities. We do not have the season nor the favorable con- ditions in which we could achieve lib- eration by doing that kind of devotion of God.

In the Golden Age, everyone was truthful, and by accepting and main- taining Truth, one was able to achieve liberation. As the time changed and the Silver Age came, people started do- ing devotion by performing austeri- ties - not the austerities people do now, but a different kind. And when the Copper Age came, the Rishis and Munis of that age did rites and rituals as well as performing austerities. But if in the Iron Age-because this is the lron Age - if in the Iron Age we do the practices which were meant for the past ages, we will not be able to get anything out of them: because the con- ditions are not favorable. We do not have that kind of Rishis and Munis, nor do we have the long life which we had in the past ages. In the Iron Age, because the time has changed, we will have to adopt the means of liberation which is successful in this age, and that is the meditation of Shabd Naam. Un- less we work hard in the meditation of Shabd Naam and adopt this means of liberation, we can never have it.

Swami Ji Maharaj says, "In the Iron Age, no karmas, no dharmasn-that

SANT BANI

is, no religious acts can be successful. Without the support of Naam one can- not get liberation.

Nanak says, Without preparation, The color will not stick to the

fresh cloth.

Now He says, "Just as if we want to dye a fresh piece of cloth, first we need to bleach it or treat it with a chemical, and only then will we be able to get the fast color on that cloth-in the same way, if we want to dye our mind in the color of Naam, first we will have to do Simran and remove the impurities from it, and only then, after going in the company of the Master, and with the help of the Master's Naam, can we dye our mind in the color of Naam." He says, "No matter how much you read, or how many other things you do, unless you go to the Master and purify your mind, you cannot get that color of Naam on your mind."

Bleach (the mind) in fear of God; In the body feel embarrassed.

What is that with which we need to treat our mind? Just like we need to treat the cloth before dyeing it, in the same way we need to treat our mind with the fear of God: before doing any bad deed, we should think about it and we should feel embarrassed at the idea of doing that. We should ask, "Will this be a good thing for me if I do this? Will God be pleased with me if I do this bad deed?"

When we are afraid of God and feel embarrassed about doing sins, then we will be able to easily do the meditation of Naam. When the cloth is clean and pure, it easily catches the color; in the same way, if our inner self is pure, we will easily catch the color of Naam.

People say, "This world is sweet,

January 1991

who has seen the beyond?" but this is the kind of thought which leads us astray: because whatever we do, we have to suffer the consequences of it ourselves.

We know that we never do anything against our family members, our rela- tives, or our friends, because we think that if we do, they will get upset at us; and we are afraid of that. But, have we ever had even that much fear of God Almighty, as we have of our family members?

Nanak says, If one gets the color of devotion,

Falsehood does not dirty him.

Now He says, "Once you get the color of devotion, the color of Naam, after that such a soul does not get dirty in the dirt of falsehood and garbage.''

Kabir Sahib says, "Those who have been colored by the Master never lose their color. Day after day they go on getting more shine, until they become perfect."

Greed is King, Sin the Prime Minister;

Lust is the Counselor.

Now Guru Nanak Dev Ji tells the sid- dhas, "The King of this age is Greed, and his Prime Minister is Falsehood; the one who gives them counsel is Lust."

Lust is the Counselor and they call him (for advice);

They all sit together and think.

Now He says, "When they have to do any judgment, they call Lust because he is the chief counselor; and the judge, who is Greed, will dispense the justice." It means that in this age, those who are affected by lust, anger, greed, attachment, and egoism, will be

5

the ones who will present the cases and make the decisions; they will be the ones who will teach the other people, "Dear ones, you should abstain from these five passionsn-even though they themselves will be involved in all five.

Their subjects are blind and with- out knowledge;

Like the dead, they submit to others' will.

Now He describes the condition of the world: No one has the knowledge of Shabd Naam. No one has any knowl- edge about satsang or its purpose. They do not have any understanding of the Mahatmas. They do not know why the Mahatmas have come into this world, nor do they have any knowl- edge of the grace the Masters have for us. So He says, "Without the knowl- edge of the Reality, the whole world has become blind; and in this world, since no one has the real knowledge of the Shabd Naam, all the people are buried under the darkness of igno- rance, and they have become like the dead." A dead body cannot move by itself; in the same way, people who do not have the knowledge of Shabd Naam cannot do anything by them- selves: they do not know what is good and what is not.

The (so-called) gyanis dance and make music;

And beautify themselves (with or- naments and cosmetics).

Now He says, "In this age, those who call themselves teachers or holy men, what do they do? They disguise them- selves in the form of past Mahatmas or Saints like Krishna or Rama, and their disciples play musical instruments, and for the sake of worldly things, they dance."

If we wear the skin of a lion, we do not get the power of a lion. In the same way, even if we adopt any of the outer things of a past Master, even if we behave like Him outwardly, still we cannot get that power which was work- ing within Him.

They shout and sing; They remember the brave ones.

Now he says, "In large gatherings, with the help of musical instruments, they sing very loudly; they sing of the brav- ery of those who came in the past. Nobody talks about the Shabd Naam; they only talk about the glory and the bravery of the past people."

Once some people asked Master Kir- pal Singh Ji, "How can peace prevail in this world?" Master gave them a very loving and beautiful reply: "If we live up to the words of the holy scriptures which the Saints and Mahatmas of the past have written, then peace can pre- vail in this world very easily."

The foolish pundits argue and criticize;

They love the collection.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj says, "Those who do not have any knowl- edge of the Shabd Naam and who are the most foolish ones, they will be called 'pundits' by the people; and since they do not have any knowledge of the Shabd Naam, what devotion of God are they going to do? They will only comment on other people, and criticize others by saying, 'He has this fault,' or 'He has that fault'; and since they do not know the real way of the devotion of God, they will not be able to teach devotion to others. Their job will be to make people fight with each other, and divide them; this will be the only quality they will have."

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He says, "In this Iron Age, the hus- band and wife will love one another only for worldly pleasures."

Religious people will do religious deeds and lose,

Asking for the door of liberation.

Now He says, "No doubt there will be good people in this age; no doubt they will do good deeds; but the pity is that whatever reward they are supposed to get, they will lose it right here." In other words, the people who do good deeds will do them expecting their re- ward right here. If someone's son is sick, he will ask for his good health. If someone has difficulty in his employ- ment, he will ask for the grace of the Master in that. And if someone has any lawsuit pending in court, he will ask for help in that. In this way, what- ever benefit or reward they might get for their good deeds, they will get it right here, and thus lose all the benefit. Even the wiser people, who would not expect worldly things in return for good deeds, even they will ask, "Will we get liberation here?" So, just by expressing their desire and showing that they had done the devotion of God expecting the reward in this life- time, in this world, or in this age, they will lose the benefit, and they will re- main at the door.

I have often mentioned a person in the village of Ganeshgarh who was hurt in his leg amd unable to come to satsang. He told me that if I would bring Master to his home, he would be very grateful; and he invited Master to go there for tea. So I requested Master, and He graciously agreed to go there. Before they served tea to Master, that person opened his leg and asked Mas- ter to have a look at his wound so that he might be healed. So just imagine

January 1991

how much that cup of tea was worth! What was he asking from the Master for that one cup of tea? So, when we have these desires and expectations, how can we get the benefit from the grace of the Master?

Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say, quoting the Bible, "If God graciously gives us worldly riches and material things, and if we are giving away those things to others, if our right hand is giving the donation, not even our left hand should know about it." We should be grateful to God Almighty, and we should express our thanks to Him by saying, "It is only because of Your grace and kindness, that we have become able to help others."

They call themselves celibates but do not know the way.

They give up their homes.

Siddhas were proud of being renunci- ates, and they used to say, "Guru Nanak is only a householder, but we are renunciates! We have left our homesv-so, in order to explain to them the meaning of real renunciation, Guru Nanak Sahib is telling them, "Look here, 0 dear ones: you have left your homes, but were you able to live without your wives? You have left your one woman at home, but you have had to go and beg from so many other women because you could not live without food; you left your own homes and properties, but you have had to appropriate many other proper- ties which belonged to other people, and make them as your own. You say that you are celibates, but you do not know the way to become celibate. You say that you do not have any desire, but it is very hard to control the mind. No doubt, outwardly you have become celibate; but inwardly, if you still have

desire for lust, you are not celibate." Guru Sahib says, "One who is con-

tent with one wife is a celibate." If one lives in married life, and is content with one companion, then he is not less than a celibate. If you are living your married life according to the in- structions of the Master, if you are living in contentment and within the limits, then you are not less than the celibates - because just imagine: sup- pose you are in the market, and your mind creates the desire of buying something or eating something there. If you are a householder, working in the world and earning your livelihood by honest means, and you have the money, then you can easily satisfy the need of your mind, buy that thing and eat it or whatever; but if you have left your home, and the mind creates any desire (because the mind is still there), you cannot fulfill that desire because you do not have any money since you are not working like the householders. So what will you have to do? Either you will have to suppress the desire of the mind, which you cannot do, or you will have to steal money in order to fulfill that desire, or you will have to do something else. So which is better? It is better to be a householder, work hard, and earn your livelihood by hon- est means, and in this way fulfill the desires of the mind. And also be con- tent with one companion, and live like a celibate. So that is why Guru Nanak Sahib lovingly explained to the sid- dhas, "You are not celibates. Celibates are those who live in married life and, earning their own livelihood, remain content with one companion."

Everyone says that he is complete. No one says that he is lacking.

Now Guru Nanak tells the siddhas,

"Of all the people I have met, no one has told me that he is less competent or incomplete. Everyone says that he is the highest, the competent one, the perfect one."

If one is weighed on the scales of Glory,

Only then the weight is known, says Nanak.

Now Guru Nanak says, "Regarding the one who calls himself perfect: you should find out whether, in his life, he has done any sacrifice, any practices, any devotion of God, anything to be- come worthy of being called perfect; or if he is calling himself perfect just for the sake of saying it." He says, "If someone has done something in this world, and the people in this world recognize and respect him, if he is known in this world, only then he will be known, accepted, and glorified in the Court of the Lord also. God Al- mighty will also recognize him if he is recognized by the people here."

"Recognized by the people here" does not mean that if you have a high position and people are afraid of you, and in that way they remember you or recognize you - it is not like that. You know that Saints and Mahatmas rule over the hearts of the people; you know that it has been more than five hundred years since Guru Nanak Sahib came into this world, and about two thousand years since Jesus Christ came into this world, and so much time has passed; but still every morn- ing when we get up, we remember them with all our love and affection. This is because they ruled over the hearts of the people, and because of their qualities were recognized by the people, and loved and adored by them; and only because of their good quali-

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ties we remember them every morning. So that is why here he says, "If some- one has done something in this world, only then he is recognized and appreci- ated by the people, and such beings are the ones who are accepted and glori- fied by God Almighty also."

He says, "You should weigh the life of the Mahatma, using the scale of the Naam." It means that you should find out whether he has done anything in the path of the Naam or not: whether he has stayed up many nights in his life to do the devotion of Naam; whether he has sacrificed anything. If he has done all these things and has become perfect in the Naam, only then you can call him the perfect one.

The True One sees what He has made, says Nanak.

Now Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj says, "God Almighty has Himself laid down the tradition, and made the lim- itations and regulations: how the crea- tures are to be created, how they will be dissolved, how the sun and moon will shine and will give the light to everyone. God Almighty, Who has made these traditions and regulations, is the One Who Himself administers all this; Who Himself sees that all these things are maintained."

Everyone jumps, But only that happens which He

HimseIf does.

Now He says, "After coming into this world, every jiva, according to his karmas, has tried to jump; they have all wanted to be gyanis and great medi- tators; they have all wanted to control everything and become supreme powers. But God Almighty has kept everything in His hands, and whatever one has done, he gets the reward ac-

January 1991

cording to that; according to their own karmas, they get the benefit."

Hereafter caste and power do not exist;

Hereafter the jiva is born anew.

Now He says, "In the Court of the Lord, neither our caste nor our creed, nor our power nor our rule will go with us. The beings with whom we have to deal will not be related to us there; they will be new people. Only our deeds will go with us. And only those who have done the devotion of God will be accepted and welcome there."

Only those whose honor is coun- ted (in the Court of the Lord)

Are good people.

Now Guru Nanak tells the siddhas, "Dear ones, only in the true Court of the Lord do we come to know who is good and who is bad. If we are ac- cepted there, if we are welcome there in that court, then we are good. But if no one cares for us or welcomes us there-if even after going there we are bothered by the angels of death - then we are bad. Only after going to the true Court of the Lord can we know our reality."

Kabir Sahib says, "If the mind is true, only then is it easy to settle ac- counts: because in that true Court of the Lord there is no one who can help."

Only those in whose fate it is writ- ten, get You; Only they medi- tate upon the Husband.

Now Guru Nanak says, "It is not in our hands to wander here and there in the forests, to do the devotion of the Lord, or to perform austerities: every- thing is in the hands of God Almighty, Who has kept everything under His

9

control. Those in whose fate it is writ- ten by God Almighty are able to do the meditation of the Naam and the devo- tion of God." He says, "Only those about whom it has been decided that they will meet the Master and do the devotion of God are given the oppor- tunity to do that devotion; God Al- mighty has kept everything in His hands."

Nothing is in the hands of these creatures;

You have created this amazing Creation.

The Mahatmas Who have met with God Almighty know about the power and the existence of God, and that is why Guru Nanak Sahib says here, "0 Lord, these creatures, these people, do not know anything about themselves; they do not have anything in their hands; they do not know that they can- not make a decision whether to be- come the devotee of God or to seek the pleasures of the world. And this is a surprising Creation which You have made: that some people are made to do the devotion of God, and some people are involved in the worldly pleasures; some people become good and some people waste their lives becoming bad. Nothing is in the hands of the people; all this has been created by You; and this is a very surprising thing that You have done."

There are the ones whom You unite (with Yourselfl;

There are the ones whom You Yourself make lose You.

Now He says, "This is a very unique play of Yours. You Yourself come in the human body, and You Yourself make certain human beings do the de-

votion of God, and You Yourself make them meet Yourself. And there are others whom You make to forget about You; they will never come to the path of the Shabd Naam, no matter how much You explain to them, they will not understand, and instead of un- derstanding they will oppose. So it is all in Your hands: some people are made to do the devotion of God, and some people are made to forget You."

With the grace of the Master, I have known (the place) where You are manifested;

You Yourself have made me real- ize it.

Now Guru Nanak Sahib tells the sid- dhas, "It is only because of the grace of our Satgurus, our Masters, that we have come to know the place where God Almighty resides, and only be- cause of the grace of the Masters have we come to know how we can go there, and how we can meet Him. And God Almighty Himself gives us this knowl- edge from within ourselves: that with- out going to the Master and taking refuge at the Satguru's feet, we can never do His devotion, and we can never achieve liberation."

Easily one merges with the Truth.

Now He says, "When we get the Naam initiation, and when we fortunately get the shelter at the feet of the Master, and when, after coming into the sat- sang and listening to the words of the Master, we remove our shortcomings and our failures and do the meditation of the Shabd Naam, then we easily get absorbed into that Shabd Naam, be- come one with God Almighty, and make our lives successful."

10 SANT BANI

The Holey Jholi a story about giving

JACK DOKUS

A N OLD M A N plodded barefoot along a dusty road. He was poor

both in possessions and spirit. He was so shy that his fellow villagers paid little attention to him, referring to him only as Baba. He had come a long way to attend the satsang. Although he had received the Naam several years ago, he found few opportunities to take ad- vantage of his Master's physical pres- ence. Now he was quite advanced in years and was determined not to let his worldly life interfere with the Master's darshan.

He was weak and tired, but very happy to have reached the satsang grounds. Happy not only to be here for the monthly satsang, but also happy to have completed the long trek over the hot and dusty roads on foot. The aged disciple was forced to walk because he had no means to pay for any other conveyance. His meager home was far away and the walk had taken several days.

A sevadar showed him to the water pump, and after washing the dust from his face, feet and hands he felt some- what refreshed. The disciple made his way to the langar and took a place among the others waiting to be fed. Sitting quietly in the line he noticed that even among these simple village people his outer appearance was rather ragged. There were holes throughout his clothing, and he owned no others.

Life had not been as kind to him as it might have been, but Baba bore it with tolerance and faith, believing that Master always balanced out karmas with inner grace. Still, he felt a bit self

conscious among the others, many of whom wore their best to the monthly satsang.

When he finished eating, the old dis- ciple left as inconspicuously as he was able and kept to himself until it was time to assemble for the Master's talk. Long-standing custom gave men and women separate sections, and the el- derly disciple filed in with the other men. He did not push forward but took a place on the ground behind and away from those already seated. Thus he was confident of enjoying the sat- sang unnoticed. However, as the crowd grew, people began to fill in the spaces around him, and he ultimately found himself seated almost in the center of the audience.

"If I move now," he thought, "so many people will see me, and it will seem odd that as everyone is pressing to move closer to the dais, I am the only one moving away."

And so he remained where he was, even though he felt ill at ease. Finally his Guru entered and took His seat upon the dais, to the joy of everyone there. The talk covered several aspects of the Path of the Masters, and was accompanied with divine glances of love. However when the Master looked his way, he felt awkward and painfully aware of his tattered condition. Even- tually he worked himself into a dis- turbed state and thought, "The Master may think that I take the satsang for granted and that I didn't make myself presentable."

At length the old man was so com- pletely upset that his attention wan-

SANT BANI

dered from the talk and he missed his Guru's concluding remark, which was: "God isn't concerned with the disciple's outer appearance, but sees what is within."

As the Satsang was over, Baba felt he should flee the scene quickly, but the announcement came that there was parshad for one and all, so everyone should remain seated. The wonderful news of receiving the blessed sweets soothed his agitated thoughts to the point where he was able to sit and wait calmly. But once again his mind found a way to develop anxiety even in this situation. He noticed the sangat pre- paring to receive the parshad in the traditional way. All the men formed a Jholi by holding forth the bottom por- tion of their shirts as a receptacle for the blessed sugar rice treats.

"How can I do that?!" the distressed soul wondered. "My shirt is full of holes!" If he received the parshad in his hands he would be the only one to do so, and the last thing he wanted was to call attention to himself.

"What can I do?" he thought in panic. Refusing parshad was out of the question, yet how could he accept it without offending the local tradition? He felt as though his old white head would burst in an effort to find some solution. But his furrowed brow tight- ened yet more on seeing that it was the Saint Himself Who was passing out the blessed gift! His Guru drew closer and his mind was working itself into a frenzied state. He was a desolate island amid a sea of happiness.

"This was a mistake!" he thought. "I never should have come to see the Master. My clothes are worn to rags and this old body is ugly and wrinkled. I am a pitiable sight and a disgrace to the Sangat!" The tortured soul went on

January 1991

like this in complete despair for some time. Finally, he found himself left with no other hope but Simran, and with what little calm he could muster he employed this instrument of grace. Quietyly, he fought to pass through his mind and settle himself in his heart. Once there, he accepted the situation and thought to deal with it as best he could. The old man looked down to find his shirt tightly crumpled between his clenched fists. Drawing a deep breath to relax, he then folded over that portion of the shirt which forms the jholi again and again. This man- aged to cover the holes and frayed areas nicely. It was smaller than any of the others to be sure, but at least none of the precious grains would fall through.

As the Saint neared, the traces of embarrassment faded and the simple soul prayed silently; "Master, please excuse what you see before you, and bless this disciple in spite of its small receptacle, and wretched condition.

The Master, who had been happily giving out the parshad all along, smiled even more broadly when He saw him. The merciful Saint ignored the tiny makeshift jholi, and the gen- erous portion which He took for the old disciple was lovingly placed in Baba's mouth by the Master's own hands.

Everyone was amazed and looked to see who this soul was. No one was aware of his clothes, all they could see was his face. If before it was old, now it was venerable and radiant in Gods love.

Later, when the sangat tramped the dusty roads to return home, at least one of them pondered whether there was ever any jholi, any disciple, that could truly contain the Master's grace.

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Sant Ji's 1991 Tour

January 13, 1991

Sant Ji has requested me to make the following announcement re- garding the 1991 Tour:

1. The main program of the Tour will be at Shamaz Meditation Retreat, Potter Valley, Calif., June 9-16, 1991; this is the only - pro- gram which will be open to all North Americans. The dear ones at Shamaz are making arrangements to take care of everyone who comes, and will have the space and facilities to do that.

2. Sant Ji is making brief stops at Calgary, Vancouver, and Idaho before His visit to Shamaz, and to Mexico City and London after; but those stops are for people belonging to those Satsangs or areas only. The people in those areas are not prepared to house and take care of thousands of people.

3 . The Master said that He appreciates people's love and the yearning that the dear ones have to be in His presence; but He will be more pleased if people go to Shamaz Retreat only, settle down there, and meditate there, instead of worrying about traveling from one place to another. Traveling from place to place following Him on the Tour takes a lot of energy, and the Master does not want people to lose their energy running here and there, as the main purpose of the Tour is meditation.

All Masters have said, "Obedience is greater than darshan"; and I hope we will all obey this very specific request from Him, and recognize that it is for our benefit.

In His Love, Russell Perkins

If you have not received information about Sant Ji's California visit, write:

Shamaz Meditation Retreat P.O. Box 166

Potter Valley, CA 95469

A Prayer for Peace Sant Ajaib Singh Ji

G OOD MORNING! I wish all of you, your families, your country, and all the human beings on this world, a

very happy New Year. I wish and pray to God Almighty that the clouds of war

which are hovering over this world may be removed with His grace and that all of this world may have a very happy New Year.

This whole world is the home of the Master, this whole world is like the country of the Master, and you know that if one child in the home is unhappy or suffering, the father is affected by it, he is also unhappy, he also suffers. In the same way, if there is any trouble anywhere in the world, the Master is also affected. So I pray to God Almighty, again and again, that He may protect all of us, giving us His gracious hand, that in this Iron Age He may protect these souls of the Iron Age. I bow down in front of Him again and again; I lay myself down in front of Him again and again with the prayer that He may protect all of us.

At present, as you know, everyone in this world is fright- ened; as you know, the superpowers are standing on piles of dynamite and you never know what is going to happen. If at this time God does not shower His grace upon us, if He does not protect us, then you can very well imagine how much the human beings will be affected and how much loss can happen if He does not shower His grace upon the people. So once again, it is our prayer in front of God Almighty that, giving us His support, He should cool down the minds of the people and He should shower grace upon all the people, and He should bring peace to the world.

a talk given before meditation, January 1, 1991

THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE From a question and answer period held by Master Kir~al Singh li at Windsor Hall in Montreal, October 24, 1972, following a question about translation.

I AM SITTING in front of you, French and others-that makes no difference

to me. Whether we are German, French, anybody, we are in man body, citizens of the earth, exiled from God, from Home. And we want to go back as soon as possible. So I am here; it is not France, it is only that you speak the French language, is it not? You belong to France and speak French language here. That should remind you that your home is in France, mind that. You are friends of God, you see. You have come, exiled from God, and that speech you should speak. And what is that speech? You know? LOVE. Love one another. If you speak that language, use that lan- guage, you will all go back to God, to your home, that is the Home of your Father. . . . I have given you an exam- ple: as you speak French, that reminds you of France, does it not? Your home is in France. So we are exiled from our Home here on earth.

There is a language spoken in the Home of our Father; that language is love. Speak in love, take everything in love, weed out everything in love. That is the way back to God, and you will soon go back to your Home. This is the way back for everybody. The only thmg we have to remember is that this is not our home, that's all. Further: that this man body is not given to us perma- nently, only temporarily. All who have taken up the man body have left it, whether professors, poor men, kings, even Saints-all have left. And we have to leave. T h ~ s is a golden opportunity put to us by God to find our way back

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Home. Now we are in oblivion. We have forgotten our Home.

There should be somebody who can guide us back home. Pray God: "Oh God, send us some man who may take us back Home." The first point is to realize that we are imprisoned in the man body. To rise up above the physical body is the first step. Where world phi- losophies end, there true religion starts. Pray God: "Send us suchlike men who can take us out of this prisonhouse of the body and give us a start, with fur- ther ABC; who can be a guide both here and there, not leaving us until we reach Home."

I am glad you have love for your France. your French language. 1 beseech you to have love for your Home, the language of which is love. God is love. Love is innate in our soul, because we are of the same essence as that of God. And the way back to God is also through love. you follow me?

So speak in love. thmk of love, let all your affairs be saturated with love. You'll go back Home. You'll have a happy life here and hereafter. This is the message I have to give to you who are very fond of the French language, and also to those who are fond of other lan- guages. Instead of that. use the language of your Home, and that is love.

Languages were made by man. Speak in any language you hke. but speak of love. Hafiz says, "It is a matter of love. Speak In any language you know, but speak of love." No language is sacred. no language is not sacred. All are sacred in which you speak of love.

SANT BANI

The Laughter of the Saints Sant Ajaib Singh Ji

M ASTER, I like it very much when You smile, when You laugh, and

it fills me with a lot of affection and love when You are laughing or smiling. But I have one concern and that is because of something which Master Sawan said, that one should not laugh when the Master is laughing because we lose some of the grace that He is showering. So my question is: do You also say the same thing and does this only apply to the Satsang or does it apply to other circumstances also?

A s FAR AS the words of the Master are concerned, it is not a very

easy thing to understand the words of the Master; in fact if we would under- stand the words of the Master we would achieve our goal.

He meant that when the Master is talking to someone we should pay all our attention to Him. Master Sawan Singh was very humorous in nature; many times He would even make jokes and laugh in front of the dear ones. If we were also laughing and taking our attention to some other thing, that means we were not listening to Him and not accepting the grace which He was giving to us. The way through which the Master gives us His grace is unique.

In those days in India there were not

This question and answer session was given November 30, 1988, at Sant Bani Ashram, Village I6 PS, Rajasthan.

many looms to weave cloth. So most of the time the women used to make the thread using a spinning wheel and then they would weave the cloth by hand.

Master Sawan Singh Ji would often need cloth for mats [for the langar]. Many women would take the seva of working on the spinning wheel and making the thread and then weave the mats. So when quite a number of wo- men got together to do that seva Mas- ter Sawan Singh would go there and He would sit among the women on a chair. He would talk with the women in the same way that the women talk with each other, and it was so hu- morous that people used to laugh a lot. The way He used to talk with the wo- men was so humorous that nobody could control their laughter. The Mas- ters have Their own way of showering grace upon the people; I don't think that those men or women who were present there and who witnessed those scenes could ever forget the grace of the Master which they received at that time.

Usually when the Master is making us happy through His talks and when He laughs and smiles in front of us then we people have the bad thoughts for Him. We think that the Master is just like us; He is also smiling and laughing like us; He is doing every- thing like us. This is because we have the mind and we do not know when the mind is going to make us fall down

SANT BANI

and in what trick he is going to rob us. That is why He always used to say that whenever you see the Master talking or laughing with anyone don't pay any attention to that. Just keep looking at the Master -don't even look at the per- son to whom He is talking-just go on having the darshan of the Master.

Once Master was resting after eating His lunch and some dear ones went there and they opened the door. Mas- ter got very upset and said, "Well, why don't you let me rest?" Some people took it badly, but there were some others who said, "How much grace and parshad we have got from the Master.'' Those dear ones who had so much faith in the Master were talking amongst themselves, one was saying that, "You see how pleased the Master

January 1991

was from within and how much grace and parshad He has given us?"

A couple of days ago after one of the bhajan sessions I had said that if we want to tell our Master, "You are God; You are my Lord and I have fallen at Your feet. I have taken refuge at Your feet and You please shower grace on me-" If we go on telling Him things like that I don't think He will like it, and we won't even dare d o that before Him.

But those who go within they have their own ways of expressing gratitude to the Master. They d o it through their bhajans, through their shabds. A bha- jan is such a thing in which you can express all your love and gratitude for the Master. You can sing a bhajan and, standing in front of Him, you can tell

2 1

the Master these things, and He will be very pleased to hear that; He will not mind it at all. I got many opportunities to sing bhajans in front of my Master Kirpal Singh.

You may study the newly written bhajans and you will see how much humility the disciple who goes within has. Only that disciple calls the Master as the Form of God and he is the only one who falls at the feet of the Master with all humility.

Many dear ones among you people sing the bhajans just as if they were reading the poetry or singing a song; but there are other dear ones who sing the bhajans as if they were singing from their heart. At that time they have so much devotion and love on their faces.

22

I have often said that one does not enjoy weeping if the comforter is not standing next to him. Unless we make our Master stand in front of us and sing the bhajans we cannot enjoy sing- ing the bhajans to Him. So while you sing the bhajan feel that He is standing in front of you and you are singing to Him and after understanding every single line of the bhajan then you should sing it with all your love.

Last year when Gurmel Singh came here, he told me about singing the bha- jans. You know that Pathi Ji had been practicing bhajans very hard and peo- ple had been recording them and tak- ing them to their homes. But Gurmel Singh told me that he found a differ- ence in the singing which Pathi Ji had done for the recordings and the bha-

SANT BANI

jans which he sang in front of me be- fore the Satsangs start. Gurmel told me that there was a lot of difference in the singing of those bhajans.

Some Colombian dear ones had also mentioned this difference when they saw me in their interview in Colombia. And some other people have also felt the same thing. Even Pappu had told me about the difference in the singing of Pathi Ji, that there is a lot of differ- ence now in the singing of Pathi Ji. You will also feel a difference if you hear the bhajans which Pappu sings in front of me after the morning medita- tion, and the bhajans he might have sung otherwise.

It is only the Master Who through the Satsang blesses us with all the hap- piness and the joy; and love is also

January 1991

created only by the Master. This is a very complicated thing, very hard to understand, but those who go within can understand it very easily. The same power works in the disciple and the Master; the only difference is that the power in the Master is manifested, whereas in the disciple the power is still sleeping.

Dear ones, don't you think that a person who is wandering here and there getting kicked and knocked in the forest-sometimes he goes to a high place, sometimes he goes to a low place - he has become a homeless one and is suffering in pain-such is our condition. We are also wandering here and there, suffering so much pain, get- ting kicked and knocked. So if some- how we come to know about and we

23

meet our Father, don't you think that we will smile, laugh, and become happy looking at Him? One can ex- press his joy only through the smiles and laughter; and the way of express- ing sorrow is only by weeping. So when we meet our Father, when the disciple meets his Master, he cannot control his smiles and laughter. He be- comes very happy; that is why he can- not do anything but laugh.

I am a person who was graciously shown the bones of the past lifetimes. Master said, "If you want I can even make you meet your parents of your past life because they are still alive." But I folded my hands to Him and said, "No, I do not want to meet them."

So do you think that one who has been shown so much by his Master and upon whom the Master has showered so much grace, will he not become happy? Will he not go on dancing in joy when he meets his Master? When the love of my soul, my beloved Mas- ter, would come to my ashram-He came many times - at that time I used to be like half mad. I would cry only when He would turn His feet away from me, because I would read His mind and I would know that now He is going to leave, so at that time I would weep also. And you know that when He left this physical world, at that time my weeping was such that it became very famous; I wept so much in His separation. As I said the other day, when the Master leaves the physical world it is such a loss for the disciple which can never be repaired.

I am not the only one whose condi- tion was like this, all the true devotees of the Masters have had this condition, have gone through all these sufferings.

24

Kabir Sahib said, "If one does not be- come happy looking at the Master coming, and if one does not cry look- ing at the Master going, how can such a disciple achieve his goal?"

I have often said that I received a great amount of love from my mother. Even though she gave birth to many other children, still the way she took care of me, and the way she gave me love, not even hundreds of mothers to- gether could give such love to their children. I have also said that I am sorry that I could not fulfill the worldly desire which my mother had. She wanted me to get married but I could not do that. It was my mother's desire, not mine.

I promised her that if I could not control my mind, if I could not control myself, then I would definitely get married. "Since I drank your milk, I will not defame your milk; I will never commit an adultery."

Well, so we were talking about the love of the Master, the smiles and laughter of the Master, and I was tell- ing you about my own Master. Often I have said that I used to read one part of the couplet to Him, when either He had to go, or I had to go away from Him, I would read just one part of the couplet and He would finish it.

I would say, "One should not love a foreigner even if he is worth millions." I would say that now I have come to realize that it is not a good thing to love the foreigner even if he is very valuable and very loving "because the foreigner always has to go back to his home." So Master would then com- plete that couplet by saying, "In a way a foreigner is better because whenever you remember Him, you weep in His separation." It was His grace and His

SANT BANI

greatness only that whenever He had to say goodbye to me He would stand at the door as long as I would remain in sight.

Dear ones, I have always been very frank and very open minded, whatever would come into my mind, I would not hesitate in saying that to the people, and even now I have this quality; I always say the things which come into my mind. Even now in my frankness and boldness I say this to my Master: I did not d o the devotion to become the Master or t o d o the work which I am doing now. I did the devotion of God only because I heard that God Al- mighty comes in the control of those who do His devotion and then they can do whatever they want with Him. As the child is dear t o the mother, in the

January 1991

same way, the devotees are dear to God Almighty. I just wanted to become one of the dear ones of God, that is why I did the devotion.

I did not have any idea of the seva which I am doing now when I was doing the devotion. I was very inno- cent and I did not know what was going to happen; and I was not expec- ting anything like what I have to do now, when I was doing the devotion.

All the things which I would never have done and which I never did when I was doing the devotion, now I have to do all those things to please the people. I had never looked into the eyes of anyone and I had never allowed any- one to look into my eyes. I never al- lowed anyone to call me Baba but now I have to allow all those things to hap-

25

pen and I have now become the Baba for the whole world.

So only H e knows which work has to be taken from which person. Many times I felt much embarrassed doing all these things, because I never wanted to do this but now I have to do this. But those dear ones who do the meditation and who have been given this job to do, they work wholeheart- edly. When you meet someone who is there to help you without charging anything for it, don't you think you will smile and you will become happy when you meet that person?

Dear ones, I have seen the last days of Master Sawan Singh and I got the opportunity of seeing Master Kirpal Singh a lot also. There were other peo- ple who wanted to put on the turban of

26

those Masters, even when the Masters were still alive, because they were fond of becoming the successor, they were fond of gadhis, * etc. But there were those who even took off their turbans and who did not want to become any successor or anything like that, even though they were offered. There were those who were running after the prop- erty and things of the Master, and there were other people who had even left their own house a t the place of the Master. If you ask the real lover of the Master, if you offer him any amount of the wealth of this world, and if you tell him, "You will get all the riches of

* The physical place from where the Master conducts His mission, similar to the throne of a king, but having only a pretense of spiritual power once the Master leaves.

SANT BAN1

all the oceans and all the earth. What do you want? Do you want all this wealth or the love of the Master?" He would say, "No, no, I do not want any of this because it is just like dust and I need only the love of the Master." Who can say that? Only he who has realized the love of the Master, otherwise the worldly people don't have any idea, and they will always go for the other things.

No one has as much love as the love which the true disciple of the Master has. Once in Ganganagar one Ma- hatma came and he was wearing a lot of gold. Even the chair on which he was sitting had a lot of gold on it. I went to see him and Mastana Ji, the intoxicated disciple of Baba Sawan Singh, also went there. You know when two people of the same Path meet they feel much happiness. So when he met me we both became very happy.

In the evening when Mastana Ji had his sangat gathered He made me stand in front of the sangat and He asked me to tell the sangat about the beauty of Master Sawan Singh. His sangat was new and they had not seen Master Sawan Singh and since I had seen Mas- ter Sawan Singh that is why very often He asked me to speak about Master Sawan Singh to His sangat.

So I told them how beautiful Master Sawan Singh was, how His Face was full of the beauty, whenever He would smile, whenever He would laugh, it would feel as if the flowers were com- ing out through His mouth, He was so beautiful. Mastana Ji asked about the Mahatma I had seen in Ganganagar, "Was He anywhere near Master Sawan Singh? Was He anywhere near the beauty of Master Sawan Singh?" I told Him, "I do not criticize any Mahatma,

January 1991

but I can say that Master Sawan Singh was an example of His own Self and that Mahatma was not even as good as the dirt that comes out of the nose of Master Sawan Singh."

Mahatma Chattardas was an Initi- ate of Baba Sawan Singh and he was a very famous poet of the Urdu lan- guage. Master Sawan Singh used to give opportunities to such poets to come up front and sing their poetry in front of the people. So Mahatma Chattardas recited his poetry in which he said, "You are our very old friend, and now we have recognized You, and now we have embraced You." and he went on saying things like that. It was very pleasing to Master Sawan Singh and He was smiling and laughing.

After that He invited another poet who had only one eye. He was one- eyed, but usually he would wear dark glasses so that no one would know that he had only one eye. But on that day he removed his glasses. And when Master Sawan Singh was looking at him, He said, "What happened to your other eye?"

He replied, "Well, Master always in the Satsang You say that we should become one-eyed, that we should close our two eyes and open one single eye in the within. So now this is only one eye and since You said to make one eye that is why I have made one eye."

So hearing all this Master Sawan Singh and everyone in the sangat laughed very much. Do you think that those people who were sitting there could have controlled their laughter af- ter hearing such a humorous thing? Even now whenever I remember that incident, whether I am alone or even if I am travelling in a train, I cannot control my laughter.

27

Love, Faith and Devotion Sant Ajaib Singh Ji

I N ORDER to become successful in Sant Mat love, faith and devotion

are needed the most. All these three things are equally important and they all lead us to the same thing. The disci- ple of Sant Mat should always have these three things in him if he wants to become successful in the Path of the Masters. The other thing that is re- quired the most in order to be success- ful on the Path is that the disciple should always go on doing the Simran. He should be doing the Bhajan and his Dhyan should also always be there. All these three things should always be happening within the disciple and only then can one become successful in the Path of the Masters.

You know that when we realize that we are standing on the edge of bank- ruptcy in our spirituality and when we know for sure that we do not have any spiritual wealth, that we are totally bankrupt in that, then we go to the Master just as a beggar goes to a rich person asking for things. Until he real- izes that he is the poor one, and that the rich person is the one who can give him something, he cannot get anything from him. In the same way, when we know that spiritually we have nothing, we are bankrupt, only then the real prayer or real request, the true request comes out from our heart to the Mas-

This talk was given at Sant Ji's under- ground meditation room, on January 5, 1991.

January 1991

ter, and only then does the Master ful- fill our desires. The Master knows what we need and He grants us the things which we need.

You have heard a lot about this place and many times you may have even read about this place because much has been published in SANT BANI MAG- AZINE about it. This place is not very beautiful on the worldly level because this is in a forest-like place and it is not very beautiful looking, but it is that very place where Beloved Master Kir- pal placed His feet and this is the place where He showered grace on this poor soul.

This poor soul who is sitting in front of you, when he came to realize that spiritually he was bankrupt, that he did not have anything, he went from door to door and got kicked and knocked; he went to many different places searching for God Almighty. But he did not get anyone who could quench his thirst.

Master Kirpal always used to say that it is difficult to become a man; if you become a man, God is in search of you. For twenty-six years of His life He went on saying that the Master Who has come as a Giver does not have any difficulty, because He has come to give. All the difficulties are with the receivers. So we have to be- come receptive to the grace of the Giver. We have to make our vessels. So it all depends upon how receptive we are, how we have made our vessel. If our vessel is made, if we are receptive

to the Master, He does not take even one moment to shower His grace upon us. So for twenty-six years of His life He went on giving the grace and peo- ple received His grace according to their receptivity, according to the ves- sels they had made.

When this poor soul realized that spiritually he was bankrupt, and when he had searched for that spirituality everywhere - having gone to many dif- ferent places-when nothing worked and nobody quenched his thirst, then helplessly he prayed to God Almighty. Master also used to say that God knows everything; He knows what is in your heart; He knows what you want, as a person who is standing on the peak of a mountain knows where the fire is burning.

You know that wherever fire is burn- ing, oxygen goes there by itself to help that fire. In the same way, God Al- mighty, Who is sitting within every- one, Who is the highest and Who knows everything, when He saw that this poor soul had become helpless and he was searching for Him, then He Himself came to shower grace upon this poor soul sitting here.

The importance or the greatness of this place lies in the fact that this is the very place where this poor soul got that vast treasure of spirituality from Great Supreme Lord Kirpal. He Him- self came to this place after seeing that some poor soul was sitting in His re- membrance and that He should come here to quench his thirst. So the impor- tance or glory of this place is only that at this place Supreme Father Kirpal showered grace and He gave such a vast treasure of spirituality which can- not be obtained by any power or by any force. It cannot be had from any- where. It cannot be obtained anywhere

else. Until the Master showers grace upon the disciple, one cannot get this spirituality. In order to get the grace of the Master, it is very important for the disciples to have love, faith and devo- tion for the Master.

Lovingly He told us, "Dear Chil- dren, your journey starts from the bot- tom of the feet and it goes to the top of your head, up to the Eye Center." You can do your journey, you can come to the Eye Center by doing the Simran. After you come up to the Eye Center by doing the Simran, your soul has to climb on the Shabd; the inner planes or the upper planes can be travelled only after getting on top of the Shabd. But until you come to the Eye Center by doing the Simran, the Shabd cannot pull you up, you cannot get on the Shabd and you cannot go to the higher planes in the Beyond.

It is like the iron and magnet; as long as the iron is not in the range of the magnet, as long as the iron is kept outside the range of the magnet, the magnet does not attract the iron, but as soon as the iron comes within range of the magnet, the magnet at once at- tracts the iron. In the same way, when our soul comes within range of the Shabd, when our soul reaches the Eye Center, then it is very easy for the Shabd to take the soul up to the higher planes.

You may hear the Shabd but the Shabd will not pull the soul until you have reached the Eye Center. In the beginning it is difficult for us to do the Simran because we do not understand the importance of doing the Simran; we do not seem to enjoy doing the Simran and it is all dry. We feel dry- ness even while doing the Simran, but once we know its importance, then gradually we start enjoying doing the

SANT BANI

Simran and then we start getting the charging from the Simran.

Having faith in the Master is also the same. In the beginning, because the mind interferes so much in our af- fairs, many times we understand the Master as an illiterate person, and sometimes we understand Him as nothing more than a human being. So sometimes we have a lot of faith in the Master, and sometimes we don't have any faith in Him. This struggle goes on and on within us, but when we go within and see the Master with our own eyes, then such a faith is devel- oped within us for the Master that not even in the state of dreams, not even in a state of forgetfulness, do we ever think that Master is a human being. Of course He is in the human body. The Shabd has come in the human form, but He is above the human beings. He is not just a human being; He is the Shabd; He is that Power. After we have seen the Master in His Real Form, such faith gets developed in our within that nobody can break our faith and that faith always remains with us. But in the beginning it is difficult for us because the mind interferes in our affairs.

Swami Ji Maharaj says that the Master has taken up the human form and He has come in this world for the sake of and to help the people. He says that such a being - the Master - has not taken up the body because of karmas. He is above karmas, but He has been given the body so that He may come into this world. He is doing very good things for us; He is here for our benefit. He comes for those souls for whom it has been decided in Sach Khand, in the court of God, that they do not have to be sent back into this suffering world again, they have to be

January 1991

liberated. The Masters come into this world for those souls for whom it has been decided that they will get the liberation.

Love for the Master is also the same. If the true love for the Master is mani- fested within us, then that is the best way of removing the attachment to the pleasures and passions of this world. When the true love for the Master is manifested within, when you really and truly love the Master, then no at- traction, no pleasure and no passion of this world has any meaning for you. You don't even like to look at them. Guru Nanak says, "My Master is so beautiful that I do not feel like looking at anybody else, and even after looking at the Master for so many times, still I am not satisfied."

Many times I have told this story in the Satsang and today also I will repeat it. This is what I heard from Beloved Master Kirpal Singh. He used to talk about when Master Sawan Singh's son's endtime came; he was about thirty-two years old and was working as an overseer. He left the body in the railway station of Beas, but Master Sawan Singh did not take him to the Dera, to Baba Jaimal Singh, because He was afraid that if He would take him there, Bibi Rukko would tell Baba Jaimal Singh to have grace on Baba Sawan Singh's son and bring him back to life, and Baba Sawan Singh did not want that kind of miracle performed on his son. Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say in His own words, "When he left the body, I looked in my within, I looked at my thoughts, and I neither had any sorrow nor any pain at that time. 1 was able to accept the Will of God. It was the grace of Baba Jaimal Singh that I was able to accept the Will of God." Baba Sawan Singh did not

3 1

want to take his son to Baba Jaimal Singh because that would make a dif- ference in His gurumukh-ship, because gurumukhs always accept the Will of God. They suffer the pain but they don't create such conditions in which they ask the Master to perform mira- cles. Masters have always said that if you are in such a kind of situation, you should better suffer the pain but you should never perform any miracle like this.

One day Baba Sawan Singh went to the village of Baba Jaimal Singh to hold Satsang. When He was about to enter that village, first He got out of the car and bowed down to that place, and afterwards when He went to do the Satsang, He could not talk, He just went on weeping, crying very loudly. Master Kirpal said, "Master if this is Your condition, what is the hope for us?" Baba Sawan Singh then replied, "If Baba Jaimal Singh were to come in His physical form in front of me even for once, I am ready to leave every- thing." So you see, on one side, when Baba Sawan Singh had such a great loss on the worldly level, when He had lost His son, He did not have any pain, He did not feel anything, He did not cry. But on the other side, the pain of separation from His Beloved Master

was so much that He was ready to give up everything if He could get the dar- shan of Baba Jaimal Singh even for once. Many times afterwards Baba Sawan Singh said the same thing: if Baba Jaimal Singh would come in His physical form, even for once, He would not care for anything, He would give up everything. So you can see how the Masters work, how the pain of sep- aration from their Beloved Master is so much more painful for Them than any worldly losses they may have.

I hope that on returning to your homes, whatever hopes or inspiration for which you came here, and what- ever encouragement and inspiration you have received here for the past ten days, you will develop that by doing your meditations while attending to your worldly responsibilities.

Many times Great Beloved Master Kirpal has blessed this place with His Holy Feet, and many times the dear ones whose Shabd is not opened or who had difficulty in hearing the Sound, when they go down to visit the room with all their faith, doing the Simran, they tell me later that the Shabd got opened. So I hope that when you go down, you will go down doing the Simran and you will return from this place doing the Simran.

NOTICES

Diary Book Available The "Shamaz Diary Book" which has recently been out of print is now available. To order a copy, refer to the booklist at the back of this magazine.

Correction The talk, "Expressing Our Heart in the Bhajans," printed in the December issue was given in Hyderabad, India, January 13, 1990.

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